Subject:Favorite/most used features in Forge

Posted by: pwppch

Date:5/25/2011 9:48:17 PM

What are the features you cannot live with out in Forge?

What are the features you use the most in Forge?

What type of projects do you use Forge for?

What are some of your more common workflows?

Do you work with multiple files or typically work withnone file at a time? More than 2 files at a time?

Peter

Subject:RE: Favorite/most used features in Forge

Reply by: musicvid10

Date:5/25/2011 10:25:57 PM

1) RMS Normalization, WaveHammer, Spectrum Analysis, Paragraphic EQ, Reverb (but very few special effects)
2) See #1 above.
3a) Live recordings mastered to CD/MP3 (I use Lame for final encode to MP3, not SF)
3b) Leveling, compression, glitch removal, compressed negative feedback for noise and echo reduction, bad note surgery and replacement, and EQ; on separate tracks for 5.1 AC3 encoding in Vegas DVD projects (indispensable)
4) See #3 above
5) 1-3 files at a time.

I of course use SF for more than the above, but those are the two most often recurring workflows.
I am on SF 7.

Subject:RE: Favorite/most used features in Forge

Reply by: iain_m

Date:5/26/2011 5:37:25 AM

(1) ability to combine fx with processes such as bit depth and sample rate conversion in a single batch process and in arbitrary order; auto-trim/crop; graphic fade; customisable UI; VST support; CD burning; crossfade loop

(2) batch processing; crossfade loop; auto-trim/crop;

(3) Sample library development; creating CDs

(4) Testing fx chains on individual files (typically 1-5), then applying those fx to batches of files.

(5) See answer to (4). Batches are typically 20-80 files.

Subject:RE: Favorite/most used features in Forge

Reply by: roblesinge

Date:5/26/2011 10:01:35 AM

It's our main audio editor. We edit large voiceover files into smaller individual files. We use paste-to-new, auto-trim/crop, Graphic EQ, Wave-Hammer, Insert Silence, Normalize and Noise Redux on ALL of our files. We also use the Batch Converter on pretty much every project to get our files into their final format. We also could not live without the scripting features available in SF. Being able to write scripts has drastically improved some of our work flows.

Usually, we work on one larger file at a time, pulling out small pieces of it into individual files and then edit, save and close them as we go along. Occasionally, we'll have a large set of files open for comparison or editing.

Rob.

Subject:RE: Favorite/most used features in Forge

Reply by: rraud

Date:5/26/2011 11:54:42 AM

What are the features you cannot live with out in Forge?
-- Plug-in chainer, Wave Hammer, Sample Rate/Bit Depth conversion, File format conversion; about the same as MusicVid. and the previous posts. I also use LAME for hi-res MP3 encodes, The internal Fraunhofer encoder for lo-res MP3s when necessary.

What are the features you use the most in Forge?
-- See above and below

What type of projects do you use Forge for?
-- Audio for Video Audio Only, CD mastering post, in conjunction w/Vegas and (dare I say) SloTools; Audio seminars editing and master prep, Music CD mastering; anything else that needs surgical fixes.

What are some of your more common workflows?
-- See above

Do you work with multiple files or typically work with one file at a time? More than 2 files at a time?
About 75% single; 25%, two-three files.

Subject:RE: Favorite/most used features in Forge

Reply by: Iacobus

Date:5/26/2011 12:04:17 PM

Answers, in order:

-Anything dealing with ACIDization (this includes the loop creation tools). Like the dockable windows feature as well as it streamlines the info I like to have available.

-I'm really liking the tools provided by iZotope (like the compressor and limiter from the Mastering Effects Bundle 2). Use those a lot when sweetening projects.

-Stereo projects, usually total mixdowns but sometimes individual tracks that need sweetening. Sometimes they're music projects, sometimes they're other types of audio (ambient, sound effects, etc.).

-For raw audio (like audio I capture out on the field, not the actual RAW format): Open audio, do my magic (creative mangling, editing, mastering etc.), ACIDize if I want/need to, close. For other audio (like direct recording of guitar): Similar as previous but usually it's for sweetening purposes since I record so hot. I especially record in ACID and open the results in Sound Forge in this case.

-Most of the time I'll work with one file but sometimes I'll work with two or more (especially if I intend to mix files together).

Iacobus

Subject:RE: Favorite/most used features in Forge

Reply by: ClipMan

Date:5/26/2011 1:33:36 PM

My workflow is AcidPro/Forge. I do chopping and tempo mapping in both. Need Forge processes in Acid. Best solution for me is you roll Forge into Acid or Acid into Forge. Eliminate duplicate functions and have One program do it all. Like CoolEdit but Vegas style. Maybe even roll in VegasPro too and blow the competition away. Just saying.

Brian
JazzHouseBlues.com

Subject:RE: Favorite/most used features in Forge

Reply by: ATP

Date:5/26/2011 2:26:37 PM

- regions management (extract to regions), selection tools, plugin chainer

- almost exclusively the above

- music pre- and post-production

- just basic sampling and mastering

- 1 file at a time.

Subject:RE: Favorite/most used features in Forge

Reply by: sergiob

Date:5/27/2011 9:56:55 AM

Wavehammer

Subject:RE: Favorite/most used features in Forge

Reply by: Larry Clifford

Date:6/5/2011 1:59:48 PM

I use very few features.

For the majority of my work I take a stereo WMA file that I recorded on a Cowon D2 FM recorder and keep selected parts. I do this my deleting everything on both sides of the segment, increase the volume, and save it as an MP3. If I want additional segments, I reload the original file and do the same.

Sometimes I will download a monoral MP3 file and do the same, saving it as a stereo MP3 file.

Seldom, I will take two stereo MP3 files and combine them into one stereo MP3 file.

Most of the volume increase is uniform on the entire file. Very few times I will increase a small segment that is extremely low. This takes a lot of time for my requirements.

Subject:RE: Favorite/most used features in Forge

Reply by: cyberbeat

Date:6/7/2011 12:47:12 PM

What I use all the time and can’t get along without are the following. Basically, everything that was included in Forge 8 especially Wave Hammer, Efx, and the Processing features such as EQ, dynamics and normalize. In addition, the noise reduction bundle is wonderful.

Common workflow:
Usually, I’ll have two or three windows open at once. When working on a project I’ll use the standard wave file format to open and save to and then I save the final file using the built-in MP3 encoder/decoder.

The following are what I don’t like about Forge 10:

a) More than two or four channel support. I never use this and see know use for other than to make the program more confusing and bloated.

b) The attempt and clumsy implementation at making SF burn Disc-at-once. This is a feature I never use, especially when there already was/is another application (CD Architect) which does and is good at it. IMHO, DAO burning should remain as a separate app).

c) A simple crossfade dialog box like there was prior to SF 9. I realize you can apparently achieve the same thing with mix paste feature, but all I want is a basic, crossfade dialog! Please bring this feature back!.

D) Finally, I am visually impaired and primarily use the keyboard instead of the mouse. So, the more functions that are available by just pressing a keyboard shortcut/hotkey the easier it is for me and other blind and visually impaired users of this product. That’s one of the things that’s always made it so great.

Thanks

Subject:RE: Favorite/most used features in Forge

Reply by: Geoff_Wood

Date:6/7/2011 1:39:58 PM

I use SF primalrily for tape transcription (1/4" half-track master tapes, 1/4 track tapes, cassette,VHS, Video-8,etc ). Also LP, 45s, and 78s.
I import whole passages into SF, chop 'em up, apply NR where necessary (hiss pops,clicks, etc).

I then do a degree of remastering where necessary in SF, on each track open in it's own window.

I woud rather do this all on a timeline in CD Architect, but the plugin structure does not allow realtime preview with many cpu-heavy plugins on each event (haven't tried this on my new i7 yet, to see if that can cope with 20 or so Izo mastering plugs !).

Also use batching when doing the same thing to a, um batch, of similar stuff.

I use dual monitors and split off windows on all the Sony apps whenever possible. I would like to use scrubbing with my Mackie MCU or ShuttlePro controllers.

geoff