You can download a free version from the official site that is fully functional but lacks session saving or includes periodic silence after a set amount of time. Key Features of Ardour 5.12

Ardour 5.12, released in late 2017, remains a landmark version of the Ardour digital audio workstation . While the software has since advanced to much newer versions like Ardour 8.x and 9.x, many users still seek out version 5.12 for its stability on older hardware or specific legacy workflows.

The Ardour Download Page provides ready-to-run installers for Windows and macOS. While a donation (as low as $1) is requested for these convenient binaries, the source code is entirely free to download for those who wish to compile it themselves .

Most Linux users can install Ardour for free directly through their system's package manager. While repositories often carry the latest version, some "LTS" (Long Term Support) distributions may still host older versions like 5.12 in their archives.

Ardour 5.12 was a significant "maintenance plus" release that introduced several workflow improvements before the major shift to version 6.0. How to install ardour 5 - Linux

As an open-source project, Ardour is fundamentally free, but its distribution model for pre-compiled binaries can be confusing for new users.