The Ardour Manual

Ardour Table of Contents

Part I: Introduction to Ardour

Ch. 1:  Welcome to Ardour

About Ardour's documentation

Ardour Overview

Why is it called Ardour?

Why Write a DAW for Linux?

Isn't This a Really Complicated Program?

Creating Music with Ardour

Additional Resources

Ch. 2:  Ardour Basics

Starting Ardour

Understanding Basic Concepts and Terminology

Using the Mouse

Basic GUI Operations

Ch. 3:  Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts

Default Keyboard Bindings

Mnemonic Bindings for Linux & Windows

Mnemonic Bindings for macOS

Part II: Ardour Configuration

Ch. 4:  Ardour Systems

The Right Computer System for Digital Audio

The Right Mouse

Ch. 5:  System Specific Setup

Ubuntu Linux

Microsoft Windows

KDE Plasma 5

Ch. 6:  I/O Setup

Connecting Audio and MIDI Devices

Using More Than One Audio Device

Monitor Setup in Ardour

Ch. 7:  Synchronization

On Clock and Time

Latency and Latency-Compensation

Timecode Generators and Slaves

Overview of all Timecode related settings

Ch. 8:  Preferences

Ch. 9:  Session Properties

Ch. 10:  Configuring MIDI

MIDI on Linux

MIDI on OS X

Part III: Ardour's Interface

Ch. 11:  Ardour's Interface Overview

Ch. 12:  Main Menu

The Session Menu

The Transport Menu

The Edit Menu

The Region Menu

The Track Menu

The View Menu

The Window Menu

The Help Menu

Ch. 13:  Status Bar

Ch. 14:  Transport Bar

Ch. 15:  Transport Clocks

Ch. 16:  Selection and Punch Clocks

Ch. 17:  Mini-Timeline

Ch. 18:  Other Toolbar Items

Ch. 19:  Toolbox

Ch. 20:  Controls

Zoom Controls

Grid Controls

Edit Point Control

Nudge Controls

Ch. 21:  Ruler

Ch. 22:  Summary

Ch. 23:  Editor Lists

The Region List

The Tracks and Busses List

The Snapshot List

The Track and Bus Group List

The Ranges and Marks Lists

Ch. 24:  Favorite Plugins Window

Ch. 25:  Strips list

Ch. 26:  Groups list

Ch. 27:  Mixer Strips

Audio/MIDI Mixer Strips

Audio/MIDI Busses Mixer Strips

VCA Mixer Strips

Master Bus Strip

Ch. 28:  Foldback Section

Ch. 29:  Editor Tracks

Audio Track Controls

MIDI Track Controls

Bus Controls

Ch. 30:  Track and Bus Groups

Ch. 31:  Monitor Section

Part IV: Sessions & Tracks

Ch. 32:  Sessions

What's in a Session?

Where Are Sessions Stored?

New/Open Session Dialog

Audio/MIDI Setup

Renaming a Session

Session Metadata

Session Templates

Snapshots

Cleaning Up Sessions

Backup and Sharing of Sessions

Ch. 33:  Tracks

Adding Tracks, Busses and VCAs

Track Types

Track Modes

Track Layering

Channel Configuration

Track Ordering

Track Color

Track Height

Waveform display

Track Context Menu

Part V: Playback

Ch. 34:  Controlling Playback

Ch. 35:  Using Key Bindings

Part VI: Recording

Ch. 36:  The Recorder

Ch. 37:  Monitoring

Ch. 38:  Latency Considerations

Ch. 39:  Monitor Signal Flow

Ch. 40:  Punch Recording Modes

Working With Markers

Creating Location Markers

Creating Range Markers

Moving Markers

The Loop Range

Marker Context Menu

Punch Range

Part VII: Importing and Exporting

Ch. 41:  Importing

Import Dialog

Supported File Formats

Adding Pre-existing Material

Copying Versus Linking

Searching for Files Using Tags

Ch. 42:  Exporting

Export Dialog

Export Format Profiles

Stem Exports

Interchange with other DAWs

Part VIII: Editing

Ch. 43:  Navigating the Editor

Ch. 44:  Editing Basics

Working With Regions

Region Naming

Corresponding Regions Selection

Region Context Menu

Common Region Edit Operations

Copy Regions

Move Regions With the Mouse

Align (Spot) Regions

Ch. 45:  Edit Mode and Tools

Editing Clocks

Which Regions Are Affected?

Ch. 46:  Making Selections

Ch. 47:  Editing Regions and Selections

Trimming Regions

Push/Pull Trimming

Stretching

Separate Under

Strip Silence from Audio Regions

Insert/Remove Time

Region Properties

Ch. 48:  Fades and Crossfades

Ch. 49:  Gain Envelopes

Ch. 50:  Playlists

Understanding Playlists

Playlist Operations

Playlist Usecases

Ch. 51:  Rhythm Ferret

Part IX: MIDI

Ch. 52:  MIDI Overview

Creating MIDI Tracks

Creating MIDI Regions

Ch. 53:  MIDI Editing

Adding New Notes

Handling Overlapping Notes

Note Selection

Note Cut, Copy and Paste

Changing Note Properties

Patch Change

Independent and Dependent MIDI Region Copies

Quantizing MIDI

Transposing MIDI

MIDI List Editor

Transforming MIDI—Mathematical Operations

Ch. 54:  MIDI Recording

Step Entry

The Virtual MIDI Keyboard

Ch. 55:  MIDI Automation

Pitch Bend & Aftertouch

MIDI Scene Automation

Ch. 56:  MIDI Tracer

Part X: Arranging

Ch. 57:  Time, Tempo and Meter

Tempo and Meter

Techniques for Working with Tempo and Meter

Part XI: Mixing

Ch. 58:  Basic Mixing

Metering in Ardour

Signal Routing

Aux Sends

Comparing Aux Sends and Subgroups

External Sends

Inserts

Subgrouping

Patchbay

Track/Bus Signal Flow

Sidechaining

Muting and Soloing

Panning

Mono Panner

Balance Control

Stereo Panner

VBAP Panner

Loudness Analyzer & Normalizer

Ch. 59:  Plugin and Hardware Inserts

Working With Plugins

Processor Box

Plugin Selector

Managing Plugin Presets

Working with Ardour-built Plugin Editors

Plugins Bundled With Ardour

Getting More Plugins

Using Windows VST Plugins on Linux

Ch. 60:  Automation

Automation Nomenclature

Automation States

Automation Lanes

Automation Curves

Automation Modes

Controlling a Track with Automation

Part XII: Video

Ch. 61:  Video Timeline and Monitoring

Ch. 62:  Video Timeline Setup

Ch. 63:  Transcoding, Formats & Codecs

Ch. 64:  Workflow & Operations

Part XIII: Control Surfaces

Ch. 65:  Controlling Ardour with OSC

Controlling Ardour with OSC

Using the Setup Dialog

Linking Surfaces

Querying Ardour

Feedback

Feedback and Strip-types Values

Jog Modes

Custom Strip Lists

Automation

Personal Monitoring Control

Parameter Types

Selection and Expansion Considerations

OSC control for Ardour 4.7 and Prior

Ch. 66:  Controlling Ardour with Mackie Control Devices

Devices Using Mackie/Logic Control Protocol

SSL Nucleus

Behringer Devices in Mackie/Logic Control Mode

What to do if your Device is not Listed

Working With Extenders

Ch. 67:  Generic MIDI

Generic MIDI Binding Maps

Generic MIDI Learn

Generic MIDI and Encoders

Ch. 68:  Using the PreSonus FaderPort

Ch. 69:  Using the PreSonus FaderPort 8

Ch. 70:  Using the Ableton Push 2

Part XIV: Scripting

Ch. 71:  Lua Scripting

Ch. 72:  Lua Bindings Class Reference

Part XV: Appendix

Ch. 73:  List of Menu Actions

Ch. 74:  Ardour Monitor Modes

Ch. 75:  Files and Directories Ardour Knows About

Ch. 76:  MIDI Notes Reference

Ch. 77:  MIDNAM Reference