42 of the Best Free Linux Audio Software
There is an extensive amount of free audio software available
on the
Linux platform which is both mature and sophisticated. In fact, Linux
has all the tools needed to be a serious contender in music production
without a user having to venture into the commercial
software world.
To provide an insight into the quality of software that is
available,
we have compiled a list of 42 high quality Linux audio applications,
covering a broad range of different uses. Most of the titles included
here are
desktop applications sporting an attractive front-end, although we have
not forgotten console software.
We intend to examine audio programming languages (both text
and graphical based) in a future article, including the impressive
Csound. We also will cover the commercial Linux
audio scene in a later article. Software such as Transcribe!
(transcribe recorded music), MuSing (rhythm maker), energyXT2 (music
production) are likely to figure in that article.
It's worth mentioning that there are a number of Linux
distributions that specialise in
multimedia and digital content creation platforms. These include 64
Studio, DeMiDi, dyne:bolic
and Ubuntu Studio. Besides packaging and configuring audio
applications, these distros also typically
feature a kernel that has been modified for intensive audio work,
helping to reduce audio latency.
Now, let's explore the 42 audio applications at hand. For each
title we
have compiled its own portal page, providing a screenshot of the
software in action, a full description with an in-depth analysis of
its features, together with links to relevant resources and reviews.
| Audio Players / Music Managers |
| Audacious |
Semi-lightweight audio player with a WinAmp/XMMS-like
skinnable GUI |
| Amarok |
KDE
audio player offering a wealth of features, yet intuitive to
use |
| Banshee |
Music management and playback software for GNOME |
| BMPx |
Compact
media player, the successor
to the Beep Media Player |
| Exaile |
Music player aiming to be similar to KDE's Amarok, but
for GTK+ |
| JuK |
Jukebox
and music manager for the KDE desktop
|
| gmusicbrowser |
Jukebox for large collections of mp3/ogg/flac/mpc files |
| Listen |
Player
which helps you to organize your music collection |
| Quod
Libet |
Music
management program |
| Rhythmbox |
Integrated
music management application, originally inspired by Apple's
iTunes |
| Songbird |
Provides a uniquely open approach to Internet digital
media network services |
|
|
| Music Clients for the MPD (Music
Player
Daemon) |
| Ario |
GTK2 client |
| GMPC |
Optimised
to work on low end machines and over slow
networks |
| Sonata |
Lightweight GTK+ music client |
|
|
| Recording /
Editing |
| Audacity |
Digital audio editor
|
| Ardour |
Digital
audio workstation program |
| Jokosher |
Simple
yet powerful multi-track studio |
| Sweep |
Audio
editor and live playback tool |
| Traverso
DAW |
Multitrack audio recording and editing program |
|
|
| Composition & Music
Notation |
| LilyPond |
Produce musical scores that are engraved with
traditional layout rules |
| Rosegarden |
Sophisticated
MIDI (and audio) sequencer and notation editor |
| MuseScore |
Graphical WYSIWYG music score typesetter |
|
|
| DJ Tools |
| Mixxx |
Digital DJ system, for wave, ogg and mp3 files |
| terminatorX |
Realtime
audio synthesizer that allows you to "scratch" |
|
|
| Sequencers |
| Breakage |
Intelligent drum machine designed to play complex, live
breakbeat performances |
| MusE |
Qt-based
MIDI/audio sequencer |
| Qtractor |
Audio/MIDI multi-track sequencer written in C++ around
the
Qt4 toolkit |
| LMMS |
Alternative
to popular (but commercial) programs
like FL Studio, Cubase and Logic |
| Hydrogen |
Advanced drum machine |
| Seq24 |
Loop
based MIDI sequencer |
|
|
| Synthesizers & Samplers |
| Fluidsynth |
Real-time software synthesizer based on the SoundFont 2
specifications |
| Bristol |
Emulation
package
for a number of different 'classic' synthesisers |
| LinuxSampler |
Professional grade software audio sampler |
| SooperLooper |
Live
looping sampler |
|
|
| Tools |
| JAMin |
State-of-the-art realtime mastering processor
|
| Kid3 |
Edit
ID3v1 and ID3v2 tags in MP3 files in
an efficient way |
| Sonic
Visualiser |
Inspect and analyse the contents of music audio
files |
| Sound
Juicer |
Lean
CD ripper using GTK+ and GStreamer |
| Streamripper |
Records
shoutcast-compatible streams |
|
|
| Sound Servers / Daemons |
| JACK |
Low-latency audio
server daemon |
| MPD |
Allows
remote access for playing music and managing playlists |
| PulseAudio |
Networked sound server project |
Return to our complete collection of Group
Tests, identifying the finest Linux software.
Last Updated Tuesday, February 14 2012 @ 03:00 PM EST
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