171 lines
8.7 KiB
HTML
171 lines
8.7 KiB
HTML
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<p>
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As of Ardour 6.0, Ardour provides the possibility of linking two or
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more surface to work as one surface. This means that two surfaces,
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one with 8 strips and one with 6 strips would look like a single 14
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strip surface. A <code>/bank_up</code> or down on either surface with bank the two
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so that they bank in 14 strip increments.
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</p>
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<p class="note">
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Ardour 5.0 to 5.12 can use two surfaces as shown in <a href="#example3">Example 3</a>.
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</p>
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<h2>Surface Linking Concepts</h2>
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<p>
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<ul>
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<li>A group of surfaces linked together are called a <code>Link Set</code>. A
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<code>Link Set</code> is called by a positive integer number.</li>
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<li>There may be more than one <code>Link Set</code> at a time used
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with Ardour.</li>
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<li>Each surface inside a <code>Link Set</code> has a <code>Link Id</code>.</li>
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<li>The <code>Link ID</code> is a positive integer numbering consecutive
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surfaces starting from 1 for the left most and going up to the right. So
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if there are three surfaces in a <code>Link Set</code>, The left surface
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will have a <code>Link Id</code> of <em>1</em>, the middle surface will
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have a <code>Link Id</code> of <em>2</em> and the right surface will
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have a <code>Link Id</code> of <em>3</em>.</li>
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<li>There may not be skipped <code>Link Ids</code>. If there are a
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surface 1 and 3, there must also be a surface 2. Surface 1 must always
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exist. If any surface is missing, the track names will indicate the
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<code>Link Id</code> of the first device missing.</li>
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<li>In most things, surfaces are separate and can do things independently.
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<ul>
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<li>Each surface can have a different <code>Gain Mode</code></li>
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<li>Each surface has it's own <code>Bank Size</code></li>
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<li>Each surface has it's own <code>Feedback</code></li>
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<li>Each surface has it's own <em>Expanded Strip</em></li>
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</ul>
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However, some things are shared by all surfaces in a <code>Link Set</code>:
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<ul>
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<li>Banking is done as a unit and each surface bank start is
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determined by the <code>Link Set</code>. Any surface can
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<em>Bank Up</em> or <em>Bank Down</em>.</li>
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<li>All surfaces share the same <em>strip types</em>. Setting
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<em>Strip Types</em> in any one surface sets it for the whole
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<code>Link Set</code>.</li>
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</ul>
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</li>
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</ul>
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</p>
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<h2>Setting Up a Link Set</h2>
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<p>
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There are only two OSC commands needed to set up a <code>Link Set</code>:
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</p>
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<table class="dl">
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<tr><th><kbd class="osc">/link/set <em>linkset</em> <em>linkid</em></kbd></th>
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<td>Where <em>linkset</em> is the Link Set this surface will be added to and
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<em>linkid</em> is the Link Id of this surface.</td></tr>
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<tr><th><kbd class="osc">/link/bank_size <em>linkset</em> <em>banksize</em></kbd></th>
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<td>Where <em>linkset</em> is the Link Set this surface will be added to and
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<em>banksize</em> is the target bank size for this Link Set. This Link Set
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will not operate unless the total strip numbers is <em>banksize</em>.</td></tr>
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</table>
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<p>
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It is also possible to send link set and ID values as part of a
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<code>/set_surface</code> command.
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<kbd class="osc">/set_surface <em>bank_size</em> <em>strip_types</em>
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<em>feedback</em> <em>fadermode</em> <em>send_page_size</em> <em>plugin_page_size</em>
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<em>port</em> <em>linkset</em> <em>linkid</em></kbd>
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</p>
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<p> The <code>/link/bank_size</code> command is optional. Ardour defaults
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to linking with auto sizing banks where the <code>Link Set</code>
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bank size is determined by adding the available surface bank sizes
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together. So long as the <code>Link Ids</code> are consecutive, the
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<code>Link Set</code> is considered ready. If the surface wants to make
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sure all surfaces are present before the <code>Link Set</code> is
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ready, the <code>/link/bank_size</code> command will not allow the
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<code>Link Set</code> to be ready until the surface bank sizes add up
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to the <code>Link Set's</code> bank size.
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</p>
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<p>
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Setting up a linked set of surfaces is a simple as choosing a number
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for the <code>Link Set</code>, <em>1</em> will work fine if there is
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only one linked set of surfaces, and giving each surface a <code>
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Link Id</code>. This can be done with the same method as the <code>
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/set_surface</code> command is sent or by having each surface send
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the <code>/link/set</code> command. As with other commands, the first
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parameter (linkset) may be sent inline: <code>/link/set/1 <em>linkid</em></code>
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for those surfaces unable to send multi parameter OSC messages.
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</p>
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<h2>Example Multi Device Surfaces</h2>
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<h3>Example 1</h3>
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<p>
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Assuming two devices, the left device has 8 strips and very little
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else on it's main page or tab. It may have secondary pages or tabs or
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a physical control section to access the extra selected strip controls
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like send levels or plugin controls. The right device has only 6
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strips because it also has Master and Monitor channel as well as
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transport controls. It also has a select section. As part of it's
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Global controls it has a Bank up and a bank down button. (there is
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nothing stopping the left surface from also having banking buttons)
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The left surface will be linkid <em>1</em> and the right surface will be
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linkid <em>2</em>. For this example the linkset will be <em>1</em>.
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</p>
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<p>
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Device <em>1</em> will have a "Connect" button that will send:
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<code>/set_surface iiiiiiiii 8 159 8323 0 0 0 0 1 1</code> and the second
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device will have two buttons. One will be a "Connect" button that
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sends: <code>/set_surface iiii 6 159 8403 0</code> and the other
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will be a "Link" button that will send: <code>/link/set ii 1 2</code>.
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These devices use two different methods of setup both to illustrate
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their use and because this will allow them to be used unlinked. Device
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<em>1</em> even as a linked device will operate on it's own as a one
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device <code>Link Set</code>. However, device <em>2</em> would show
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an error condition if device <em>1</em> is not present so we have a
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separate "Link" button. This is an optional way of doing things and
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both could use just one "Connect" button or both could have a separate
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"Link" button. Device <em>2</em> could also have an "Unlink" button
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that sends: <code>/link/set ii 0 0</code> if desired.
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</p>
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<p>
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To use these two devices as one, the "Connect" button on both devices and
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the "Link" button on the second device are pressed in any order. The two
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surfaces will now act as one surface with 14 bankable strips.
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</p>
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<h3>Example 2</h3>
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<p>
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This example will be more complex and use a total of five devices. The
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first three devices will form Link Set <em>1</em> and have 8 strips each.
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They are similar to the left device above, but will only show "input"
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strips. The last two devices will form Link Set <em>2</em>. Device <em>1</em>
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will be similar to the first three devices with 8 strips and the other
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will be similar to the 6 strip device in example 1 having Master and
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transport controls as well. The devices in Link Set 2 will be set up
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to only use bus and VCA strips and so don't need to include record
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enable buttons etc. It is expected that all devices have
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banking buttons, but at least one surface in each Link Set would have
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to have them.
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</p>
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<p>
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Devices 1 to 3 (from left to right) would each have a "Connect"
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button that sends: <code>/set_surface iiiiiiiii 8 3 8323 0 0 0 0 1 n</code>
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where <em>n</em> is the position or Link Id of that surface from 1 to
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3, left to right. Device 4 would use: <code>/set_surface iiiiiiiii 8
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156 8323 0 0 0 0 2 1</code> and device 5 would use: <code>/set_surface
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iiiiiiiii 6 156 8403 0 0 0 0 2 2</code>.
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</p>
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<p>
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As before, the "Connect" on each surface is pressed in any order and
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the resulting surface would have 24 input strips where the banking
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buttons on any of the first three surfaces would bank those three
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surfaces 24 strips at a time through the input strips (assuming more
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than 24 input strips are available). The last two strips would form
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a master and bus section with 14 bus only strips that will bank through
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the bus strips (assuming more than 14 bus strips). This combined
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surface would have 38 strips (plus Master) all together.
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</p>
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<h2 id="example3">Example 3</h2>
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<p>
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In this example there are two devices as in example 1. However, the
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goal is to have only input strips on the left device and only bus strips,
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Master and transport controls on the right device. In this case linking
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is not needed. The left device would use a "Connect" button that sent:
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<code>/set_surface iiii 8 3 8323 0</code> and the right device would
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use a "Connect" button that sent: <code>/set_surface iiii 6 156 8403 0</code>.
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The banking buttons on the left surface would bank through the input
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channels and the banking buttons on the right surface would bank
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through the buses and VCAs. As this example does not use Ardours OSC
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linking commands, it will also work with Ardour versions 5.0 to 5.12.
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</p>
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