Subject:Volume meters per track

Posted by: jjbraunius

Date:5/1/2008 9:47:02 AM

I got Acid 6.0 working under Windows XP x64 although Media Manager crashes. I find it really weird that in version 6 there are no track level meters, or am I mistaken?
Would anyone know how to activate a track per track volume metering? Seems that there is a function for that while recording but not during play back.
Thanks.

Subject:RE: Volume meters per track

Reply by: Patrick@Denman

Date:5/4/2008 7:42:17 PM

!@%$#*! good question!

Sony, take note: REAPER (which is, IMHO, shaping up to be the most direct competition to AP) provides track-level meters, and automatically inserts meters into the mixer for each individual track. In all of my AP projects, I manually add a separate bus for each track to the mixer - it's really the only way to properly manage the final mix. Why AP doesn't do this, I can only speculate.

If there is EVER going to be an AP 7 release - come on now, most glaciers are moving faster than your current AP dev cycle - and it doesn't have track-level meters, I think a lot of us are going to wonder if anyone on your team actually spends time really creating music with the product.

Sorry I'm venting here...it's just getting really frustrating to see a tool that has so much going for it being left behind by all the competition.

Subject:RE: Volume meters per track

Reply by: jjbraunius

Date:5/5/2008 12:50:53 AM

Ouch, that is truly awful way to work with it, I might have to forego working in Acid altogether and I've just upgraded to version 6 because of the multitrack functionality - I finally wanted to make it my workstation of choice as it looked like it can finally do what Vegas Audio did in version 3 before it got pulled off the shelves plus all the good loop manipulation of loops and simplicity it always had.
Anyway - hopefully there'll be a release patch for these meters, I'd hate to pay for another upgrade to version 7 as I just paid to go to version 6 from version 4!

Subject:RE: Volume meters per track

Reply by: BradlyMusic

Date:5/6/2008 8:21:24 AM

Yes, It's a bit ridiculous at this point. I'm almost certain it will be there in v7.0.

It seems Sony intended for this function to be there in v6.0 but ran into some problems and didn't officially make it a feature. I forget now what was wrong with the functionality. I believe it has to do with proper metering when a plugin is inserted in the track.

For the time being........try this out in AP6.

Hold down your shift key and goto OPTIONS>PREFERENCES.

You will see a TAB that gets exposed that normally isn't.......called "Internal".

Click on that TAB. Type in the Dialog box at the bottom...."Meters". This a filter that will show all the options containing the text box "Meters". It will show you an option which says, "Enable Track output METERS". Type in the field next to it where it says "FALSE" and change that to "TRUE". Then click OK.

You will now see Track output meters in Acid.

It's something Sony did for AP6 but never finished because it didn't function properly....but it may be a bit easier than the method you're using now.

and now the DISCLAIMER:
"This is a non-supported/non-documented feature......so use at your own risk".

and now the time for a chuckle statement:
An app like Reaper comes along and is able to get this type of function working in less than a week and Acid is still struggling in trying to get it to function properly in multiple versions over the course of years.

And now since I clued you into this Internal tab function.....try it out in Vegas and then type in the word "Rewire" and you'll see other failed attempts that Sony has attempted but never came to light.

Subject:RE: Volume meters per track

Reply by: JohnnyRoy

Date:5/6/2008 10:46:39 AM

> I forget now what was wrong with the functionality. I believe it has to do with proper metering when a plugin is inserted in the track.

Actually, those meters appear to be PRE fader. That means they don't show the output of the track but rather the input to the track. (i.e., it's showing you the wave before any volume adjustments). Not really useful for mixing which is why they are hidden.

~jr

Subject:RE: Volume meters per track

Reply by: BradlyMusic

Date:5/6/2008 11:11:10 AM

Thanks for the correction JR.

Subject:RE: Volume meters per track

Reply by: Patrick@Denman

Date:5/11/2008 1:41:03 PM

Pretty cool trick, nonetheless. ;-) As you point out, it's a feature that has obviously occurred to the AP dev team, so hopefully it will make its way into AP7 in a working mode. But at this rate, I'm starting to think that the global food and energy crises will be solved before Sony Creative actually releases this thing. I wonder how many people they have left to work on it? By all outward appearances, it would seem that they don't have a very big team...

Subject:RE: Volume meters per track

Reply by: jjbraunius

Date:5/26/2008 8:17:27 PM

I am surprised that this feature is out cause Vegas Audio had it in version 2.0 which I believe Sony acquired as well as Acid.
I wonder how much the upgrade will cost us to ver. 7. I just bought ver. 6 and now I hear it is on its way out!

Subject:RE: Volume meters per track

Reply by: marks27

Date:5/29/2008 7:13:45 PM

i'm curious too, or perhaps i misunderstand the original question. If you go to the ACID product page, the image there definitely shows meters on a number of the tracks.

Perhaps there is a settings, or it maybe dependent upon the depth of the track being displayed.

perhaps it warrants further investigation.

marks

Subject:RE: Volume meters per track

Reply by: jumbuk

Date:5/29/2008 11:20:33 PM

There are a few good meter plugins, some free. Stick one of these on every track in your default template as a workaround.

The Sonalksis Free G is a great option at http://www.sonalksis.com/index.php?section_id=99

Subject:RE: Volume meters per track

Reply by: JohnnyRoy

Date:5/30/2008 7:15:29 AM

> If you go to the ACID product page, the image there definitely shows meters on a number of the tracks.

If you look closely at that picture, those tracks are in Record mode. ACID always displayed meters on the tracks that are being recorded. It just doesn't have playback meters.

~jr

Subject:RE: Volume meters per track

Reply by: ATP

Date:6/2/2008 11:03:16 AM

while i don't really need volume meters per track, i can understand it can be handy.

however, the track panel is already so full of buttons and sliders you can't turn off (Arm for Record, Track FX, Mute, Solo etc) that adding yet another item might make it too cluttered.

unless of course Sony gets smart and makes all these options customizable in a future release. :)

Subject:RE: Volume meters per track

Reply by: marks27

Date:6/2/2008 5:04:40 PM

Vegas 8 now has a mixing console. Wonder if that will make its way into ACID in the next release?

marks

Subject:RE: Volume meters per track

Reply by: kbruff

Date:6/3/2008 5:49:15 AM

They have done a fine job at remaining pro-sumer, while attracting soem professional use.

The issue is that current applications which are very attractive continue to out-perform ACID.

For dedicated users who blindly justify the short comings this may not be an issue, but for those who are not fans the security of working with ACID as Full production tool can be demusing.

I wont bother to list some of the other tools out there but clearly anyone observing DAW technology can see the technology gap closing and widening depending what application you use and what production technique is in use.

I would really like to rely upon this tool as my standard environment for mixing and production but I may not be able to do so considering the stability issues, time to load projects, editing features, and project mangement features.

We shall see how AP7 Pro compares to other DAWS, with respect to cost, performance and function.

Bye,
Kevin