Getting started with Ardour (DAW)
Ardour is an open source DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). I tried to get it up and running ever since I started using Linux nearly a year ago, but each time I quit from frustration. I read much online explaining many of its capabilities, but found little about getting past the very first step - getting the sound to your speakers and doing something with it. Anything. Basic stuff.
With renewed plans to record and mix a new album that I call the Open Source Album Project, I decided to install Ubuntu Studio on an old desktop I had sitting around. If I could get Ardour to work, I’d have a pro quality DAW. I thought I would write about three things that were key to getting me started with Ardour. Once you get started, then you can build from there.
One - Start Jackd. Jackd is a sound “server”. Ardour needs it. It lets you connect many software bits and hardware bits (good) and tries to guess how you want stuff connected (good) but may not get it right. On my desktop there are two soundcards, Jackd may not pick the right one so you may have to do it manually. If any program is running, it can also prevent Jackd from being happy. So I boot up, and start Jackd without running any other sound application of any kind. I found this page of great value to setting up Jackd in Ubuntu.
Two - Test Output. How do you figure out if Jackd is working? I started Jackd, then opened Ardour, imported a wav file, and played it. I could see VU meters working, but had no sound. Play with the connection settings in Ardour and Jackd until it plays.
Three - Plugins. Most of what I read focused on hooking up Ardour to other stuff. But I couldn’t figure out how to do the simplest of things, like pan a channel until I saw up in the menu options: view > editor mixer and turned it on. Why this is not on by default baffles me. But the editor mixer appears with VU meters, volume, and pan controls for each channel. Click on a different track and that mixer appears. The REALLY COOL thing about it and Ubuntu Studio is all of the plugins that are loaded by default with Ubuntu Studio (I installed the latest, Jaunty). Click on the editor mixer and you can install from a HUGE list of plugins to control reverb, psudo stereo, EQ, tube amp emulation, guitar cabinet emulation, delay, compression, just to name a few. I’ve always worked “destructively” before. That is, edit each track adding reverb for example, then saving and mixing in. Ardour lets you process to your hearts content, but the original track is still there unaltered. In the “Window” menu, you can also bring up the mixer view, and all channels and the master will appear.
Unlike so many of the web pages I’ve read, Ardour isn’t “easy” in my opinion, meaning there is a learning curve. However, easy early learning curves usually result from reducing options and flexibility. Ardour is very full featured, and I like the look of the desktop. Once you get it to do a few of the most important things you need (compression, EQ, panning, volume) then it isn’t hard to use. And, so far, it has run quite well in my installation of Ubuntu Studio. For those that have never yet gotten Ardour working yet, these three steps should let you start making music in an evening.
- the MuseTags: Linux
