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Traverso
15 December, 2007 - 10:57 — subzero
hello again.
I've seen an announcement about Traverso at kde-apps.org. It looks good. (http://traverso-daw.org/)
Rui, I'm writting this to let you know about it - look at it and take some inspiration from it ;)
Anyway it would be great if you can share some code...
Forums:
Re: Traverso
Yes I'm aware of Traverso ever since it was called Protux or something like that. It really looks good and takes a interesting approach to user interaction in deed (mouse vs. keyboard).
Both projects have many ambitions in common, but I'd note that one is an audio-only application (yet?), more like a pure/genuine DAW, and Qtractor is an audio and MIDI sequencer from the ground up.
I'm plain sure that competition is a good thing, and all projects in the F/OSS world can only benefit from each other, having progressive and bigger advantages to their developers and users. That means me and you, of course. And after all, it's only a hobby, isn't it? :)
It would be also interesting to know what the Traverso team thinks about my pet. Would you be kind to ask them, as an impartial but interested party?
Thanks for the note. Have fun.
Cheers.
--
rncbc aka Rui Nuno Capela
Tested Traverso
Just finished trying out Traverso. It's not bad. It's not great, but it's not bad. There are a lot of similarities between Qtractor and Traverso, but many more differences. I really don't care whether a program is mouse oriented or keyboard oriented, as most DAWs should be both. I like keyboard commands for the speed, as it much faster generally then driving a mouse, on certain things. However, I know many people that would rather not ever touch their keyboard, which is fine too. That is why both methods should be present.
Likes: (not all "likes" listed here have been tested)
- The FFT Spectrum Analyzer and Correlation Meter are very nice. Not the best execution of the idea, but it's there, so it can only get better.
- ALT+dragging a clip to copy it.
- LV2 Plugin support (even though I know LV2 is a long way from finished)
- The project manager may be a nice idea, although I have not had the chance to really play with it.
- X key splits a clip object (T key please ;)
- Ability to burn a Redbook CD directly from the project.
Dislikes:
- I hate not having a dedicated mixer window. The sliders to the left of a track is fine, but a dedicated mixer is a must IMO.
- The program seems to have problems with JACK resulting in a segmentation fault when trying to connect (admittedly I'm using the CVS version, so this could be the problem.
- No internal MIDI tracks.
- No external MIDI control (at least that I could find)
- The program seems generally unstable. Just a simple operation like "Insert Silence" crashes it. Not sure why this is even there. If you clip is split, then pulled apart, you would have silence between the clips. Seems useless to me.
- I really miss the fade boxes on the corners of the clips, and it's a pain to drag the edges of a clip to crop it. (menu item...probably a keyboard command, but didn't find it. Qtractor is way better at this ;)
Overall, I think that Qtractor is superior to Traverso, and certainly much more stable. I have spent hours upon hours with Qtractor, and only about an hour with Traverso. Mainly because the CVS build of Traverso was so unstable, it was very unpleasant to use.
With that said, this is obviously not a very fair comparison, just the best I could do after a short test run of Traverso. :)
Considering Traverso has been in development much longer than Qtractor, and comparing the differences between them, I see Qtractor rapidly surpassing Traverso, in a short amount of time. :)
Lexridge
RTFM
Generally speaking, Traverso has been rock stable from version 0.30.0 Perhaps that Insert Silence is not working indeed, but then, how can you compare a cvs snapshot to a 'stable release' ? (It was indeed crashing, but that's fixed only couple of weeks ago)
At least, use a released version of Traverso, and when it doesn't work the way you expected, file a bug report :)
Moving edges: point the mouse somewhere to the edge, hold the E key, move the mouse: edge follows. Can't be simpler?
Fade adjusting: similar, but use the F key. By means of common sense, one doesn't even have to think which key should be used for what action: Fade, Gain, Drag etc. Keys used: F, G D .
When you need another key mapping: just create your own!
Want to change parameters of objects ? Point the mouse to it, hit E (Edit). Or just the right mouse button to get an old fashioned menu.
If you use jack svn, there seem to be problems, a backtrace would be helpfull....
Feedback is great, but please send it to the Traverso devs :D
And of course, read the fine manual....
Re: RTFM
Remon,
(I'm assuming you're one of Traverso devs, right?)
Thanks for posting here and to defend Traverso as it stands; it's a great program and surely far more documented than my little beast ;) Ok, it's documented, period :D
And always, feel free to get by and share your thoughts and worries, if any:)
Meanwhile, I'll take the chance to wish you all a merry merry Xmas and let it be a Very Good New Year, for you and to all that you care.
Cheers
--
rncbc aka Rui Nuno Capela
Re: RTFM is a good idea :)
Remon,
Thanks for the keyboard tips, as I did obviously not read the manual, as I just wanted to give it a very quick once over, which I tried to clearly explain.
I also mentioned that I had used a CVS version, which I had checked out last Saturday (2007-12-15). I was not comparing a CVS snapshot to a stable version of anything. Both Qtractor and Traverso were from CVS...neither are/were stable releases.
One thing which is not a secret, when I try out a DAW program for Linux, I usually compare everything to the fine Winders (originally Amiga) program, Samplitude, which in my experienced/professional opinion, is the best DAW ever created. However, since I no longer use Windows in my home environment, I am always attempting to get as close to Samplitude as I can.
I think both Traverso and Qtractor have very bright futures indeed. Both of you please, keep up the excellent work! We need more developers out there like you guys. :)
Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours.
Lexridge
Merry Christmas
Hi both,
I was perhaps a bit hasty to defend Traverso, but hi, it's my little baby :P
About the silence clip feature, it's not my idea, but one dev liked to have it, and who knows, more people see a use for it. And imho it's not really a good idea to duplicate existing programs, instead try to innovate and make things better.
So let's hope both projects will improve and who knows benefit from eachother!
For now, I wish you all a merry Christmas, and all the best for 2008
Remon
Re: Merry Christmas
Remon,
And imho it's not really a good idea to duplicate existing programs, instead try to innovate and make things better.
Oh, I agree 100%. The beauty of Linux is that one doesn't have to necessarily "duplicate" a feature from a popular DAW. Just make it better. By adding a similar feature, and taking advantage of the audio subsystem would mean it most likely will be much more flexible than it's counterpart, simply because of ALSA and JACK. For example, Aux buses could be MUCH better in a Linux DAW, since each bus could also show up as a JACK connection, with the LADSPA effects already associated to it. Essentially, a copied feature from a WinDAW to a LinDAW simply blows its counterpart out of the water, IMO. :)
Lexridge
Merry Christmass
(trying again, last one didn't work)
Hi both, and thanks for the explanation, kind words!
I was perhaps a bit hasty to defend Traverso, but hi, it's my little baby :)
IMHO new programs should not be a duplicate of existing programs, but rather innovate and try to search for ways to become better the the existing ones. Traverso has a flexible keymap with which you can map all keys to whatever action you want, so it's possible to have your own favorite keys, which you was used to use in other programs.
Let's hope both projects will evolve and become great programs!
Best wishes, a merry Christmass, and all the best for 2008!
Remon
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