Editing Ardour (software) (section)

== Features ==

=== Recording ===
Ardour's recording abilities are limited by only the hardware it is run on; there are no built-in limits on the number of tracks the user can record to. When recording on top of existing media, it can perform [[Latency (audio)|latency]] compensation, positioning recorded material where it was intended to be when recording it. Monitoring options include self-monitoring, external hardware support (dependent on [[sound card]] support), and specialized hardware support (e.g. [[JACK Audio Connection Kit]]). Self-monitoring makes it possible to apply [[Plug-in (computing)|plug-in]] effects while recording. Using the JACK audio, Ardour can record concurrently from both the audio card and compatible software.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://prokoudine.github.io/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/starting-ardour/|title=Starting Ardour :: Ardour Tutorial}}</ref>

=== Mixing ===
Ardour supports an arbitrary number of tracks and buses through an "anything to anywhere" routing system. All [[Gain (electronics)|gain]], [[Panning (audio)|panning]] and plug-in parameters can be automated. All sample data is mixed and maintained internally in [[32-bit computing|32-bit]] [[Floating-point arithmetic|floating point]] format.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.macworld.co.uk/review/audio-music/ardour-review-3297941/|title=Ardour review|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200216174136/https://www.macworld.co.uk/review/audio-music/ardour-review-3297941/|archive-date=2020-02-16|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Editing ===
Ardour supports dragging, trimming, splitting and time-stretching recorded regions with sample-level resolution, and supports layer regions. It includes a [[Crossfade (audio engineering)|crossfade]] editor and [[beat detection]], unlimited undo/redo, and a "snapshot" feature for saving the current state of a session to a file.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://manual.ardour.org/working-with-sessions/snapshots/|title=The Ardour Manual - Snapshots|access-date=2025-01-06|archive-date=2024-06-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240603062337/https://manual.ardour.org/working-with-sessions/snapshots/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Mastering ===
Ardour can be used as an [[audio mastering]] environment. Its integration with the [[JACK Audio Connection Kit]] makes it possible to use mastering tools such as JAMin. Its mixer's output can be sent to third-party audio processing software for processing and/or recording. It can also export [[Table of contents|TOC]] and [[Cue sheet (computing)|CUE]] files for creating [[Red Book (audio CD standard)|audio CD]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://manual.ardour.org/exporting/edit-export-format-profile/#create-toc-cue-chapter-mark-file|title=The Ardour Manual - Export Format Profiles|access-date=2025-01-06|archive-date=2024-11-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241114160425/https://manual.ardour.org/exporting/edit-export-format-profile/#create-toc-cue-chapter-mark-file|url-status=live}}</ref>