Re: [linux-audio-dev] multitrack and editor separate?

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Subject: Re: [linux-audio-dev] multitrack and editor separate?
From: Mark Constable (markc_AT_renta.net)
Date: Sat Oct 27 2001 - 07:23:00 EEST


On Sat, 27 Oct 2001 11:23, Paul Davis wrote:

> > (sorry, not sure who should be attributed here)
> > But my main point is this -- out in the radio world, for one, a sound
> > editor and a multitracker are not necessarily different, and it would be
> > more than nice to have an integrated 'arbitrary number of tracks EDITOR'
> > that allows the sort of flexibility for multitrack compositions that
> > desktop publishing systems have allowed for some time in the printing
> > world.
>
> this is true. but it doesn't address a key issue, which i think you
> deny as you continue:
> Or, more
> >succinctly, multitrack recording and waveform/sample editing should not be
> >considered separate tasks,
>
> i don't have your experience, but i don't agree with you here. the
> reason is subtle, but i find it compelling.
>
> when working with multitrack recordings, what one is often doing is
> manipulating semantically meaningful chunks of audio so that they are
> correctly aligned with each, have appropriate gain and other FX
> applied, and are sent to the appropriate outputs.
>
> these tasks have little if anything to do with the process of editing
> a waveform. you can make them both possible via the same GUI, or you
> can create more optimized environments for both tasks. ProTools, for

Huh, from a software engineering point of view they are distinctly
seperate tasks but from a human interface viewpoint the user is
"editing digital audio" where both aspects complete a whole picture,
or sound(s) in this case.

Experienced audio engineers might appreciate the difference but most
musos I'm aware of would be more confused than helped by highlighting
this technical difference and may prefer a unified interface, which
may not be on a single screen, but having two distinctly seperate
applications for track editing and sample editing seems to me to be
an awkward and backwards step.

What would be brilliant is to make Ardour and friends embeddable
widgets that can be incorporated into the dozens of front end GUI
systems that are available under linux (and windows too, courtesy
of us penguin heads). These C/C++ and script driven IDEs are maturing
nicely and allow a hacker muso to _design_their_own_ interface which,
to me, offers the ultimate in flexibility and totally scrunches the
whole idea that ones mans meat is another mans poison when it comes
to calling shots on GUI presentation and layout.

--markc


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