-<h2 id="trackmodes">Track Modes</h2>
-<p>
- Audio tracks in Ardour have a <dfn>mode</dfn> which affects how they behave
- when recording:
-</p>
-<table class="dl">
- <tr><th>Normal</th>
- <td>Tracks in <dfn>normal mode</dfn> will record non-destructively—new
- data is written to new files, and when overdubbing, new regions will be
- layered on top of existing ones. This is the recommended mode for most
- workflows.
- </td></tr>
- <tr><th>Non-Layered</th>
- <td>Tracks using <dfn>non-layered mode</dfn> will record
- non-destructively—new data is written to new files, but when
- overdubbing, the existing regions are trimmed so that there are no overlaps.
- This does not affect the previously recorded audio data, and trimmed regions
- can be expanded again at will. Non-layered mode can be very useful for spoken
- word material, especially in combination with
- <a href="@@pushpull-trimming">push/pull trimming</a>.
- </td></tr>
- <tr><th>Tape</th>
- <td><dfn>Tape-mode</dfn> tracks do <strong>destructive</strong> recording:
- all data is recorded to a single file and if you overdub a section of
- existing data, the existing data is destroyed irrevocably—there is no
- undo. Fixed crossfades are added at every punch in and out point. This mode
- can be useful for certain kinds of re-recording workflows, but it not
- suggested for normal
- use.</td></tr>
-</table>
-<img class="right" src="/images/a3_nonlayered_example.png" alt="normal and non-layered overdubbing comparision"
-/>
-<p>
- The screenshot on the right shows the subtle difference between an overdub
- in <dfn>normal mode</dfn> (upper track) and one in <dfn>non-layered mode</dfn>
- (lower track). Both tracks were created using identical audio data. <br>
- The upper track shows a new region which has been <dfn>layered on
- top</dfn> of the the existing (longer) region. You can see this if you look
- carefully at the region name strips.<br>
- The lower track has split the existing region in two, trimmed each new
- region to create space for the new overdub, and inserted the overdub region
- in between.
-</p>
-
-<h2 id="channelconfiguration">Channel Configuration</h2>
-<p>
- Ardour tracks can have any number of inputs and any number of outputs, and the
- number of either can be changed at any time (subject to restrictions caused by
- any plugins in a track). However it is useful to not have to configure this sort
- of thing for the most common cases, and so the
- <a href="@@adding-tracks-busses-and-vcas">Add Tracks</a> dialog allows you to
- select "Mono", "Stereo" and few other typical multichannel presets<br>
- The name of the preset describes the number of <dfn>input channels</dfn>
- of the track or bus.
-</p>
-<p>
- If you have configured Ardour to automatically connect new tracks and
- busses for you, the number of outputs will be determined by the number of
- inputs of the <dfn>master <a
- href="@@understanding-basic-concepts-and-terminology#busses">bus</a></dfn>,
- to which the track outputs will be connected.<br>
- For example, if you have a two-channel master bus, then a Mono track has one
- input and two outputs; a Stereo track has two inputs and two outputs.
-</p>
-<p class="note">
- If you you set <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences > Audio
- > Connection of Tracks and Busses</kbd> to <kbd
- class="menu">manual</kbd>, then tracks will be left disconnected by default
- and there will be as many outputs as there are inputs. It is up to you to connect
- them as you wish. This is not a particularly useful way to work unless you are doing
- something fairly unusual with signal routing and processing. It is almost always
- preferable to leave Ardour to make connections automatically, even if you later
- change some of them manually.
-</p>