[Ardour-Users] a few thoughts

[John Rigg]

On Sun, Dec 02, 2012 at 09:52:52PM +0100, Adriano Petrosillo wrote:
> You don't even need much, sometimes just using icons, adding simple
> functions (eg. why did it take so long for Ardour to add a track phase
> inversion button? And what about adding a mono-stereo toggle on the master
> track to check for phasing?)

A mono-stereo button would be useful. Could make a feature request on the
bug tracker if someone hasn't done it already.

> making UI elements "sleeker", using delicate
> shading and gradients, a better choice of fonts and colours, 

The theme manager already makes a lot of this possible. Looking at recent
changes in Ardour3 I expect it won't be too long before custom theme files
will be available.

> plugins with
> interfaces you can "read" with a simple glance, yet mantaining consistency
> between them, or maybe even user-defined editable track templates which
> feature colours, separators, knobs and sliders hardwired to specific
> functions in specific plugins (making it possible to add console-like
> channel strips in the mixer: when you have internal effects, it is
> something you can actually do, because you don't have to worry about having
> so and so plugin installed, making projects easy to move around)

Doesn't Mixbus already do something like this? I don't use it as I prefer
the plain, modular approach of the standard Ardour, but it looks like it
allows channel strip mixer controls.

>.... 
> ** : I don't believe that "the market is always right", and that you should
> blindly cave in to market pressure... but it is true that, statistically,
> most people, regardless of cost, will probably choose Logic, or Cubase, or
> Sampletude (which by the way overhauled its clumsy GUI, which was regarded
> one of its weak points... I don't think they have quite got it yet, but
> there is a lesson to be learned) over Ardour, and there must be a reason,
> they can't all be wrong ;)

The converse is also true. Some people choose Ardour because it has
fewer annoying features than the proprietary DAWs ;-)

John