Ardour is a complete digital audio workstation. You can use it to record and edit your audio to preference. It also allows multi-track recording and mixdown, giving you the power to produce your own music.

Since two heads are better than one, Ardour makes your work easy to share, giving you the ability to collaborate with other Ardour users.

Ardour capabilities include:

• Multi-channel recording.
• Non-linear, non-destructive region based editing with unlimited undo/redo.
• Full automation support.
• A mixer whose capabilities rival high end hardware consoles.
• Lots of plugins to warp, shift and shape your music.
• Controllable from hardware control surfaces at the same time as it syncs to timecode.

Related Recording Equipment:
USB Audio Recording Adapters

New in v4

• Improved cross platform support, now works on Windows OS
• JACK is no longer required
• GUI Overhaul

New in v3.5.403

• Latest version of jadeo and harvid for video work
• Bugfix for rounding error on rulers and BBT grid
• New MIDNAM file for the Korg Volca series
• Use 1-based numbering for MIDI controllers, rather than 0-based
• "Show All Automation" for MIDI tracks shows all named controllers
• Support channel NoteNameLists in MIDNAM files
• Amend the list of known video file extensions

New in v3.5.380

• Several vital bugfixes
• Bugfix for crashing when considering whether a directory called "midi" or "mid" might be a MIDI file
• Clarify Audio/Video import options
• Bugfix for black-frame generation when exporting video
• Add option to display the mixer in fullscreen
• Generic MIDI control now correctly handles log-scaled parameters (fixes #5890)
• Bugfix for -d (disable all plugins) argument
• Remove all explicit use of the gio library

New in v3.5.357

• Bugfix for major error with file naming that could lead to sources no longer be listed in the session file
• Bugfix for crash during stem exports
• Bugfix for crash when removing synth from a MIDI track with bypassed plugins
• Bugfix for routing display for mono synths and midi tracks without instruments
• Properly support touch-sensing on Mackie Control devices
• Correct automation recording from Mackie Control devices
• Adding automation control points with the mouse now defaults to just adding the point without "guards" to retain line shape.
• Bugfix for meter(s) when mixer-strip is switched to AuxSend
• Bugfix for a timing problem with Mackie Control device discovery that could lead to the device not being present as Ardour starts up
• Expand directories searched for native Linux VST plugins
• Update LV2 event extension support
• Change use of word "Direction" to "Azimuth" for VBAP panner
• Bugfix for issues with panners when a splitting plugin is added
• Bugfix for panner issues with monitor section
• Correct the default key binding for "previous snap choice" (3)

New in v3.5.308

• New visualization of signal flow within tracks and busses
• Improved panning
• Improved import and auditioning
• Various bugfixes and other enhancements.

New in v3.5.74

• Unify editor + mixer ordering.
• Double click to edit rename parameters
• Various bugfixes

New in v3.5

• Workflow improvements
• Improved startup, session loading
• Video range export.

New in v3.4

• 7 new meter types: DIN, EBU, Nordic, BBC, VU, K14 and K20 (total meter types now stands at 9)
• Optional master bus meter now available in transport bar
• MIDI data is now forwarded "around" plugins with no MIDI output/input
• Added CAF to support audio file formats for export
• Various other bugfixes and improvements.

New in v3.3

• Improved metering visuals
• New Meterbridge window
• Improved interaction with Freesound sound samples
• Other GUI changes
• Various bugfixes

New in v3.2

• Now supports video
• Chain together LV2 plugins that accept and output MIDI data
• OSC access to send gain parameters
• Overhauled window management (layering and related issues) to work better on both platforms and with more window managers
• horizontal scrolling of the timeline is now done with shift-wheel and track height adjustment is done using alt-wheel (matches OS X conventions)
• German and French translations improved
• Allow a pre-existing selection to override region grouping if the clicked-on region is part of that selection
• Plugin editing improved

New in v3.1.10

• Bugfix for missing translations

New in v3

• MIDI recording, playback and editing
• LV2, VST and AU instrument plug-ins support
• Choose the number of processors for DSP operations and other operations in the DAW
• Matrix for routing/patching ; menus are still available for setting the I/O
• Multichannel and multi-format file export
• New Monitor section
• Track/bus groups extended
• Enhanced send control
• Phase inversion buttons visible for every channel
• Enhanced Solo Operation with Solo Isolate and AFL/PFL modes
• Improved audio edition (regions, automation, non-overlapping recording...)
• New GUI with session overview, extended region and track/bus lists, etc.
• Improved Mackie Control support
• Ability to dynamically change the disk buffer size

New in v3 Beta5

• New Functionality and Changes
• Some changes on the interface behavior
• MIDI bugfixes
• Supports Generic MIDI control surface
• Supports Mackie Control
• MIDNAM, Plugin preset & Program Changes
• Various build and coding bugfixes
• Updated Russian and Spanish translations.

New in v3 Beta3

• Linux "native" VST support
• Give route groups their own colors
• Allow route groups to color their tracks
• Add option to insert time on all a track's playlists
• Option to glue new markers to bars and beats
• Implement invert selection for MIDI notes
• Add Selection-by-note-range for MIDI notes
• Add session option "MIDI-region-copy-is-fork". If set, all MIDI region copies will be independent from each other; settable via Session->Properties->Misc
• Offer explicit monitoring choices, so that tracks can be forced to monitor their inputs (and more)
• Auto-connect new track/bus inputs to physical ports is now the default
• Auto-connect new track/bus outputs to the master bus is now the default
• Experimental, incomplete reimplementation of Freesound browser
• Add option to have track/bus selection linked between the editor and mixer windows
• GUI improvements
• Bugfixes

New in v2.8.12

• Linux binary packages (for all versions of Linux on x86 or x86_64 processors)
• Alignment correction of recorded audio
• Open session files directly through Ardour
• Merge mono files
• Some changes to automation data recording
• Remove unnecessary control points in automation data as it is recorded
• Allow timecode to skip forwards or backwards or even loop while recording automation
• New route groups are turned "on" at creation
• F4 is now bound to the real action, not the separate sub-menu (ergnomic bindings)
• Removed unimplemented rhythm ferret options in A2
• Common operations in the range menu are now easily accessible.
• Bugfixes and crash fixes