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diff --git a/manual/xml/what_is_different_about_ardour.xml b/manual/xml/what_is_different_about_ardour.xml new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..970eb369b6 --- /dev/null +++ b/manual/xml/what_is_different_about_ardour.xml @@ -0,0 +1,129 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" standalone="no"?> + +<!DOCTYPE section PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.4//EN" "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.4/docbookx.dtd" [ + +]> + +<section id="sn-what-is-different-about-ardour"> + <title>What's Different about Ardour</title> + <para> + If you are someone who has used other audio software, particularly software + generally referred to as a Digital Audio Workstation (or "DAW"), then there + will be a number of things about Ardour that may puzzle you on your initial + and early encounters with the program. + </para> + + <section id="no-default-session"> + <title>No default session</title> + <para> + You must explicitly create a + <glossterm linkend="gt-session">Session</glossterm> before you can do + anything else, and if you choose not to use one of the provided + <glossterm linkend="gt-session-template">session templates</glossterm> , + you will also have to create + <glossterm linkend="gt-track">tracks</glossterm> and + <glossterm linkend="gt-bus">busses</glossterm> in order to record and/or + edit existing audio material. + </para> + </section> + + <section id="where-do-plugins-and-sends-go"> + <title>Where do plugins and sends go?</title> + <para> + Ardour doesn't have any fixed number of "slots" for + <glossterm linkend="gt-plugin">plugins</glossterm>, or + <glossterm linkend="gt-send">sends</glossterm>, or + <glossterm linkend="gt-insert">inserts</glossterm> : you can have as many + per-track as your system has the horsepower handle. The two black boxes + above and below the mixer strip's gain fader are + <glossterm linkend="gt-redirect">redirect</glossterm> lists where you can + add, reorder, remove and generally control plugins, sends, and inserts, + both pre- and post-fader. + </para> + </section> + + <section id="no-builtin-eq"> + <title>No builtin EQ</title> + <para> + Most people don't think much of the EQ's built into other DAWs. Moreover, + you cannot meaningfully do equalization with 3 knobs marked "Lo", "Mid" and + "Hi". Since good-quality EQ plugins are available for no-cost on Linux, + Ardour prefers to allow you to choose one which you prefer. Of course, you + can save your session configurations as templates, so if you have a + particular EQ that you prefer, you only need do this once. + </para> + </section> + + <section id="no-visible-send-controls"> + <title>No visible send controls</title> + <para> + Although Ardour supports sends, there is no way to control them directly + from the mixer interface - you don't get a dedicated knob on the mixer + strip. However, if you bring up the send's own editor (for example, by + double-clicking on its name in the redirect list), you will find a richer + set of functionality than most other DAWs offer for controlling the + behaviour of a send. + </para> + </section> + + <section id="a-smaller-set-of-tools"> + <title>A smaller set of tools</title> + <para> + Most DAWs have evolved towards providing the so-called "smart tool" which + allows you to use the mouse for several different kinds of operations + without changing to a different tool. Ardour has taken this approach from + the beginning, so that the "Object" tool actually allows you to carry out + many different operations depending on how and where the mouse is used. + Ardour does not provide a destructive "pencil" tool as some other DAWs do, + for some fairly deep technical reasons. Needing to use a "pencil" tool for + waveform repair nearly always indicates a problem with the setup of your + session and/or recording hardware. The different tools that ardour does + offer include the "Object" tool which has many different uses including + region trimming/moving/copying, automation editing, and more; a "Range" + tool for defining ranges of time; a "TimeFX" tool for timestretching; a + "Gain" tool used exclusively for editing region gain envelopes; and a + "Zoom" tool to manipulate temporal zoom. Many other operations are + accessible via context menus or <link linkend="sn-key-bindings">keyboard + bindings</link> +<!-- + a href="/manual/intro/mouse_and_keyboard">keyboard bindings/a + --> + . + </para> + </section> + + <section id="no-restrictions-on-track-io-configuration"> + <title>No restrictions on track I/O configuration</title> + <para> + Tracks and busses in ardour do not come in pre-determined configurations. + You can create a mono track, and convert it to a stereo track at any time. + You can convert it to a track with 3 inputs and 7 outputs if you want, + because Ardour also doesn't restrict track I/O configurations to a fixed + set of mono/stereo/5.1/7.1 etc. In addition, because of Ardour's use of + <link linkend="sn-configuring-jack">JACK</link> , a track with one input + can actually receive data from many different locations. You can also + connect any track to any number of other tracks and busses. In Ardour, the + only difference between a track and a bus is that a track plays back + pre-recorded material from your disk drives and can record to them. Both + tracks and busses can have plugins, sends, inserts, automation data and + more. + </para> + </section> + + <section id="your-audio-hardware-is-not-the-only-io-option"> + <title>Your audio hardware is not the only I/O option</title> + <para> + Because Ardour uses <glossterm linkend="gt-jack">JACK</glossterm> , your + session isn't limited to receiving and sending audio to and from your audio + interface. It can freely send and receive audio signals to any other JACK + application, in some cases even JACK applications running on other + computers. On the one hand, this makes understanding the I/O options for a + track or bus a little more complex than in a conventional program, but it + also adds incredible power to Ardour, as you will see later. + </para> + </section> +<!-- + <xi:include xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude" + href="Some_Subsection.xml" /> + --> +</section> |