return children
+
#
# Get the parent at this level
#
return pos
+
#
# Creates the BreadCrumbs
#
def GetBreadCrumbs(fs, pos):
- breadcrumbs = ' <span class="divider">></span> <li class="active">'+ fs[pos]['title'] + '</li>'
# The <span class="divider">></span> is for Bootstrap pre-3.0
+ breadcrumbs = ' <span class="divider">></span> <li class="active">'+ fs[pos]['title'] + '</li>'
+
while pos >= 0:
- pos = GetParent(fs,pos)
+ pos = GetParent(fs, pos)
+
if pos >= 0:
breadcrumbs=' <span class="divider">></span> <li><a href="/' + fs[pos]['filename'] + '/">'+ fs[pos]['title'] + '</a></li>'+ breadcrumbs
breadcrumbs = '<ol class="breadcrumb"><li><a href="/toc/index.html">Home</a></li>' + breadcrumbs + '</ol>'
return breadcrumbs
+
#
# Make an array of children attached to each node in the file structure
# (It's a quasi-tree structure, and can be traversed as such.)
elif level == 2:
toc = toc + ' <a id=subchapter href="/' + header['filename'] + '/">' + header['title'] + '</a><br>\n'
elif level == 3:
- toc = toc + ' <a id=subchapter href="/' + header['filename'] + '/">' + header['title'] + '</a><br>\n'
+ toc = toc + ' <a id=section href="/' + header['filename'] + '/">' + header['title'] + '</a><br>\n'
elif level == 4:
- toc = toc + ' <a id=subchapter href="/' + header['filename'] + '/">' + header['title'] + '</a><br>\n'
+ toc = toc + ' <a id=subsection href="/' + header['filename'] + '/">' + header['title'] + '</a><br>\n'
# Make the 'this thing contains...' stuff
if HaveChildren(fileStruct, pageNumber):
if not quiet:
print('Processed ' + str(fileCount) + ' files.')
+
<h2>Conventions Used In This Manual</h2>
+
<p>
This section covers some of the typographical and language conventions
used in this manual.
</p>
<h3>Keyboards and Modifiers</h3>
+
<p>
<dfn>Keyboard bindings</dfn> are shown like this: <kbd>s</kbd> or
<kbd class="mod1">x</kbd>.
</p>
+
<p>
- <kbd class="mod1">x</kbd> means "press the <kbd class="mod1"> </kbd> key, keep it pressed
- and then also press the <kbd>x</kbd> key".
+ <kbd class="mod1">x</kbd> means "press the <kbd class="mod1n"></kbd>
+ key, keep it pressed and then also press the <kbd>x</kbd> key".
</p>
+
<p>
- You may also see key combinations
- such as <kbd class="mod12">e</kbd>, which mean that you should hold down
- the <kbd class="mod1"> </kbd> key <em>and</em> the
- <kbd class="mod2"> </kbd> key, and then, while keeping them both
- down, press the <kbd>e</kbd> key.
+ Combinations such as <kbd class="mod12">e</kbd> may be seen, which means
+ "hold down the <kbd class="mod1n"></kbd> key <em>and</em> the <kbd
+ class="mod2n"></kbd> key, and then, while keeping them both down, press the
+ <kbd>e</kbd> key".
</p>
-<p>
- Note that different platforms have different conventions for which
- modifier key (Control or Command) to use as the primary or most common
- modifier. When viewing this manual from a machine identifying itself as
- running OS X, you will see <kbd>Cmd </kbd> where appropriate (for instance
- in the first example above). On other machines you will see
- <kbd>Ctrl </kbd> instead.
+
+<p class="note">
+ Different platforms have different conventions for which modifier key
+ (Control or Command) to use as the primary or most common modifier. When
+ viewing this manual from a machine identifying itself as running OS X,
+ <kbd>Cmd</kbd> will be seen where appropriate (for instance in the first
+ example above). On other machines <kbd>Ctrl</kbd> will be seen instead.
</p>
<h3>Mouse Buttons</h3>
+
<p>
- We refer to <a href="@@mouse">mouse buttons</a> as
- <kbd class="mouse">Left</kbd>, <kbd class="mouse">Middle</kbd> and
- <kbd class="mouse">Right</kbd>. Ardour can use additional buttons, but they have
- no default behaviour in the program.
+ <a href="@@mouse">mouse buttons</a> are refered to as <kbd
+ class="mouse">Left</kbd>, <kbd class="mouse">Middle</kbd> and <kbd
+ class="mouse">Right</kbd>. Ardour can use additional buttons, but they have no
+ default behaviour in the program.
</p>
<h4>Mouse click modifiers</h4>
+
<p>
Many editing functions are performed by clicking the mouse while holding a
modifier key, for example <kbd class="mouse mod1">Left</kbd>.
</p>
<h4>Mouse wheel</h4>
+
<p>
Some GUI elements can optionally be controlled with the mouse wheel when
the pointer is hovering over them. The notation for mouse wheel action is
</p>
<h4>Context-click</h4>
+
<p>
- The term <dfn>context-click</dfn> is used to indicate
- that you should (typically) <kbd class="mouse">Right</kbd>-click on a particular element of the graphical
- user interface. Although right-click is the common, default way to do this, there
- are other ways to accomplish the same thing—this term refers to any of them,
- and the result is always that a menu specific to the item you clicked on will be
- displayed.
+ The term <dfn>context-click</dfn> is used to indicate a <kbd
+ class="mouse">Right</kbd>-click on a particular element of the graphical user
+ interface. Although right-click is the common, default way to do this, there
+ are other ways to accomplish the same thing—this term refers to any of
+ them, and the result is always that a menu specific to the item clicked on
+ will be displayed.
</p>
<h4>"The Pointer"</h4>
+
<p>
- When the manual refers to the "pointer", it means the on-screen representation
- of the mouse position or the location of a touch action if you are using a touch
- interface.
+ When the manual refers to the "pointer", it means the on-screen
+ representation of the mouse position or the location of a touch action if
+ touch interface is being used.
</p>
<h3>Other user input</h3>
+
<p>
- Ardour supports hardware controllers, such as banks of
- <kbd class="fader">faders</kbd>, <kbd class="knob">knobs</kbd>, or
- <kbd class="button">buttons</kbd>.
+ Ardour supports hardware controllers, such as banks of <kbd
+ class="fader">faders</kbd>, <kbd class="knob">knobs</kbd>, or <kbd
+ class="button">buttons</kbd>.
</p>
<h3>Menu Items</h3>
+
<p>
- Menu items are indicated like this:<br>
- <kbd class="menu">Top > Next > Deeper</kbd>.<br>
- Each ">"-separated item indicates one level of a nested (sub-)menu.
+ Menu items are indicated like this: <kbd class="menu">Top > Next >
+ Deeper</kbd>. Each ">"-separated item indicates one level of a nested menu
+ or sub-menu.
</p>
<h3>Preference/Dialog Options</h3>
+
<p>
- Choices in various dialogs, notably the Preferences and Properties dialog, are
- indicated like this:
+ Choices in various dialogs, notably the Preferences and Properties dialog,
+ are indicated thus:
</p>
+
<p>
<kbd class="option">Edit > Preferences > Audio > Some Option</kbd>.
</p>
+
<p>
- Each successive item indicates either a (sub-) menu or a tabbed dialog
+ Each successive item indicates either a menu, sub-menu, or a tabbed dialog
navigation. The final item is the one to choose or select.
</p>
+
<p>
- If you are requested to deselect an option, you will see something like
- this:
-</p>
-<p>
- <kbd class="optoff">Edit > Preferences > Audio > Some other Option</kbd>.
+ If an option is deselected, it will look like this:
</p>
+
<p>
+ <kbd class="optoff">Edit > Preferences > Audio > Some other
+ Option</kbd>.
</p>
<h3>User Input</h3>
+
<p>
- Some dialogs or features may require you to type in some <kbd class="input">data
- such as this</kbd>. In rare cases, you will be required to perform certain
- operations at the command line of your operating system:
+ Some dialogs or features may require the user to input data <kbd class="input">such as this</kbd>. In rare cases, certain operations will be required to be performed at the command line of the operating system:
</p>
+
<kbd class="cmd lin">cat /proc/cpuinfo</kbd>
<kbd class="cmd mac">sleep 3600</kbd>
<kbd class="cmd win">ping www.google.com</kbd>
<h3>Program Output</h3>
+
<p>
- Important messages from Ardour or other programs will be displayed
- <samp>like this</samp>.
+ Important messages from Ardour or other programs will be displayed <samp>like
+ this</samp>.
</p>
<h3>Notes</h3>
+
<p class="note">
Important notes about things that might not otherwise be obvious are shown in
this format.
</p>
<h3>Warnings</h3>
+
<p class="warning">
Hairy issues that might cause things to go wrong, lose data, impair sound
quality, or eat your proverbial goldfish, are displayed in this way.
-
+
<h2>Adding new notes</h2>
<p>
- In general, you will probably do most MIDI editing with the mouse in object
- mode. This allows you to select notes, copy, move or delete them and alter
- their properties (see below). But at some point, you're going to want to
- <em>add</em> notes to a MIDI region using the mouse, and if they are to be
- anything other than a fixed length, this means dragging with the mouse.
- Since this would normally be a selection operation if the mouse is in object
- mode, there needs to be some way for you to tell Ardour that you are trying
- to <dfn>draw</dfn> new notes within a MIDI region. Ardour provides two ways
- do this. One is to leave the mouse in object mode and
- <kbd class="mouse mod1">Left</kbd>-drag. The other, useful if you plan to
+ In general, you will probably do most MIDI editing with the mouse in object
+ mode. This allows you to select notes, copy, move or delete them and alter
+ their properties (see below). But at some point, you're going to want to
+ <em>add</em> notes to a MIDI region using the mouse, and if they are to be
+ anything other than a fixed length, this means dragging with the mouse.
+ Since this would normally be a selection operation if the mouse is in object
+ mode, there needs to be some way for you to tell Ardour that you are trying
+ to <dfn>draw</dfn> new notes within a MIDI region. Ardour provides two ways
+ do this. One is to leave the mouse in object mode and
+ <kbd class="mouse mod1">Left</kbd>-drag. The other, useful if you plan to
enter a lot of notes for a while, is to switch the mouse into
- <kbd class="menu">Draw Notes</kbd> mode, which will now interpret any drags
- and clicks as requests to add a new note. For obvious reasons, you cannot
+ <kbd class="menu">Draw Notes</kbd> mode, which will now interpret any drags
+ and clicks as requests to add a new note. For obvious reasons, you cannot
use Draw Notes mode while using region-level editing.
</p>
<dl class="wide-table">
<dt>Selecting, moving, copying, trimming, deleting <em>regions</em></dt>
<dd>
- leave <kbd class="menu">Note Level Editing</kbd> disabled, use object,
+ leave <kbd class="menu">Note Level Editing</kbd> disabled, use object,
range or other mouse modes
</dd>
<dt>Selecting, moving, copying trimming, deleting <em>notes</em></dt>
</dd>
</dl>
<p>
- Note that is also a
- <a href="@@step-entry">a step entry editor</a>
+ Note that is also a
+ <a href="@@step-entry">a step entry editor</a>
allowing you to enter notes from a virtual keyboard and lots more besides.
</p>
-
+
<p>
- There are several ways to importing an audio or MIDI file into a
+ There are several ways to importing an audio or MIDI file into a
session:
</p>
<ul>
</ul>
<p>
These methods are all equivalent: they open the <a
- href="/adding-pre-existing-material/import-dialog/">Add Existing Media</a>
- dialog.
+ href="/adding-pre-existing-material/import-dialog/">Add Existing Media</a>
+ dialog.
</p>
<p>
- Finally, you can also easily import files into your project by dragging
- and dropping a file from some other application (e.g. your platform's
- file manager). You can drag onto the
- <dfn>Region List</dfn>, into the desired <dfn>track</dfn> or into empty
+ Finally, you can also easily import files into your project by dragging
+ and dropping a file from some other application (e.g. your platform's
+ file manager). You can drag onto the
+ <dfn>Region List</dfn>, into the desired <dfn>track</dfn> or into empty
space in the editor track display.<br>
- The file will be imported and copied
+ The file will be imported and copied
into your session, and placed at the position where the drag ended.
</p>
<dt>Add</dt>
<dd>Here you can select the number of tracks, busses or VCAs you wish to create, and
their <a href="@@track-types">types</a>.</dd>
- <dt>Name</dt>
+ <dt>Name</dt>
<dd>Defines the name of the new track(s). If multiple tracks are created, or if a track with the same name already exists, a space and number will be happened at the end (e.g.: Audio 1, Audio 2…)</dd>
<dt>Configuration</dt>
<dd>This menu lets you choose from a number of route templates, which determine the number of input ports and optionally contain plugins and other mixer strip configuration. The most common choices here are <em>mono</em> and <em>stereo</em>.</dd>
<dd>This option is only available for MIDI tracks and busses and lets you select a
default instrument from the list of available plugins.</dd>
<dt>Group</dt>
- <dd>Tracks and busses can be assigned groups so that a selected range of
- operations are applied to all members of a group at the same time (selecting
- record enable, or editing, for example). This option lets you assign to an
+ <dd>Tracks and busses can be assigned groups so that a selected range of
+ operations are applied to all members of a group at the same time (selecting
+ record enable, or editing, for example). This option lets you assign to an
existing group, or create a new group.</dd>
<dt>Insert</dt>
<dd>Defines where in the track list is the track created. The default is <em>Last</em>, i.e. after all the tracks and busses, and can also be <em>First</em>, <em>Before Selection</em> (to place it just above the selected track) or <em>After selection</em>.</dd>
</dl>
<p>
- New tracks appear in both the editor and mixer windows. The editor window
- shows the timeline, with any recorded data, and the mixer shows just the
+ New tracks appear in both the editor and mixer windows. The editor window
+ shows the timeline, with any recorded data, and the mixer shows just the
processing elements of the track (its plugins, fader and so on).
</p>
<p>
To <dfn>remove</dfn> tracks and busses, select them, <kbd
class="mouse">right</kbd>-click and choose <kbd
- class="menu">Remove</kbd>
- from the menu. A warning dialog will pop up, as track removal cannot be undone;
+ class="menu">Remove</kbd>
+ from the menu. A warning dialog will pop up, as track removal cannot be undone;
use this option with care!
</p>
-<p>In addition to this documentation, you may check a variety of other
-<dfn>resources</dfn>:</p>
+<p>
+ In addition to this documentation, there are a variety of other
+ <dfn>resources</dfn>:
+</p>
+
<ul>
- <li>the <a href="https://ardour.org/whatsnew.html">Ardour release
- notes</a></li>
- <li>the <a href="https://community.ardour.org/forums">Ardour
- Forums</a></li>
+ <li>the <a href="https://ardour.org/whatsnew.html">Ardour release notes</a>
+ </li>
+ <li>the <a href="https://community.ardour.org/forums">Ardour Forums</a></li>
<li>information about <a href="https://community.ardour.org/community">Ardour
Support</a> via mailing lists and IRC (chat)</li>
</ul>
+
<p>
The <dfn>IRC channels</dfn> in particular are where most of the day-to-day
- development and debugging is done, and there are plenty of experienced
- users to help you if you run into problems.<br>
+ development and debugging is done, and there are plenty of experienced users
+ to help if problems are encountered when using Ardour.
+</p>
+
+<p>
Please be prepared to hang around for a few hours, the chat is usually
- busiest from 19:00 UTC to 04:00 UTC. If you can, keep your chat
- window open, so that you don't miss a belated answer.
-</p>
+ busiest from 19:00 UTC to 04:00 UTC. It is best to keep one's IRC
+ client window open if possible, so that a belated answer can be seen.
+</p>
--- /dev/null
+
+<p>
+ <dfn>Ardour</dfn> is a professional digital workstation for working with
+ audio and MIDI.
+</p>
+
+<h2>Ardour is meant for…</h2>
+
+<h3>Audio Engineers</h3>
+
+<p>
+ Ardour's core user group: people who want to record, edit, mix and master
+ audio and MIDI projects. When you need complete control over your tools, when
+ the limitations of other designs get in the way, when you plan to spend hours
+ or days working on a session, Ardour is there to make things work the way you
+ want them to.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Musicians</h3>
+
+<p>
+ Being the best tool to record talented performers on actual instruments has
+ always been a top priority for Ardour. Rather than being focused on
+ electronic and pop music idioms, Ardour steps out of the way to encourage the
+ creative process to remain where it always has been: a musician playing a
+ carefully designed and well built instrument.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Soundtrack Editors</h3>
+
+<p>
+ Sample accurate sync and shared transport control with video playback tools
+ allows Ardour to provide a fast and natural environment for creating and
+ editing soundtracks for film and video projects.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Composers</h3>
+
+<p>
+ Arrange audio and MIDI using the same tools and same workflow. Use external
+ hardware synthesizers or software instruments as sound sources. From sound
+ design to electro-acoustic composition to dense multitrack MIDI editing,
+ Ardour can help.
+</p>
+
+<h2>Ardour features…</h2>
+
+<h3>Audio and MIDI Multi-Track Recording and Editing</h3>
+
+<p>
+ Any number of tracks and busses. Non-linear editing. Non-destructive (and
+ destructive!) recording. Any bit depth, any sample rate. Dozens of file
+ formats.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Plugins with Full Sample Accurate Automation</h3>
+
+<p>
+ AudioUnit, LV2, LinuxVST and LADSPA formats. FX plugins. Software
+ instruments. MIDI processors. Automate any parameters. Physically manipulate
+ them via control surfaces. Distribute processing across as many (or as few)
+ cores as you want.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Transport Sync and External Control Surfaces</h3>
+
+<p>
+ Best-in-industry sync to MIDI timecode and LTC. Send and receive MIDI Machine
+ Control. Sync with JACK transport and MIDI clock. Dedicated Mackie Control
+ protocol support, pre-defined mappings for many MIDI controllers plus dynamic
+ MIDI learn. Use OSC to drive almost any operation in Ardour.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Powerful Anywhere-to-Anywhere Signal Routing</h3>
+
+<p>
+ Complex signal flows are simple and elegant. Inputs and outputs connect to
+ your hardware and/or other applications. Use sends, inserts and returns
+ freely. Connections can be one-to-many, many-to-one or many-to-many. Tap
+ signal flows at any point. If you can't connect in the way you want with
+ Ardour, it probably can't be done.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Video Timeline</h3>
+
+<p>
+ Import a single video and optionally extract the soundtrack from it. Display
+ a frame-by-frame (thumbnail) timeline of the video. Use a Video-monitor
+ window, or full-screen display, of the imported video in sync with any of the
+ available ardour timecode sources. Lock audio-regions to the video: Move
+ audio-regions with the video at video-frame granularity. Export the video,
+ cut start/end, add blank frames and/or mux it with the soundtrack of the
+ current-session.
+</p>
+
<p>
- A typical control area or <dfn>track header</dfn> for an audio track is
+ A typical control area or <dfn>track header</dfn> for an audio track is
shown below:
</p>
<img src="/images/typical-audio-track-controls.png" alt="audio track controls" />
-<p>
- An audio track has the same
+<p>
+ An audio track has the same
<a href="@@bus-controls">controls as a bus</a>, with the
- addition of two extras.
+ addition of two extras.
</p>
<dl>
<dt id="record" style="color:red;font-weight:bold;">[•]</dt>
- <dd><dfn>Record</dfn>—The button with the pink circle arms the track
- for recording. When armed, the entire button will turn pink, and change to
+ <dd><dfn>Record</dfn>—The button with the pink circle arms the track
+ for recording. When armed, the entire button will turn pink, and change to
bright red as soon as the transport is rolling and the track is recording.</dd>
<dt id="playlist">p</dt>
- <dd><dfn>Playlist</dfn>—Opens a playlist menu when clicked. The menu
+ <dd><dfn>Playlist</dfn>—Opens a playlist menu when clicked. The menu
offers various operations related to the track's <a
href="/working-with-playlists/">playlist</a>.
</dd>
</p>
<p>
Usually, aux sends from several tracks are collectively sent to a
- dedicated <dfn>Aux bus</dfn> in Ardour, to create a monitor mix for a
+ dedicated <dfn>Aux bus</dfn> in Ardour, to create a monitor mix for a
musician, or to feed an effect unit. The output of such a bus might
- be routed to separate hardware outputs (in the case of headphone or monitor
+ be routed to separate hardware outputs (in the case of headphone or monitor
wedge mixes), or returned to the main mix (in the case of an effect).<br
/>
Aux sends are not JACK ports, with <a href="@@external-sends">
send the tapped signal somewhere else directly, which is not usually
possible on hardware mixers.
</p>
-
+
<p>
- It may be useful to
- <a href="@@comparing-aux-sends-and-subgroups">compare and contrast</a>
+ It may be useful to
+ <a href="@@comparing-aux-sends-and-subgroups">compare and contrast</a>
the use of aux sends with <a href="@@subgrouping">subgrouping</a>.
</p>
<h2>Adding a new aux bus</h2>
<p>
- Choose <kbd class="menu">Session > Add New Track or Bus</kbd>. In the
- <kbd class="menu">New Track & Bus</kbd> dialog, select "Busses" in the Track/Bus
+ Choose <kbd class="menu">Session > Add New Track or Bus</kbd>. In the
+ <kbd class="menu">New Track & Bus</kbd> dialog, select "Busses" in the Track/Bus
selector at the upper right.
</p>
<h2>Adding a send to an aux bus</h2>
<p>
- Context-click on the processor box for the track you want to send to the bus, and
- choose <kbd class="menu">New Aux Send</kbd>. From the submenu, choose the bus you
- want to send to. A send will be added (and will be visible in the processor box).
+ Context-click on the processor box for the track you want to send to the bus, and
+ choose <kbd class="menu">New Aux Send</kbd>. From the submenu, choose the bus you
+ want to send to. A send will be added (and will be visible in the processor box).
Note that the submenu may be empty if you have not created a bus yet.
</p>
<h3>Pre-fader and Post-fader Aux Sends</h3>
<p>
- Depending on whether you context-click above or below the fader in the processor box,
- the new aux send can be placed before or after the fader in the channel strip.
- <dfn>Post-fader</dfn> aux sends are typically used when using an aux for shared signal
+ Depending on whether you context-click above or below the fader in the processor box,
+ the new aux send can be placed before or after the fader in the channel strip.
+ <dfn>Post-fader</dfn> aux sends are typically used when using an aux for shared signal
processing (FX), so that the amount of effect is always proportional to
- the main mix fader. <dfn>Pre-fader</dfn> sends ensure that the level sent to the bus
- is controlled <em>only</em> by the send, not the main fader—this is typical
- when constructing headphone and monitor wedge mixes.
+ the main mix fader. <dfn>Pre-fader</dfn> sends ensure that the level sent to the bus
+ is controlled <em>only</em> by the send, not the main fader—this is typical
+ when constructing headphone and monitor wedge mixes.
</p>
<h2>Adding a new aux bus and sending a Track Group to it</h2>
<p>
- You can add aux sends to all members of a group and connect them to a new aux bus
- with a single click. After creating the track group (and adding tracks to it),
- context-click on the group tab and choose either
- <kbd class="menu">Add New Aux Bus (pre-fader)</kbd> or
- <kbd class="menu">Add New Aux Bus (post-fader)</kbd>. A new aux bus will be created,
+ You can add aux sends to all members of a group and connect them to a new aux bus
+ with a single click. After creating the track group (and adding tracks to it),
+ context-click on the group tab and choose either
+ <kbd class="menu">Add New Aux Bus (pre-fader)</kbd> or
+ <kbd class="menu">Add New Aux Bus (post-fader)</kbd>. A new aux bus will be created,
and a new aux send added to every member of the track group that connects to
this aux bus.
</p>
<h2>Altering Send Levels</h2>
<p>
- You can alter the amount of the signal received by a send that it delivers to the bus
+ You can alter the amount of the signal received by a send that it delivers to the bus
it connects to. There are three approaches to this:
</p>
<h3>Use the Send Fader</h3>
<p>
- Every send processor has a small horizontal fader that can be adjusted in the usual way. It is
- not very big and so this can be a little unsatisfactory if you want very fine control
- over the send level.
+ Every send processor has a small horizontal fader that can be adjusted in the usual way. It is
+ not very big and so this can be a little unsatisfactory if you want very fine control
+ over the send level.
</p>
<h3>Mapping the Main Fader</h3>
<p>
- Double-clicking on the send in the processor box will allow you to use the
- big fader of the mixer strip to control the send. The visual appearance of
- the mixer strip will change to reflect this. Double-click the send again to
+ Double-clicking on the send in the processor box will allow you to use the
+ big fader of the mixer strip to control the send. The visual appearance of
+ the mixer strip will change to reflect this. Double-click the send again to
revert back to normal function for the strip.
</p>
<h3>Map Aux Sends To Main Faders</h3>
<p>
- Pressing the button marked <kbd class="menu">Aux Sends</kbd> on a aux bus will
- alter the channel strip for every track or bus that feeds the aux bus. Many
- aspects of the strip will become insensitive and/or change their visual
- appearance. More importantly, the main fader of the affected channel strips
- will now control the send level and <strong>not</strong> the track gain.
- This gives a larger, more configurable control to alter the level. Click the
- <kbd class="menu">Aux Sends</kbd> button of the aux bus again to revert the
+ Pressing the button marked <kbd class="menu">Aux Sends</kbd> on a aux bus will
+ alter the channel strip for every track or bus that feeds the aux bus. Many
+ aspects of the strip will become insensitive and/or change their visual
+ appearance. More importantly, the main fader of the affected channel strips
+ will now control the send level and <strong>not</strong> the track gain.
+ This gives a larger, more configurable control to alter the level. Click the
+ <kbd class="menu">Aux Sends</kbd> button of the aux bus again to revert the
channel strips to their normal use.
</p>
<h2>Disabling Sends</h2>
<p>
- Clicking on the small "LED" in the send display in the processor box of the
- channel strip will enable/disable the send. When disabled, only silence will
- be delivered to the aux bus by this track. When enabled, the signal arriving
+ Clicking on the small "LED" in the send display in the processor box of the
+ channel strip will enable/disable the send. When disabled, only silence will
+ be delivered to the aux bus by this track. When enabled, the signal arriving
at the send will be delivered to the aux bus.
</p>
<h2>Send Panning</h2>
any unused take or reference material out of the backup, reducing the archive's
global file size.
</p>
+
<p>
- For stereo tracks, you can now switch between the default stereo panner
+ For stereo tracks, you can now switch between the default stereo panner
and a traditional <dfn>balance control</dfn> by right-clicking on the
panner widget.
</p>
side.
</p>
<p class="note">
- While the balance control is considerably less flexible than the stereo
+ While the balance control is considerably less flexible than the stereo
panner, it works with arbitrary content without danger of introducing
comb filter artefacts.
</p>
+<h2>Interface Elements</h2>
+
+<p class=fixme>Add missing content, if the following is really meant to be documented</p>
+
+<h3>Checkboxes</h3>
+<h3>Buttons</h3>
+<h3>Pull Down Menus</h3>
+<h3>Pop Up Menus</h3>
+<h3>Context Menus</h3>
+<h3>Browsers</h3>
+
+<h2>Tooltips</h2>
+
+<p>
+ By default, Ardour will show helpful <dfn>tooltips</dfn> about the purpose
+ and use of each <abbr title="Graphical User Interface">GUI</abbr> element if
+ the pointer is positioned over it and hovered there for a short while. These
+ little pop-up messages can be a good way to discover the purpose of many
+ aspects of the GUI.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+ Pop-ups can also be distracting for experienced users, who may wish to
+ disable them via <kbd class="optoff">Edit > Preferences > GUI > Show
+ tooltip if mouse hovers over a control</kbd>.
+</p>
+
+<h2>Selection Techniques</h2>
+
+<p>
+ Ardour follows the conventions used by most other computer software
+ (including other DAWs) for <dfn>selecting objects</dfn> in the <abbr
+ title="Graphical User Interface">GUI</abbr>.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Selecting individual objects</h3>
+
+<p>
+ Clicking on an object (sometimes on a particular part of its on-screen
+ representation) will select the object, and deselect other similar objects.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Selecting multiple (similar) objects</h3>
+
+<p>
+ A <kbd class="mod1 mouse">left</kbd>-click on an object toggles its selected
+ status, so using <kbd class="mod1 mouse">left</kbd> on a series of objects
+ will select (or deselect) each one of them. A completely arbitrary set of
+ selections can be constructed with this technique.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Selecting a range of objects</h3>
+
+<p>
+ In cases where the idea of "select all objects between this one and that one"
+ makes sense, select one object and then <kbd class="mod3
+ mouse">left</kbd>-click on another to select both of them as well as all objects in between.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Time range selection</h3>
+
+<p>
+ To select a time <dfn>range</dfn> in the Editor, <kbd
+ class="mouse">Left</kbd>-click and drag the mouse. A <kbd class="mod1
+ mouse">Left</kbd> drag then lets you create other ranges and a <kbd
+ class="mod3 mouse">left</kbd>-click extends a range to cover a wider area.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Selection Undo</h3>
+
+<p>
+ The set of objects (including time range) that are selected at any one time
+ is known as the selection. Each time an object is selected or deselected, the
+ new selection is stored in an undo/redo stack. This stack is cleared each
+ time the content of the timeline changes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+ If a complex selection has been built up and then accidentally cleared it,
+ choosing <kbd class="menu">Edit > Undo Selection Change</kbd> will restore
+ the previous selection. If a selection is undone and a return to the state
+ before the undo is desired, choosing <kbd class="menu">Edit > Redo
+ Selection Change</kbd> will take the selection back to where it was before
+ <kbd class="menu">Edit > Undo Selection Change</kbd> was chosen.
+</p>
+
+<h2>Cut and Paste Operations</h2>
+
+<p>
+ The <dfn>clipboard</dfn> is a holder for various kinds of objects (regions,
+ control events, plugins) that is used during <dfn>cut-and-paste
+ operations</dfn>.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Cut</h3>
+
<p>
- Ardour offers a number of different ways for you to interact with it.
- This chapter provides information on basic techniques for <dfn>entering
- text</dfn>, <dfn>making selections</dfn>, and <dfn>using shortcuts</dfn>.
+ A <dfn>cut</dfn> operation removes selected objects and places them in the
+ clipboard. The existing contents of the clipboard are overwriten. The default
+ key binding is <kbd class="mod1">x</kbd>.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Copy</h3>
+
+<p>
+ A <dfn>copy</dfn> of the selected objects are placed in clipboard. There is
+ no effect on the selected objects themselves. The existing contents of the
+ clipboard are overwritten. The default key binding is <kbd
+ class="mod1">c</kbd>.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Paste</h3>
+
+<p>
+ The current contents of the clipboard are <dfn>paste</dfn>d (inserted) into
+ the session, using the current <dfn>edit point</dfn> as the destination. The
+ contents of the clipboard remain unchanged—the same item can be pasted
+ multiple times. The default key binding is <kbd class="mod1">v</kbd>.
+</p>
+
+<h2>Deleting Objects</h2>
+
+<p>
+ Within the Editor window (and to some extent within the Mixer window too),
+ there are several techniques for <dfn>deleting</dfn> objects (regions,
+ control points, and more).
+</p>
+
+<h3>Using the mouse and keyboard</h3>
+
+<p>
+ Select the object(s) to be deleted and then press the <kbd>Del</kbd> key.
+ This does <strong>not</strong> put the deleted object(s) in the clipboard, so
+ they cannot be pasted elsewhere.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Using normal cut and paste shortcuts</h3>
+
+<p>
+ Select the object(s) and then press <kbd class="mod1">x</kbd>. This puts the
+ deleted object(s) in the clipboard so that they can be pasted elsewhere.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Using just the mouse</h3>
+
+<p>
+ By default, <kbd class="mouse">Shift Right</kbd> will delete the clicked-upon
+ object. Like the <kbd>Del</kbd> key, this does <strong>not</strong> put the
+ deleted object(s) in the clipboard.
+</p>
+
+<p class="note">
+ The modifier and mouse button used for this can be controlled via <kbd
+ class="menu">Edit > Preferences > User Interaction > Delete using
+ …</kbd>. Any modifier and mouse button combination can be used.
+</p>
+
+<h2>Undo/Redo for Editing</h2>
+
+<p>
+ While editing, it sometimes happens that an unintended change is made, or a
+ choice is made that is later decided to be wrong. All changes to the
+ arrangement of session components (regions, control points) along the
+ timeline can be <dfn>undone</dfn> (and <dfn>redone</dfn> if necessary).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+ The default keybindings are <kbd class="mod1">Z</kbd> for Undo and <kbd
+ class="mod1">R</kbd> for Redo. These match the conventions of most other
+ applications that provide undo/redo.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+ Changes are also saved to the <dfn>session history</dfn> file, so that
+ undo/redo is possible even if the session is closed and reopened later, even
+ if Ardour is exited in between.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+ The maximum number of changes that can be undone can be configured under <kbd
+ class="menu">Edit > Preferences > Misc > Undo</kbd>. The maximum
+ number of changes stored in the history file is a separate parameter, and can
+ also be set in the same place.
+</p>
+
+<p class="note">
+ In addition to the normal undo (which works only on actions that change the
+ timeline), there is a <dfn>visual undo</dfn> which will revert any command
+ that affects the display of the editor window. Its shortcut is <kbd
+ class="mod3">Z</kbd>. There is also an undo for selection; see "Selection
+ Techniques" above.
</p>
-<h2>Behringer BCF-2000 Faders Controller</h2>
+<h2>Behringer BCF-2000 Faders Controller</h2>
<p>
<img alt="Digramatic Image of the BCF2000"
src="/images/BCF2000.png">
</p>
<p>
- The Behringer BCF-2000 Fader Controller is a control surface with 8 motorized
+ The Behringer BCF-2000 Fader Controller is a control surface with 8 motorized
faders, 8 rotary encoders and 30 push buttons. The device is a class
compliant USB Midi Interface and also has standard Midi DIN IN/OUT/THRU ports.
The device has included a Mackie/Logic Control Emulation Mode since firmware v1.06.
</p>
<p>
- In order to put the controller into Mackie/Logic control mode turn on the
+ In order to put the controller into Mackie/Logic control mode turn on the
unit while holding third button from the left in the top most row
of buttons (under the rotary encoder row). Hold the button down until <dfn>EG</dfn>
or edit global mode is displayed on the LCD screen of the unit. The global parameters
- can then be edited using the 8 rotary encoders in the top row.
+ can then be edited using the 8 rotary encoders in the top row.
</p>
<ul>
<li><code>
</li></code>
<li><code>
Encoder #3 sets the foot switch mode and should most likely be set to
- <dfn>Auto</dfn> to detect how the foot switch is wired.
+ <dfn>Auto</dfn> to detect how the foot switch is wired.
</li></code>
<li><code>
Encoder #5 sets the device id, if you are using only 1 device the id
should be set to <dfn>ID 1</dfn>. If you are using multiple BCF/BCR2000 each
device is required to be set up sequentially and one at a time.
</li></code>
- <li><code>
+ <li><code>
Encoder #7 controls the MIDI <dfn>Dead Time</dfn> or the amount of milliseconds
- after a move has been made that the device ignores further changes, this
+ after a move has been made that the device ignores further changes, this
should be set to <dfn>100</dfn>.
</li></code>
<li><code>
src="/images/BCF2000-Modes.png">
</p>
<p>
- The four buttons arranged in a rectangle and located under the Behringer logo
+ The four buttons arranged in a rectangle and located under the Behringer logo
are the mode selection buttons in Logic Control Emulation Mode,
currently Ardour has implemented support for two of these modes.
</p>
<dd>
In this mode they function as bank select left and right. If your session has more than 8 tracks
the next set of 8 tracks is selected with the right button and the faders will move to match the
- current gain settings of that bank of 8 tracks/busses. If the last bank contains less than 8
+ current gain settings of that bank of 8 tracks/busses. If the last bank contains less than 8
tracks/busses the unused faders will move to the bottom and the pan lights will all turn
off. An unlimited amount of tracks can be controlled with the device.
</dd>
In send mode, the encoders control sends from left to right instead of mixer pans.
If there are less than 8 sends the behavior of the encoder will be to continue controlling
the mixer pan. Visually it's indicated by the change in the LED from originating at the 12
- o'clock position to originating at the 7 o'clock position. If <dfn>FLIP</dfn> is pressed
+ o'clock position to originating at the 7 o'clock position. If <dfn>FLIP</dfn> is pressed
the encoder will control the mixer gain for the selected track/bus.
</dd>
<dt>First row of buttons</dt>
<p>
At the top-left of the controls is the name of the bus, which can be
- edited by double-clicking on it. The new name must be unique within the
- session. Underneath the name is a copy of the bus' main level fader.
+ edited by double-clicking on it. The new name must be unique within the
+ session. Underneath the name is a copy of the bus' main level fader.
The control buttons to the right-hand side are:
</p>
<dl>
<dt id="mute">M</dt>
- <dd><dfn>Mute</dfn>—click to mute the bus. Right-click to display
+ <dd><dfn>Mute</dfn>—click to mute the bus. Right-click to display
a menu which dictates what particular parts of the bus should be muted.</dd>
<dt id="solo">S</dt>
- <dd><dfn>Solo</dfn>—solo the bus. The behaviour of the solo system
+ <dd><dfn>Solo</dfn>—solo the bus. The behaviour of the solo system
is described in detail in the section <a
href="/mixing/muting-and-soloing/">Muting and Soloing</a>.</dd>
<dt id="automation">A</dt>
- <dd><dfn>Automation</dfn>—opens the automation menu for the
+ <dd><dfn>Automation</dfn>—opens the automation menu for the
bus. For details see <a href="@@automation">Automation</a>.</dd>
<dt id="group">G</dt>
<dd><dfn>Group</dfn>—lets you assign the bus to an existing or a
<p>
- You can view all the details about a selected note by context-clicking on
- it. The dialog that pops up will also allow you to modify all the properties
- of the selected note(s). You can modify individual properties more efficiently
+ You can view all the details about a selected note by context-clicking on
+ it. The dialog that pops up will also allow you to modify all the properties
+ of the selected note(s). You can modify individual properties more efficiently
using the techniques described below.
</p>
<dd>
<kbd>↑</kbd> increases the pitch of the selected notes.<br>
<kbd>↓</kbd> reduces the pitch of the selected notes.<br>
- If any of the selected notes are already at the maximum or minimum value,
- no changes will be made to any of the notes, to preserve relative pitches.
- You can override this with <kbd class="mod2"> </kbd>. The default shift
- distance is one semitone. Use <kbd class="mod3"> </kbd> to alter this to
+ If any of the selected notes are already at the maximum or minimum value,
+ no changes will be made to any of the notes, to preserve relative pitches.
+ You can override this with <kbd class="mod2"> </kbd>. The default shift
+ distance is one semitone. Use <kbd class="mod3"> </kbd> to alter this to
one octave.
</dd>
<dt>Changing velocity values</dt>
<br/>
<kbd class="mod1">↓</kbd> reduces the velocity of the selected
notes.<br>
- If any of the selected notes are already at the maximum or minumum value,
- no changes will be made to any of the notes, to preserve relative velocities.
+ If any of the selected notes are already at the maximum or minumum value,
+ no changes will be made to any of the notes, to preserve relative velocities.
You can override this with <kbd class="mod2"> </kbd>.
- You can also press <kbd>v</kbd> to popup a dialog that will allow you to set
- the absolute velocity value of each selected note. Finally, the scroll wheel
- <kbd class="mouse">⇑</kbd> <kbd class="mouse">⇓</kbd> will also
- adjust notes in the same way as the arrow keys (note that like the arrow keys
- it only affects selected notes, not the note the pointer is over).
+ You can also press <kbd>v</kbd> to popup a dialog that will allow you to set
+ the absolute velocity value of each selected note. Finally, the scroll wheel
+ <kbd class="mouse">⇑</kbd> <kbd class="mouse">⇓</kbd> will also
+ adjust notes in the same way as the arrow keys (note that like the arrow keys
+ it only affects selected notes, not the note the pointer is over).
</dd>
<dt>Changing channel</dt>
<dd>
- Press <kbd>c</kbd> to bring up a dialog that allow you to see and alter the
- MIDI channel of the selected notes. If the selected notes use different
+ Press <kbd>c</kbd> to bring up a dialog that allow you to see and alter the
+ MIDI channel of the selected notes. If the selected notes use different
channels, they will all be forced to the newly selected channel.
</dd>
<dt>Changing start/end/duration</dt>
<dd>
<kbd>,</kbd> (comma) will alter the start time of the note. <br>
- <kbd>.</kbd> (period) will alter the end time of the note. Both keys will by
- default make the note longer (either by moving the start earlier or the end
+ <kbd>.</kbd> (period) will alter the end time of the note. Both keys will by
+ default make the note longer (either by moving the start earlier or the end
later). For the opposite effect, use <kbd class="mod1">,</kbd>/<kbd
- class="mod1">.</kbd>. The note will be altered by the current grid setting.
+ class="mod1">.</kbd>. The note will be altered by the current grid setting.
To change the start/end positions by 1/128th of a beat, use the <kbd
class="mod2"> </kbd> modifier in addition to these shortcuts.
</dd>
<dt>Quantization</dt>
<dd>
- <kbd>q</kbd> will quantize the selected notes using the current quantize
- settings. If the quantize settings have not been set for this session yet,
- the quantize dialog will appear. <kbd class="mod2">q</kbd> will display the
- quantize dialog to allow you to reset the quantize settings, and then
- quantizes the selected notes. The default quantize settings are: quantize
- note starts to the current grid setting, no swing, no threshold, full
+ <kbd>q</kbd> will quantize the selected notes using the current quantize
+ settings. If the quantize settings have not been set for this session yet,
+ the quantize dialog will appear. <kbd class="mod2">q</kbd> will display the
+ quantize dialog to allow you to reset the quantize settings, and then
+ quantizes the selected notes. The default quantize settings are: quantize
+ note starts to the current grid setting, no swing, no threshold, full
strength.
</dd>
<dt>Step Entry, Quantize etc.</dt>
<dd></dd>
-</dl>
+</dl>
-
+
<p>
Recording and editing any serious session might leave the session with some unused or misplaced files here and there. Ardour can help deal with this clutter thanks to the tools located in the <kbd class="menu">Session > Clean-up</kbd> menu.
</p>
<p>
Using the <kbd class="menu">Bring all media into session folder</kbd> menu ensures that all media files used in the session are located inside the session's folder, hence avoiding any missing files when copied.
</p>
-
+
<h2 id="reset_peak_files">Reset Peak Files</h2>
<p>
</p>
<p>
You may want to review your understanding of
- <a href="@@edit-point-control">the edit point/range</a> and
+ <a href="@@edit-point-control">the edit point/range</a> and
<a href="@@which-regions-are-affected">which regions will be affected by region operations</a>.
</p>
<dl class="wide-table">
<p>
- Auxes and Subgroups share a common concept—they both provide a way
- for one or more tracks (or busses) to send their signal to a single bus so
- that common signal processing can be applied to the mix of their signals.
+ Auxes and Subgroups share a common concept—they both provide a way
+ for one or more tracks (or busses) to send their signal to a single bus so
+ that common signal processing can be applied to the mix of their signals.
</p>
<p>
- <dfn>Aux sends</dfn> leave the existing signal routing to the main mix in place,
- and are typically used to create a separate mix to send to (for example)
- monitors or headphones (for performer monitor mixes):
+ <dfn>Aux sends</dfn> leave the existing signal routing to the main mix in place,
+ and are typically used to create a separate mix to send to (for example)
+ monitors or headphones (for performer monitor mixes):
</p>
<img width="300px" src="/images/aux_routing.png" alt="aux signal routing" />
<p>
<dfn>Subgroups</dfn> usually remove the original signal routing to the main mix and
- replace it with a new one that delivers the output of the subgroup bus to
+ replace it with a new one that delivers the output of the subgroup bus to
the main mix instead.
</p>
<img width="300px" src="/images/subgroup_routes.png" alt="sub group signal routing" />
<h3>Positioning the playhead with the transport clocks</h3>
<p>
Click on either the primary or secondary transport clock and
- <a href="@@editing-clocks">edit their value</a>
+ <a href="@@editing-clocks">edit their value</a>
to move the playhead to a specific position.
</p>
<p>
- Ardour offers many options for controlling the appearance of tracks,
+ Ardour offers many options for controlling the appearance of tracks,
including color, height, waveform style and more.
These can all be found in the <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences >
Editor</kbd> menu.
<p>
- Ardour does not impose any particular ordering of tracks and busses in
+ Ardour does not impose any particular ordering of tracks and busses in
either the editor or mixer windows. The default arrangements are as follows:
</p>
</p>
<h2>Track Ordering and Remote Control IDs</h2>
-
+
<p>
- Every track and bus in Ardour is assigned a <dfn>remote control ID</dfn>.
+ Every track and bus in Ardour is assigned a <dfn>remote control ID</dfn>.
When a <a href="@@control-surfaces">control surface</a> or any other
- remote control is used to control Ardour, these IDs are used to identify
+ remote control is used to control Ardour, these IDs are used to identify
which track(s) or buss(es) are the intended target of incoming commands.
</p>
-
+
<h2>Copy a Single Region</h2>
<p>
- To copy a region, make sure you are in object mouse mode. Move the mouse
- pointer into the region and <kbd class="mouse mod1">left</kbd>-drag. Ardour
- creates a new region and follows the mouse pointer as it moves. See
- <a href="@@move-regions">Move Regions</a> for more
+ To copy a region, make sure you are in object mouse mode. Move the mouse
+ pointer into the region and <kbd class="mouse mod1">left</kbd>-drag. Ardour
+ creates a new region and follows the mouse pointer as it moves. See
+ <a href="@@move-regions">Move Regions</a> for more
details on moving the copied region.
</p>
<h2>Copy Multiple Regions</h2>
<p>
- To copy multiple regions, select them before copying. Then
- <kbd class="mouse mod1">left</kbd>-drag one of the selected regions. All the
- regions will be copied and as they move. The copied regions will keep their
+ To copy multiple regions, select them before copying. Then
+ <kbd class="mouse mod1">left</kbd>-drag one of the selected regions. All the
+ regions will be copied and as they move. The copied regions will keep their
positions relative to each other.
</p>
<h2>Fixed-Time Copying</h2>
<p>
- If you want to copy region(s) to other track(s) but keep the copies at the
- exact position on the timeline as the originals, simply use
+ If you want to copy region(s) to other track(s) but keep the copies at the
+ exact position on the timeline as the originals, simply use
<kbd class="mouse mod1">Middle</kbd>-drag instead.
</p>
-
+
<p>
- All media in a session folder is stored in a sub-folder called
- <samp>interchange</samp>. Below that is another folder with the name
- of the session. You can copy either of these to another location and
- use the files within them with any other application, importing them
- all into a project/session. You will lose all information about regions,
- tracks, and timeline positioning, but all the data that Ardour was working
- with will be present in the other DAW. Nothing below the interchange
- folder is specific to Ardour—any DAW or other audio/MIDI
+ All media in a session folder is stored in a sub-folder called
+ <samp>interchange</samp>. Below that is another folder with the name
+ of the session. You can copy either of these to another location and
+ use the files within them with any other application, importing them
+ all into a project/session. You will lose all information about regions,
+ tracks, and timeline positioning, but all the data that Ardour was working
+ with will be present in the other DAW. Nothing below the interchange
+ folder is specific to Ardour—any DAW or other audio/MIDI
application should be able to handle the files without any issues.
</p>
<p>
- <dfn>Copying</dfn> and <dfn>linking</dfn> are two different methods of
- using existing audio files on your computer (or network file system)
+ <dfn>Copying</dfn> and <dfn>linking</dfn> are two different methods of
+ using existing audio files on your computer (or network file system)
within a session. They differ in one key aspect:
</p>
<h2>Copying</h2>
<p>
- An existing media file is copied to the session's audio folder, and
+ An existing media file is copied to the session's audio folder, and
if necessary converted into the session's native format.<br>
- For audio files, you can control the choice of this format (eg. WAVE
- or Broadcast WAVE). Audio files will also be converted to the session
- sample rate if necessary (which can take several minutes for larger
+ For audio files, you can control the choice of this format (eg. WAVE
+ or Broadcast WAVE). Audio files will also be converted to the session
+ sample rate if necessary (which can take several minutes for larger
files).
</p>
<p>
- MIDI files will already be in SMF format, and are simply copied into
+ MIDI files will already be in SMF format, and are simply copied into
the session's MIDI folder.
</p>
<h2>Linking</h2>
<p>
A link to an existing media file somewhere on the disk is used as a the
- source for a region, but the data is <strong>not copied or modified</strong>
+ source for a region, but the data is <strong>not copied or modified</strong>
in any way.
</p>
<p class="warning">
the session. A backup of the session directory will miss linked files.
</p>
<p>
- You can choose to copy or link files into your session with the
- <kbd class="option">Copy file to session</kbd> option in the Import
+ You can choose to copy or link files into your session with the
+ <kbd class="option">Copy file to session</kbd> option in the Import
dialog window.
</p>
<p>
← This file won't be copied.
</p>
<p class="note">
- There is a global preference <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences > Misc >
+ There is a global preference <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences > Misc >
Session Management > Always copy imported files</kbd>. If it is
enabled, you will not be able to link a file.
</p>
-
+
<p>
<a href="@@the-track-and-bus-group-list">Track Groups</a> have
- a property titled <kbd class="option">Select</kbd> which, if enabled, cause
+ a property titled <kbd class="option">Select</kbd> which, if enabled, cause
Ardour to propagate a region selection in one track of a group to the
<dfn>corresponding regions</dfn> of the other tracks in that group.
</p>
<p>
- For example, let's assume you have used multiple microphones to record a
- drum kit to multiple tracks. You have created a track group, added all the
- drum tracks, enabled the group and enabled the Select property for the group.
+ For example, let's assume you have used multiple microphones to record a
+ drum kit to multiple tracks. You have created a track group, added all the
+ drum tracks, enabled the group and enabled the Select property for the group.
When you select a region in one of the drum tracks, Ardour will select the
- corresponding region in every other drum track, which in turn means that a
- subsequent edit operation will affect all the drum tracks together.
+ corresponding region in every other drum track, which in turn means that a
+ subsequent edit operation will affect all the drum tracks together.
</p>
<h2>How Ardour Decides Which Regions are "Corresponding"</h2>
<p>
- Regions in different tracks are considered to be corresponding for the purposes
+ Regions in different tracks are considered to be corresponding for the purposes
of sharing <dfn>selection</dfn> if they satisfy <em>all</em> the following criteria:
</p>
<ol>
<h2>Overlap Correspondence</h2>
<p>
- Sometimes, the rules outlined above are too strict to get Ardour to do what you
- want. Regions may have been trimmed to slightly different lengths, or positioned
- slightly differently, and this will cause Ardour to not select regions in other
+ Sometimes, the rules outlined above are too strict to get Ardour to do what you
+ want. Regions may have been trimmed to slightly different lengths, or positioned
+ slightly differently, and this will cause Ardour to not select regions in other
grouped tracks.</p>
<p>
- In this case, change
+ In this case, change
<kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences > Editor > Regions in
active edit groups are edited together:</kbd> to <kbd
class="menu">whenever they overlap in time</kbd>. With this option enabled, r
egions in different tracks will be considered equivalent for the purposes of selection if they
- <dfn>overlap</dfn>. This is much more flexible and will cover almost all of the
+ <dfn>overlap</dfn>. This is much more flexible and will cover almost all of the
cases that the fixed rules above might make cumbersome.
</p>
-
+
<p>
- Although recording MIDI is a common way to create new MIDI regions, it is
+ Although recording MIDI is a common way to create new MIDI regions, it is
often desirable to do so as part of editing/arranging.
</p>
<p>
- To create a new MIDI region, simply <kbd class="mouse">Left</kbd>-click in
- a MIDI track. A region will be created that is one bar long. You can
- <a href="@@trimming-regions">trim</a> it to any
+ To create a new MIDI region, simply <kbd class="mouse">Left</kbd>-click in
+ a MIDI track. A region will be created that is one bar long. You can
+ <a href="@@trimming-regions">trim</a> it to any
length you want.
</p>
<p>
- Once you have created a region, you will probably want to
+ Once you have created a region, you will probably want to
<a href="@@add-new-notes">Add some notes to it</a>.
</p>
-
+
<p>
- To create a new <dfn>MIDI track</dfn>, choose <kbd class="menu">Session >
+ To create a new <dfn>MIDI track</dfn>, choose <kbd class="menu">Session >
Add Track/Bus</kbd>. In the Add Track/Bus dialog, pick <kbd class="menu">MIDI
- Track</kbd> from the combo selector at the upper right.
+ Track</kbd> from the combo selector at the upper right.
</p>
<p>
- You may decide to use a track template if you have one.
- You may also know the instrument (a plugin that will generate audio in response
- to receiving MIDI) that you want to use in the track. The Instrument selector
- will show you a list of all plugins that you have which accept MIDI input and
- generate audio output.
+ You may decide to use a track template if you have one.
+ You may also know the instrument (a plugin that will generate audio in response
+ to receiving MIDI) that you want to use in the track. The Instrument selector
+ will show you a list of all plugins that you have which accept MIDI input and
+ generate audio output.
</p>
-<p>Every Region has a fade-in and fade-out. By default, the region fade
-is very short, and serves to de-click the transitions at the start and
-end of the region. By adjusting the regions fade length, a more
+<p>Every Region has a fade-in and fade-out. By default, the region fade
+is very short, and serves to de-click the transitions at the start and
+end of the region. By adjusting the regions fade length, a more
gradual transition can be accomplished.<br></p>
<h2>Region Fades</h2>
all audio regions. In object mode, a grip appears at the top left and
top right of an audio region when the cursor hovers over it. Placing
the cursor over the top of the grip displays the region fade cursor
-tip. Click and drag the grip left or right in the timeline to
+tip. Click and drag the grip left or right in the timeline to
adjust the length of the fade.<br>
</p>
<h2>Crossfades</h2>
<p>
- Ardour can be used in many different ways, from extremely simple to
- extremely complex. Many projects will be handled using the following
- kind of <dfn>workflow</dfn>.
+ Ardour can be used in many different ways, from extremely simple to extremely
+ complex. Many projects can be handled using the following kind of
+ <dfn>workflow</dfn>:
</p>
-<h2>Stage 1: Creating Your Project</h2>
+<h2>Stage 1: Creating The Project</h2>
+
<p>
- The first step is to create a new <dfn>session</dfn>, or open an
- existing one. A session consists of a folder containing a session file
- that defines all the information about the session. All media files used
- by the session can be stored within the session folder.
+ The first step is to create a new <dfn>session</dfn>, or open an existing
+ one. A session consists of a folder containing a session file that defines
+ all the information about the session. All media files used by the session
+ are usually stored within the session folder.
</p>
-<p>
- More details on sessions can be found in
-<a href="@@sessions">Working With Sessions</a>.
+
+<p class="note">
+ More details on sessions can be found in <a href="@@sessions">Sessions</a>
+ chapter.
</p>
-<h2>Stage 2: Creating and Importing Audio and MIDI data</h2>
+<h2>Stage 2: Creating and Importing Audio and MIDI Data</h2>
+
<p>
- Once you have a session, you will want to add some audio and/or MIDI
- material to it, which can be done in one of 3 ways:
+ Once a session has been created, it will be necessary to add some audio
+ and/or MIDI material to it—which can be done in one of 3 ways:
</p>
+
<ul>
- <li><dfn>Record</dfn> incoming audio or MIDI data, either via audio or MIDI hardware
- connected to your computer, or from other applications.</li>
- <li><dfn>Create</dfn> new MIDI data using the mouse and/or various dialogs</li>
+ <li><dfn>Record</dfn> incoming audio or MIDI data, either via audio or MIDI
+ hardware connected to the computer, or from other applications</li>
+ <li><dfn>Create</dfn> new MIDI data using the mouse and/or various dialogs
+ </li>
<li><dfn>Import</dfn> existing media files into the session</li>
</ul>
+
<p>
- <dfn>MIDI recordings</dfn> consist of performance data ("play note X at
- time T") rather than actual sound. As a result, they are more flexible
- than actual audio, since the precise sound that they will generate when
- played depends on where you send the MIDI to.<br>
- Two different synthesizers may produce very different sound in response
- to the same incoming MIDI data.
+ <dfn>MIDI recordings</dfn> consist of performance data ("play note X at time
+ T") rather than actual sound. As a result, they are more flexible than actual
+ audio, since the precise sound that they will generate when played depends on
+ where the MIDI data is sent to. Two different synthesizers may produce very
+ different sounds in response to the same incoming MIDI data.
</p>
+
<p>
<dfn>Audio recordings</dfn> can be made from external instruments with
- electrical outputs (keyboards, guitars etc.) or via microphones from
- acoustic instruments.
+ electrical outputs (keyboards, guitars, etc.), or via microphones or other sound capturing equipment.
</p>
+
<p>
- Ardour uses the <dfn>JACK Audio Connection Kit</dfn> for all audio and
- MIDI I/O, which means that recording audio/MIDI from other applications
- is fundamentally identical to recording audio/MIDI from your audio/MIDI
- hardware.
+ Ardour uses the <dfn>JACK Audio Connection Kit</dfn> for all audio and MIDI
+ I/O, which means that recording audio/MIDI from other applications is
+ fundamentally identical to recording audio/MIDI from audio/MIDI hardware.
</p>
+<p class=fixme>Sanity check: is this true anymore? Does Ardour's ALSA backend make this statment not exactly true?</p>
+
<h2>Stage 3: Editing and Arranging</h2>
+
<p>
- Once you have some material within the session, you can start to arrange
- it in time. This is done in one of the two main windows of Ardour, the
- <dfn>Editor</dfn> window.
+ Once there is material within the session, it can be arranged in time. This
+ is done in one of the two main windows of Ardour: the <dfn>Editor</dfn>
+ window.
</p>
+
<p>
- Your audio/MIDI data appears in chunks called <dfn>regions</dfn>, which
- are arranged into horizontal lanes called <dfn>tracks</dfn>. Tracks are
- stacked vertically in the Editor window. You can copy, shorten, move,
- and delete regions without changing the actual data stored in the session
- at all—Ardour is a <dfn>non-destructive</dfn> editor. (Almost)
- nothing that you do while editing will ever modify the files stored on
- disk (except the session file itself).
+ Audio/MIDI data appears in chunks called <dfn>regions</dfn>, which are
+ arranged into horizontal lanes called <dfn>tracks</dfn>. Tracks are stacked
+ vertically in the Editor window. Regions can be copied, shortened, moved, and
+ deleted without changing the actual data stored in the session at
+ all—Ardour is a <dfn>non-destructive</dfn> editor. (Almost) nothing
+ done while editing will ever modify the files stored on disk (with the
+ exception of the session file itself).
</p>
+
<p>
- You can also carry out many <dfn>transformations</dfn> to the contents
- of regions, again without altering anything on disk. You can alter,
- move, and delete MIDI notes, and remove silence from audio regions, for
- example.
+ Many <dfn>transformations</dfn> can be done to the contents of regions, again
+ without altering anything on disk. It is possible to alter, move, and delete
+ MIDI notes, and remove silence from audio regions, for example.
</p>
+<p class=fixme>Sanity check: deleting MIDI notes doesn't change them on disk? Isn't anything done to MIDI a destructive operation?</p>
+
<h2>Stage 4: Mixing and Adding Effects</h2>
+
<p>
- Once you have the arrangement of your session mostly complete, you will
- typically move on to the <dfn>mixing</dfn> phase. Mixing is a broad term
- to cover the way the audio signals that your session generates during
- playback and processed and added together into a final result that you
- actually hear. It can involve altering the relative levels of various
- parts of the session, adding effects that improve or transform certain
- elements, and others that bring the sound of the whole session to a new
- level.
+ Once the arrangement of the session mostly complete, the next step is the
+ <dfn>mixing</dfn> phase. Mixing is a broad term to cover the way the audio
+ signals that the session generates during playback are processed and added
+ together into a final result that is actually heard. It can involve altering
+ the relative levels of various parts of the session, adding effects that
+ improve or transform certain elements, and others that bring the sound of the
+ whole session to a new level.
</p>
+
<p>
- Ardour will allow you to <dfn>automate</dfn> changes to any mixing
- parameters (such as volume, panning, and effects controls)—it will
- record the changes you make over time, using a mouse or keyboard or some
- external control device, and can play back those changes later. This is
- very useful because often the settings you need will vary in one part of
- a session compared to another—rather than using a single setting
- for the volume, you may need increases followed by decreases (for example,
- to track the changing volume of a singer). Using automation can make all
- of this relatively simple.
+ Ardour allows <dfn>automation</dfn> of changes to any mixing parameters (such
+ as volume, panning, and effects controls)—it will record the changes
+ made over time, using a mouse or keyboard or some external control device,
+ and can play back those changes later. This is very useful because often the
+ settings needed will vary in one part of a session compared to
+ another—rather than using a single setting for the volume of a track,
+ it may need increases followed by decreases (for example, to track the
+ changing volume of a singer). Using automation can make all of this
+ relatively easy.
</p>
<h2>Stage 5: Export</h2>
+
<p>
- Once you are really satisfied with the arrangement and mix of your
- session, you will typically want to produce a single audio file that
- contains a ready-to-listen to version of the work. Ardour will allow you to
- <dfn>export</dfn> audio files in a variety of formats (simultaneously in
- some cases). This exported file would typically be used in creating a CD,
- or be the basis for digital distribution of the work.
+ Once the arrangement and mix of the session is finalized, a single audio file
+ that contains a ready-to-listen to version of the work is usually desired.
+ Ardour allows the <dfn>exporting</dfn> of audio files in a variety of formats
+ (simultaneously in some cases). This exported file would typically be used in
+ creating a CD, or be the basis for digital distribution of the work.
</p>
+
<p>
- Of course sometimes you will want to do export material that isn't finished
- yet, for example to give a copy to someone else to try to mix on their own
- system. Ardour will allow you to export as much of a session as you want, at
- any time, in any supported format.
+ Of course it is sometimes desirable to export material that isn't finished
+ yet—for example, to give a copy to another party to mix on their own
+ system. Ardour allows exporting as much of a session as desired, at any
+ time, in any supported format.
</p>
-
+
<p>
<dfn>Range markers</dfn> are essentially two location markers the are grouped
- together to mark the beginning and end of a section in the timeline.
-</p>
+ together to mark the beginning and end of a section in the timeline.
+</p>
<h2>Creating a Range on the timeline</h2>
<p>
- To create a new <dfn>range</dfn>, right-click on the
+ To create a new <dfn>range</dfn>, right-click on the
Ranges ruler at the top of the timeline, then select
- <kbd class="menu">New Range</kbd>.
- Two markers with the same name will appear along the ruler.
- Both marks can be moved along the timeline by clicking and dragging
+ <kbd class="menu">New Range</kbd>.
+ Two markers with the same name will appear along the ruler.
+ Both marks can be moved along the timeline by clicking and dragging
them to the desired location.
</p>
<p>
It is also possible to create range markers from a selected range or
- region in the Editor window, or to use the <kbd class="menu">Ranges
+ region in the Editor window, or to use the <kbd class="menu">Ranges
& Marks List</kbd> in the Editor list.
</p>
+++ /dev/null
-
-<p>
- The <dfn>clipboard</dfn> is a holder for various kinds of objects (regions,
- control events, plugins) that is used during <dfn>cut-and-paste
- operations</dfn>.
-</p>
-
-<h2>Cut</h2>
-<p>
- A <dfn>cut</dfn> operation removes selected objects and places them in the
- clipboard. The existing contents of the clipboard are overwriten.<br>
- The default key binding is <kbd class="mod1">x</kbd>.
-</p>
-
-<h2>Copy</h2>
-<p>
- A <dfn>copy</dfn> of the selected objects are placed in clipboard. There is
- no effect on the selected objects themselves. The existing contents of the
- clipboard are overwritten. <br>
- The default key binding is <kbd class="mod1">c</kbd>.
-</p>
-
-<h2>Paste</h2>
-<p>
- The current contents of the clipboard are <dfn>paste</dfn>d (inserted)
- into the session, using the current <dfn>edit point</dfn> as the
- destination. The contents of the clipboard remain unchanged—you
- can paste the same item multiple times. <br>
- The default key binding is <kbd class="mod1">v</kbd>.
-</p>
-
</p>
<p>
- These bindings strive to be <dfn>mnemonic</dfn>, that is, easy and intuitive to remember, and follow widely accepted conventions. As a general rule, the first letter of an operation will be used for as a shortcut, if available. This does not necessarily lead to the best ergonomics for rapid editing—there are alternative binding sets for that—but it does make it simpler for newcomers to remember some of the most useful ones, for example<br>
- <kbd>S</kbd> for <kbd class="menu">Region > Edit > Split"</kbd>
- or<br>
- <kbd>P</kbd> for <kbd class="menu">Transport > Playhead > Playhead to Mouse</kbd>.
+ These bindings strive to be <dfn>mnemonic</dfn>, that is, easy and intuitive
+ to remember, and follow widely accepted conventions. As a general rule, the
+ first letter of an operation will be used for as a shortcut, if available.
+ This does not necessarily lead to the best ergonomics for rapid
+ editing—there are alternative binding sets for that—but it does
+ make it simpler for newcomers to remember some of the most useful ones, for
+ example:
</p>
<p>
- Existing key bindings in menus are listed on the right side of the
- menu items. To create a custom key binding for a menu item quickly, navigate to
- the relevant (sub-) menu, hover over the item with the mouse and press
+ <kbd>S</kbd> for <kbd class="menu">Region > Edit > Split</kbd>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+ or
+</p>
+
+<p>
+ <kbd>P</kbd> for <kbd class="menu">Transport > Playhead > Playhead to
+ Mouse</kbd>.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+ Existing key bindings in menus are listed on the right side of the menu
+ items. To create a custom key binding for a menu item quickly, navigate to
+ the relevant menu or submenu, hover over the item with the mouse and press
the desired combination of modifiers and key.
</p>
<p class="warning">
- Ardour will silently re-assign the binding if you use a key
- combination that is already in use, possibly removing a standard
- keyboard shortcut without warning you. That might lead to confusion
- when you ask other users for help, and they explain something in terms
- of a standard key binding, which will then have a completely
- different effect on your system.
+ Ardour will silently reassign the binding of a key combination that is
+ already in use, possibly removing a standard keyboard shortcut without any
+ warning. This might lead to confusion when asking for help—when the
+ explanation is given in terms of a standard key binding—which will have
+ a completely different effect on the system with the modified key bindings.
</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>
- The conventions for using modifier keys (<kbd class="mod1"> </kbd>, <kbd
- class="mod2"> </kbd>, <kbd class="mod3"> </kbd> etc.) differ among platforms, so we
- provide different default bindings for each.
+ The conventions for using modifier keys (<kbd class="mod1n"></kbd>, <kbd
+ class="mod2n"></kbd>, <kbd class="mod3n"></kbd>, etc.) differ among
+ platforms, so different default bindings for each are provided.
</p>
+++ /dev/null
-
-<p>
- Within the Editor window (and to some extent within the Mixer window too),
- there are several techniques for <dfn>deleting</dfn> objects (regions,
- control points, and more).
-</p>
-
-<h2>Using the mouse and keyboard</h2>
-<p>
- Select the object(s) and then press the <kbd>Del</kbd> key.
- This does <strong>not</strong> put the deleted object(s) into the cut
- buffer, so they cannot be pasted elsewhere.
-</p>
-
-<h2>Using normal cut and paste shortcuts</h2>
-<p>
- Select the object(s) and then press <kbd class="mod1">x</kbd>. This puts
- the deleted object(s) into the cut buffer so that they could be pasted
- elsewhere.
-</p>
-
-<h2>Using just the mouse</h2>
-<p>
- By default, <kbd class="mouse">Shift Right</kbd> will delete the
- clicked-upon object. Like the Del key, this does <strong>not</strong>
- put the deleted object(s) into the cut buffer.
-</p>
-<p>
- The modifier and mouse button used for this can be controlled via
- <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences > User Interaction >
- Delete using …</kbd>. Any modifier and mouse button combination can
- be used.
-</p>
-
<p>
-When you have finished mixing your session, you probably want to export it to a sound
+When you have finished mixing your session, you probably want to export it to a sound
file to burn to a CD, upload to the web, or whatever. <kbd class="menu">Session > Export > Export to Audio file(s)…</kbd>
shows the Export Dialog to do this.
-
+
</p>
<p>
-You can also export the outputs of multiple tracks & busses all at once via
+You can also export the outputs of multiple tracks & busses all at once via
<kbd class="menu">Session > Export > Stem Export…</kbd>.
</p>
<p>
<dl>
<dt>Make files public</dt><dd>Choose whether to make uploaded files available to anyone via the Soundcloud web site.</dd>
-<dt>Open uploaded files in browser</dt><dd>Open each file on soundcloud in your browser after upload.
+<dt>Open uploaded files in browser</dt><dd>Open each file on soundcloud in your browser after upload.
If you don't enable this, you can still see the URLs in the <a href="">Log window</a>.</dd>
<dt>Make files downloadable</dt><dd>Choose whether to allow downloading of files uploaded to Soundcloud.</dd>
</dl>
<p>
- Like a normal aux send, an <dfn>external send</dfn> taps the signal at a
- specific within a channel strip, but delivers it to an external application
- or piece of hardware rather than an Ardour bus. By itself, an external
+ Like a normal aux send, an <dfn>external send</dfn> taps the signal at a
+ specific within a channel strip, but delivers it to an external application
+ or piece of hardware rather than an Ardour bus. By itself, an external
send has no effect whatsoever on the audio signals within Ardour—it
- is a one-way signal routing that leaves all existing signal processing
+ is a one-way signal routing that leaves all existing signal processing
just as it was.
</p>
<p>
- Most people will not have much use for this, but it can be useful if you
- want to experiment with external applications or hardware signal processing
+ Most people will not have much use for this, but it can be useful if you
+ want to experiment with external applications or hardware signal processing
applications.
</p>
<h2>Adding an External Send</h2>
<p>
- Context-click on the
- <a href="@@processor-box">processor box</a> in a
- channel strip (at the desired location, pre or post fader) and choose
- <kbd class="menu">Add new External Send</kbd>. A dialog will appear
- containing the standard Ardour
- <a href="@@patchbay"><dfn>patchbay</dfn></a> to allow
- you to connect the send to the desired destination.
+ Context-click on the
+ <a href="@@processor-box">processor box</a> in a
+ channel strip (at the desired location, pre or post fader) and choose
+ <kbd class="menu">Add new External Send</kbd>. A dialog will appear
+ containing the standard Ardour
+ <a href="@@patchbay"><dfn>patchbay</dfn></a> to allow
+ you to connect the send to the desired destination.
</p>
<h2>Removing an External Send</h2>
<li><kbd class="mouse mod3">Right</kbd>-click the send in the processor box.</li>
<li>Position the pointer over the send and press the <kbd>Del</kbd> key.</li>
<li>Position the pointer over the send and press <kbd class="mod1">x</kbd>.</li>
-<li>Context-click the send and choose either <kbd class="menu">Cut</kbd> or
+<li>Context-click the send and choose either <kbd class="menu">Cut</kbd> or
<kbd class="menu">Delete</kbd>.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Altering Send Levels</h2>
<p>
- Just below the send in the processor box is a small fader that can be used
- like all other faders in Ardour to control the gain applied to the signal
- delivered by the send. Drag it to alter the level, Shift-click to restore
- to unity (0dB) gain.
+ Just below the send in the processor box is a small fader that can be used
+ like all other faders in Ardour to control the gain applied to the signal
+ delivered by the send. Drag it to alter the level, Shift-click to restore
+ to unity (0dB) gain.
</p>
<h2>Disabling Sends</h2>
<p>
- Click the small "LED" in the send display within the processor box to turn
- it on and off. When turned off, silence will be delivered to the send. When
+ Click the small "LED" in the send display within the processor box to turn
+ it on and off. When turned off, silence will be delivered to the send. When
turned on, the signal within the channel strip will be delivered.
</p>
<h2>Editing Send Routing</h2>
<p>
- Double-clicking or Edit-clicking on the send in the processor box will
- redisplay the patchbay dialog that allows you full control over the routing
+ Double-clicking or Edit-clicking on the send in the processor box will
+ redisplay the patchbay dialog that allows you full control over the routing
of the send.
</p>
<ul>
<li>
- <dfn>Destructive crossfade length</dfn> is used when an operation on a
+ <dfn>Destructive crossfade length</dfn> is used when an operation on a
region is destructive, such as when recording in a track is in tape mode.
</li>
<li>
- When <dfn>Region fades</dfn> <strong>active</strong> is checked, the
- region fades set up in the mixer are used during playback. When unchecked,
+ When <dfn>Region fades</dfn> <strong>active</strong> is checked, the
+ region fades set up in the mixer are used during playback. When unchecked,
the fades are ignored.
</li>
<li>
<img src="/images/a4_session_properties_filenames.png" alt="session properties filenames tab"/>
<p>
- This tab is used to change how Ardour names recorded regions.
- If <dfn>Prefix track number</dfn> is selected a unique number will appear on each track
- in the <dfn>Editor</dfn> window and will prefix the region name. If the track number
- is 2 and the region would have been Gtr-1.1 with track number prefix turned on the region
+ This tab is used to change how Ardour names recorded regions.
+ If <dfn>Prefix track number</dfn> is selected a unique number will appear on each track
+ in the <dfn>Editor</dfn> window and will prefix the region name. If the track number
+ is 2 and the region would have been Gtr-1.1 with track number prefix turned on the region
will be named 2_Gtr-1.1 instead. See XX for base of the region name.
</p>
<p>
If <dfn>Prefix take name</dfn> is selected and the <dfn>Take name</dfn> has Take1 the region
will have the name Take1_Gtr-1.1 instead. If both boxes are checked the name will be
- Take1_2_Gtr-1.1 instead.
+ Take1_2_Gtr-1.1 instead.
</p>
<p>
When <dfn>Prefix take name</dfn> is enabled, the first time a track is recorded it will
- have the specified take name. When recording is stopped, any trailing number on the
+ have the specified take name. When recording is stopped, any trailing number on the
end of the take name will incremented by 1. If the track name specified doen't have
a number on the end, the number 1 will be suffixed.
</p>
<ol>
<li>Editing should be done without having to enter a new window</li>
<li>
- Editing should be able to carried out completely with the keyboard,
+ Editing should be able to carried out completely with the keyboard,
or completely with the mouse, or with any combination of the two.
</li>
</ol>
<p>
- Currently, MIDI editing is primarily restricted to note data. Other
- kinds of data (controller events, sysex data) are present and can be
- added and deleted, but not actually edited.
+ Currently, MIDI editing is primarily restricted to note data. Other
+ kinds of data (controller events, sysex data) are present and can be
+ added and deleted, but not actually edited.
</p>
<h2>Fundamentals of MIDI Editing in Ardour 3</h2>
<p>
- MIDI, just like audio, exists in <dfn>regions</dfn>. MIDI regions
+ MIDI, just like audio, exists in <dfn>regions</dfn>. MIDI regions
behave like audio regions: they can be moved, trimmed, copied (cloned),
- or deleted. Ardour allows either editing MIDI (or audio) regions, or MIDI
+ or deleted. Ardour allows either editing MIDI (or audio) regions, or MIDI
region content (the notes), but never both at the same time. The
- <kbd>e</kbd> key (by default) toggles between <dfn>region level</dfn>
+ <kbd>e</kbd> key (by default) toggles between <dfn>region level</dfn>
and <dfn>note level</dfn> editing, as will double-clicking on a MIDI region.
</p>
<p class="note">
One very important thing to note: editing note information in Ardour
- occurs in only a single region. There is no way currently to edit in note
- data for multiple regions at the same time, so for example you cannot select
- notes in several regions and then delete them all, nor can you copy-and-paste
- notes from one region to another. You can, of course, copy and paste the
+ occurs in only a single region. There is no way currently to edit in note
+ data for multiple regions at the same time, so for example you cannot select
+ notes in several regions and then delete them all, nor can you copy-and-paste
+ notes from one region to another. You can, of course, copy and paste the
region(s), just as with audio.
-</p>
+</p>
<p>
- The following list shows <dfn>plugin packages</dfn>. In some cases,
+ The following list shows <dfn>plugin packages</dfn>. In some cases,
a package contains just 1 or 2 plugins; in other cases, dozens.
</p>
the normal software package management tool for your system. Most
Linux distributions that are good for audio work will have most of
the LADSPA and LV2 plugins mentioned above available in ready-to-use
- forms.
+ forms.
</p>
<p>
Finding them will typically require <em>searching</em> your
Linux VST (LXVST) plugins are distributed as shared library
files. They are typically installed in /usr/lib/lxvst,
/usr/local/lib/lxvst or a directory mentioned in your LXVST_PATH
- environment variable.
+ environment variable.
</p>
<h3>OS X</h3>
<p>
Unless you're a particularly technical computer user, building and
installing plugins in the LV2 (or LADSPA) format is probably not
- something worth planning on.
+ something worth planning on.
</p>
<p>
Most of the plugins you are likely to use on OS X will be in Apple's
-
+
<p>
- Every MIDI note consists of two messages, a NoteOn and a NoteOff. Each one
- has a note number and a channel (also a velocity, but that isn't relevant
- here). The MIDI standard stresses that it is invalid to send a second NoteOn
- for the same note number on the same channel before a NoteOff for the first
- NoteOn. It is more or less impossible to do this with a physical MIDI
- controller such as a keyboard, but remarkably easy to trigger when editing
+ Every MIDI note consists of two messages, a NoteOn and a NoteOff. Each one
+ has a note number and a channel (also a velocity, but that isn't relevant
+ here). The MIDI standard stresses that it is invalid to send a second NoteOn
+ for the same note number on the same channel before a NoteOff for the first
+ NoteOn. It is more or less impossible to do this with a physical MIDI
+ controller such as a keyboard, but remarkably easy to trigger when editing
in a DAW—simply overlapping two instances of the same note will do it.
</p>
<p>
- Ardour offers many options for how to deal with instances where you overlap
- two instances of the same note. Which one to use is a per-session property
+ Ardour offers many options for how to deal with instances where you overlap
+ two instances of the same note. Which one to use is a per-session property
and can be modified from <kbd class="menu">Session > Properties > Misc > MIDI
Options</kbd>.
</p>
<dd>When one note is moved to overlap another, merge them both to form one (longer) note</dd>
</dl>
<p>
- Changing the option in use will not retroactively make changes—it will
+ Changing the option in use will not retroactively make changes—it will
only affect new note overlaps created while the option remains chosen.
</p>
<p class="warning">
- Ardour does not check for note overlaps across tracks or even across regions.
+ Ardour does not check for note overlaps across tracks or even across regions.
If you create these, it is your responsibility to deal with the consequences.
</p>
<p>
<kbd class="menu">Sesson > Properties > Misc > MIDI region copies are
independent</kbd> can be used to control the default behaviour when
- making a copy of a MIDI region.
+ making a copy of a MIDI region.
</p>
<p>
When enabled, every new copy of a MIDI
region results in a copy being made of the MIDI data used by the
- region, and the new copy of the region will refer to that data.
+ region, and the new copy of the region will refer to that data.
</p>
<p>
When disabled, every new copy of a MIDI region will refer to the same
send(s)</dfn>, and connecting the remainder of the channel strip to the
<dfn>Insert return(s)</dfn>, both of which are JACK ports which are
visible to other JACK applications.<br>
- Inserts are the JACK equivalents of normalized switching jacks on an
+ Inserts are the JACK equivalents of normalized switching jacks on an
analog console.
</p>
<p>
- An insert allows you to either use a special external DSP JACK
+ An insert allows you to either use a special external DSP JACK
application that is not available as a plugin, or to splice an external
analog piece of gear into your channel strip, such as a vintage
compressor, tube equalizer, etc. In the latter case, you would first
</p>
<p class="note">
Inserts will incur an additional JACK period of latency, which can be
- measured and compensated for during mixing, but not during tracking!
-</p>
+ measured and compensated for during mixing, but not during tracking!
+</p>
-
+
<p>
It has never been particularly easy to move sessions or projects from one
- <abbr title="Digital Audio Workstation">DAW</abbr> to another. There are two
+ <abbr title="Digital Audio Workstation">DAW</abbr> to another. There are two
<dfn>interchange standards</dfn> that have reasonably widespread support:</p>
<ul>
- <li>OMF (Open Media Framwwork), also known as OMFI. Developed and controlled
+ <li>OMF (Open Media Framwwork), also known as OMFI. Developed and controlled
by Avid, never standardized</li>
- <li>AAF (Advanced Authoring Format). Developed by a consortium of media-related
+ <li>AAF (Advanced Authoring Format). Developed by a consortium of media-related
corporations.</li>
</ul>
<p>
- In practice both of these standards have such complex and/or incomplete
+ In practice both of these standards have such complex and/or incomplete
specifications that different DAWs support them only partially,
differently, or not at all.
</p>
+++ /dev/null
-
-<p class=fixme>Add content</p>
-
-<h2>Checkboxes</h2>
-<h2>Buttons</h2>
-<h2>Pull Down Menus</h2>
-<h2>Pop Up Menus</h2>
-<h2>Context Menus</h2>
-<h2>Browsers</h2>
-
-
+
<p>
-There is no point in pretending that Ardour is a simple, easy to use
-program. The development group has worked hard to try to make simple
-things reasonably easy, common tasks quick, and hard and/or uncommon
-things possible. There is no doubt that we have more to do in this
-area, as well as polishing the user interface to improve its
-intuitiveness and work flow characteristics.
+ There is no point in pretending that Ardour is a simple, easy to use program.
+ The development group has worked hard to try to make simple things reasonably
+ easy, common tasks quick, and hard and/or uncommon things possible. There is
+ no doubt that there is more to do in this area, as well as polishing the user
+ interface to improve its intuitiveness and work flow characteristics.
</p>
+
<p>
-At the same time, multi-track, multi-channel, non-linear,
-non-destructive audio editing is a far from simple process. Doing it
-right requires not only a good ear, but a solid appreciation of
-basic audio concepts and a robust mental model/metaphor of what you
-are doing. Ardour is not a simple "audio recorder"—you can
-certainly use it to record stereo (or even mono) material in a
-single track, but the program has been designed around much richer
-capabilities than this.
+ At the same time, multi-track, multi-channel, non-linear, non-destructive
+ audio editing is a far from simple process. Doing it right requires not only
+ a good ear, but a solid appreciation of basic audio concepts and a robust
+ mental model/metaphor of what one is doing. Ardour is not a simple "audio
+ recorder"—it can certainly be used to record stereo (or even mono)
+ material in a single track, but the program has been designed around much
+ richer capabilities than this.
</p>
+
<p>
-Some people complain that Ardour is not "intuitive" to use—its
-lead developer has
-<a href="https://community.ardour.org/node/3322">some thoughts on that</a>.
+ Some people complain that Ardour is not "intuitive" to use—its
+ lead developer has
+
<a href="https://community.ardour.org/node/3322">some thoughts on that</a>.
</p>
<p>
<a
- href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latency_%28audio%29"><dfn>Latency</dfn></a>
- is a system's reaction time to a given stimulus. There are many factors that
- contribute to the total latency of a system. In order to achieve exact time
- synchronization all sources of latency need to be taken into account and
+ href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latency_%28audio%29"><dfn>Latency</dfn></a>
+ is a system's reaction time to a given stimulus. There are many factors that
+ contribute to the total latency of a system. In order to achieve exact time
+ synchronization all sources of latency need to be taken into account and
compensated for.
</p>
<h3>Sound propagation through the air</h3>
<p>
- Since sound is a mechanical perturbation in a fluid, it travels at
- comparatively slow <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_of_sound">speed</a>
- of about 340 m/s. As a consequence, your acoustic guitar or piano has a
- latency of about 1–2 ms, due to the propagation time of the sound
- between your instrument and your ear.
+ Since sound is a mechanical perturbation in a fluid, it travels at
+ comparatively slow <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_of_sound">speed</a>
+ of about 340 m/s. As a consequence, your acoustic guitar or piano has a
+ latency of about 1–2 ms, due to the propagation time of the sound
+ between your instrument and your ear.
</p>
<h3>Digital-to-Analog and Analog-to-Digital conversion</h3>
<p>
- Electric signals travel quite fast (on the order of the speed of light),
- so their propagation time is negligible in this context. But the conversions
- between the analog and digital domain take a comparatively long time to perform,
+ Electric signals travel quite fast (on the order of the speed of light),
+ so their propagation time is negligible in this context. But the conversions
+ between the analog and digital domain take a comparatively long time to perform,
so their contribution to the total latency may be considerable on
otherwise very low-latency systems. Conversion delay is usually below 1 ms.
</p>
<h3>Digital Signal Processing</h3>
<p>
- Digital processors tend to process audio in chunks, and the size of that chunk
- depends on the needs of the algorithm and performance/cost considerations.
- This is usually the main cause of latency when you use a computer and one you
+ Digital processors tend to process audio in chunks, and the size of that chunk
+ depends on the needs of the algorithm and performance/cost considerations.
+ This is usually the main cause of latency when you use a computer and one you
can try to predict and optimize.
</p>
<h3>Computer I/O Architecture</h3>
<p>
- A computer is a general purpose processor, not a digital audio processor.
- This means our audio data has to jump a lot of fences in its path from the
- outside to the CPU and back, contending in the process with some other parts
- of the system vying for the same resources (CPU time, bus bandwidth, etc.)
+ A computer is a general purpose processor, not a digital audio processor.
+ This means our audio data has to jump a lot of fences in its path from the
+ outside to the CPU and back, contending in the process with some other parts
+ of the system vying for the same resources (CPU time, bus bandwidth, etc.)
</p>
<h2>The Latency chain</h2>
<img src="/images/latency-chain.png" title="Latency chain" alt="Latency chain" />
<p>
- <em>Figure: Latency chain.</em>
- The numbers are an example for a typical PC. With professional gear and an
- optimized system the total roundtrip latency is usually lower. The important
+ <em>Figure: Latency chain.</em>
+ The numbers are an example for a typical PC. With professional gear and an
+ optimized system the total roundtrip latency is usually lower. The important
point is that latency is always additive and a sum of many independent factors.
</p>
<p>
- Processing latency is usually divided into <dfn>capture latency</dfn> (the time
- it takes for the digitized audio to be available for digital processing, usually
+ Processing latency is usually divided into <dfn>capture latency</dfn> (the time
+ it takes for the digitized audio to be available for digital processing, usually
one audio period), and <dfn>playback latency</dfn> (the time it takes for
- In practice, the combination of both matters. It is called <dfn>roundtrip
- latency</dfn>: the time necessary for a certain audio event to be captured,
+ In practice, the combination of both matters. It is called <dfn>roundtrip
+ latency</dfn>: the time necessary for a certain audio event to be captured,
processed and played back.
</p>
<p class="note">
It is important to note that processing latency in a jackd is a matter of
- choice. It can be lowered within the limits imposed by the hardware (audio
- device, CPU and bus speed) and audio driver. Lower latencies increase the
- load on the system because it needs to process the audio in smaller chunks
- which arrive much more frequently. The lower the latency, the more likely
+ choice. It can be lowered within the limits imposed by the hardware (audio
+ device, CPU and bus speed) and audio driver. Lower latencies increase the
+ load on the system because it needs to process the audio in smaller chunks
+ which arrive much more frequently. The lower the latency, the more likely
the system will fail to meet its processing deadline and the dreaded
- <dfn>xrun</dfn> (short for buffer over- or under-run) will make its
+ <dfn>xrun</dfn> (short for buffer over- or under-run) will make its
appearance more often, leaving its merry trail of clicks, pops and crackles.
</p>
<p>
- The digital I/O latency is usually negligible for integrated or
- <abbr title="Periphal Component Interface">PCI</abbr> audio devices, but
- for USB or FireWire interfaces the bus clocking and buffering can add some
+ The digital I/O latency is usually negligible for integrated or
+ <abbr title="Periphal Component Interface">PCI</abbr> audio devices, but
+ for USB or FireWire interfaces the bus clocking and buffering can add some
milliseconds.
</p>
<h2>Low Latency usecases</h2>
<p>
- Low latency is <strong>not</strong> always a feature you want to have. It
- comes with a couple of drawbacks: the most prominent is increased power
+ Low latency is <strong>not</strong> always a feature you want to have. It
+ comes with a couple of drawbacks: the most prominent is increased power
consumption because the CPU needs to process many small chunks of audio data,
- it is constantly active and can not enter power-saving mode (think fan-noise).
- Since each application that is part of the signal chain must run in every
- audio cycle, low-latency systems will undergo<dfn>context switches</dfn>
- between applications more often, which incur a significant overhead.
- This results in a much higher system load and an increased chance of xruns.
+ it is constantly active and can not enter power-saving mode (think fan-noise).
+ Since each application that is part of the signal chain must run in every
+ audio cycle, low-latency systems will undergo<dfn>context switches</dfn>
+ between applications more often, which incur a significant overhead.
+ This results in a much higher system load and an increased chance of xruns.
</p>
<p>
For a few applications, low latency is critical:
</p>
<h3>Playing virtual instruments</h3>
<p>
- A large delay between the pressing of the keys and the sound the instrument
- produces will throw-off the timing of most instrumentalists (save church
+ A large delay between the pressing of the keys and the sound the instrument
+ produces will throw-off the timing of most instrumentalists (save church
organists, whom we believe to be awesome latency-compensation organic systems.)
</p>
<h3>Software audio monitoring</h3>
<p>
- If a singer is hearing her own voice through two different paths, her head
+ If a singer is hearing her own voice through two different paths, her head
bones and headphones, even small latencies can be very disturbing and
manifest as a tinny, irritating sound.
</p>
Low latency is important when using the computer as an effect rack for
inline effects such as compression or EQ. For reverbs, slightly higher
latency might be tolerable, if the direct sound is not routed through the
- computer.
+ computer.
</p>
-<h3>Live mixing</h3>
+<h3>Live mixing</h3>
<p>
- Some sound engineers use a computer for mixing live performances.
- Basically that is a combination of the above: monitoring on stage,
- effects processing and EQ.
+ Some sound engineers use a computer for mixing live performances.
+ Basically that is a combination of the above: monitoring on stage,
+ effects processing and EQ.
</p>
<p>
- In many other cases, such as playback, recording, overdubbing, mixing,
- mastering, etc. latency is not important, since it can easily be
+ In many other cases, such as playback, recording, overdubbing, mixing,
+ mastering, etc. latency is not important, since it can easily be
compensated for.<br>
- To explain that statement: During mixing or mastering you don't care
+ To explain that statement: During mixing or mastering you don't care
if it takes 10ms or 100ms between the instant you press the play button
and sound coming from the speaker. The same is true when recording with a count in.
</p>
<h2>Latency compensation</h2>
<p>
- During tracking it is important that the sound that is currently being
+ During tracking it is important that the sound that is currently being
played back is internally aligned with the sound that is being recorded.
</p>
<p>
- This is where latency-compensation comes into play. There are two ways to
+ This is where latency-compensation comes into play. There are two ways to
compensate for latency in a DAW, <dfn>read-ahead</dfn> and
- <dfn>write-behind</dfn>. The DAW starts playing a bit early (relative to
- the playhead), so that when the sound arrives at the speakers a short time
+ <dfn>write-behind</dfn>. The DAW starts playing a bit early (relative to
+ the playhead), so that when the sound arrives at the speakers a short time
later, it is exactly aligned with the material that is being recorded.
- Since we know that play-back has latency, the incoming audio can be delayed
+ Since we know that play-back has latency, the incoming audio can be delayed
by the same amount to line things up again.
</p>
<p>
- As you may see, the second approach is prone to various implementation
- issues regarding timecode and transport synchronization. Ardour uses read-ahead
- to compensate for latency. The time displayed in the Ardour clock corresponds
- to the audio-signal that you hear on the speakers (and is not where Ardour
+ As you may see, the second approach is prone to various implementation
+ issues regarding timecode and transport synchronization. Ardour uses read-ahead
+ to compensate for latency. The time displayed in the Ardour clock corresponds
+ to the audio-signal that you hear on the speakers (and is not where Ardour
reads files from disk).
</p>
<p>
- As a side note, this is also one of the reasons why many projects start at
- timecode <samp>01:00:00:00</samp>. When compensating for output latency the
- DAW will need to read data from before the start of the session, so that the
- audio arrives in time at the output when the timecode hits <samp>01:00:00:00</samp>.
- Ardour3 does handle the case of <samp>00:00:00:00</samp> properly but not all
+ As a side note, this is also one of the reasons why many projects start at
+ timecode <samp>01:00:00:00</samp>. When compensating for output latency the
+ DAW will need to read data from before the start of the session, so that the
+ audio arrives in time at the output when the timecode hits <samp>01:00:00:00</samp>.
+ Ardour3 does handle the case of <samp>00:00:00:00</samp> properly but not all
systems/software/hardware that you may inter-operate with may behave the same.
</p>
<h2>Latency Compensation And Clock Sync</h2>
<p>
- To achieve sample accurate timecode synchronization, the latency introduced
+ To achieve sample accurate timecode synchronization, the latency introduced
by the audio setup needs to be known and compensated for.
</p>
<p>
- In order to compensate for latency, JACK or JACK applications need to know
+ In order to compensate for latency, JACK or JACK applications need to know
exactly how long a certain signal needs to be read-ahead or delayed:
</p>
<img src="/images/jack-latency-excerpt.png" title="Jack Latency Compensation" alt="Jack Latency Compensation" />
<p>
- <em>Figure: Jack Latency Compensation.</em>
+ <em>Figure: Jack Latency Compensation.</em>
</p>
<p>
- In the figure above, clients A and B need to be able to answer the following
+ In the figure above, clients A and B need to be able to answer the following
two questions:
</p>
<ul>
</ul>
<p>
- JACK features an <abbr title="Application Programming Interface">API</abbr>
- that allows applications to determine the answers to above questions.
- However JACK can not know about the additional latency that is introduced
- by the computer architecture, operating system and soundcard. These values
- can be specified by the JACK command line parameters <kbd class="input">-I</kbd>
- and <kbd class="input">-O</kbd> and vary from system
- to system but are constant on each. On a general purpose computer system
- the only way to accurately learn about the total (additional) latency is to
+ JACK features an <abbr title="Application Programming Interface">API</abbr>
+ that allows applications to determine the answers to above questions.
+ However JACK can not know about the additional latency that is introduced
+ by the computer architecture, operating system and soundcard. These values
+ can be specified by the JACK command line parameters <kbd class="input">-I</kbd>
+ and <kbd class="input">-O</kbd> and vary from system
+ to system but are constant on each. On a general purpose computer system
+ the only way to accurately learn about the total (additional) latency is to
measure it.
</p>
<h2>Calibrating JACK Latency</h2>
<p>
- Linux DSP guru Fons Adriaensen wrote a tool called <dfn>jack_delay</dfn>
- to accurately measure the roundtrip latency of a closed loop audio chain,
- with sub-sample accuracy. JACK itself includes a variant of this tool
+ Linux DSP guru Fons Adriaensen wrote a tool called <dfn>jack_delay</dfn>
+ to accurately measure the roundtrip latency of a closed loop audio chain,
+ with sub-sample accuracy. JACK itself includes a variant of this tool
called <dfn>jack_iodelay</dfn>.
</p>
<p>
- Jack_iodelay allows you to measure the total latency of the system,
- subtracts the known latency of JACK itself and suggests values for
+ Jack_iodelay allows you to measure the total latency of the system,
+ subtracts the known latency of JACK itself and suggests values for
jackd's audio-backend parameters.
</p>
<p>
- jack_[io]delay works by emitting some rather annoying tones, capturing
- them again after a round trip through the whole chain, and measuring the
- difference in phase so it can estimate with great accuracy the time taken.
+ jack_[io]delay works by emitting some rather annoying tones, capturing
+ them again after a round trip through the whole chain, and measuring the
+ difference in phase so it can estimate with great accuracy the time taken.
</p>
<p>
You can close the loop in a number of ways:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
- Putting a speaker close to a microphone. This is rarely done, as air
+ Putting a speaker close to a microphone. This is rarely done, as air
propagation latency is well known so there is no need to measure it.
</li>
<li>
- Connecting the output of your audio interface to its input using a
- patch cable. This can be an analog or a digital loop, depending on
- the nature of the input/output you use. A digital loop will not factor
- in the <abbr title="Analog to Digital, Digital to Analog">AD/DA</abbr>
+ Connecting the output of your audio interface to its input using a
+ patch cable. This can be an analog or a digital loop, depending on
+ the nature of the input/output you use. A digital loop will not factor
+ in the <abbr title="Analog to Digital, Digital to Analog">AD/DA</abbr>
converter latency.
</li>
</ul>
-<p>
+<p>
In the days of analog tape recording, the routing of monitor signals was
- performed with relays and other analog audio switching devices. Digital
- recorders have the same feature, but may impart some
+ performed with relays and other analog audio switching devices. Digital
+ recorders have the same feature, but may impart some
<a
- href="/synchronization/latency-and-latency-compensation/"><dfn>latency</dfn></a>
- (delay) between the time you make a noise and the time that you hear it
+ href="/synchronization/latency-and-latency-compensation/"><dfn>latency</dfn></a>
+ (delay) between the time you make a noise and the time that you hear it
come back from the recorder.
</p>
<p>
- The latency of <em>any</em> conversion from analog to digital and back to
- analog is about 1.5–2 ms. Some musicians claim that even the
- basic <abbr title="Analog to Digital to Analog">A/D/A</abbr> conversion
- time is objectionable. However even acoustic instruments such as the piano
+ The latency of <em>any</em> conversion from analog to digital and back to
+ analog is about 1.5–2 ms. Some musicians claim that even the
+ basic <abbr title="Analog to Digital to Analog">A/D/A</abbr> conversion
+ time is objectionable. However even acoustic instruments such as the piano
can have approximately 3 ms of latency, due to the time the sound
- takes to travel from the instrument to the musician's ears. Latency below
+ takes to travel from the instrument to the musician's ears. Latency below
5 ms should be suitable for a professional recording setup. Because
- 2 ms are already used in the A/D/A process, you must use extremely low
- <dfn>buffer sizes</dfn> in your workstation <abbr title="Input/Output">I/O</abbr>
- setup to keep the overall latency below 5ms. Not all
- <a href="@@the-right-computer-system-for-digital-audio">computer audio systems</a>
+ 2 ms are already used in the A/D/A process, you must use extremely low
+ <dfn>buffer sizes</dfn> in your workstation <abbr title="Input/Output">I/O</abbr>
+ setup to keep the overall latency below 5ms. Not all
+ <a href="@@the-right-computer-system-for-digital-audio">computer audio systems</a>
are able to work reliably at such low buffer sizes.
</p>
<p>
For this reason it is sometimes best to route the monitor signal
through an external mixing console while recording, an approach taken by
- most if not all professional recording studios. Many computer I/O devices
+ most if not all professional recording studios. Many computer I/O devices
have a hardware mixer built in which can route the monitor signal "around"
the computer, avoiding the systemlatency.<br>
- In either case, the monitoring hardware may be digital or analog. And in
+ In either case, the monitoring hardware may be digital or analog. And in
the digital case you will still have the A-D-A conversion latency of
1–2 ms.
</p>
<dfn>overlaid</dfn> in the editor window, to save vertical space.
</p>
<p>
- However, this display mode can be confusing for tracks with many overdubs,
- because its not obvious in which order the overdubs are layered. Although
+ However, this display mode can be confusing for tracks with many overdubs,
+ because its not obvious in which order the overdubs are layered. Although
there are other methods of moving particular regions to the top of an
overlapping set, and although Ardour also has playlists to let you manage
- <a href="@@playlist-usecases">takes</a> a bit more
- efficiently than just continually layering,
- there are times when being able to clearly see all regions in a track without
- any overlaps is reassuring and useful.
+ <a href="@@playlist-usecases">takes</a> a bit more
+ efficiently than just continually layering,
+ there are times when being able to clearly see all regions in a track without
+ any overlaps is reassuring and useful.
</p>
<p>
- Here is an image of a track with a rather drastic overdub situation,
+ Here is an image of a track with a rather drastic overdub situation,
viewed in normal <dfn>overlaid mode</dfn>:
</p>
<img src="/images/a3_overlaps_layered.png" alt="overlapping regions in overlaid mode" />
</p>
<img src="/images/a3_layers_stacked.png" alt="overlapping regions in stacked mode" />
<p>
- You can still move regions around as usual, and in fact you can
- even drag them so that they overlay each again, but when you
- release the mouse button, things will flip back to them all being
- stacked cleanly. The number of <dfn>lanes</dfn> for the track is determined by
- the maximum number of regions existing in any one spot throughout
- the track, so if you have really stacked up 10 overdubs in one spot,
- you'll end up with 10 lanes. Obviously, using a large track height
+ You can still move regions around as usual, and in fact you can
+ even drag them so that they overlay each again, but when you
+ release the mouse button, things will flip back to them all being
+ stacked cleanly. The number of <dfn>lanes</dfn> for the track is determined by
+ the maximum number of regions existing in any one spot throughout
+ the track, so if you have really stacked up 10 overdubs in one spot,
+ you'll end up with 10 lanes. Obviously, using a large track height
works much better for this than a small one.
</p>
<img src="/images/a4_session_properties_locations.png" alt="session properties locations tab"/>
<p>
- These options add file locations that will be searched to find the audio and
- midi files used by the session. This is useful when the files have been
+ These options add file locations that will be searched to find the audio and
+ midi files used by the session. This is useful when the files have been
imported into the session but not copied into the session.
</p>
<p>
- To add a location, navigate to the directory where the files are stored.
+ To add a location, navigate to the directory where the files are stored.
Drill down into the directory and then click open. The directory will
show up in the dialog. The remove button next to the added directory can be used
to remove it from the search path.
-
+
<p>
- All plugin control widgets, whether they are created by Ardour or
- by the plugin, have a common set of controls at the top of the window.
+ All plugin control widgets, whether they are created by Ardour or
+ by the plugin, have a common set of controls at the top of the window.
These include 4 controls for managing <dfn>plugin presets</dfn>.
</p>
<h2>What Is a Plugin Preset?</h2>
<p>
- A <dfn>preset</dfn> for a plugin is simply a saved set of values for
- all of a plugin's parameters. If you load a preset, you are restoring
- all the parameters of that plugin to the values stored in the preset.
- This is an easy, fast way to manage your preferred settings for
+ A <dfn>preset</dfn> for a plugin is simply a saved set of values for
+ all of a plugin's parameters. If you load a preset, you are restoring
+ all the parameters of that plugin to the values stored in the preset.
+ This is an easy, fast way to manage your preferred settings for
particular plugins.
</p>
<h2>The Preset Selector</h2>
<p>
- The <dfn>preset selector</dfn> is a regular selector that can be
- clicked to display a list of all known presets for this plugin. This
- will include presets that you have created yourself, and for some
- plugin formats, presets that come with the plugin itself.
+ The <dfn>preset selector</dfn> is a regular selector that can be
+ clicked to display a list of all known presets for this plugin. This
+ will include presets that you have created yourself, and for some
+ plugin formats, presets that come with the plugin itself.
</p>
<h2>Load a New Preset</h2>
<p>
- Click on the preset selector to pop up a menu showing the names of
- all available presets. Click on the name of the preset you wish to load.
- The preset will be loaded—you may see various controls in the
+ Click on the preset selector to pop up a menu showing the names of
+ all available presets. Click on the name of the preset you wish to load.
+ The preset will be loaded—you may see various controls in the
plugin editor change to reflect the new value of some or all parameters.
</p>
<h2>Create a Preset</h2>
<p>
- To save the current plugin settings as a new preset, click on the
- <kbd class="menu">Add</kbd> button at the top of the window. A dialog
- will appear to ask for the name of the preset.
+ To save the current plugin settings as a new preset, click on the
+ <kbd class="menu">Add</kbd> button at the top of the window. A dialog
+ will appear to ask for the name of the preset.
</p>
<h2>Save a Preset</h2>
<p>
- If you wish to modify the settings in an existing preset, first use
- the preset selector to load the preset, then adjust the settings as
- you wish. When done, click the <kbd class="menu">Save</kbd> button
- and the new values will be stored, overwriting the previous version
+ If you wish to modify the settings in an existing preset, first use
+ the preset selector to load the preset, then adjust the settings as
+ you wish. When done, click the <kbd class="menu">Save</kbd> button
+ and the new values will be stored, overwriting the previous version
of this preset.
</p>
<h2>Delete a preset</h2>
<p>
- To delete an existing preset, use the preset selector to load the preset.
- Click the <kbd class="menu">Delete</kbd> button, and the preset will be
- removed. The preset selector turn blank, showing that no preset is
- currently loaded (although the settings will stay as they were).
+ To delete an existing preset, use the preset selector to load the preset.
+ Click the <kbd class="menu">Delete</kbd> button, and the preset will be
+ removed. The preset selector turn blank, showing that no preset is
+ currently loaded (although the settings will stay as they were).
</p>
<ul>
<li>
- <dfn>Sample format</dfn> defaults to 32-bit floating point, the same as
- the internal representation. 24 and 16-bit integer representation are
+ <dfn>Sample format</dfn> defaults to 32-bit floating point, the same as
+ the internal representation. 24 and 16-bit integer representation are
also available.
</li>
<li>
-
+
<p>
Sessions can have various items of metadata attached to them, via <kbd class ="menu">Session > Metadata > Edit Metadata…</kbd> and <kbd class ="menu">Session > Metadata > Import Metadata…</kbd>.
</p>
<p>
The meters from audio tracks always display in the <dfn>Meterbridge</dfn>.
- This tab changes what additional controls are also displayed.
+ This tab changes what additional controls are also displayed.
</p>
<img src="/images/a4_session_properties_meterbridge.png" alt="session properties meterbridge tab"/>
<h2>Introduction</h2>
<p>
- An engineer reading and using audio level meters compares to a musician
- reading or writing sheet-music. Just like there are virtuoso musicians
+ An engineer reading and using audio level meters compares to a musician
+ reading or writing sheet-music. Just like there are virtuoso musicians
who can't read a single note, there are great sound-engineers who just
- go by their ears and produce great mixes and masters without ever looking
+ go by their ears and produce great mixes and masters without ever looking
at a single meter.
</p>
<p>
- Yet, if you want to work in or with the broadcast industry, it is
+ Yet, if you want to work in or with the broadcast industry, it is
usually unavoidable to use meters.
</p>
<p>
- Audio level meters are very powerful tools that are useful in every
+ Audio level meters are very powerful tools that are useful in every
part of the entire production chain:
</p>
<ul>
- <li>When tracking, meters are used to ensure that the input
- signal does not <dfn>overload</dfn> and maintains reasonable
+ <li>When tracking, meters are used to ensure that the input
+ signal does not <dfn>overload</dfn> and maintains reasonable
<dfn>headroom</dfn>.</li>
- <li>Meters offer a <dfn>quick visual indication</dfn> of a
+ <li>Meters offer a <dfn>quick visual indication</dfn> of a
activity when working with a large number of tracks.</li>
- <li>During mixing, meters provide an rough estimate of the
+ <li>During mixing, meters provide an rough estimate of the
<dfn>loudness</dfn> of each track.</li>
- <li>At the mastering stage, meters are used to check
- compliance with upstream <dfn>level</dfn> and <dfn>loudness
+ <li>At the mastering stage, meters are used to check
+ compliance with upstream <dfn>level</dfn> and <dfn>loudness
standards</dfn> and to optimize the <dfn>loudness range</dfn>
for a given medium.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Meter Types</h2>
<p>
- A general treatise on metering is beyond the scope of this
+ A general treatise on metering is beyond the scope of this
manual. It is a complex subject with a history…
For background information and further reading we recommend:
</p>
<dl>
<dt>Digital peak-meter</dt>
- <dd>A <dfn>Digital Peak Meter</dfn> displays the absolute maximum signal
- of the raw audio PCM signal (for a given time). It is commonly used when
- tracking to make sure the recorded audio never clips. To that end, DPMs
+ <dd>A <dfn>Digital Peak Meter</dfn> displays the absolute maximum signal
+ of the raw audio PCM signal (for a given time). It is commonly used when
+ tracking to make sure the recorded audio never clips. To that end, DPMs
are always calibrated to 0 <abbr title="DeciBel Full
Scale">dBFS</abbr>, or the maximum level that can be represented digitally
- in a given system. This value has no musical reason whatsoever and depends
- only on the properties of the signal chain or target medium. There are
- conventions for <dfn>fall-off-time</dfn> and <dfn>peak-hold</dfn>, but no
+ in a given system. This value has no musical reason whatsoever and depends
+ only on the properties of the signal chain or target medium. There are
+ conventions for <dfn>fall-off-time</dfn> and <dfn>peak-hold</dfn>, but no
exact specifications.
<p>
- Various conventions for DPM fall-off times and dBFS line-up level can be
+ Various conventions for DPM fall-off times and dBFS line-up level can be
chosen in <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences > GUI</kbd>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>RMS meters</dt>
<dd>An <dfn><abbr title="Root Mean Square">RMS</abbr>-type meter</dfn>
- is an averaging meter that looks at the energy in the signal. It
- provides a general indication of loudness as perceived by humans. Ardour
+ is an averaging meter that looks at the energy in the signal. It
+ provides a general indication of loudness as perceived by humans. Ardour
features three RMS meters, all of which offer additonal peak indication.
<ul>
<li><dfn>K20</dfn>: A meter according to the K-system introduced by Bob
</dd>
<dt>IEC PPMs</dt>
- <dd><dfn><abbr title="International Electrontechnical Commission">IEC</abbr>-type
- <abbr title="Peak Programme Meters">PPM</abbr>s</dfn> are a mix between DPMs and
- RMS meters, created mainly for the purpose of
+ <dd><dfn><abbr title="International Electrontechnical Commission">IEC</abbr>-type
+ <abbr title="Peak Programme Meters">PPM</abbr>s</dfn> are a mix between DPMs and
+ RMS meters, created mainly for the purpose of
interoperability. Many national and institutional varieties exist (<abbr
title="European Broadcasting Union">EBU</abbr>, <abbr title="British Broadcasting
- Corporation">BBC</abbr>, <abbr title="Deutsche Industrie-Norm">DIN</abbr>).
+ Corporation">BBC</abbr>, <abbr title="Deutsche Industrie-Norm">DIN</abbr>).
<p>
- These loudness and metering standards provide a common point of
- reference which is used by broadcasters in particular so that the
+ These loudness and metering standards provide a common point of
+ reference which is used by broadcasters in particular so that the
interchange of material is uniform across their sphere of influence,
regardless of the equipment used to play it back.
</p>
<p>
For home recording, there is no real need for this level of
- interoperability, and these meters are only strictly required when
- working in or with the broadcast industry. However, IEC-type meters have
- certain characteristics (rise-time, ballistics) that make them useful
+ interoperability, and these meters are only strictly required when
+ working in or with the broadcast industry. However, IEC-type meters have
+ certain characteristics (rise-time, ballistics) that make them useful
outside the context of broadcast.
</p>
<p>
- Their specification is very exact, and consquently, there are no
+ Their specification is very exact, and consquently, there are no
customizable parameters.
</p>
</dd>
-
+
<dt>VU meters</dt>
- <dd><dfn><abbr title="Volume Unit">VU</abbr> meters</dfn> are the dinosaurs (1939)
+ <dd><dfn><abbr title="Volume Unit">VU</abbr> meters</dfn> are the dinosaurs (1939)
amongst the meters. They react very slowly, averaging out peaks.
- Their specification is very strict (300ms rise-time, 1–1.5% overshoot,
- flat frequency response). Ardour's VU meter adheres to that spec, but for
+ Their specification is very strict (300ms rise-time, 1–1.5% overshoot,
+ flat frequency response). Ardour's VU meter adheres to that spec, but for
visual consistency it is displayed as a bar-graph rather than needle-style
(more below).
</dd>
</ul>
<p>
They all share the same configuration and color-theme which is available in
- preferences and the theme-manager. Settings for the Peak and RMS+Peak meters
- as well as VU meter standards are found in
+ preferences and the theme-manager. Settings for the Peak and RMS+Peak meters
+ as well as VU meter standards are found in
<kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences > GUI > Metering</kbd>.
</p>
<p>
</p>
<img class="right" src="/images/meter-preferences.png" alt="" />
<p>
- Regardless of meter type and standard the meter display will highlight red if
+ Regardless of meter type and standard the meter display will highlight red if
the signal on the given channel exceeds the configured peak threshold.
</p>
<p>
<h2>Overview of meter types</h2>
<p>
- The figure on the left shows all available meter-types in Ardour 3.4 when fed with a
+ The figure on the left shows all available meter-types in Ardour 3.4 when fed with a
-18 dBFS 1 kHz sine wave.
</p>
alt="Bar-graph meters in Ardour" />
<p>
- Due to layout concerns and consistent look&feel all meters available in
+ Due to layout concerns and consistent look&feel all meters available in
Ardour itself are bar-graph type meters. Corresponding needle-style
meters—which take up more visual screen space—are available as
LV2 plugins (see image on the right):
<dl>
<dt>Systems using JACK 1, versions 0.124 or later</dt>
-<dd>On these systems, just start JACK with
+<dd>On these systems, just start JACK with
the <code>-X alsa_midi</code> server argument. To support legacy control
applications, you can also use the -X seq argument to the ALSA
backend of JACK and get the exact same results.</dd>
of these options is not acceptable.
</dd>
</dl>
-
+
<h2>a2jmidid</h2>
<p>
<dfn>a2jmidid</dfn> is an application that bridges between the system
-
+
<p>
In order for CoreMIDI to work with Jack MIDI, a CoreMIDI-to-JACK-MIDI
<dfn>bridge</dfn>
<h3>Inside Ardour</h3>
<p>
MIDI ports show up in Ardour's MIDI connection matrix in multiple
- locations. Bridged CoreMIDI ports as well as JACK MIDI ports that have
- been created by other software clients will show up under the "Other" tab.
+ locations. Bridged CoreMIDI ports as well as JACK MIDI ports that have
+ been created by other software clients will show up under the "Other" tab.
Bridged CoreMIDI hardware ports show up under the "Hardware" tab.
</p>
</p>
<p>
Each change from one scene to another is represented by a marker in
-the "Marker" bar.
+the "Marker" bar.
</p>
<p>
Technically, scene changes are delivered as a combination of bank and
<p>
Whenever the global record enable button is engaged and Ardour's
transport is rolling, a new marker will be created for each scene
-change message received via the "Scene In" port.
+change message received via the "Scene In" port.
</p>
<p>
If 2 different scene changes are received within a certain time
-
+
<p>A typical <dfn>MIDI track header</dfn> looks like this:</p>
<img src="/images/typical-midi-track-controls.png" alt="midi track controls"
/>
-
+
<p>
- To see the full set of MIDI track controls, you need to increase the
- <a href="@@track-height">track height</a>
- beyond the default. MIDI tracks show only a few of the control elements
+ To see the full set of MIDI track controls, you need to increase the
+ <a href="@@track-height">track height</a>
+ beyond the default. MIDI tracks show only a few of the control elements
when there is insufficient vertical space.
</p>
<p>
A MIDI track has the same basic
- <a href="@@audio-track-controls">controls as an audio track</a>,
- with the addition of two extra elements. The set of buttons below the main track
- controls the <dfn>MIDI channel</dfn>(s) that will be visible in the editor. A MIDI track's
- data may span any number of the 16 available MIDI channels, and sometimes it is
- useful to view only a subset of those channels; different instruments may,
- for example, be put on different channels. Clicking on a channel number toggles
+ <a href="@@audio-track-controls">controls as an audio track</a>,
+ with the addition of two extra elements. The set of buttons below the main track
+ controls the <dfn>MIDI channel</dfn>(s) that will be visible in the editor. A MIDI track's
+ data may span any number of the 16 available MIDI channels, and sometimes it is
+ useful to view only a subset of those channels; different instruments may,
+ for example, be put on different channels. Clicking on a channel number toggles
its visibility.
</p>
<p>
- To the right of the MIDI track controls is a representation of a piano keyboard
- called the <dfn>scroomer</dfn>. This performs a couple of functions.
+ To the right of the MIDI track controls is a representation of a piano keyboard
+ called the <dfn>scroomer</dfn>. This performs a couple of functions.
The scrollbar controls the range of pitches that are visible on the
track, as visualized by the piano keyboard.<br>
Drag the body of the scrollbar up and down to display higher or lower
pitches.<br>
- Drag the scrollbar handles to zooms in and out and increase and decrease the
+ Drag the scrollbar handles to zooms in and out and increase and decrease the
range of visible pitches.<br>
- clicking on the piano plays the corresponding MIDI note for reference.
+ clicking on the piano plays the corresponding MIDI note for reference.
</p>
<p>
To edit the contents of a MIDI track see <a href="@@edit-midi">Edit
<a href="/files/a3_mnemonic_cheatsheet.pdf">US Letter</a> and
<a href="/files/a3_mnemonic_cheatsheet-a4.pdf">A4</a> paper format.
</p>
+
<p>
This set of bindings assumes an en_US keyboard. However, most if not all
- bindings will also work on other keyboards when you use the
- <kbd>AltGr</kbd> to compose those glyphs that are not directly accessible.
+ bindings will also work on other keyboards when the <kbd>AltGr</kbd> key is
+ used to compose those glyphs that are not directly accessible.
</p>
<h2>Transport & Recording Control</h2>
+
<dl class="bindings">
<dt>destroy last recording</dt>
<dd><kbd class="mod1">Del</kbd></dd>
</dl>
<h2>Session & File Handling</h2>
+
<dl class="bindings">
<dt>add track(s) or bus(ses)</dt>
<dd><kbd class="mod13">n</kbd></dd>
</dl>
<h2>Changing What's Visible</h2>
+
<dl class="bindings">
<dt>fit tracks vertically</dt>
<dd><kbd class="">f</kbd></dd>
</dl>
<h2>Window Visibility</h2>
+
<dl class="bindings">
<dt>toggle locations dialog</dt>
<dd><kbd class="mod2">l</kbd>(ell)</dd>
</dl>
<h2>Editing with Edit Point</h2>
+
<p>
- Most edit functions operate on a single <dfn>Edit Point</dfn> (EP). The edit
- point can be any of: playhead (default), the mouse or an active marker.
- The choice of edit point (by default) also sets the <dfn>Zoom Focus</dfn>.
+ Most edit functions operate on a single <dfn>Edit Point</dfn> (EP). The edit
+ point can be any of: playhead (default), the mouse or an active marker. The
+ choice of edit point (by default) also sets the <dfn>Zoom Focus</dfn>.
</p>
<dl class="bindings">
</dl>
<h2>Aligning with the Edit Point</h2>
+
<p>
- <dfn>Align operations</dfn> move regions so that their start/end/sync
- point is at the edit point. <dfn>Relative</dfn> operations just align the first
+ <dfn>Align operations</dfn> move regions so that their start/end/sync point
+ is at the edit point. <dfn>Relative</dfn> operations just align the first
region and moves other selected regions to maintain relative positioning.
</p>
</dl>
<h2>Edit Point Playback</h2>
+
<dl class="bindings">
<dt>play edit range</dt>
<dd><kbd class="mod2">Space</kbd></dd>
<dt>play selected region(s)</dt>
<dd><kbd class="">h</kbd></dd>
</dl>
+
<h2>Region Operations</h2>
+
<dl class="bindings">
<dt>duplicate region (multi)</dt>
<dd><kbd class="mod3">d</kbd></dd>
</dl>
<h2>Generic Editing</h2>
+
<dl class="bindings">
<dt>copy</dt>
<dd><kbd class="mod1">c</kbd></dd>
</dl>
<h2>Selecting</h2>
+
<p class="note">
- There are a few functions that refer to an <dfn>Edit Range</dfn>. The
- current edit range is defined using combinations of the possible edit
+ There are a few functions that refer to an <dfn>Edit Range</dfn>. The
+ current edit range is defined using combinations of the possible edit
points: <dfn>playhead</dfn>, <dfn>active marker</dfn>, or <dfn>mouse</dfn>.
</p>
</dl>
<h2>Defining Loop, Punch Range and Tempo Changes</h2>
+
<dl class="bindings">
<dt>set loop range from edit range</dt>
<dd><kbd class="">]</kbd></dd>
-
+
<p>
- A <a href="/files/a3_mnemonic_cheat_sheet_osx.pdf">printable cheat sheet</a>
+ A <a href="/files/a3_mnemonic_cheat_sheet_osx.pdf">printable cheat sheet</a>
for these bindings is available for download.
</p>
<h2>Transport & Recording Control</h2>
+
<dl class="bindings">
<dt>destroy last recording</dt>
<dd><kbd class="mod1">Del</kbd></dd>
<dt>transition to roll</dt>
<dd><kbd class="mod3">↑</kbd></dd>
</dl>
+
<h2>Session & File Handling</h2>
+
<dl class="bindings">
<dt>add track(s) or bus(ses)</dt>
<dd><kbd class="mod13">n</kbd></dd>
<dt>toggle sel. track MIDI input</dt>
<dd><kbd class="mod2">i</kbd></dd>
</dl>
+
<h2>Changing What's Visible</h2>
+
<dl class="bindings">
<dt>fit tracks vertically</dt>
<dd><kbd class="">f</kbd></dd>
<dt>zoom out</dt>
<dd><kbd class="">-</kbd></dd>
</dl>
+
<h2>Window Visibility</h2>
+
<dl class="bindings">
<dt>toggle locations dialog</dt>
<dd><kbd class="mod2">l</kbd></dd>
</dl>
<h2>Editing with Edit Point</h2>
+
<p>
- Most edit functions operate on a single <dfn>Edit Point</dfn> (EP). The
- edit
- point can be any of: playhead (default), the mouse or an active marker.
- The choice of edit point (by default) also sets the <dfn>Zoom Focus</dfn>.
+ Most edit functions operate on a single <dfn>Edit Point</dfn> (EP). The edit
+ point can be any of: playhead (default), the mouse or an active marker. The
+ choice of edit point (by default) also sets the <dfn>Zoom Focus</dfn>.
</p>
<dl class="bindings">
</dl>
<h2>Aligning with the Edit Point</h2>
+
<p>
- <dfn>Align operations</dfn> move regions so that their start/end/sync
- point is at the edit point. <dfn>Relative</dfn> operations just align
- the first region and moves other selected regions to maintain relative
- positioning.
+ <dfn>Align operations</dfn> move regions so that their start/end/sync point
+ is at the edit point. <dfn>Relative</dfn> operations just align the first
+ region and moves other selected regions to maintain relative positioning.
</p>
<dl class="bindings">
<dt>play selected region(s)</dt>
<dd><kbd class="">h</kbd></dd>
</dl>
+
<h2>Region Operations</h2>
+
<dl class="bindings">
<dt>duplicate region (multi)</dt>
<dd><kbd class="mod3">d</kbd></dd>
</dl>
<h2>Selecting</h2>
+
<p class="note">
- There are a few functions that refer to an <dfn>Edit Range</dfn>. The
- current edit range is defined using combinations of the possible edit
- points: <dfn>playhead</dfn>, <dfn>active marker</dfn>, or<dfn>mouse</dfn>.
+ There are a few functions that refer to an <dfn>Edit Range</dfn>. The
+ current edit range is defined using combinations of the possible edit
+ points: <dfn>playhead</dfn>, <dfn>active marker</dfn>, or <dfn>mouse</dfn>.
</p>
<dl class="bindings">
<dt>select previous track/bus</dt>
<dd><kbd class="mod2">↑</kbd></dd>
</dl>
+
<h2>Defining Loop, Punch Range and Tempo Changes</h2>
+
<dl class="bindings">
<dt>set loop range from edit range</dt>
<dd><kbd class="">]</kbd></dd>
<p>Ardour has three main settings which affect how
- monitoring is performed. The first is
- <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences > Audio >
+ monitoring is performed. The first is
+ <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences > Audio >
Record monitoring handled by</kbd>. There are two or three
options here, depending on the capabilities of your hardware.
</p>
-<p> The other two settings are more complex. One is
+<p> The other two settings are more complex. One is
<kbd class="menu">Tape machine mode</kbd>, found in the
same dialog, and the other is the
<kbd class="option">Session > Properties > Monitoring
automatically follows transport state</kbd> setting.
-</p>
+</p>
<p>
Monitoring also depends on the state of the track's record-enable button,
the session record-enable button, and on whether or not the transport is
rolling.
</p>
-<h3>Software or Hardware Monitoring Modes</h3>
+<h3>Software or Hardware Monitoring Modes</h3>
<p>
-If Ardour is set to <dfn>external monitoring</dfn>, the explanation of
-Ardour's monitoring behaviour is simple: it does not do any.
+If Ardour is set to <dfn>external monitoring</dfn>, the explanation of
+Ardour's monitoring behaviour is simple: it does not do any.
</p>
<h2>Monitoring in Non-Tape-Machine Mode</h2>
<p>
When <dfn>Tape-Machine mode is off</dfn>, and a track is armed,
- Ardour <em>always</em> monitors the live input, except in one case:
+ Ardour <em>always</em> monitors the live input, except in one case:
the transport is rolling, the session is not recording, and
- <dfn>auto-input</dfn>
+ <dfn>auto-input</dfn>
is active. In this case only, you will hear playback from an armed track.
-</p>
+</p>
<p>
Unarmed tracks will play back their contents from disc, unless the
transport is stopped <em>and</em> <dfn>auto-input</dfn> is enabled.
<h2>Monitoring in Tape-Machine Mode</h2>
<p>
- In <dfn>Tape-Machine mode</dfn>, things are slightly simpler: when a
+ In <dfn>Tape-Machine mode</dfn>, things are slightly simpler: when a
track is armed, its behaviour is the same as in non-tape-machine mode.
-</p>
+</p>
<p>
- Unarmed tracks however will always just play back their contents from
- disk; the live input will never be monitored.
+ Unarmed tracks however will always just play back their contents from
+ disk; the live input will never be monitored.
</p>
<p>There are three basic ways to approach monitoring: </p>
-<h3>External Monitoring</h3>
+<h3>External Monitoring</h3>
<img class="right"
src="/images/external-monitoring.png" />
<p>When using <dfn>external monitoring</dfn>, Ardour plays no role in
monitoring at all. Perhaps the recording set-up has an external mixer which
can be used to set up monitor mixes, or perhaps the sound-card being used
- has a "listen to the input" feature. This approach yields zero or near-zero
- latency. On the other hand it requires external hardware, and the monitoring
- settings are less flexible and not saved with the session.</p>
+ has a "listen to the input" feature. This approach yields zero or near-zero
+ latency. On the other hand it requires external hardware, and the monitoring
+ settings are less flexible and not saved with the session.</p>
-<h3>JACK-Based Hardware Monitoring</h3>
+<h3>JACK-Based Hardware Monitoring</h3>
<img class="right" src="/images/jack-monitoring.png" />
<p>Some sound cards have the ability
- to mix signals from their inputs to their outputs with very low or even zero
+ to mix signals from their inputs to their outputs with very low or even zero
latency, a feature called <dfn>hardware monitoring</dfn>.
Furthermore, on some cards this function can be controlled by JACK. This is a nice arrangement,
if the sound card supports it, as it combines the convenience of having the
monitoring controlled by Ardour with the low latency operation of doing it
externally.
-</p>
+</p>
-<h3>Software Monitoring</h3>
+<h3>Software Monitoring</h3>
<img class="right" src="/images/ardour-monitoring.png" />
<p>With the <dfn>software monitoring</dfn> approach, all monitoring is
performed by Ardour—it makes track inputs available at track
outputs, governed by various controls. This approach will almost always have
more routing flexibility than JACK-based monitoring. The disadvantage is
that there will be some latency between the input and the output, which
- depends for the most part on the JACK buffer size that is being used.
-</p>
+ depends for the most part on the JACK buffer size that is being used.
+</p>
<p>
The <strong>Track Input Monitoring automatically follows transport state</strong>
- affects how input monitoring is handling. See
+ affects how input monitoring is handling. See
<a href="@@monitor-setup-in-ardour">Monitor Setup in Ardour</a>.
</p>
<img class="left" src="/images/a4_monitoring_section.png" alt="monitoring section"/>
<p>
- The 'Use monitor section' displays an extra section in the <strong>Mixer</strong>
+ The 'Use monitor section' displays an extra section in the <strong>Mixer</strong>
window that is modelled on the similiarly named section on large analog consoles.
</p>
<p>
- When recording, it is important that performers hear themselves, and to
+ When recording, it is important that performers hear themselves, and to
hear any pre-recorded tracks they are performing with.
- Audio recorders typically let you <dfn>monitor</dfn> (i.e. listen to)
- the input signal of all tracks that are armed for recording, and playing
+ Audio recorders typically let you <dfn>monitor</dfn> (i.e. listen to)
+ the input signal of all tracks that are armed for recording, and playing
back the unarmed tracks.
</p>
<p>
- To move or copy a region, make sure you are in object mode. If you are
- using smart mode, the pointer must be in the lower half of the region
+ To move or copy a region, make sure you are in object mode. If you are
+ using smart mode, the pointer must be in the lower half of the region
to begin a move or copy operation.
</p>
<p>
- Move the pointer into the region, use a <kbd class="mouse">Left</kbd>-drag.
- The region will follow the pointer as you move it around. By default,
- the region can move freely along the timeline.
+ Move the pointer into the region, use a <kbd class="mouse">Left</kbd>-drag.
+ The region will follow the pointer as you move it around. By default,
+ the region can move freely along the timeline.
</p>
<p>
- To move a region from one track to another, simply start a move as
- described above, but move the pointer into the desired track. The
- region will follow the pointer. Note that if you have other kinds of
- tracks visible, the region will remain where it is as the pointer
- moves across them, and will then jump to the new track. This serves as
- a visual reminder that you cannot drag an audio region into an automation
+ To move a region from one track to another, simply start a move as
+ described above, but move the pointer into the desired track. The
+ region will follow the pointer. Note that if you have other kinds of
+ tracks visible, the region will remain where it is as the pointer
+ moves across them, and will then jump to the new track. This serves as
+ a visual reminder that you cannot drag an audio region into an automation
track or a bus, for example.
</p>
<h2>Move Multiple Regions</h2>
<p>
- To move multiple regions, select them before moving. Then
- <kbd class="mouse">Left</kbd>-drag one of the selected regions. All the
+ To move multiple regions, select them before moving. Then
+ <kbd class="mouse">Left</kbd>-drag one of the selected regions. All the
regions will move, keeping their positions relative to each other.
</p>
<h2>Fixed-Time Motion</h2>
<p>
- Sometimes, you want to move a region to another track, but keeping its
- position along the timeline exactly the same. To do this, use
+ Sometimes, you want to move a region to another track, but keeping its
+ position along the timeline exactly the same. To do this, use
<kbd class="mouse">Middle</kbd>-drag instead.
</p>
If <kbd class="menu">Snap To Grid</kbd> is enabled, then regions can
only move so that they align with locations determined by the current
snap settings (beats, or seconds, or other region boundaries, etc).
- See <a href="@@grid-controls">Snap To the Grid</a>
+ See <a href="@@grid-controls">Snap To the Grid</a>
for details.
</p>
-
+
<h2>Single marker</h2>
<p>
- <kbd class="mouse">Left</kbd>-click and drag to move a single marker to a
+ <kbd class="mouse">Left</kbd>-click and drag to move a single marker to a
new location on the timeline.
</p>
<h2>Multiple markers</h2>
<p>
It is possible to move multiple markers by the same distance. <kbd
- class="mouse mod1">Left</kbd>-click each marker you want to move, then drag
+ class="mouse mod1">Left</kbd>-click each marker you want to move, then drag
one of the selected markers to a new location. All selected markers will
- then move together. Note that the markers are bounded by the zero point on
- the timeline. In other words, the first marker in your selection cannot move
+ then move together. Note that the markers are bounded by the zero point on
+ the timeline. In other words, the first marker in your selection cannot move
to the left of zero on the timeline.
</p>
<h2>Both ends of a range marker</h2>
<p>
- <kbd class="mod1 mouse">Left</kbd>-drag either end of the range marker. The
+ <kbd class="mod1 mouse">Left</kbd>-drag either end of the range marker. The
other end will move by the same distance.
</p>
<p>
- Each track and bus has two buttons which have important implications
- for signal flow: <dfn>mute</dfn> and <dfn>solo</dfn>. The behaviour
- of these buttons is configurable in Ardour, to suit different studio
+ Each track and bus has two buttons which have important implications
+ for signal flow: <dfn>mute</dfn> and <dfn>solo</dfn>. The behaviour
+ of these buttons is configurable in Ardour, to suit different studio
set-ups.
</p>
<h2>Without a monitor bus</h2>
<p>
- If you are using Ardour without a monitor bus, there is only one way
+ If you are using Ardour without a monitor bus, there is only one way
in which mute and solo will work:</p>
<ul>
<li>
so that it will not be heard.
</li>
<li>
- Solo on a track or bus will solo that track or bus and mute all
- others. Soloing a bus will also solo any tracks or
+ Solo on a track or bus will solo that track or bus and mute all
+ others. Soloing a bus will also solo any tracks or
busses which feed that bus.
</li>
</ul>
<h2>With a monitor bus</h2>
<p>
- For setups with a monitor bus, you have more options, mostly
- governed by the setting of the
- <kbd class="option">Solo controls are Listen controls</kbd> option
+ For setups with a monitor bus, you have more options, mostly
+ governed by the setting of the
+ <kbd class="option">Solo controls are Listen controls</kbd> option
in <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences > Solo / mute.
</p>
<p>
- With <kbd class="optoff">Solo controls are Listen controls</kbd>
- unticked, behaviour is almost exactly the same as the situation
- without a monitor bus. Mute and solo behave the same, and the monitor
+ With <kbd class="optoff">Solo controls are Listen controls</kbd>
+ unticked, behaviour is almost exactly the same as the situation
+ without a monitor bus. Mute and solo behave the same, and the monitor
bus is fed from the master bus, so it sees the same thing.
</p>
<p>
- With <kbc class="option">Solo controls are Listen controls</kbd>
- ticked, the master and monitor busses behave differently. In this
- mode, solo controls are more properly called <dfn>listen</dfn>
- controls, and Ardour's solo buttons will change their legend from
- <samp>S</samp> to either <samp>A</samp> or <samp>P</samp> to
+ With <kbc class="option">Solo controls are Listen controls</kbd>
+ ticked, the master and monitor busses behave differently. In this
+ mode, solo controls are more properly called <dfn>listen</dfn>
+ controls, and Ardour's solo buttons will change their legend from
+ <samp>S</samp> to either <samp>A</samp> or <samp>P</samp> to
reflect this.
</p>
<p>
- Now, without any mute or listen, the monitor bus remains fed by
+ Now, without any mute or listen, the monitor bus remains fed by
the master bus. Also:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
- Mute will mute the track or bus, so that it will not be heard
+ Mute will mute the track or bus, so that it will not be heard
anywhere (neither on the master nor monitor busses), much as before.
</li>
<li>
- Listen will disconnect the monitor bus from the master bus, so
- that the monitor bus now only receives things that are "listened to".
- Listen will not perform any muting, and hence the master bus will
+ Listen will disconnect the monitor bus from the master bus, so
+ that the monitor bus now only receives things that are "listened to".
+ Listen will not perform any muting, and hence the master bus will
not be affected by a listened track or bus.
</li>
</ul>
<p>
When solo controls are listen controls, the listening point can be set
- to either After-Fade Listen (AFL) or Pre-Fade Listen (PFL). The precise
- point to get the signal from can further be configured using the
- <kbd class="menu">PFL signals come from</kbd> and
+ to either After-Fade Listen (AFL) or Pre-Fade Listen (PFL). The precise
+ point to get the signal from can further be configured using the
+ <kbd class="menu">PFL signals come from</kbd> and
<kbd class="menu">AFL signals come from</kbd> options.
</p>
<p>
</p>
<img src="/images/solo-mute.png" alt="mute/solo signal flow" />
<p>
- Here we have a number of tracks or busses (in orange). Each one has an
- output which feeds the master bus. In addition, each has PFL and AFL
- outputs; we have a choice of which to use. PFL/AFL from each track or
- bus are mixed. Then, whenever anything is set to AFL/PFL, the monitor out
- becomes just those AFL/PFL feeds; the rest of the time, the monitor out is
+ Here we have a number of tracks or busses (in orange). Each one has an
+ output which feeds the master bus. In addition, each has PFL and AFL
+ outputs; we have a choice of which to use. PFL/AFL from each track or
+ bus are mixed. Then, whenever anything is set to AFL/PFL, the monitor out
+ becomes just those AFL/PFL feeds; the rest of the time, the monitor out is
fed from the master bus.
</p>
<p>
- In this scheme Solo has no effect other than to mute other non-soloed tracks;
+ In this scheme Solo has no effect other than to mute other non-soloed tracks;
with solo (rather then listen), the monitor out is fed from the master bus.
</p>
<h3>Solo-in-place mute cut</h3>
<p>
- When using solo-in-place (SiP), in other words when soloed tracks are being
- listened to on the master bus, this fader specifies the gain that will be
+ When using solo-in-place (SiP), in other words when soloed tracks are being
+ listened to on the master bus, this fader specifies the gain that will be
applied to other tracks in order to mute them. Setting this level to
- -∞&nbdp;dB will mean that other tracks will not be heard at all; setting to
+ -∞&nbdp;dB will mean that other tracks will not be heard at all; setting to
some higher value less than 0dB means that other non-soloed tracks will be h
- eard, just reduced in volume compared to the soloed tracks. Using a value
- larger than -∞dB is sometimes called "Solo-In-Front" by other DAWs, because
- the listener has the sense that soloed material is "in front" of other
- material. In Ardour, this is not a distinct mode, but instead the mute cut
+ eard, just reduced in volume compared to the soloed tracks. Using a value
+ larger than -∞dB is sometimes called "Solo-In-Front" by other DAWs, because
+ the listener has the sense that soloed material is "in front" of other
+ material. In Ardour, this is not a distinct mode, but instead the mute cut
control offers any level of "in-front-ness" that you might want to use.
</p>
<h3>Exclusive solo</h3>
<p>
- If this is enabled, only one track or bus will ever be soloed at once; soloing
- track B while track A is currently soloed will un-solo track A before soloing
+ If this is enabled, only one track or bus will ever be soloed at once; soloing
+ track B while track A is currently soloed will un-solo track A before soloing
track B.
</p>
<h3>Show solo muting</h3>
<p>
- If this is enabled, the mute button of tracks and busses will be drawn
- outlined to indicate that the track or bus is muted because something else
- is soloed. This is enabled by default, and we recommend that you leave it
+ If this is enabled, the mute button of tracks and busses will be drawn
+ outlined to indicate that the track or bus is muted because something else
+ is soloed. This is enabled by default, and we recommend that you leave it
that way unless you are extremely comfortable with Ardour's mute/solo
behaviour.
</p>
<h3>Soloing overrides muting</h3>
<p>
- If this is enabled, a track or bus that is both soloed and muted will behave
+ If this is enabled, a track or bus that is both soloed and muted will behave
as if it is soloed.
</p>
<h3>Mute affects…</h3>
<p>
- These options dictate whether muting the track will affect various routes out
- of the track; through the sends, through the control outputs (to the monitor
+ These options dictate whether muting the track will affect various routes out
+ of the track; through the sends, through the control outputs (to the monitor
bus) and to the main outputs.
</p>
-
<p>
The initial <dfn>Session</dfn> dialog consists of several consecutive pages:
-</p>
+</p>
<h2>Open Session Page</h2>
<p>
- On this page, you can open an <dfn>existing session</dfn>. You can also
- open any <a href="@@snapshots">snapshot</a> of a
- particular session by clicking on the arrow next to the session name to
- display all snapshots, and then selecting one. If your session is
+ On this page, you can open an <dfn>existing session</dfn>. You can also
+ open any <a href="@@snapshots">snapshot</a> of a
+ particular session by clicking on the arrow next to the session name to
+ display all snapshots, and then selecting one. If your session is
not displayed in the Recent Sessions list, the <kbd class="menu">Other
- Sessions</kbd> button will bring up a file selection dialog to navigate
+ Sessions</kbd> button will bring up a file selection dialog to navigate
your hard drive.<br>
Alternatively, you can opt to create a <kbd class="menu">New
Session</kbd>.
<h2>New Session page</h2>
<p>
- Here you can type in the name of a session, select a folder to save in, and
+ Here you can type in the name of a session, select a folder to save in, and
optionally use an existing <a href="@@session-templates">template</a>.
</p>
<p>
- Under <dfn>Advanced Options</dfn>, you can select whether you wish to create
+ Under <dfn>Advanced Options</dfn>, you can select whether you wish to create
a Master Bus, or a Control Bus, and how many channels you wish either to have.
- You can also decide whether you want Ardour to automatically connect all inputs
- to the physical ports of your hardware. Ardour will do so
+ You can also decide whether you want Ardour to automatically connect all inputs
+ to the physical ports of your hardware. Ardour will do so
sequentially and in round-robin fashion, connecting the first track's
input to the first input of your hardware and so on. When Ardour has used
all available hardware inputs, it will begin again with the first physical
- input.
+ input.
You can limit the number of channels on your physical hardware that Ardour
- uses.
+ uses.
</p>
<p>
- By default Ardour will connect all tracks and busses to the Master Bus if
- there is one. However you can also tell it to automatically connect each
+ By default Ardour will connect all tracks and busses to the Master Bus if
+ there is one. However you can also tell it to automatically connect each
output to the physical outputs of your interface or sound card, and limit
the number of physical outputs used, as above.
</p>
-
+
<p>
- While in note edit mode, selected notes can be cut using
- <kbd class="mod1">x</kbd>, copied with <kbd class="mod1">c</kbd> and
- deleted with <kbd>Delete</kbd>, just as regions can. Once cut or
- copied, they can be pasted at the edit point using
+ While in note edit mode, selected notes can be cut using
+ <kbd class="mod1">x</kbd>, copied with <kbd class="mod1">c</kbd> and
+ deleted with <kbd>Delete</kbd>, just as regions can. Once cut or
+ copied, they can be pasted at the edit point using
<kbd class="mod1">v</kbd>.
</p>
<h2>Selecting/Navigating note-by-note</h2>
<p>
- Tab selects the next note. <kbd class="mod1">Tab</kbd> selects the previous
- note. <kbd class="mod3">Tab</kbd> or <kbd class="mod13">Tab</kbd> adds
+ Tab selects the next note. <kbd class="mod1">Tab</kbd> selects the previous
+ note. <kbd class="mod3">Tab</kbd> or <kbd class="mod13">Tab</kbd> adds
the next/previous note to the selection.
</p>
<h2>Selecting notes with the mouse</h2>
<p>
- While in mouse object mode, you can click on a note to select it. Once you
- have selected one note, <kbd class="mouse mod3">Left</kbd>-click on another
- to select all notes between them. To add or remove a note to/from the
- selection, click <kbd class="mouse mod1">Left</kbd>. You can also click and
+ While in mouse object mode, you can click on a note to select it. Once you
+ have selected one note, <kbd class="mouse mod3">Left</kbd>-click on another
+ to select all notes between them. To add or remove a note to/from the
+ selection, click <kbd class="mouse mod1">Left</kbd>. You can also click and
drag outside of a note to <dfn>rubberband select</dfn> a series of notes.
</p>
<p>
- Three different selection operations are possible if you switch to mouse
+ Three different selection operations are possible if you switch to mouse
range mode:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
- Vertical drags within the MIDI region will select all notes within the
+ Vertical drags within the MIDI region will select all notes within the
spanned note range.
</li>
<li>
- Clicks on the piano header of the track (if visible—the track must
+ Clicks on the piano header of the track (if visible—the track must
be tall enough to display it) will select all occurences of that note.
</li>
<li>
- Drags on the piano header of the track will select all notes within the
+ Drags on the piano header of the track will select all notes within the
spanned note range.
</li>
</ul>
<h2>Listening to Selected Notes</h2>
<p>
- If <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences > MIDI > Sound MIDI notes
- as they are selected</kbd> is enabled, Ardour will send a pair of
- NoteOn/NoteOff messages through the track, which will typically allow you to
+ If <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences > MIDI > Sound MIDI notes
+ as they are selected</kbd> is enabled, Ardour will send a pair of
+ NoteOn/NoteOff messages through the track, which will typically allow you to
hear each note as it is selected.
</p>
<p>
- <dfn>Synchronization</dfn> in multimedia involves two concepts which are
- often confused: <dfn>clock</dfn> (or speed) and <dfn>time</dfn> (location
+ <dfn>Synchronization</dfn> in multimedia involves two concepts which are
+ often confused: <dfn>clock</dfn> (or speed) and <dfn>time</dfn> (location
in time).
</p>
<p>
- A <dfn>clock</dfn> determines the speet at which one or more systems
- operate. In the audio world this is generally referred to as
+ A <dfn>clock</dfn> determines the speet at which one or more systems
+ operate. In the audio world this is generally referred to as
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word_clock" title="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word_clock">Word Clock</a>.
- It does not carry any absolute reference to a point in time: A clock is
+ It does not carry any absolute reference to a point in time: A clock is
used to keep a system's sample rate regular and accurate.
- Word clock is usually at the frequency of the sample rate—at 48 kHz, its period is about 20 μs. Word Clock is the most
- common sample rate based clock but other clocks do exist such as Black and
+ Word clock is usually at the frequency of the sample rate—at 48 kHz, its period is about 20 μs. Word Clock is the most
+ common sample rate based clock but other clocks do exist such as Black and
Burst, Tri-Level and DARS. Sample rates can be derived from these clocks as well.
</p>
<p>
- Time or <dfn>timecode</dfn> specifies an absolute position on a timeline,
- such as <code>01:02:03:04</code> (expressed as Hours:Mins:Secs:Frames). It is
+ Time or <dfn>timecode</dfn> specifies an absolute position on a timeline,
+ such as <code>01:02:03:04</code> (expressed as Hours:Mins:Secs:Frames). It is
actual <em>data</em> and not a clock <em>signal</em> per se.
- The granularity of timecode is <dfn>Video Frames</dfn> and is an order of
- magnitude lower than, say, Word Clock which is counted in
+ The granularity of timecode is <dfn>Video Frames</dfn> and is an order of
+ magnitude lower than, say, Word Clock which is counted in
<dfn>samples</dfn>. A typical frame rate is 25 <abbr title="frames
per second">fps</abbr> with a period of
40 ms.
- In the case of 48 kHz and 25 fps, there are 1920 audio samples
+ In the case of 48 kHz and 25 fps, there are 1920 audio samples
per video frame.
</p>
</p>
<p>
- JACK provides clock synchronization and is not concerned with time code
+ JACK provides clock synchronization and is not concerned with time code
(this is not entirely true, more on jack-transport later).
- On the software side, jackd provides sample-accurate synchronization
+ On the software side, jackd provides sample-accurate synchronization
between all JACK applications.
- On the hardware side, JACK uses the clock of the audio-interface.
- Synchronization of multiple interfaces requires hardware support to sync
+ On the hardware side, JACK uses the clock of the audio-interface.
+ Synchronization of multiple interfaces requires hardware support to sync
the clocks.
- If two interfaces run at different clocks the only way to align the
+ If two interfaces run at different clocks the only way to align the
signals is via re-sampling (SRC—Sample Rate Conversion), which is
expensive in terms of CPU usage and may decreases fidelity if done
incorrectly.
</p>
<p>
- Timecode is used to align systems already synchronized by a clock to
- a common point in time, this is application specific and various
+ Timecode is used to align systems already synchronized by a clock to
+ a common point in time, this is application specific and various
standards and methods exist to do this.
</p>
<p class="note">
- To make things confusing, there are possibilities to synchronize clocks
- using timecode. e.g. using mechanism called <dfn>jam-sync</dfn> and a
+ To make things confusing, there are possibilities to synchronize clocks
+ using timecode. e.g. using mechanism called <dfn>jam-sync</dfn> and a
<dfn>phase-locked loop</dfn>.
</p>
<p>
- An interesting point to note is that LTC (Linear Time Code) is a
- Manchester encoded, frequency modulated signal that carries both
- clock and time. It is possible to extract absolute position data
+ An interesting point to note is that LTC (Linear Time Code) is a
+ Manchester encoded, frequency modulated signal that carries both
+ clock and time. It is possible to extract absolute position data
and speed from it.
</p>
<dl>
<dt><kbd class="menu">Timecode frames-per-second</kbd></dt>
<dd>
- Configure timecode frames-per-second (23.976, 24, 24.975, 25, 29.97,
- 29.97 drop, 30, 30 drop, 59.94, 60). Note that all fractional
+ Configure timecode frames-per-second (23.976, 24, 24.975, 25, 29.97,
+ 29.97 drop, 30, 30 drop, 59.94, 60). Note that all fractional
framerates are actually fps*(1000.0/1001.0).
</dd>
<dt><kbd class="menu">Pull up/down</kbd></dt>
<dd>
- Video pull-up modes change the effective samplerate of Ardour to
- allow for changing a film soundtrack from one frame rate to another.
+ Video pull-up modes change the effective samplerate of Ardour to
+ allow for changing a film soundtrack from one frame rate to another.
See <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecine">Telecine</a>
</dd>
<dt><kbd class="menu">Slave Timecode offset</kbd></dt>
</dd>
<dt><kbd class="option">Match session video frame rate to external timecode</kbd></dt>
<dd>
- This option controls the value of the video frame rate <em>while
- chasing</em> an external timecode source. When enabled, the
- session video frame rate will be changed to match that of the selected
- external timecode source. When disabled, the session video frame rate
- will not be changed to match that of the selected external timecode
- source. Instead the frame rate indication in the main clock will flash
- red and Ardour will convert between the external timecode standard and
+ This option controls the value of the video frame rate <em>while
+ chasing</em> an external timecode source. When enabled, the
+ session video frame rate will be changed to match that of the selected
+ external timecode source. When disabled, the session video frame rate
+ will not be changed to match that of the selected external timecode
+ source. Instead the frame rate indication in the main clock will flash
+ red and Ardour will convert between the external timecode standard and
the session standard.
</dd>
<dt><kbd class="option">External timecode is sync locked</kbd></dt>
<dd>
- Indicates that the selected external timecode source shares sync (Black
+ Indicates that the selected external timecode source shares sync (Black
& Burst, Wordclock, etc) with the audio interface.
</dd>
<dt><kbd class="option">Lock to 29.9700 fps instead of 30000/1001</kbd></dt>
<dd>
- The external timecode source is assumed to use 29.97 fps instead of
- 30000/1001. SMPTE 12M-1999 specifies 29.97df as 30000/1001. The spec
- further mentions that drop-frame timecode has an accumulated error of -86ms
- over a 24-hour period. Drop-frame timecode would compensate exactly for a
- NTSC color frame rate of 30 * 0.9990 (ie 29.970000). That is not the actual
- rate. However, some vendors use that rate—despite it being against
- the specs—because the variant of using exactly 29.97 fps has zero
+ The external timecode source is assumed to use 29.97 fps instead of
+ 30000/1001. SMPTE 12M-1999 specifies 29.97df as 30000/1001. The spec
+ further mentions that drop-frame timecode has an accumulated error of -86ms
+ over a 24-hour period. Drop-frame timecode would compensate exactly for a
+ NTSC color frame rate of 30 * 0.9990 (ie 29.970000). That is not the actual
+ rate. However, some vendors use that rate—despite it being against
+ the specs—because the variant of using exactly 29.97 fps has zero
timecode drift.
</dd>
<dt><kbd class="menu">LTC incoming port</kbd></dt>
<dd>Does just what it says.</dd>
<dt><kbd class="option">Send LTC while stopped</kbd></dt>
<dd>
- Enable to continue to send LTC information even when the transport
- (playhead) is not moving. This mode is intended to drive analog tape
+ Enable to continue to send LTC information even when the transport
+ (playhead) is not moving. This mode is intended to drive analog tape
machines which unspool the tape if no LTC timecode is received.
</dd>
<dt><kbd class="menu">LTC generator level</kbd></dt>
<dd>
- Specify the Peak Volume of the generated LTC signal in dbFS. A good value
+ Specify the Peak Volume of the generated LTC signal in dbFS. A good value
is 0 dBu (which is -18 dbFS in an EBU calibrated system).
</dd>
</dl>
<li>2 signals distributed to 2 outputs (the stereo panner)</li>
<li>N signals distributed to M outputs (the VBAP panner)</li>
</ul>
-<p>
+<p>
Even for each of these cases, there are many different ways to
implement panning. Ardour currently offers just one solution to each
of these situations, but in the future will offer more.
<h2>Inserting Patch Changes</h2>
<p>
Ensure that the
- <a href="@@edit-point-control">edit point</a> is
+ <a href="@@edit-point-control">edit point</a> is
located where you want the patch change to be (within an existing
MIDI region). Context click, and from the MIDI region's context menu,
select <kbd class="menu">MIDI > Insert Patch Change</kbd>. A
-
+
<p>
- The <dfn>patchbay</dfn> is the main way to make connections to, from and
- within Ardour's mixer.
+ The <dfn>patchbay</dfn> is the main way to make connections to, from and
+ within Ardour's mixer.
</p>
<p class="note">
- Notable exceptions are internal aux sends and connections to the monitor bus (if
- you are using one): these cannot be controlled from a patchbay, and are
+ Notable exceptions are internal aux sends and connections to the monitor bus (if
+ you are using one): these cannot be controlled from a patchbay, and are
basically not under manual control at all.
</p>
<img class="right" src="/images/connection-manager.png" alt="an example patchbay" />
<p>
- The patchbay presents two groups of ports; one set of <dfn>sources</dfn>
- (which produce data), and one of <dfn>destinations</dfn> (which consume
- data). Depending
+ The patchbay presents two groups of ports; one set of <dfn>sources</dfn>
+ (which produce data), and one of <dfn>destinations</dfn> (which consume
+ data). Depending
on the relative number of each, the sources will be placed on the left
- or the top of the dialogue, and the destinations on the right or the
- bottom. Thus, in general, signal flow is from top or left to right or
+ or the top of the dialogue, and the destinations on the right or the
+ bottom. Thus, in general, signal flow is from top or left to right or
bottom.
</p>
<p>
- Both sources and destinations are divided up into groups, with each
+ Both sources and destinations are divided up into groups, with each
group being given a tab:
</p>
<dl class="narrower-table">
<dt>Hardware</dt>
<dd>
- These are ports which are connected to a physical piece of hardware
+ These are ports which are connected to a physical piece of hardware
(a sound card or MIDI interface).</dd>
<dt>Ardour Busses</dt>
<dd>All ports belonging to busses.</dd>
<dd>All ports belonging to tracks.</dd>
<dt>Ardour Misc</dt>
<dd>
- These are other ports that do not fit into the previous two
- categories; for example, the ports on which the metronome click
- is output, and MIDI ports for things like control surfaces and
+ These are other ports that do not fit into the previous two
+ categories; for example, the ports on which the metronome click
+ is output, and MIDI ports for things like control surfaces and
timecode.
</dd>
<dt>Other</dt>
<dd>
- If you have other JACK clients running, their ports will be found
- here. If there are no such ports, the tab will not exist (on one or
+ If you have other JACK clients running, their ports will be found
+ here. If there are no such ports, the tab will not exist (on one or
both axes of the grid).</dd>
</dl>
<p>
- The main part of the patchbay is a <dfn>matrix grid</dfn>. Within this
+ The main part of the patchbay is a <dfn>matrix grid</dfn>. Within this
grid, green dots represent connections, and you can click in any of the
- squares to make or break connections. You can also click and drag to
- draw a line of connections, which is sometimes useful for making many
+ squares to make or break connections. You can also click and drag to
+ draw a line of connections, which is sometimes useful for making many
connections at once.
</p>
<p>
- In the example patchbay shown above we can note various things. We are
- using the <kbd class="menu">Ardour Tracks</kbd> sources tab, so we see
- the output ports of the three tracks in our session: Fred, Jim and Foo.
- Our destinations are from the <kbd class="menu">Ardour Busses</kbd> tab,
- so we have the inputs of a session bus, Sheila, and the inputs of the
- master bus. Fred and Jim have stereo outputs, so have L and R connections.
- Foo is a MIDI track, so it only has one connection, and its squares in
- the grid are coloured light grey to indicate that no connection can be
+ In the example patchbay shown above we can note various things. We are
+ using the <kbd class="menu">Ardour Tracks</kbd> sources tab, so we see
+ the output ports of the three tracks in our session: Fred, Jim and Foo.
+ Our destinations are from the <kbd class="menu">Ardour Busses</kbd> tab,
+ so we have the inputs of a session bus, Sheila, and the inputs of the
+ master bus. Fred and Jim have stereo outputs, so have L and R connections.
+ Foo is a MIDI track, so it only has one connection, and its squares in
+ the grid are coloured light grey to indicate that no connection can be
made between Foo (a MIDI output) and our busses (which are all audio-input).
</p>
<p>
- The green dots in the example show that both Foo and Bar are connected
+ The green dots in the example show that both Foo and Bar are connected
to the master bus, left to left and right to right.
</p>
<h2>Variants on the Patchbay</h2>
<p>
- Slightly different versions of the patchbay are available from different
- places in Ardour. For a global view of all JACK audio connections, use
- <kbd class="menu">Window > Audio Patchbay</kbd>, or press
- <kbd class="mod2">P</kbd>. A corresponding MIDI Connection Manager can
+ Slightly different versions of the patchbay are available from different
+ places in Ardour. For a global view of all JACK audio connections, use
+ <kbd class="menu">Window > Audio Patchbay</kbd>, or press
+ <kbd class="mod2">P</kbd>. A corresponding MIDI Connection Manager can
be opened using <kbd class="mod23">P</kbd>.</p>
<p>
- There is also a patchbay available when connecting individual tracks;
- clicking on the input or output buttons of a mixer strip will open a
- connection manager which has the corresponding track input or output as
- the only destination or source, with all other ports available for
+ There is also a patchbay available when connecting individual tracks;
+ clicking on the input or output buttons of a mixer strip will open a
+ connection manager which has the corresponding track input or output as
+ the only destination or source, with all other ports available for
connection to it.
</p>
<h2>Other patchbay features</h2>
<p>
- Context-clicking on a port name in the connection manager opens a menu
+ Context-clicking on a port name in the connection manager opens a menu
which provides a few handy options:
</p>
<dl class="wide-table">
<dt><kbd class="menu">Add audio port</kbd> and <kbd class="menu">Add MIDI port</kbd></dt>
<dd>
- These options add audio or MIDI ports to the thing that you opened
- the menu over, if this is possible. In this way, for example, tracks
+ These options add audio or MIDI ports to the thing that you opened
+ the menu over, if this is possible. In this way, for example, tracks
and busses can be extended to have more inputs or outputs.
</dd>
<dt><kbd class="menu">Remove</dt>
<dd>
- Removes the given port, if possible. <kbd class="mouse mod3">Right</kbd>-clicking
+ Removes the given port, if possible. <kbd class="mouse mod3">Right</kbd>-clicking
a port will do the same.
</dd>
<dt><kbd class="menu">Disconnect all from…</kbd></dt>
<dd>Disconnects everything from the given port.</dd>
<dt><kbd class="menu">Rescan</kbd></dt>
<dd>
- Ardour will try to keep abreast of any changes to the JACK ports on
- your system, and reflect them in any connection managers which are open.
- If for some reason this fails, use this to re-scan the list of ports and
+ Ardour will try to keep abreast of any changes to the JACK ports on
+ your system, and reflect them in any connection managers which are open.
+ If for some reason this fails, use this to re-scan the list of ports and
update the manager.
</dd>
<dt><kbd class="menu">Show individual ports</kbd></dt>
<dd>
- If you have a session which has lots of multi-channel tracks or busses,
- it may be an unnecessary detail that you have to connect left to left and
- right to right every time you make a connection. This obviously gets worse
- with higher channel counts (such as for 5.1 or Ambisonics). To make life
- easier with such sessions, you can untick Show individual ports. After that,
- the channels of tracks and busses will be hidden, and any green dots you add
- in the connection manager will automatically connect each channel of the source
- to the corresponding channel of the destination (left to left, right to right
- and so on). In this mode, a half-circle in the connection grid indicates that
+ If you have a session which has lots of multi-channel tracks or busses,
+ it may be an unnecessary detail that you have to connect left to left and
+ right to right every time you make a connection. This obviously gets worse
+ with higher channel counts (such as for 5.1 or Ambisonics). To make life
+ easier with such sessions, you can untick Show individual ports. After that,
+ the channels of tracks and busses will be hidden, and any green dots you add
+ in the connection manager will automatically connect each channel of the source
+ to the corresponding channel of the destination (left to left, right to right
+ and so on). In this mode, a half-circle in the connection grid indicates that
some (but not all) of the source's ports are connected to the destination.
</dd>
<dt><kbd class="menu">Flip</kbd></dt>
<dd>
- This will flip the visible ports on the vertical axis with those on the
- horizontal. If, for example, the top of the connection manager is showing
- <kbd class="menu">Ardour Busses</kbd> and the right is showing
+ This will flip the visible ports on the vertical axis with those on the
+ horizontal. If, for example, the top of the connection manager is showing
+ <kbd class="menu">Ardour Busses</kbd> and the right is showing
<kbd class="menu">Hardware</kbd>, flip will swap the view to the
- opposite. You can also flip by pressing <kbd>f</kbd>. Note that if there are
+ opposite. You can also flip by pressing <kbd>f</kbd>. Note that if there are
no matching tabs on both axes, flipping will be impossible.
</dd>
</dl>
<p>
In the track header (editor window, left pane) is a button labelled <kbd
- class="menu">p</kbd> (for "Playlist"). If you click on this button, Ardour
+ class="menu">p</kbd> (for "Playlist"). If you click on this button, Ardour
displays the following menu:
</p>
<dl class="wide-table">
<dt>(Local Playlists)</dt>
- <dd>Shows all of the playlists associated with this track, and indicates
+ <dd>Shows all of the playlists associated with this track, and indicates
the currently selected playlist</dd>
<dt>Rename</dt>
<dd>Displays a dialog to rename the current playlist</dd>
<h2>Renaming Playlists</h2>
<p>
- Playlists are created with the name of the track of which they are
- associated, plus a version number. So, the first playlist for a track
- called "Cowbell" will be called <samp>Cowbell.1</samp>. This name will
- be used to define the names of any regions added to the playlist by
- recording. You can change the name at any time, to anything you want.
- Ardour does not require that your playlist names are all unique, but it
- will make your life easier if they are. Suggested examples of user-assigned
+ Playlists are created with the name of the track of which they are
+ associated, plus a version number. So, the first playlist for a track
+ called "Cowbell" will be called <samp>Cowbell.1</samp>. This name will
+ be used to define the names of any regions added to the playlist by
+ recording. You can change the name at any time, to anything you want.
+ Ardour does not require that your playlist names are all unique, but it
+ will make your life easier if they are. Suggested examples of user-assigned
names for a playlist might include <kbd class="input">Lead Guitar, 2nd
- take</kbd>, <kbd class="input">vocals (quiet)</kbd>,
- and <kbd class="input">downbeat cuica</kbd>. Notice how these might be
- different from the associated track names, which for these examples might
- be <kbd class="input">Lead Guitar</kbd>,
- <kbd class="input">Vocals</kbd> and <kbd class="input">Cuica</kbd>. The
- playlist name provides more information because it is about a specific
- version of the material that may (or may not) end up in the final version
+ take</kbd>, <kbd class="input">vocals (quiet)</kbd>,
+ and <kbd class="input">downbeat cuica</kbd>. Notice how these might be
+ different from the associated track names, which for these examples might
+ be <kbd class="input">Lead Guitar</kbd>,
+ <kbd class="input">Vocals</kbd> and <kbd class="input">Cuica</kbd>. The
+ playlist name provides more information because it is about a specific
+ version of the material that may (or may not) end up in the final version
of the track.
</p>
<p>
<h2>Sharing Playlists</h2>
<p>
- It is entirely possible to <dfn>share playlists</dfn> between tracks. The only
- slightly unusual thing you may notice when sharing is that edits to the
- playlist made in one track will magically appear in the other. If you
- think about this for a moment, its an obvious consequence of sharing.
- One application of this attribute is parallel processing, described
+ It is entirely possible to <dfn>share playlists</dfn> between tracks. The only
+ slightly unusual thing you may notice when sharing is that edits to the
+ playlist made in one track will magically appear in the other. If you
+ think about this for a moment, its an obvious consequence of sharing.
+ One application of this attribute is parallel processing, described
below.
</p>
<p>
- You might not want this kind of behaviour, even though you still want
- two tracks to use the same (or substantially the same) playlist. To
- accomplish this, select the chosen playlist in the second track, and
- then use New Copy to generate an <dfn>independent copy</dfn> of it for
+ You might not want this kind of behaviour, even though you still want
+ two tracks to use the same (or substantially the same) playlist. To
+ accomplish this, select the chosen playlist in the second track, and
+ then use New Copy to generate an <dfn>independent copy</dfn> of it for
that track. You can then edit this playlist without affecting the original.
</p>
<h3>Using Playlists for Parallel Processing</h3>
<p>
- One of the uses of playlists is to apply multiple effects to the same
- audio stream. For example, let's say you would like to apply two
- different non-linear effects such as distortion or compression to the
+ One of the uses of playlists is to apply multiple effects to the same
+ audio stream. For example, let's say you would like to apply two
+ different non-linear effects such as distortion or compression to the
same audio source (for linear effects, you could just apply them one after
the other in the same track).<br>
- Create a new track, apply the original track's playlist, and
- then apply effects to both tracks independently.
+ Create a new track, apply the original track's playlist, and
+ then apply effects to both tracks independently.
</p>
-<p class="note">
+<p class="note">
The same result could be achieved by feeding your track to multiple busses which
then contain the processing, but this increases the overall latency,
complicates routing and uses more space in the Mixer window.
<h2>Using Playlists for "Takes"</h2>
<p>
- Using Playlists for <dfn>takes</dfn> is a good solution if you are going
- to need the ability to edit individual takes, and select between them.
+ Using Playlists for <dfn>takes</dfn> is a good solution if you are going
+ to need the ability to edit individual takes, and select between them.
</p>
<p>
- Each time you start a new take, create a new playlist with
- <kbd class="menu">p > New</kbd>
- Later, you can Select your way back to previous or later takes as
+ Each time you start a new take, create a new playlist with
+ <kbd class="menu">p > New</kbd>
+ Later, you can Select your way back to previous or later takes as
desired.
</p>
<p>
If you want to create a composite edit from multiple takes, create a new
track to assemble the final version, and "cherry pick" from the playlists
in the original track by copying regions over as required.<br>
- Alternatively, record each successive take on top of the
- others in "layers" and then edit them using the layer tools, explained
+ Alternatively, record each successive take on top of the
+ others in "layers" and then edit them using the layer tools, explained
later.
</p>
-
+
<h2>Using Playlists for Multi-Language Productions</h2>
-<p>
- The same approach as for takes is useful when you are recording or
+<p>
+ The same approach as for takes is useful when you are recording or
editing content in multiple versions, such as dubbed movie dialog in
- several languages, and you want all versions on the same track, to
+ several languages, and you want all versions on the same track, to
get the same processing. <br>
Select the appropriate language before exporting the session.
</p>
</p>
<ul>
<li>
- Global <dfn>preferences</dfn> control general workflow and system
+ Global <dfn>preferences</dfn> control general workflow and system
configuration, and should apply to all sessions. They are located in
- <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences</kbd> and stored in
- Ardour's <dfn>user configuration file</dfn> in your home directory.
+ <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences</kbd> and stored in
+ Ardour's <dfn>user configuration file</dfn> in your home directory.
</li>
<li><dfn>Session properties</dfn> control aspects of the workflow or
configuration that pertain to the current session only. You can find them
<p>
Context-click on the processor to be removed, and select <kbd class="menu">Delete</kbd>; or <kbd class=mod3n></kbd><kbd class=mouse>Right</kbd>-click on it; or <kbd class=mouse>Left</kbd>-click on it and press the <kbd>Delete</kbd> key. If multiple processors are selected, they will all be deleted at the same time.
</p>
-
</p>
<p>
It can be defined on the timeline or in the
- <a href="@@the-ranges-and-marks-lists">Ranges & Marks</a>
+ <a href="@@the-ranges-and-marks-lists">Ranges & Marks</a>
list.
</p>
<p>
- Normally, when you trim regions by dragging with the mouse, it affects
- only the selected regions. Their lengths are directly affected by the
- trim operation, but nothing else is. Sometimes though, you might like
+ Normally, when you trim regions by dragging with the mouse, it affects
+ only the selected regions. Their lengths are directly affected by the
+ trim operation, but nothing else is. Sometimes though, you might like
to trim a region that directly adjoins another, and keep this relationship
- the same—you are not trying to make one of the regions extend
- over the other—you would like the junction to move in one
- direction or the other as part of the trim. This requires trimming both
- regions on either side of the junction, in opposite directions.
- <dfn>Push/Pull trim</dfn>, activated by pressing shift key before
- starting the drag, will do just that. Here's a few pictures to show the
- difference in the results of a normal trim and push/pull trim. First,
+ the same—you are not trying to make one of the regions extend
+ over the other—you would like the junction to move in one
+ direction or the other as part of the trim. This requires trimming both
+ regions on either side of the junction, in opposite directions.
+ <dfn>Push/Pull trim</dfn>, activated by pressing shift key before
+ starting the drag, will do just that. Here's a few pictures to show the
+ difference in the results of a normal trim and push/pull trim. First,
the initial situation:
</p>
<img src="/images/a3_before_trim.png" alt="region arrangement before trim" />
<p>
- Here is what happens after we trim the right hand (selected) region by
+ Here is what happens after we trim the right hand (selected) region by
dragging its starting position earlier:
</p>
<img src="/images/a3_after_trim.png" alt="region arrangement after a trim" />
<p>
- You can see that it now overlaps the earlier region and a crossfade has
+ You can see that it now overlaps the earlier region and a crossfade has
been created between them.
</p>
<p>
</p>
<img src="/images/a3_after_push_trim.png" alt="region arrangement after a push trim" />
<p>
- There is no overlap, and the end of the earlier region has been moved
- along with the start of the later region, so that they still directly
+ There is no overlap, and the end of the earlier region has been moved
+ along with the start of the later region, so that they still directly
adjoin each other.
</p>
-
+
<p><img src="/images/a3_quantize.png" alt="quantize dialog" /></p>
<p>Accessed via <kbd>q</kbd>, the dialog includes:</p>
<ul>
<p>
In the editor window, right clicking (context clicking) on a region
displays a menu with <dfn>track and region operations</dfn>. The menu begins with the
- name of the region, or <kbd class="menu">Selected Regions</kbd> if multiple
+ name of the region, or <kbd class="menu">Selected Regions</kbd> if multiple
regions are selected.
</p>
<p>
- If there is more than one region layered at the point where you clicked, the
+ If there is more than one region layered at the point where you clicked, the
menu will also contain an item <kbd class="menu">Choose Top</kbd>. This
- dialog lets you select which region you want on the top <dfn>layer</dfn>. See
+ dialog lets you select which region you want on the top <dfn>layer</dfn>. See
<a href="@@layering-display">Adjusting Region Layering</a> for more details.
</p>
<p>
- Below these items is the rest of the
- <a href="@@track-context-menu">Track Context Menu</a>, which
+ Below these items is the rest of the
+ <a href="@@track-context-menu">Track Context Menu</a>, which
provides access to <dfn>track-level operations</dfn>. To see the contents
- of the region context menu, select the region name or "Selected Regions", and
+ of the region context menu, select the region name or "Selected Regions", and
the following submenu structure appears:
</p>
<dl class="narrower-table">
-
+
<p><dfn>Region names</dfn> are initially derived from either</p>
<ul>
<li>the name of the playlist for which they were recorded,</li>
<p>
These are not audio files, but regions that represent the full extent of an
audio file. Every time a new recording is done, or a new file is imported
- to the session, a new region is created that represents the <dfn>entire audio
- file</dfn>. This region will have the name of the track/playlist/original file,
+ to the session, a new region is created that represents the <dfn>entire audio
+ file</dfn>. This region will have the name of the track/playlist/original file,
followed by a "-", then a number plus a dot and then a number.
</p>
<p>
- For <dfn>recorded regions</dfn>, the number will increase each time a new recording
+ For <dfn>recorded regions</dfn>, the number will increase each time a new recording
is made. So, for example, if there is a playlist called
- <samp>Didgeridoo</samp>, the
+ <samp>Didgeridoo</samp>, the
first recorded whole file region for that playlist will be called
<samp>Digderidoo-1</samp>. The next one will be <samp>Digeridoo-2</samp> and so on.
</p>
<p>
- For <dfn>imported regions</dfn>, the region name will be based on the original file
+ For <dfn>imported regions</dfn>, the region name will be based on the original file
name, but with any final suffix (e.g. ".wav" or ".aiff") removed.
</p>
<p>
- Normally, whole file regions are not inserted into tracks or playlists,
- but regions derived from them are. The whole-file versions live in the
- editor region list where they act as an organizing mechanism for regions
+ Normally, whole file regions are not inserted into tracks or playlists,
+ but regions derived from them are. The whole-file versions live in the
+ editor region list where they act as an organizing mechanism for regions
that are derived from them.
</p>
<h2>Normal Region Names</h2>
<p>
- When a region is inserted into a track and playlist, its initial name will
- end in a <dfn>version number</dfn>, such as <samp>.1</samp>. For a recorded region,
- if the whole file region was <samp>Hang drum-1</samp>, then the region in
- the track will appear with the name <samp>Hang drum-1.1</samp>. For an
- imported region, if the whole file region was <samp>Bach:Invention3</samp>,
+ When a region is inserted into a track and playlist, its initial name will
+ end in a <dfn>version number</dfn>, such as <samp>.1</samp>. For a recorded region,
+ if the whole file region was <samp>Hang drum-1</samp>, then the region in
+ the track will appear with the name <samp>Hang drum-1.1</samp>. For an
+ imported region, if the whole file region was <samp>Bach:Invention3</samp>,
then the region in the track will appear with the name
<samp>Bach:Invention3.1</samp>.
</p>
<h2>Copied Region Names</h2>
<p>
- If you <dfn>copy a region</dfn>, it initially shares the same name as the original.
- When you perform an operation modifies one of the copies, Ardour will
+ If you <dfn>copy a region</dfn>, it initially shares the same name as the original.
+ When you perform an operation modifies one of the copies, Ardour will
increment the version number on the particular copy that changed.
</p>
<h2>Renaming Regions</h2>
<p>
- You can <dfn>rename a region</dfn> at any time. Use the region context menu to
- pop up the <kbd class="menu">Rename</kbd> dialog. The new name does not need to
- have a version number in it (in fact, it probably should not). Ardour will add a
+ You can <dfn>rename a region</dfn> at any time. Use the region context menu to
+ pop up the <kbd class="menu">Rename</kbd> dialog. The new name does not need to
+ have a version number in it (in fact, it probably should not). Ardour will add a
version number in the future if needed (e.g. if you copy or split the region).
</p>
-
+
<p>
Use <kbd class="menu">Session > Rename</kbd> to give the session a new
name. A dialog will appear asking for the new name.
<p>
- A <dfn>tag</dfn> is bit of information, or metadata, that is associated
- with a data file. Specifically, tags are keywords or terms that you feel
- have some relevance to a particular soundfile. Ardour can store these tags
- in a searchable <dfn>database</dfn> so that you can quickly search for sounds based
- on the tags that you have assigned to them.
+ A <dfn>tag</dfn> is bit of information, or metadata, that is associated
+ with a data file. Specifically, tags are keywords or terms that you feel
+ have some relevance to a particular soundfile. Ardour can store these tags
+ in a searchable <dfn>database</dfn> so that you can quickly search for sounds based
+ on the tags that you have assigned to them.
</p>
<p>
- For example you can assign the term <kbd class="input">120bpm</kbd> to a
+ For example you can assign the term <kbd class="input">120bpm</kbd> to a
sound, and then when you search for this tag, the file will appear in the
- search list. Tags are independent of the filename or anything else about
- the file. Tags, and the file paths that they are associated with, are
+ search list. Tags are independent of the filename or anything else about
+ the file. Tags, and the file paths that they are associated with, are
stored in a file called <samp>sfdb</samp> in your Ardour user folder.
</p>
<p>
- To <dfn>add tags</dfn> to a given file, open the <kbd class="menu">Session > Import</kbd>
+ To <dfn>add tags</dfn> to a given file, open the <kbd class="menu">Session > Import</kbd>
dialog, select the file in the browser, and type new tags into tag area in
the soundfile information box on the right.<br/>
Tags are stored when the input box loses focus, there is no need to
</p>
<p>
You can <dfn>search</dfn> for specific tags in the <kbd
- class="menu">Search Tags</kbd> tab of the same dialog. Files which have
- been tagged with the relevant terms will appear in the results window.
+ class="menu">Search Tags</kbd> tab of the same dialog. Files which have
+ been tagged with the relevant terms will appear in the results window.
Selected files can be auditioned and marked with additional tags if
- required.
+ required.
</p>
class="mod3 mouse">Left</kbd>.
</p>
<p>
- By default, <dfn>selecting regions</dfn> has no impact on
- <dfn>track selection</dfn>.
- You can select a track, then select a region in another track
- (or vice versa) and both selections will co-exist happily.
- Operations that are applied to tracks will use the track selection,
- and those that apply to regions will use the region selection.
- Similarly, deselecting a region will not deselect the track it
+ By default, <dfn>selecting regions</dfn> has no impact on
+ <dfn>track selection</dfn>.
+ You can select a track, then select a region in another track
+ (or vice versa) and both selections will co-exist happily.
+ Operations that are applied to tracks will use the track selection,
+ and those that apply to regions will use the region selection.
+ Similarly, deselecting a region will not deselect the track it
is in (if that track was selected).
</p>
<p>
- In some workflows, and particularly if you have experience with
- other <abbr title="Digital Audio Workstation">DAW</abbr>s, this
- is not the most comfortable way to work. You may prefer to work
- in a style where selecting a region will also select the track
- that the region is in. Similarly, when the last selected region
+ In some workflows, and particularly if you have experience with
+ other <abbr title="Digital Audio Workstation">DAW</abbr>s, this
+ is not the most comfortable way to work. You may prefer to work
+ in a style where selecting a region will also select the track
+ that the region is in. Similarly, when the last selected region
in a track is deselected, the track will also become unselected.
</p>
<p>
+++ /dev/null
-
-<p>
- Ardour follows the conventions used by most other computer software
- (including other DAWs) for <dfn>selecting objects</dfn> in the
- <abbr title="Graphical User Interface">GUI</abbr>.
-</p>
-
-<h2>Selecting individual objects</h2>
-<p>
- Clicking on an object (sometimes on a particular part of its
- on-screen representation) will select the object, and deselect other
- similar objects.
-</p>
-
-<h2>Selecting multiple (similar) objects</h2>
-<p>
- A <kbd class="mod1 mouse">left</kbd> click on an object toggles its
- <samp>selected</samp> status, so using <kbd class="mod1 mouse">left</kbd>
- on a series of objects will select (or deselect) each one of them. You can
- construct completely arbitrary selections with this technique.
-</p>
-
-<h2>Selecting a range of objects</h2>
-<p>
- In cases where the idea of "select all objects between this one and that
- one" makes sense, you can select one object and then click
- <kbd class="mod3 mouse">left</kbd> on another to select both of them as
- well as all objects in between.
-</p>
-
-<h2>Time range selection</h2>
-<p>
- To select a time <dfn>range</dfn> in the Editor,
- click <kbd class="mouse">Left</kbd> and drag the mouse.
- A <kbd class="mod1 mouse">Left</kbd> drag then lets you create other
- ranges and a <kbd class="mod3 mouse">left</kbd> click extends a range
- to cover a wider area.
-</p>
-
-<h2>Selection Undo</h2>
-<p>
- The set of objects (including time range) that are selected at any one
- time is known as the selection.
- Each time you select or deselect an object, the new selection is stored in an
- undo/redo stack.
- This stack is cleared each time the content of the timeline changes.
- If you have built up a complex selection and then accidentally cleared it,
- choosing <kbd class="menu">Edit > Undo Selection Change</kbd> will restore your
- previous selection.
- If you then decide that you had in fact made the correct change, choosing
- <kbd class="menu">Edit > Redo Selection Change</kbd> will take you back
- to where you were before you chose <kbd class="menu">Edit > Undo Selection Change</kbd>.
-</p>
-
<p>
- A final new editing feature is an operation in the context menu of a
- range labelled <kbd class="menu">Separate Regions Under Range</kbd>.
- This splits any selected regions that are covered by the range at both
- ends of the range (or just one, if the range only covers part of the
- region). This makes it easy to generate regions that correspond
+ A final new editing feature is an operation in the context menu of a
+ range labelled <kbd class="menu">Separate Regions Under Range</kbd>.
+ This splits any selected regions that are covered by the range at both
+ ends of the range (or just one, if the range only covers part of the
+ region). This makes it easy to generate regions that correspond
precisely to a range.
</p>
<p>
- You may have a situation where you have positioned one region over another,
- and you just want to cut the lower region so that it directly adjoins both
- ends of the overlapping one, with no overlaps. To do this, select the upper
+ You may have a situation where you have positioned one region over another,
+ and you just want to cut the lower region so that it directly adjoins both
+ ends of the overlapping one, with no overlaps. To do this, select the upper
region, then choose <kbd class="menu">Edit > Separate > Separate
- Under</kbd>. This will split the lower region so that it no longer overlaps
+ Under</kbd>. This will split the lower region so that it no longer overlaps
the upper region at all. <br>
- Here is an example where we start with a short region placed so that it
+ Here is an example where we start with a short region placed so that it
overlaps a longer region:
</p>
<img src="/images/a3_before_separate_under.png" alt="region arrangement before separate under" />
<p>
- When we perform the <dfn>Separate Under</dfn> edit, the lower region splits
+ When we perform the <dfn>Separate Under</dfn> edit, the lower region splits
in two, with boundaries exactly positioned at the edges of the upper region:
</p>
<img src="/images/a3_after_separate_under.png" alt="region arrangement after separate under" />
<p>
- If the upper region covers only one end of the lower region, then this
- operation is equivalent to
- <a href="@@trimming-regions#trimtonextprevious">Trim to Next or Trim to Previous</a>,
+ If the upper region covers only one end of the lower region, then this
+ operation is equivalent to
+ <a href="@@trimming-regions#trimtonextprevious">Trim to Next or Trim to Previous</a>,
depending on which end is covered.
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<dfn>MIDI Options</dfn>
- <ul>
+ <ul>
<li>
- If <dfn>MIDI region copies are independent</dfn> is selected, when a
- MIDI region is copied or duplicated, the new region is not linked to
- the region it was copied from. If it is not selected, the copied regions
- are linked and any editing of one of the linked regions changes all
- of the linked regions.
+ If <dfn>MIDI region copies are independent</dfn> is selected, when a
+ MIDI region is copied or duplicated, the new region is not linked to
+ the region it was copied from. If it is not selected, the copied regions
+ are linked and any editing of one of the linked regions changes all
+ of the linked regions.
</li>
<li>
- The <dfn>Editor</dfn> can be configured to handle overlapping MIDI notes
+ The <dfn>Editor</dfn> can be configured to handle overlapping MIDI notes
several ways.
<ul>
<li>never allow them</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
- Settings from the session properties dialogs can be saved to the
+ Settings from the session properties dialogs can be saved to the
default session template.
</li>
</ul>
-
+
<p>
- <dfn>Session templates</dfn> are a way to store the setup of a session
+ <dfn>Session templates</dfn> are a way to store the setup of a session
for future use. They do not store any <em>audio</em> data but can store:</p>
<ul>
<li>The number of tracks and busses, along with their names</li>
<h2>Creating a Session Template</h2>
<p>
- Choose <kbd class="menu">Session > Save Template</kbd>. A dialog will ask
+ Choose <kbd class="menu">Session > Save Template</kbd>. A dialog will ask
you for the name of the new template.
</p>
<h2>Using a Session Template</h2>
<p>
- In the New Session dialog, choose the desired template from the combo
+ In the New Session dialog, choose the desired template from the combo
selector.
</p>
<p>
- Note that you can also use an existing session as a template, without
- saving it as one. This is available as an option in the New Session dialog.
- Doing this will not alter the existing session at all, but will use its track,
+ Note that you can also use an existing session as a template, without
+ saving it as one. This is available as an option in the New Session dialog.
+ Doing this will not alter the existing session at all, but will use its track,
bus and plugin configuration just like a template.
</p>
<p>
- See also <a href="@@adding-tracks-busses-and-vcas">Adding Tracks and Busses</a> for information
+ See also <a href="@@adding-tracks-busses-and-vcas">Adding Tracks and Busses</a> for information
on templates for individual tracks or busses.
</p>
<dfn><abbr title="Musical Instrument Digital
Interface">MIDI</abbr></dfn> is a way to describe musical
performances and to control music hardware and software.
-</p>
+</p>
<p>Ardour can import and record MIDI data, and perform a variety of
editing operations on it. Furthermore, MIDI can be used to control
various functions of Ardour.
<h2>MIDI Handling Frameworks</h2>
<p>
MIDI input and output for Ardour are handled by the same "engine"
- that handles audio input and output.
+ that handles audio input and output.
</p>
<dl>
<dt>OS X</dt>
-<dd> <dfn>CoreMIDI</dfn> is the standard MIDI framework on OSX systems.
+<dd> <dfn>CoreMIDI</dfn> is the standard MIDI framework on OSX systems.
</dd>
<dt>Linux</dt>
<dd>
ports). By contrast, JACK MIDI ports show up under
the <kbd class="menu">MIDI</kbd> tab in QJackCtl.
</p>
-
+
<h2>JACK MIDI Configuration</h2>
<p>
By default, JACK will <strong>not</strong> automatically detect and use existing MIDI
-
+
<p>
Using a general purpose computer for recording digital audio is not
trivial. This chapter will guide you through the basic steps and help
<p>
- Ardour does most of its internal <dfn>signal routing</dfn> via JACK:
+ Ardour does most of its internal <dfn>signal routing</dfn> via JACK:
all track and bus inputs and outputs are JACK ports, as are sends and
inserts, which means they can be tapped into by other JACK clients.
Only the signal flow inside a track or bus (i.e. from <a
<ul>
<li>
<dfn>Track inputs</dfn> are optionally auto-connected to hardware inputs, in round robin
- order, depending on the setting you chose in the
+ order, depending on the setting you chose in the
<a href="@@newopen-session-dialog"><kbd
class="menu">Session > New Session</kbd> dialog</a>.
</li>
</li>
</ul>
<p>
- This configuration is sufficient to do basic tracking and playback of many
- sessions without any adjustment by the user. If you are using Ardour and
- start to change these connections, be certain that you have a good reason
+ This configuration is sufficient to do basic tracking and playback of many
+ sessions without any adjustment by the user. If you are using Ardour and
+ start to change these connections, be certain that you have a good reason
to do so—it is generally not necessary and often leads to problems.
</p>
<p>
- However, for many workflows during mixing, more complicated signal routing
- is required. Ardour offers many possibilties for connecting things in the
+ However, for many workflows during mixing, more complicated signal routing
+ is required. Ardour offers many possibilties for connecting things in the
way you may need or want them.
</p>
<p>
Your Nucleus comes complete with a number of "profiles" for a few
well-known DAWs. At the time of writing it does not include one for
- Ardour (or related products such as Harrison Mixbus).
+ Ardour (or related products such as Harrison Mixbus).
</p>
<p>
We have prepared a profile in which as many buttons as possible send
</ul>
<p>
You should choose "ipMIDI port 1", "ipMIDI port 1", "ipMIDI port 2"
- and "ipMIDI port 2" for each of the 4 combo/dropdown selectors.
+ and "ipMIDI port 2" for each of the 4 combo/dropdown selectors.
</p>
<p>
Communication should be automatically established with the Nucleus.
<p>
There are several ways of <dfn>starting Ardour</dfn>, which may vary
- depending on which platform you are using it.
+ depending on which platform it is being used on:
</p>
+
<ul>
- <li>double-click the Ardour icon in your platform's file manager (e.g.
+ <li>by double-clicking the Ardour icon in the platform's file manager (e.g.
Nautilus on Linux, Finder on OS X)</li>
- <li>double click on an Ardour session file in your platform's file manager</li>
- <li>on Linux, you can also start Ardour on the command line (see below)</li>
+ <li>by double-clicking on an Ardour session file in the platform's file
+ manager
+ </li>
+ <li>on Linux, Ardour can also be started via the command line (see below)
+ </li>
</ul>
+
<p>
When Ardour is run for the very first time, a special dialog is displayed
- that will ask you several questions about your setup. You will not be asked
- these questions again, but you can always modify your choices via the
+ that will ask several questions about the system's setup. The questions will
+ not be asked again, but the choices thus made can always be modified via the
<kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences</kbd> dialog.
</p>
+
<p>
- If you want to use JACK, in general, it is sensible to start it <em>before</em> you run Ardour. This is not
- necessary, but will provide you with more control and options over JACK's operation.
- You can start JACK through its <abbr title="Command Line Interface">CLI</abbr>, or using a <abbr title="Graphical User Interface">GUI</abbr>
- program, like <a href="https://qjackctl.sourceforge.io/">QjackCtl</a> or <a href="http://kxstudio.linuxaudio.org/Applications:Cadence">Cadence</a>.
+ If JACK is needed, in general, it is sensible to start it <em>before</em>
+ Ardour is run. Though this is not strictly necessary, it will provide more
+ control and options over JACK's operation. JACK can be started through the
+ <abbr title="Command Line Interface">CLI</abbr> of a terminal, or by using a
+ <abbr title="Graphical User Interface">GUI</abbr> program, like <a
+ href="https://qjackctl.sourceforge.io/">QjackCtl</a> or <a
+ href="http://kxstudio.linuxaudio.org/Applications:Cadence">Cadence</a>.
</p>
-<p>
- If you open Ardour without specifying an existing session it will display
- the <kbd class="menu">Session > New…</kbd> dialog and the <kbd class="menu">Audio/MIDI Setup</kbd> dialog.
- See <a href="@@newopen-session-dialog">New/Open Session Dialog</a> for a description of those dialogs.
+
+<p class="note">
+ If Ardour is opened without specifying an existing session, it will display
+ the <kbd class="menu">Session > New…</kbd> dialog and the <kbd
+ class="menu">Audio/MIDI Setup</kbd> dialog. See <a
+ href="@@newopen-session-dialog">New/Open Session Dialog</a> for a description
+ of those dialogs.
</p>
<h2>Starting Ardour From the Command Line (Linux)</h2>
Like (almost) any other program on Linux, Ardour can be started on the
command line. Type the following command in a terminal window:
</p>
+
<kbd class="cmd lin">Ardour5</kbd>
+
<p>
- To start Ardour with an existing session:
+ To start Ardour with an existing session, use:
</p>
+
<kbd class="cmd lin">Ardour5 <em>/path/to/session</em></kbd>
+
<p>
- replacing /path/to/session with the actual path to your session. You can
- specify either the session folder or any session file inside the folder,
+ Replace /path/to/session with the actual path of the session. Either the
+ session folder or any session file inside the folder can be specified,
including snapshots.
</p>
+
<p>
- To start Ardour with a new, named session:
+ To start Ardour with a new, named session, use:
</p>
+
<kbd class="cmd lin">Ardour5 -N <em>/path/to/session</em></kbd>
-
+
<p>
- <dfn>Stem exports</dfn> are covered fully in the
+ <dfn>Stem exports</dfn> are covered fully in the
<a href="@@mixdown">Export</a> chapter. A stem export creates one file
per track, starting at the beginning of the session. You can then import
each track into another DAW and begin working on it. You lose all data
<p>
- Sometimes you will want to edit MIDI data directly from a connected
+ Sometimes you will want to edit MIDI data directly from a connected
MIDI device like a music keyboard or pad controller. Sometimes you will
- want to use the mouse. Sometimes you'll want the fine-grain control,
- precision and speed of entry that comes from using a custom note entry
- dialog.
+ want to use the mouse. Sometimes you'll want the fine-grain control,
+ precision and speed of entry that comes from using a custom note entry
+ dialog.
</p>
<p>
- The step entry dialog is accessed via a right click context menu on the
- rec-enable button, because step entry is related to <em>recording</em>
- MIDI data. You cannot simultaneously step edit and record MIDI via the
+ The step entry dialog is accessed via a right click context menu on the
+ rec-enable button, because step entry is related to <em>recording</em>
+ MIDI data. You cannot simultaneously step edit and record MIDI via the
track's MIDI port.
</p>
<img src="/images/a3_step_entry.png" />
<li>Dynamics controls from pianississimo to fortississimo</li>
<li>Channel selector</li>
<li>
- Explicit numerical velocity selector, for more precise control
+ Explicit numerical velocity selector, for more precise control
than the dynamics selectors offer
</li>
<li>Octave selector</li>
<li>a full 10 octave virtual keyboard</li>
</ul>
<p>
- More or less all actions in the step entry dialog can be driven
- directly from the keyboard, so you do not need to keep moving back
+ More or less all actions in the step entry dialog can be driven
+ directly from the keyboard, so you do not need to keep moving back
and forth from keyboard to mouse to do complex data insertion.
</p>
</p>
<p>
The stereo panner assumes that the signals
- you wish to distribute are either uncorrelated (i.e. totally
- independent), or that they contain a stereo image which is
- <dfn>mono-compatible</dfn>, such as a co-incident microphone recording, or a
+ you wish to distribute are either uncorrelated (i.e. totally
+ independent), or that they contain a stereo image which is
+ <dfn>mono-compatible</dfn>, such as a co-incident microphone recording, or a
sound stage that has been created with pan pots.<sup><a href="#caveat">*</a></sup>
</p>
<p class="note">
center of the stereo image is relative to the left and right
edges. When this is the middle of the panner, the stereo image is
centered between the left and right outputs. When it all the way to
- the left, the stereo image collapses to just the left speaker.
+ the left, the stereo image collapses to just the left speaker.
</p>
<p>
In the bottom half are two signal indicators, one marked "L" and the
It is possible to invert the outputs (see below) so that whatever
would have gone to the right channel goes to the left and vice
versa. When this happens, the entire movable part of the panner
- changes color to indicate clearly that this is the case.
+ changes color to indicate clearly that this is the case.
</p>
<h3>Position vs. L/R</h3>
<p>
Although the implementation of the panner uses the "position"
- parameter, when the user interface displays it numerically, it shows
- a pair of numbers that will be familiar to most audio engineers.
+ parameter, when the user interface displays it numerically, it shows
+ a pair of numbers that will be familiar to most audio engineers.
</p>
<table>
<p>
One way to remember this sort of convention is that the middle of the
- USA is not Kansas, but "Los Angeles: 50% New York: 50%".
+ USA is not Kansas, but "Los Angeles: 50% New York: 50%".
</p>
<h3>Examples In Use</h3>
<p>
Mouse operations in the upper half of the panner adjust the position
- parameter, constrained by the current width setting.
+ parameter, constrained by the current width setting.
</p>
<p>
Mouse operations in the lower half of the panner adjust the width
- parameter, constrained by the current position setting.
+ parameter, constrained by the current position setting.
</p>
<p>
To change the position smoothly, press the right button and drag
<p class="warning">
The stereo panner will introduce unwanted side effects on
material that includes a time difference between the channels, such
-as A/B, ORTF or NOS microphone recordings, or delay-panned mixes.<br>
+as A/B, ORTF or NOS microphone recordings, or delay-panned mixes.<br>
When you reduce the with, you are effectively summing two highly
correlated signals with a delay, which will cause <dfn>comb filtering</dfn>.
</p>
-<p>
+<p>
Let's take a closer look at what happens when you record a source at 45° to the
right side with an ORTF stereo microphone array and then manipulate the width.
</p>
<p>
For testing, we apply a <dfn>pink noise</dfn> signal to both inputs of an Ardour stereo
-bus with the stereo panner, and feed the bus output to a two-channel analyser.
+bus with the stereo panner, and feed the bus output to a two-channel analyser.
Since pink noise contains equal energy per octave, the expected readout is a
straight line, which would indicate that our signal chain does not color the
sound:
To simulate an ORTF, we use Robin Gareus' stereo balance control LV2 to set the level difference and time delay. Ignore the Trim/Gain—its purpose is just to align the test signal with the 0dB line of the analyser.
</p>
-<p>
+<p>
Recall that an <dfn>ORTF</dfn> microphone pair consists of two cardioids spaced 17 cm
apart, with an opening angle of 110°.
-For a far source at 45° to the right, the time difference between the capsules
-is 350 μs or approximately 15 samples at 44.1 kHz. The level difference
-due to the directivity of the microphones is about 7.5 dB (indicated by the
+For a far source at 45° to the right, the time difference between the capsules
+is 350 μs or approximately 15 samples at 44.1 kHz. The level difference
+due to the directivity of the microphones is about 7.5 dB (indicated by the
distance between the blue and red lines in the analyser).
</p>
<p>
</p>
<img src="/images/stereo-panner-with-ORTF-halfwidth.png" />
<p>
-You may argue that all spaced microphone recordings will undergo comb
+You may argue that all spaced microphone recordings will undergo comb
filtering later, when the two channels recombine in the air between the speakers.
Perceptually however, there is a huge of difference: our hearing system is
very good at eliminating comb filters in the real world, where their component
<p>
From the region context menu, choose <kbd class="menu">Edit > Strip
- Silence</kbd> to detect silence (based on a user-chosen threshold in
- <abbr title="Decibels relative to Full Scale">dBFS</abbr>), split a
- region based on the boundaries of the silent segments, and remove the
+ Silence</kbd> to detect silence (based on a user-chosen threshold in
+ <abbr title="Decibels relative to Full Scale">dBFS</abbr>), split a
+ region based on the boundaries of the silent segments, and remove the
silence. You can also specify a minimum length for silence—useful
- when editing very percussive material and just needing to
+ when editing very percussive material and just needing to
automatically trim the ends of a region. The dialog looks like this:
</p>
<img src="/images/a3_strip_silence.png" alt="strip silence dialog" />
<p>
- The edit applies to all selected regions, allowing batch processing.
- You can also see in the screenshot how the main editor window is used
- to show silent segments and report the number and durations of the
+ The edit applies to all selected regions, allowing batch processing.
+ You can also see in the screenshot how the main editor window is used
+ to show silent segments and report the number and durations of the
shortest segments.
</p>
<p>
- <dfn>Subgrouping</dfn> (sometimes known as "Grouping" or "Audio Grouping")
+ <dfn>Subgrouping</dfn> (sometimes known as "Grouping" or "Audio Grouping")
is a way to collect related signals together to apply some common
treatment, before sending them on to the main mix. One standard
application is to group several tracks belonging to the same instrument or
</p>
<p>
- To create a subgroup from an existing Track/Bus group, context-click on
- the relevant <a href="@@the-track-and-bus-group-list">group tab</a>,
- and choose <kbd class="menu">Add new subgroup bus</kbd>. A new bus will be
- created and every member of the track group will have its outputs disconnected
- from other destinations and then connected to the new bus inputs. The bus
- outputs will feed the master bus unless you have selected manual connections
+ To create a subgroup from an existing Track/Bus group, context-click on
+ the relevant <a href="@@the-track-and-bus-group-list">group tab</a>,
+ and choose <kbd class="menu">Add new subgroup bus</kbd>. A new bus will be
+ created and every member of the track group will have its outputs disconnected
+ from other destinations and then connected to the new bus inputs. The bus
+ outputs will feed the master bus unless you have selected manual connections
for the session. The bus will be named after the track group name.
</p>
<p>
Alternatively, you can create a group manually, by first adding a new bus,
then, for each track you want to feed the subgroup bus, disconnect its outputs
from the master and connect it to the inputs of the subgroup bus instead.
- You can do this in the global audio patchbay or a track by track basis via the
+ You can do this in the global audio patchbay or a track by track basis via the
output button of each track's channel strip.
</p>
<p>
- To remove a subgroup (bus), context-click on the track group tab, and select
- <kbd class="menu">Remove subgroup bus</kbd>. You can also simply delete the
- bus itself. Note that this operation will <strong>not</strong> restore signal
- routing to the way it was before the addition of the subgroup bus—tracks
+ To remove a subgroup (bus), context-click on the track group tab, and select
+ <kbd class="menu">Remove subgroup bus</kbd>. You can also simply delete the
+ bus itself. Note that this operation will <strong>not</strong> restore signal
+ routing to the way it was before the addition of the subgroup bus—tracks
that had been subgrouped will be left with their main outputs disconncted.
-</p>
+</p>
<a href="http://www.mega-nerd.com/libsndfile/#Features">libsndfile website</a>.
</p>
<p>
- For MIDI import, Ardour will read any Standard MIDI Format (SMF) file.
+ For MIDI import, Ardour will read any Standard MIDI Format (SMF) file.
</p>
<img src="/images/a4_session_properties_sync.png" alt="session properties sync tab"/>
<p>
- This tab is used to modify the timecode settings when working with video to
+ This tab is used to modify the timecode settings when working with video to
use the imported video's timecode settings instead of the session defaults.
</p>
</p>
<p>
Any computer that you can buy today (since somewhere around the end of
- 2012) is capable of recording and processing a lot of audio data. It
+ 2012) is capable of recording and processing a lot of audio data. It
will come with a builtin audio interface that can accept inputs from
microphones or electrical instruments. It will have a disk with a huge
amount of space for storing audio files.
a sound is generated and when you can hear it. When the audio signal
flows through a computer, that means that the computer has to be able to
receive the signal, process it and send it back out again as fast as
- possible.<br>
+ possible.<br>
And that is where it becomes very important <em>what</em> computer system
you have, because it is <strong>absolutely not</strong> the case that any
computer can do this job well.
</p>
<p>
The latency that you want for working with digital audio is typically in
- the 1–5 ms range. For comparison, if you are sitting 1 m
+ the 1–5 ms range. For comparison, if you are sitting 1 m
(3 ft) from your speakers, the time the sound takes to reach your
- ears is about 3 ms. Any modern computer can limit the delay to
+ ears is about 3 ms. Any modern computer can limit the delay to
100 ms. Most can keep it under 50 ms. Many will be able to get
down to 10 ms without too much effort. If you try to reduce the delay
on a computer that cannot meet your goal, you will get clicks and
<dt><abbr title="Universal Serial Bus">USB</abbr> ports</dt>
<dd>If you are using an audio interface connected via USB, and sometimes
even if you are not, the precise configuration of your system's USB ports
- can make a big difference. There are many cases where plugging the
+ can make a big difference. There are many cases where plugging the
interface into one port will work, but using different USB port results
in much worse performance. This has been seen even on Apple systems.
</dd>
<dt>Quit</dt><dd>Exits Ardour. Prompts for saving the session if it has been modified.</dd>
</dl>
+
Ardour supports three common timecode formats:
<abbr title="Linear/Longitudinal Time Code"><dfn>LTC</dfn></abbr>,
<abbr title="MIDI Time Code"><dfn>MTC</dfn></abbr>, and
- <dfn>MIDI Clock</dfn>, as well as
+ <dfn>MIDI Clock</dfn>, as well as
<dfn>JACK-transport</dfn>, a JACK-specific timecode implementation.
</p>
<p>
- Ardour can generate timecode and thus act as timecode <dfn>master</dfn>,
- providing timecode information to other applications. Ardour can also be
- <dfn>slaved</dfn> to some external source in which case the playhead
+ Ardour can generate timecode and thus act as timecode <dfn>master</dfn>,
+ providing timecode information to other applications. Ardour can also be
+ <dfn>slaved</dfn> to some external source in which case the playhead
follows the incoming timecode.<br>
- Combining the timecode slave and generator modes, Ardour can also
+ Combining the timecode slave and generator modes, Ardour can also
<dfn>translate</dfn> timecode. e.g create LTC timecode from incoming MTC.
</p>
<h2>Ardour Timecode Configuration</h2>
<p>
- Each Ardour session has a specific timecode frames-per-second setting which
+ Each Ardour session has a specific timecode frames-per-second setting which
is configured in <kbd class="menu">session > properties >
- timecode</kbd>. The selected timecode affects the timecoderuler in the main
+ timecode</kbd>. The selected timecode affects the timecoderuler in the main
window as well as the clock itself.
</p>
<p>
- Note that some timecode formats do not support all of Ardour's available
+ Note that some timecode formats do not support all of Ardour's available
fps settings. MTC is limited to 24, 25, 29.97 and 30 fps.
</p>
<p>
The video pull-up modes change the effective samplerate of Ardour to allow
- for changing a film soundtrack from one frame rate to another. The concept is
- beyond the scope of this manual, but Wikipedia's entry on
- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecine">Telecine</a>
+ for changing a film soundtrack from one frame rate to another. The concept is
+ beyond the scope of this manual, but Wikipedia's entry on
+ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecine">Telecine</a>
may get you started.
</p>
<h2>Ardour Timecode Generator Configuration</h2>
<p>
- This is pretty straightforward: simply turn it on. The MTC and MIDI-Clock
+ This is pretty straightforward: simply turn it on. The MTC and MIDI-Clock
generator do not have any options. The LTC generator has a configurable
- output level. JACK-transport cannot be <em>generated</em>. Jack itself is
+ output level. JACK-transport cannot be <em>generated</em>. Jack itself is
always synced to its own cycle and cannot do varispeed—it will
always be synced to a hardware clock or another JACK master.
</p>
<p>
- The relevant settings for timecode generator can be found in
+ The relevant settings for timecode generator can be found in
<kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences > MIDI Preferences</kbd> (for MTC,
MC) and
<kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences > Transport Preferences</kbd>
</p>
<p>
- The timecode is sent to jack-ports <code>ardour:MTC out</code>,
- <code>ardour:MIDI clock out</code> and <code>ardour:LTC-out</code>. Multiple
+ The timecode is sent to jack-ports <code>ardour:MTC out</code>,
+ <code>ardour:MIDI clock out</code> and <code>ardour:LTC-out</code>. Multiple
generators can be active simultaneously.
</p>
<p class="note">
- Note that, as of Jan 2014, only the LTC generator supports latency
- compensation. This is due to the fact the Ardour MIDI ports are not
+ Note that, as of Jan 2014, only the LTC generator supports latency
+ compensation. This is due to the fact the Ardour MIDI ports are not
yet latency compensated.
</p>
<p>
- In <kbd class="menu">Session > Properties</kbd>, it is possible to
- define an offset between Ardour's internal time and the timecode sent.
+ In <kbd class="menu">Session > Properties</kbd>, it is possible to
+ define an offset between Ardour's internal time and the timecode sent.
Currently only the LTC generator honors this offset.
</p>
<p>
- Both LTC and MTC are limited to 30 fps. Using frame rates larger
- than that will disable the generator. In both cases also only 24, 25,
- 29.97df (drop-frame) and 30 fps are well defined by specifications (such as
+ Both LTC and MTC are limited to 30 fps. Using frame rates larger
+ than that will disable the generator. In both cases also only 24, 25,
+ 29.97df (drop-frame) and 30 fps are well defined by specifications (such as
SMPTE-12M, EU and the MIDI standard).
</p>
<h3>MTC Generator</h3>
<p>
- The <dfn>MTC generator</dfn> has no options. Ardour sends full MTC
- frames whenever the transport is relocated or changes state (start/stop).
- MTC <dfn>quarter frames</dfn> are sent when the transport is rolling and
+ The <dfn>MTC generator</dfn> has no options. Ardour sends full MTC
+ frames whenever the transport is relocated or changes state (start/stop).
+ MTC <dfn>quarter frames</dfn> are sent when the transport is rolling and
the transport speed is within 93% and 107%.
</p>
<h3>LTC Generator</h3>
<p>
- The level of the <dfn>LTC generator</dfn> output signal can be configured
- in in the <kbd class="menu">Preferences > Transport</kbd> dialog. By
- default it is set to -18 dBFS, which corresponds to 0dBu in an EBU
+ The level of the <dfn>LTC generator</dfn> output signal can be configured
+ in in the <kbd class="menu">Preferences > Transport</kbd> dialog. By
+ default it is set to -18 dBFS, which corresponds to 0dBu in an EBU
calibrated system.
</p>
<p>
- The LTC generator has an additional option to keep sending timecode even
- when the transport is stopped. This mode is intended to drive analog tape
+ The LTC generator has an additional option to keep sending timecode even
+ when the transport is stopped. This mode is intended to drive analog tape
machines which unspool the tape if no LTC timecode is received.
</p>
<p>
- LTC is send regardless of Ardour's transport speed. It is accurately
- generated even for very slow speeds (<5%) and only limited by the
- soundcard's sampling-rate and filter (see
+ LTC is send regardless of Ardour's transport speed. It is accurately
+ generated even for very slow speeds (<5%) and only limited by the
+ soundcard's sampling-rate and filter (see
<a
- href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibbs_phenomenon#Signal_processing_explanation">Gibbs phenomenon</a>)
+ href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibbs_phenomenon#Signal_processing_explanation">Gibbs phenomenon</a>)
for high speeds.
</p>
<h2>Ardour Slave Configuration</h2>
-<p>
- The timecode source can be switched with the button just right of
+<p>
+ The timecode source can be switched with the button just right of
Ardour's main clock. By default it is set to <kbd
- class="menu">Internal</kbd> in which case Ardour will ignore any external
- timecode. The button allows to toggle between Internal and the configured
- timecode source which is chosen in <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences
+ class="menu">Internal</kbd> in which case Ardour will ignore any external
+ timecode. The button allows to toggle between Internal and the configured
+ timecode source which is chosen in <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences
> Transport</kbd>.
</p>
<p>
- When Ardour is <dfn>chasing</dfn> (synchronizing to) an external timecode
+ When Ardour is <dfn>chasing</dfn> (synchronizing to) an external timecode
source, the following cases need to be distinguished:
</p>
<ol>
<h3>Frames-per-second</h3>
<p>
- If the frames-per-second do not match, Ardour can either re-calculate
+ If the frames-per-second do not match, Ardour can either re-calculate
and map the frames, or the configured FPS (<kbd class="menu">Session >
- Properties</kbd>) can be changed automatically while the slave is active.
- The behavior is configured with the checkbox <kbd class="option">Edit
- > Preferences > Transport > Match session video frame rate to
+ Properties</kbd>) can be changed automatically while the slave is active.
+ The behavior is configured with the checkbox <kbd class="option">Edit
+ > Preferences > Transport > Match session video frame rate to
external timecode</kbd>.
</p>
<p>
- When enabled, the session video frame rate will be changed to match that
- of the selected external timecode source. When disabled, the session video
- frame rate will not be changed to match that of the selected external
- timecode source. Instead the frame rate indication in the main clock will
- flash red, and Ardour will convert between the external timecode standard
+ When enabled, the session video frame rate will be changed to match that
+ of the selected external timecode source. When disabled, the session video
+ frame rate will not be changed to match that of the selected external
+ timecode source. Instead the frame rate indication in the main clock will
+ flash red, and Ardour will convert between the external timecode standard
and the session standard.
</p>
<p class="warning">
- 29.97 drop-frame timecode is another corner case. While the SMPTE 12M-1999
- specifies 29.97df as 30000/1001 frames per second, not all hardware devices
- follow that standard. The checkbox
- <kbd class="option">Lock to 29.9700 fps instead of 30000/1001</kbd> allows
+ 29.97 drop-frame timecode is another corner case. While the SMPTE 12M-1999
+ specifies 29.97df as 30000/1001 frames per second, not all hardware devices
+ follow that standard. The checkbox
+ <kbd class="option">Lock to 29.9700 fps instead of 30000/1001</kbd> allows
to use a compatibility mode for those devices.<br>
- When enabled, the external timecode source is assumed to use 29.970000 fps
- instead of 30000/1001. SMPTE 12M-1999 specifies 29.97df as 30000/1001. The
- <abbr title="specification">spec</abbr> further mentions that drop-frame
- timecode has an accumulated error of -86 ms over a 24-hour period.
- Drop-frame timecode would compensate exactly for a NTSC color frame rate
- of 30 * 0.9990 (ie 29.970000). That is <em>not</em> the actual rate. However,
+ When enabled, the external timecode source is assumed to use 29.970000 fps
+ instead of 30000/1001. SMPTE 12M-1999 specifies 29.97df as 30000/1001. The
+ <abbr title="specification">spec</abbr> further mentions that drop-frame
+ timecode has an accumulated error of -86 ms over a 24-hour period.
+ Drop-frame timecode would compensate exactly for a NTSC color frame rate
+ of 30 * 0.9990 (ie 29.970000). That is <em>not</em> the actual rate. However,
some vendors use that rate—despite it being against the
specs—because the variant of using exactly 29.97 fps yields zero
timecode drift.
<h3>Clock Sync Lock</h3>
<p>
- As described in the
+ As described in the
<a href="http://manual.ardour.org/synchronization/on-clock-and-time/">On Clock and Time</a>
- chapter, timecode and clock are independent. If the external timecode
- source is not in sample-sync with the audio hardware (and JACK), Ardour
+ chapter, timecode and clock are independent. If the external timecode
+ source is not in sample-sync with the audio hardware (and JACK), Ardour
needs to run at varispeed to adjust for the discrepancy.
</p>
<p>
- The checkbox <kbd class="option">External timecode is sync locked</kbd>
- allows to select the behavior according to your setup. When enabled, it
- indicates that the selected external timecode source shares sync (Black
+ The checkbox <kbd class="option">External timecode is sync locked</kbd>
+ allows to select the behavior according to your setup. When enabled, it
+ indicates that the selected external timecode source shares sync (Black
& Burst, Wordclock, etc) with the audio interface.
</p>
<p>
- In other words: if enabled, Ardour will only perform initial
- synchronization and keep playing at speed 1.0 instead of vari-speed
+ In other words: if enabled, Ardour will only perform initial
+ synchronization and keep playing at speed 1.0 instead of vari-speed
adjusting to compensate for drift.
</p>
<p class="note">
- Note that vari-speed is unavailable when recording in Ardour, and all
- tracking happens at speed 1.0. So if you want to record in sync with
+ Note that vari-speed is unavailable when recording in Ardour, and all
+ tracking happens at speed 1.0. So if you want to record in sync with
external timecode it must be sample-locked or it will drift over time.
</p>
<h3>MIDI Clock</h3>
<p>
- <dfn>MIDI Clock</dfn> is not a timecode format but tempo-based time. The
- absolute reference point is expressed as beats-per-minute and Bar, Beat
- and Tick. There is no concept of sample-locking for MIDI clock signals.
+ <dfn>MIDI Clock</dfn> is not a timecode format but tempo-based time. The
+ absolute reference point is expressed as beats-per-minute and Bar, Beat
+ and Tick. There is no concept of sample-locking for MIDI clock signals.
Ardour will vari-speed if necessary to chase the incoming signal.
</p>
<p>
- Note that the MIDI Clock source must be connected to the
+ Note that the MIDI Clock source must be connected to the
<code>ardour:MIDI clock in</code> port.
</p>
<h3>LTC—Linear Timecode</h3>
<p>
- The <dfn>LTC</dfn> slave decodes an incoming LTC signal on a JACK audio
+ The <dfn>LTC</dfn> slave decodes an incoming LTC signal on a JACK audio
port. It will auto-detect the frame rate and start locking to the signal
once two consecutive LTC frames have been received.
</p>
<p>
- The incoming timecode signal needs to arrive at the
- <code>ardour:LTC-in</code> port. Port-connections are restored for each
- session and the preference dialog offers an option to select it for all
+ The incoming timecode signal needs to arrive at the
+ <code>ardour:LTC-in</code> port. Port-connections are restored for each
+ session and the preference dialog offers an option to select it for all
sessions.
</p>
<p>
- Ardour's transport is aligned to LTC-frame start/end positions according
- to the SMPTE 12M-1999 specification, which means that the first bit of an
- LTC-Frame is aligned to different Lines of a Video-Frame, depending on the
- TV standard used. Only for Film (24fps) does the LTC-Frame directly match
+ Ardour's transport is aligned to LTC-frame start/end positions according
+ to the SMPTE 12M-1999 specification, which means that the first bit of an
+ LTC-Frame is aligned to different Lines of a Video-Frame, depending on the
+ TV standard used. Only for Film (24fps) does the LTC-Frame directly match
the video Frame boundaries.
</p>
<p><em>Figure: LTC frame alignment for the 525/60 TV standard</em></p>
<p>
- Ardour supports vari-speed and backwards playback but will only follow
- speed changes if the <kbd class="optoff">sync locked</kbd> option is
+ Ardour supports vari-speed and backwards playback but will only follow
+ speed changes if the <kbd class="optoff">sync locked</kbd> option is
disabled.
</p>
<p>
- While Ardour is chasing LTC, the main transport clock will display the
- received Timecode as well as the delta between the incoming signal and
+ While Ardour is chasing LTC, the main transport clock will display the
+ received Timecode as well as the delta between the incoming signal and
Ardour's transport position.
</p>
<p>
- A global offset between incoming timecode and Ardour's transport can be
+ A global offset between incoming timecode and Ardour's transport can be
configured in <kbd class="menu">Session > Properties</kbd>.
</p>
<p>
<h3>MTC—MIDI Timecode</h3>
<p>
- Ardour's MTC slave parses <dfn>full timecode messages</dfn> as well as
- MTC <dfn>quarter-frame messages</dfn> arriving on the
- <code>ardour:MTC in</code> port. The transport will only start rolling
+ Ardour's MTC slave parses <dfn>full timecode messages</dfn> as well as
+ MTC <dfn>quarter-frame messages</dfn> arriving on the
+ <code>ardour:MTC in</code> port. The transport will only start rolling
once a complete sequence of 8 quarter frames has been received.
</p>
<p>
- Ardour supports vari-speed and backwards playback but will only follow
- MTC speed changes if the <kbd class="optoff">sync locked</kbd> option
+ Ardour supports vari-speed and backwards playback but will only follow
+ MTC speed changes if the <kbd class="optoff">sync locked</kbd> option
is disabled.
</p>
<p>
- When Ardour is chasing MTC, the main transport clock will display the
- received Timecode as well as the delta between the incoming signal and
+ When Ardour is chasing MTC, the main transport clock will display the
+ received Timecode as well as the delta between the incoming signal and
Ardour's transport position.
</p>
<h3>JACK Transport</h3>
<p>
- When slaved to jack, Ardour's transport will be identical to
- JACK-transport. As opposed to other slaves, Ardour can be used to control
- the JACK transport states (stopped/rolling). No port connections need to
+ When slaved to jack, Ardour's transport will be identical to
+ JACK-transport. As opposed to other slaves, Ardour can be used to control
+ the JACK transport states (stopped/rolling). No port connections need to
be made for jack-transport to work.
</p>
<p>
- JACK-transport does not support vari-speed, nor offsets. Ardour does not
+ JACK-transport does not support vari-speed, nor offsets. Ardour does not
chase the timecode but is always in perfect sample-sync with it.
</p>
<p>
- JACK-transport also includes temp-based-time information in Bar:Beats:Ticks
- and beats-per-minute. However, only one JACK application can provide this
- information at a given time. The checkbox
+ JACK-transport also includes temp-based-time information in Bar:Beats:Ticks
+ and beats-per-minute. However, only one JACK application can provide this
+ information at a given time. The checkbox
<kbd class="option">Session > Properties > JACK Time Master</kbd>
configures Ardour to act as translator from timecode to BBT information.
</p>
<ul>
<li>
- Timecode Settings lets you set the number of frames per second
- and pull up/down to match the timecode used other synchronized systems.
+ Timecode Settings lets you set the number of frames per second
+ and pull up/down to match the timecode used other synchronized systems.
</li>
<li>
External Timecode Offsets allows Ardour to a fixed offset from other
- synchronized systems. <dfn>Slave Timecode offset</dfn> adds the
- specified offset to the recieved timecode (MTC or LTC).
+ synchronized systems. <dfn>Slave Timecode offset</dfn> adds the
+ specified offset to the recieved timecode (MTC or LTC).
<dfn>Timecode Generator offset</dfn> adds the specified offset to
the timecode generated by Ardour (so far only LTC).
</li>
+++ /dev/null
-
-<p>
- By default, Ardour will show helpful <dfn>tooltips</dfn> about
- the purpose and use of each <abbr title="Graphical User
- Interface">GUI</abbr> element if you position the pointer
- over it and hover there for a short while.
- These little pop-up messages can be a good way to discover the
- purpose of many aspects of the GUI.
-</p>
-<p>
- Pop-ups can be distracting for experienced users, who may opt to
- disable them via <kbd class="optoff">Edit > Preferences > GUI >
- Show tooltip if mouse hovers over a control</kbd>.
-</p>
-
<p>
New tracks in Ardour are assigned a random color from a pastel color
- palette, so they should never end up being particularly bright or
- particularly dark.
+ palette, so they should never end up being particularly bright or
+ particularly dark.
</p>
<h2>Changing the color of specific tracks</h2>
<p>
Select the tracks whose color you wish to change. Context-click
- on the track header of one of them. From the context menu, select
+ on the track header of one of them. From the context menu, select
<kbd class="menu">Color</kbd> and pick a hue to your taste in the
- color dialog. Every selected track will be
+ color dialog. Every selected track will be
re-colored.
</p>
<p>
- Note that if you are only changing one track, context-clicking on
- that track's header will be enough to select it, saving the extra
+ Note that if you are only changing one track, context-clicking on
+ that track's header will be enough to select it, saving the extra
mouse click.
</p>
<h2>Changing the color of all tracks in a group</h2>
<p>
- Tracks that belong to a
- <a href="@@the-track-and-bus-group-list">track/bus group</a>
+ Tracks that belong to a
+ <a href="@@the-track-and-bus-group-list">track/bus group</a>
can share a common color by enabling the <kbd
class="option">Color</kbd> option for the group. With this enabled,
any color change will be propagated to all group members.
</p>
<p>
- You can also explicitly change the group color by context-clicking
+ You can also explicitly change the group color by context-clicking
on the group tab in the Mixer, selecting <kbd class="menu">Edit
Group…</kbd> and then clicking on the Color selector in that dialog
- that is displayed.
+ that is displayed.
</p>
-<p>
+<p>
Depending on the stage of your production, you may require a quick
overview over as many tracks as possible, a detailed view into just a
- few, or a combination of the two. To facilitate this, the
- <dfn>height</dfn> may be configured individually for each track in
+ few, or a combination of the two. To facilitate this, the
+ <dfn>height</dfn> may be configured individually for each track in
the editor window.
</p>
<p>
- A context click on a track header will display the
+ A context click on a track header will display the
<kbd class="menu">Height</kbd> menu, and allow you to choose from a
- list of standard sizes. All selected tracks will be redrawn using that
+ list of standard sizes. All selected tracks will be redrawn using that
height.
</p>
<p>
- Alternatively, select the tracks you wish to resize. Move the pointer
- to the bottom edge of one track header. The cursor will change to a
- two-way vertical arrow shape. <kbd class="mouse">Left</kbd>-drag to
+ Alternatively, select the tracks you wish to resize. Move the pointer
+ to the bottom edge of one track header. The cursor will change to a
+ two-way vertical arrow shape. <kbd class="mouse">Left</kbd>-drag to
dynamically resize all selected tracks.
</p>
<h2>Fit to the Editor Window</h2>
<p>
- Select the tracks you wish to display in the Editor window.
- Choose <kbd class="menu">Track > Height > Fit Selected Tracks</kbd>
- or use the keyboard shortcut, <kbd>f</kbd>. Ardour adjusts the track
- heights and view so that the selected tracks completely fill the vertical
- space available, unless the tracks cannot be fitted even at the smallest
+ Select the tracks you wish to display in the Editor window.
+ Choose <kbd class="menu">Track > Height > Fit Selected Tracks</kbd>
+ or use the keyboard shortcut, <kbd>f</kbd>. Ardour adjusts the track
+ heights and view so that the selected tracks completely fill the vertical
+ space available, unless the tracks cannot be fitted even at the smallest
possible size.
</p>
<p class="note">
- You can use <dfn>Visual Undo</dfn> (default shortcut: <kbd class="mod3">Z</kbd>
+ You can use <dfn>Visual Undo</dfn> (default shortcut: <kbd class="mod3">Z</kbd>
to revert this operation.
</p>
-
+
<p>
- The <dfn>Recording mode</dfn> is a per-track property (applies to audio
- tracks only) that affects the way that recording new material on top of
- existing material ("overdubbing") operates <em>in that track</em>.
+ The <dfn>Recording mode</dfn> is a per-track property (applies to audio
+ tracks only) that affects the way that recording new material on top of
+ existing material ("overdubbing") operates <em>in that track</em>.
</p>
<p>
See <a href="@@track-types#trackmodes">Track modes</a>
<p>
- Ardour offers three <dfn>track types</dfn> depending on the type of
+ Ardour offers three <dfn>track types</dfn> depending on the type of
data they contain, and differentiates between three <dfn>track modes</dfn>,
depending on their recording behaviour.
</p>
<h2>Track types</h2>
<p>
An Ardour track can be of type <dfn>audio</dfn> or <dfn>MIDI</dfn>,
- depending on the <dfn>data</dfn> that the track will primarily record
- and play back. <em>However, either type of track can pass either
+ depending on the <dfn>data</dfn> that the track will primarily record
+ and play back. <em>However, either type of track can pass either
type of data.</em> Hence, for example, one might have a MIDI track that
- contains an instrument plugin; such a track would record and play back
- MIDI data from disk but would produce audio, since the instrument plugin
+ contains an instrument plugin; such a track would record and play back
+ MIDI data from disk but would produce audio, since the instrument plugin
would turn MIDI data into audio data.
</p>
<p>
- Nevertheless, when adding tracks to a session, you typically have an idea
- of what you need to use the new tracks for, and Ardour offers you three
+ Nevertheless, when adding tracks to a session, you typically have an idea
+ of what you need to use the new tracks for, and Ardour offers you three
choices:
</p>
<dl class="narrower-table">
<dt>Audio</dt>
- <dd>An <dfn>Audio Track</dfn> is created with a user-specified number of
- inputs. The number of outputs is defined by the master bus channel count
- (for details see <a href="#channelconfiguration">Channel Configuration</a>
- below). This is the type of track to use when planning to work with
+ <dd>An <dfn>Audio Track</dfn> is created with a user-specified number of
+ inputs. The number of outputs is defined by the master bus channel count
+ (for details see <a href="#channelconfiguration">Channel Configuration</a>
+ below). This is the type of track to use when planning to work with
existing or newly recorded audio.</dd>
<dt>MIDI</dt>
- <dd>A <dfn>MIDI track</dfn> is created with a single MIDI input, and a
- single MIDI output. This is the type of track to use when planning to
- record and play back MIDI. There are several methods to enable playback
- of a MIDI track: add an instrument plugin to the track, connect the
- track to a software synthesizer, or connect it to external MIDI hardware.
+ <dd>A <dfn>MIDI track</dfn> is created with a single MIDI input, and a
+ single MIDI output. This is the type of track to use when planning to
+ record and play back MIDI. There are several methods to enable playback
+ of a MIDI track: add an instrument plugin to the track, connect the
+ track to a software synthesizer, or connect it to external MIDI hardware.
<p class="note">
If you add an instrument plugin, the MIDI track outputs audio instead
of MIDI data.
</p></dd>
<dt>Audio/MIDI</dt>
- <dd>There are a few notable plugins that can usefully accept both <dfn>Audio
- and MIDI</dfn> data (Reaktor is one, and various "auto-tune" like plugins
- are another). It can be tricky to configure this type of track manually,
- so Ardour allows you to select this type specifically for use with such
- plugins. It is <em>not</em> generally the right choice when working normal
+ <dd>There are a few notable plugins that can usefully accept both <dfn>Audio
+ and MIDI</dfn> data (Reaktor is one, and various "auto-tune" like plugins
+ are another). It can be tricky to configure this type of track manually,
+ so Ardour allows you to select this type specifically for use with such
+ plugins. It is <em>not</em> generally the right choice when working normal
MIDI tracks, and a dialog will warn you of this.</dd>
</dl>
<h2 id="trackmodes">Track Modes</h2>
<p>
- Audio tracks in Ardour have a <dfn>mode</dfn> which affects how they behave
+ Audio tracks in Ardour have a <dfn>mode</dfn> which affects how they behave
when recording:
</p>
<dl class="narrower-table">
<dt>Normal</dt>
<dd>Tracks in <dfn>normal mode</dfn> will record non-destructively—new
- data is written to new files, and when overdubbing, new regions will be
+ 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.
</dd>
<a href="@@pushpull-trimming">push/pull trimming</a>.
</dd>
<dt>Tape</dt>
- <dd><dfn>Tape-mode</dfn> tracks do <strong>destructive</strong> recording:
+ <dd><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
+ suggested for normal
use.</dd>
</dl>
<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>
+ 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
+ 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.
+ 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
+ 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.
inputs of the <dfn>master <a
href="/introducing-ardour/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
+ 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
+ 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>
<p>
- This chapter provides a short primer on video files, formats and
+ This chapter provides a short primer on video files, formats and
codecs – because it is often cause for confusion:
</p>
<p>
- A video file is a <dfn>container</dfn>. It usually contains one
- <dfn>video track</dfn> and one or more <dfn>audio tracks</dfn>.
- How these tracks are stored in the file is defined by the
- <dfn>file format</dfn>. Common formats are
+ A video file is a <dfn>container</dfn>. It usually contains one
+ <dfn>video track</dfn> and one or more <dfn>audio tracks</dfn>.
+ How these tracks are stored in the file is defined by the
+ <dfn>file format</dfn>. Common formats are
avi, mov, ogg, mkv, mpeg, mpeg-ts, mp4, flv, or vob.
</p>
<p>
Each of the tracks by itself is encoded using a <abbr
- title="Coder-Decoder"><dfn>Codec</dfn></abbr>. Common video codecs
+ title="Coder-Decoder"><dfn>Codec</dfn></abbr>. Common video codecs
are h264, mpeg2, mpeg4, theora, mjpeg, wmv3. Common audio codecs are
mp2, mp3, dts, aac, wav/pcm.
</p>
<p>
- Not all codecs can be packed into a given format. For example the
- mpeg format is limited to mpeg2, mpeg4 and mp3 codecs (not entirely true).
- DVDs do have stringent limitations as well. The opposite would be .avi;
- pretty much every audio/video codec combination can be contained in an avi
+ Not all codecs can be packed into a given format. For example the
+ mpeg format is limited to mpeg2, mpeg4 and mp3 codecs (not entirely true).
+ DVDs do have stringent limitations as well. The opposite would be .avi;
+ pretty much every audio/video codec combination can be contained in an avi
file-format.
</p>
<p>
- To make things worse, naming conventions for video codecs and formats are
+ To make things worse, naming conventions for video codecs and formats are
often identical (especially MPEG ones) which leads to confusion.
- All in all it is a very wide and deep field. Suffice there are different
+ All in all it is a very wide and deep field. Suffice there are different
uses for different codecs and formats.
</p>
<h2>Ardour specific issues</h2>
<p>
- Ardour supports a wide variety of video file formats codecs. More
- specifically, Ardour itself actually does not support any video at all
+ Ardour supports a wide variety of video file formats codecs. More
+ specifically, Ardour itself actually does not support any video at all
but delegates handling of video files to <a
- href="http://ffmpeg.org/">ffmpeg</a>, which supports over 350 different
+ href="http://ffmpeg.org/">ffmpeg</a>, which supports over 350 different
video codecs and more than 250 file formats.
</p>
<p>
- When importing a video into Ardour, it will be <dfn>transcoded</dfn>
- (changed from one format and codec to another) to avi/mjpeg for internal
- use (this allows reliable seeking to frames at low CPU cost—the
+ When importing a video into Ardour, it will be <dfn>transcoded</dfn>
+ (changed from one format and codec to another) to avi/mjpeg for internal
+ use (this allows reliable seeking to frames at low CPU cost—the
file size will increase, but hard disks are large and fast).
</p>
<p>
- The export dialog includes presets for common format and codec
- combinations (such as DVD, web-video,..). If in doubt use one of the
+ The export dialog includes presets for common format and codec
+ combinations (such as DVD, web-video,..). If in doubt use one of the
presets.
</p>
<p>
- As last note: every time a video is transcoded, the quality can only get
- worse. Hence for the final mastering/<abbr
- title="Multiplexing Audio and Video">muxing</abbr> process, one should
+ As last note: every time a video is transcoded, the quality can only get
+ worse. Hence for the final mastering/<abbr
+ title="Multiplexing Audio and Video">muxing</abbr> process, one should
always to back and use the original source of the video.
</p>
<p>Considering the numerical nature of MIDI events, it can be tempting to apply mathematical transformations to our MIDI regions by using mathematical operations. Ardour makes it very easy and powerfull with the Transform tool.</p>
-
+
<img src="/images/MIDI_transform.png" alt="MIDI transformation" />
<p>To access the Transform tool, right click the MIDI region > <em>name_of_the_region</em> > MIDI > Transform…</p>
<p>
- This section will help you get acquainted with the basic terminology and
- concepts associated with Ardour. More detailed information on each aspect
- of the program is provided in later chapters.
+ In order to fully grasp the terms used in Ardour (and this manual), it is
+ necessary to understand what things like sessions, tracks, busses, regions
+ and so on—as used in Ardour—are.
</p>
<h2>Sessions</h2>
+
<p>
- An <dfn>Ardour session</dfn> is a container for an entire project. A
- session may contain an arbitrary number of <dfn>tracks</dfn> and
- <dfn>busses</dfn> consisting of audio and <abbr title="Musical Instrument
- Digital Interface">MIDI</abbr> data, along with
- information on processing those tracks, a mix of levels, and everything
- else related to the project. A session might typically contain a song, or
- perhaps an entire album or a complete live recording.
+ An Ardour <dfn>session</dfn> is a container for an entire project. A session
+ may contain an arbitrary number of <dfn>tracks</dfn> and <dfn>busses</dfn>
+ consisting of audio and <abbr title="Musical Instrument Digital
+ Interface">MIDI</abbr> data, along with information on processing those
+ tracks, a mix of levels, and everything else related to the project. A
+ session might typically contain a song, an entire album, or a complete live
+ recording.
</p>
+
<p>
- Ardour sessions are held in directories; these directories contain one or
- more <dfn>session files</dfn>, some or all of the audio and MIDI data and
- a number of other state files that Ardour requires. The session file
- describes the structure of the session, and holds automation data and
- other details.
+ Ardour sessions are kept in directories; these directories contain one or
+ more <dfn>session files</dfn>, some or all of the audio and MIDI data, and a
+ number of other state files that Ardour requires. The session file describes
+ the structure of the session, and holds automation data and other details.
</p>
+
<p>
- Ardour's session file is kept in
- <abbr title="eXtensible Markup Language">XML</abbr> format, which is
- advantageous as it is somewhat human-readable, and human-editable in a
- crisis. Sound files are stored in one of a number of optional formats, and
- MIDI files as <abbr title="Standard MIDI File">SMF</abbr>.
+ Ardour's session file is written in <abbr title="eXtensible Markup
+ Language">XML</abbr> format, which is advantageous as it is <em>somewhat</em>
+ human-readable and human-editable in a crisis. Sound files are stored in one
+ of a number of optional formats, and MIDI files as <abbr title="Standard MIDI
+ File">SMF</abbr>.
</p>
+
<p>
It is also possible for Ardour sessions to reference sound and MIDI files
- outside the session directory, to conserve disk space and avoid
- unnecessary copying if the data is available elsewhere on the disk.
+ outside the session directory, to conserve disk space and avoid unnecessary
+ copying if the data is available elsewhere on the disk.
</p>
+
<p>
Ardour has a single current session at all times; if Ardour is started
without specifying one, it will offer to load or create one.
</p>
-<p>
- More details can be found at
- <a href="@@sessions">Working With Sessions</a>.
+
+<p class="note">
+ More details can be found in the <a href="@@sessions">Sessions</a> chapter.
</p>
<h2>Tracks</h2>
-<p>
- A <dfn>track</dfn> is a concept common to most
- <abbr title="Digital Audio Workstation">DAWs</abbr>, and also used in
- Ardour. Tracks can record audio or MIDI data to disk, and then replay
- it with processing. They also allow the audio or MIDI data to be edited
- in a variety of different ways.
-</p>
+
<p>
- In a typical pop production, one might use a track each for the kick
- drum, another for the snare, more perhaps for the drum overheads and
- others for bass, guitars and vocals.
+ A <dfn>track</dfn> is a concept common to most <abbr title="Digital Audio
+ Workstation">DAWs</abbr>, and also used in Ardour. Tracks can record audio or
+ MIDI data to disk, and then replay it with processing. They also allow the
+ audio or MIDI data to be edited in a variety of different ways.
</p>
+
<p>
- Ardour can record to any number of tracks at one time, and then play
- those tracks back. On playback, a track's recordings may be processed by
- any number of plugins, panned, and its level altered to achieve a
- suitable mix.
+ In a typical pop production, one track might be used for the kick drum, another for the snare, more perhaps for the drum overheads and others for bass, guitars and vocals.
</p>
+
<p>
- A track's type is really only related to the type of data that it stores
- on disk. It is possible, for example, to have a MIDI track with a
- synthesizer plugin which converts MIDI to audio. Even though the track
- remains MIDI (in the sense that its on-disk recordings are MIDI), its
- output may be audio-only.
+ Ardour can record to any number of tracks at one time, and then play those
+ tracks back. On playback, a track's recordings may be processed by any number
+ of plugins, panned, and/or its level altered to achieve a suitable mix.
</p>
+
<p>
- More details can be found at
- <a href="@@tracks">Working With Tracks</a>.
+ A track's type is really only related to the type of data that it stores on
+ disk. It is possible, for example, to have a MIDI track with a synthesizer
+ plugin which converts MIDI to audio. Even though the track remains MIDI (in
+ the sense that its on-disk recordings are MIDI), its output may be
+ audio-only.
+</p>
+
+<p class="note">
+ More details can be found in the <a href="@@tracks">Tracks</a> chapter.
</p>
<h2 id="busses">Busses</h2>
+
<p>
<dfn>Busses</dfn> are another common concept in both DAWs and hardware
- mixers. They are similar in many ways to tracks; they process audio or
- MIDI, and can run processing plugins. The only difference is that their
- input is obtained from other tracks or busses, rather than from disk.
+ mixers. They are similar in many ways to tracks; they process audio or MIDI,
+ and can run processing plugins. The only difference is that their input is
+ obtained from other tracks or busses, rather than from disk.
</p>
+
<p>
- One might typically use a bus to collect together the outputs of related
- tracks. Consider, for example, a 3-track recording of a drum-kit; given
- kick, snare and overhead tracks, it may be helpful to connect the output
- of each to a bus called "drums", so that the drum-kit's level can be set
- as a unit, and processing (such as equalisation or compression) can be
- applied to the mix of all tracks. Such buses are also called
- <dfn>groups</dfn>.
+ A bus might typically be used to collect together the outputs of related
+ tracks. Consider, for example, a three track recording of a drum kit; given
+ kick, snare and overhead tracks, it may be helpful to connect the output of
+ each to a bus called "drums", so that the drum kit's level can be set as a
+ unit, and processing (such as equalization or compression) can be applied to
+ the mix of all the tracks. Such buses are also called <dfn>groups</dfn>.
</p>
<h2>Regions</h2>
+
<p>
- A track may contain many segments of audio or MIDI. Ardour contains
- these segments in things called <dfn>regions</dfn>, which are
- self-contained snippets of audio or MIDI data. Any recording pass, for
- example, generates a region on each track that is enabled for recording.
- Regions can be subjected to many editing operations; they may be moved
- around, split, trimmed, copied, and so on.
+ A track may contain many segments of audio or MIDI. Ardour contains these
+ segments in things called <dfn>regions</dfn>, which are self-contained
+ snippets of audio or MIDI data. Any recording pass, for example, generates a
+ region on each track that is enabled for recording. Regions can be subjected
+ to many editing operations; they may be moved around, split, trimmed, copied,
+ and so on.
</p>
-<p>
- More details can be found at
- <a href="@@working-with-regions">Working With Regions</a>.
+
+<p class="note">
+ More details can be found at <a href="@@working-with-regions">Working With
+ Regions</a>.
</p>
<h2>Playlists</h2>
+
<p>
The details of what exactly each track should play back is described by a
<dfn>playlist</dfn>. A playlist is simply a list of regions; each track
always has an active playlist, and can have other playlists which can be
switched in and out as required.
</p>
-<p>
- More details can be found at
- <a href="@@playlists">Working With Playlists</a>.
+
+<p class="note">
+ More details can be found in the <a href="@@playlists">Playlists</a> chapter.
</p>
<h2>Plugins</h2>
+
<p>
- Ardour allows you to process audio and MIDI using any number of
- <dfn>plugins</dfn>. These are external pieces of code, commonly seen as
- VST plugins on Windows or AU plugins on Mac OS X. Ardour supports
- the following plugin standards:
+ Ardour allows processing audio and MIDI using any number of
+ <dfn>plugins</dfn>. These are external pieces of code, commonly seen as VST
+ plugins on Windows or AU plugins on Mac OS X. Ardour supports the following
+ plugin standards:
</p>
-<dl class="wide-table">
+
+<dl>
<dt><abbr title="Linux Audio Developers' Simple Plugin API">LADSPA</abbr></dt>
<dd>the first major plugin standard for Linux. Many LADSPA plugins are
available, mostly free and open-source.</dd>
<dt><abbr title="LADSPA Version 2">LV2</abbr></dt>
- <dd>the successor to LADSPA. Lots of plugins have been ported from
- LADSPA to LV2, and also many new plugins written.</dd>
+ <dd>the successor to LADSPA. Lots of plugins have been ported from LADSPA to
+ LV2, and also many new plugins written.</dd>
<dt><abbr title="Virtual Studio Technology">VST</abbr></dt>
<dd>Ardour supports VST plugins that have been compiled for Linux.</dd>
<dt><abbr title="Audio Units">AU</abbr></dt>
<dd>Mac OS X versions of Ardour support AudioUnit plugins.</dd>
</dl>
+
<p>
- Ardour has some support for running Windows VST plugins on Linux, but
- this is rather complicated, extremely difficult for the Ardour
- developers to debug, and generally unreliable, as it requires to run a
- large amount of Windows code in an emulated environment.<br>
- If it is at all possible, you are strongly advised to use native
- LADSPA, LV2 or Linux VST plugins on Linux, or AU on Mac OS X.
+ Ardour has some support for running Windows VST plugins on Linux, but this is
+ rather complicated, extremely difficult for the Ardour developers to debug,
+ and generally unreliable, as it requires running a large amount of Windows
+ code in an emulated environment. If it is at all possible, it is strongly
+ advisable to use native LADSPA, LV2 or Linux VST plugins on Linux, or AU on
+ Mac OS X.
</p>
-<p>
- More details can be found at
- <a href="@@working-with-plugins">Working With Plugins</a>.
+
+<p class="note">
+ More details can be found at <a href="@@working-with-plugins">Working With
+ Plugins</a>.
</p>
-
+
<p>
- A <dfn>playlist</dfn> is a list of regions ordered in time. It defines
- which parts of which source files should be played and when. Playlists
- are a fairly advanced topic, and can be safely ignored for many types
- of audio production. However, the use of playlists allows the audio
- engineer more flexibility for tasks like multiple takes of a single
- instrument, alternate edits of a given recording, parallel effects such
+ A <dfn>playlist</dfn> is a list of regions ordered in time. It defines
+ which parts of which source files should be played and when. Playlists
+ are a fairly advanced topic, and can be safely ignored for many types
+ of audio production. However, the use of playlists allows the audio
+ engineer more flexibility for tasks like multiple takes of a single
+ instrument, alternate edits of a given recording, parallel effects such
as reverb or compression, and other tasks.
</p>
<p>
Each audio <dfn>track</dfn> in Ardour is really just a mechanism for
- taking a playlist and generating the audio stream that it represents.
- As a result, editing a track really means modifying its playlist in
- some way. Since a playlist is a list of regions, most of the
- modifications involve manipulating regions: their position, length
+ taking a playlist and generating the audio stream that it represents.
+ As a result, editing a track really means modifying its playlist in
+ some way. Since a playlist is a list of regions, most of the
+ modifications involve manipulating regions: their position, length
and so forth. This is covered in the chapter
<a href="@@working-with-regions">Working With Regions</a>.<br>
Here, we cover some of the things you can do with playlists as objects
<h2>Tracks are not Playlists</h2>
<p>
- It is important to understand that a track <em>is not</em> a playlist.
- A track <em>has</em> a playlist. A track is a mechanism for generating
- the audio stream represented by the playlist and passing it through a
- signal processing pathway. At any point in time, a track has a single
- playlist associated with it. When the track is used to record, that
- playlist will have one or more new regions added to it. When the track
- is used for playback, the contents of the playlist will be heard.
- You can change the playlist associated with a track at (almost) any
+ It is important to understand that a track <em>is not</em> a playlist.
+ A track <em>has</em> a playlist. A track is a mechanism for generating
+ the audio stream represented by the playlist and passing it through a
+ signal processing pathway. At any point in time, a track has a single
+ playlist associated with it. When the track is used to record, that
+ playlist will have one or more new regions added to it. When the track
+ is used for playback, the contents of the playlist will be heard.
+ You can change the playlist associated with a track at (almost) any
time, and even share playlists between tracks.
</p>
<p>
- If you have some experience of other
- <abbr title="Digital Audio Workstation">DAW</abbr>s, then you might
- have come across the term <dfn>"virtual track"</dfn>, normally defined as a track
- that isn't actually playing or doing anything, but can be
- mapped/assigned to a real track. This concept is functionally
- identical to Ardour's playlists. We just like to be little more
- clear about what is actually happening rather than mixing old and
+ If you have some experience of other
+ <abbr title="Digital Audio Workstation">DAW</abbr>s, then you might
+ have come across the term <dfn>"virtual track"</dfn>, normally defined as a track
+ that isn't actually playing or doing anything, but can be
+ mapped/assigned to a real track. This concept is functionally
+ identical to Ardour's playlists. We just like to be little more
+ clear about what is actually happening rather than mixing old and
new terminology ("virtual" and "track"), which might be confusing.</p>
<h2>Playlists are Cheap</h2>
<p>
- One thing you should be clear about is that playlists are cheap. They
- don't cost anything in terms of CPU consumption, and they have very
- minimal efforts on memory use. Don't be afraid of generating new
- playlists whenever you want to. They are not equivalent to tracks,
- which require extra CPU time and significant memory space, or audio
- files, which use disk space, or plugins that require extra CPU time.
- If a playlist is not in use, it occupies a small amount of memory, and
+ One thing you should be clear about is that playlists are cheap. They
+ don't cost anything in terms of CPU consumption, and they have very
+ minimal efforts on memory use. Don't be afraid of generating new
+ playlists whenever you want to. They are not equivalent to tracks,
+ which require extra CPU time and significant memory space, or audio
+ files, which use disk space, or plugins that require extra CPU time.
+ If a playlist is not in use, it occupies a small amount of memory, and
nothing more.
</p>
+++ /dev/null
-
-<p>
- While editing, it happens that you apply an unintended change, or make
- a choice one that you later decide was wrong. All changes to the
- arrangement of session components (regions, control points) along the
- timeline can be <dfn>undone</dfn> (and <dfn>redone</dfn> if necessary).
-</p>
-<p>
- The default keybindings are <kbd class="mod1">Z</kbd> for Undo and
- <kbd class="mod1">R</kbd> for Redo. These match the conventions of most
- other applications that provide undo/redo.
-</p>
-<p>
- Changes are also saved to the <dfn>session history</dfn> file, so that
- undo/redo is possible even if you close the session and reopen it later,
- even if you quit Ardour in between.
-</p>
-<p>
- The maximum number of changes that can be undone can be configured under
- <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences > Misc > Undo</kbd>.
- The maximum number of changes stored in the history file is a separate
- parameter, and can also be set in the same place.
-</p>
-
-<p class="note">
- In addition to the normal undo (which works only on actions that change
- the timeline), there is a <dfn>visual undo</dfn> which will revert any
- command that affects the display of the editor window. Its shortcut is
- <kbd class="mod3">Z</kbd>.
- There is also an undo for selection. See
- <a href="@@selection-techniques">Selection Techniques</a> for more information.
-</p>
-
-
+
<p>
<dfn>AATranslator</dfn> is a Windows application that can convert sessions/projects from many diffferent DAWs into other formats. At the present time (December 2016), it can read and write Ardour 2.X sessions, and can read Ardour 3 sessions.
</p>
-
+
<p>
- Ardour will only ever deal with a single <dfn>audio device</dfn>. If you
- want to use more than one, you have two choices:
+ Ardour will only ever deal with a single <dfn>audio device</dfn>. If you
+ want to use more than one, you have two choices:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
Ardour is fundamentally designed to be a component in a
pro-audio/music creation environment. Standard operating practice
for such setups involves using only a single digital <dfn>sample
- clock</dfn> (something counting off the time between audio samples).
+ clock</dfn> (something counting off the time between audio samples).
This means that trying to use multiple independent soundcards is
- problematic, because each soundcard has its own sample clock, running
+ problematic, because each soundcard has its own sample clock, running
independently from the others. Over time, these different clocks
- <dfn>drift</dfn>
- out of sync with each other, which causes glitches in the audio. You
+ <dfn>drift</dfn>
+ out of sync with each other, which causes glitches in the audio. You
cannot stop this drift, although in some cases the effects may be
insignificant enough that some people might not care about them.
</p>
<h2>OS X</h2>
<p>
- In CoreAudio, <dfn>aggregate devices</dfn> provide a method to use
- multiple soundcards as a single device. For example, you can
+ In CoreAudio, <dfn>aggregate devices</dfn> provide a method to use
+ multiple soundcards as a single device. For example, you can
aggregate two 8-channel devices so that you can record 16 channels
into Ardour.
</p>
audio interface (such as those from Apogee, RME, Presonus, and many
others), <em>or</em> you are using JackPilot or a similar
application to start JACK, you do not need to worry about this.<br>
- You will need to set up an aggregate device only if either
+ You will need to set up an aggregate device only if either
of the following conditions are true:
</p>
<ul>
want to start JACK using Ardour.</li>
<li>You want to use more than two entirely separate devices</li>
</ul>
-</div>
+</div>
<p>
In the case of your builtin audio device, you will need to create
an aggregate device that combines "Builtin Input" and "Builtin
<p>
Plug the USB cable from the Push 2 into a USB2 or USB3 port on your
computer. For brighter backlighting, also plug in the power supply
- (this is not necessary for use).
+ (this is not necessary for use).
</p>
<p>
The Push 2 will be automatically recognized by your operating
To connect the Push 2 to Ardour, open the Preferences dialog, and
then click on "Control Surfaces". Click on the "Enable" button
in the line that says "Ableton Push 2" in order to activate Ardour's
- Push 2 support.
+ Push 2 support.
</p>
<p>
Once you select the input and output port, Ardour will initialize
controls on the Push 2 will <em>not</em> not be delivered to the
"Push 2 Pads" port. This makes no difference in practice, because
the other controls do not send messages that are useful for musical
- performance.
+ performance.
</p>
<h2>Global Mix</h2>
<dd><p>For tracks with 2 outputs, the display will show a knob
indicating the pan width setting for the corresponding
track/bus. The physical knob can be turned to adjust the
- width.
+ width.
</p>
<p>
Unlike many DAWs, Ardour's stereo panners have "width"
selected track/bus will be displayed on the Push 2. Above the
display, the first 4 knobs control track volume (gain), pan
directiom/azimuth, pan width, and where appropriate, track input
- trim.
+ trim.
</p>
<p>
Below the display, 7 buttons provide immediate control of mute,
solo, rec-enable, monitoring (input or disk or automatic), solo
isolate and solo safe state. When a a track is muted due to other
track(s) soloing, the mute button will flash (to differentiate from
- its state when it is explicitly muted).
+ its state when it is explicitly muted).
</p>
<p>
The video display also shows meters for the track, which as in
</dd>
<dt>Undo/Redo</dt>
<dd>
- Undo or redo the previous editing operation.
+ Undo or redo the previous editing operation.
</dd>
<dt>Delete</dt>
<dd>
<dd>
Enables/disables loop playback. This will follow Ardour's "loop
is mode" preference, just like the loop button in the Ardour
- GUI.
+ GUI.
</dd>
<dt>Octave buttons</dt>
<dd>
These shift the root note of the current pad scale up or down by
- 1 octave.
+ 1 octave.
</dd>
<dt>Page buttons</dt>
<dd>
These scroll Ardour's editor display left and right along the
- timeline.
+ timeline.
</dd>
<dt>Master (top right) knob</dt>
<dd>
<h2>Clicking</h2>
+
<p>
- Throughout this manual, the term <dfn>click</dfn> refers to the act of pressing
- and releasing the <kbd class="mouse">Left</kbd> mouse button. This action is used to select objects, activate
- buttons, turn choices on and off, pop up menus and so forth.<br>
- On touch surfaces, it also corresponds to a single, one-finger tap on
- the GUI.
+ Throughout this manual, the term <dfn>click</dfn> refers to the act of
+ pressing and releasing the <kbd class="mouse">Left</kbd> mouse button. This
+ action is used to select objects, activate buttons, turn choices on and off,
+ pop up menus and so forth. On touch surfaces, it also corresponds to a
+ single, one-finger tap on the GUI.
</p>
<h2>Right Clicking</h2>
+
<p>
- The term <dfn>right-click</dfn> refers to the act of pressing and releasing
- the <kbd class="mouse">Right</kbd> mouse button.
- This action is used to pop up <dfn>context menus</dfn> (hence the term
- "context click", which you will also see). It is also used by default in
- combination with the shift key to delete objects within the editor
- window.
+ The term <dfn>right-click</dfn> refers to the act of pressing and releasing
+ the <kbd class="mouse">Right</kbd> mouse button. This action is used to pop
+ up <dfn>context menus</dfn> (hence the term "context click", which will also
+ be seen). It is also used by default in combination with the shift key to
+ delete objects within the editor window.
</p>
-<p class="note mac">
+
+<p class="note mac">
Some mice designed for use with Mac OS X may have only one button. By
convention, pressing and holding the Control key while clicking is
- interpreted as a right-click by many application..
+ interpreted as a right-click by many applications.
</p>
<h2>Middle Clicking</h2>
+
<p>
A <dfn>middle-click</dfn> refers to the act of pressing and releasing the
- <kbd class="mouse">Middle</kbd> mouse button. Not all all mice have a middle click button
- (see the <a href="@@mouse">Mouse</a> chapter for
- details). Sometimes the scroll wheel acts as a clickable middle button.
- This action is used for time-constrained region copying and mapping MIDI
- bindings.
+ <kbd class="mouse">Middle</kbd> mouse button. Not all all mice have a middle
+ click button (see the <a href="@@mouse">Mouse</a> chapter for details).
+ Sometimes the scroll wheel acts as a clickable middle button. This action is
+ used for time-constrained region copying and mapping MIDI bindings.
</p>
+
<p class="note">
- Internally, your operating system may identify the mouse buttons as
- <kbd class="mouse">Button1</kbd>, <kbd class="mouse">Button2</kbd>, and
- <kbd class="mouse">Button3</kbd>, respectively. It may be possible to
- invert the order of buttons to accommodate left-handed users, or to re-assign
- them arbitrarily. This manual assumes the canonical order.
+ Internally, your operating system may identify the mouse buttons as <kbd
+ class="mouse">Button1</kbd>, <kbd class="mouse">Button2</kbd>, and <kbd
+ class="mouse">Button3</kbd>, respectively. It may be possible to invert the
+ order of buttons to accommodate left-handed users, or to re-assign them
+ arbitrarily. This manual assumes the canonical order.
</p>
<h2>Double Clicking</h2>
+
<p>
A <dfn>double click</dfn> refers to two rapid press/release cycles on the
leftmost mouse button. The time interval between the two actions that
</p>
<h2>Dragging</h2>
+
<p>
- A <dfn>drag</dfn> primarily refers to the act of pressing the leftmost
- mouse button, moving the mouse with the button held down, and then
- releasing the button. On touch surfaces, this term also corresponds to
- a single one-finger touch-move-release action.
+ A <dfn>drag</dfn> primarily refers to the act of pressing the leftmost mouse
+ button, moving the mouse with the button held down, and then releasing the
+ button. On touch surfaces, this term also corresponds to a single one-finger
+ touch-move-release action.
</p>
+
<p>
- Ardour also uses the middle mouse button for certain kinds of drags,
- which will be referred to as <dfn>middle-drag</dfn>.
+ Ardour also uses the middle mouse button for certain kinds of drags, which
+ will be referred to as a <dfn>middle-drag</dfn>.
</p>
<h2>Modifiers</h2>
+
<p>
- There are many actions in Ardour that can be carried out using a mouse
- button in combination with a <dfn>modifier key</dfn>. When the manual
- refers to <kbd class="mod1 mouse">Left</kbd>, it means that you should first
- press the <kbd class="mod1"></kbd> key, carry out a left click
- while <kbd class="mod1"></kbd> is held down, and then finally release the key.
+ There are many actions in Ardour that can be carried out using a mouse button
+ in combination with a <dfn>modifier key</dfn>. When the manual refers to <kbd
+ class="mod1 mouse">Left</kbd>, it means that you should first press the <kbd
+ class="mod1n"></kbd> key, carry out a left click while <kbd
+ class="mod1n"></kbd> is held down, and then finally release the key.
</p>
+
<p>
Available modifiers depend on your platform:
</p>
+
<h3>Linux Modifiers</h3>
+
<ul>
<li><kbd>Ctrl</kbd> (Control)</li>
<li><kbd>Shift</kbd></li>
<li><kbd>Mod4</kbd></li>
<li><kbd>Mod5</kbd></li>
</ul>
-<p class="warning">
+
+<p class=fixme>
The following section is almost certainly wrong. Will need to be checked
and rewritten asap.
</p>
+
<p>
Mod2 typically corresponds to the <kbd>NumLock</kbd> key on many systems.
On most Linux systems, there are no keys that will function as modifiers
</p>
<h3>OS X Modifiers</h3>
+
<ul>
<li><kbd>Cmd</kbd> (Command, "windmill")</li>
<li><kbd>Ctrl</kbd> (Control)</li>
</ul>
<h2>Scroll Wheel</h2>
+
<p>
- Ardour can make good use of a <dfn>scroll wheel</dfn> on your mouse, which can be
- utilized for a variety of purposes. Scroll wheels generate vertical
- scroll events, <kbd class="mouse">⇑</kbd> (ScrollUp) and
- <kbd class="mouse">⇓</kbd> (ScrollDown). Some also emit horizontal
- events, <kbd class="mouse">⇐</kbd> (ScrollLeft) and
- <kbd class="mouse">⇒</kbd> (ScrollRight).
+ Ardour can make good use of a <dfn>scroll wheel</dfn> on the mouse (assuming
+ it has one), which can be utilized for a variety of purposes. Scroll wheels
+ generate vertical scroll events, <kbd class="mouse">⇑</kbd> (ScrollUp)
+ and <kbd class="mouse">⇓</kbd> (ScrollDown). Some also emit horizontal
+ events, <kbd class="mouse">⇐</kbd> (ScrollLeft) and <kbd
+ class="mouse">⇒</kbd> (ScrollRight).
</p>
+
<p>
When appropriate, Ardour will differentiate between these two different
scroll axes. Otherwise it will interpret ScrollDown and ScrollLeft as
equivalent and similarly interpret ScrollUp and ScrollRight as equivalent.
</p>
+
<p>
- Typically, scroll wheel input is used to adjust
- <dfn>continuous controls</dfn> such as faders and knobs, or to scroll
- vertically or horizontally inside a window.
+ Typically, scroll wheel input is used to adjust <dfn>continuous
+ controls</dfn> such as faders and knobs, or to scroll vertically or
+ horizontally inside a window.
</p>
The Faderport's controls can be divided into three groups:
<ol>
<li>Global controls such as the transport buttons</li>
-
+
<li>Controls which change the settings for particular track or
bus</li>
-
+
<li>Controls which alter which track or bus is modified by the
per-track/bus controls.</li>
</ol>
</p>
</dd>
<dt>Proj</dt>
- <dd>
+ <dd>
<p>
Possible actions include:
<ul>
<dd>
Undo Causes the last operation carried out in the editor to be
undone. When pressed in conjuction with the Shift button, it
- causes the most recent undone operation to be re-done.
+ causes the most recent undone operation to be re-done.
</dd>
<dt>Punch</dt>
<dd>
<dd>
<p>
See above. Any and all GUI-initiated actions can be driven with
- by pressing this button on its own, or with a "long" press.
+ by pressing this button on its own, or with a "long" press.
</p>
<p>
When pressed in conjunction with the Shift button, this will move
</dd>
</dl>
</p>
-
+
<h3>Per-track Controls</h3>
<p>
<dl>
The fader controls the gain applied to the currently controlled
track/bus. If the Faderport is powered, changing the gain in
Ardour's GUI or via another control surface, or via automation,
- will result in the fader moving under its own control.
+ will result in the fader moving under its own control.
</dd>
<dt>Knob/Dial/Encoder</dt>
<dd>
rely on it for important production work while the dust settles.
</p>
<p>
- <dfn><abbr title="Vector-base Amplitude Panning">VBAP</abbr></dfn>
+ <dfn><abbr title="Vector-base Amplitude Panning">VBAP</abbr></dfn>
is a versatile and straightforward method to pan a source around over an
arbitrary number of speakers on a horizontal polygon or a 3D surface,
even if the speaker layout is highly irregular.
<p>
VBAP was developed by Ville Pulkki at Aalto University, Helsinki, in 2001.
It works by distributing the signal to the speakers nearest to the desired
- direction with appropriate weightings, aiming to create a maximally sharp
+ direction with appropriate weightings, aiming to create a maximally sharp
phantom source by using as few speakers as possible:
</p>
<ul>
Thus, if you move the panner onto a speaker, you can be sure that only
this speaker will get any signal. This is handy when you need precise
1:1 routing.<br>
- The drawback of VBAP is that a moving source will constantly change its
- apparent sharpness, as it transitions between the three states mentioned
+ The drawback of VBAP is that a moving source will constantly change its
+ apparent sharpness, as it transitions between the three states mentioned
above.
</p>
<p>
A <dfn>horizontal</dfn> VBAP panner has one parameter, the <dfn>azimuth
- angle</dfn>. A <dfn>full-sphere</dfn> panner offers an additional
+ angle</dfn>. A <dfn>full-sphere</dfn> panner offers an additional
<dfn>elevation angle</dfn> control.
</p>
<p class="note">
More elaborate implementations of VBAP also include a
- <dfn>spread</dfn> parameter, which will distribute the signal over a
- greater number of speakers in order to maintain constant (but no longer
- maximal) sharpness, regardless of position. Ardour's VBAP panner does not
+ <dfn>spread</dfn> parameter, which will distribute the signal over a
+ greater number of speakers in order to maintain constant (but no longer
+ maximal) sharpness, regardless of position. Ardour's VBAP panner does not
currently include this feature.
</p>
for convenient audio mixing and editing to video, in order to produce
film soundtracks and music videos, or perform TV postproduction tasks.
</p>
-
+
<p>
The video capabilities are:
</p>
<ul>
<li>Import a single video and optionally extract the soundtrack from it.</li>
- <li>Provide a video monitor window, or full-screen display, of the
+ <li>Provide a video monitor window, or full-screen display, of the
imported video in sync with any of the available Ardour timecode
sources.</li>
<li>Display a frame-by-frame (thumbnail) timeline of the video.</li>
<li>Allow for a configurable timecode offset.</li>
- <li><em>Lock</em> audio regions to the video.</li>
+ <li><em>Lock</em> audio regions to the video.</li>
<li>Move audio regions with the video at video-frame granularity.</li>
<li>Export the video, trim start and end, add blank frames and/or
multiplex it with the soundtrack of the current session.</li>
</ul>
<p>
- The setup of the video subsystem is modular and can be configured
+ The setup of the video subsystem is modular and can be configured
in different ways, including:
</p>
<ul>
<li>One machine for all video decoding, video monitoring and audio editing
tasks</li>
<li>Two machines, one for video monitoring, one for Ardour</li>
- <li>Three machines, separate video server (for timeline decoding
+ <li>Three machines, separate video server (for timeline decoding
and file archive), dedicated video monitor, and Ardour</li>
</ul>
<p>
If you compile Ardour from source, or have installed it from a 3rd party repository, three additional tools will need to be installed manually, which are used by Ardour to provide video features:
-</p>
+</p>
-<ul>
+<ul>
<li>xjadeo (the video monitor application): <a href="http://xjadeo.sourceforge.net/" title="http://xjadeo.sourceforge.net/" rel="nofollow">http://xjadeo.sf.net</a></li>
- <li>harvid (a video decoder used for the thumbnail timeline): <a href="http://x42.github.io/harvid/" title="http://x42.github.io/harvid/" rel="nofollow">http://x42.github.com/harvid/</a></li>
- <li>ffmpeg, ffprobe (used to import/export video, extract soundtracks and query video information): <a href="http://ffmpeg.org" title="http://ffmpeg.org" rel="nofollow">http://ffmpeg.org</a></li>
+ <li>harvid (a video decoder used for the thumbnail timeline): <a href="http://x42.github.io/harvid/" title="http://x42.github.io/harvid/" rel="nofollow">http://x42.github.com/harvid/</a></li>
+ <li>ffmpeg, ffprobe (used to import/export video, extract soundtracks and query video information): <a href="http://ffmpeg.org" title="http://ffmpeg.org" rel="nofollow">http://ffmpeg.org</a></li>
</ul>
<p>
</p>
<p>
- All four applications need to be found in <code>$PATH</code> (e.g.
- <code>$HOME/bin</code> or <code>/usr/local/bin</code>). For convenience the
- binary releases of harvid include ffmpeg_harvid and ffprobe_harvid, but if
- your distribution provides suitable ffmpeg commands you can also just create
+ All four applications need to be found in <code>$PATH</code> (e.g.
+ <code>$HOME/bin</code> or <code>/usr/local/bin</code>). For convenience the
+ binary releases of harvid include ffmpeg_harvid and ffprobe_harvid, but if
+ your distribution provides suitable ffmpeg commands you can also just create
symbolic links:
</p>
<kbd class="cmd lin">sudo ln -s /usr/bin/ffmpeg /usr/bin/ffmpeg_harvid</kbd>
-<kbd class="cmd lin">sudo ln -s /usr/bin/ffprobe /usr/bin/ffprobe_harvid</kbd>
+<kbd class="cmd lin">sudo ln -s /usr/bin/ffprobe /usr/bin/ffprobe_harvid</kbd>
<p>
Binary releases are available from ardour.org as well as an installer script: <a href="https://github.com/Ardour/ardour/blob/master/tools/videotimeline/install_video_tools.sh" title="https://github.com/Ardour/ardour/blob/master/tools/videotimeline/install_video_tools.sh" rel="nofollow">install_video_tools.sh</a>.
The display of <dfn>waveforms</dfn> (or, more correctly, <dfn>peak
envelopes</dfn>, since the actual waveform is only visible at the highest
zoom levels) is configurable via the <kbd
- class="menu">Edit > Preferences > Editor</kbd> dialog, to support
+ class="menu">Edit > Preferences > Editor</kbd> dialog, to support
different usecases and user preferences. The following options are
available:
</p>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>Linear</dt>
- <dd>This is the traditional <dfn>linear</dfn> (1:1) display of the
+ <dd>This is the traditional <dfn>linear</dfn> (1:1) display of the
peak envelope, or, at higher zoom levels, the individual samples.</dd>
<dt>Logarithmic</dt>
- <dd>Alternatively, you can use a <dfn>logarithmic</dfn> display of the
- peak envelope. This will give you a better idea of program loudness (it is similar
+ <dd>Alternatively, you can use a <dfn>logarithmic</dfn> display of the
+ peak envelope. This will give you a better idea of program loudness (it is similar
to dBs) and plot soft passages more clearly, which is useful for soft
recordings or small track height.</dd>
</dl>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>Traditional</dt>
- <dd>The <dfn>zero</dfn> line appears in the middle of the display and waveforms
+ <dd>The <dfn>zero</dfn> line appears in the middle of the display and waveforms
appear as positive and negative peaks above <em>and</em> below.</dd>
<dt>Rectified</dt>
- <dd>The zero line appears at the bottom of the display and waveforms appear
+ <dd>The zero line appears at the bottom of the display and waveforms appear
as absolute peaks <em>above</em> the line only.</dd>
</dl>
</dd>
+++ /dev/null
-
-<p>
-<dfn>Ardour</dfn> is a professional digital workstation for working with
-audio and MIDI.
-</p>
-
-<h2>Ardour is meant for…</h2>
-
-<h3>Audio Engineers</h3>
-<p>
-Ardour's core user group: people who want to record, edit, mix and master
-audio and MIDI projects. When you need complete control over your tools,
-when the limitations of other designs get in the way, when you plan to spend
-hours or days working on a session, Ardour is there to make things work the
-way you want them to.
-</p>
-
-<h3>Musicians</h3>
-<p>
-Being the best tool to record talented performers on actual instruments has
-always been a top priority for Ardour. Rather than being focused on
-electronic and pop music idioms, Ardour steps out of the way to encourage
-the creative process to remain where it always has been: a musician playing
-a carefully designed and well built instrument.
-</p>
-
-<h3>Soundtrack Editors</h3>
-<p>
-Sample accurate sync and shared transport control with video playback tools
-allows Ardour to provide a fast and natural environment for creating and
-editing soundtracks for film and video projects.
-</p>
-
-<h3>Composers</h3>
-<p>
-Arrange audio and MIDI using the same tools and same workflow. Use external
-hardware synthesizers or software instruments as sound sources. From sound
-design to electro-acoustic composition to dense multitrack MIDI editing,
-Ardour can help.
-</p>
-
-<h2>Ardour features…</h2>
-
-<h3>Audio and MIDI Multi-Track Recording and Editing</h3>
-<p>
-Any number of tracks and busses. Non-linear editing. Non-destructive (and
-destructive!) recording. Any bit depth, any sample rate. Dozens of file
-formats.
-</p>
-
-<h3>Plugins with Full Sample Accurate Automation</h3>
-<p>
-AudioUnit, LV2, LinuxVST and LADSPA formats. FX plugins. Software
-instruments. MIDI processors. Automate any parameters. Physically manipulate
-them via control surfaces. Distribute processing across as many (or as few)
-cores as you want.
-</p>
-
-<h3>Transport Sync and External Control Surfaces</h3>
-<p>
-Best-in-industry sync to MIDI timecode and LTC. Send and receive MIDI
-Machine Control. Sync with JACK transport and MIDI clock. Dedicated Mackie
-Control protocol support, pre-defined mappings for many MIDI controllers
-plus dynamic MIDI learn. Use OSC to drive almost any operation in Ardour.
-</p>
-
-<h3>Powerful Anywhere-to-Anywhere Signal Routing</h3>
-<p>
-Complex signal flows are simple and elegant. Inputs and outputs connect to
-your hardware and/or other applications. Use sends, inserts and returns
-freely. Connections can be one-to-many, many-to-one or many-to-many. Tap
-signal flows at any point. If you can't connect in the way you want with
-Ardour, it probably can't be done.
-</p>
-
-<h3>Video Timeline</h3>
-<p>
-Import a single video and optionally extract the soundtrack from it. Display
-a frame-by-frame (thumbnail) timeline of the video. Use a Video-monitor
-window, or full-screen display, of the imported video in sync with any of
-the available ardour timecode sources. Lock audio-regions to the video: Move
-audio-regions with the video at video-frame granularity. Export the video,
-cut start/end, add blank frames and/or mux it with the soundtrack of the
-current-session.
-</p>
-
-
+
<p>
- The <dfn>Session</dfn> is the fundamental document type that is created and
- modified by the Ardour workstation. A Session is a folder on your computer
- filesystem that contains all the items that pertain to a particular project
+ The <dfn>Session</dfn> is the fundamental document type that is created and
+ modified by the Ardour workstation. A Session is a folder on your computer
+ filesystem that contains all the items that pertain to a particular project
or "recording/editing/mixing session".
</p>
<p>
<li><code><em>session_name</em>.ardour.bak</code>, the auto-backup snapshot</li>
<li><code><em>session_name</em>.history</code>, the undo history for the session </li>
<li><code>instant.xml</code>, which records the last-used zoom scale and other metadata</li>
- <li><code>interchange/</code>, a folder which holds your raw audio and MIDI
+ <li><code>interchange/</code>, a folder which holds your raw audio and MIDI
files (whether imported or recorded)</li>
<li><code>export/</code>, a folder which contains any files created by the
<kbd class="menu">Session > Export</kbd> function</li>
<li><code>peaks/</code>, a folder which contains waveform renderings of
all audio files in the session</li>
- <li><code>analysis/</code>, a folder which contains transient and pitch
+ <li><code>analysis/</code>, a folder which contains transient and pitch
information of each audio file that has been analysed</li>
- <li><code>dead sounds/</code>, a folder which contains sound files which
+ <li><code>dead sounds/</code>, a folder which contains sound files which
Ardour has detected are no longer used in the session (during a <kbd
class="menu">Session > Clean-up > Clean-up Unused Sources</kbd>
operation, will be purged by <kbd class="menu">Flush Waste Basket</kbd>)</li>
</ul>
<p>
- A session combines some setup information (such as audio and MIDI routing,
- musical tempo & meter, timecode synchronization, etc.) with one or more
+ A session combines some setup information (such as audio and MIDI routing,
+ musical tempo & meter, timecode synchronization, etc.) with one or more
Tracks and Buses, and all the Regions and Plug-Ins they contain.
</p>
</p>
<p>
- After the first-run dialog, the default location can still be changed at
+ After the first-run dialog, the default location can still be changed at
any time via <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences > Misc > Session
Management</kbd>. A particular (different) location for a session can also be
specified when creating it, in the <a href="@@newopen-session-dialog">New
-
+
<p>
This section explains the rules used to decide which regions are affected
by editing operations. You don't really have to understand them—hopefully
things will Just Work—but it may be useful eventually to understand the rules.
</p>
<p>
- Editing operations in Ardour either operate on a single point in time
- (<kbd class="menu">Split</kbd> being the obvious example) or on two
+ Editing operations in Ardour either operate on a single point in time
+ (<kbd class="menu">Split</kbd> being the obvious example) or on two
points (which can also be considered to be a range of sorts), <kbd
class="menu">Separate</kbd> is a good example of this.
</p>
-<p>
- Most operations will operate on the currently selected region(s), but if
- no regions are selected, the region that the mouse is in will be used
- instead. Single-point operations will generally pick a set of regions to
+<p>
+ Most operations will operate on the currently selected region(s), but if
+ no regions are selected, the region that the mouse is in will be used
+ instead. Single-point operations will generally pick a set of regions to
use based on the following rules:
</p>
<ul>
<ul>
<li>
use the selected regions <em>and</em> those that are both
- under the edit position <em>and</em> on a selected track,
+ under the edit position <em>and</em> on a selected track,
or on a track which is in the same active edit-enabled route group
as a selected region.
</li>
</li>
</ul>
<p>
- The rationale here for the two different rules is that the mouse edit point
- is special in that its position indicates both a time and a track; the other
+ The rationale here for the two different rules is that the mouse edit point
+ is special in that its position indicates both a time and a track; the other
edit points (Playhead,Marker) indicate a time only.
</p>
-
+
<p>
- The name <dfn>"Ardour"</dfn> came from considerations of how to pronounce the acronym
- <abbr title="Hard Disk Recorder">HDR</abbr>. The most obvious attempt sounds
- like a vowelless "harder" and it then was then a short step to an unrelated
- but slightly homophonic word:
+ The name <dfn>"Ardour"</dfn> came from considerations of how to pronounce the
+ acronym <abbr title="Hard Disk Recorder">HDR</abbr>. The most obvious attempt
+ sounds like a vowelless "harder" and it then was then a short step to an
+ unrelated but slightly homophonic word:
</p>
-<blockquote>
- <dfn>ardour</dfn> n 1: a feeling of strong eagerness (usually in favor of
- a person or cause); "they were imbued with a revolutionary ardor"; "he
- felt a kind of religious zeal" [syn: ardor, elan, zeal]<br>
- 2: intense feeling of love [syn: ardor]<br>
- 3: feelings of great warmth and intensity; "he spoke with great ardor"
- [syn: ardor, fervor, fervour, fervency, fire, fervidness]
- </p>
-</blockquote>
+
+ <dfn>ardour</dfn> <em>n</em> 1: a feeling of strong eagerness (usually in
+ favor of a person or cause); "they were imbued with a revolutionary ardor";
+ "he felt a kind of religious zeal" [syn: ardor, elan, zeal]<br>
+ 2: intense feeling of love [syn: ardor]<br>
+ 3: feelings of great warmth and intensity; "he spoke with great ardor" [syn:
+ ardor, fervor, fervour, fervency, fire, fervidness]
+</p></blockquote>
+
<p>
- Given the work required to develop Ardour, and the personality of its
- primary author, the name seemed appropriate even without the vague
- relationship to HDR.
+ Given the work required to develop Ardour, and the personality of its primary
+ author, the name seemed appropriate even without the vague relationship to
+ HDR.
</p>
+
<p>
- Years later, another interpretation of "Ardour" appeared, this time based
- on listening to non-native English speakers attempt to pronounce the word.
+ Years later, another interpretation of "Ardour" appeared, this time based on
+ listening to non-native English speakers attempt to pronounce the word.
Rather than "Ardour", it became "Our DAW", which seemed poetically fitting
for a Digital Audio Workstation whose source code and design belongs to a
group of collaborators.
<p>
-It is fairly understandable that existing proprietary DAWs do not run on
-Linux, given the rather small (but growing) share of the desktop market
-that Linux has. However, when surveying the landscape of "popular
-operating systems", we find:
+ There are already a number of excellent digital audio workstations. To
+ mention just a few: ProTools, Nuendo, Samplitude, Digital Performer, Logic,
+ Cubase (SX), Sonar, along with several less well known systems such as SADIE,
+ SAWStudio and others. Each of these programs has its strengths and
+ weaknesses, although over the last few years most of them have converged on a
+ very similar set of core features. However, each of them suffers from two
+ problems when seen from the perspective of Ardour's development group:
</p>
+
+<ul>
+ <li>they do not run natively on Linux</li>
+ <li>they are not available in source code form, making modifications,
+ improvements, bugfixes by technically inclined users or their friends or
+ consultants impossible.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<p>
+ It is fairly understandable that most existing proprietary DAWs do not run on
+ Linux, given the rather small (but growing) share of the desktop market that
+ Linux has. However, when surveying the landscape of "popular operating
+ systems", we find:
+</p>
+
<ul>
- <li>older versions of Windows: plagued by abysmal stability and
- appalling security</li>
- <li>newer versions of Windows seem stable but still suffer from
- security problems</li>
- <li>OS X: an amazing piece of engineering that is excellent for
- audio work but only runs on proprietary hardware and still lacks the
- flexibility and adaptability of Linux.</li>
+ <li>older versions of Windows: plagued by abysmal stability and appalling
+ security</li>
+ <li>newer versions of Windows seem stable but still suffer from security
+ problems</li>
+ <li>OS X: a nice piece of engineering that is excellent for audio work
+ but only runs on proprietary hardware and still lacks the flexibility and
+ adaptability of Linux.</li>
</ul>
+
<p>
-Security matters today, and will matter more in the future as more and
-more live or semi-live network based collaborations take place.
+ Security matters today, and will matter more in the future as more and more
+ live or semi-live network based collaborations take place.
</p>
+
<p>
-Let's contrast this with Linux, an operating system which:
+ Let's contrast this with Linux, an operating system which:
</p>
+
<ul>
<li>can stay up for months (or even years) without issues</li>
<li>is endlessly configurable down to the tiniest detail</li>
- <li>is not owned by any single corporate entity, ensuring its life
- and direction are not intertwined with that of a company (for a
- contrary example, consider BeOS)</li>
+ <li>is not owned by any single corporate entity, ensuring its life and
+ direction are not intertwined with that of a company (for a contrary example,
+ consider BeOS)</li>
<li>is fast and efficient</li>
- <li>runs on almost any computing platform ever created, including
- old "slow" systems and new "tiny" systems (e.g. Raspberry Pi)</li>
+ <li>runs on almost any computing platform ever created, including old "slow"
+ systems and new "tiny" systems (e.g. Raspberry Pi)</li>
<li>is one of the most secure operating systems "out of the box"</li>
</ul>
+
<p>
-More than anything, however, Ardour's primary author uses Linux and
-wanted a DAW that ran there.
+ More than anything, however, Ardour's primary author uses Linux and wanted a
+ DAW that ran there.
</p>
+
<p>
-Having written a DAW for Linux, it turned out to be relatively easy
-to port Ardour to OS X, mostly because of the excellent work done by
-the JACK OS X group that ported JACK to OS X.<br>
-Although OS X has a number of disadvantages compared to Linux, its
-ease of use and its presence in many studios already makes it a
-worthwhile platform.
+ Having written a DAW for Linux, it turned out to be relatively easy to port
+ Ardour to OS X, mostly because of the excellent work done by the JACK OS X
+ group that ported JACK to OS X.
</p>
+++ /dev/null
-
-<p>
-There are already a number of excellent digital audio workstations. To
-mention just a few: ProTools, Nuendo, Samplitude, Digital Performer, Logic,
-Cubase (SX), Sonar, along with several less well known systems such as
-SADIE, SAWStudio and others.<br>
-Each of these programs has its strengths and weaknesses, although over the
-last few years most of them have converged on a very similar set of core
-features. However, each of them suffers from two problems when seen from the
-perspective of Ardour's development group:
-</p>
-<ul>
- <li>they do not run natively on Linux</li>
- <li>they are not available in source code form, making modifications,
- improvements, bugfixes by technically inclined users or their friends
- or consultants impossible.</li>
-</ul>
-
<h2>Adding Video</h2>
<p>
- Adding video is a two-step process: select a video file, and choose
+ Adding video is a two-step process: select a video file, and choose
import mode and optionally select an audio track to extract.
</p>
<p>
- The first step is rather straight-forward. The panel on the right side
- allows to seek through the video and displays basic file information.
+ The first step is rather straight-forward. The panel on the right side
+ allows to seek through the video and displays basic file information.
It is also useful to check if the video format/codec is supported:
</p>
<img src="/images/a3_video_open.png" alt="video-open-dialog" width="300" />
chosen (external disk, or network storage of the video server on a different
machine).</dd>
<dt><kbd class="menu">Reference from Current Location</kbd></dt>
- <dd>Only useful for opening files that were previously encoded (are already
+ <dd>Only useful for opening files that were previously encoded (are already
in a good format/codec). Use with care.</dd>
<dt><kbd class="menu">Do not Import Video</kbd></dt>
<dd>Useful for extracting audio only.</dd>
If it is a large video (e.g. full-HD) it makes sense to scale it down
to decrease the CPU load and disk I/O required to decode and play the
file.<br>
- A small, low-quality representation of the image is usually sufficient
- for editing soundtracks. The default bitrate in kbit/sec is set to use
- 0.7 bits per pixel. (Compare: the average DVD medium uses 5000 kbit/s;
- at PAL resolution this is about 0.5 bits per pixel. But the DVD is
- using the <dfn>mpeg2</dfn>—a denser compression algorithm than the
+ A small, low-quality representation of the image is usually sufficient
+ for editing soundtracks. The default bitrate in kbit/sec is set to use
+ 0.7 bits per pixel. (Compare: the average DVD medium uses 5000 kbit/s;
+ at PAL resolution this is about 0.5 bits per pixel. But the DVD is
+ using the <dfn>mpeg2</dfn>—a denser compression algorithm than the
<dfn>mjpeg</dfn> codec used by Ardour.)
</p>
<h2 id="export">Exporting Video</h2>
<p>
- The video export will take audio from the current Ardour session and
- multiplex it with a video file. The soundtrack of the video is taken from
+ The video export will take audio from the current Ardour session and
+ multiplex it with a video file. The soundtrack of the video is taken from
an audio export of Ardour's master bus.
</p>
<p>
- An arbitrary video file can be chosen. For high quality exports, the
- original file (before it was imported into the timeline) should be used.
- This is the default behaviour if that file can be found. If not, Ardour
- will fall back to the imported proxy-video which is currently in use
+ An arbitrary video file can be chosen. For high quality exports, the
+ original file (before it was imported into the timeline) should be used.
+ This is the default behaviour if that file can be found. If not, Ardour
+ will fall back to the imported proxy-video which is currently in use
on the timeline. Any existing audio tracks on this video file are stripped.
</p>
<p>
- The range selection allows to cut or extend the video. If the session is
- longer than the video duration, black frames are prefixed or appended to
- the video. (Note: this process may fail with non-standard pixel aspect
+ The range selection allows to cut or extend the video. If the session is
+ longer than the video duration, black frames are prefixed or appended to
+ the video. (Note: this process may fail with non-standard pixel aspect
ratios). If Ardour's session range is shorter, the video will be cut accordingly.
</p>
<p>
- Audio samplerate and normalization are options for Ardour's audio exporter.
+ Audio samplerate and normalization are options for Ardour's audio exporter.
The remaining settings are options that are directly passed on to ffmpeg.
</p>
<p>
The file format is determined by the extension that you choose for it
(.avi, .mov, .flv, .ogv, .webm,…)
- Note: not all combinations of format, codec, and settings produce files
- which are according to specifications. For example, flv files require
- sample rates of 22.1 kHz or 44.1 kHz, mpeg containers can not
- be used with ac3 audio-codec, etc. If in doubt, use one of the built-in
+ Note: not all combinations of format, codec, and settings produce files
+ which are according to specifications. For example, flv files require
+ sample rates of 22.1 kHz or 44.1 kHz, mpeg containers can not
+ be used with ac3 audio-codec, etc. If in doubt, use one of the built-in
presets.
</p>
<img src="/images/a3_video_export.png" alt="Video Export Dialog" width="300" />
<p>
- Ardour video export is not recommended for mastering! While ffmpeg
- (which is used by Ardour) can produce high-quality files, this export
- lacks the possibility to tweak many settings. We recommend to use winff,
+ Ardour video export is not recommended for mastering! While ffmpeg
+ (which is used by Ardour) can produce high-quality files, this export
+ lacks the possibility to tweak many settings. We recommend to use winff,
devede or dvdauthor to mux & master. Nevertheless this video-export c
omes in handy to do quick snapshots, intermediates, dailies or online videos.
</p>
<p>
- To view a plugin editor, double-click on the plugin within the
- <a href="@@processor-box">processor box</a>.
+ To view a plugin editor, double-click on the plugin within the
+ <a href="@@processor-box">processor box</a>.
A new window will appear showing the editor/GUI for the plugin.
-</p>
+</p>
<p class=fixme>Add a pic showing the generic GUI</p>
<p>
If a plugin does not have its own GUI, Ardour will construct a
- <dfn>generic plugin editor</dfn> from a small set of common control
- elements. Ardour will do this even for plugins that have their
- own, if <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences >
+ <dfn>generic plugin editor</dfn> from a small set of common control
+ elements. Ardour will do this even for plugins that have their
+ own, if <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences >
GUI > Use Plugins' own interface instead of Ardour's</kbd> is disabled.
</p>
<p>
- The generic UI can be temporarily switched to by context-clicking on
+ The generic UI can be temporarily switched to by context-clicking on
a processor and selecting <kbd class="menu">Edit with generic controls</kbd>.
This is necessary in order to access the <a href="@@automation">plugin
automation controls</a>.
right side or master on the left side. There are three presets for a
master and two extenders with the master on the left, in the center
and on the right. While these files will work for many uses there may
- be cases where a custom device profile makes more sense.
+ be cases where a custom device profile makes more sense.
The best way is to start with the *.device file in the <a
href="https://github.com/Ardour/ardour/tree/master/mcp">
Source Tree</a> that matches your
-
+
<p>
It is very useful to be able to tag different locations in a session for
later use when editing and mixing. Ardour supports both
- <dfn>locations</dfn>, which define specific positions in time,
- and <dfn>ranges</dfn> which define a start and end position in time.
+ <dfn>locations</dfn>, which define specific positions in time,
+ and <dfn>ranges</dfn> which define a start and end position in time.
</p>
<p>
- In addition to the standard location markers, there are three kinds of
+ In addition to the standard location markers, there are three kinds of
special markers:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
- <dfn>CD markers</dfn> are locations that are restricted to legal
- <dfn>CD sector boundaries</dfn>. They can be used to add track index
+ <dfn>CD markers</dfn> are locations that are restricted to legal
+ <dfn>CD sector boundaries</dfn>. They can be used to add track index
markers to compact disc images.
</li>
<li>
---
---
-title: Welcome to Ardour!
-include: welcome-to-ardour_2.html
-link: welcome-to-ardour_2
+title: Ardour Overview
+include: ardour-overview.html
+link: ardour-overview
uri: welcome-to-ardour
part: subchapter
---
---
-title: Isn't This A Really Complicated Program?
-include: isnt-this-a-really-complicated-program.html
-link: isnt-this-a-really-complicated-program
-uri: welcome-to-ardour/about-ardour/isnt-this-a-really-complicated-program
+title: Why is it called Ardour?
+include: why-is-it-called-ardour.html
+link: why-is-it-called-ardour
+uri: welcome-to-ardour/about-ardour/why-is-it-called-ardour
part: subchapter
---
---
---
-title: Why is it called Ardour?
-include: why-is-it-called-ardour.html
-link: why-is-it-called-ardour
-uri: welcome-to-ardour/about-ardour/why-is-it-called-ardour
+title: Isn't This a Really Complicated Program?
+menu_title: Isn't This a Complex Program?
+include: isnt-this-a-really-complicated-program.html
+link: isnt-this-a-really-complicated-program
+uri: welcome-to-ardour/about-ardour/isnt-this-a-really-complicated-program
part: subchapter
---
---
-title: Why write another DAW?
-include: why-write-another-daw.html
-link: why-write-another-daw
-uri: welcome-to-ardour/about-ardour/why-write-another-daw
+title: Creating Music with Ardour
+include: creating-music-with-ardour.html
+link: creating-music-with-ardour
+uri: introducing-ardour/creating-music-with-ardour
part: subchapter
---
---
---
-title: Creating Music with Ardour
-include: creating-music-with-ardour.html
-link: creating-music-with-ardour
-uri: introducing-ardour/creating-music-with-ardour
-part: subchapter
+title: Ardour Basics
+include: ardour-basics.html
+link: ardour-basics
+uri: introducing-ardour
+part: chapter
---
---
-title: Ardour Concepts
-include: ardour-concepts.html
-link: ardour-concepts
-uri: introducing-ardour
-part: chapter
+title: Starting Ardour
+include: starting-ardour.html
+link: starting-ardour
+uri: setting-up-your-system/starting-ardour
+part: subchapter
---
---
title: Understanding Basic Concepts and Terminology
+menu_title: Basic Concepts and Terminology
include: understanding-basic-concepts-and-terminology.html
link: understanding-basic-concepts-and-terminology
uri: introducing-ardour/understanding-basic-concepts-and-terminology
part: subchapter
---
----
-title: Basic GUI Operations
-include: basic-gui-operations.html
-link: basic-gui-operations
-uri: introducing-ardour/basic-gui-operations
-part: subchapter
----
-
----
-title: Interface Elements
-include: interface-elements.html
-link: interface-elements
-uri: introducing-ardour/basic-gui-operations/interface-elements
-part: subchapter
----
-
----
-title: Selection Techniques
-include: selection-techniques.html
-link: selection-techniques
-uri: introducing-ardour/basic-gui-operations/selection-techniques
-part: subchapter
----
-
----
-title: Tooltips
-include: tooltips.html
-link: tooltips
-uri: introducing-ardour/basic-gui-operations/tooltips
-part: subchapter
----
-
----
-title: Undo/Redo for Editing
-include: undoredo-for-editing.html
-link: undoredo-for-editing
-uri: introducing-ardour/basic-gui-operations/undoredo-for-editing-
-part: subchapter
----
-
---
title: Using the Mouse
include: using-the-mouse.html
---
---
-title: Cut and Paste Operations
-include: cut-and-paste-operations.html
-link: cut-and-paste-operations
-uri: introducing-ardour/basic-gui-operations/cut-and-paste-operations
-part: subchapter
----
-
----
-title: Deleting Objects
-include: deleting-objects.html
-link: deleting-objects
-uri: introducing-ardour/basic-gui-operations/deleting-objects
-part: subchapter
----
-
----
-title: Starting Ardour
-include: starting-ardour.html
-link: starting-ardour
-uri: setting-up-your-system/starting-ardour
+title: Basic GUI Operations
+include: basic-gui-operations.html
+link: basic-gui-operations
+uri: introducing-ardour/basic-gui-operations
part: subchapter
---
}
#chapter { padding-top: 1em; padding-left: 1em; }
-
#subchapter { padding-left: 4em; }
+#section { padding-left: 6em; }
+#subsection { padding-left: 8em; }
#content table.alternate{ border-collapse:collapse; }
.alternate td{ padding:7px; border:#4e95f4 1px solid; }
projects / ardour-manual / commitdiff