On February 5, 2026, a new version of Ardour was released, a popular cross-platform digital audio workstation (DAW) with open-source code for GNU/Linux, macOS, and Windows systems. This is a major release, including much-anticipated features and numerous enhancements.
Ardour is written in C++ and is distributed under the GPL 2+ license.
Key Innovations
- Region FX: the ability to add a plugin (such as a delay) to an individual audio segment. The effect stays with the segment when moved and does not tax the CPU in real-time.
- Working with Clips:
- Recording in Clip Slots: Ardour can now be used as a looper — recording ideas directly into clip cells.
- Clip Editor: MIDI clips can be edited in their own piano roll window, similar to the main timeline.
- Piano Roll Windows: double-clicking on a MIDI segment opens it for editing in a separate window or panel.
- Pattern Creation Tools:
- Note Brushing: quickly drawing patterns (like hi-hats) by holding down the Shift key and using the mouse.
- MIDI Note Streaming: a new operator for creating arpeggio effects.
- Real-time Spectrum Analysis (Realtime Perceptual Analyzer): a new window for visualizing the spectrum of multiple tracks with overlay, helping to find frequency conflicts in the mix.
- Mixer Settings Export/Import: it is now possible to save presets for entire mixer strips (tracks, groups) and load them into other projects.
- Multi-touch Support: on Linux and Windows, the interface now responds to multi-touch gestures (with macOS support coming later).
Other Important Changes
- Updated Interface: the application panel, session creation dialog, and clip library manager have been redesigned.
- Editing Improvements: smarter management of the visible range of notes in MIDI, stretching volume envelopes with audio, improved step editor.
- New Default Format: RF64 is now the default format for recording (compatible with WAV but without file size limits).
- Numerous Bug Fixes and Optimizations, including MIDI handling, interface performance on macOS, and updates to integrations (Soundcloud, Freesound).
- Hundreds of Bug Fixes and minor interface improvements for more predictable operation.
- Update to Lua Scripting with new features for automation.
Ardour 9.0 significantly expands the creative toolkit for composers, arrangers, and sound engineers, offering a professional set of features for studio and live work, while remaining a free and open platform.
Source: linux.org.ru
