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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..ff41c30578 --- /dev/null +++ b/manual/xml/what_is_different_about_ardour.xml @@ -0,0 +1,133 @@ +<?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> |