-<img class="right" src="/images/bus-mixer-strip.png" alt="A bus mixer strip">
+<figure class="right">
+ <img src="/images/bus-mixer-strip.png" alt="A bus mixer strip">
+</figure>
<p>
- An Ardour bus can be considered a virtual track, as in a track that doesn't have a playlist (so, no regions).
- Its use is to "group" some audio signals to be treated the same way. One simple use case is to group all the audio tracks containing the different drums of a drumkit. Routing all the drums tracks outputs to a bus allows, once the different levels amongst the drums have been set, to adjust the global level of the drumkit in the mix.
+ An Ardour bus can be considered a virtual track, as in a track that doesn't
+ have a playlist (so, no regions). Its use is to "group" some audio signals to
+ be treated the same way. One simple use case is to group all the audio tracks
+ containing the different drums of a drumkit. Routing all the drums tracks
+ outputs to a bus allows, once the different levels amongst the drums have been
+ set, to adjust the global level of the drumkit in the mix.
</p>
<p>
- Bus usage goes way beyond this simple example though: busses, as tracks, can receive plugins for common audio treatment, and be routed themselves as needed. This makes for a very useful tool that is very commonly used both for musical purposes and computing ones: instead of using e.g. ten discrete delay plugins on ten different tracks, busses are often used as receivers of <a href="@@aux-sends">sends</a>, and only one delay plugin is used on this bus, reducing the processing power needed.
+ Bus usage goes way beyond this simple example though: busses, as tracks, can
+ receive plugins for common audio treatment, and be routed themselves as needed.
+ This makes for a very useful tool that is very commonly used both for musical
+ purposes and computing ones: instead of using e.g. ten discrete delay plugins on
+ ten different tracks, busses are often used as receivers of <a
+ href="@@aux-sends">sends</a>, and only one delay plugin is used on this bus,
+ reducing the processing power needed.
</p>
<h2>Audio Busses vs MIDI Busses</h3>
<p>
- Ardour supports 2 types of busses: Audio and MIDI. A MIDI bus differs from an audio bus just by:
+ Ardour supports two types of busses: Audio and MIDI. A MIDI bus differs from an
+ audio bus just by:
<p>
<ul>
<li>its input (which is midi, as shown by the red signal lines in the processor box) instead of <em>n</em> audio</li>
- <li>the fact that you can put an instrument on it at creation time, whereas you can't easily add an instrument to an audio bus</li>
+ <li>the fact that an instrument can be placed on it at creation time, whereas it can't easily be done for an audio bus</li>
<li>as for tracks, the MIDI bus doesn't have a trim knob or invert phase button(s).</li>
</ul>
<p>
- MIDI busses provide a particularly efficient workflow for virtual drumkits where the arrangement uses different MIDI tracks.
- Moreover, busses with both Audio and MIDI inputs are well suited for vocoders and similar plugins,
- where a MIDI signal controls an audio one.
+ MIDI busses provide a particularly efficient workflow for virtual drumkits where
+ the arrangement uses different MIDI tracks. Moreover, busses with both Audio and
+ MIDI inputs are well suited for vocoders and similar plugins, where a MIDI
+ signal controls an audio one.
</p>
<p class="note">
Adding any audio input to a MIDI bus transforms it into an audio bus.
<h2>Description</h2>
<p>
- Busses look and behave exactly like tracks, so they share nearly <a href="@@audiomidi-mixer-strips">all of their controls</a>.
- The differences are:
+ Busses look and behave exactly like tracks, so they share nearly <a href="@@audiomidi-mixer-strips">
+ all of their controls</a>. The differences are:
</p>
<ul>
<li>as the busses dont have a playlist (and cannot host any media), they can't be recorded on. The recording controls are not present</li>
<li>an <kbd class="menu">Aux</kbd> button replaces these controls.</li>
</ul>
<p>
- Clicking the <kbd class="menu">Aux</kbd> button makes every track that sends a signal to this bus through <a href="@@aux-sends">Aux sends</a> blink in turquoise.
- Right clicking this button brings up a menu:
+ Clicking the <kbd class="menu">Aux</kbd> button makes every track that sends a
+ signal to this bus through <a href="@@aux-sends">Aux sends</a> blink in
+ turquoise. Right clicking this button brings up a menu:
</p>
<table class="dl">
<tr><th>Assign all tracks (prefader)</th><td>Creates an Aux Send in every track, to this bus. The send is placed just before the fader</td></tr>
<h2>Connecting a track to a bus</h2>
<p>
- Depending on the user's workflow and the way busses are used, 2 possibilities exists:
+ Depending on the user's workflow and the way busses are used, two possibilities exists:
</p>
<h3>Connecting a track to a bus via its outputs</h3>
<img class="left" src="/images/connecting_bus_output.png" alt="Connecting a bus through a track's outputs">
<p>
- Connecting the output(s) of a track to the input(s) of the bus sends <em>all</em> the audio/MIDI to the bus. In the mixer strip, select (at the bottom) the OUTPUT button (often, by default, "Master"), and in the list, choose the input of a bus. Note that only the bus able to receive this output will show up, e.g. a mono bus wont be able to be connected to the output of a stereo track).
+ Connecting the output(s) of a track to the input(s) of the bus sends
+ <em>all</em> the audio/MIDI to the bus. In the mixer strip, select (at the
+ bottom) the OUTPUT button (often, by default, "Master"), and in the list,
+ choose the input of a bus. Note that only the bus able to receive this output
+ will show up, e.g. a mono bus wont be able to be connected to the output of a
+ stereo track).
</p>
<p>
- Obviously, doing so will (by default) disconnect the output from the Master's input, which means all the audio/MIDI will be routed to the bus. For more complex routing, the OUTPUT button allows to show the <kbd class="menu">Routing Grid</kbd> that allows to plug the output of the track to multiple outputs at once, be it busses, tracks, Master… The button will then reflect these multiple connections by showing a <em>*number*</em>, number being the number of connections made in the routing grid.
+ Obviously, doing so will (by default) disconnect the output from the Master's
+ input, which means all the audio/MIDI will be routed to the bus. For more
+ complex routing, the OUTPUT button allows to show the <kbd class="menu">Routing
+ Grid</kbd> that allows to plug the output of the track to multiple outputs at
+ once, be it busses, tracks, Master… The button will then reflect these
+ multiple connections by showing a <em>*number*</em>, number being the number of
+ connections made in the routing grid.
</p>
<h3>Connecting a track to a bus via Sends</h3>
<img class="left" src="/images/connecting_bus_send.png" alt="Connecting a bus through a send">
<p>
- This allows not to interrupt the natural flow of the signal, i.e. the track will still output to what its connected to (e.g. Master). The signal is "tapped" at the point of insertion of the send, to be sent to the bus. Right click where in the signal flow you want the send to happen, and select <kdb class="menu">New Aux Send… > name_of_the_bus</kbd>.
+ This allows not to interrupt the natural flow of the signal, i.e. the track will
+ still output to what its connected to (e.g. Master). The signal is "tapped" at
+ the point of insertion of the send, to be sent to the bus, by <kbd class="mouse">right</kbd>
+ clicking where in the signal flow the signal should be tapped, and selecting <kdb class="menu">
+ New Aux Send… > name_of_the_bus</kbd>.
</p>
<p>
- By <kbd class="mouse">left-clicking</kbd> the send meter, it is possible to adjust the amount of signal sent to the bus. This is often the way tracks are connected to an effect bus, like a Delay bus.
+ By <kbd class="mouse">left-clicking</kbd> the send meter, it is possible to
+ adjust the amount of signal sent to the bus. This is often the way tracks are
+ connected to an effect bus, like a Delay bus.
</p>
<p class="note">
- Busses can be plugged to other busses, through outputs or sends. Both example workflows discussed previously, i.e. busses for grouping tracks and busses for effects, can both coexist, as e.g. a "grouping" drum bus can have a send to a reverb bus, and be connected to a compressor bus.
+ Busses can be plugged to other busses, through outputs or sends. Both example
+ workflows discussed previously, i.e. busses for grouping tracks and busses for
+ effects, can both coexist, as e.g. a "grouping" drum bus can have a send to a
+ reverb bus, and be connected to a compressor bus.
</p>
-
Although track/bus <a href="@@the-track-and-bus-group-list">groups</a> offer a certain
kind of grouped-control over gain, solo, mute and more, traditional mixing consoles have long had
group master channels ("<abbr title="Voltage-Controlled Amplifier">VCA</abbr>s") which allows to combine
- both a single fader to control the group level while also allowing you to easily adjust the relative
+ both a single fader to control the group level while also allowing to easily adjust the relative
levels inside the group. For large projects, this can make mixing much easier to control.
</p>
<p>
multiple buttons. Disconnecting a VCA from a track is done by unchecking this VCA in
the list that pops up, or clicking <kbd class="menu">Unassign All</kbd> to disconnect from all VCAs at once.
</p>
-
-<img class="left" src="/images/toolbar-editpoint.png" alt="Editor toolbar's Edit Point">
+<figure class="left">
+ <img src="/images/toolbar-editpoint.png" alt="Editor toolbar's Edit Point">
+</figure>
<p>
- Editing operations in a Digital Audio Workstation like Ardour can be broken down according to how many points on the timeline are required to carry the operation out. Splitting a region for example, requires just one position on the timeline (the one where the split will happen). Cutting out a time range requires two positions, one for the start of the cut and one for the end.
+ Editing operations in a Digital Audio Workstation like Ardour can be broken
+ down according to how many points on the timeline are required to carry the
+ operation out. Splitting a region for example, requires just one position on
+ the timeline (the one where the split will happen). Cutting out a time range
+ requires two positions, one for the start of the cut and one for the end.
</p>
<p>
- In Ardour the <dfn>edit point</dfn> is the location where most single-point editing operations take place. It can be set to either of the following:
+ In Ardour the <dfn>edit point</dfn> is the location where most single-point
+editing operations take place. It can be set to either of the following:
</p>
<ul>
</p>
<p>
- There are 2 keybindings available to cycle through the edit point options. The most common workflow tends to involve switching back and forth between the playhead and mouse as the edit point. Press the grave accent key <kbd>`</kbd> to switch between these two. Use <kbd class="mod1">`</kbd> to cycle through all three choices (including the selected marker). You can also switch the edit point using a combo-selector just right of the snap/grid unit selector.
+ There are two keybindings available to cycle through the edit point options.
+ The most common workflow tends to involve switching back and forth between the
+ playhead and mouse as the edit point. Pressing the grave accent key <kbd>`</kbd>
+ switches between these two. Using <kbd class="mod1">`</kbd> cycles through
+ all three choices (including the selected marker). The edit point can also be
+ switched using the combo-selector just right of the snap/grid unit selector.
</p>
-
<p>
At the right hand side of the editor window is an optional area which provides one of a
- range of useful lists of parts of your session. It is not shown by default
- when you first start using Ardour. The <dfn>Editor list</dfn> can be hidden
+ range of useful lists of parts of the session. It is not shown by default
+ when first starting using Ardour. The <dfn>Editor list</dfn> can be hidden
or shown using <kbd class="menu">View > Show Editor List</kbd>. The very
right-hand side of the list gives a selection of tabs which are used to
choose the list to view. The left-hand border of the list can be dragged to
vary the width of the list.
</p>
-
New objects will always be created at grid
points.</br>
Holding down the snap modifier will disable the current grid
- setting and allow you to move the object freely.</td></tr>
+ setting and allow moving the object freely.</td></tr>
<tr><th><kbd class="menu">Magnetic</kbd></th>
<td>is a less strict type of snapping. Objects can still be moved to any
position, but positions close to the relative or absolute grid points will snap.
-
-<img class="right" src="/images/master-strip.png" alt="The Master strip in the mixer">
+<figure class="right">
+ <img src="/images/master-strip.png" alt="The Master strip in the mixer">
+</figure>
<p>
The <dfn>Master strip</dfn> in Ardour is very similar to the other busses mixer strips.
</ul>
<p class="note">
- The Master bus strip is <em>allways</em> fixed, at the right end of the mixer, regardless of the scrolling position.
+ The Master bus strip is <em>always</em> fixed, at the right end of the mixer, regardless of the scrolling position.
</p>
-
respectively.
</p>
<p>
- The <kbd class="menu">Use PH</kbd> buttons allow you to set
+ The <kbd class="menu">Use PH</kbd> buttons allows to set
the corresponding clock to the current playhead position.
A <kbd class="mouse">Middle</kbd> click on any of the clocks will move
the playhead to that location. Both functions are also available from the
<table class="dl">
<tr><th>Loop/Punch Ranges</th>
<td>This list shows the current <dfn>loop</dfn> and <dfn>punch</dfn> range
- settings. Since these are built-in ranges, you cannot rename or remove them.</td></tr>
+ settings. Since these are built-in ranges, they cannot be renamed or removed.</td></tr>
<tr><th>Markers (Including CD Index)</th>
<td>This section lists the session's <dfn>markers</dfn>. By ticking <kbd
- class="option">CD</kbd>, you instruct Ardour to create a <dfn>CD track
- index</dfn> from this marker, which will be included in the TOC or CUE file when you
- export.</td></tr>
+ class="option">CD</kbd>, Ardour is instructed to create a <dfn>CD track
+ index</dfn> from this marker, which will be included in the TOC or CUE file when
+ exporting.</td></tr>
<tr><th>Ranges (Including CD Track Ranges)</th>
<td>This is the list of <dfn>ranges</dfn> (including <dfn>CD track
ranges</dfn>). Ticking <kbd class="option">CD</kbd> will convert
<p>
- This lists the tracks and busses that are present in the session. The list order reflects the order in the editor, and you can drag-and-drop track or bus names in the editor list to re-order them in the editor. The columns in the list represent the following:
+ This lists the tracks and busses that are present in the session. The list order
+ reflects the order in the editor, and track or bus names can be dragged-and-dropped
+ in the editor list to re-order them in the editor. The columns in the list
+ represent the following:
</p>
<table class="dl">
<tr><th id="visible">V</th>
- <td>whether the track or bus is visible; they can be hidden, in which case they will still play, but just not be visible in the editor; this can be useful for keeping the display uncluttered.</td></tr>
+ <td>whether the track or bus is visible; they can be hidden, in which case they
+ will still play, but just not be visible in the editor; this can be useful for
+ keeping the display uncluttered.</td></tr>
<tr><th id="active">A</th>
- <td>whether the track or bus is active; unactive tracks will not play, and will not consume any CPU.</td></tr>
- <tr><th id="input">I</th>
- <td>for MIDI tracks, whether the MIDI input is enabled; this dictates whether MIDI data from the track's inputs ports will be passed through the track.</td></tr>
- <tr><th id="record">R</th>
- <td>whether the track is record-enabled.</td></tr>
- <tr><th id="record-safe">RS</th>
- <td>whether the track is record safe; a record safe track cannot be armed for recording, to protect against a mistake.</td></tr>
+ <td>whether the track or bus is active; unactive tracks will not play, and will
+ not consume any CPU.</td></tr>
+ <tr><th id="input">I</th> <td>for MIDI tracks,
+ whether the MIDI input is enabled; this dictates whether MIDI data from the
+ track's inputs ports will be passed through the track.</td></tr>
+ <tr><th id="record">R</th> <td>whether the track is record-enabled.</td></tr>
+ <tr><th id="record-safe">RS</th> <td>whether the track is record safe; a record safe
+ track cannot be armed for recording, to protect against a mistake.</td></tr>
<tr><th id="mute">M</th>
<td>whether the track is muted.</td></tr>
<tr><th id="solo">S</th>
</table>
<p class="note">
- Each icon in these columns can be clicked to toggle the track/bus state, which is a very fast way to set multiple tracks/busses state at once.
+ Each icon in these columns can be clicked to toggle the track/bus state, which
+ is a very fast way to set multiple tracks/busses state at once.
</p>
<p>
- As with the region list, hovering the mouse pointer over a column heading shows a tool-tip which can be handy to remember what the columns are for.
+ As with the region list, hovering the mouse pointer over a column heading shows
+ a tool-tip which can be handy to remember what the columns are for.
</p>
-
<li><dfn>Edit Point</dfn> as set in the <a href="@@edit-point-control">Edit point</a> control.</li>
</ul>
-<p>The
2 leftmost zoom buttons (<kbd class="menu">−</kbd> and <kbd class="menu">+</kbd>) use this zoom focus to zoom out and in respectively.<p>
+<p>The
two leftmost zoom buttons (<kbd class="menu">−</kbd> and <kbd class="menu">+</kbd>) use this zoom focus to zoom out and in respectively.<p>
<p>The <kbd class="menu">Zoom to session</kbd> button is a handy shortcut to zoom out or in until all the session (as defined by it's <a href="@@working-with-markers">start/end markers</a>) fits horizontally.</p>
<p class="note">There <em>is</em> a minimal track height to keep it visible, so
according to you screen vertical size, some high number can have no effect.</p>
-<p>Inside this menu are 2 handy choices:</p>
+<p>Inside this menu are two handy choices:</p>
<ul>
<li><dfn>Selected tracks</dfn> that focus on the selected tracks. If the selected tracks are not contiguous, the unselected tracks inbetween will be hidden, see the <a href="@@the-tracks-and-busses-list">Track and Bus list</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p>The rightmost buttons <kbd class="menu">Shrink tracks</kbd> and <kbd class="menu">Expand tracks</kbd> reduce or expand the vertical size of the selected tracks. If no track is selected, all the tracks will be shrunk or expanded each time the button is pushed.
-
projects / ardour-manual / commitdiff