Ardour 2.X already had two different recording modes:
- Normal mode: overdubs write to new files, new regions are layered on top of existing regions (with or without crossfades)
- Tape mode: overdubs destructively write to an existing file, single region per track (fixed crossfades at every punch)
Thanks to the work of Lincoln Spiteri, Ardour 3.0 adds a new recording mode: Non-layered. In this mode, overdubs write to new audio files, new regions are created but if they overlap with existing regions, the existing regions are trimmed so that there no overlaps.This can be very useful way of working for spoken word work, for example.
To change the recording mode of a track, right click on its track header to get the context menu:
Below is a screenshot that shows the subtly different results of an overdub in normal and non-layered mode. Both tracks were created using identical audio data. The upper track is in normal mode, and the overdub (the middle shorter region) has created a new region which if you look carefully has been layered on top of the the existing (longer) region. The lower track is in non-layered mode, and rather than overlay the overdub region, it split the existing region and inserted the new one in between.
