Ardour

Free
Open Source
Linux
Mac
Windows
Github

Ardour Alternatives

20
Options
Considered
2021-11-18
Last
Updated

#1 Audio repeater

Freemium
Proprietary
Windows

Audio Repeater is a low latency multi-channel audio streaming solution for Windows. This allows audio to be transmitted between two devices in real-time. It can also add effects to the audio while streaming. The most important feature of Audio Repeater Pro is that you don’t need to use virtual cable software. You can capture audio from any audio playback device, and this does not require the device to be a virtual audio device. The program can efficiently work on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, and Windows 11.

The salient features of the platform include Low latency audio streaming, Multi-channel streaming, capture from rendering devices, Supports VST/Audio Effect plugins, Auto detects the clock drift of the device, Can be used as a real-time effect processor, Efficient and low CPU usage, Can run in the background, Utilises the raw power of native C++, and Made for broadcasters & gamers.

#2 Cubase

Paid
Proprietary
Windows
Online
Mac

Cubase is a sort of digital audio workstation by Steinberg that enables you to record, edit and arrange music or musical instrument digital interfaces or MIDIs. The program is widely used to process audio signals coming from the MIDI and the external sound source. It contains several features to help you in composing music like guitar and piano. You can enter chords through automatic sound detection or by manual insertion. The platform helps you to monitor the chord changes and to automatically harmonize the audio and MIDI tracks. It is a valid and reliable sequencing tool that can quickly edit clips while recording.

The main features of the platform include Archiving & Retention, Audio Capture, Audio Editor, Audio Manipulation, Audio Mixing, Audio Recording, Collaboration Tools, Configurable Workflow, Data Import/Export, File Management, Instrument Management, Media Library, Multimedia Support, Multiple Projects, Plug-in Integration, Project Management, Project Tracking, Project Workflow, Projections, Score Editor, User Management, Video Editing, Video Management, Video Support, and Workflow Management

#3 LMMS

Free
Open Source
Windows
Online
Github
FreeBSD
Linux
Mac
Portableapps.com

Linux MultiMedia Studio (LMMS) is a music creation tool that enables you to create music from scratch using an intuitive and comprehensive interface that contains many features and also supports MIDI keyboards and other specialized equipment. The main thing that catches your attention in the program is the number of windows of all the necessary music creation tools that can be open at the same time.

The advantage of this is that depending on what you are trying to create (beat, bass, or simple melody ), you may have more or fewer windows open. The platform includes various keyboards for sounds and effects that you can play with while making music. These keyboards can be controlled either manually or with a dedicated MIDI keyboard. Although, obviously, you can also import any OGG or WAV file and work with it in any of the interface windows.

#4 Sound Forge

Paid
Proprietary
Online
Mac
Windows

Sound forge is a simple and easy-to-use application that lets you record and edit audio. The platform is devoted to establishing new standards in the field of digital audio editing. The tool is widely used by producers and musicians worldwide. It is a powerful editing tool that contains profound editing tools that provides crystal clear sound quality. For artists, sound engineers, and producers this is the best utility for creating audios with exceptional audio quality.

It is a comprehensive tool to edit all types of audio files and contains everything which your need to record and edit songs with professional effects. The main features of the platform include remote recording, instant actions, windows context menu improvements, loudness normalization, audiobooks for audible, mastering, 32 channel audio recording, editing & processing, VST engine & ARA2 support, record at 64-bit/768 kHz, numerous audio effects, plugins for sound design, and much more.

#5 Reason

Freemium
Proprietary
Windows
iPhone
iPad

Reason is an application that enables you to record, create and edit audio and music. The application is widely used by producers, artists, and musicians worldwide to edit their music. On this platform, you can combine the sounds of different musical instruments, effects, and other devices to generate a creative sound design for your playground.

The platform is turning the music lover and the people who can only dream for professional music into music makers and composers and invigorating them to keep moving in this direction. As the creator of the Reason tools, music creation software, plugins, and apps platform, the platform has inspired millions of users around the world to immerse themselves in the pleasure of serious music creation.

#6 PreSonus Studio One

Paid
Proprietary
SaaS

Studio One by PreSonus is a digital audio editing and application that enables you to record, create, mix, and master your music and other sorts of audio. The platform is available for macOS and Windows. You can drag and drop audio files on the platform because it has a multi-touch interface that also provides support for multiple screens. You can simultaneously export one or more songs on this platform and contains tools for managing and mastering the metadata.

It is an intuitive application that provides embedded tools to fly you from initial inspiration to the mastered production. The main features of the platform include studio one professional, studio one artist, studio one prime, upgrade from prime to the artist, latest editions, mixing, composing, production, sequencing, live performance, mastering, audio editing, virtual instruments, effects, content samples, loops, and much more.

#7 REAPER

Freemium
Proprietary
Linux
Mac
Windows

Reaper is a comprehensive digital audio workstation that contains tools for MIDI and full multitrack audio recording, processing, editing, and mixing. The fully-featured and best-renowned stability of the application provides a basis for using digital audio. The platform is fast and well coded which can be run and installed from a portable network drive.

With entire multichannel support, it ensures powerful MIDI and audio routing. The platform can support thousands of third-party plugins their effects and virtual instruments. At any sample rate and bit depth, you can render and record many media formats with the processing of the 64-bit internal audio. The platform provides extreme MIDI software and hardware support.

#8 Soundation Studio

Paid
Proprietary
SaaS
Chrome

Soundation Studio is a comprehensive and powerful music tool that enables musicians, artists, composers, and sound engineers to create music in their browsers. The tool contains many features that will be available in expensive desktop applications. The platform’s goal is to bring these features to life through a powerful, intuitive, and easy-to-use interface anywhere and anytime.

This allows users to collaborate with anyone on its platform and create stunning beats with professional-quality music filters. The application comes with over 20,000 mix-ready bass lines, drums, and melodies in a library. It has different kits such as a dubstep kit, an EDM kit, a hip hop kit, a drum and bass kit, and an electronic kit.

#9 Playthrough

Free
Open Source
Online
Windows

Playthrough is a small and versatile application that enables you to route any incoming audio file to another sound card output. It is a digital audio editing application that lets you create, record, mix and enhance your music and other types of audio. You can drag and drop audio files to the platform because it has a multi-touch interface that also provides multi-screen support.

You can export one or more songs at the same time to this platform. It also contains tools for managing and processing metadata. It is an intuitive application that provides built-in tools to guide you from initial inspiration to mastered production. The salient features of the platform include audio recording, virtual audio cable, sound drivers, mix music, connecting audio streams, virtual mixer, API, voiceover, low latency, support for MIDI, multi-channel, autostart, virtual audio device, advanced volume mixing, audio editing, and much more.

#10 AudioTool

Free
Proprietary
Online
Chrome

Audiotool is a browser-based music creation tool that enables you to create music, collaborate and add remix to the tracks with ease in real-time. The platform contains an extensive sample library where you can find samples of music and sound effects that you can include in any track for editing and making it more joyful for the target audience. Through this platform, you can browse popular songs and music online and start editing the tracks.

All your editings are stored in a cloud-based infrastructure that means you have access to your work from any platform across the internet. This enables international collaborations possible without the need for hardware or software compatibility. The salient features of the platform include modular structure, samples & presets, cloud production, instruments, mixing & routing, master output, centroid, audio track, slitter, merger, crossfader, mini mixer, auto filter, graphical EQ, Hasselbeck, stereo enhancer, stompboxes, and much more.

#11 Bitwig Studio

Paid
Proprietary
Linux
Mac
Windows
Online

Bitwig Studio is an online audio workstation that is a sort of modern music production built for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It is a comprehensive solution for sound design, live performance, recording, and contains several creative tools with embedded effects. The platform is flexible and has a modular structure through which you can enjoy top-class sound content.

You can integrate hardware in the application for gaining unique experiences these include latency compensation, note timing, and MIDI handling. For sound designers, it has grid features that enable them to create alluring tracks from the scratch. It is modulation heaven for designers that enables them to utilize macro controls to modulate any connected device or hardware. The main features of the platform include hardware integration, enter the grid, sampler, bitwig studio, and much more.

#12 Orb Composer S

Discontinued
Paid
Proprietary
Windows
Online
Mac

Orb Composer is a fast, and comprehensive software based on artificial intelligence that enables you to compose music with ease. The platform contains modules that aid in several audio operations that include giving unique ideas, arranging instruments, generating accurate music design, and playing for missing instruments. The unique capabilities and features of the platform enables you to create alluring music in little time. It is the latest artificial intelligence platform for music that offers fast and intuitive music composition.

It has an embedded MIDI editor that helps you to control every step of your creation. You can create complete songs in a short time by importing your own MIDI files. For better performance and results, it contains a chord progression engine that is completely redesigned and improved. The salient features of the platform include composing music at a higher level, audio export, DAW integration, orchestration ideas, new chord progression, instruments combinations, creativity strengthening, saves time for deadlines, friendly workspace different bar items, import melody, and much more.

#13 Song Surgeon

Paid
Proprietary
Windows
Online
Mac

Song Surgeon is a profound audio workstation that allows you to slow down audio files and convert them to several file formats along with custom loop creation. It is a comprehensive software utility designed to provide you with a diverse set of instruments that you can use on your music files to change their tempo, pitch, or scale. In addition, you can also play them and view their base waveform, as well as control the overall volume, slow down the playback speed, and mute individual audio channels.

The cycle creation utility, on the other hand, only allows you to edit a portion of the document by manually selecting the section you want to control. Once selected, you can change the pitch and tempo, choose your preferred EQ settings, and adjust the playback options. In addition, you can enter an individual label for each created cycle to distinguish between them.

#14 LoopLabs

Free
Proprietary
SaaS

Looplabs is a comprehensive and cloud-based music or audio workstation that enables you to create, edit, and share your music. Unlike the other music creation software, the platform is designed to create music from the ground and enables you to collaborate and make music with other people on the platform. You can easily collaborate on any track and start making chats with friends and lovers of music. As the platform is cloud-based, you can create your soundtracks from any device no matter wherever you are. Regardless of ability and skills, you can make high-quality music with this intuitive application.

The salient features of the platform include music composer, mixing, piano roll, audio recording, support for VST plugins, audio editing, MIDI keyboard input, live performance, virtual instruments, sound effects, voice recording, web-based platform, drag and drop feature, works offline, online collaboration, real-time collaboration, record tracks, send audio from PC to Android, scalable UI, and much more.

#15 Bespoke Synth

Free
Open Source
Linux
Mac
Windows
Online
Github

Bespoke Synth is a modular synthesizer with modules, which you can connect together to create sounds, and now open source. It was originally designed as a commercial product by Australian musician Paul Haines. Each of its modules allows you to do different things: filters, oscillators, effects processors, and many others. You can create an infinitely large number of custom sounds, and any sound you make is yours to keep forever.

The interesting function of this platform includes it containing a modulation matrix, making you store all the routing information that’s needed to control your modules with MIDI messages. The matrix is one of the most important parts of Bespoke, because it’s where you route everything; each sequence is a set of notes, each with its own settings. You can use the same sequence multiple times or create different ones altogether. With the help of its microsequencer, it lets you create single-shot patterns with individual triggers on the Mod Matrix or Programs editor.

#16 Seq66

Free
Open Source
Linux
Windows
Github
Online

Seq66 is an open-source program that is specially designed for expert musicians, enabling them to perform interesting music functionalities during the live performance and album recording. The main characteristics of this platform include output MIDI clock data for use in other applications, hardware synths or synchronizing your Ableton Live set, used as a traditional clip-based MIDI sequencer and live-lopper, you select a ‘patch,’ then specify the sequence of sound events up to sixteen that will be sent when you trigger the patch. You can also use the grid as a live recording device by manually selecting which notes will play during playback and specifying their length, e.g., playing back one note for an entire bar.

The grid has sixteen buttons, and each button can trigger one or more notes. The first row of eight buttons is used to select a patch: each button selects one of eight patches, and the selected patch is displayed on the LCD screen. The second row of four buttons is used to set the length of individual notes. If you press a note-length button while that row’s program name is displayed on the LCD, then that note’s durations will be controlled by that row’s buttons.

#17 Non DAW Studio

Free
Open Source
Linux
Online

Non DAW Studio is cost-effective software that is used by both professionals and amateurs for recording, mixing, and converting audio files. Unlike other audio editing software, this one is non-destructive and non-linear. Recording, arranging, and editing audio files with Non DAW Studio can give a musician a lot of flexibility when it comes to recording audio files.

The main function of this platform includes taking photos without leaving any marks, performing many necessary functions like recording, editing, rearranging audio clips in multiple tracks simultaneously, also easily import audio clips from external data in multiple formats like WAV, AIF, OFR, MP3, OGG, FLAC to edit with on the timeline. Its file format specification is highly advanced and supports importing various audio formats and exporting to various formats such as MP3. Audio files are played from top to bottom, so you can have a better sense of time when mastering your song. The program also links all audio data, including any additional tracks that you add, into one single file. This allows you to speed up or slow down an entire song without having to alter the pitch of individual tracks.

#18 Seq24

Free
Proprietary
Online

Seq24 is a minimal loop-based MIDI sequencer that provides you an opportunity to edit your music projects in an appropriate manner. The main characteristic of this software includes operating events when the operations have started or ended, playing the source multimedia files from inside the program with a visualization, setting many features such as the look of the program, the destination or file names patterns, and many others.

Seq24 facilitates you to apply plugin delay compensation to all parts of the audio graph and add servals various effect like virtual instruments, multiband compressor, modulators, and many more Another noticeable function are to display audio data waveform like Zoom Full, Zoom In, Zoom Out, Zoom Vertical, open CD tracks for editing and format conversion and many others. Through its advanced music controller, it entitles you to control the speed of the music or adjust audio in the background of any video for making memes.

#19 Stargate

Free
Open Source
Linux
Windows
Github
Online

Stargate is one of the power audio workstations that comes with the efficient pattern-based workflow, enabling the musicians to produce stand-out music without any disturbance. The highlighted function of this platform is that it acts as a normal multi-tracker, enabling professional musicians to easily mix & record audio without any hassle. It deals with some interesting functions like Audio and MIDI multitrack, Automate pitch, velocity, effects, and tempo, granular synthesis, smooth scrolling, optional piano roll, global swing, swing-per-track, modular mixer & mixer strips, MIDI sequencing, and many more.

The adorable function of this tool includes applying different filters such as Brand Pass Filter, High Pass Filter, Low Pass Filter, High Shelf Filter, Low Shelf Filter, Notch Filter, FFT Filter to any selected portion of audio files, apply various effects having Amplify, Compressor, Delay, Equalize, Invert, Normalize, Phaser, Reverb, Reverse, Fade In, Fade Out, Flanger, Silence, Shrink, Stretch, Vibrato, and more, edit audio files visually like Cut, Copy, Delete Selection, Delete Silence, Paste, Paste, Mix, Mix From File and others.

#20 Radium

Paid
Proprietary
Linux
Mac
Windows
Online

Radium is one of the classical audio tools that allow you to design or manage complex musical projects and edit any type of music file with a single click. The key feature of this platform is that when you are performing editing on any music file, it offers you a chance to copy, cut, paste and mix any portion of audio files. It empowers you to add top-trending sound effects like Amplify, Fade In, Fade Out, Delay, Reverse, Noise Reduction, and many others.

Before performing any operation, it displays the list of audio & video formats in which you want to convert, like AAC, APE, MP2, MP3, Vorbis OGG, ACM WAV, PCM WAV, WMA, and more, along with supported direct audio editing. Through its advanced music controller, it entitles you to control the speed of the music or adjust audio in the background of any video for making memes. It persuades you to download the edited files on the main screen of your PC and permits you to share files on many social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube without any hurdle.