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:
|
| 2 |
|
| 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
Digital Audio Workstation
Cakewalk Sonar Pro Tools GarageBand Waveform Bitwig Studio REAPER LMMS VirtualDJ
Music Production
LMMS VirtualDJ
Audio Editor
ocenaudio Audacity LMMS
Cakewalk Sonar Pro Tools GarageBand Waveform Bitwig Studio REAPER LMMS VirtualDJ
Music Production
LMMS VirtualDJ
Audio Editor
ocenaudio Audacity LMMS
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.