Acid Pro 7 vs Ardour
When comparing Acid Pro 7 vs Ardour, the Slant community recommends Ardour for most people. In the question“What are the best DAWs? ” Ardour is ranked 15th while Acid Pro 7 is ranked 18th. The most important reason people chose Ardour is:
Ardour is cross-platform and works on Windows & macOS.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Ideal for LOOP or SAMPLE based music
Pro Supports multi-track recording
Multi-track recording is an option provided by Acid Pro 7 that can be especially beneficial for live performances. Each instrument can be recorded live with its own effects and input monitoring.
Pro Zoom function changes the size of all tracks simultaneously
Resizing is easy with Acid Pro 7, and can be done to every track at the same time with one master slider.
Pro It does not get any easier than this if you're an absolute beginner
Pro Freezes MIDI to WAV and can revert WAV to MIDI
In order to reduce CPU load, Acid Pro 7 offers the ability to bounce clips to WAV. This DAW stands out by letting users revert back to MIDI if further editing is required.
Pro Compatible with Linux, Windows 7/8.1/10 and macOS
Ardour is cross-platform and works on Windows & macOS.
Pro Open source
Ardour is open source, so it can be downloaded and modified without restriction.
Pro Free version with minimal limitations
Unlike some other DAW's which often limit saving, exporting, or advanced features, Ardour permits you to try all the features for free, with the only limitation being ten minutes of project length maximum.
Demo.
Pro Multi-display support
Pro Linux version has JACK support
On Linux, you can use JACK to freely route audio and MIDI to and from other software as hardware.
Pro Clean linear interface
Pro Inline mixing console
You can view and edit plugins directly from the console's mixing channels.
Pro LADSPA plugins support
Pro LV2 plugins support
Pro VST3 Support in version 6+
Pro Powerful routing
Thanks to JACK support, and the inclusion of built in tools, the routing options of Ardour are limitless.
Pro Excellent support community
Cons
Con PC only
Acid Pro 7 is not compatible with Mac.
Con Soon to be discontinued, no updates, MAGIX doesn't seem to care
Con Proprietary
No source code.
Con 32-bit only
Acid Pro 7 is 32-bit only and cannot use 64-bit plugins. This also limits the size of a project.
Version 10 is 64-bit
Con Too many plugins
It is hard to find good useful plugins. It looks like every developer's plugin has ended up in the list.
Con No support for VST plugins for OS X
Plugins can be used on OS X only if they are downloaded in AU format, which is supported.
Con Builds are paid
Pre-built releases are paid and the only way to get the program for free is to build it yourself.
Con Quirky UI and navigation
Con Not user friendly
Ardour can be difficult and unconventional to use.
Con Relies on JACK
The Linux version relies on JACK to function correctly, and JACK is extremely difficult to install and configure. Ardour should have JACK support, but it should also connect directly and play audio on its own by default.
Con No 'scenes'
Ardour doesn't have 'scenes' like Ableton does (would be very handy for live-preformances).