Ardour 9.1 has been released as a hotfix update addressing a number of issues introduced in 9.0. This version restores the bottom pane in the Editor, which was broken during selection changes involving regions and tracks due to last-minute changes in 9.0.
The release also introduces MIDI note chasing. When playback starts in the middle of a sustained MIDI note, the note will now sound immediately. The feature can be enabled per MIDI track from the track header menu or globally in Preferences under MIDI. Looping where the loop start is in the middle of a note is not yet supported.
MIDI note duplication is also new. Users can select MIDI notes and duplicate them after the last note using Ctrl or Cmd and D. If Snap is enabled, duplication aligns with the next snap point. Duplicated notes remain selected for immediate transposition with the arrow keys.
The update includes several workflow improvements. Multiple regions can now be dragged at once from the sources list into the Editor. Zoom-to-session behavior is improved for new empty sessions during recording. Pitchbend values now display in the -8192 to 8191 range. MIDI CC lane and track naming have been clarified to better reflect channel and controller information.
Ardour 9.1 also improves MIDI learn for cue triggering, adds clearer preference metadata for search, refines UI consistency, such as the auto-return icon, and enables merging two mono files into a stereo track via drag-and-drop when their channel counts match. Recording MIDI cues now correctly preserves velocity values for notes held before recording begins.
Regarding stability fixes, the release prevents crashes when dragging both ends of a range simultaneously, addresses startup crashes caused by early shortcut input, improves the usability of region handles in pianorolls, and fixes automation value inconsistencies after cut or delete operations.
Playback offset issues when editing during rolling have been corrected as well, and VCA behavior affecting dependent tracks no longer results in stuck solo states.
Finally, on Windows, session unloading now properly closes all associated files. On macOS, opening sessions directly from Finder is more reliable. The monitor section GUI no longer crashes with high channel counts.
For more information, see the announcement.
Image credits: Ardour
