See signal wave after plugin processing

Getting Stuff Done How do I .... ?
#1

Hi,

I was wondering if there was a way to see the signal wave of a region after it is processed (maybe using a plugin), I saw some videos where it could be done in other DAWs, but I couldn’t find it on Ardour.
I think it could be useful to see how the signal wave after, for example, compression or limiting…

Am I missing the feature?

Thank you in advance for the help

#2

This is not possible in Ardour at this time.

In general we take a fairly negative view of “visual mixing”. DAW production workflows, in our opinion, should be based around what you hear rather than what you see.

I have a few people that have offered somewhat convincing counterpoints, but for the most part, I would prefer to steer people away from visual mixing. The right loudness analysis and/or meter is a more sensible way to go if you really do want some sort of direct metrics.

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#3

Absolutely agree. I tried visual approach several times (after hearing that my friend uses it plus some online “professional” advises) and every time moved back to plain hearing. After all, music is for ears and there are no strict rules in mixing, only the final sound matters. Just train your ears by trying to delve deeper and deeper into the sound texture and use good open-back headphones, not audiophile ones but neutral and not too costly, somewhat closer to what your listeners generally use, like AKG K240.

#4

I agree when it comes to processing. The one area where it might be useful (for me at least) is in volume automation, where seeing the effect on the waveform would provide visual feedback as the auditory feedback can be subtle. For example if I’m going through a region and using automation to bring down the higher peaks and boost a few low-volume areas, having the waveform redraw provides additional feedback beyond what I can hear with my ears, revealing areas I might have missed on my first pass.

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#5

This is one area where it certainly can be useful to move quick on a first pass and then come back and verify with ears on a second pass. I would probably suggest region gain would be most appropriate if ever utilized for this manner.

    Seablade
#6

I was referring to the region gain curve, as described here:

As a comparison, you can see how it works in Reaper here; note the immediate redrawing of the waveform as you adjust the gain curve:

#7

Oh yea I am aware:). I have used and do continue to use a variety of software that provides such functionality, and I will also say it is almost always centered around volume automation, and I think that could make sense.

  Seablade
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#8

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