List Of Open Source Music Production Software

Software list

Here is list of open source software useful in producing music:

• Rosegarden is the equivalent of Cubase, Cakewalk, Sonar, Finale … It is also more powerful and configurable, and it’s free.
• Ardour is a recording studio, very very powerful. It is truly extraordinary for audio recording.
• Audacity is an excellent audio editor, also available for Windows. Does not support Jack.
• Qtractor is like Ardour. If you like it use it.
• Bristol is an emulator for all the wonderful sounds of all different Moog (and more)
• Nekobee is a nice emulator for Roland TB-303
• Jokosher is more or less the same thing as Audacity, but has nicer interface for gnome, very very user-friendly and does not exist for Windows. It seems like Ardour, but does not support Jack.
• Sweep is another audio editor, not multi-track. It can be convenient because it is very simple.
• Rezound is another non-multi-track audio editor, simple and colorful. I use it as default for editing audio tracks in Rosegarden.
• Gmorgan allows you to capture audio “live” from an external keyboard while the computer shoots out an arrangement with the style you want. Also useful as arranger style like Band In a Box.
• Qsynth is a program that allows you to take the sounds of instruments and use them with effects and volume, turning a sound file of musical instruments in a rack module emulated by software. Essentially, it’s the same as my Korg. Even if you have a rack module or a cool keyboard full of sound, install Qsynth anyway , it is always useful, and doesn’t do just that, does a thousand other wonderful things.
• Jackd is the heart of everything and is a patch bay, that is, a program that shows you all the entries and exits of all the programs you have loaded and the sound card that you can connect graphically . That is, it’s like a little box that connects all the cables from your instrument, with combinations done like a mad scientist (Actually by a mad musician): the dream of every musician …
• Qjackctl is a graphical interface to jackd
• Hexter is a VST, which is the software imitation of a device that produce particular sounds. In this case, the perfect imitation of the Yamaha DX7, that mythical ’80s keyboard that has become famous for the sound of “The Final Countdown” of Europe and “Jump” by Van Halen, but in general it’s both cool and absurd having it available because all the music of the 80s and early 90s used the sounds of this keyboard.
• Xsynth-dssi is another VST that will mimic a perfect machine for electronic music, just like the old Moog, with hundreds of knobs to try out new sounds, and quite a few ‘ready-made’ sound all really electronic. There is also a perfect imitator of theremin. A Legend.
• Flac is a codec (compression/decompression audio), widely used. Without installing it Rosegarden will also protest at startup.
• Lingot is a tuner for your guitar
• Hydrogen is a drum machine that, in strictly technical terms, kicks ass. Different drumkits are available for Hydrogen.
• Jack-rack allows you to make available some audio plugins. Similar to Dssi, but they are available for all applications and not just for Rosegarden
• CAPS is the king of these plugins (called LADSPA), because it’s the one that simulate in real time any kind of amplifier distortion. There are really good distortions of the tube, and with a little of patience you can get sound from your guitar as if you had a Vox AC-30-style Brit-pop or a Marshall metal.
• LMMS is the free and open source equivalent of Fruity Loops Studio (FL Studio).
• fluid-soundfont-gs is a bank of sounds.
• ZynAddSubFX is a synthesizer that, in highly technical language, kicks several asses.
• dssi-vst is a great plugin that allows you to upload several VST Windows
• Rakarrack : See Appendix G
• vocproc is a LV2 plugin, you need it to achieve effects like autotune.
• zynjacku is like Jack Rack but for LV2 plugins. You will find it as “Lv2rack”.

Linux distributions

Here is a list of Linux distributions that are specifically tailored for DJing and/or music production:

• 64 Studio - http://www.64studio.com/
• ArtistX - http://www.artistx.org/site3/
• AVLinux - http://www.bandshed.net/avlinux/
• Dream Studio - http://dream.dickmacinnis.com
• Ubuntu Studio - http://ubuntustudio.org/