Ardour DAW - Paul Davis - Evolution of the Open Source DAW - The Lorenzo's Music Podcast

by Tom Ray

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In the latest episode of our podcast, we delve deep into the world of digital audio workstations with Paul Davis, the creator of Ardour. With over 25 years of experience in software development, Paul shares his fascinating background from a musician seeking a Linux-compatible DAW to the mastermind behind one of the most robust open-source audio production tools available today.

The conversation kicks off with Paul discussing the origins of Ardour, which began as a personal project to create a music-making platform that could overcome the limitations of existing open source software. He reflects on the challenges he faced in the early days, including the complexities of audio recording and editing, and how the project evolved with the help of a dedicated user community.

We also talk about the upcoming features in Ardour version 9.0, including enhancements to MIDI setup and clip/cue recording, which will allow users to create and manipulate audio in a more dynamic way.

Key Takeaways

  1. Developing Ardour: Ardour was created out of a need for a usable digital audio workstation on Linux.
  2. Active Project: The development of Ardour has been going 25 years.
  3. Community feedback: The community is crucial for testing and improving open source projects like Ardour.
  4. New features: Paul has worked to improve live performance capabilities in Ardour.
  5. LUFS: LUFS specifications are now integrated into the export process for better streaming compatibility.
  6. Funding: The financial model of Ardour and how it allows for a more relaxed development pace.
  7. Future Release: Release 9.0 is going to bring significant improvements to the software.

Connect with Ardour

This episode was recorded on October 16, 2025. Special thanks to Paul Davis of Ardour for sharing his insights and experiences with me.

Listen to the full episode on your favorite podcast platform or watch the video above.