Thanks for the compliments.

However, in this particular case, I'd beg to differ. Reaper is available at low cost, and is at least as malleable for regular users as any FLOSS project, if not more so. Other proprietary DAWs are also available at low cost these days, and even if they do not offer "learn C++, figure out the build system, understand multithreaded realtime programming, and you can make it do ANYTHING!", they typically offer a huge amount of configurability. Adding control surface support to many (most?) proprietary DAWs is *much* easier for an average user than it is in the case of Ardour.

Basically, what I'm saying is: love FLOSS software because it works for you, and (if applicable) because you love software freedom. If it is truly superior to proprietary software, then by all means say so (loudly!), but let's never forget that most music production software is written by people just as enthusiastic as anyone in this community about creating truly useful and excellent tools. They just chose a different licensing model ....

On Sat, Feb 13, 2021 at 7:19 PM Sam Kuper <sampablokuper@posteo.net> wrote:

On Sat, Feb 13, 2021 at 06:36:27PM -0700, Paul Davis wrote:
>> Back when I used proprietary software, I frequently found the major
>> DAWs unergonomic. Partly that was due to the license/upgrade cycle,
>> but often the problem was the UI or the developers' assumptions about
>> users' workflows.
>
> As the author of a non-proprietary DAW, I'd just like to note that the
> issues caused by "developer's assumptions about users' workflows"
> isn't a function of software being proprietary (or not).
>
> It's been nearly a decade or more since I fully gave up on the idea
> that Ardour could (one day) be a DAW for everyone. There is no DAW for
> everyone. Individual's actual needs and workflow, as well as their
> imagined needs and workflows, vary dramatically, and it's not possible
> to create music production software, proprietary or otherwise, that
> can answer all those use cases.

In case it helps: my (limited) experience with Ardour has been positive!

I'm in the process of shortlisting DAWs and workflows, and Ardour is on
the shortlist.

You are totally right that different users have different needs, and no
single piece of software is likely to be right for everyone.

But in the proprietary world, the level of lock-in can be so high that
there is an extra-strong incentive to persevere with even a very
frustrating piece of software.

In the libre world, there is much more freedom, as a user, both to try
different pieces of software, and to modify that software if needed,
until the user finds a set-up that suits them.

Thank you for making Ardour, and for making it Libre!

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