Subject: Re: [linux-audio-dev] ardour, LADSPA, a marriage
From: Paul Winkler (slinkp23_AT_yahoo.com)
Date: Mon Nov 13 2000 - 07:54:36 EET
Tom Pincince wrote:
>
> >i am pleased to mention that after a pleasantly short amount of
> >hacking, ardour CVS now has preliminary support for *real-time*
> LADSPA
> >plugins applied to EDL-based data streams. its far from where i
> want
>
> This added functionality raises a question. Do you plan to develop
> ardour into a monolithic daw application?
(SNIP)
> While the primary function of a mixer is mixing, it is also the home
> of the channel strip which contains inserts. Since ardour does no
> mixing, a mixer is still necessary and it will have inserts and the
> ability to handle stereo i/o fx. By adding inserts to ardour you
> have begun the process of fitting a mixer into ardour. All plugins
> of the insert variety are mono, or linked stereo like a compressor.
> Stereo plugins like reverb and ping pong delay are not fed by
> inserts. They are fed by aux sends. You could feed them by mono
> inserts but you will still need to address stereo output. Adding
> this kind of functionality to ardour creates momentum for monolithic
> development.
>
(SNIP)
> >i can see hints of a major redesign in the future ...
>
> ...if you plan on developing a monolithic software daw. You could
> go modular, allowing ardour to stay as ardour. This approach would
> require the identification of the main components of a hardware
> studio, developing equivalent software modules, and developing a
> standard communication protocol between modules.
protocol... hmmm... MCOP? (I think that's the name of the protocol in
aRts?)
Interesting reading, Tom.
The modular approach is appealing on a gut level. Monolithic apps get
annoying when you wish you could just use your favorite product X
which is always better than the built-in one provided by
BloatedProductY. Silly example: Here I am typing email in Netscape
mail, just because I'm used to it and because I like the way I have
sorting set up, and I like the folder views. But for the part I'm
doing *right now* I sure wish I could use Emacs... which I much prefer
as an editor but I haven't found an Emacs mail mode that does the
things I like about Netscape... sure would be cool if I could patch
them together...
Not-so-silly example: It would be pretty weird if studios used
all-in-one hardware systems to do all recording, mixing, processing,
and editing. Sure, you *can* with some things on the market, but
people like to use their favorite console with their favorite tape
deck and if there's ANY way we can sensibly let people do that, we
should.
Or rather, you should, Paul, since I'm not doing squat here. I'm just
a fan. :)
Personally for me the question of mixing Ardour is crucial, because
I'd *like* to start playing with it, but I can't do much, as I have
only a 2-channel interface and it will be some time before I can
afford anything more. And when I can, I'd *really* *really* like to be
able to go with an open-source solution. Right now, if I had the
money, I'd buy the Digi001 in a second, because it can do almost
anything a full-scale ProTools rig can do and you can transfer files
to PT24 systems too. But it's not what I *really* want. I don't want
to be stuck with that package three years from now. I want an M-audio
1010 (costs about the same) and free (as in speech) software where the
sky's the limit, even if it takes a longer time to get there.
Random analogy for anyone still reading:
Right now I'm immersed in web development using Zope. Zope is weird,
and big chunks of it are documented poorly or not at all, but there's
source code for *everything* and it's all Python so even I can read
it. My company could have forked out thousands of dollars for
ColdFusion to solve all the same problems, but why? We could have gone
with ASP but I really do not want to be stuck with a Microsoft
spit-and-duct-tape "product". I'm happy to be using Zope because I can
do any goddamn thing I want with it, the flexibility and extensibility
is *amazing*, and I honestly think it's going to transform the field
within five years.
I was going to connect that to linux-audio-dev somehow. Hopefully my
intent comes through a little bit. I need to get back to work now...
sorry for lack of coherence...
................. paul winkler ..................
slinkP arts: music, sound, illustration, design, etc.
web page: http://www.slinkp.com
A member of ARMS: http://www.reacharms.com
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