375 lines
12 KiB
HTML
375 lines
12 KiB
HTML
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<figure class="center">
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<img style="width:50%;" src="/images/record_window.png" alt="The Recorder window">
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<figcaption>
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The Recorder window. <i>(<a href="/images/record_window.png">full-size image</a>)</i>
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p>
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Although all the process of recording an audio or MIDI performance can
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be done in any mode, the <dfn>Recorder</dfn> provides a synoptic view of
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most parameters and actions related to capturing this performance, hence
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giving more confidence in the final result.
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</p>
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<p class="note">
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The Recorder is another view on settings, parameters, and actions
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that can be set or called in other modes. Any change done in the Recorder
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is instantly reflected in e.g. the Editor, and vice versa.
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</p>
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<p>
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The Recorder, being a mode, sports the same <a href="@@main-menu">main
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menu</a>, <a href="@@status-bar">status bar</a>, and <a href="@@transport-bar">
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toolbar</a> as the Editor and Mixer. It adds a secondary toolbar, a
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simplified session view, reminiscent of the Editor, and a global input
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panel.
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</p>
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<h2>The Secondary Toolbar</h2>
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<p>
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The subsections below describe the secondary toolbar from left to right.
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</p>
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<h3 id="recorder_last_take_manager" >Last Take Manager</h3>
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<figure class="left">
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<img alt="The Last Take Manager" src="/images/recorder_last-take.png">
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<figcaption>
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The Last Take Manager
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p>
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This manager displays information about the last (or current) take :
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li>
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A <em>duration display</em>, that shows the duration of the last (or
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current) recording. It is always displayed as <samp>hours:minutes:seconds:tenths</samp>,
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regardless of the <a href="@@transport-clocks">Transport clocks</a>
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display settings.
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</li>
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<li>
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An x-run counter, an x-run being a buffer under(or over)flow. Each
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time such an x-run occurs, an artifact is recording, that can be
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audible or not, but is a red flag for the recording quality.
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</li>
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<li>
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A <kbd>Discard Last Take</kbd> button, that deletes the last
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finished recording(s), effectively removing the audio file(s) from
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the hard drive, hence destructive.
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</li>
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</ul>
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<p>
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This last button cannot be used while recording, the transport must be
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stopped. It also has no concept of history, and repeatedly
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clicking it wont discard previous takes from last to first, in order to
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prevent destroying good takes. Lastly, it does not reset the playhead
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position, as the <kbd class="menu">Transport > Stop and Forget
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Capture</kbd> menu would.
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</p>
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<h3 id="recorder_global_arm">Global Arm</h3>
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<figure class="left">
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<img alt="The Global Arm options" src="/images/recorder_global-arm.png">
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<figcaption>
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The Global Arm options
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p>
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Like the <em>Monitor Options</em> below, these buttons apply to all
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the tracks at once.
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</p>
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<p>
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It is a convenient shortcut to arm (<kbd>All</kbd>)/disarm (<kbd>None</kbd>)
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all the tracks for recording.
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</p>
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<h3 class="clear" id="recorder_monitoring_options">Monitoring Options</h3>
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<figure class="left">
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<img alt="The Monitoring options" src="/images/input-mode-buttons.png">
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<figcaption>
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The Monitoring options
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p>
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These buttons allow switching the monitoring mode globally, for all the
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tracks at once. The monitoring mode allows to decide what the user wants
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to be listening to, between:
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li>
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<dfn>All In</dfn>: all the tracks play what is on their <em>In</em>puts,
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</li>
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<li>
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<dfn>All Disk</dfn>: all the tracks play the actual content of the
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playlist on <em>Disk</em>,
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</li>
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<li>
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or <dfn>both</dfn>: also called "cue monitoring" if both buttons are
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engaged, a combination of the two modes above, where all the tracks
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play existing data from disk while also listening to the input
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signal. This is particularly useful for MIDI tracks, where one can
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hear a performance/new material while listening to the playback of
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existing material in the track.
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</li>
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</ul>
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<p>
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The <kbd class="menu">Auto Input</kbd> switch allows Ardour to auto-select
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what is played, which is:
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li>When not playing: all tracks are on <em>In</em> (to listen to any connected source)</li>
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<li>When playing, all tracks are on <em>Disk</em> (to play whatever was recorded on those tracks)</li>
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<li>When recording, on rec-enabled tracks: <em>In</em> and on non rec-enabled ones: <em>Disk</em></li>
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</ul>
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If Auto Input is disabled, then you will hear the Input being
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monitored whenever a track is armed, even if you aren't actually
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recording. If Auto Input is _enabled_, then you will hear playback
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when the transport is rolling, and the tracks will only switch to
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Input when the master-record arm is engaged (so you are actually
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recording).
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<h3 id="recorder_new_playlist">'New Playlist' buttons</h3>
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<figure class="left">
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<img alt="The 'New Playlist' buttons" src="/images/recorder_new-playlist.png">
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<figcaption>
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The 'New Playlist' buttons
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p>
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Recording multiple takes can easily be done in Ardour by using
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<a href="@@understanding-playlists">playlists</a>, as a track can have
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multiple playlists and it is easy to <a href="@@playlist-operations">switch</a>
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from one to another.
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</p>
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<p>
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The two buttons create new, "blank", playlists to record on:
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li><kbd class="menu">New Playlist for All Tracks</kbd> creates a
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new playlist for each visible track, while</li>
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<li><kbd class="menu">New Playlist for Rec-Armed</kbd> uses the
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<kbd style="color:red;">●</kbd> recording
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status of each track to generate new playlists.</kbd></li>
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</ul>
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<p>
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Creating new playlists is both cheap in terms of CPU and memory, and easy
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to revert by changing the track's playlist back to its previous one. Playlists
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on different tracks can also share the same name, allowing for a better
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workflow when recording: Ardour suggests <em>Take.<i>#n</i></em> as the
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name for each playlist, so that they stay somewhat correlated.
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</p>
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<h3 id="recorder_disk_space">Disk space and Reset Peaks</h3>
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<figure class="left">
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<img alt="Disk space & Reset Peaks" src="/images/recorder_disk-and-reset.png">
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<figcaption>
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Disk space & Reset Peaks
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<ul>
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<li>
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<em>Disk space</em> shows how many time or recoding is available on
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the current hard drive (i.e. the hard drive where the session is
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located), by accounting the bit depth, sampling rate, and number of
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armed tracks. The result is either an duration, or
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<samp>>24h</samp> if it exceeds 24 hours.
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</li>
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<li>
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<em>Reset Peak Hold</em> clears the memory of the highest recording level
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in the meters located in the bottom input panel, and displayed with a
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green line.
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</li>
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</ul>
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<h2 id="recorder_tracks">Tracks</h2>
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<p>
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The Simplified Session View is a view of the session, specifically
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tailored for the purpose of recording, that is similar to the Editor
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(or the <a href="@@summary">Summary</a>) with notable differences,
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among which:
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li>
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it always encompasses the whole session in the time axis,
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</li>
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<li>
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the regions are displayed as blocks, not waveforms,
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</li>
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<li>
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no editing, like moving or resizing regions, is possible
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</li>
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<li>
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each track (or lane) has a fixed and narrow height
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</li>
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</ul>
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<p>
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All those differences are consequences of the aim of this view, which
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is to keep thing not too busy and clear in a recording context. The
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most important settings related to the recording process are easily
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available and to facilitate the work of the operator.
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</p>
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<h3 id="recorder_simplified_session">Simplified Session View</h3>
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<figure>
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<img alt="A track in the Recorder" src="/images/recorder_lane.png">
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<figcaption>
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A track in the Recorder
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p>
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Each lane is made of (from left to right):
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li>
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A zone showing <a href="@@track-and-bus-groups">grouping</a>, as in the
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Editor, with the same functions and menus.
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</li>
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<li>
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A <kbd style="color:red;">●</kbd> rec-arm button. When armed,
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the entire button will turn pink, and change to bright red as soon
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as the transport is rolling and the track is recording. <kbd
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class="mouse">Right</kbd>-clicking will allow to en/disable
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<em>Rec-safe</em>, protecting the track against accidental
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recording.
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</li>
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<li>
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An <kbd>Input</kbd> button displaying the connected input(s) of the
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track. It is the same button as the <em>Input</em> button shown in
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the <a href="@@audiomidi-mixer-strips">Mixer strip</a>, and behaves
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exactly the same way (<kbd class="mouse">Left</kbd>-clicking to
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show the input menu, <kbd class="mouse">Right</kbd>-clicking shows
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the input connection matrix).
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</li>
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<li>
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A <kbd>P</kbd> playlist button displaying the connected input(s) of
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the track. Again, it is the same button as the one shown in the <a
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href="@@audio-track-controls">Editor's track header</a>, and
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behaves exactly the same way (<kbd
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class="mouse">Left</kbd>-clicking to show the playlist menu).
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</li>
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<li>
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A <kbd>Track Name</kbd> label, displaying the track's name.<kbd
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class="mouse">Double</kbd>-clicking allows to edit (rename) the
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track.
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</li>
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<li>
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Two <kbd>In</kbd> and <kbd>Disk</kbd> buttons allowing to set this
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particular track's monitoring option, as described above.
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</li>
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<li>
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<em>N</em> level meters showing the input level of the track, as in
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the <a href="@@audio-track-controls">Editor's track header</a>,
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<em>N</em> being the number of input channels of the track.
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</li>
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<li>
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A <kbd style="background:yellow;"><em>n</em></kbd> numbered
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button, using the <a href="@@track-color">track's color</a> as
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background color. Numbering can be useful when using OSC, a MIDI
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controller, or when recording multiple performances at once.
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</li>
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<li>
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An overview of the track's content, with solid blocks representing
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regions. The region's color is the track color, except while
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recording where the recorded regions are displayed in red.
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</li>
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</ul>
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<p>
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Like in the Editor or Mixer, a <a
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href="@@adding-tracks-busses-and-vcas">new track, bus or VCA</a> can
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be created by either <kbd class="mouse">double</kbd> or <kbd
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class="mouse">right</kbd>-clicking on an empty place in the track
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list.
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</p>
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<h3 id="recorder_global_input_channel">The Global Input Panel</h3>
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<p>
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This panel lists all the audio and MIDI system inputs.
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</p>
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<figure>
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<img alt="An audio input" src="/images/recorder_input-panel.png">
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<figcaption>
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An audio input
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p>
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The inputs are displayed either vertically or horizontally based on the
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<a href="@@preferences#preferences-appearance-recorder">Preferences</a>.
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</p>
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<p>
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If an input is used by a track that is armed for recording, it sports
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a red frame.
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</p>
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<p>
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The controls on each input are:
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li>
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a <kbd>(1)</kbd> button indicating how many tracks are fed by this
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input. Clicking this button will show only those tracks.
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</li>
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<li>
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a <kbd>+</kbd> button, allowing to create a track that will be
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automatically connected to this input. The type of track (MIDI or
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aurio) depends on the input type.
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</li>
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<li>
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a <kbd>PFL</kbd> button, or <em>Pre-Fader Listen</em>, active only
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if <kbd class="option">Use monitor section in this session</kbd> is
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checked in the <a
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href="@@session-properties#properties-monitoring">Session
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Properties</a>. When active, sends the soloed signal to the <a
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href="@@monitor-section">Monitor</a>.
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</li>
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<li>
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a <kbd>Input's Name</kbd> button. Inputs can be named or renamed at
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will, to ease the recognition of e.g. one microphone in a
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multi-track recording, like a multi-instrumentalist performance, by
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clicking the button. Ardour stores this name for the device, so any
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later session using this input will show this label.
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</li>
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</ul>
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<p>
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The right hand side of the input depends on the kind of input, either
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audio or MIDI. For an audio track:
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li>
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a live level-meter for this input that shows the current level of
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the audio signal. A green line marks the <em>Peak Hold</em>, i.e.
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the maximum level reached on this input.
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</li>
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<li>
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a continuous waveform, showing the input state during the last 5 seconds.
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</li>
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</ul><p>
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For an MIDI track:
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li>
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a channel indicator, the channel numbers lighting up as events come
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in to show channel activity.
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</li>
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<li>
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a MIDI monitor, showing the last four MIDI events.
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</li>
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</ul>
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