When comparing MOTU Digital Performer vs Ardour, the Slant community recommends MOTU Digital Performer for most people. In the question“What are the best DAWs? ” MOTU Digital Performer is ranked 6th while Ardour is ranked 15th. The most important reason people chose MOTU Digital Performer is:
You can change themes and waveform and meter colors.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Customizable UI
You can change themes and waveform and meter colors.
Pro 64 bit compatibility
Digital Performer 8 does away with low RAM limits by including 64 bit compatibility.
Pro Stable DAW
Pro Easy to learn
Easy to learn with the included videos on the websites.
Pro Comprehensive MIDI and audio editors
Pro Multiple sequences
You can have multiple sequences for variant ideas.
Pro MIDI friendly
Pro Unlimited tracks
Pro Easy to use
All clear and easy, yet a powerful DAW.
Pro VST3 Support
Pro Easy to install
Pro Pitch correction
Correct audio like in Melodyne.
Pro Support for 32- and 64-bit floating point sound files
Pro Advanced film scoring capabilities
Equipped with tools and film scoring features.
Pro Nano Sampler 2.0
Great Sampler for more audio editing.
Pro MPE Support
MIDI Polyphonic Expression. Good For recording multi-channel output from an MPE controller.
Pro Beat Detection Engine 2.0
Pro ZTX PRO technology
Speeding up or transposing audio material of any kind.
Pro DP training webinars
You can become a DP expert software user.
Pro Live Performance Mode
Good for live performance.
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 Clunky a bit
Con A bit expensive
Costs $500 for both box and download version.
Con Not so great support
Con Substandard audio stretching
DP 8 supports audio stretching, but the quality often doesn't remain after the sound has been modified.
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).
