Qtractor

Infobox Software
name = Qtractor



caption = Qtractor
developer = Rui Nuno Capela
latest_release_version = 0.2.2
latest_release_date = 5 October 2008
programming language = C++ QT4
operating system = Linux
language = English
genre = Digital audio workstation
license = GNU General Public License
website = http://qtractor.sourceforge.net/

Qtractor is a hard disk recorder and digital audio workstation application for Linux. Qtractor is written in C++ and is based around the QT4 library by Trolltech. Its author is Rui Nuno Capela, who is also responsible for the very widely used [http://qjackctl.sourceforge.net/ Qjackctl] , [http://qsynth.sourceforge.net/ Qsynth] and [http://qsampler.sourceforge.net/ Qsampler] line of Linux audio software. Qtractor's intention is to provide digital audio workstation software simple enough for the average home user, and yet powerful enough for the professional user.

Qtractor is currently under rapid development, and CVS versions are updated often with new features.

Released under the terms of the GNU General Public License, Qtractor is free software.

Introduction

Qtractor is a digital audio and MIDI multi-track composition and arranger software application. Besides its name, it should be noted, Qtractor is not a music “tracker” type of program. However, it has all the potential to do that job, if needed.

Qtractor is a non-destructive sequencer and arranger. It does not affect, alter or modify in any way, the audio and/or MIDI files that are displayed as Clip Objects. What is destructive are files resulting from capture and recording operations, and explicit changes made through specialized Clip editing (e.g., MIDI Editor).

Currently the Qtractor project is simply the hobby of one developer. Development was started April 2005, initially as a Qt3 application. Since October 2006, it is officially a Qt4 application.

Qtractor is natively hardwired and exclusive to the JACK Audio Connection Kit infrastructure, and the ALSA sequencer for MIDI, thus currently being a Linux-only application.

Features

Supports all sample rates only restricted by hardware.

Supports multiple audio file formats, both compressed and uncompressed, including older formats such as 8SVX and .iff.

Clip editing and automatic or manual Time Stretching abilities.

Supports most major audio and MIDI file formats and most Linux plugin technologies.

Clips, may be easily edited by simply dragging the left or right edges for cropping, or even for timeshifting, by using the shift key modifier.

Qtractor may be used in a audio mastering environment. Its integration with JACK makes it possible to use mastering tools such as JAMin to process the audio data.

Qtractor has both an audio and MIDI metronome with user selectable audio samples.

Easily move and copy plugins (with params) among tracks.

Keyboard commands (hotkeys) are entirely customizable.

Audition audio files within the Files dialog.

Built-in [http://qjackctl.sourceforge.net/ Qjackctl] Connections dialog.

Supports LADSPA, DSSI (this includes DSSI-VST wrapper) and Native Linux VST plugins (VST effects only presently).

Compatibility

Qtractor relies on plugins to enable many features from audio effects processing to dynamic control. Qtractor supports the LADSPA plugin architecture, as well as [http://dssi.sourceforge.net/ DSSI] and native VST. Support for Steinberg's VST plugin standard with Wine is available using the [http://dssi.sourceforge.net/download.html#dssi-vst DSSI-VST] wrapper. Qtractor "remembers" all these connections, and re-establishes them when a the Session project is reloaded.

As Qtractor is a free and open source software application; anyone can read and modify the source code of the program.

See also

* List of free audio software
* Linux audio software
* [http://linux-sound.org/ LinuxSound.org]
* [http://www.anticore.org/jucetice/ Jucetice: Native Linux VST plugins]

References

External links

* [http://qtractor.sourceforge.net/ Project home page]
* [http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/software-ecology-rui-nuno-capela] - Article in Linux Journal
* [http://www.linuxjournal.com/node/1000086] - Article in Linux Journal