Basic shortcomings for our workflow -Sound Forge - PC

Subject:Basic shortcomings for our workflow Posted by: airon0 Date:4/3/2005 6:34:13 AM These are issues for us here, and all major time wasters. A great tool for all of us, but some stuff isn't up to snuff. Here goes : Scrubber This isn't actualy a scrubber. It is a jog shuttle. Nobody uses that in apps like Protools or consoles like Fairlight or Augan for "scrubbing". I had expected a scrub at the very least like that of Protools, perhaps even with speed boundaries for upper and lower scrub speeds, such as a max of 1xspeed, like the Augan used. Using this feature is, I'm sad to say, just a glorified FF/RW, though the keyboard jog/shuttle has some use for synching audio, if I could make it play frames at a time(AVID does this). Plugin Chainer Where is the functionality that permited me to quickly execute a plugin chain on many audio files in Soundforge ? It disapeared in version 7. I believe its name was "Share Plugin Chain" or something similar. Plugins open a LOT slower in version 8 now, so I'm losing a lot more time with this again! Why was this feature stricken ? It slowed down a lot of fx processes here, mostly because plugin chains had to be saved, then reopened on other audio files. What a time waster! Batch Converter It can't load plugin chains. What happened? Didn't get it finished? Why was it released!!!?? Quite a blunder fellas. So the scrubber is not a scrubber, the plugin chainer has less functionality than version 6, save for the automation which is lost when I close the audio region, and the batch converter is almost useless because it can't load plugin chains. This may sound harsh, but Soundforge is the reference, or rather has been so far. The VST plugin functionality is wonderful, but please try to get some pro features either back in or working like we expect them to work. Take care Tony
Subject:RE: Basic shortcomings for our workflow Reply by: mpd Date:4/3/2005 8:29:03 AM Scrubbing... I tend to agree with you that scrubbing could be better, but I need to play with it some more. I am unfamiliar with ProTools and forget how scrubbing works in other apps like FCP, but I was hoping for something similar to the way scrubbing works in Flash. I think the graphic shuttle controller is a bit too small, but I am glad keyboard shortcuts are now user-definable, which makes up for it. Plugin chainer and batch converter... I'm not sure what you are talking about. I just opened up BC from the Tools menu, added some files, went to the Process tab, and selected Plugin-Chainer from the drop-down. I then clicked on Add Effect, and saw the normal plugin chainer.
Subject:RE: Basic shortcomings for our workflow Reply by: airon0 Date:4/3/2005 8:54:47 AM I suppose I'd better bend over and take whatever's coming on the Batchconverter/PluginChainer issue. Thanks for clearing that up. A suggestion then. A button-switchable window, in the same vein as the parameter automation activation window of the plugin chainer. That window contains the list of plugins, complete with VST markers perhaps. I still have my wrapper going and some presets depend on them. I'd rather continue using Soundforge8's VST feature in any future presets. Message last edited on4/3/2005 8:56:41 AM byairon0.
Subject:RE: Basic shortcomings for our workflow Reply by: Sonic Date:4/4/2005 8:18:18 AM I agree that the scrubber is named inappropriately, but it stuck because "that's what it was called in Vegas". Other options, both for the name and the feature, are being investigated. The speed issue when opening and closing will be resolved in the first update. Sharing the chainer was removed in 7.0 when undos and automation support were added. There is an internal pref called "Chain per datawnd" that you can disable if you wish, but it is totally untested and unsupported. "Plug-In Chainer" is available in the Batch Converter, as it seems you've found now. Message last edited on4/4/2005 8:20:47 AM bySonic.
Subject:RE: Basic shortcomings for our workflow Reply by: mpd Date:4/4/2005 9:20:10 AM One thing that would be an improvement is better keyboard control of the shuttle. For example, if you are playing, then hit J it is awkward to get back down to normal speed, or if you hit J twice, to go back to the single J speed (ie, there is no keyboard equivalent to the shuttle snap back). I am still playing with the keyboard shortcuts, but I haven't found a good set yet.

Subject:Basic shortcomings for our workflow

Posted by: airon0

Date:4/3/2005 6:34:13 AM

These are issues for us here, and all major time wasters. A great tool for all of us, but some stuff isn't up to snuff. Here goes :

Scrubber
This isn't actualy a scrubber. It is a jog shuttle. Nobody uses that in apps like Protools or consoles like Fairlight or Augan for "scrubbing". I had expected a scrub at the very least like that of Protools, perhaps even with speed boundaries for upper and lower scrub speeds, such as a max of 1xspeed, like the Augan used. Using this feature is, I'm sad to say, just a glorified FF/RW, though the keyboard jog/shuttle has some use for synching audio, if I could make it play frames at a time(AVID does this).

Plugin Chainer
Where is the functionality that permited me to quickly execute a plugin chain on many audio files in Soundforge ? It disapeared in version 7. I believe its name was "Share Plugin Chain" or something similar. Plugins open a LOT slower in version 8 now, so I'm losing a lot more time with this again! Why was this feature stricken ? It slowed down a lot of fx processes here, mostly because plugin chains had to be saved, then reopened on other audio files. What a time waster!

Batch Converter
It can't load plugin chains. What happened? Didn't get it finished? Why was it released!!!?? Quite a blunder fellas.

So the scrubber is not a scrubber, the plugin chainer has less functionality than version 6, save for the automation which is lost when I close the audio region, and the batch converter is almost useless because it can't load plugin chains.

This may sound harsh, but Soundforge is the reference, or rather has been so far. The VST plugin functionality is wonderful, but please try to get some pro features either back in or working like we expect them to work.

Take care
Tony

Subject:RE: Basic shortcomings for our workflow

Reply by: mpd

Date:4/3/2005 8:29:03 AM

Scrubbing... I tend to agree with you that scrubbing could be better, but I need to play with it some more. I am unfamiliar with ProTools and forget how scrubbing works in other apps like FCP, but I was hoping for something similar to the way scrubbing works in Flash. I think the graphic shuttle controller is a bit too small, but I am glad keyboard shortcuts are now user-definable, which makes up for it.

Plugin chainer and batch converter... I'm not sure what you are talking about. I just opened up BC from the Tools menu, added some files, went to the Process tab, and selected Plugin-Chainer from the drop-down. I then clicked on Add Effect, and saw the normal plugin chainer.

Subject:RE: Basic shortcomings for our workflow

Reply by: airon0

Date:4/3/2005 8:54:47 AM

I suppose I'd better bend over and take whatever's coming on the Batchconverter/PluginChainer issue. Thanks for clearing that up.

A suggestion then. A button-switchable window, in the same vein as the parameter automation activation window of the plugin chainer. That window contains the list of plugins, complete with VST markers perhaps. I still have my wrapper going and some presets depend on them. I'd rather continue using Soundforge8's VST feature in any future presets.

Message last edited on4/3/2005 8:56:41 AM byairon0.

Subject:RE: Basic shortcomings for our workflow

Reply by: Sonic

Date:4/4/2005 8:18:18 AM

I agree that the scrubber is named inappropriately, but it stuck because "that's what it was called in Vegas". Other options, both for the name and the feature, are being investigated.

The speed issue when opening and closing will be resolved in the first update. Sharing the chainer was removed in 7.0 when undos and automation support were added. There is an internal pref called "Chain per datawnd" that you can disable if you wish, but it is totally untested and unsupported.

"Plug-In Chainer" is available in the Batch Converter, as it seems you've found now.

Message last edited on4/4/2005 8:20:47 AM bySonic.

Subject:RE: Basic shortcomings for our workflow

Reply by: mpd

Date:4/4/2005 9:20:10 AM

One thing that would be an improvement is better keyboard control of the shuttle. For example, if you are playing, then hit J it is awkward to get back down to normal speed, or if you hit J twice, to go back to the single J speed (ie, there is no keyboard equivalent to the shuttle snap back). I am still playing with the keyboard shortcuts, but I haven't found a good set yet.