Ardour 5.12 has just been released! The main new features in this release involve session/track template management and improvements to MIDI patch changing, as well as the usual bug fixes.

When first opening Ardour, you will be presented with the same window as before. If you now click on 'New Session' you will see the new session template dialog. Choosing 'Empty Template' will open up a fresh session as before but there are also now new interactive 'wizard' options available, thanks to Ardour's lua scripting capabilities. There are a few of these included. If you are handy with lua scripting, you can also create you own!

User created session templates also show up in this window. Upon saving new templates, you now have the option to include session descriptions, which will show up in the template dialog.

Adding new tracks to Ardour now has a similar dialog as for session templates. You can add tracks similar to before but templates are now more easily accessed and as with session templates, these templates can be interactive via lua scripting.

MIDI patch changing has also seen many improvements. Previously, MIDI patch changes were applied directly to MIDI regions. Now you can easily audition and change patches in realtime. Right clicking on a MIDI track header and selecting 'Patch Selector' will bring up the new patch dialog that will allow you to quickly choose patches.

Generic MIDI plugin windows now also include a keyboard, which you can use to audition the current setting, either by pointing and clicking on the keys or by pressing your keyboard keys while the window is in focus.

Included plugins, General MIDI Synth and a-Fluid Synth, also expose MIDI patch changes within their interfaces.

This feature is particularly useful for MIDI hardware units. Selecting the MIDI map for your unit from the drop down menu on a MIDI track header will allow you quick assess to patch changes for your unit and allow you to easily audition them.

Full details about this new release can be found over at ardour.org, including download links.