Ardour
A professional-grade digital audio workstation for recording, editing, and mixing audio and MIDI
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| + | Record | Capture audio and MIDI |
|---|---|---|
| + | Edit | Cut, move, stretch, copy, paste, delete, align, trim, crossfade, and more |
| + | Mix | Control faders, automate, apply EQ, dynamics, and manage inserts |
| + | Import | Bring audio or MIDI from your hard drive or Freesound database. |
| + | Unlimited Tracks | Create any number of tracks and busses |
| + | Non-linear Editing | Edit non-destructively with unlimited undo. |
| + | Plugins | Use AudioUnit, LV2, VST, and LADSPA formats for FX and instruments |
| + | Automation | Sample-accurate automation for plugin parameters |
| + | Signal Routing | Anywhere-to-anywhere signal routing. |
| + | Video Timeline | Sync audio with video playback tools |
| + | External Control Surfaces | Support for MIDI timecode, LTC, and Mackie Control |
| + | Floating Point Fidelity | High-quality audio processing |
| + | Diverse File Formats | BWF, WAV, WAV64, AIFF, and CAF |
| + | Multiple Ripple Modes | Efficient editing for various scenarios |
| - | Learning Curve | The learning curve might be steep for beginners. |
| - | Hardware Integration | Integrating external audio hardware can be intricate, especially for novices. |
| - | Limited Built-in Plugins | Has a more restricted set of built-in plugins compared to commercial DAWs |
| - | Resource-Intensive | Can be demanding on system resources, affecting performance. |
| - | Real-Time Collaboration | Does not support real-time collaborative work. |
| - | Cloud Integration | Does not integrate with cloud storage services. |
System Requirements
Version ↓
| # | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 400mhz Intel Pentium equivalent CPU | 1-3GHz Processor, Athlons dual CPU system |
| 2 | 1GB | 2GB or more |
| 3 | 350MB for Linux & 600MB for macOS & Windows | |
| 4 | JACK Audio Connection Kit | Rui Nuno Capela’s GUI for JACK- qjackctl |
| 5 | Any of the audio cards based on the ICE1712 or ICE1724 chipsets will work well (Terratec and M-Audio use these, as well as the EZ8), and the Ensoniq cards and onboard chipsets | The RME Hammerfall series and the M-Audio Delta series audio interface |
| 6 | 2-4 channels: M-Audio Delta 44, 66 or 2496; 2-12 channels: M-Audio Delta 1010 | more than 12 channels: RME HDSP, RME HDSPe; more than 26 channels: RME MADI |
| # | Minimum |
|---|---|
| 1 | Windows XP or newer |
| 2 | Any 32 or 64-bit Intel system. CPU speed limits the amount of signal processing you can do. |
| 3 | 2GB |
| 4 | Minimum 600MB of free space to install Ardour. You will want lots more disk space for recording. |
| # | Minimum |
|---|---|
| 1 | macOS Snow Leopard to Mojave (and probably later) – Ardour is an ‘unsigned application’, so later versions of macOS will ask for extra confirmation the first time you run it. |
| 2 | Any 32 or 64-bit Intel system. CPU speed limits the amount of signal processing you can do. |
| 3 | 2GB |
| 4 | Minimum 600MB of free space to install Ardour. You will want lots more disk space for recording. |
| # | Minimum |
|---|---|
| 1 | Linux OS with:
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| 2 |
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| 3 | 2 GB |
| 4 | Minimum 350MB of free space to install Ardour. You will want lots more disk space for recording. |
Developer
Paul Davis, David Robillard, Robin Gareus, Nick Mainsbridge, Colin Fletcher, Ben Loftis, Tim Mayberry, Other contributors
Written in
C++, C, Python, Lua, Shell, GTK+
Initial Release
23 September 2005
License
Categories
Alternatives
Notes
- System Requirements in detail can be seen here & archived here
- Ardour is an ‘unsigned application’, so OS X and later might ask for extra confirmation the first time you run it.
- Users who download from the project’s website are asked to pay at least $1 for downloading prebuilt binaries of Ardour; those users then have the right to obtain minor updates until the next major release. Another option is to subscribe, paying $1, $4 or $10 per month. Subscribers can download prebuilt binaries of all updates during the subscription period. (This makes Ardour an example of commercial free-libre software.) Without paying, users can download the full source code for all platforms, or a prebuilt demo binary which ceases playback after various time periods. Several Linux distributions also provide prebuilt binaries, free of any software restrictions, as part of their repositories.