[PD] Digidesign hardware

Mon Mar 3 11:36:57 CET 2003

Hi, I haven't actually tried Ardour but I have looked at it and it looks
impressive except for one thing... It doesn't do MIDI sequencing does it?

----- Original Message -----
From: "delire" <delire at selectparks.net>
To: <pd-list at iem.kug.ac.at>
Cc: <dave at davesabine.com>
Sent: Monday, March 03, 2003 8:19 PM
Subject: Re: [PD] Digidesign hardware

>
> save your money on all that silly hardware. buy nine more PC's or a Very
Good Bicycle and try Ardour instead.
>
> <http://ardour.sf.net> - if you don't know already, ardour's a powerful
DAW and is jackable with pd. i used pro tools for years until recently and
find this a good alternative. used to be a dog to compile - now it's just
fine. it's come a *long* way in the last year..
>
> features list cited from the page. much more than listed here as this is
kind of old now..
>
> ..to not answer your question ;)
>
> julian
>
> //-->
>
> 16 or 24 bit recording
>     All formats are supported by your audio interface are usable by
Ardour. It uses 32 bit floating point as its internal sample format
throughout, making the hardware format largely irrelevant. Various output
dithering options are available via the JACK Audio Connection Kit that
Ardour uses for audio capture and playback.
>
> Sample rate neutral
>     If your audio interface can provide a 96kHz or 192kHz data stream, and
your disk subsystem can support the required data flow for the number of
tracks you want to work with, Ardour can record at this sampling rate. Of
course, it handles 44.1, 48 and 88.2kHz just as well.
>
> Any number of physical channels
>     Ardour's channel capacity is limited only by the number on your audio
interface and the ability of your disk subsystem to stream the data back and
forth.
>
> Support for pro-audio interfaces
>     This comes care of the ALSA project, which provides high quality, well
design device drivers and API's for audio I/O under Linux. Any interface
supported by ALSA can be used with Ardour. This includes the all-digital 26
channel RME Hammerfall, the Midiman Delta 1010 and many others.
>
> Full MIDI Machine Control
>     Ardour can be more or less completely controlled from any hardware
that sends MMC. The Mackie Digital 8 Bus has been the reference MMC
controller during development.
>
> Unlimited Takes Per Track
>     Any track can have any number of takes, subject to your available disk
space.
>
> Standard Sound File Format(s)
>     Ardour records each chunk of captured audio to mono, 32 bit float
Broadcast WAVE or WAVE files. Ardour can also export complete sessions to
WAV, AIFF, and several other standard audio file formats.
>
> Extensive non-destructive, non-linear editing
>     Ardour contains a powerful multitrack audio editor/arranger that is
completely non-destructive and capable of all standard non-linear editing
operations (insert, replace, delete, move, trim, select, cut/copy/paste).
The editor has unlimited undo/redo capacity and can save independent
"versions" of a track or entire piece.
>
> LADSPA plugin support
>     Ardour's editor supports the community-developed LADSPA plugin
standard. Arbitrary chains of plugins can be attached to any portion of a
track, limited only by your CPU's processing power. Note: Ardour will
support VST plugins as soon as Steinberg permits the redistribution of VST
header files by independent developers. See the FAQ for more details on
this.
>
> Per-track and whole session looping
>     Loop points can be adjusted in realtime, in units of samples, msecs,
1/10th secs and seconds.
>
> Time scaling
>     Stretch or shrink regions using time-domain algorithms for generally
excellent results.
>
> A Unique Approach To Metering Digital "overs"
>     Because the whole notion of a digital "over" is a rather flexible one,
Ardour uses a rather flexible metering system to record them. You can define
for yourself what constitutes an over, both in terms of the sample amplitude
and the number of samples at or above that level. You can define two such
categories of overs, and you'll never miss another them while not looking,
because Ardour keeps both over counts on screen until you manually reset
them. Please note: this novel idea could have been the basis of a patent.
But because its inventor, Bill Gribble, and Ardour's author don't believe in
this nonsense, its an idea we hope will spread to other recording systems
>
> Track-independent varispeed
>     The speed of each track can be altered independently of all others,
with enormous variation possible, limited only by your disk subsystem's
throughput. Some users have reported up to 70x speed ups, for dramatic audio
FX.
>
> Dynamic Punch
>     When enabled, Dynamic Punch allows you punch in tracks while the
system is playing and/or recording. No latency, no delay.
>
> Automatic cross-fading
>     Overlap two audio regions and Ardour will (if requested) automatically
crossfade between them.
>
> Arbitrary I/O routing
>     Every mixer strip can have any number of inputs and outputs, not just
mono, stereo or 5.1. An N-way panner is included, with support for various
panning models. Pre- and post-fader sends exist, each with their own gain
and pan controls. Every mixer strip acts as its own bus, and thus the bus
count in Ardour is unlimited. You can submix any number of strips into
another strip.
>
> Sophisticated solo & mute models
>     Solo supports solo latch mode, where any number of tracks may be
soloed, or solo toggle mode, where 1 track is soloed at a time. Solo safe is
available for each track as well, independent of the soloing mode.
>
>     Mute can be set to affect any or all of:
>
>         * pre-fader sends
>         * post-fader sends
>         * main outs
>         * control outs
>
> Auto Punch
>     Define a pair of locate points, and Ardour will punch in automatically
as it passes through the first one, and punch out as it passes through the
second. Unlike some proprietary systems, you don't have to think about
"voice allocation", or "transport startup time" for this - it just works in
exactly the same way that a tape system would.
>
> Auto Input
>     When the "Monitor In" button is set for a channel, Auto Input makes
sure that you monitor what you'd typically want to hear. If Ardour is
rolling, you'll hear the already-recorded material (if any). If its stopped,
then rec-enabled tracks will monitor their inputs. Its a bit more complex
than this, but not much.
>
> Fully "skinnable"/"themeable" GUI
>     If you don't like Ardour's appearance, and have some to waste with
computer graphics, you can completely change the images used for controls
and every color (except the meters).
>
> Open Source, GPL software
>     You get all the source code, which you can read, study, discard,
modify, copy, re-distribute, critique or sing to your friends.
>
> Multi-processor capable design
>     Ardour will run on conventional uniprocessor systems, but it works
much better on a dual (or even quad) CPU system,
>
> It Runs On Linux
> Forget regular system crashes and buggy program behaviour. Linux stays up
for months, and Ardour has been run for full days without crashing.
>
> //<--
>
> On Sun, 02 Mar 2003 17:03:03 -0600
> David Sabine <dave at davesabine.com> wrote:
>
> //Hello all,
> //
> //Does anybody on this list use PD with Digidesign Hardware?
> //
> //I'm planning to furnish my studio with the Digidesign HD system and
would
> //like to use PD in conjunction with Pro Tools or perhaps as an
alternative
> //interface to control the Pro tools proprietary hardware.
> //
> //Any thoughts?
> //
> //Regards,
> //Dave S
> //
> //
> //
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> //
> //
>
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