---
<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 there is 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>
<p>
Some people complain that Ardour is not "intuitive" to use—its lead developer has <a href="http://community.ardour.org/node/3322">some thoughts on that</a>.
</p>
-
+
---
title: Why Write a DAW for Linux?
part: subchapter
<p>
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.
</p>
-
+
---
title: Why is it called Ardour?
part: subchapter
<blockquote><p>
<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
+ 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"
+ 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>
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>
-
+
---
title: Why write another DAW?
part: subchapter
<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
+ <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
</p>
<p>
<dfn>Audio recordings</dfn> can be made from external instruments with
- electrical outputs (keyboards, guitars etc.) or via microphones from
+ electrical outputs (keyboards, guitars etc.) or via microphones from
acoustic instruments.
</p>
<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
+ it 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).
+ 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).
</p>
<p>
- You can also carry out many <dfn>transformations</dfn> to the contents
+ 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
+ move, and delete MIDI notes, and remove silence from audio regions, for
example.
</p>
<h2>Stage 4: Mixing and Adding Effects</h2>
<p>
- Once you have the arrangement of your session mostly complete, you will
+ 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
+ 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.
</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
+ 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.
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,
+ 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>
perhaps an entire album or a complete live recording.
</p>
<p>
- Ardour sessions are held in directories; these directories contain one or
+ 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.
</p>
<p>
- Ardour's session file is kept in
+ 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
without specifying one, it will offer to load or create one.
</p>
<p>
- More details can be found at
+ More details can be found at
<a href="/working-with-sessions">Working With Sessions</a>.
</p>
<h2>Tracks</h2>
-<p>
+<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
<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
+ 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
<h2>Plugins</h2>
<p>
- Ardour allows you to process audio and MIDI using any number of
+ 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:
<h2>Pop Up Menus</h2>
<h2>Context Menus</h2>
<h2>Browsers</h2>
-
+
<p class="fixme">Add content</p>
---
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
the desired combination of modifiers and key.
-</p>
+</p>
<p class="warning">
Ardour will silently re-assign the binding if you use a key
<h2>Key binding editor</h2>
<p>
- For a complete overview of all existing keyboard bindings, go to
+ For a complete overview of all existing keyboard bindings, go to
<kbd class="menu">Window > Key Bindings</kbd>. This widget will let
you view and edit even those functions that are not available in the menu,
and even remove key bindings altogether.
<p>
Ardour follows the conventions used by most other computer software
- (including other DAWs) for <dfn>selecting objects</dfn> in the
+ (including other DAWs) for <dfn>selecting objects</dfn> in the
<abbr title="Graphical User Interface">GUI</abbr>.
</p>
<h2>Selecting multiple (similar) objects</h2>
<p>
- A <kbd class="mod1 mouse">left</kbd> click on an object toggles its
+ 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>
To select a time <dfn>range</dfn> in the Editor,
- click <kbd class="mouse">Left</kbd> and drag the mouse.
+ 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.
<h2>Selection Undo</h2>
<p>
- The set of objects (including time range) that are selected at any one
+ 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.
<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.
+ 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 >
+ disable them via <kbd class="optoff">Edit > Preferences > GUI >
Show tooltip if mouse hovers over a control</kbd>.
</p>
-
+
---
-title: Undo/Redo for Editing
+title: Undo/Redo for Editing
part: subchapter
---
<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).
+ arrangement of session components (regions, control points) along the
+ timeline can be <dfn>undone</dfn> (and <dfn>redone</dfn> if necessary).
</p>
<p>
<p>
The maximum number of changes that can be undone can be configured under
- <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences > Misc > Undo</kbd>.
+ <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>
<kbd class="mod3">Z</kbd>.
There is also an undo for selection. See
<a href="/ardours-interface/basic-gui-operations/selection-techniques/">Selection Techniques</a> for more information.
-</p>
+</p>
<p class="warning">
Note that changes made to mixer strips, such as turning knobs or changing faders, cannot be undone.
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
+ 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
+ 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.
</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..
<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
+ <kbd class="mouse">Middle</kbd> mouse button. Not all all mice have a middle click button
(see the <a href="/setting-up-your-system/mouse/">Mouse</a> chapter for
- details). Sometimes the scroll wheel acts as a clickable middle button.
+ 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
+ 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
+ <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>
<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
+ 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>
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
+ 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.
</p>
<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
+ 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>
<dfn>continuous controls</dfn> such as faders and knobs, or to scroll
vertically or horizontally inside a window.
</p>
-
+
<p class="fixme">Should add some mention of drag & drop operations; the "Dragging" section above doesn't mention it at all.</p>
---
can paste the same item multiple times. <br />
The default key binding is <kbd class="mod1">v</kbd>.
</p>
-
+
---
title: Deleting Objects
part: subchapter
<p>
Within the Editor window (and to some extent within the Mixer window too),
- there are several techniques for <dfn>deleting</dfn> objects (regions,
+ 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.
+ 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 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>
+ 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
+ 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>
----
-title: Ardour's Interface
-part: subchapter
----
-
-<p>
- In Ardour, work is done in two main windows: the <dfn>Editor</dfn> and the
- <dfn>Mixer</dfn>.
-</p>
-
-<p><img class="right" src="/images/editor-summary.png"
-alt="Ardour's editor window" /></p>
-
-<p>
- To switch between those windows, use the buttons (in the upper right),
- the shortcut <kbd class="mod2">M</kbd>, or the menu
- <kbd class="menu">Window > Editor <em>(or Mixer)</em> > Show</kbd>.
- Both windows can be visible at the same time (eg. for a multi-monitor
- setup) using <kbd class="menu">Detach</kbd> in the same menu.
-</p>
-
-<p>
- The <dfn>Editor</dfn> window includes the editor track <dfn>canvas</dfn> where audio and MIDI data can be arranged along a timeline. This is the window used while <a href="/editing-and-arranging/">editing and arranging</a> a session. This window has a general <em>horizontal</em> sense to it: the timeline flows from left to right, and the playhead showing the current position in the session moves from left to right—the window represents <dfn>time</dfn> in a fairly literal way.
-</p>
-
-<p><img class="right" src="/images/mixer-summary.png"
-alt="ardour's mixer window" /></p>
-
-<p>
- The <dfn>Mixer</dfn> window on the other hand represents signal flow and is the window likely used most when mixing a session. It includes <dfn>channel strips</dfn> for each track and bus in the session. It has a general <em>vertical</em> sense to it: signals flow from the top of each channel strip through the processing elements in the strip to reach the output listed at the bottom.
-</p>
-
-<p>
- It is possible to show a single channel strip in the editor window, and this can be enough to work on mixing without actually opening the mixer window. Most of the time though, both of these windows will be needed at various stages of a session's lifetime—sometimes the focus is on editing, other times the focus is on mixing.
-</p>
---
title: Starting Ardour
</p>
<ul>
- <li>double-click the Ardour icon in your platform's file manager (e.g.
+ <li>double-click the Ardour icon in your 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 <a
+ <li>on Linux, you can also start Ardour <a
href="/ardours-interface/starting-ardour/starting-ardour-from-the-command-line">on the command line</a></li>
</ul>
<p>
- When Ardour is run for the very first time, a special dialog is displayed
+ 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
<kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences</kbd> dialog.
</p>
<p>
- If you open Ardour without specifying an existing session it will display
+ 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="/working-with-sessions/new-session-dialog/">New/Open Session Dialog</a> for a description of those dialogs.
</p>
Almost every available function in Ardour can be bound to a keyboard
shortcut (and those few that cannot will usually respond to an <a
href="/using-control-surfaces/controlling-ardour-with-osc/"><abbr
- title="Open Sound Control">OSC</abbr> command</a>). Ardour comes with a
+ title="Open Sound Control">OSC</abbr> command</a>). Ardour comes with a
rich set of default <dfn>key bindings</dfn> for the most commonly used
functions.
</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
+<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 />
<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.
+ 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>
<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>
<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>
---
<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>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.
+ 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>
<h2>Aligning with the Edit Point</h2>
<p>
- <dfn>Align operations</dfn> move regions so that their start/end/sync
+ <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
+ the first region and moves other selected regions to maintain relative
positioning.
</p>
<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>
<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>
-
+
<h3>Mouse Buttons</h3>
<p>
<h3>Preference/Dialog Options</h3>
<p>
- Choices in various dialogs, notably the Preferences and Properties dialog, are
+ Choices in various dialogs, notably the Preferences and Properties dialog, are
indicated like this:<br />
<kbd class="option">Edit > Preferences > Audio > Some
Option</kbd>.<br />
<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. Also, don't ask for permission to ask a question, just ask your question with the understanding that the answer (from the "right" people or not) could come seconds, minutes, hours, or never.
-</p>
+</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>
---
<p>
- Ardour is designed to work best with a <dfn>three button mouse</dfn>
+ Ardour is designed to work best with a <dfn>three button mouse</dfn>
equipped with a <dfn>scroll wheel</dfn>.
</p>
find that a good quality mouse (especially one with a weighted,
latchable scroll wheel) will make your use of Ardour vastly more
efficient. They are cheap, and time is not.
-</p>
+</p>
<p>
- For more detailed instructions, see
+ For more detailed instructions, see
<a href="/ardours-interface/basic-gui-operations/using-the-mouse/">Using the mouse</a>.
</p>
part: chapter
---
-
+
---
title: Setting Up Your System
part: subchapter
<li>Update this manual via pull requests on <a href="https://github.com/Ardour/manual">github<a/>.</li>
</ul>
</p>
-
+
---
title: KDE Plasma 5
part: subchapter
---
<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>
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>
Please see the instructions at <a href="http://jackaudio.org/faq" title="http://jackaudio.org/faq">http://jackaudio.org/faq</a>
</p>
-
+
---
title: Preferences
</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
<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>
<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>
<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>
<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>
<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.
<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>
<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="/recording/monitoring/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>
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"/>
<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>
Feedback from the Ardour to the the control surface is very useful for
a number of things. Motor faders need to know where the the track
they have been attached to is at before they were assigned otherwise
- the DAW fader will jump to where the controller fader is. Likewise,
+ the DAW fader will jump to where the controller fader is. Likewise,
the buttons on each strip need to know what their value is so they can
light their LED correctly. Transport controls should let you know if
they are active too. This is what feedback is all about.
<dt><kbd class="osc">/bank_down <em>LED</em></kbd></dt>
<dd>where <em>LED</em> is a bool that indicates another bank_down operation is possible.</dd>
<dt><kbd class="osc">/strip/name <em>ssid</em> <em>track_name</em></kbd></dt>
- <dd>where <em>track_name</em> is a string representing the name of the track
+ <dd>where <em>track_name</em> is a string representing the name of the track
(note there is no coresponding command to set the track name)</dd>
<dt><kbd class="osc">/strip/mute <em>ssid</em> <em>mute_st</em></kbd></dt>
<dd>where <em>mute_st</em> is a bool/int representing the actual mute state of the track</dd>
strip_types is an integer made up of bits. The easy way to
deal with this is to think of strip_types items being worth a number and
then adding all those numbers together for a value to send.
- Strip Types will determine What kind of strips will be included in
+ Strip Types will determine What kind of strips will be included in
bank. This would include: Audio, MIDI, busses, VCAs, Master, Monitor
and hidden or selected strips.
</p>
to enable both buses and auxes if they would prefer.
</p>
-<h3>feedback</h3>
+<h3>feedback</h3>
<p>Feedback is an integer made up of bits. The easy way to
deal with this is to think of feedback items being worth a number and
then adding all those numbers together for a value to send.
---
<p>
- This will walk you through the process of configuring and using
+ This will walk you through the process of configuring and using
a MIDI control surface with Ardour that uses the <dfn>Mackie Control
- protocol</dfn> (MCP) or <dfn>Logic Control protocol</dfn>. Devices that
- have been tested and are known to work include the SSL Nucleus, Mackie
- Control Pro (plus extenders), Behringer devices in Mackie/Logic mode,
+ protocol</dfn> (MCP) or <dfn>Logic Control protocol</dfn>. Devices that
+ have been tested and are known to work include the SSL Nucleus, Mackie
+ Control Pro (plus extenders), Behringer devices in Mackie/Logic mode,
and Steinberg CMC devices.
</p>
<img src="/images/missing.png" alt="Mackie Control Setup Dialog" />
<p>
- From the selector at the top, choose the type of device you are using.
+ From the selector at the top, choose the type of device you are using.
(<a
href="/using-control-surfaces/devices-using-mackielogic-control-protocol/devices-not-listed/">
What to do if your device is not listed</a>).
</p>
<p>
- Once your setup is complete, click "OK" to close the dialog. Now click
+ Once your setup is complete, click "OK" to close the dialog. Now click
on the enable checkbox for "Mackie Control".
</p>
<h2>Connecting control surface and Ardour MIDI ports</h2>
<p>
- If you are using a device that uses ipMIDI, such as the SSL Nucleus, no
- MIDI port connections are required—Ardour and your control
+ If you are using a device that uses ipMIDI, such as the SSL Nucleus, no
+ MIDI port connections are required—Ardour and your control
surface will be able to talk to each other automatically.
</p>
<p>
- If you are using a device that uses normal MIDI (via a standard MIDI or
- USB cable), you need to connect Ardour's Mackie Control in and out ports
+ If you are using a device that uses normal MIDI (via a standard MIDI or
+ USB cable), you need to connect Ardour's Mackie Control in and out ports
to the MIDI ports leading to and coming from the control surface.
</p>
<p>
- When you have made these connections once, Ardour will recreate them
+ When you have made these connections once, Ardour will recreate them
for you in the future, as long as you leave Mackie Control enabled.
</p>
<h2>Customizing your control surface</h2>
<p>
- Every possible Mackie Control button can be bound to any action present
+ Every possible Mackie Control button can be bound to any action present
in Ardour's GUI. Please check your control surface page for suggestions.
</p>
<h2>Preparing your device for use with Ardour</h2>
<p>
- Most interfaces will require some configuration to send and respond to
+ Most interfaces will require some configuration to send and respond to
MCP.
-</p>
+</p>
<p class="note">
When setting up the control surface, do <em>not</em> use "Pro Tools"
part: subchapter
---
-<h2>Behringer BCF-2000 Faders Controller</h2>
+<h2>Behringer BCF-2000 Faders Controller</h2>
<p>
<img alt="Digramatic Image of the BCF2000"
</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>
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.
<h2>Devices using ipMIDI</h2>
<p>
- If you are using a device like the SSL Nucleus that uses ipMIDI,
- no set up is required other than to ensure that your control surface
+ If you are using a device like the SSL Nucleus that uses ipMIDI,
+ no set up is required other than to ensure that your control surface
and computer are both connected to the same network.
</p>
<h2>Devices using conventional MIDI</h2>
<p>
- Before attempting to use a Mackie Control device that communicates via
- a standard MIDI cable or a USB cable, you should ensure that
- <a href="/setting-up-your-system/setting-up-midi/midi-on-linux">your Linux
+ Before attempting to use a Mackie Control device that communicates via
+ a standard MIDI cable or a USB cable, you should ensure that
+ <a href="/setting-up-your-system/setting-up-midi/midi-on-linux">your Linux
MIDI environment is setup</a>.
</p>
---
<p>
- Ardour 2.X supported
- <a href="/using-control-surfaces/midi-learn"><dfn>MIDI learning</dfn></a>
+ Ardour 2.X supported
+ <a href="/using-control-surfaces/midi-learn"><dfn>MIDI learning</dfn></a>
for more or less any control. This was a nice feature that quite a few other
DAWs are providing by now, but it didn't allow Ardour to work "out of the
box" with sensible defaults for existing commercial MIDI
controllers. In Ardour 3 and later versions, we have augmented the
- MIDI learn feature with the ability to load a <dfn>MIDI binding map</dfn>
+ MIDI learn feature with the ability to load a <dfn>MIDI binding map</dfn>
for a given controller, which can set up an arbitrary number of physical
- controls with anything inside Ardour that can be controlled.
+ controls with anything inside Ardour that can be controlled.
</p>
<p>
At this time, new binding maps need to be created with a text editor.
<p>
MIDI binding maps are accessible by double-clicking <kbd class="menu">Edit
- > Preferences > Control Surfaces > Generic MIDI</kbd>. Ardour will
+ > Preferences > Control Surfaces > Generic MIDI</kbd>. Ardour will
retain your selection after you choose one.
</p>
<h2>Creating new MIDI maps</h2>
<h3>The Basic Concept</h3>
<p>
- Since the beginning of time (well, sometime early in the 2.X series),
- Ardour has had the concept of identifying each track and bus with a
- <dfn>remote control ID</dfn>. This ID uniquely identifies a track or bus
- so that when messages arrive from elsewhere via MIDI or OSC , we can determine
- which track or bus they are intended to control. Ardour has a
+ Since the beginning of time (well, sometime early in the 2.X series),
+ Ardour has had the concept of identifying each track and bus with a
+ <dfn>remote control ID</dfn>. This ID uniquely identifies a track or bus
+ so that when messages arrive from elsewhere via MIDI or OSC , we can determine
+ which track or bus they are intended to control. Ardour has a
<a
- href="/working-with-tracks/controlling-track-ordering/track-ordering-and-remote-control-ids/">number
- of ways of assigning remote control IDs</a>, but they don't really matter
- very much when creating MIDI binding maps, so we won't discuss that here.
- You just need to know that there is a "first track" and its remote control
+ href="/working-with-tracks/controlling-track-ordering/track-ordering-and-remote-control-ids/">number
+ of ways of assigning remote control IDs</a>, but they don't really matter
+ very much when creating MIDI binding maps, so we won't discuss that here.
+ You just need to know that there is a "first track" and its remote control
ID is 1, and so on.
</p>
<h3>Getting Started</h3>
<p>
- MIDI bindings are stored in files with the suffix ".map" attached to their
+ MIDI bindings are stored in files with the suffix ".map" attached to their
name. The minimal content looks like this:
</p>
<pre>
So, to start, create a file with that as the initial contents.
</p>
<p>
- On OS X, Ardour loads midi maps from its binary-bundle folder in
- <code>Ardour-<version>/midi_maps/</code> and checks
- various other locations as well (defined by the ARDOUR_MIDIMAPS_PATH
- environment variable). On GNU/Linux the easiest is to save the file to
+ On OS X, Ardour loads midi maps from its binary-bundle folder in
+ <code>Ardour-<version>/midi_maps/</code> and checks
+ various other locations as well (defined by the ARDOUR_MIDIMAPS_PATH
+ environment variable). On GNU/Linux the easiest is to save the file to
<code>~/.config/ardour3/midi_maps/</code>.
</p>
<h3>Finding out what your MIDI control surface sends</h3>
<p>
- This is the most complex part of the job, but its still not very hard.
- You need to connect the control surface to an application that will show
- you the information that the device sends each time you modify a knob,
- slider, button etc. There are a variety of such applications (notably
- <code>gmidimon</code> and <code>kmidimon</code>, but you can actually use
- Ardour for this if you want. Start Ardour in a terminal window, connect
- MIDI ports up, and in the Preferences window, enable "Trace Input" on the
- relevant MIDI port. A full trace of the MIDI data received will show up in
- the terminal window. (Note: in Ardour3, you get a dedicated, custom dialog
+ This is the most complex part of the job, but its still not very hard.
+ You need to connect the control surface to an application that will show
+ you the information that the device sends each time you modify a knob,
+ slider, button etc. There are a variety of such applications (notably
+ <code>gmidimon</code> and <code>kmidimon</code>, but you can actually use
+ Ardour for this if you want. Start Ardour in a terminal window, connect
+ MIDI ports up, and in the Preferences window, enable "Trace Input" on the
+ relevant MIDI port. A full trace of the MIDI data received will show up in
+ the terminal window. (Note: in Ardour3, you get a dedicated, custom dialog
for this kind of tracing.)
</p>
<h3>Types of Bindings</h3>
<p>
- There are two basic kinds of bindings you can make between a MIDI message
- and something inside Ardour. The first is a binding to a specific parameter
- of a track or bus. The second is a binding to a function that will change
+ There are two basic kinds of bindings you can make between a MIDI message
+ and something inside Ardour. The first is a binding to a specific parameter
+ of a track or bus. The second is a binding to a function that will change
Ardour's state in some way.
</p>
<h4>Binding to Track/Bus controls</h4>
<h4>Message specifications</h4>
<p>
You can create a binding for either 3 types of channel messages, or for a
- system exclusive ("sysex") message. A channel message specification looks
+ system exclusive ("sysex") message. A channel message specification looks
like this:
</p>
<code>
<Binding channel="1" ctl="13" ....
</code>
<p>
- This defines a binding for a MIDI Continuous Controller message involving
- controller 13, arriving on channel 1. There are 16 MIDI channels, numbered
- 1 to 16. Where the example above says <code>ctl</code>, you can alternatively
- use <code>note</code> (to create binding for a Note On message) or
+ This defines a binding for a MIDI Continuous Controller message involving
+ controller 13, arriving on channel 1. There are 16 MIDI channels, numbered
+ 1 to 16. Where the example above says <code>ctl</code>, you can alternatively
+ use <code>note</code> (to create binding for a Note On message) or
<code>pgm</code> (to create a binding for a Program Change message).
</p>
<p>
<Binding sysex="f0 7f 0 6 7 f7" ....
</code>
<p>
- The string after the <code>sysex=</code> part is the sequence of MIDI bytes,
+ The string after the <code>sysex=</code> part is the sequence of MIDI bytes,
as hexadecimal values, that make up the sysex message.
</p>
<p>
<Binding msg="80 60 40" ....
</code>
<p>
- The string after the <code>msg=</code> part is the sequence of MIDI bytes, as
- hexadecimal values, that make up the message you want to bind. Using this is
- slightly less efficient than the other variants shown above, but is useful for
+ The string after the <code>msg=</code> part is the sequence of MIDI bytes, as
+ hexadecimal values, that make up the message you want to bind. Using this is
+ slightly less efficient than the other variants shown above, but is useful for
some oddly designed control devices.
</p>
<h4>Control address</h4>
<p>
- A <dfn>control address</dfn> defines what the binding will actually control.
+ A <dfn>control address</dfn> defines what the binding will actually control.
There are quite a few different things that can be specified here:
</p>
<dl class="wide-table">
</dd>
</dl>
<p>
- For send/insert/plugin controls, the address consists of a track/bus
- address (as just described) followed by a number identifying the plugin/send
- (starting from 1). For plugin parameters, there is an additional third
+ For send/insert/plugin controls, the address consists of a track/bus
+ address (as just described) followed by a number identifying the plugin/send
+ (starting from 1). For plugin parameters, there is an additional third
component: a number identifying the plugin parameter number (starting from
1).
</p>
<p>
- One additional feature: for solo and mute bindings, you can also add
- <code>momentary="yes"</code> after the control address. This is useful
- primarily for NoteOn bindings—when Ardour gets the NoteOn it
- will solo or mute the targetted track or bus, but then when a NoteOff
+ One additional feature: for solo and mute bindings, you can also add
+ <code>momentary="yes"</code> after the control address. This is useful
+ primarily for NoteOn bindings—when Ardour gets the NoteOn it
+ will solo or mute the targetted track or bus, but then when a NoteOff
arrives, it will un-solo or un-mute it.
</p>
<h4>Bindings to Ardour "functions"</h4>
<p>
- Rather than binding to a specific track/bus control, it may be useful to
- have a MIDI controller able to alter some part of Ardour's state. A
+ Rather than binding to a specific track/bus control, it may be useful to
+ have a MIDI controller able to alter some part of Ardour's state. A
binding definition that does this looks like this:
</p>
<code>
<Binding channel="1" note="13" function="transport-roll"/>
</code>
<p>
- In this case, a NoteOn message for note number 13 (on channel 1) will
+ In this case, a NoteOn message for note number 13 (on channel 1) will
start the transport rolling. The following function names are available:
</p>
<dl class="narrower-table">
<h4>Binding to Ardour "actions"</h4>
<p>
You can also bind a sysex or arbitrary message to any of the items
- that occur in Ardour's main menu (and its submenus). The best place
- to look for the (long) list of how to address each item is in your
+ that occur in Ardour's main menu (and its submenus). The best place
+ to look for the (long) list of how to address each item is in your
keybindings file, which will contain lines that look like this:
</p>
<code>
(gtk_accel_path "<Actions>/Editor/temporal-zoom-in" "equal")
</code>
<p>
- To create a binding between an arbitrary MIDI message (we'll use a
- note-off on channel 1 of MIDI note 60 (hex) with release velocity
+ To create a binding between an arbitrary MIDI message (we'll use a
+ note-off on channel 1 of MIDI note 60 (hex) with release velocity
40 (hex)), the binding file would contain:
</p>
<code>
<Binding msg="80 60 40" action="Editor/temporal-zoom-in"/>
</code>
<p>
- The general rule, when taken an item from the keybindings file and
- using it in a MIDI binding is to simply strip the
- <code><Action></code> prefix of the second field in the
+ The general rule, when taken an item from the keybindings file and
+ using it in a MIDI binding is to simply strip the
+ <code><Action></code> prefix of the second field in the
keybinding definition.
</p>
<h3>Banks and Banking</h3>
<p>
- Because many modern control surfaces offer per-track/bus controls
- for far fewer tracks & busses than many users want to control,
- Ardour offers the relatively common place concept of <dfn>banks</dfn>. Banks
- allow you to control any number of tracks and/or busses easily,
- regardless of how many faders/knobs etc. your control surface has.<br />
- To use banking, the control addresses must be specified using the
- <dfn>bank relative</dfn> format mentioned above ("B1" to identify
- the first track of a bank of tracks, rather than "1" to identify
+ Because many modern control surfaces offer per-track/bus controls
+ for far fewer tracks & busses than many users want to control,
+ Ardour offers the relatively common place concept of <dfn>banks</dfn>. Banks
+ allow you to control any number of tracks and/or busses easily,
+ regardless of how many faders/knobs etc. your control surface has.<br />
+ To use banking, the control addresses must be specified using the
+ <dfn>bank relative</dfn> format mentioned above ("B1" to identify
+ the first track of a bank of tracks, rather than "1" to identify
the first track).
</p>
<p>
- One very important extra piece of information is required to use
- banking: an extra line near the start of the list of bindings
- that specifies how many tracks/busses to use per bank. If the
- device has 8 faders, then 8 would be a sensible value to use for
+ One very important extra piece of information is required to use
+ banking: an extra line near the start of the list of bindings
+ that specifies how many tracks/busses to use per bank. If the
+ device has 8 faders, then 8 would be a sensible value to use for
this. The line looks like this:</p>
<code>
<DeviceInfo bank-size="8"/>
</code>
<p>
In addition, you probably want to ensure that you bind something
- on the control surface to the <code>next-bank</code> and
- <code>prev-bank</code> functions, otherwise you and other users
- will have to use the mouse and the GUI to change banks, which
+ on the control surface to the <code>next-bank</code> and
+ <code>prev-bank</code> functions, otherwise you and other users
+ will have to use the mouse and the GUI to change banks, which
rather defeats the purpose of the bindings.
</p>
<h2>A Complete (though muddled) Example</h2>
</ArdourMIDIBindings>
</pre>
<p>
- Please note that channel, controller and note numbers are specified as
- decimal numbers in the ranges 1-16, 0-127 and 0-127 respectively
+ Please note that channel, controller and note numbers are specified as
+ decimal numbers in the ranges 1-16, 0-127 and 0-127 respectively
(the channel range may change at some point).
</p>
-
+
---
title: Working With Encoders in Ardour
menu_title: Working With Encoders
<h2>Philosophy</h2>
<p>
- There are no "best" ways to map an arbitrary MIDI controller for controlling Ardour. There may be very legitimate reasons for different users to prefer quite different mappings.
+ There are no "best" ways to map an arbitrary MIDI controller for controlling Ardour. There may be very legitimate reasons for different users to prefer quite different mappings.
</p>
<p>
- On every platform that Ardour runs on, there are excellent free-of-charge tools for making connections between MIDI hardware and "virtual" MIDI ports like the ones that Ardour creates and uses. Rather than waste precious developer time replicating these connection/patch managers, we prefer to leverage their existence by having users rely on them to actually connect Ardour to other MIDI devices and software. On OS X, we recommend Pete Yandell's MIDI Patchbay. On Linux, a wide variety of tools are available including QJackctl, aconnect, Patchage, and more.
+ On every platform that Ardour runs on, there are excellent free-of-charge tools for making connections between MIDI hardware and "virtual" MIDI ports like the ones that Ardour creates and uses. Rather than waste precious developer time replicating these connection/patch managers, we prefer to leverage their existence by having users rely on them to actually connect Ardour to other MIDI devices and software. On OS X, we recommend Pete Yandell's MIDI Patchbay. On Linux, a wide variety of tools are available including QJackctl, aconnect, Patchage, and more.
</p>
<h2>Basics</h2>
<ol>
<li>Enable Generic MIDI control: <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences
> Control Surfaces > Generic MIDI</kbd></li>
- <li>Connect Ardour's MIDI port named <samp>control</samp> to whatever
+ <li>Connect Ardour's MIDI port named <samp>control</samp> to whatever
hardware or software you want (using a MIDI patchbay app)</li>
- <li><kbd class="mod1 mouse">Middle</kbd>-click on whatever on-screen
+ <li><kbd class="mod1 mouse">Middle</kbd>-click on whatever on-screen
fader, plugin parameter control, button etc. you want to control</li>
<li>A small window appears that says "Operate Controller now"</li>
<li>Move the hardware knob or fader, or press the note/key.</li>
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>
<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>
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>
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>
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>
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>
</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>
<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.
<p>
MIDI input and output for Ardour are handled by the same "engine"
that handles audio input and output. Up to release 3.5, that means
- that all MIDI I/O takes place via JACK. JACK itself uses the
+ that all MIDI I/O takes place via JACK. JACK itself uses the
native MIDI support of the operating system to receive and send
MIDI data. The native MIDI support provides device drivers for MIDI
hardware and libraries needed by software applications that want to
<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
<dd>Use a2jmidid to act as a bridge between ALSA MIDI and JACK. Do not use the <code>-X seq</code> or <code>-X raw</code> arguments—the timing and performance of these options is not acceptable.
</dd>
</dl>
-
+
<h2>a2jmidid</h2>
<p>
<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>
</ul>
+
---
-title: Sessions & Tracks
+title: Ardour Main Window
part: part
---
+<p>
+ In Ardour, you work in two main windows: the <dfn>Editor</dfn> and the
+ <dfn>Mixer</dfn>.
+</p>
+<figure>
+ <img src="/images/editor_split.png" alt="Ardour's mixer window">
+ <img src="/images/mixer_split.png" alt="Ardour's editor window">
+ <figcaption>
+ <ol class="multicol4">
+ <li>Main menu</li>
+ <li>Status bar</li>
+ <li>Transport bar & Times</li>
+</ol><ol class="multicol4" start="4">
+ <li>Mode switch</li>
+ <li>The <dfn>Editor</dfn> window</li>
+ <li>a track's mixer strip</li>
+</ol><ol class="multicol4" start="7">
+ <li>Editors List</li>
+ <li>The <dfn>Mixer</dfn> window</li>
+ <li>Favorite plugins</li>
+</ol><ol class="multicol4" start="10">
+ <li>Track list</li>
+ <li>Group list</li>
+ <li>Master strip</li>
+ </ol>
+ </figcaption>
+</figure>
+<p>
+ To switch between those windows, use the buttons (#4 Mode switch in the upper right),
+ the shortcut <kbd class="mod2">M</kbd>, or the menu
+ <kbd class="menu">Window > Editor <em>(or Mixer)</em> > Show</kbd>.
+ Both windows can be visible at the same time (eg. for a multi-monitor
+ setup) using <kbd class="menu">Detach</kbd> in the same menu.</p>
+
---
-title: Sessions
+title: Main Menu
+part: chapter
+---
+
+<p class="fixme">Add content</p>
+
+---
+title: Status Bar
part: chapter
---
+<p class="fixme">Add content</p>
---
-title: New/Open Session Dialog
-part: subchapter
+title: Transport bar and times
+part: chapter
---
-<p class="fixme">Info is out of date, image needs updating</p>
-<p>
- The initial <dfn>Session</dfn> dialog consists of several consecutive pages:
-</p>
+<p class="fixme">There is no discussion of starting playback anywhere in here. Starting/stopping needs to be explained</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="/working-with-sessions/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
- your hard drive.<br />
- Alternatively, you can opt to create a <kbd class="menu">New
- Session</kbd>.
+ Ardour offers many ways to <dfn>control playback</dfn> of your session, including the transport bar, key bindings and remote controls. You can also use markers to define locations or ranges within the session and rapidly move around between them.
</p>
-<h2>New Session page</h2>
-<p>
- Here you can type in the name of a session, select a folder to save in, and
- optionally use an existing <a href="/working-with-sessions/session-templates/">template</a>.
-</p>
-<p>
- 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
- 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.
- You can limit the number of channels on your physical hardware that Ardour
- uses.
+<img src="/images/transport-bar.png" alt="Ardour's transport bar" />
+
+<p class="note">
+ If you synchronize Ardour with other devices then some or all of these control methods may be unavailable—depending on the synchronization protocol, Ardour may respond only to commands sent from its master device(s).
</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
- output to the physical outputs of your interface or sound card, and limit
- the number of physical outputs used, as above.
+ The <dfn>Transport Bar</dfn> at the top of the window is made of:
</p>
-<h3>Audio/MIDI Setup</h3>
+<ul>
+ <li><a href="/controlling-playback/using-the-transport-bar/">the Transport Controls</a></li>
+ <li><a href="/ardours-interface/using-ardour-clock-displays/">the Clocks</a></li>
+ <li>3 status indicators:
+ <ul>
+ <li><dfn>Solo</dfn>: Blinks when one or more tracks are being soloed, see <a href="/mixing/muting-and-soloing/">Muting and Soloing</a>. Clicking this button disables any active explicit and implicit solo on all tracks and busses.</li>
+ <li><dfn>Audition</dfn>: Blinks when using the import dialog to audition material.</li>
+ <li><dfn>Feedback</dfn>: Blinks when Ardour detects a <dfn>feedback loop</dfn>, which happens when the output of an audio signal chain is plugged back to its input. This is probably not wanted and can be dangerous for the hardware and the listener.</li>
+ </ul></li>
+ <li>A global Meter, showing the level of the Master Output, see <a href="/ardours-interface/meters/">Metering in Ardour</a></li>
+ <li>the Mode Selector, allowing to switch between Editor and Mixer views, or edit the Preferences.</li>
+</ul>
-<img class="right" src="/images/Audio-MIDI_Setup.png" alt="The Audio+MIDI
-Setup Dialog"/>
-<p>
- This page is not displayed if <abbr title="JACK Audio Connection
- Kit">JACK</abbr> is already running when you start
- Ardour. It provides a simple interface to configure JACK, which
- will then be started by Ardour. For more control and options regarding
- JACK, it is recommended that you start JACK before using Ardour, via a
- JACK control application such as QJackCtl (sometimes called "Jack
- Control"), JackPilot, etc.
-</p>
-<dl>
- <dt>Audio System</dt>
- <dd>Currently, the only option here is <kbd class="menu">JACK</kbd>. In the future, native
- hardware access may be supported.</dd>
- <dt>Driver</dt>
- <dd>
- On Mac OS X this will typically be <kbd class="menu">CoreAudio</kbd>. On Linux usually
- this will be either <kbd class="menu"><abbr title="Free Firewire Audio Driver fOr
- linux">FFADO</abbr></kbd>
- or <kbd class="menu"><abbr title="Advanced Linux Sound
- Architecture">ALSA</abbr></kbd>, depending on whether or not you are
- utilizing a firewire device. Advanced users on all platforms may also
- use <kbd class="menu">NetJack</kbd> which provides network audio I/O.
- </dd>
- <dt>Device</dt>
- <dd>The selector should show all availiable interfaces provided by the
- driver above and which are capable of duplex operation.
- <p class="warning">
- If you are using an Intel Mac running OS X and the builtin audio
- interface, you must
- first <a href="setting-up-your-system/using_more_than_one_audio_device/">merge
- its separate input and output devices into a single "aggregate
- device"</a> before Ardour will be able to use it.
- </p>
- </dd>
- <dt>Sample Rate</dt>
- <dd>
- The selector will allow you to select from any sample rate
- supported by the device selected above it.
- </dd>
- <dt>Buffer Size</dt>
- <dd>
- You can adjust the size of the buffer used by your audio interface
- to allow for either lower latency, or lower CPU usage and higher
- latency.
- </dd>
- <dt>Input/Output Channels</dt>
- <dd>
- Here you can specify the number of hardware channels to use. The
- default is <kbd class="menu">all available channels</kbd>.</dd>
- <dt>Hardware Input/Output Latency</dt>
- <dd>Specify the hardware delay in samples for precise latency compensation.</dd>
- <dt>Calibrate</dt>
- <dd>
- This button guides you through a semi-automated process to obtain
- precise hardware latency measurements for the above option.</dd>
- <dt>MIDI System</dt>
- <dd>
- Select the MIDI driver to use. On Mac OS X, this will be <kbd
- class="menu">CoreMIDI</kbd>. On Linux, you can change between two legacy
- ALSA drivers or the (preferred) new JACK+ALSA implementation.</dd>
-</dl>
---
-title: What's in a Session?
+title: The Transport Bar
part: subchapter
---
+
<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
- or "recording/editing/mixing session".
+ The <dfn>Transport Bar</dfn> groups all the actions regarding the control of playback and recording.
</p>
+<img src="/images/transport.png" alt="The transport controls" />
+
<p>
- The Session folder includes these files and folders:
+ This bar is made of (from left to right):
</p>
<ul>
- <li><code><em>session_name</em>.ardour</code> the main session snapshot</li>
- <li><code>*.ardour</code>, any additional snapshots </li>
- <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
- 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
- information of each audio file that has been analysed</li>
- <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>
+ <li>
+ <dfn>Midi Panic</dfn>: allows to immediately stop all midi output.
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ <dfn>Enable/disable Audio Click</dfn>: Toggles (on/off) a click track (metronome) along the <a href="/tempo-meter/tempo-and-meter/">tempo</a>.
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ <dfn>Go to Start of the Session</dfn>: Jumps back at the beginning of the session, as defined by the <a href="/working-with-markers/">start marker</a>.
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ <dfn>Go to End of the Session</dfn>: Jumps forward to the end of the session, as defined by the <a href="/working-with-markers/">end marker</a>.
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ <dfn>Play Loop Range</dfn>: Repeats the defined <a href="/controlling-playback/looping-the-transport/">loop</a> as defined by the <a href="/working-with-markers/loop-range/">Loop range</a>, until the "Stop playback" button is pressed. Clicking the "Play loop Range" button while already active switches to normal Play mode, which allows to exit the loop without stopping and restarting the playback.
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ <dfn>Play Range/Selection</dfn>: If a range has been defined using the Range Mode button, plays the range, of if an audio or MIDI region is selected, plays this region. In both cases, the playback stops at the end of the range or selected region.
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ <dfn>Play from playhead</dfn>: Starts the playback and optionally record (more bellow).
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ <dfn>Stop</dfn>: Whatever the playing mode (loop, range, …) stops all playback. Depending on other settings, some effects (like chorus or reverb) might still be audible for a while.
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ <dfn>Toggle Record</dfn>: Global switch button to activate/deactivate recording. While active, the button blinks red. The button doesn't start the recording itself: if one or more tracks are marked as record-enabled, pressing the "Play from Playhead" starts the recording on this/these track(s). See <a href="/recording/">Recording</a>.
+ </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
- Tracks and Buses, and all the Regions and Plug-Ins they contain.
+
+<p class="fixme">Language in the above paragraphs is awkward</p>
+
+<p class="note">
+ All these actions are bound to keyboard shortcuts, which allows for speedier use and more focused work.
</p>
-
----
-title: Where Are Sessions Stored?
-part: subchapter
----
<p>
- <dfn>Sessions</dfn> are stored in a single folder on your computer's filesystem.
+ Under these buttons is the <dfn>Shuttle Speed Control</dfn> that allows to scrub through the audio quickly.
</p>
<p>
- The first time you run Ardour, you will be asked where you would like the
- default location for sessions to be, with the initial choice being your
- home folder.
+ The Shuttle Speed Control supports 2 operating modes, that can be chosen with right click > Mode:
</p>
+<ul>
+ <li><dfn>Sprung mode</dfn> that allows for a temporary scrub: it only scubs while the mouse is left clicked on the control.</li>
+ <li><dfn>Wheel mode</dfn> that allows to set a playback speed until the "Stop" button is pressed, which stops the playback and resets its speed.
+</ul>
+
+<p>
+ The mode is displayed on the right of the control. The current playback speed is shown by a green slider, that is square and centered when the playback speed is normal (1X) and becomes a circle when its changed. The further from the center the slider is set, the faster the playback will scrub in both directions, as displayed on the left of the control.
<p>
- After the first-run dialog, you can still change the default location at
- any time via <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences > Misc > Session
- Management</kbd>. You can also specify a particular (different) location for
- a session when creating it, in the
- <a href="/working-with-sessions/new-session-dialog/">New Session dialog</a>.
-</p>
-
----
-title: Backup and Sharing of Sessions
-part: subchapter
----
<p>
- An Ardour session is stored in a single folder on your computer's filesystem.
- This makes <dfn>backup</dfn> very easy—any tool capable of backing up
- a folder can be used to backup a session. You pick the location of a session
- when it is created—by default it will be in your default session location,
- which can be altered via <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences > Misc > Session
- Management</kbd>.
+ The 3 vertical buttons on the right of the transport bar control the behaviour of the playhead:
+</p>
+
+<ul>
+ <li>
+ The positional sync button (which might show <dfn>Internal</dfn>, or <dfn>MTC</dfn> or several other values) can be used to control whether or not the transport position and start is controlled by Ardour, or by an external positional synchronization source, such as MIDI Time Code (MTC), Linear Time Code (LTC) or JACK. (see <a href="/synchronization/timecode-generators-and-slaves/">Timecode Generators and Slaves</a>).
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ <dfn>Follow Edits</dfn> is a toggle that can be used to control whether or not making a selection (range or object) will move the playhead to the start of the selection.
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ <dfn>Auto Return</dfn> is a toggle switch too. When active, pressing the Stop button returns the playhead to its previous position, and when inactive, pressing Stop keeps the playhead at its current location. Activating Auto Return can be useful for earing back the same part of the audio before and after having tweaked it, without having to loop on it.
+ </li>
+</ul>
+
+
+---
+title: Times
+part: subchapter
+---
+
+<p>
+ <dfn>Clocks</dfn> in Ardour are used to display <dfn>time values</dfn> precisely.
+ In many cases, they are also one way to edit (change) time values, and in a few
+ cases, the only way. All clocks share the same basic appearance and functionality,
+ which is described below, but a few clocks serve particularly important roles.
+</p>
+
+<h2>Transport Clocks</h2>
+
+<p>
+ In the transport bar of the editor window there are two clocks (unless you
+ are on a very small screen), that display the current position of the playhead
+ and additional information related to transport control and the timeline. These
+ are called the <dfn>transport clocks</dfn>; the left one is the primary
+ transport clock and the right one is the secondary transport clock.
+ They look like this:
+</p>
+
+<img src="/images/a3_new_main_clocks.png" alt="An image of the transport clocks in Ardour 3" />
+
+<p>
+ Editing the time in the transport clocks will reposition the playhead in the same
+ way that various other editing operations will.
+</p>
+
+<h3>The Big Clock</h3>
+<p>
+ To show the current playhead position in a big, resizable window, activate
+ <kbd class="menu">Window > Big Clock</kbd>. The big clock is very useful
+ when you need to work away from the screen but still want to see the playhead
+ position clearly (such as when working with a remote control device across
+ a room). The big clock will change its visual appearance to indicate when active
+ recording is taking place. Below on the left is a screenshot showing a fairly
+ large big clock window filling a good part of the display, and on the right,
+ the same clock during active recording.
+</p>
+<a href="/images/bigclock.png"><img src="/images/bigclock.png" height="100" alt="an image of the big clock filling a screen" /></a> <a href="/images/bigclock-recording.png"><img src="/images/bigclock-recording.png" height="100" alt="an image of the big clock while recording"
+/></a>
+
+<h3>The Special Role of the Secondary Transport Clock</h3>
+<p>
+ On a few occasions Ardour needs to display time values to the user, but there
+ is no obvious way to specify what units to use. The most common case is the big
+ cursor that appears when dragging regions. For this and other similar cases,
+ Ardour will display time using the same units as the secondary clock.
+</p>
+<h4>Why are there two transport clocks?</h4>
+<p>
+ Having two transport clocks lets you see the playhead position in two different
+ time units without having to change any settings. For example, you can see the
+ playhead position in both timecode units and BBT time.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Selection and Punch Clocks</h3>
+<p>
+ The transport bar also contains a set of 5 clocks that show the current
+ <dfn>selection range</dfn> and <dfn>punch ranges</dfn>. Clicking on the punch
+ range clocks will locate to either the beginning or end of the punch range.
+ Similarly, clicking on the range clocks will locate to either the beginning
+ or end of the current selection. In this screen shot there is no current
+ selection range, so the selection clocks show an "off" state.
+</p>
+
+<img src="/images/selectionpunchclocks.png" alt="An image of the the selection and punch clocks in Ardour 3" />
+
+<h2>Clock Modes</h2>
+<p>
+ Every clock in Ardour has four different, selectable <dfn>clock
+ modes</dfn>. Each mode displays time using different units.
+ You can change the clock mode by <kbd class="mouse">Right</kbd>-clicking
+ on the clock and selecting the desired mode from the menu. Some clocks are
+ entirely independent of any other clock's mode; others are linked so that
+ changing one changes all clocks in that group. The different modes are:
+</p>
+<dl>
+ <dt>Timecode</dt>
+ <dd>Time is shown as <dfn><abbr title="Society of Motion Picture and Television
+ Engineers">SMPTE</abbr> timecode</dfn> in Hours:Minutes:Seconds:Frames,
+ measured from the timecode zero point on the timeline (which may not
+ correspond to the session start and/or absolute zero on the timeline,
+ depending on configurable timecode offsets).
+ The frames value is dictated by either the session <abbr title="Frames Per
+ Second">FPS</abbr> setting, or, if slaved to an external timecode master,
+ the master's setting. In the transport clocks, the FPS value is shown below
+ the time display, along with an indication of the current timecode source
+ (<samp>INT</samp> means that Ardour is its own timecode source).</dd>
+ <dt>BBT</dt>
+ <dd>Time is shown as Bars:Beats:Ticks, indicating <dfn>musical time</dfn> measured
+ from the start of the session. The transport clocks show the current tempo
+ in <abbr title="Beats Per Minute">bpm</abbr> and meter below the time
+ display.</dd>
+ <dt>Minutes:Seconds</dt>
+ <dd>Time is shown as Hours:Minutes:Seconds.Milliseconds, measured from the
+ absolute start of the timeline (ignoring the session start and any timecode
+ offsets).</dd>
+ <dt>Samples</dt>
+ <dd>Time is shown as a <dfn>sample count</dfn> from the absolute start of the timeline
+ (ignoring the session start and any timecode offsets). The number of
+ samples per second is given by the current sample rate, and in the transport
+ clocks, this rate is shown below the time display along with any
+ pullup/pulldown adjustment.</dd>
+</dl>
+
+<h3>Special Modes for the Transport Clocks</h3>
+<p>
+ In addition to the time-unit modes mentioned above, each of the two transport
+ clocks (if you work on a small screen, you may only have one) can be
+ independently set to display <dfn>Delta to Edit Point</dfn> in whatever time
+ units its current mode indicates. This setting means that the clock shows the
+ distance between the playhead and the current edit point, and it may show a
+ positive or negative value depending on the temporal order of these two points.
+ The clocks will use a different color when in this mode to avoid confusion.
+</p>
+<p>
+ To switch either (or both!) of the transport clocks into this mode, use
+ <kbd class="menu"> Edit > Preferences > Transport</kbd> and select
+ the relevant checkboxes.
+</p>
+<p>
+ Note that when in <samp>Delta to Edit Point</samp> mode, the transport clocks
+ cannot be edited.
+</p>
+
+<h2>Changing clock values with the keyboard</h2>
+<p>
+ New values for the clock can be typed in after clicking on the relevant clock.
+ Clicking on the clock will show a thin vertical cursor bar just to the right
+ of the next character to be overwritten. Enter time in the same order as the
+ current clock mode—if the clock is in Timecode mode, you need to enter
+ hours, minutes, seconds, frames. So, to change to a time of 12:15:20:15 you
+ would type <kbd class="input">1 2 1 5 2 0 1 5</kbd>. Each number you type will
+ appear in a different color, from right to left, overwriting the existing value.
+ Mid-edit, after typing <kbd class="input">3 2 2 2</kbd> the clock might look like this:
+</p>
+<img src="/images/clockedit.png" alt="An image of a clock being edited in Ardour 3" />
+<p>
+ To finish the edit, press <kbd>↵</kbd> or <kbd>Tab</kbd>. To exit an
+ edit without changing the clock press <kbd>ESC</kbd>. If you mis-type an entry
+ so that the new value would be illegal (for example, resulting in more than 30
+ frames when Timecode is set to 30 frames per second), the clock will reset at
+ the end of the edit, and move the cursor back to the start so that you can
+ start over.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Avoiding the mouse entirely</h3>
+<p>
+ There is a shortcut available for those who wish to be able to edit the transport
+ clocks entirely without the mouse. It can be found in
+ <kbd class="menu">Window > Key Bindings > Transport > Focus On
+ Clock</kbd>. If bound to a key (<kbd>÷</kbd> on the numerical
+ keypad is the
+ default), then pressing that key is equivalent to clicking on the primary (left)
+ transport clock, and editing can begin immediately.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Entering Partial Times</h3>
+<p>
+ One detail of the editing design that is not immediately obvious is that it is
+ possible to enter part of a full time value. Suppose that the clock is in BBT
+ mode, displaying <samp>024|03|0029</samp>, and you want to alter the value to
+ the first beat of the current bar. Click on the clock and type
+ <kbd class="input">0 1 0 0 0 0</kbd>. Similarly, if it is in Minutes:Seconds
+ mode, displaying <samp>02:03:04.456</samp>, and you want to get to exactly 2
+ hours, click on the clock and type <kbd class="input">0 0 0 0 0 0 0</kbd> to
+ reset the minutes, seconds and milliseconds fields.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Entering Delta Times</h3>
+<p>
+ You can also type values into the clock that are intended as a relative change,
+ rather than a new absolute value. Simply end the edit by pressing
+ <kbd>+</kbd> or <kbd>-</kbd> (the ones on any keypad will also work). The plus
+ key will add the entered value to the current value of the clock, minus will
+ subtract it. For example, if the clock is in Samples mode and displays
+ <samp>2917839</samp>, you move it back 2000 samples by typing
+ <kbd class="input">2 0 0 0</kbd> and <kbd>-</kbd>, rather than ending with
+ Enter or Tab. </p>
+
+<h2>Changing clock values with the mouse</h2>
+
+<h3>Using a scroll wheel</h3>
+
+<p>
+ Position the mouse pointer over the clock, and move the scroll wheel. Moving
+ the scroll wheel up (<kbd class="mouse">⇑</kbd>) increases the value
+ shown on the clock, moving it down (<kbd class="mouse">⇑</kbd>)
+ decreases it. The step size is equal to the unit of the field
+ you are hovering over (seconds, hours, etc.).
+</p>
+
+<h3>Dragging the mouse</h3>
+
+<p>
+ Position the mouse pointer over the clock, press the left mouse button and drag.
+ Dragging upwards increases the value shown on the clock, dragging downwards
+ decreases it, again with a step size equal to the unit of the field you
+ began the drag on.
+</p>
+
+
+---
+title: The Editor
+part: chapter
+---
+
+<p>
+ The <dfn>Editor</dfn> window includes the editor track <dfn>canvas</dfn>
+ where you can arrange audio and MIDI data along a timeline. This is the
+ window you will be in while editing and arranging a project. The window
+ has a general "horizontal" sense to it: the timeline flows from left to
+ right, the playhead showing the current position in the session moves
+ from left to right — the window really represents <dfn>time</dfn>
+ in a fairly literal way.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+ It is possible to show a single channel strip in the editor window, and
+ some people find this enough to work on mixing without actually opening
+ the mixer window. Most of the time though, you will want both of these
+ windows at various stages of a session's lifetime — sometimes
+ you'll be focused on editing, sometimes on mixing and possibly some of
+ the time on both.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+ This section is a description of the Editor window. To learn more about the
+ editing workflow, see <a href="fixme">Editing</a>.
+</p>
+
+
+---
+title: The Editor Toolbar
+part: chapter
+---
+
+<figure>
+ <img src="/images/toolbar_split.png" alt="Ardour's editor toolbar">
+ <figcaption>
+ <ol class="multicol5">
+ <li>Toolbar</li>
+ </ol><ol class="multicol5" start="2">
+ <li>Zoom Control</li>
+ </ol><ol class="multicol5" start="3">
+ <li>Grid Control</li>
+ </ol><ol class="multicol5" start="4">
+ <li>Edit Point</li>
+ </ol><ol class="multicol5" start="5">
+ <li>Nudge</li>
+ </ol>
+ </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>
+ The Toolbar is made of 5 "zones"
+</p
+
+---
+title: The Toolbar
+part: subchapter
+---
+
+<img src="/images/toolbar-tools.png" alt="Editor toolbar's tools">
+
+<h2>Global Edit mode</h2>
+
+<p>
+ Ardour has a global <dfn>edit mode</dfn> selector at the left of the
+ Editing toolbar, which affect how regions are moved or copied:
+</p>
+
+<dl>
+ <dt><kbd class="menu">Slide</kbd></dt>
+ <dd>Regions move freely. Ardour creates overlaps when necessary.</dd>
+ <dt><kbd class="menu">Ripple</kbd></dt>
+ <dd>Editing affects the regions to the "right" of the edit (see below).</dd>
+ <dt><kbd class="menu">Lock</kbd></dt>
+ <dd>No region motion is permitted (except for "nudge").</dd>
+</dl>
+
+<p>
+ Ripple Edit mode provides the following conveniences:
+ <ul>
+ <li>Deleting a range will move later regions to compensate for the deleted time</li>
+ <li>Deleting a region will move later regions to compensate for the deleted region's length</li>
+ <li>Moving a region will move later regions to compensate for the length of the move</li>
+ <li>Inserting a new region (via dragging or via Paste) will move later regions to the right to compensate</li>
+ </ul>
+</p>
+
+<p class="note">
+ 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="/editing-and-arranging/snap-to-the-grid">Snap To the Grid</a>
+ for details.
+</p>
+
+<h2>The <em>Smart</em> switch
+
+<p>
+ The <dfn>Smart Mode</dfn> button to the left of the mouse mode buttons
+ modifies the <dfn>Grab Mode</dfn>. When enabled, the mouse behaves as if it
+ is in "Range Mode" in the upper half of a region, and in "Grab Mode" in the
+ lower half. This allows avoiding constant switching between these two modes.
+</p>
+
+<h2>Mouse Modes</h2>
+<dl class="wide-table">
+ <dt id="object">Grab Mode</dt>
+ <dd>The <dfn>Grab Mode</dfn> is used for selecting, moving, deleting and
+ copying objects. When in object mode, the mouse pointer appears as a hand
+ whenever it is over the track canvas or the rulers. The mouse can now be
+ used to select and perform operations on objects such as regions, markers etc.
+ This is the most common mode to work in, as it allows you to select and move regions,
+ as well as modify automation points on the automation tracks.
+ </dd>
+
+ <dt>Range Mode</dt>
+ <dd>When in <dfn>Range Mode</dfn>, the mouse pointer appears as a vertical line
+ whenever it is over the track canvas or the rulers. The mouse will now be
+ able to select a point or range of time. Time ranges can be selected over
+ one or several tracks, depending on the selection of your tracks.<br>
+ If none of your tracks are selected, the Range Tool will operate on all the
+ session track visualized in the Editor.<br>
+ If you want to edit only particular tracks, select them before you apply
+ the range tool.
+ </dd>
+
+ <dt>Cut Tool Mode</dt>
+ <dd>When in <dfn>Cut Tool Mode</dfn>, the mouse pointer appears as a pair of scissors
+ whenever it is over the track canvas or the rulers. This tools allows to cut
+ any region into 2 regions at the mouse cursor, regardless of the Edit Point.<br>
+ If one or more track(s) is selected, then all the regions on these tracks will
+ be split at the mouse cursor position.<br>
+ If no track is selected, then only the region hovered by the mouse cursor will
+ be split.</dd>
+
+ <dt>Stretch Mode</dt>
+ <dd>When in <dfn>time fx</dfn> mode, the mouse pointer appears as a
+ distinctive expanding square symbol whenever it is over the track canvas or
+ the rulers. This mode is used to resize regions using a timestretch
+ algorithm. Click on an edge of a region of audio and drag it one way or the other to
+ stretch or shrink the region.</dd>
+
+ <dt>Audition Tool</dt>
+ <dd>Clicking a region using the <dfn>audition tool</dfn> will play this
+ region to the control room outputs.
+ <p>You can also <dfn>scrub</dfn> with this tool by clicking and dragging in
+ the direction you wish to listen. The amount you drag in one direction or
+ the other will determine the playback speed.</p>
+ </dd>
+
+ <dt>Draw Tool</dt>
+ <dd>When in <dfn>Draw Tool</dfn> mode, the mouse pointer will change to
+ a pencil. You can then click within an audio region to change the <dfn>gain
+ envelope</dfn> for that region. This curve is separate from fader automation
+ for individual tracks. It will remain locked to the region's time, so if the
+ region is moved, the region gain envelope is moved along with it.<br>
+ The draw tool works on automation too, allowing the creation and modification
+ of control points on the automation curves.<br>
+ Last, it is used on a MIDI region to edit the notes.
+ </dd>
+
+ <dt>Internal/Region Edit Mode</dt>
+ <dd>When in <dfn>Internal Edit</dfn> mode, the mouse pointer will change to
+ cross-hairs. This tool acts on gegion gain and automation as the Draw tool.<br>
+ on a MIDI region, it allows to lasso-select multiple notes at a time.</dd>
+</dl>
+
+<p class="fixme">Make sure the Internal Edit and Draw tool act as described</p>
+
+
+---
+title: the Zoom Controls
+part: subchapter
+---
+
+<img class="left" src="/images/toolbar-zoom.png" alt="Editor toolbar's zoom">
+
+<p>The zoom controls allow to navigate the session along both the time and track axes.</p>
+
+<p>The drop down <kbd class="menu">Zoom Focus</kbd> menu allows to select a focus
+point for the zoom, i.e. the center of the zoom. The choices are :</p>
+
+<ul>
+ <li><dfn>Left</dfn> of the screen</li>
+ <li><dfn>Right</dfn> of the screen</li>
+ <li><dfn>Center</dfn> of the screen</li>
+ <li><dfn>Playhead</dfn></li>
+ <li><dfn>Mouse</dfn></li>
+ <li><dfn>Edit Point</dfn> as set in the <a href=" fixme ">Edit point</a> control.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<p>The 2 leftmost zoom buttons (<kbd class="menu">−</kbd> and
+<kbd class="menu">+</kbd>) use this zoom focus to zoom out and in
+respectively.<p>
+
+<p>The <kbd class="menu">Zoom to session</kbd> button is a handy shortcut to zoom
+out or in until all the session (as defined by it's <a href=" fixme ">start/end
+markers</a>) fits horizontally.</p>
+
+<p>Changing the <kbd class="menu">Number of visible tracks</kbd> dropdown menu
+allows to fit this number of tracks vertically in the screen.<p>
+
+<p class="note">There <em>is</em> a minimal track height to keep it visible, so
+according to you screen vertical size, some high number can have no effect.</p>
+
+<p>Inside this menu are 2 handy choices :</p>
+<ul>
+ <li><dfn>Selected tracks</dfn> that focus on the selected tracks. If the selected
+ tracks are not contiguous, the unselected tracks inbetween will be hidden, see
+ the <a href=" fixme ">Track and Bus list</a>.</li>
+ <li><dfn>All</dfn> that fits all the tracks of the sessions vertically (provided
+ there's enough screen estate).</li>
+</ul>
+
+<p>The rightmost buttons <kbd class="menu">Shrink tracks</kbd> and
+<kbd class="menu">Expand tracks</kbd> reduce or expand the vertical size of the
+selected tracks. If no track is selected, all the tracks will be shrunk or
+expanded each time the button is pushed.
+
+---
+title: the Grid Controls
+part: subchapter
+---
+
+<img class="left" src="/images/toolbar-grid.png" alt="Editor toolbar's grid">
+
+<p class="fixme">Get rid of all the <br>s, they look like shit</p>
+
+<p>
+ Ardour's editor utilizes a <dfn>grid</dfn> to assist in the placement
+ of regions on the timeline, or with editing functions that need to happen
+ at a specific point in time. You can choose if you want the cursor and
+ various objects to snap to this grid, and how you want the snapping to
+ behave. You can modify the grid units to fit your needs.
+</p>
+
+<h2>About Snapping</h2>
+
+<p>There are two ways to think about aligning material to a grid.
+ The first and most obvious one is where an object\'s position is clamped
+ to grid lines. In Ardour, this is called <dfn>absolute snap</dfn>
+ and is commonly used when working with sampled material where audio
+ begins exactly at the beginning of a file, note or region.</br>
+ The second, <dfn>relative snap</dfn>, is used when an object's position
+ relative to the grid lines is important. In music, this allows you to
+ move objects around without changing the "feel" (or timing) of a performance.</br>
+ Absolute snap is the default method of snapping in Ardour.</br>
+ While dragging objects you may switch from absolute to relative snap by
+ pressing the absolute snap modifier key(s).</br>
+ You may also disable snap entirely by using the snap modifier (see below).</br>
+ Note that in relative snap mode the reference point is taken to be the distance
+ to the nearest grid line.</br>
+ Note also that when an object lies exactly on a grid line, there will be no difference
+ between relative and absolute snap modes.</br>
+ The realtive snap and snap modifiers (along with other modifier keys) may be set in
+ <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences > User Interaction</kbd></br>
+ For common use patterns, it is recommended that you assign a unique key for
+ one snap modifier and two keys for the other in such a way that they share an otherwise unused key.
+ For example, you may choose the snap modifier to be the <kbd class="mod2"> </kbd> key and the
+ relative snap modifier to be the <kbd class="mod2"> </kbd> and <kbd class="mod4"> </kbd> keys.
+</p>.
+
+<h2>Snap Modes</h2>
+<p>
+ Using the above modifications, Ardour supports three different modes of snapping to the grid:
+</p>
+
+<dl class="wide-table">
+ <dt><kbd class="menu">No Grid</kbd></dt>
+ <dd>disables the grid. All objects move freely in this mode.</br>
+ In <kbd class="menu">No Grid</kbd> mode, you may temporarily activate the grid by pressing the
+ snap modifier (for absolute snap) or switch to relative snap by pressing the relative snap modifier.</dd>
+ <dt><kbd class="menu">Grid</kbd></dt>
+ <dd>activates normal snapping. All positions of objects snap to
+ the grid. (See <a href="#gridunits">Grid Units</a> below
+ to change the grid). If you try to move an object in "Grid"-mode, it
+ does not change its position until you move the mouse far enough for the
+ object to reach the next grid line.</br>
+ Sometimes you may wish to maintain an objects' position relative to the grid line.
+ In order to do this, use the "snap relative" modifier.
+ When holding down this modifier during a drag, the dragged object will jump
+ while maintaining its original distance from the line.</br>
+ New objects will always be created at grid points.</br>
+ Holding down the snap modifier will disable the current grid setting and allow you to move the object freely.</br>
+ </dd>
+ <dt><kbd class="menu">Magnetic</kbd></dt>
+ <dd>is a less strict type of snapping. Objects can still be moved to any
+ position, but positions close to the relative or absolute grid points will snap.
+ In order to move an object very close to a snap point, it may be necessary
+ to zoom in to prevent snapping to that point, or to use the snap modifier to disable snap completely.</br>
+ As with Grid mode, the snap modifier will disable snap completely while the
+ absolute snap modifier will move the "notch" of Magnetic snap to the grid lines.</dd>
+</dl>
+
+<h2>Syncing Regions to the Grid</h2>
+<p>
+ By default, a region's beginning will be used as the reference for both types of snapping,
+ but you can change this behaviour by setting a <dfn>sync point</dfn> in
+ the region. Select the region(s) and press <kbd>V</kbd>. This will set
+ the sync point to your edit point.</p>
+
+<h2 id="gridunits">Grid Units</h2>
+<p>
+ The selector next to the grid mode selector defines the size of the grid
+ elements. You can set your grid to several different units:
+</p>
+<dl class="wide-table">
+ <dt><kbd class="menu">CD Frames</kbd></dt>
+ <dd>A CD Frame is 1/75th of a second. Snapping to CD Frames (using absolute snap) can be used to avoid issues with CD track
+ lengths.</dd>
+ <dt><kbd class="menu">Timecode Frames/Seconds/Minutes</kbd></dt>
+ <dd>The duration of a frame depends on the timecode settings for the
+ session.</dd>
+ <dt><kbd class="menu">Seconds/Minutes</kbd></dt>
+ <dd>These are absolute time units, unaffected by sample rate or timecode settings</dd>
+ <dt><kbd class="menu">Beats/N</kbd></dt>
+ <dd>Set the grid to units of 1/N beats, where N can be 128, 64, 32, 16, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. The duration of a grid unit will depend on the tempo and meter in effect at that point in the timeline.</dd>
+ <dt><kbd class="menu">Beats</kbd></dt>
+ <dd>Set the grid to whole beats. The duration of a grid unit will depend on the tempo and meter in effect at that point in the timeline.</dd>
+ <dt><kbd class="menu">Bars</kbd></dt>
+ <dd>Set the grid to whole bars. The duration of a grid unit will depend on the tempo and meter in effect at that point in the timeline.</dd>
+ <dt><kbd class="menu">Markers</kbd></dt>
+ <dd>The grid lines are the markers.</dd>
+ <dt><kbd class="menu">Region Starts</kbd></dt>
+ <dd>The grid lines are constructed from region start points (see below).</dd>
+ <dt><kbd class="menu">Region Ends</kbd></dt>
+ <dd>The grid lines are constructed from region end points (see below).</dd>
+ <dt><kbd class="menu">Region Syncs</kbd></dt>
+ <dd>The grid lines are constructed from region sync points.</dd>
+ <dt><kbd class="menu">Region Bounds</kbd></dt>
+ <dd>The grid lines are constructed from region start or end points.</dd>
+</dl>
+
+<p>
+ To use Region starts/ends/syncs/bounds as snap choices, you must have
+either
+</p>
+
+<ul>
+ <li><em>No</em> tracks selected, which means that Ardour snaps to regions on any track, or </li>
+ <li>Several tracks selected, which means that Ardour only snaps to regions on those selected tracks.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<p>
+ If you are moving items on a track, and only the current track is selected,
+ then you will only be able to snap to other regions on the same track.
+ This means that enabling
+ <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences > Editor > Link Selections of Regions and
+ Tracks</kbd> will make the "Region" grid unit unusable. Avoid the use of this option if
+ you are going to use any of the Region grid units.
+</p>
+
+
+---
+title: the Edit Point Control
+part: subchapter
+---
+
+<img class="left" src="/images/toolbar-editpoint.png" alt="Editor toolbar's Edit Point">
+
+<p>
+ Editing operations in a Digital Audio Workstation like Ardour can be broken
+ down according to how many points on the timeline are required to carry the
+ operation out. Splitting a region for example, requires just one position
+ on the timeline (the one where the split will happen). Cutting out a time
+ range requires two positions, one for the start of the cut and one for the end.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+ In Ardour the <dfn>edit point</dfn> is the location where most single-point
+ editing operations take place. It can be set to either of the following:
+</p>
+
+<ul>
+ <li>the <dfn>Playhead</dfn> position</li>
+ <li>the selected (or "active") <dfn>Marker</dfn></li>
+ <li>the position of the <dfn>Mouse</dfn> (or touch) pointer</li>
+</ul>
+
+<p>
+ The default edit point is the location of the pointer.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+ There are 2 keybindings available to cycle through the edit point options.
+ The most common workflow tends to involve switching back and forth between
+ the playhead and mouse as the edit point. Press the grave accent key
+ <kbd>`</kbd> to switch between these two. Use <kbd class="mod1">`</kbd> to
+ cycle through all three choices (including the selected marker). You can
+ also switch the edit point using a combo-selector just right of the snap/grid
+ unit selector.
+</p>
+
+<p class="fixme">Add images</p>
+
+
+
+---
+title: the Nudge Controls
+part: subchapter
+---
+
+<img class="left" src="/images/toolbar-nudge.png" alt="Editor toolbar's Nudge">
+
+<p>
+ If there are no selected objects, the <dfn>nudge controls</dfn> can be
+ used to move the playhead backward or forward by a fixed amount. The left
+ and right buttons move either backward or forward in time, and the small
+ clock to the left of these buttons sets the amount of time to nudge by.
+ As with all other clocks, you can right-click on the clock to choose the
+ time representation you want to use.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+ Note that this is a secondary purpose of the nudge controls—it is
+ usually used to move selected <dfn>objects</dfn> by specific distances, rather than
+ the playhead.
+</p>
+
+
+
+---
+title: Editor's Lists
+part: chapter
+---
+
+<p>
+ At the right of the editor is an optional area which provides one of a
+ range of useful lists of parts of your session. It is not shown by default
+ when you first start using Ardour. The <dfn>Editor list</dfn> can be hidden
+ or shown using <kbd class="menu">View > Show Editor List</kbd>. The very
+ right-hand side of the list gives a selection of tabs which are used to
+ choose the list to view. The left-hand border of the list can be dragged to
+ vary the width of the list.
+</p>
+
+
+---
+title: Region List
+part: subchapter
+---
+
+<p>
+ The region list shows all the regions in the session. The left-hand column gives the region name, and there are a range of times given for information:
+</p>
+
+<dl>
+ <dt>Position</dt><dd>position of the start of the region on the global timeline</dd>
+ <dt>End</dt><dd>position of the region on the global timeline</dd>
+ <dt>Length</dt><dd>duration of the region</dd>
+ <dt>Sync</dt><dd>position of the sync point, relative to the start of region (can be negative)</dd>
+ <dt>Fade In</dt><dd>duration of the fade in. Can't be less than 1 ms, to avoid clipping.</dd>
+ <dt>Fade Out</dt><dd>duration of the fade out (positive value, ≥ 1 ms).</dd>
+</dl>
+
+<p>
+ The units used to display those times are those used for the clock, so changing the units on the clocks change the display of this values.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+ At the right of the list are four columns of flags that can be altered:
+</p>
+
+<dl>
+ <dt>L</dt>
+ <dd>whether the region position is locked, so that it cannot be moved.</dd>
+ <dt>G</dt>
+ <dd>whether the region's position is ‘glued’ to bars and beats. If so, the region will stay at the same position in bars and beats even if the tempo and/or time signature change.</dd>
+ <dt>M</dt>
+ <dd>whether the region is muted, so that it will not be heard.</dd>
+ <dt>O</dt>
+ <dd>whether the region is opaque; opaque regions ‘block’ regions below them from being heard, whereas ‘transparent’ regions have their contents mixed with whatever is underneath. </dd>
+</dl>
+
+<p>
+ Hovering the mouse pointer over a column heading shows a tool-tip which can be handy to remember what the columns are for.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+ A handy feature of the region list is that its regions can be dragged and dropped into a suitable track in the session.
+</p>
+
+---
+title: Tracks & Busses List
+part: subchapter
+---
+
+<p>
+ This lists the tracks and busses that are present in the session. The list order reflects the order in the editor, and you can drag-and-drop track or bus names in the editor list to re-order them in the editor. The columns in the list represent the following:
+</p>
+
+<dl>
+ <dt id="visible">V</dt>
+ <dd>whether the track or bus is visible; they can be hidden, in which case they will still play, but just not be visible in the editor; this can be useful for keeping the display uncluttered.</dd>
+ <dt id="active">A</dt>
+ <dd>whether the track or bus is active; unactive tracks will not play, and will not consume any CPU.</dd>
+ <dt id="input">I</dt>
+ <dd>for MIDI tracks, whether the MIDI input is enabled; this dictates whether MIDI data from the track's inputs ports will be passed through the track.</dd>
+ <dt id="record">R</dt>
+ <dd>whether the track is record-enabled.</dd>
+ <dt id="record-safe">RS</dt>
+ <dd>whether the track is record safe; a record safe track cannot be armed for recording, to protect against a mistake.</dd>
+ <dt id="mute">M</dt>
+ <dd>whether the track is muted.</dd>
+ <dt id="solo">S</dt>
+ <dd>track solo state.</dd>
+ <dt id="solo-isolated">SI</dt>
+ <dd>track solo-isolated state.</dd>
+ <dt id="solo-safe">SS</dt>
+ <dd>solo safe state. </dd>
+</dl>
+
+<p class="note">
+ Each icon in these columns can be clicked to toggle the track/bus state, which is a very fast way to set multiple tracks/busses state at once.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+ As with the region list, hovering the mouse pointer over a column heading shows a tool-tip which can be handy to remember what the columns are for.
+</p>
+
+---
+title: Snapshot List
+part: subchapter
+---
+
+<p>
+ This list gives the snapshots that exist of this session. Clicking on a snapshot
+ name will load that snapshot.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+ See <a href="/working-with-sessions">Working with Sessions</a> for more
+ information on snapshots.
+</p>
+
+---
+title: Track & Bus Group List
+part: subchapter
+---
+
+<p>
+ This shows the track/bus groups that exist in the session. These groups allow related tracks to share various properties (such as mute or record enable state). For full details, see the section called <a href="/working-with-tracks/track-and-bus-groups/">Track and Bus Groups</a>.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+ The columns in this list are as follows:
+</p>
+
+<dl>
+ <dt>Col</dt>
+ <dd>the colour that the group uses for its tab in the editor.</dd>
+ <dt>Name</dt>
+ <dd>the group name.</dd>
+ <dt>V</dt>
+ <dd>whether the tracks and busses in the group are visible.</dd>
+ <dt>On</dt>
+ <dd>whether the group is enabled.</dd>
+ <dt>G</dt>
+ <dd>ticked if the constituents of the group are sharing gain settings.</dd>
+ <dt>Rel</dt>
+ <dd>ticked if shared gains are relative.</dd>
+ <dt>M</dt>
+ <dd>ticked if the constituents share mute status.</dd>
+ <dt>S</dt>
+ <dd>ticked if the constituents share solo status.</dd>
+ <dt>Rec</dt>
+ <dd>ticked if the constituents share record-enable status.</dd>
+ <dt>Mon</dt>
+ <dd>whether the constituents share monitor settings.</dd>
+ <dt>Sel</dt>
+ <dd>whether the constituents are selected together.</dd>
+ <dt>A</dt>
+ <dd>whether the constituents share active status. </dd>
+</dl>
+
+---
+title: Ranges & Marks List
+part: subchapter
+---
+
+<p>
+ For information on this list see
+ <a href="/working-with-markers/rangesmarks-list/">Ranges
+ & Marks List</a> in the "Working with Markers" section of the manual.
+</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+---
+title: The Mixer
+part: chapter
+---
+
+<p>
+ The <dfn>Mixer</dfn> window on the other hand represents signal flow and
+ is the window you will probably be using most when mixing a session. It
+ includes <dfn>channel strips</dfn> for each track and bus in your session.
+ It has a general "vertical" sense to it: signals flow from the top of each
+ channel strip through the processing elements in the strip to reach the
+ output listed at the bottom.
+</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+---
+title: Sessions & Tracks
+part: part
+---
+
+
+---
+title: Sessions
+part: chapter
+---
+
+
+---
+title: New/Open Session Dialog
+part: subchapter
+---
+<p class="fixme">Info is out of date, image needs updating</p>
+
+<p>
+ The initial <dfn>Session</dfn> dialog consists of several consecutive pages:
+</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="/working-with-sessions/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
+ your hard drive.<br />
+ Alternatively, you can opt to create a <kbd class="menu">New
+ Session</kbd>.
+</p>
+
+<h2>New Session page</h2>
+<p>
+ Here you can type in the name of a session, select a folder to save in, and
+ optionally use an existing <a href="/working-with-sessions/session-templates/">template</a>.
+</p>
+<p>
+ 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
+ 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.
+ You can limit the number of channels on your physical hardware that Ardour
+ 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
+ output to the physical outputs of your interface or sound card, and limit
+ the number of physical outputs used, as above.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Audio/MIDI Setup</h3>
+
+<img class="right" src="/images/Audio-MIDI_Setup.png" alt="The Audio+MIDI
+Setup Dialog"/>
+
+<p>
+ This page is not displayed if <abbr title="JACK Audio Connection
+ Kit">JACK</abbr> is already running when you start
+ Ardour. It provides a simple interface to configure JACK, which
+ will then be started by Ardour. For more control and options regarding
+ JACK, it is recommended that you start JACK before using Ardour, via a
+ JACK control application such as QJackCtl (sometimes called "Jack
+ Control"), JackPilot, etc.
+</p>
+<dl>
+ <dt>Audio System</dt>
+ <dd>Currently, the only option here is <kbd class="menu">JACK</kbd>. In the future, native
+ hardware access may be supported.</dd>
+ <dt>Driver</dt>
+ <dd>
+ On Mac OS X this will typically be <kbd class="menu">CoreAudio</kbd>. On Linux usually
+ this will be either <kbd class="menu"><abbr title="Free Firewire Audio Driver fOr
+ linux">FFADO</abbr></kbd>
+ or <kbd class="menu"><abbr title="Advanced Linux Sound
+ Architecture">ALSA</abbr></kbd>, depending on whether or not you are
+ utilizing a firewire device. Advanced users on all platforms may also
+ use <kbd class="menu">NetJack</kbd> which provides network audio I/O.
+ </dd>
+ <dt>Device</dt>
+ <dd>The selector should show all availiable interfaces provided by the
+ driver above and which are capable of duplex operation.
+ <p class="warning">
+ If you are using an Intel Mac running OS X and the builtin audio
+ interface, you must
+ first <a href="setting-up-your-system/using_more_than_one_audio_device/">merge
+ its separate input and output devices into a single "aggregate
+ device"</a> before Ardour will be able to use it.
+ </p>
+ </dd>
+ <dt>Sample Rate</dt>
+ <dd>
+ The selector will allow you to select from any sample rate
+ supported by the device selected above it.
+ </dd>
+ <dt>Buffer Size</dt>
+ <dd>
+ You can adjust the size of the buffer used by your audio interface
+ to allow for either lower latency, or lower CPU usage and higher
+ latency.
+ </dd>
+ <dt>Input/Output Channels</dt>
+ <dd>
+ Here you can specify the number of hardware channels to use. The
+ default is <kbd class="menu">all available channels</kbd>.</dd>
+ <dt>Hardware Input/Output Latency</dt>
+ <dd>Specify the hardware delay in samples for precise latency compensation.</dd>
+ <dt>Calibrate</dt>
+ <dd>
+ This button guides you through a semi-automated process to obtain
+ precise hardware latency measurements for the above option.</dd>
+ <dt>MIDI System</dt>
+ <dd>
+ Select the MIDI driver to use. On Mac OS X, this will be <kbd
+ class="menu">CoreMIDI</kbd>. On Linux, you can change between two legacy
+ ALSA drivers or the (preferred) new JACK+ALSA implementation.</dd>
+</dl>
+
+---
+title: What's in a Session?
+part: subchapter
+---
+
+<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
+ or "recording/editing/mixing session".
+</p>
+
+<p>
+ The Session folder includes these files and folders:
+</p>
+
+<ul>
+ <li><code><em>session_name</em>.ardour</code> the main session snapshot</li>
+ <li><code>*.ardour</code>, any additional snapshots </li>
+ <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
+ 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
+ information of each audio file that has been analysed</li>
+ <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
+ Tracks and Buses, and all the Regions and Plug-Ins they contain.
+</p>
+
+---
+title: Where Are Sessions Stored?
+part: subchapter
+---
+
+<p>
+ <dfn>Sessions</dfn> are stored in a single folder on your computer's filesystem.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+ The first time you run Ardour, you will be asked where you would like the
+ default location for sessions to be, with the initial choice being your
+ home folder.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+ After the first-run dialog, you can still change the default location at
+ any time via <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences > Misc > Session
+ Management</kbd>. You can also specify a particular (different) location for
+ a session when creating it, in the
+ <a href="/working-with-sessions/new-session-dialog/">New Session dialog</a>.
+</p>
+
+---
+title: Backup and Sharing of Sessions
+part: subchapter
+---
+
+<p>
+ An Ardour session is stored in a single folder on your computer's filesystem.
+ This makes <dfn>backup</dfn> very easy—any tool capable of backing up
+ a folder can be used to backup a session. You pick the location of a session
+ when it is created—by default it will be in your default session location,
+ which can be altered via <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences > Misc > Session
+ Management</kbd>.
</p>
<p class="warning">
- There is one complication: a session may reference media files that are stored
+ There is one complication: a session may reference media files that are stored
outside of the session folder, if the user has opted not to select <kbd
class="optoff">Session > Import > Copy to Session</kbd> during
- import. Backing up a session with embedded files will not create a
+ import. Backing up a session with embedded files will not create a
copy of the session containing those files.
</p>
<p>
- The single folder approach also makes sharing a project easy. Simply copy the session
- folder (onto a storage device, or across a network) and another Ardour user (on any
- platform) will be able to use it. The limitation regarding embedded files applies to
+ The single folder approach also makes sharing a project easy. Simply copy the session
+ folder (onto a storage device, or across a network) and another Ardour user (on any
+ platform) will be able to use it. The limitation regarding embedded files applies to
session sharing as well.
</p>
-
+
---
title: Interchange with other DAWs
part: subchapter
<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>
---
<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>
-
+
---
title: Stem Exports
part: subchapter
---
<p>
- <dfn>Stem exports</dfn> are covered fully in the
+ <dfn>Stem exports</dfn> are covered fully in the
<a href="/exporting">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
except the actual audio/MIDI (no plugins, no automation). This is one of
the most common methods of interchange because it works between all DAWs.
</p>
-
+
---
title: Using AATranslator
part: subchapter
---
<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.
+ <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>
- The program runs very well on Linux using
- <a href="http://www.winehq.org/">Wine</a> (a Windows environment for Linux).
- There are equivalent solutions for running Windows applications on OS X,
- but we have no experience with them at this time. Ardour users have reported
+ The program runs very well on Linux using
+ <a href="http://www.winehq.org/">Wine</a> (a Windows environment for Linux).
+ There are equivalent solutions for running Windows applications on OS X,
+ but we have no experience with them at this time. Ardour users have reported
great results using AATranslator on Ardour 2.X sessions.</p>
<p>
- The <a href="http://www.aatranslator.com.au/">AATranslator website</a>
+ The <a href="http://www.aatranslator.com.au/">AATranslator website</a>
has full details on supported formats and DAWs. The list includes
ProTools, Live, Reaper, OMF, AAF and many more.
</p>
---
<p>
- Use <kbd class="menu">Session > Rename</kbd> to give your session a
+ Use <kbd class="menu">Session > Rename</kbd> to give your session a
new name. A dialog will appear to ask you for the new name.
</p>
<p>
This operation does <strong>not</strong> make a new session folder —
- the existing session folder and relevant contents are renamed. If your
- session was not saved before a rename operation, it will be saved
+ the existing session folder and relevant contents are renamed. If your
+ session was not saved before a rename operation, it will be saved
automatically and then renaming will continue.
</p>
---
<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>
<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="/missing">Track & Bus templates</a> for information
+ See also <a href="/missing">Track & Bus templates</a> for information
on templates for individual tracks or busses.
</p>
-
+
<p class="fixme">Broken link</p>
---
---
<p>
- Sometimes you will want to save a <dfn>snapshot</dfn> of the current state of a session for possible
+ Sometimes you will want to save a <dfn>snapshot</dfn> of the current state of a session for possible
use in the future. For example, you may be about to change the entire
- arrangement of a piece, or drastically alter the signal processing, and
+ arrangement of a piece, or drastically alter the signal processing, and
want a reference to come back to, should that not work out.
</p>
<p>
This is easily accomplished using <kbd class="menu">Session >
- Snapshot</kbd>.
- A small dialog will appear, allowing you to enter a name for the snapshot.
+ Snapshot</kbd>.
+ A small dialog will appear, allowing you to enter a name for the snapshot.
The default name is based on the current date and time.<br />
You can create any number of snapshots.
</p>
<p class="warning">
- Creating a snapshot does <strong>not</strong> modify your session,
- nor does it save your session. Instead, it saves an alternate version
- of the session, within the session folder. The snapshot shares all data
- present in the session.
-</p>
+ Creating a snapshot does <strong>not</strong> modify your session,
+ nor does it save your session. Instead, it saves an alternate version
+ of the session, within the session folder. The snapshot shares all data
+ present in the session.
+</p>
<p>
- After creating a snapshot, you can continue working on the session and
- save it normally using <kbd class="menu">Session > Save</kbd> and any
+ After creating a snapshot, you can continue working on the session and
+ save it normally using <kbd class="menu">Session > Save</kbd> and any
existing snapshots will remain unchanged.
</p>
<p>
If you are already working on a session and want to to switch to an
- existing snapshot, navigate the Snapshots tab of the
- <a href="/ardours-interface/introducing-the-editor-window/editor-lists">Editor List</a>.
- Find the name of the snapshot in the list and click it. Ardour will switch
+ existing snapshot, navigate the Snapshots tab of the
+ <a href="/ardours-interface/introducing-the-editor-window/editor-lists">Editor List</a>.
+ Find the name of the snapshot in the list and click it. Ardour will switch
to the snapshot. If there are unsaved changes in the current session, Ardour will
ask what you want to do.
</p>
<p>
Since a snapshot is just another session file stored within the session
- folder, you can specify that "version" when loading an existing session.
- The browser in the "Open Session" dialog will show an expander arrow for
- sessions that have more than 1 session file (i.e. snapshots) present—click on it to see the list, and then click on the name of the
+ folder, you can specify that "version" when loading an existing session.
+ The browser in the "Open Session" dialog will show an expander arrow for
+ sessions that have more than 1 session file (i.e. snapshots) present—click on it to see the list, and then click on the name of the
snapshot you want to load.
</p>
<h2>Saving and Switching to a Snapshot</h2>
<p>
- Sometimes you may want to create a snapshot and then have all future
- edits and modifications saved to that snapshot rather than the main
+ Sometimes you may want to create a snapshot and then have all future
+ edits and modifications saved to that snapshot rather than the main
session. This is easily done using <kbd class="menu">Session > Save
- As</kbd>. This does not create a new session folder, but saves your
- session as a new snapshot and then switches the "current snapshot"
- to the newly created one. All subsequent saves of the session will
- be stored in this new snapshot, and existing snapshots (and the main
- session) will be left unaffected.
+ As</kbd>. This does not create a new session folder, but saves your
+ session as a new snapshot and then switches the "current snapshot"
+ to the newly created one. All subsequent saves of the session will
+ be stored in this new snapshot, and existing snapshots (and the main
+ session) will be left unaffected.
</p>
-
+
---
title: Metadata
part: subchapter
<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 > Edit Metadata...</kbd> and
<kbd class ="menu">Session > Metadata > Import Metadata...</kbd>.
</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.
</p>
<p>
- 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>
<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>
<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>
- 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>
---
<p>
- Many sessions will require the use of <dfn>existing material</dfn>,
- whether it consists of audio and/or MIDI data. Using existing samples,
- loops and riffs from files stored on your system can be the basis for
- a new session, or a way to deepen and improve one that is already
- underway.
+ Many sessions will require the use of <dfn>existing material</dfn>,
+ whether it consists of audio and/or MIDI data. Using existing samples,
+ loops and riffs from files stored on your system can be the basis for
+ a new session, or a way to deepen and improve one that is already
+ underway.
</p>
<p>
- You can import audio and MIDI data into your session with the
+ You can import audio and MIDI data into your session with the
<dfn>Add Existing Media</dfn> dialog.
</p>
<p>
You can import files into new, automatically created tracks, to the region
- list (from where you can manually drag them into a track), or as new
+ list (from where you can manually drag them into a track), or as new
<a href="/working-with-tracks/track-types/">Tape tracks</a> with the
- <kbd class="menu">Add new files as...</kbd> option.
+ <kbd class="menu">Add new files as...</kbd> option.
</p>
<p>
<p>
The <kbd class="menu">Conversion quality</kbd> drop-down controls the
quality of the resampling process, if the sampling rate of the source file
- differs from the session rate.
+ differs from the session rate.
</p>
<p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.freesound.org"
- title="http://www.freesound.org"><dfn>Freesound</dfn></a>
+ title="http://www.freesound.org"><dfn>Freesound</dfn></a>
is an online repository of searchable sound files licensed under
- Creative-Commons term. The <kbd class="menu">Search Freesound</kbd> tab
- of the import dialog allows you to search the Freesound database,
+ Creative-Commons term. The <kbd class="menu">Search Freesound</kbd> tab
+ of the import dialog allows you to search the Freesound database,
and to download and audition files directly.
</p>
<dl>
<dt>Tags</dt>
- <dd>Enter metadata tags that you would like to search for. You may enter
- multiple search terms separated by spaces. For example,
- <kbd class="input">drums 120bpm</kbd> will search for files that are tagged
+ <dd>Enter metadata tags that you would like to search for. You may enter
+ multiple search terms separated by spaces. For example,
+ <kbd class="input">drums 120bpm</kbd> will search for files that are tagged
<samp>drums</samp>, <samp>120bpm</samp>, or both.</dd>
<dt>Sort</dt>
- <dd>Choosing one of the sort options will cause Freesound to return the list
- of available files sorted accordingly. This can save time if you know (for
+ <dd>Choosing one of the sort options will cause Freesound to return the list
+ of available files sorted accordingly. This can save time if you know (for
example) the sound you need is very short.</dd>
<dt>Search</dt>
- <dd>Click this button to initiate the search. Freesound will begin returning
+ <dd>Click this button to initiate the search. Freesound will begin returning
pages of information, with 20 items per page. The <kbd
class="menu">Stop</kbd> button interrupts the download.</dd>
<dt>The file list</dt>
- <dd>Click on a file to download it from Freesound. Double-click the file to
+ <dd>Click on a file to download it from Freesound. Double-click the file to
auto-play it in the auditioner.</dd>
</dl>
<p>
- Files imported with Freesound will automatically include any tags that are
- associated with the file, and these tags will be included in a search when
+ Files imported with Freesound will automatically include any tags that are
+ associated with the file, and these tags will be included in a search when
you use the <kbd class="menu">Search Tags</kbd> tab.
</p>
-
+
---
title: Searching for Files Using Tags
part: subchapter
---
<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
+ 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.
+ 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>
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>
-
+
---
title: Supported File Formats
part: subchapter
---
<p>
- The list of audio file formats that Ardour can understand is quite long.
- It is based on the functionality offered by <dfn>libsndfile</dfn>, an excellent and
- widely used software library by Australian programmer Erik de Castro Lopo.
- As libsndfile's capabilities expand, so will Ardour's abilities to import
- (and export) new formats. Ardour supports all common audio file formats,
- including WAV, AIFF, AIFC, CAF, W64 and BWF, with all typical sample formats
+ The list of audio file formats that Ardour can understand is quite long.
+ It is based on the functionality offered by <dfn>libsndfile</dfn>, an excellent and
+ widely used software library by Australian programmer Erik de Castro Lopo.
+ As libsndfile's capabilities expand, so will Ardour's abilities to import
+ (and export) new formats. Ardour supports all common audio file formats,
+ including WAV, AIFF, AIFC, CAF, W64 and BWF, with all typical sample formats
(8-, 16-, 24-, 32-bit integer, floating point, and more).
</p>
<p>
- You can find a full list of libsndfile's supported formats
+ You can find a full list of libsndfile's supported formats
<a href="http://www.mega-nerd.com/libsndfile/#Features">here</a>.
</p>
<p>
- For MIDI import, Ardour will read any Standard MIDI Format (SMF) file.
-</p>
-
-
----
-title: Ardour Main Windows
-part: chapter
----
-
-
----
-title: Introducing the Editor Window
-part: subchapter
----
-
-<p class="fixme">Add content</p>
-
----
-title: Editor Lists
-part: subchapter
----
-
-<p>
- At the right of the editor is an optional area which provides one of a
- range of useful lists of parts of your session. It is not shown by default
- when you first start using Ardour. The <dfn>Editor list</dfn> can be hidden
- or shown using <kbd class="menu">View > Show Editor List</kbd>. The very
- right-hand side of the list gives a selection of tabs which are used to
- choose the list to view. The left-hand border of the list can be dragged to
- vary the width of the list.
-</p>
-
----
-title: Ranges & Marks List
-part: subchapter
----
-
-<p>
- For information on this list see
- <a href="/working-with-markers/rangesmarks-list/">Ranges
- & Marks List</a> in the "Working with Markers" section of the manual.</p>
-
----
-title: Region List
-part: subchapter
----
-
-<p>
- The region list shows all the regions in the session. The left-hand column gives the region name, and there are a range of times given for information:
-</p>
-
-<dl>
- <dt>Position</dt><dd>position of the start of the region on the global timeline</dd>
- <dt>End</dt><dd>position of the region on the global timeline</dd>
- <dt>Length</dt><dd>duration of the region</dd>
- <dt>Sync</dt><dd>position of the sync point, relative to the start of region (can be negative)</dd>
- <dt>Fade In</dt><dd>duration of the fade in. Can't be less than 1 ms, to avoid clipping.</dd>
- <dt>Fade Out</dt><dd>duration of the fade out (positive value, ≥ 1 ms).</dd>
-</dl>
-
-<p>
- The units used to display those times are those used for the clock, so changing the units on the clocks change the display of this values.
-</p>
-
-<p>
- At the right of the list are four columns of flags that can be altered:
-</p>
-
-<dl>
- <dt>L</dt>
- <dd>whether the region position is locked, so that it cannot be moved.</dd>
- <dt>G</dt>
- <dd>whether the region's position is ‘glued’ to bars and beats. If so, the region will stay at the same position in bars and beats even if the tempo and/or time signature change.</dd>
- <dt>M</dt>
- <dd>whether the region is muted, so that it will not be heard.</dd>
- <dt>O</dt>
- <dd>whether the region is opaque; opaque regions ‘block’ regions below them from being heard, whereas ‘transparent’ regions have their contents mixed with whatever is underneath. </dd>
-</dl>
-
-<p>
- Hovering the mouse pointer over a column heading shows a tool-tip which can be handy to remember what the columns are for.
-</p>
-
-<p>
- A handy feature of the region list is that its regions can be dragged and dropped into a suitable track in the session.
-</p>
-
----
-title: Snapshot List
-part: subchapter
----
-
-<p>
- This list gives the snapshots that exist of this session. Clicking on a snapshot
- name will load that snapshot.
-</p>
-
-<p>
- See <a href="/working-with-sessions">Working with Sessions</a> for more
- information on snapshots.
-</p>
-
----
-title: Track & Bus Group List
-part: subchapter
----
-
-<p>
- This shows the track/bus groups that exist in the session. These groups allow related tracks to share various properties (such as mute or record enable state). For full details, see the section called <a href="/working-with-tracks/track-and-bus-groups/">Track and Bus Groups</a>.
-</p>
-
-<p>
- The columns in this list are as follows:
-</p>
-
-<dl>
- <dt>Col</dt>
- <dd>the colour that the group uses for its tab in the editor.</dd>
- <dt>Name</dt>
- <dd>the group name.</dd>
- <dt>V</dt>
- <dd>whether the tracks and busses in the group are visible.</dd>
- <dt>On</dt>
- <dd>whether the group is enabled.</dd>
- <dt>G</dt>
- <dd>ticked if the constituents of the group are sharing gain settings.</dd>
- <dt>Rel</dt>
- <dd>ticked if shared gains are relative.</dd>
- <dt>M</dt>
- <dd>ticked if the constituents share mute status.</dd>
- <dt>S</dt>
- <dd>ticked if the constituents share solo status.</dd>
- <dt>Rec</dt>
- <dd>ticked if the constituents share record-enable status.</dd>
- <dt>Mon</dt>
- <dd>whether the constituents share monitor settings.</dd>
- <dt>Sel</dt>
- <dd>whether the constituents are selected together.</dd>
- <dt>A</dt>
- <dd>whether the constituents share active status. </dd>
-</dl>
-
----
-title: Tracks & Busses List
-part: subchapter
----
-
-<p>
- This lists the tracks and busses that are present in the session. The list order reflects the order in the editor, and you can drag-and-drop track or bus names in the editor list to re-order them in the editor. The columns in the list represent the following:
-</p>
-
-<dl>
- <dt id="visible">V</dt>
- <dd>whether the track or bus is visible; they can be hidden, in which case they will still play, but just not be visible in the editor; this can be useful for keeping the display uncluttered.</dd>
- <dt id="active">A</dt>
- <dd>whether the track or bus is active; unactive tracks will not play, and will not consume any CPU.</dd>
- <dt id="input">I</dt>
- <dd>for MIDI tracks, whether the MIDI input is enabled; this dictates whether MIDI data from the track's inputs ports will be passed through the track.</dd>
- <dt id="record">R</dt>
- <dd>whether the track is record-enabled.</dd>
- <dt id="record-safe">RS</dt>
- <dd>whether the track is record safe; a record safe track cannot be armed for recording, to protect against a mistake.</dd>
- <dt id="mute">M</dt>
- <dd>whether the track is muted.</dd>
- <dt id="solo">S</dt>
- <dd>track solo state.</dd>
- <dt id="solo-isolated">SI</dt>
- <dd>track solo-isolated state.</dd>
- <dt id="solo-safe">SS</dt>
- <dd>solo safe state. </dd>
-</dl>
-
-<p class="note">
- Each icon in these columns can be clicked to toggle the track/bus state, which is a very fast way to set multiple tracks/busses state at once.
-</p>
-
-<p>
- As with the region list, hovering the mouse pointer over a column heading shows a tool-tip which can be handy to remember what the columns are for.
-</p>
-
----
-title: The Editing Toolbar
-part: subchapter
----
-
-<p class="fixme">Need toolbar image</p>
-
-<h2>Mouse Modes</h2>
-<dl class="wide-table">
- <dt id="object">Object Mode</dt>
- <dd>The <dfn>object mode</dfn> is used for selecting, moving, deleting and
- copying objects. When in object mode, the mouse pointer appears as a hand
- whenever it is over the track canvas or the rulers. The mouse can now be
- used to select and perform operations on objects such as regions, markers etc.
- This is the most common mode to work in, as it allows you to select and move regions,
- as well as modify automation points on the automation tracks.
- </dd>
- <dt>Range Mode</dt>
- <dd>When in <dfn>range mode</dfn>, the mouse pointer appears as a vertical line
- whenever it is over the track canvas or the rulers. The mouse will now be
- able to select a point or range of time. Time ranges can be selected over
- one or several tracks, depending on the selection of your tracks.
- <p>
- If none of your tracks are selected, the Range Tool will operate on all the
- session track visualized in the Editor.
- </p>
- <p>
- If you want to edit only particular tracks, select them before you apply
- the range tool.
- </p>
- </dd>
- <dt>Zoom Tool</dt>
- <dd>When in <dfn>zoom mode</dfn>, the mouse pointer appears as a magnifying glass
- whenever it is over the track canvas or the rulers. Select the area to
- zoom to with a <kbd class="mouse">Left drag</kbd>. A single <kbd
- class="mouse">Left</kbd> click zooms in by one level around the mouse cursor,
- likewise a single <kbd class="mouse">Right</kbd> click will zoom out by one
- level.</dd>
- <dt>Region Gain Tool</dt>
- <dd>When in <dfn>gain edit</dfn> mode, the mouse pointer will change to
- cross-hairs. You can then click within a region to change the <dfn>gain
- envelope</dfn> for that region. This curve is separate from fader automation
- for individual tracks. It will remain locked to the region's time, so if the
- region is moved, the region gain envelope is moved along with it.</dd>
- <dt>Time Effects Tool</dt>
- <dd>When in <dfn>time fx</dfn> mode, the mouse pointer appears as a
- distinctive expanding square symbol whenever it is over the track canvas or
- the rulers. This mode is used to resize regions using a timestretch
- algorithm.
- Click on an edge of a region of audio and drag it one way or the other to
- stretch or shrink the region.</dd>
- <dt>Audition Tool</dt>
- <dd>Clicking a region using the <dfn>audition tool</dfn> will play this
- region to the control room outputs.
- <p>You can also <dfn>scrub</dfn> with this tool by clicking and dragging in
- the direction you wish to listen. The amount you drag in one direction or
- the other will determine the playback speed.</p>
- </dd>
- <dt>Draw Tool</dt>
- <dd></dd>
- <dt>Internal/Region Edit Mode</dt>
- <dd></dd>
-</dl>
-
-<h3>Object Tool</h3>
-<dl class="wide-table">
-<dt>Selecting Regions</dt>
-<dd></dd>
-<dt>Resizing Regions</dt>
-<dd></dd>
-<dt>Moving Regions</dt>
-<dd></dd>
-<dt>Editing Fade In and Fade Out</dt>
-<dd></dd>
-</dl>
-<h3 id="smartmode">Smart Mode</h3>
-<p>
- The <dfn>Smart Mode</dfn> button to the left of the mouse mode buttons
- modifies <dfn>Object mode</dfn>. When enabled, the mouse behaves as if it
- is in "Range Tool" mode in the upper half of a region, and in "Object Tool"
- mode in the lower half.
+ For MIDI import, Ardour will read any Standard MIDI Format (SMF) file.
</p>
-
-<p class="fixme">Add missing content</p>
-
----
-title: The Transport Bar
-part: subchapter
----
-
-<p class="fixme">Add content</p>
-
----
-title: Introducing the Mixer Window
-part: subchapter
----
-
-<p class="fixme">Add content</p>
---
---
<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>
<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>
<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>
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>
To control this behaviour, set <kbd class="menu">Edit >
Preferences > Editor > Link selection of regions and tracks</kbd>.
</p>
-
+
---
title: Controlling Track Appearance
part: subchapter
</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="/working-with-playlists/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="/working-with-playlists/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_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>
-
+
---
title: Track Color
part: subchapter
<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 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="/working-with-tracks/track-and-bus-groups">track/bus group</a>
+ Tracks that belong to a
+ <a href="/working-with-tracks/track-and-bus-groups">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>
-
+
---
title: Track Height
part: subchapter
---
-<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 made to fit 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 made to fit 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>
-
+
---
title: Waveform display
part: subchapter
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>
---
<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>
In the <dfn>Mixer</dfn>, the tracks and busses will be displayed in their
initial order, from left to right. The Master bus is always on the far
right and occupies its own pane, so that it is always visible no matter
- how you scroll the other mixer strips. If a Monitor section is used,
+ how you scroll the other mixer strips. If a Monitor section is used,
it shows up at the right edge of the mixer window, from where it can be
torn off into a separate window.
</p>
---
<p>
- The <dfn>track ordering</dfn> of the Editor and Mixer is <dfn>synchronized</dfn>: if you
+ The <dfn>track ordering</dfn> of the Editor and Mixer is <dfn>synchronized</dfn>: if you
reorder in one window, the ordering in the other window will follow.
</p>
</p>
<p>
- Alternatively, you can use the <kbd class="menu">Tracks & Busses</kbd>
+ Alternatively, you can use the <kbd class="menu">Tracks & Busses</kbd>
panel of the
<a href="/ardours-interface/introducing-the-editor-window/editor-lists/">Editor
- Lists</a>, if visible.
+ Lists</a>, if visible.
Here, you can freely drag-and-drop tracks and busses into any order you prefer.
</p>
<h2>"Collecting" Group Members</h2>
<p>
- Tracks and Busses that are members of a group can be reordered so that they
- display contiguously within the Editor and Mixer windows. Context-click on
+ Tracks and Busses that are members of a group can be reordered so that they
+ display contiguously within the Editor and Mixer windows. Context-click on
the group tab and choose <kbd class="menu">Collect</kbd>.
</p>
<h2>Ordering of New Tracks</h2>
<p>
- When <dfn>adding new tracks</dfn>, the current selection determines their
- placement. New tracks will be placed after the rightmost (in the mixer) or
- bottom-most (in the editor) selected track. If no tracks are selected, new
+ When <dfn>adding new tracks</dfn>, the current selection determines their
+ placement. New tracks will be placed after the rightmost (in the mixer) or
+ bottom-most (in the editor) selected track. If no tracks are selected, new
tracks will be added at the end.
</p>
<p class="note">
- Because new tracks are automatically selected, you can quickly reorder them
+ Because new tracks are automatically selected, you can quickly reorder them
in the editor window via the keyboard shortcuts after adding them (see above).
</p>
---
<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="/using-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>
<p>
- By default, remote IDs will be assigned to tracks and busses in the order
- that they are created, starting from 1. The master bus and monitor section
+ By default, remote IDs will be assigned to tracks and busses in the order
+ that they are created, starting from 1. The master bus and monitor section
have their own unique IDs (318 and 319).
</p>
<p>
- Ardour provides two methods to control remote control IDs, which can be
+ Ardour provides two methods to control remote control IDs, which can be
chosen via <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences > Control Surfaces
> Control surface remote ID</kbd>:
</p>
<dl class="wide-table">
<dt>follows order of mixer</dt>
- <dd>This will reset the remote control IDs to match the mixer and editor
- track order order, starting with rcID 1. Manual assignment of rcIDs is
+ <dd>This will reset the remote control IDs to match the mixer and editor
+ track order order, starting with rcID 1. Manual assignment of rcIDs is
not possible.</dd>
<dt>assigned by user</dt>
- <dd>When enabled, the remote control ID is completely independent of the
+ <dd>When enabled, the remote control ID is completely independent of the
ordering in either window, and may be changed manually by the user via the
<kbd class="menu"><em>trackname</em> > Remote Control ID...</kbd>
dialog in each mixer strip.
<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
new group. For details see <a href="/working-with-tracks/track-and-bus-groups/">Track and bus groups</a>. </dd>
</dl>
-
+
---
title: Audio Track Controls
part: subchapter
---
<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="/working-with-tracks/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>
</dl>
-
+
---
title: MIDI Track Controls
part: subchapter
<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="/working-with-tracks/controlling-track-appearance/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="/working-with-tracks/controlling-track-appearance/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="/working-with-tracks/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="/working-with-tracks/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
+ To the right of the MIDI track controls is a representation of a piano keyboard
called the <dfn>scroomer</dfn> (a portmanteau of scrollbar and zoomer). This performs several functions:
</p>
---
<p>
- Within the editor window, context-click (right-click) on either a region
- or empty space within a track to display the <dfn>track context menu</dfn>.
+ Within the editor window, context-click (right-click) on either a region
+ or empty space within a track to display the <dfn>track context menu</dfn>.
The context menu provides easy access to many track-level operations.
</p>
<p>
- If you click on a <dfn>region</dfn>, the first item in the menu is the name of the
- region. If you click on a
- <a href="/working-with-tracks/controlling-track-appearance/layering-display/">layered region</a>,
- the next item in the menu is <kbd class="menu">Choose Top</kbd>. If selected,
- you will see a dialog that allows you to change the vertical order of layers
+ If you click on a <dfn>region</dfn>, the first item in the menu is the name of the
+ region. If you click on a
+ <a href="/working-with-tracks/controlling-track-appearance/layering-display/">layered region</a>,
+ the next item in the menu is <kbd class="menu">Choose Top</kbd>. If selected,
+ you will see a dialog that allows you to change the vertical order of layers
at that point. See <a href="/missing">Controlling Region Layering</a> for more details.
<p class="fixme">Broken link</p>
</p>
part: subchapter
---
-<p>
- Tracks and busses can be put into <dfn>groups</dfn>. Members of a group
- can share various settings—useful for managing tracks that are closely
- related to each other. Examples might include tracks that contain
- multiple-microphone recordings of a single source (an acoustic guitar,
- perhaps, or a drum-kit).
-</p>
-
-<p>
- You can group tracks and busses in various ways. In the editor window,
- a track's controls might look like these:
-</p>
-
-<img class="left" src="/images/track-in-group.png" alt="track headers for a group" />
-
-<p>
- The green tab to the left of the track header indicates that this track
- is in a group called <samp>Fred</samp>. You can drag these tabs to add
- adjacent tracks to a group.
-</p>
-
-<h2>Create New Groups</h2>
-
-<p>
- There are several ways to <dfn>create groups</dfn> for tracks and bussess:
-</p>
-
-<ul>
- <li>Context-click on the group tab and use one of the <kbd
- class="menu">Create...</kbd> options there. You can create a group with
- no members, or one that starts with the currently selected tracks, or
- record-enabled tracks, or soloed tracks.</li>
- <li>Alternatively, click the ‘g’ button on a track header to open the
- Group menu. The menu lists the available groups. Selecting one of these
- groups will add the track or bus to that group. The menu also lets you
- create a new group.</li>
- <li>Finally, the Groups tab of the
- <a href="/ardours-interface/introducing-the-editor-window/editor-lists">Editor Lists</a>
- or the Mixer Window has a <kbd class="menu">plus (+)</kbd> button at the
- bottom of the list. Click on the plus sign to create a new group.</li>
-</ul>
-
-<h2>Remove Groups</h2>
-
-<p>
- Context-click on a <dfn>group tab</dfn> and select <kbd class="menu">Remove
- Group</kbd> from the menu. Removing a group does <em>not</em> remove
- the members of a group.
-</p>
-
-<p>
- You can also remove groups by selecting them in the Groups tab of the
- <a href="/ardours-interface/introducing-the-editor-window/editor-lists">Editor Lists</a>
- or Mixer Window and then pressing the <kbd class="menu">minus (-)</kbd>
- button at the bottom of the list.
-</p>
-
-<h2>Add/Remove Tracks and Busses From a Group</h2>
-
-<p>
- Click the <kbd class="menu">g</kbd> button to display a menu with a list
- of the available groups. Select one of these groups to add the track or bus
- to that group. Select <kbd class="menu">No Group</kbd> to remove it.
-</p>
-
-<p>
- Alternatively, you can also drag a group tab to add or remove tracks from
- the group.
-</p>
-
-<h2>Activate/Deactivate Groups via the Group Tab</h2>
-
-<p>
- Clicking on a group tab toggles the group between being active and inactive.
- An inactive group has no effect when editing its members. An active group
- will share its configured properties across its members. Tabs for disabled
- groups are coloured grey.</p>
-
-<h2>Modify Group Properties</h2>
-
-<p>
- To edit the properties of a group, context-click on its tab and choose
- <kbd class="menu">Edit Group…</kbd>. This opens the track/bus group dialog,
- which is also used when creating new groups:
-</p>
-
-<img class="right" src="/images/route-group-dialogue.png" alt="the track/bus group dialog" />
-
-<h3>Group Color</h3>
-
-<p>
- Click on the color selector button to change a group's colour. This affects
- the colour of the group's tab in the editor and mixer windows. The color does
- <em>not</em> affect the color of the group members unless you also enable the
- shared <kbd class="menu">Color</kbd> property.
-</p>
-
-<h3>Shared Properties</h3>
-
-<p>
- <kbd class="option">Gain</kbd> means that the track faders will be synced to
- always have the same value; <kbd class="option">Relative</kbd> means that the
- gain changes are applied relative to each member's current value. If, for
- example, there are two tracks in a group with relative gain sharing, and their
- faders are set to -3 dB and -1 dB, a change of the first track to a
- gain of -6 dB will result in the second track having a gain of
- -4 dB (the <em>difference</em> of the gains remains the same).
-</p>
-
-<p>
- <a href="/working-with-tracks/bus-controls/#mute"><kbd class="option">Muting</kbd></a>,
- <a href="/working-with-tracks/bus-controls/#solo"><kbd class="option">Soloing</kbd></a>,
- <a href="/working-with-tracks/audio-track-controls/#record"><kbd class="option">record enable</kbd></a>,
- <a href="/ardours-interface/introducing-the-editor-window/editor-lists/tracks--busses-list/#active"><kbd class="option">active state</kbd></a>,
- <a href="/working-with-tracks/controlling-track-appearance/track-coloring/"><kbd class="option">colour</kbd></a> and
- <a href="/recording/monitoring/"><kbd class="option">monitoring</kbd></a>
- are all straightforward. They simply mean that all member tracks or busses will
- share the same settings in these respects.
-</p>
-
-<p>
- <kbd class="option">Selection</kbd> means that if a region is selected or
- deselected on one member track, <a
- href="/working-with-regions/corresponding-region-selection/">corresponding
- regions</a> on other member tracks
- will be similarly selected. Since region editing operations are applied to all
- currently selected regions, this is the way to make edits apply across all tracks in the group.
-</p>
-
-<p class="fixme">Broken link</p>
-
-<h3>Group Tab Context Menu</h3>
-
-<p>Context-clicking on the group tab offers a further menu of group-related actions. </p>
-
-<dl class="wide-table">
- <dt>Create a New Group</dt>
- <dd>create a new group</dd>
- <dt>Create New Group from...</dt>
- <dd> create a new group and automatically add ...
- <dl class="narrower-table">
- <dt>Selected</dt>
- <dd>all currently selected tracks and busses</dd>
- <dt>Rec-enabled</dt>
- <dd>all currently record-enabled tracks</dd>
- <dt>Soloed</dt>
- <dd>all currently soloed tracks and busses</dd>
- </dl>
- </dd>
- <dt>Collect Group</dt>
- <dd>moves all the member tracks so that they are together in the editor window</dd>
- <dt>Remove Group</dt>
- <dd>removes the group (and only the group, not its members).</dd>
- <dt>Add New Subgroup Bus</dt>
- <dd> creates a bus (giving it the name of the group) and connects the output of each member to the new bus.
- </dd>
- <dt>Add New Aux Bus</dt>
- <dd>adds a bus and gives each member a send to that bus. There are two options for this, specifying whether the sends should be placed pre- or post-fader.</dd>
- <dt>Fit to Window</dt>
- <dd> will zoom the member tracks so that they fill the editor window.</dd>
- <dt>Enable All Groups</dt>
- <dd>makes all group active, including any hidden groups.</dd>
- <dt>Disable All Groups</dt>
- <dd>makes all groups inactive, including any hidden groups.</dd>
-</dl>
-
-
----
-title: The Clip List
-part: chapter
----
-
-
----
-title: Workspace Browsers
-part: chapter
----
-
-
----
-title: Importing and Exporting Session Data
-part: chapter
----
-
-
----
-title: File and Session Management and Compatibility
-part: chapter
----
-
-
----
-title: Playback & Recording
-part: part
----
-
-
----
-title: Playing Back Track Material
-part: chapter
----
-
-
----
-title: Using Ardour Clock Displays
-part: subchapter
----
-
-<p>
- <dfn>Clocks</dfn> in Ardour are used to display <dfn>time values</dfn> precisely.
- In many cases, they are also one way to edit (change) time values, and in a few
- cases, the only way. All clocks share the same basic appearance and functionality,
- which is described below, but a few clocks serve particularly important roles.
-</p>
-
-<h2>Transport Clocks</h2>
-
-<p>
- In the transport bar of the editor window there are two clocks (unless you
- are on a very small screen), that display the current position of the playhead
- and additional information related to transport control and the timeline. These
- are called the <dfn>transport clocks</dfn>; the left one is the primary
- transport clock and the right one is the secondary transport clock.
- They look like this:
-</p>
-
-<img src="/images/a3_new_main_clocks.png" alt="An image of the transport clocks in Ardour 3" />
-
-<p>
- Editing the time in the transport clocks will reposition the playhead in the same
- way that various other editing operations will.
-</p>
-
-<h3>The Big Clock</h3>
-<p>
- To show the current playhead position in a big, resizable window, activate
- <kbd class="menu">Window > Big Clock</kbd>. The big clock is very useful
- when you need to work away from the screen but still want to see the playhead
- position clearly (such as when working with a remote control device across
- a room). The big clock will change its visual appearance to indicate when active
- recording is taking place. Below on the left is a screenshot showing a fairly
- large big clock window filling a good part of the display, and on the right,
- the same clock during active recording.
-</p>
-<a href="/images/bigclock.png"><img src="/images/bigclock.png" height="100" alt="an image of the big clock filling a screen" /></a> <a href="/images/bigclock-recording.png"><img src="/images/bigclock-recording.png" height="100" alt="an image of the big clock while recording"
-/></a>
-
-<h3>The Special Role of the Secondary Transport Clock</h3>
-<p>
- On a few occasions Ardour needs to display time values to the user, but there
- is no obvious way to specify what units to use. The most common case is the big
- cursor that appears when dragging regions. For this and other similar cases,
- Ardour will display time using the same units as the secondary clock.
-</p>
-<h4>Why are there two transport clocks?</h4>
-<p>
- Having two transport clocks lets you see the playhead position in two different
- time units without having to change any settings. For example, you can see the
- playhead position in both timecode units and BBT time.
-</p>
-
-<h3>Selection and Punch Clocks</h3>
-<p>
- The transport bar also contains a set of 5 clocks that show the current
- <dfn>selection range</dfn> and <dfn>punch ranges</dfn>. Clicking on the punch
- range clocks will locate to either the beginning or end of the punch range.
- Similarly, clicking on the range clocks will locate to either the beginning
- or end of the current selection. In this screen shot there is no current
- selection range, so the selection clocks show an "off" state.
-</p>
-
-<img src="/images/selectionpunchclocks.png" alt="An image of the the selection and punch clocks in Ardour 3" />
-
-<h2>Clock Modes</h2>
-<p>
- Every clock in Ardour has four different, selectable <dfn>clock
- modes</dfn>. Each mode displays time using different units.
- You can change the clock mode by <kbd class="mouse">Right</kbd>-clicking
- on the clock and selecting the desired mode from the menu. Some clocks are
- entirely independent of any other clock's mode; others are linked so that
- changing one changes all clocks in that group. The different modes are:
-</p>
-<dl>
- <dt>Timecode</dt>
- <dd>Time is shown as <dfn><abbr title="Society of Motion Picture and Television
- Engineers">SMPTE</abbr> timecode</dfn> in Hours:Minutes:Seconds:Frames,
- measured from the timecode zero point on the timeline (which may not
- correspond to the session start and/or absolute zero on the timeline,
- depending on configurable timecode offsets).
- The frames value is dictated by either the session <abbr title="Frames Per
- Second">FPS</abbr> setting, or, if slaved to an external timecode master,
- the master's setting. In the transport clocks, the FPS value is shown below
- the time display, along with an indication of the current timecode source
- (<samp>INT</samp> means that Ardour is its own timecode source).</dd>
- <dt>BBT</dt>
- <dd>Time is shown as Bars:Beats:Ticks, indicating <dfn>musical time</dfn> measured
- from the start of the session. The transport clocks show the current tempo
- in <abbr title="Beats Per Minute">bpm</abbr> and meter below the time
- display.</dd>
- <dt>Minutes:Seconds</dt>
- <dd>Time is shown as Hours:Minutes:Seconds.Milliseconds, measured from the
- absolute start of the timeline (ignoring the session start and any timecode
- offsets).</dd>
- <dt>Samples</dt>
- <dd>Time is shown as a <dfn>sample count</dfn> from the absolute start of the timeline
- (ignoring the session start and any timecode offsets). The number of
- samples per second is given by the current sample rate, and in the transport
- clocks, this rate is shown below the time display along with any
- pullup/pulldown adjustment.</dd>
-</dl>
-
-<h3>Special Modes for the Transport Clocks</h3>
-<p>
- In addition to the time-unit modes mentioned above, each of the two transport
- clocks (if you work on a small screen, you may only have one) can be
- independently set to display <dfn>Delta to Edit Point</dfn> in whatever time
- units its current mode indicates. This setting means that the clock shows the
- distance between the playhead and the current edit point, and it may show a
- positive or negative value depending on the temporal order of these two points.
- The clocks will use a different color when in this mode to avoid confusion.
+<p>
+ Tracks and busses can be put into <dfn>groups</dfn>. Members of a group
+ can share various settings—useful for managing tracks that are closely
+ related to each other. Examples might include tracks that contain
+ multiple-microphone recordings of a single source (an acoustic guitar,
+ perhaps, or a drum-kit).
</p>
+
<p>
- To switch either (or both!) of the transport clocks into this mode, use
- <kbd class="menu"> Edit > Preferences > Transport</kbd> and select
- the relevant checkboxes.
+ You can group tracks and busses in various ways. In the editor window,
+ a track's controls might look like these:
</p>
+
+<img class="left" src="/images/track-in-group.png" alt="track headers for a group" />
+
<p>
- Note that when in <samp>Delta to Edit Point</samp> mode, the transport clocks
- cannot be edited.
+ The green tab to the left of the track header indicates that this track
+ is in a group called <samp>Fred</samp>. You can drag these tabs to add
+ adjacent tracks to a group.
</p>
-<h2>Changing clock values with the keyboard</h2>
+<h2>Create New Groups</h2>
+
<p>
- New values for the clock can be typed in after clicking on the relevant clock.
- Clicking on the clock will show a thin vertical cursor bar just to the right
- of the next character to be overwritten. Enter time in the same order as the
- current clock mode—if the clock is in Timecode mode, you need to enter
- hours, minutes, seconds, frames. So, to change to a time of 12:15:20:15 you
- would type <kbd class="input">1 2 1 5 2 0 1 5</kbd>. Each number you type will
- appear in a different color, from right to left, overwriting the existing value.
- Mid-edit, after typing <kbd class="input">3 2 2 2</kbd> the clock might look like this:
+ There are several ways to <dfn>create groups</dfn> for tracks and bussess:
</p>
-<img src="/images/clockedit.png" alt="An image of a clock being edited in Ardour 3" />
+
+<ul>
+ <li>Context-click on the group tab and use one of the <kbd
+ class="menu">Create...</kbd> options there. You can create a group with
+ no members, or one that starts with the currently selected tracks, or
+ record-enabled tracks, or soloed tracks.</li>
+ <li>Alternatively, click the ‘g’ button on a track header to open the
+ Group menu. The menu lists the available groups. Selecting one of these
+ groups will add the track or bus to that group. The menu also lets you
+ create a new group.</li>
+ <li>Finally, the Groups tab of the
+ <a href="/ardours-interface/introducing-the-editor-window/editor-lists">Editor Lists</a>
+ or the Mixer Window has a <kbd class="menu">plus (+)</kbd> button at the
+ bottom of the list. Click on the plus sign to create a new group.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<h2>Remove Groups</h2>
+
<p>
- To finish the edit, press <kbd>↵</kbd> or <kbd>Tab</kbd>. To exit an
- edit without changing the clock press <kbd>ESC</kbd>. If you mis-type an entry
- so that the new value would be illegal (for example, resulting in more than 30
- frames when Timecode is set to 30 frames per second), the clock will reset at
- the end of the edit, and move the cursor back to the start so that you can
- start over.
+ Context-click on a <dfn>group tab</dfn> and select <kbd class="menu">Remove
+ Group</kbd> from the menu. Removing a group does <em>not</em> remove
+ the members of a group.
</p>
-<h3>Avoiding the mouse entirely</h3>
<p>
- There is a shortcut available for those who wish to be able to edit the transport
- clocks entirely without the mouse. It can be found in
- <kbd class="menu">Window > Key Bindings > Transport > Focus On
- Clock</kbd>. If bound to a key (<kbd>÷</kbd> on the numerical
- keypad is the
- default), then pressing that key is equivalent to clicking on the primary (left)
- transport clock, and editing can begin immediately.
+ You can also remove groups by selecting them in the Groups tab of the
+ <a href="/ardours-interface/introducing-the-editor-window/editor-lists">Editor Lists</a>
+ or Mixer Window and then pressing the <kbd class="menu">minus (-)</kbd>
+ button at the bottom of the list.
</p>
-<h3>Entering Partial Times</h3>
+<h2>Add/Remove Tracks and Busses From a Group</h2>
+
<p>
- One detail of the editing design that is not immediately obvious is that it is
- possible to enter part of a full time value. Suppose that the clock is in BBT
- mode, displaying <samp>024|03|0029</samp>, and you want to alter the value to
- the first beat of the current bar. Click on the clock and type
- <kbd class="input">0 1 0 0 0 0</kbd>. Similarly, if it is in Minutes:Seconds
- mode, displaying <samp>02:03:04.456</samp>, and you want to get to exactly 2
- hours, click on the clock and type <kbd class="input">0 0 0 0 0 0 0</kbd> to
- reset the minutes, seconds and milliseconds fields.
+ Click the <kbd class="menu">g</kbd> button to display a menu with a list
+ of the available groups. Select one of these groups to add the track or bus
+ to that group. Select <kbd class="menu">No Group</kbd> to remove it.
</p>
-<h3>Entering Delta Times</h3>
<p>
- You can also type values into the clock that are intended as a relative change,
- rather than a new absolute value. Simply end the edit by pressing
- <kbd>+</kbd> or <kbd>-</kbd> (the ones on any keypad will also work). The plus
- key will add the entered value to the current value of the clock, minus will
- subtract it. For example, if the clock is in Samples mode and displays
- <samp>2917839</samp>, you move it back 2000 samples by typing
- <kbd class="input">2 0 0 0</kbd> and <kbd>-</kbd>, rather than ending with
- Enter or Tab. </p>
-
-<h2>Changing clock values with the mouse</h2>
+ Alternatively, you can also drag a group tab to add or remove tracks from
+ the group.
+</p>
-<h3>Using a scroll wheel</h3>
+<h2>Activate/Deactivate Groups via the Group Tab</h2>
<p>
- Position the mouse pointer over the clock, and move the scroll wheel. Moving
- the scroll wheel up (<kbd class="mouse">⇑</kbd>) increases the value
- shown on the clock, moving it down (<kbd class="mouse">⇑</kbd>)
- decreases it. The step size is equal to the unit of the field
- you are hovering over (seconds, hours, etc.).
-</p>
+ Clicking on a group tab toggles the group between being active and inactive.
+ An inactive group has no effect when editing its members. An active group
+ will share its configured properties across its members. Tabs for disabled
+ groups are coloured grey.</p>
-<h3>Dragging the mouse</h3>
+<h2>Modify Group Properties</h2>
<p>
- Position the mouse pointer over the clock, press the left mouse button and drag.
- Dragging upwards increases the value shown on the clock, dragging downwards
- decreases it, again with a step size equal to the unit of the field you
- began the drag on.
+ To edit the properties of a group, context-click on its tab and choose
+ <kbd class="menu">Edit Group…</kbd>. This opens the track/bus group dialog,
+ which is also used when creating new groups:
</p>
----
-title: Controlling Playback
-part: subchapter
----
+<img class="right" src="/images/route-group-dialogue.png" alt="the track/bus group dialog" />
-<p class="fixme">There is no discussion of starting playback anywhere in here. Starting/stopping needs to be explained</p>
+<h3>Group Color</h3>
<p>
- Ardour offers many ways to <dfn>control playback</dfn> of your session, including the transport bar, key bindings and remote controls. You can also use markers to define locations or ranges within the session and rapidly move around between them.
+ Click on the color selector button to change a group's colour. This affects
+ the colour of the group's tab in the editor and mixer windows. The color does
+ <em>not</em> affect the color of the group members unless you also enable the
+ shared <kbd class="menu">Color</kbd> property.
</p>
-<img src="/images/transport-bar.png" alt="Ardour's transport bar" />
+<h3>Shared Properties</h3>
-<p class="note">
- If you synchronize Ardour with other devices then some or all of these control methods may be unavailable—depending on the synchronization protocol, Ardour may respond only to commands sent from its master device(s).
+<p>
+ <kbd class="option">Gain</kbd> means that the track faders will be synced to
+ always have the same value; <kbd class="option">Relative</kbd> means that the
+ gain changes are applied relative to each member's current value. If, for
+ example, there are two tracks in a group with relative gain sharing, and their
+ faders are set to -3 dB and -1 dB, a change of the first track to a
+ gain of -6 dB will result in the second track having a gain of
+ -4 dB (the <em>difference</em> of the gains remains the same).
</p>
<p>
- The <dfn>Transport Bar</dfn> at the top of the window is made of:
+ <a href="/working-with-tracks/bus-controls/#mute"><kbd class="option">Muting</kbd></a>,
+ <a href="/working-with-tracks/bus-controls/#solo"><kbd class="option">Soloing</kbd></a>,
+ <a href="/working-with-tracks/audio-track-controls/#record"><kbd class="option">record enable</kbd></a>,
+ <a href="/ardours-interface/introducing-the-editor-window/editor-lists/tracks--busses-list/#active"><kbd class="option">active state</kbd></a>,
+ <a href="/working-with-tracks/controlling-track-appearance/track-coloring/"><kbd class="option">colour</kbd></a> and
+ <a href="/recording/monitoring/"><kbd class="option">monitoring</kbd></a>
+ are all straightforward. They simply mean that all member tracks or busses will
+ share the same settings in these respects.
</p>
-<ul>
- <li><a href="/controlling-playback/using-the-transport-bar/">the Transport Controls</a></li>
- <li><a href="/ardours-interface/using-ardour-clock-displays/">the Clocks</a></li>
- <li>3 status indicators:
- <ul>
- <li><dfn>Solo</dfn>: Blinks when one or more tracks are being soloed, see <a href="/mixing/muting-and-soloing/">Muting and Soloing</a>. Clicking this button disables any active explicit and implicit solo on all tracks and busses.</li>
- <li><dfn>Audition</dfn>: Blinks when using the import dialog to audition material.</li>
- <li><dfn>Feedback</dfn>: Blinks when Ardour detects a <dfn>feedback loop</dfn>, which happens when the output of an audio signal chain is plugged back to its input. This is probably not wanted and can be dangerous for the hardware and the listener.</li>
- </ul></li>
- <li>A global Meter, showing the level of the Master Output, see <a href="/ardours-interface/meters/">Metering in Ardour</a></li>
- <li>the Mode Selector, allowing to switch between Editor and Mixer views, or edit the Preferences.</li>
-</ul>
+<p>
+ <kbd class="option">Selection</kbd> means that if a region is selected or
+ deselected on one member track, <a
+ href="/working-with-regions/corresponding-region-selection/">corresponding
+ regions</a> on other member tracks
+ will be similarly selected. Since region editing operations are applied to all
+ currently selected regions, this is the way to make edits apply across all tracks in the group.
+</p>
+
+<p class="fixme">Broken link</p>
+
+<h3>Group Tab Context Menu</h3>
+
+<p>Context-clicking on the group tab offers a further menu of group-related actions. </p>
+
+<dl class="wide-table">
+ <dt>Create a New Group</dt>
+ <dd>create a new group</dd>
+ <dt>Create New Group from...</dt>
+ <dd> create a new group and automatically add ...
+ <dl class="narrower-table">
+ <dt>Selected</dt>
+ <dd>all currently selected tracks and busses</dd>
+ <dt>Rec-enabled</dt>
+ <dd>all currently record-enabled tracks</dd>
+ <dt>Soloed</dt>
+ <dd>all currently soloed tracks and busses</dd>
+ </dl>
+ </dd>
+ <dt>Collect Group</dt>
+ <dd>moves all the member tracks so that they are together in the editor window</dd>
+ <dt>Remove Group</dt>
+ <dd>removes the group (and only the group, not its members).</dd>
+ <dt>Add New Subgroup Bus</dt>
+ <dd> creates a bus (giving it the name of the group) and connects the output of each member to the new bus.
+ </dd>
+ <dt>Add New Aux Bus</dt>
+ <dd>adds a bus and gives each member a send to that bus. There are two options for this, specifying whether the sends should be placed pre- or post-fader.</dd>
+ <dt>Fit to Window</dt>
+ <dd> will zoom the member tracks so that they fill the editor window.</dd>
+ <dt>Enable All Groups</dt>
+ <dd>makes all group active, including any hidden groups.</dd>
+ <dt>Disable All Groups</dt>
+ <dd>makes all groups inactive, including any hidden groups.</dd>
+</dl>
+
+
+---
+title: Importing and Exporting Session Data
+part: chapter
+---
+
+
+---
+title: File and Session Management and Compatibility
+part: chapter
+---
+
+
+---
+title: Playback & Recording
+part: part
+---
+
+
+---
+title: Playing Back Track Material
+part: chapter
+---
+
+
+
---
title: Looping the Transport
---
<p>
- When the <dfn>loop transport</dfn> button is pressed, the playhead will
- jump the start of the loop range, and continue to the end of that range
+ When the <dfn>loop transport</dfn> button is pressed, the playhead will
+ jump the start of the loop range, and continue to the end of that range
before returning to the start and repeating.
- While looping, a light green area is displayed in the time ruler over
+ While looping, a light green area is displayed in the time ruler over
the tracks to show the loop range.
</p>
</p>
<p>
- For more information on defining and altering the loop range see
+ For more information on defining and altering the loop range see
<a href="/working-with-markers/the-loop-range">Loop Range Markers</a>.
</p>
-
+
<p class="fixme">Broken link</p>
---
---
<p>
- The <dfn>playhead</dfn> is a vertical line with two arrows at each end
+ The <dfn>playhead</dfn> is a vertical line with two arrows at each end
that indicates the current position of playback.
</p>
<h2>Positioning the playhead at the current pointer position</h2>
<p>
- Pressing <kbd>P</kbd> will set the playhead to the current position of
+ Pressing <kbd>P</kbd> will set the playhead to the current position of
the mouse pointer, if it is within the editor track area.
</p>
<h2>Positioning the playhead with the transport clocks</h2>
<p>
- Click on either the primary or secondary transport clock and
- <a href="/ardours-interface/using-ardour-clock-displays">edit their value</a>
+ Click on either the primary or secondary transport clock and
+ <a href="/ardours-interface/using-ardour-clock-displays">edit their value</a>
to move the playhead to a specific position.
</p>
<h2>Positioning the playhead at a marker</h2>
<p>
- Click <kbd class="mouse">Right</kbd> on the marker and select either
+ Click <kbd class="mouse">Right</kbd> on the marker and select either
<kbd class="menu">Locate to here</kbd> or <kbd class="menu">Play from
- here</kbd>.
+ here</kbd>.
</p>
<p>
markers <dfn>start</dfn> and <dfn>end</dfn>, respectively.
</p>
----
-title: Using Key Bindings
-part: subchapter
----
-
-<p>
- Ardour has many available commands for playback control that can be bound
- to keys. Many of them have default bindings, some do not, so the list below
- shows both the default bindings and internal command names.
-</p>
-
-<dl class="wide-table">
- <dt><kbd>Space</kbd></dt>
- <dd>switch between playback and stop.</dd>
- <dt><kbd>Home</kbd></dt>
- <dd>Move playhead to session start marker</dd>
- <dt><kbd>End</kbd></dt>
- <dd>Move playhead to session end marker</dd>
- <dt><kbd>→</kbd></dt>
- <dd></dd>
- <dt><kbd>←</kbd></dt>
- <dd></dd>
- <dt><kbd>0</kbd></dt>
- <dd>Move playhead to start of the timeline</dd>
-</dl>
-
-<p>Commands without default bindings include:</p>
-
-<p class="fixme">Add content</p>
-
----
-title: Using the Nudge Controls
-part: subchapter
----
-
-<p class="fixme">Add image of Nudge Controls</a>
-
-<p>
- If there are no selected objects, the <dfn>nudge controls</dfn> can be
- used to move the playhead backward or forward by a fixed amount. The left
- and right buttons move either backward or forward in time, and the small
- clock to the left of these buttons sets the amount of time to nudge by.
- As with all other clocks, you can right-click on the clock to choose the
- time representation you want to use.
-</p>
-
-<p>
- Note that this is a secondary purpose of the nudge controls—it is
- usually used to move selected <dfn>objects</dfn> by specific distances, rather than
- the playhead.
-</p>
-
----
-title: Using the Transport Bar
-part: subchapter
----
-
-<p>
- The <dfn>Transport Bar</dfn> groups all the actions regarding the control of playback and recording.
-</p>
-
-<img src="/images/transport.png" alt="The transport controls" />
-
-<p>
- This bar is made of (from left to right):
-</p>
-
-<ul>
- <li>
- <dfn>Midi Panic</dfn>: allows to immediately stop all midi output.
- </li>
- <li>
- <dfn>Enable/disable Audio Click</dfn>: Toggles (on/off) a click track (metronome) along the <a href="/tempo-meter/tempo-and-meter/">tempo</a>.
- </li>
- <li>
- <dfn>Go to Start of the Session</dfn>: Jumps back at the beginning of the session, as defined by the <a href="/working-with-markers/">start marker</a>.
- </li>
- <li>
- <dfn>Go to End of the Session</dfn>: Jumps forward to the end of the session, as defined by the <a href="/working-with-markers/">end marker</a>.
- </li>
- <li>
- <dfn>Play Loop Range</dfn>: Repeats the defined <a href="/controlling-playback/looping-the-transport/">loop</a> as defined by the <a href="/working-with-markers/loop-range/">Loop range</a>, until the "Stop playback" button is pressed. Clicking the "Play loop Range" button while already active switches to normal Play mode, which allows to exit the loop without stopping and restarting the playback.
- </li>
- <li>
- <dfn>Play Range/Selection</dfn>: If a range has been defined using the Range Mode button, plays the range, of if an audio or MIDI region is selected, plays this region. In both cases, the playback stops at the end of the range or selected region.
- </li>
- <li>
- <dfn>Play from playhead</dfn>: Starts the playback and optionally record (more bellow).
- </li>
- <li>
- <dfn>Stop</dfn>: Whatever the playing mode (loop, range, …) stops all playback. Depending on other settings, some effects (like chorus or reverb) might still be audible for a while.
- </li>
- <li>
- <dfn>Toggle Record</dfn>: Global switch button to activate/deactivate recording. While active, the button blinks red. The button doesn't start the recording itself: if one or more tracks are marked as record-enabled, pressing the "Play from Playhead" starts the recording on this/these track(s). See <a href="/recording/">Recording</a>.
- </li>
-</ul>
-
-<p class="fixme">Language in the above paragraphs is awkward</p>
-
-<p class="note">
- All these actions are bound to keyboard shortcuts, which allows for speedier use and more focused work.
-</p>
-
-<p>
- Under these buttons is the <dfn>Shuttle Speed Control</dfn> that allows to scrub through the audio quickly.
-</p>
-
+---
+title: Using Key Bindings
+part: subchapter
+---
+
<p>
- The Shuttle Speed Control supports 2 operating modes, that can be chosen with right click > Mode:
+ Ardour has many available commands for playback control that can be bound
+ to keys. Many of them have default bindings, some do not, so the list below
+ shows both the default bindings and internal command names.
</p>
-<ul>
- <li><dfn>Sprung mode</dfn> that allows for a temporary scrub: it only scubs while the mouse is left clicked on the control.</li>
- <li><dfn>Wheel mode</dfn> that allows to set a playback speed until the "Stop" button is pressed, which stops the playback and resets its speed.
-</ul>
+<dl class="wide-table">
+ <dt><kbd>Space</kbd></dt>
+ <dd>switch between playback and stop.</dd>
+ <dt><kbd>Home</kbd></dt>
+ <dd>Move playhead to session start marker</dd>
+ <dt><kbd>End</kbd></dt>
+ <dd>Move playhead to session end marker</dd>
+ <dt><kbd>→</kbd></dt>
+ <dd></dd>
+ <dt><kbd>←</kbd></dt>
+ <dd></dd>
+ <dt><kbd>0</kbd></dt>
+ <dd>Move playhead to start of the timeline</dd>
+</dl>
-<p>
- The mode is displayed on the right of the control. The current playback speed is shown by a green slider, that is square and centered when the playback speed is normal (1X) and becomes a circle when its changed. The further from the center the slider is set, the faster the playback will scrub in both directions, as displayed on the left of the control.
-<p>
+<p>Commands without default bindings include:</p>
+
+<p class="fixme">Add content</p>
-<p>
- The 3 vertical buttons on the right of the transport bar control the behaviour of the playhead:
-</p>
-<ul>
- <li>
- The positional sync button (which might show <dfn>Internal</dfn>, or <dfn>MTC</dfn> or several other values) can be used to control whether or not the transport position and start is controlled by Ardour, or by an external positional synchronization source, such as MIDI Time Code (MTC), Linear Time Code (LTC) or JACK. (see <a href="/synchronization/timecode-generators-and-slaves/">Timecode Generators and Slaves</a>).
- </li>
- <li>
- <dfn>Follow Edits</dfn> is a toggle that can be used to control whether or not making a selection (range or object) will move the playhead to the start of the selection.
- </li>
- <li>
- <dfn>Auto Return</dfn> is a toggle switch too. When active, pressing the Stop button returns the playhead to its previous position, and when inactive, pressing Stop keeps the playhead at its current location. Activating Auto Return can be useful for earing back the same part of the audio before and after having tweaked it, without having to loop on it.
- </li>
-</ul>
-
---
title: Record Setup
part: chapter
---
<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>
<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>
<dt>Non-Layered</dt>
<dd>Tracks using <dfn>non-layered mode</dfn> will record non-destructively—new data is written to new files, but when overdubbing,
- the existing
+ the existing
regions are trimmed so that there are no overlaps. This does not affect
the previously recorded audio data, and trimmed regions can be expanded
- again at will. Non-layered mode can be very useful for spoken word material,
+ again at will. Non-layered mode can be very useful for spoken word material,
especially in combination with <a href="/editing-and-arranging/change-region-lengths/pushpull-trimming">push/pull trimming</a>.
<p class="fixme">Broken link</p>
</dd>
<dt>Tape</dt>
- <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
+ <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
use.</dd>
</dl>
/>
<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.
</p>
<p>
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. 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.
+ and inserted the overdub region in between.
</p>
<h2 id="channelconfiguration">Channel Configuration</h2>
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
+ configure this sort of thing for the most common cases, and so the
<a href="/working-with-tracks/adding-tracks">Add Tracks</a> dialog allows you
to select "Mono", "Stereo" and few other typical multichannel presets.
The name of the preset describes the number of <dfn>input channels</dfn>
</p>
<p>
- 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>
> Connection of Tracks and Busses</kbd> to <kbd
class="menu">manual</kbd> will leave tracks 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
+ 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 allow Ardour to make
connections automatically, even if some of them have to be changed manually
at some point.
</p>
-
+
---
title: Audio Recording
part: chapter
---
<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>
part: subchapter
---
-<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="/setting-up-your-system/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="/setting-up-your-system/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 system latency.
</p>
<p>
- 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>
<p><img class="right" src="/images/ardour-monitoring.png" /></p>
<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.
+ 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>
---
<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
+ 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,
rolling.
</p>
-<h2>Software or Hardware Monitoring Modes</h2>
+<h2>Software or Hardware Monitoring Modes</h2>
<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
<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>
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>
<p>
<dfn>Location Markers</dfn> appear in the <dfn>Locations ruler</dfn> at the top
- of the timeline. The <dfn>start</dfn> and <dfn>end</dfn> markers appear
- automatically, but you can create custom markers at any position in a
+ of the timeline. The <dfn>start</dfn> and <dfn>end</dfn> markers appear
+ automatically, but you can create custom markers at any position in a
session.
</p>
<p>
To add a marker at the <strong>current playhead position</strong>, press
<kbd>Num-↵</kbd> (the Enter key on the numeric keypad).
- Alternatively, use <kbd class="menu">Transport > Markers > Add
+ Alternatively, use <kbd class="menu">Transport > Markers > Add
Mark from Playhead</kbd>.
</p>
</p>
<p>
- For details see
+ For details see
<a href="/working-with-markers/rangesmarks-list/">Ranges & Marks
List</a>
and <a href="/ardours-interface/using-ardour-clock-displays/"> Using
---
<p class="fixme">Add images</a>
-
+
<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>
-
+
---
title: Ranges & Marks List
part: subchapter
<p>
The <dfn>Ranges & Marks List</dfn> is a tab in the <dfn>Editor
- Lists</dfn> area on the right of the Editor window. If the editor
- list area isn't visible it can be enabled by checking
- <kbd class="option">View > Show Editor List</kbd>.
- The Ranges & Marks list can be used as a single point
- of control for all range and location markers (including the punch and
+ Lists</dfn> area on the right of the Editor window. If the editor
+ list area isn't visible it can be enabled by checking
+ <kbd class="option">View > Show Editor List</kbd>.
+ The Ranges & Marks list can be used as a single point
+ of control for all range and location markers (including the punch and
loop ranges), or as a supplement to other methods of working with them.
</p>
<p>
Each section has a set of <dfn>editable <a
- href="/ardours-interface/using-ardour-clock-displays/">clock widgets</a></dfn>
+ href="/ardours-interface/using-ardour-clock-displays/">clock widgets</a></dfn>
which display
the location of a marker, or the start, end, and duration times of a range,
respectively.<br />
- The <kbd class="menu">Use PH</kbd> buttons allow you to set
+ The <kbd class="menu">Use PH</kbd> buttons allow you to set
the corresponding clock to the current playhead position.
- A <kbd class="mouse">Middle</kbd> click on any of the clocks will move
+ A <kbd class="mouse">Middle</kbd> click on any of the clocks will move
the playhead to that location. Both functions are also available from the
clock context menus.<br />
- Right clicking on any of the clocks brings up a context menu that allows
+ Right clicking on any of the clocks brings up a context menu that allows
changing of the display between Timecode, Bars:Beats, Minutes:Seconds,
and Samples.<br />
</p>
<p>
The <kbd class="menu">—</kbd> (subtract) button in front of each
user-defined range or marker in the list allows that particular item to
- be removed. The name fields of custom ranges and markers can be edited.
-</p>
+ be removed. The name fields of custom ranges and markers can be edited.
+</p>
<p>
- The <kbd class="option">Hide</kbd> checkboxes make markers and ranges invisible
+ The <kbd class="option">Hide</kbd> checkboxes make markers and ranges invisible
on the respective ruler to reduce visual clutter; the markers remain
active however, and can be used normally.<br />
- Selecting <kbd class="option">Lock</kbd> prevents the respective marker
+ Selecting <kbd class="option">Lock</kbd> prevents the respective marker
from being moved until unlocked.
Where applicable, <kbd class="option">Glue</kbd> fixes the marker position
- relative to the current musical position expressed in bars and beats, rather
+ relative to the current musical position expressed in bars and beats, rather
than the absolute time. This will make the respective marker follow
changes in the tempo map.
</p>
<dl>
<dt>Loop/Punch Ranges</dt>
- <dd>This list shows the current <dfn>loop</dfn> and <dfn>punch</dfn> range
+ <dd>This list shows the current <dfn>loop</dfn> and <dfn>punch</dfn> range
settings. Since these are built-in ranges, you cannot rename or remove them.</dd>
<dt>Markers (Including CD Index)</dt>
<dd>This section lists the session's <dfn>markers</dfn>. By ticking <kbd
<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>
<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>
<p class="fixme">Broken links</a>
-
+
---
title: Marker Context Menu
part: subchapter
---
<p>
- <kbd class="mouse">Right</kbd>-clicking a marker in the timeline opens the
+ <kbd class="mouse">Right</kbd>-clicking a marker in the timeline opens the
marker context menu. From this menu, you can:
</p>
<dl>
<dt>Move Mark to Playhead</dt>
<dd>Move this marker to the current playhead position.</dd>
<dt>Create Range to Next Marker</dt>
- <dd>Create a range marker between this location and the next one along on
+ <dd>Create a range marker between this location and the next one along on
the timeline.</dd>
<dt>Hide</dt>
<dd>Hide this marker from the view. It can be made visible again from the
<dt>Rename</dt>
<dd>Change the name of the marker.</dd>
<dt>Lock</dt>
- <dd>If this is ticked, it will be impossible to drag the marker's
+ <dd>If this is ticked, it will be impossible to drag the marker's
position; useful if you want to prevent accidental movements.</dd>
<dt>Glue to Bars and Beats</dt>
- <dd>If this is ticked, the marker will maintain its position in bars and
+ <dd>If this is ticked, the marker will maintain its position in bars and
beats even if there are changes in tempo and meter.</dd>
<dt>Remove</dt>
<dd>Removes the marker. </dd>
<p>
There are also a few options in <kbd class="menu">Transport > Active
- Mark</kbd>. These options apply to the currently selected location marker,
- and move it to a nearby region boundary, region sync point, or to the
+ Mark</kbd>. These options apply to the currently selected location marker,
+ and move it to a nearby region boundary, region sync point, or to the
playhead or mouse.
</p>
-
+
---
title: Punch Range
part: subchapter
<p class="fixme">Missing content</a>
<p>
- The <dfn>punch range</dfn> is a special range used to define where
+ The <dfn>punch range</dfn> is a special range used to define where
recording will start and/or stop during a <dfn>punch</dfn>.
</p>
<p>
- It can be defined on the <a href="/missing">timeline</a> or in the
- <a href="/working-with-markers/rangesmarks-list/">Ranges & Marks</a>
+ It can be defined on the <a href="/missing">timeline</a> or in the
+ <a href="/working-with-markers/rangesmarks-list/">Ranges & Marks</a>
list.
</p>
<p class="fixme">Broken links</a>
-
-
+
+
---
title: Editing
part: part
---
-
+
---
title: Editing Basics
part: chapter
<h2>Working With Regions</h2>
<p>
- <dfn>Regions</dfn> are the basic elements of editing and composing in
- Ardour. In most cases, a region represents a single contiguous section
+ <dfn>Regions</dfn> are the basic elements of editing and composing in
+ Ardour. In most cases, a region represents a single contiguous section
of one or more media files. Regions are defined by a fixed set of attributes:
</p>
<ul>
- <li>the audio or
+ <li>the audio or
<abbr title="Musical Instrument Digital Interface">MIDI</abbr>
<dfn>source file(s)</dfn> they represent,</li>
<li>an <dfn>offset</dfn> (the "start point") in the audio or MIDI file(s), and</li>
<li>a <dfn>layer</dfn>.</li>
</ul>
<p>
- There are other attributes as well, but they do not <em>define</em> the
+ There are other attributes as well, but they do not <em>define</em> the
region. Things you should know about regions:
</p>
<h3>Regions Are Cheap</h3>
<p>
By themselves, regions consume very little of your computer's resources.
- Each region requires a small amount of memory, and represents a rather
- small amount of CPU work if placed into an active track. So, don't worry
+ Each region requires a small amount of memory, and represents a rather
+ small amount of CPU work if placed into an active track. So, don't worry
about creating regions whenever you need to.
</p>
<h3>Regions Are Not Files</h3>
<p>
- Although a region can represent an entire audio file, they are never
- equivalent to an audio file. Most regions represent just parts of an audio
- file(s) on disk, and removing a region from a track has nothing to do with
+ Although a region can represent an entire audio file, they are never
+ equivalent to an audio file. Most regions represent just parts of an audio
+ file(s) on disk, and removing a region from a track has nothing to do with
removing the audio file(s) from the disk (the <kbd
class="menu">Destroy</kbd> operation, one of Ardour's few destructive
- operations, can affect this). Changing the length of a region has no effect
- on the audio file(s) on disk. Splitting and copying regions does not alter
+ operations, can affect this). Changing the length of a region has no effect
+ on the audio file(s) on disk. Splitting and copying regions does not alter
the audio file in anyway, nor does it create new audio files (only
- <dfn>recording</dfn>,
- and the <kbd class="menu">Export</kbd>, <kbd class="menu">Bounce</kbd> and
+ <dfn>recording</dfn>,
+ and the <kbd class="menu">Export</kbd>, <kbd class="menu">Bounce</kbd> and
<kbd class="menu">Reverse</kbd> operations create new audio files).</p>
---
<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>
<a href="/working-with-tracks/track-and-bus-groups/">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 in the group, which in turn
means that a subsequent edit operation will affect all the grouped drum
- tracks together.
+ 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>
-
+
---
title: Region Context Menu
part: subchapter
<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="manual/region_layering">Adjusting Region Layering</a> for more details.
</p>
<p>
- Below these items is the rest of the
- <a href="/working-with-tracks/track-context-menu">Track Context Menu</a>, which
+ Below these items is the rest of the
+ <a href="/working-with-tracks/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>
This section covers a set of <dfn>region editing operations</dfn>
- that you are likely to use often while working on a session.
- Depending on your work habits (and experience of other
- <abbr title="Digital Audio Workstation">DAW</abbr>s) you will find
- some of these operations critical while others are used only rarely.
+ that you are likely to use often while working on a session.
+ Depending on your work habits (and experience of other
+ <abbr title="Digital Audio Workstation">DAW</abbr>s) you will find
+ some of these operations critical while others are used only rarely.
</p>
<p>
- You can carry out all of these operations from the keyboard (see
- <a href="/default-keyboard-bindings">Default Keyboard Shortcuts</a>
- for a list). Equivalent operations can be performed with the mouse
- in most cases.
+ You can carry out all of these operations from the keyboard (see
+ <a href="/default-keyboard-bindings">Default Keyboard Shortcuts</a>
+ for a list). Equivalent operations can be performed with the mouse
+ in most cases.
</p>
<p>
- You may want to review your understanding of
- <a href="/editing-and-arranging/edit-point">the edit point/range</a> and
+ You may want to review your understanding of
+ <a href="/editing-and-arranging/edit-point">the edit point/range</a> and
<a href="/editing-and-arranging/which-regions-are-affected">which regions will be affected by region operations</a>.
</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="/editing-and-arranging/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="/editing-and-arranging/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>
-
----
-title: Move Regions
-part: subchapter
----
-
-<p class="fixme">Add images</p>
-
-<p>
- Ardour has a global <dfn>edit mode</dfn> selector at the left of the
- Editing toolbar, which affect how regions are moved or copied:
-</p>
-
-<dl>
- <dt><kbd class="menu">Slide</kbd></dt>
- <dd>Regions move freely. Ardour creates overlaps when necessary.</dd>
- <dt><kbd class="menu">Lock</kbd></dt>
- <dd>No region motion is permitted (except for "nudge").</dd>
- <dt><kbd class="menu">Ripple</kbd></dt>
- <dd>The effect of an edit is reflected in the regions to the "right" of the edit</dd>
-</dl>
-<h2>More details about Ripple</h2>
-
-<p>
- Ripple Edit mode provides the following conveniences:
- <ul>
- <li> Deleting a range will move later regions to compensate for the deleted time </li>
- <li> Deleting a region will move later regions to compensate for the deleted region's length </li>
- <li> Moving a region will move later regions to compensate for the length of the move</li>
- <li> Inserting a new region (via dragging or via Paste) will move later regions to the right to compensate</li>
- </ul>
-</p>
-<p class="note">
- 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="/editing-and-arranging/snap-to-the-grid">Snap To the Grid</a>
- for details.
-</p>
-
---
title: Move Regions With the Mouse
part: subchapter
---
<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>
-
+
---
title: Align (Spot) Regions
part: subchapter
---
<p>
- Aligning regions (sometimes called "spotting") means moving one or more
- regions based on a defined location, which in Ardour is always the
- <a href="/editing-and-arranging/edit-point">edit point</a>. An
- alignment operation moves the region(s) so that some part of the region
+ Aligning regions (sometimes called "spotting") means moving one or more
+ regions based on a defined location, which in Ardour is always the
+ <a href="/editing-and-arranging/edit-point">edit point</a>. An
+ alignment operation moves the region(s) so that some part of the region
is positioned at the edit point. Available alignment commands include:
</p>
---
----
-title: Edit Point
-part: subchapter
----
-
-<p>
- Editing operations in a Digital Audio Workstation like Ardour can be broken
- down according to how many points on the timeline are required to carry the
- operation out. Splitting a region for example, requires just one position
- on the timeline (the one where the split will happen). Cutting out a time
- range requires two positions, one for the start of the cut and one for the end.
-</p>
-
-<p>
- In Ardour the <dfn>edit point</dfn> is the location where most single-point
- editing operations take place. It can be set to either of the following:
-</p>
-
-<ul>
- <li>the <dfn>playhead</dfn></li>
- <li>the position of the <dfn>pointer</dfn> (mouse or touch)</li>
- <li>the selected (or "active") <dfn>marker</dfn></li>
-</ul>
-
-<p>
- The default edit point is the location of the pointer.
-</p>
-
-<p>
- There are 2 keybindings available to cycle through the edit point options.
- The most common workflow tends to involve switching back and forth between
- the playhead and mouse as the edit point. Press the grave accent key
- <kbd>`</kbd> to switch between these two. Use <kbd class="mod1">`</kbd> to
- cycle through all three choices (including the selected marker). You can
- also switch the edit point using a combo-selector just right of the snap/grid
- unit selector.
-</p>
-
-<p class="fixme">Add images</p>
-
---
title: Which Regions Are Affected?
menu_title: Affected Regions
part: subchapter
---
+<p class="fixme">This one is alone in its chapter. Find him a place somewhere else.</p>
+
<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
</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>
<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>
</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>
----
-title: Snap to the Grid
-menu_title: Snap to Grid
-part: subchapter
----
-
-<p class="fixme">Get rid of all the <br>s, they look like shit</p>
-
-<p>
- Ardour's editor utilizes a <dfn>grid</dfn> to assist in the placement
- of regions on the timeline, or with editing functions that need to happen
- at a specific point in time. You can choose if you want the cursor and
- various objects to snap to this grid, and how you want the snapping to
- behave. You can modify the grid units to fit your needs.
-</p>
-
-<h2>About Snapping</h2>
-
-<p>There are two ways to think about aligning material to a grid.
- The first and most obvious one is where an object\'s position is clamped
- to grid lines. In Ardour, this is called <dfn>absolute snap</dfn>
- and is commonly used when working with sampled material where audio
- begins exactly at the beginning of a file, note or region.</br>
- The second, <dfn>relative snap</dfn>, is used when an object's position
- relative to the grid lines is important. In music, this allows you to
- move objects around without changing the "feel" (or timing) of a performance.</br>
- Absolute snap is the default method of snapping in Ardour.</br>
- While dragging objects you may switch from absolute to relative snap by
- pressing the absolute snap modifier key(s).</br>
- You may also disable snap entirely by using the snap modifier (see below).</br>
- Note that in relative snap mode the reference point is taken to be the distance
- to the nearest grid line.</br>
- Note also that when an object lies exactly on a grid line, there will be no difference
- between relative and absolute snap modes.</br>
- The realtive snap and snap modifiers (along with other modifier keys) may be set in
- <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences > User Interaction</kbd></br>
- For common use patterns, it is recommended that you assign a unique key for
- one snap modifier and two keys for the other in such a way that they share an otherwise unused key.
- For example, you may choose the snap modifier to be the <kbd class="mod2"> </kbd> key and the
- relative snap modifier to be the <kbd class="mod2"> </kbd> and <kbd class="mod4"> </kbd> keys.
-</p>.
-
-<h2>Snap Modes</h2>
-<p>
- Using the above modifications, Ardour supports three different modes of snapping to the grid:
-</p>
-
-<dl class="wide-table">
- <dt><kbd class="menu">No Grid</kbd></dt>
- <dd>disables the grid. All objects move freely in this mode.</br>
- In <kbd class="menu">No Grid</kbd> mode, you may temporarily activate the grid by pressing the
- snap modifier (for absolute snap) or switch to relative snap by pressing the relative snap modifier.</dd>
- <dt><kbd class="menu">Grid</kbd></dt>
- <dd>activates normal snapping. All positions of objects snap to
- the grid. (See <a href="#gridunits">Grid Units</a> below
- to change the grid). If you try to move an object in "Grid"-mode, it
- does not change its position until you move the mouse far enough for the
- object to reach the next grid line.</br>
- Sometimes you may wish to maintain an objects' position relative to the grid line.
- In order to do this, use the "snap relative" modifier.
- When holding down this modifier during a drag, the dragged object will jump
- while maintaining its original distance from the line.</br>
- New objects will always be created at grid points.</br>
- Holding down the snap modifier will disable the current grid setting and allow you to move the object freely.</br>
- </dd>
- <dt><kbd class="menu">Magnetic</kbd></dt>
- <dd>is a less strict type of snapping. Objects can still be moved to any
- position, but positions close to the relative or absolute grid points will snap.
- In order to move an object very close to a snap point, it may be necessary
- to zoom in to prevent snapping to that point, or to use the snap modifier to disable snap completely.</br>
- As with Grid mode, the snap modifier will disable snap completely while the
- absolute snap modifier will move the "notch" of Magnetic snap to the grid lines.</dd>
-</dl>
-
-<h2>Syncing Regions to the Grid</h2>
-<p>
- By default, a region's beginning will be used as the reference for both types of snapping,
- but you can change this behaviour by setting a <dfn>sync point</dfn> in
- the region. Select the region(s) and press <kbd>V</kbd>. This will set
- the sync point to your edit point.</p>
-
-<h2 id="gridunits">Grid Units</h2>
-<p>
- The selector next to the grid mode selector defines the size of the grid
- elements. You can set your grid to several different units:
-</p>
-<dl class="wide-table">
- <dt><kbd class="menu">CD Frames</kbd></dt>
- <dd>A CD Frame is 1/75th of a second. Snapping to CD Frames (using absolute snap) can be used to avoid issues with CD track
- lengths.</dd>
- <dt><kbd class="menu">Timecode Frames/Seconds/Minutes</kbd></dt>
- <dd>The duration of a frame depends on the timecode settings for the
- session.</dd>
- <dt><kbd class="menu">Seconds/Minutes</kbd></dt>
- <dd>These are absolute time units, unaffected by sample rate or timecode settings</dd>
- <dt><kbd class="menu">Beats/N</kbd></dt>
- <dd>Set the grid to units of 1/N beats, where N can be 128, 64, 32, 16, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. The duration of a grid unit will depend on the tempo and meter in effect at that point in the timeline.</dd>
- <dt><kbd class="menu">Beats</kbd></dt>
- <dd>Set the grid to whole beats. The duration of a grid unit will depend on the tempo and meter in effect at that point in the timeline.</dd>
- <dt><kbd class="menu">Bars</kbd></dt>
- <dd>Set the grid to whole bars. The duration of a grid unit will depend on the tempo and meter in effect at that point in the timeline.</dd>
- <dt><kbd class="menu">Markers</kbd></dt>
- <dd>The grid lines are the markers.</dd>
- <dt><kbd class="menu">Region Starts</kbd></dt>
- <dd>The grid lines are constructed from region start points (see below).</dd>
- <dt><kbd class="menu">Region Ends</kbd></dt>
- <dd>The grid lines are constructed from region end points (see below).</dd>
- <dt><kbd class="menu">Region Syncs</kbd></dt>
- <dd>The grid lines are constructed from region sync points.</dd>
- <dt><kbd class="menu">Region Bounds</kbd></dt>
- <dd>The grid lines are constructed from region start or end points.</dd>
-</dl>
-
-<p>
- To use Region starts/ends/syncs/bounds as snap choices, you must have
-either
-</p>
-
-<ul>
- <li><em>No</em> tracks selected, which means that Ardour snaps to regions on any track, or </li>
- <li>Several tracks selected, which means that Ardour only snaps to regions on those selected tracks.</li>
-</ul>
-
-<p>
- If you are moving items on a track, and only the current track is selected,
- then you will only be able to snap to other regions on the same track.
- This means that enabling
- <kbd class="menu">Edit > Preferences > Editor > Link Selections of Regions and
- Tracks</kbd> will make the "Region" grid unit unusable. Avoid the use of this option if
- you are going to use any of the Region grid units.
-</p>
-
---
title: Making Selections
<p class="fixme">Remove all "you" references FFS</p>
<p>
- Many editing operations in Ardour require you to first <dfn>select one or more
- regions</dfn> that you want to change in some way. You can select a single region,
- or multiple regions, including regions in different tracks. When you select
+ Many editing operations in Ardour require you to first <dfn>select one or more
+ regions</dfn> that you want to change in some way. You can select a single region,
+ or multiple regions, including regions in different tracks. When you select
a region, it will appear in a darker color than unselected regions.
</p>
<p>
Note that if a track is a member of a group that is active and has the
- <kbd class="option">Select</kbd> property enabled, then Ardour will attempt to
- match whatever selections you make in one track across every other track of the
- group. See
+ <kbd class="option">Select</kbd> property enabled, then Ardour will attempt to
+ match whatever selections you make in one track across every other track of the
+ group. See
<a href="/working-with-regions/corresponding-regions-selection/">Corresponding
- Regions Selection</a> for more information on precisely how selections will be
+ Regions Selection</a> for more information on precisely how selections will be
propagated to other tracks.
</p>
<h2>Region Selection and Track Selection</h2>
<p>
- Please read
- <a href="/working-with-tracks/selecting-tracks/region-and-track-selection">Region & Track Selection</a>
+ Please read
+ <a href="/working-with-tracks/selecting-tracks/region-and-track-selection">Region & Track Selection</a>
for more information on how selecting regions and selecting tracks interact.
</p>
<h2>Select a Region</h2>
<p>
- Confirm that you are using the
- <a href="/ardours-interface/introducing-the-editor-window/the-editing-toolbar/#object">Object tool</a>,
- then click on a region to select it. If
- <a href="/ardours-interface/introducing-the-editor-window/the-editing-toolbar/#smartmode">smart mode</a>
+ Confirm that you are using the
+ <a href="/ardours-interface/introducing-the-editor-window/the-editing-toolbar/#object">Object tool</a>,
+ then click on a region to select it. If
+ <a href="/ardours-interface/introducing-the-editor-window/the-editing-toolbar/#smartmode">smart mode</a>
is enabled, click in the lower half of the region.
</p>
<h2>Deselect a Region</h2>
<p>
- Confirm you are using the
- <a href="/ardours-interface/introducing-the-editor-window/the-editing-toolbar/#object">Object tool</a>,
- then <kbd class="mouse mod1">Left</kbd>-click the region. If
- <a href="/ardours-interface/introducing-the-editor-window/the-editing-toolbar/#smartmode">smart mode</a>
- is enabled, click in the lower half of the region.
+ Confirm you are using the
+ <a href="/ardours-interface/introducing-the-editor-window/the-editing-toolbar/#object">Object tool</a>,
+ then <kbd class="mouse mod1">Left</kbd>-click the region. If
+ <a href="/ardours-interface/introducing-the-editor-window/the-editing-toolbar/#smartmode">smart mode</a>
+ is enabled, click in the lower half of the region.
</p>
<p>
- Note that a <kbd class="mouse mod1">left</kbd> click simply toggles the
+ Note that a <kbd class="mouse mod1">left</kbd> click simply toggles the
selected status of an object, so it can be used to select unselected regions
too.
</p>
<ul>
<li><kbd class="mouse mod1">Left</kbd>-click each region, or</li>
<li>
- drag a rubberband box from an empty point in a track before the first
- region you wish to select to a point within or after the last region
- you wish to select (you can <kbd class="mouse mod1">left</kbd>-drag to do this
+ drag a rubberband box from an empty point in a track before the first
+ region you wish to select to a point within or after the last region
+ you wish to select (you can <kbd class="mouse mod1">left</kbd>-drag to do this
multiple times), or,
</li>
<li>
- if the regions are all adjacent to one another, click the first region
- you wish to select, then <kbd class="mouse mod3">Left</kbd>-click the last
+ if the regions are all adjacent to one another, click the first region
+ you wish to select, then <kbd class="mouse mod3">Left</kbd>-click the last
region you wish to select.
</li>
</ul>
<h2>Select All Regions in a Track</h2>
<p>
- Context-click the track, and in the context menu, navigate to
+ Context-click the track, and in the context menu, navigate to
<kbd class="menu">Select > Select All In Track</menu>.
</p>
<p>
- See the <a href="/working-with-tracks/the-track-context-menu">Track Context Menu</a>
+ See the <a href="/working-with-tracks/the-track-context-menu">Track Context Menu</a>
for more information on other per-track selection operations that are available.
</p>
<h2>Select a Region From the Region List</h2>
<p>
- Click the name of the region in the
- <a href="/ardours-interface/introducing-the-editor-window/editor-lists/region-list/">Region List</a>.
- Note that this will do nothing for whole-file regions, since they do not exist
+ Click the name of the region in the
+ <a href="/ardours-interface/introducing-the-editor-window/editor-lists/region-list/">Region List</a>.
+ Note that this will do nothing for whole-file regions, since they do not exist
anywhere in a playlist or track.
</p>
<p class="fixme">Add images, description of mouse cursor changes that signal this type of editing</p>
<p>
- Changing the <dfn>length</dfn> of a region is a very common editing
- operation, often known as <dfn>trimming</dfn>. There are several ways
- to accomplish this with Ardour, and some very useful specialized trimming
+ Changing the <dfn>length</dfn> of a region is a very common editing
+ operation, often known as <dfn>trimming</dfn>. There are several ways
+ to accomplish this with Ardour, and some very useful specialized trimming
operations.
</p>
<h2>Drag-Trimming With the Mouse</h2>
<p>
- In object mode, move the pointer near the beginning or end of the region.
- The cursor will change to indicate that trimming is possible, and you then
- <kbd class="mouse">Left</kbd>-drag the edge of the region.
+ In object mode, move the pointer near the beginning or end of the region.
+ The cursor will change to indicate that trimming is possible, and you then
+ <kbd class="mouse">Left</kbd>-drag the edge of the region.
</p>
<p>
<h2>Click Trimming With the Mouse</h2>
<p>
- <kbd class="mouse">Left</kbd>-click in the colored bar at the bottom of a region.
- If you are nearer to the start of a region, this will trim the start time to the
- position of the pointer. If you are nearer to the end of a region, it will trim the
+ <kbd class="mouse">Left</kbd>-click in the colored bar at the bottom of a region.
+ If you are nearer to the start of a region, this will trim the start time to the
+ position of the pointer. If you are nearer to the end of a region, it will trim the
end time.
</p>
<h2>Keyboard Shortcuts for Trimming</h2>
<p>
- There are several commands for region trimming. Some use the
- <a href="/editing-and-arranging/edit-point">edit point</a> to determine where
- to trim to. Some are not bound to any keys by default (but could be via the
+ There are several commands for region trimming. Some use the
+ <a href="/editing-and-arranging/edit-point">edit point</a> to determine where
+ to trim to. Some are not bound to any keys by default (but could be via the
Keybindings Editor).
</p>
<h2 id="trimtonextprevious">Trim to Next/Previous Region</h2>
<p>
- Sometimes you just want to extend the start or end of region so that it reaches
- the end or start of an adjacent region. There is now an operation accessible
+ Sometimes you just want to extend the start or end of region so that it reaches
+ the end or start of an adjacent region. There is now an operation accessible
from the region context menu, under <kbd class="menu">Edit >Trim > Trim to
- Next</kbd> or <kbd class="menu">Edit > Trim > Trim to Previous</kbd>. This
- will extend the selected regions so they directly adjoin their neighbours, unless
- their source files are not long enough, in which case they will be extended to the
- maximum possible. Trim to Next will extend the end of the selected regions to the
- start of the next region; Trim to Previous will extend the start of the selected
+ Next</kbd> or <kbd class="menu">Edit > Trim > Trim to Previous</kbd>. This
+ will extend the selected regions so they directly adjoin their neighbours, unless
+ their source files are not long enough, in which case they will be extended to the
+ maximum possible. Trim to Next will extend the end of the selected regions to the
+ start of the next region; Trim to Previous will extend the start of the selected
regions to the end of the previous region.
</p>
<h2>Other Possible Commands for Trimming</h2>
<p>
- These are not bound to any keys by default, but could be via the Keybindings
+ These are not bound to any keys by default, but could be via the Keybindings
Editor. They can also be sent via OSC or other control protocols.
</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>
<p class="center"><img src="/images/a3_before_trim.png" alt="region arrangement before trim" /></p>
<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>
<p class="center"><img src="/images/a3_after_trim.png" alt="region arrangement after a trim" /></p>
<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 class="center"><img src="/images/a3_after_push_trim.png" alt="region arrangement after a push trim" /></p>
<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>
- 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.
</p>
<p>
- 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>
<p class="center"><img src="/images/a3_before_separate_under.png" alt="region arrangement before separate under" /></p>
<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>
<p class="center"><img src="/images/a3_after_separate_under.png" alt="region arrangement after separate under" /></p>
<p>
- If the upper region covers only one end of the lower region, then this
- operation is equivalent to
+ If the upper region covers only one end of the lower region, then this
+ operation is equivalent to
<a href="/editing-and-arranging/change-region-lengths/#trimtonextprevious">Trim to Next/Previous Region</a>, depending on which end is covered.
</p>
<p class="fixme">Add example with images; 1p ≥ 1,000w</p>
<p>
- A final new editing feature is an operation in the context menu of a
- range labeled <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 labeled <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>
-
+
---
title: Strip Silence from Audio Regions
menu_title: Stripping Silence
<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 automatically trim
the ends of a region. The dialog looks like this:
</p>
<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 class="fixme">Add images--an image is worth more than 1,000 words</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
+ 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.
</p>
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.
</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>
-
+
---
title: Playlist Operations
part: subchapter
<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>
<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>
<p>
- 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>
There is a <em>Normal</em> and a <em>Percussive</em> mode for note data editing.
</li>
<li>
- The <dfn>scroomer</dfn> is a combination scroll/zoom tool for altering
+ The <dfn>scroomer</dfn> is a combination scroll/zoom tool for altering
the zoom level and range of visible MIDI data.
</li>
</ul>
<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>
---
title: Create MIDI Tracks
---
<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.
</p>
-
+
<p class="fixme">Remove "you" language</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. It can
- <a href="/editing-and-arranging/changing-region-lengths">trimmed</a> 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. It can
+ <a href="/editing-and-arranging/changing-region-lengths">trimmed</a> to any
length desired.
</p>
<p>
Once a region has been created, <a href="/editing-and-arranging/edit-midi/add-new-notes">notes can be added</a> to it.
</p>
-
+
---
title: Add New Notes
part: subchapter
<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>
<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.
- This can be overridden 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.
+ This can be overridden 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.
This can be overridden with <kbd class="mod2">‌</kbd>.
- Presssing <kbd>v</kbd> will popup a dialog that will allow the setting of
- the absolute velocity value of each selected note. Finally, the scroll wheel
- <kbd class="mouse">⇑</kbd> <kbd class="mouse">⇓</kbd> will also
+ Presssing <kbd>v</kbd> will popup a dialog that will allow the setting of
+ 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.
<p class="note">Like the arrow keys, it only affects selected notes, not the note the pointer is over.</p>
</dd>
<dt>Changing channel</dt>
<dd>
- Press <kbd>c</kbd> to bring up a dialog that allows viewing and altering the
- MIDI channel of the selected notes. If the selected notes use different
+ Press <kbd>c</kbd> to bring up a dialog that allows viewing and altering 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 resetting of the quantize settings, and then
- quantize 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 resetting of the quantize settings, and then
+ quantize 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><em>missing</em></dd>
-</dl>
+</dl>
<p class="fixme">Add missing content</p>
---
<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>
</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>
-
+
---
-title: Note Cut, Copy and Paste
+title: Note Cut, Copy and Paste
part: subchapter
---
<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>
-
+
---
title: Note Selection
part: subchapter
<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>
-
+
---
title: Quantize MIDI
part: subchapter
<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>
---
<p>
- A <dfn>patch change</dfn> is Ardour's description for a combination
- of MIDI program change and bank select messages, that (typically)
- instruct a synthesizer or sampler to select a different sound to use
- on a particular channel.
+ A <dfn>patch change</dfn> is Ardour's description for a combination
+ of MIDI program change and bank select messages, that (typically)
+ instruct a synthesizer or sampler to select a different sound to use
+ on a particular channel.
</p>
<p>
- Patch changes are shown within MIDI regions as small rectangles or
+ Patch changes are shown within MIDI regions as small rectangles or
<dfn>flags</dfn>, as shown below:
</p>
<h2>Inserting Patch Changes</h2>
<p>
- Ensure that the
- <a href="/editing-and-arranging/edit-point">edit point</a> is
- located where the patch change should 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
- dialog will appear allowing the setting of the bank and program values.
+ Ensure that the
+ <a href="/editing-and-arranging/edit-point">edit point</a> is
+ located where the patch change should 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
+ dialog will appear allowing the setting of the bank and program values.
</p>
<h2>Modifying Patch Changes</h2>
<p>
- Context-clicking on a patch change will bring up the same dialog that
- was used to create it, allowing the modification of the program and/or bank
+ Context-clicking on a patch change will bring up the same dialog that
+ was used to create it, allowing the modification of the program and/or bank
numbers.
</p>
<p>
The mouse wheel can also be used: <kbd class="mouse">⇑</kbd>/<kbd
- class="mouse">⇓</kbd> on the patch change will alter the program
- number, <kbd class="mouse mod1">⇑</kbd>/<kbd
+ class="mouse">⇓</kbd> on the patch change will alter the program
+ number, <kbd class="mouse mod1">⇑</kbd>/<kbd
class="mouse mod1">⇓</kbd> will modify the bank number.
</p>
<h2>Moving Patch Changes</h2>
<p>
- Just <kbd class="mouse">Left</kbd>-drag on the patch change to move it
+ Just <kbd class="mouse">Left</kbd>-drag on the patch change to move it
around.
</p>
<h2>Removing Patch Changes</h2>
<p>
- Put the mouse pointer into the rectangular area, and press <kbd>Del</kbd>
- or use the delete mouse button operation. This will remove the patch change
+ Put the mouse pointer into the rectangular area, and press <kbd>Del</kbd>
+ or use the delete mouse button operation. This will remove the patch change
(the operation can be undone).
</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>
<p>
Each change from one scene to another is represented by a marker in
-the "Marker" bar.
+the "Marker" bar.
</p>
<p>
<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>
<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>
<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>
<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>
<br /><br />
<p>
- 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
+ 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
<a href="https://github.com/x42/meters.lv2/">LV2 plugins</a> (see image on the upper right).
</p>
---
<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
+ <dfn>Track inputs</dfn> are optionally auto-connected to hardware inputs, in round robin order, depending on the setting you chose in the
<a href="/working-with-sessions/new-session-dialog"><kbd
class="menu">Session > New Session</kbd> dialog</a>.
</li>
<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).
</p>
</p>
<p>
- It may be useful to
- <a href="/signal-routing/comparing-aux-sends-and-subgroups">compare and contrast</a>
+ It may be useful to
+ <a href="/signal-routing/comparing-aux-sends-and-subgroups">compare and contrast</a>
the use of aux sends with <a href="/signal-routing/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>
---
<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/a3_aux_routing.png" alt="aux signal routing" />
</p>
<img width="300px" src="/images/a3_subgroup_routes.png" alt="sub group signal routing" />
-
+
---
title: External Sends
part: subchapter
---
<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
- send has no effect whatsoever on the audio signals within Ardour—it is a one-way signal routing that leaves all existing signal processing
+ 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
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="/working-with-plugins/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="/signal-routing/the-patchbay"><dfn>patchbay</dfn></a> to allow
- you to connect the send to the desired destination.
+ Context-click on the
+ <a href="/working-with-plugins/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="/signal-routing/the-patchbay"><dfn>patchbay</dfn></a> to allow
+ you to connect the send to the desired destination.
</p>
<p class="fixme">Broken links</p>
<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>
-
+
---
title: Inserts
part: subchapter
</p>
<p>
- 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 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>
---
title: Subgrouping
---
<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="/working-with-tracks/track-and-bus-groups">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="/working-with-tracks/track-and-bus-groups">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>
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>
---
title: Patchbay
---
<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>
---
<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>
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>
<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
+<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
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>
-
+
---
title: Panning
part: subchapter
<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.
<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>
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>
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 width, 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:
<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>
<p>
- The arrangement of processors is arbitrary, and there is no limit to how
+ The arrangement of processors is arbitrary, and there is no limit to how
many there can be. The Processor Box will automagically add a scrollbar to
itself if there are more processors in it than can be shown in the given space.
</p>
<p>
The main box in the top half of a mixer strip shows the <dfn>processor
- box</dfn>. Processors are shown as colored rectangles, with a small "LED" beside
- them that lights up when the processor is enabled. The color of the
+ box</dfn>. Processors are shown as colored rectangles, with a small "LED" beside
+ them that lights up when the processor is enabled. The color of the
processor depends on its location in the sequence; processors that are <dfn>pre-fader</dfn> are colored in red, and <dfn>post-fader</dfn> processors are colored green (in the default theme).
</p>
<h2>To Reorder (Move) Processors</h2>
<p>
- Processors can be re-ordered using drag & drop. Dragging a processor
- allows it to be moved around within the chain, or copied to another
+ Processors can be re-ordered using drag & drop. Dragging a processor
+ allows it to be moved around within the chain, or copied to another
processor list on another track or bus.
</p>
<p><img class="right" src="/images/processor.png" alt="a typical processor" /></p>
<p>
- To the left of the name of each processor is a small LED symbol; if this
+ To the left of the name of each processor is a small LED symbol; if this
is lit-up, the processor is active. Clicking on it will deactivate the
processor and effectively bypass it.
</p>
<p class="fixme">Add images</p>
<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>
---
<p class="fixme">This section needs expansion, and at least one image</p>
<p>
- To view a plugin editor, double-click on the plugin within the
- <a href="/working-with-plugins/processor-box">processor box</a>.
+ To view a plugin editor, double-click on the plugin within the
+ <a href="/working-with-plugins/processor-box">processor box</a>.
A new window will appear showing the editor/GUI for the plugin.
-</p>
+</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 will be necessary to
access the <a href="/automation">plugin automation controls</a>.
<h3>Linux</h3>
<p>
- <dfn>Installation</dfn> will vary a little depending on how you get plugins. If your repository has a particular plugin package, just install it using 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.
+ <dfn>Installation</dfn> will vary a little depending on how you get plugins. If your repository has a particular plugin package, just install it using 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.
</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>
- 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.
+ 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.
</p>
<h3>OS X</h3>
<p>
Thanks to the combined work of Torben Hohn, Kjetil Mattheusen, Paul
- Davis and a few other developers, it is possible to use Windows
+ Davis and a few other developers, it is possible to use Windows
<dfn><abbr title="Virtual Studio Technology">VST</abbr>
- plugins</dfn> (that is, plugins in VST format built and distributed
- for the Windows platforms) on Ardour running on Linux. (Note: there
+ plugins</dfn> (that is, plugins in VST format built and distributed
+ for the Windows platforms) on Ardour running on Linux. (Note: there
is no VST support of any kind on OS X).
</p>
<p>However, doing so has three <em>substantial</em> downsides:</p>
<ul>
- <li>It requires a special build of Ardour that is fundamentally
+ <li>It requires a special build of Ardour that is fundamentally
very different from normal builds</li>
<li>Support depends on <a href="http://winehq.org/">Wine</a>,
a Windows "emulator"</li>
- <li>As usual with plugins, a crashing plugin will take Ardour down
- with it—and crashes in Windows VST plugins are more likely when
+ <li>As usual with plugins, a crashing plugin will take Ardour down
+ with it—and crashes in Windows VST plugins are more likely when
used in this way</li>
</ul>
done this. You can choose between using "Linux VST" (which is what
Loomer and others have done)—you will find toolkits like JUCE that
help to make this fairly easy—or using LV2 format which is
- ultimately more flexible but probably more work. We have users—thousands of users—on Linux who would like to use your plugins.
+ ultimately more flexible but probably more work. We have users—thousands of users—on Linux who would like to use your plugins.
</p>
</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>
The 'Label' field lets you choose the name which will be shown for this format
- in the drop-down list of export formats in the 'File Formats' tab of the
+ in the drop-down list of export formats in the 'File Formats' tab of the
<a href="/exporting/export-dialog/">Export dialog</a>.
</p>
</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>
</p>
<p>
- 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>
---
<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
+ 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="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word_clock" title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word_clock">Word Clock</a>. 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 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 1,920 audio samples
+ In the case of 48 kHz and 25 fps, there are 1,920 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>
<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>
<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>
<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>
<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>
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.
</p>
<p>
- 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>
<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.
</p>
<p>
- 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
+ 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.
</p>
<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>
<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>
<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>
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>
<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>
- No configuration is required if you intend to run everything on a single
- machine, and if you acquired Ardour from
+ No configuration is required if you intend to run everything on a single
+ machine, and if you acquired Ardour from
<a href="http://www.ardour.org"
title="http://www.ardour.org">http://www.ardour.org</a>.
Everything is pre-configured and included with the download/install.
<h2>Single Machine</h2>
<p>
- If you compile Ardour from source, or have installed it from a 3rd party
+ 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.sf.net"
title="http://xjadeo.sf.net" rel="nofollow">http://xjadeo.sf.net</a></li>
<li>harvid (a video decoder used for the thumbnail timeline): <a
href="http://x42.github.com/harvid/" title="http://x42.github.com/harvid/"
- rel="nofollow">http://x42.github.com/harvid/</a></li>
- <li>ffmpeg, ffprobe (used to import/export video, extract soundtracks and
+ 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>
+ 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"
+ 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>.
</p>
<p>
- The easiest way to install the video-utilities is by running the following
+ The easiest way to install the video-utilities is by running the following
line in a terminal:
</p>
<h2>Studio Setup</h2>
<p>
- Please read the info in the previous section to familiarize yourself with
- the tools involved first. Setting up a proper A/V post-production studio
- can be a complicated task. As much as we streamline and simplify the
+ Please read the info in the previous section to familiarize yourself with
+ the tools involved first. Setting up a proper A/V post-production studio
+ can be a complicated task. As much as we streamline and simplify the
<em>single machine</em> setup, the <dfn>studio setup</dfn> is focused on modularity.
</p>
<ul class="fixme">
<li>TODO:</li>
- <li>Synchronization ardour → video-display-box should be accomplished by external
- means jack-transport(netjack), MTC, LTC
- (<abbr title="Open Sound Control—"postmodern MIDI"">OSC</abbr> and/or
+ <li>Synchronization ardour → video-display-box should be accomplished by external
+ means jack-transport(netjack), MTC, LTC
+ (<abbr title="Open Sound Control—"postmodern MIDI"">OSC</abbr> and/or
ssh-pipe work but introduce additional latency + jitter)</li>
<li>Ardour launches <code>XJREMOTE</code> (environment variable, default 'xjremote' which comes with xjadeo).</li>
<li>Either use a custom shell script that ssh'es into the remote box and launches/controls xjadeo there, selects the sync-source and passes though communication between ardour ⇔ xjadeo via ssh (xjadeo is launched stopped with the session).</li>
---
<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>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>
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>
part: subchapter
include: class_reference.html
---
-
projects / ardour-manual-diverged / commitdiff