DAW software for Linux? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 2 months ago by ayyo@sh.itjust.works to c/linux@lemmy.ml

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Currently looking for a good DAW to run on Linux. I used Ableton Live 11 Standard back on Windows, got it running decently on Fedora with Wine, but kind of want to explore some other options.

Before I used Live, LMMS was actually what I used first while I was learning. I never did anything too real with it so I'm not honestly too sure what it's capable of, but it also seems to be abandonware? Hasn't been updated since 2020, what's that about?

I'm not 100% dead set on using FOSS btw, for this anyways. It would definitely be a plus, but i'll use proprietary if it runs well on Linux and is good at what it does. Are there any other options I should check out or look into? I've heard pretty good things about ardour and bitwig but don't know too much about them.

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[-] KindaABigDyl@programming.dev 27 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

I like Ardour. It's got everything you need. It's what I've been using for the past couple years now. It even supports VST2/VST3 plugins through WINE

I also recommend using yabridge to set up Windows plugins to work on Linux, but be warned there is risk of compatibility issues with plugins on Linux when buying new ones!

EDIT - Resources:

Ardour website - https://ardour.org/
- Recommend installing from your package manager tho
Yabridge tool - https://github.com/robbert-vdh/yabridge
A few plugins that work:
- Drum kit plugin I like (free) - https://www.powerdrumkit.com/
- Voxengo SPAN (Frequency Analyzer, also free) - https://www.voxengo.com/product/span/
- Luciano Dato's Noise-Repellant (free) - https://github.com/lucianodato/noise-repellent
- Typically use the built in LPF/HPF, Graph Eq, Reverb, and Compressor plugins. They work great

Wait a little while and low key Audacity 4 might release a fully capable DAW as well now that it's adding better clip support, plugin support, non-destructive editing for some effects like compression, reverb, etc. Of course, it will be mainly for if you do a lot of recording. For electronic, Ardour would probably be better even after Audacity 4 releases.

this post was submitted on 29 Oct 2025

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