The MusE 4 MIDI sequencer

Conclusions

MusE 4 not only impresses with a new contemporary interface, it also appears more mature and carefully built than its predecessors. The way simple audio tracks work is largely intuitive.

For projects that primarily work with audio material, however, Ardour certainly offers more possibilities. For MIDI compositions, MusE currently outshines other DAWs on Linux. Bitwig might offer more options for loops, but it lacks the note editor offered by MusE.

The numerous setting options for initializing MIDI instruments in MusE are likely to appeal to musicians with in-depth knowledge in this field. Also, the simple way MusE cooperates with yabridge to let users integrate VST plugins in the Windows DLL format will please many users. Hopefully, Robert Jonsson will continue to work as patiently and persistently as he has thus far on the future roadmap of this interesting Linux DAW.

The Author

Hartmut Noack works as a lecturer, author, and musician. He thinks that free software and self-made music go together well. Hartmut's own server on http://lapoc.de has some Creative Commons-licensed goodies resulting from his work with free music software.

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