Features overview
The Soundscape Editor is the working environment for all Soundscape 32 and compatible Digital Audio Workstations. It runs under Windows™ 2000 or XP. Because it relies on the DSPs in the Soundscape 32 or Soundscape 16 hardware for all audio processing, mixing, DSP effects, disk handling and synchronization, the level of performance is guaranteed, even with a modest front end PC, and regardless of how many other programs are running. This also means that if you have a high specification PC, its power can be dedicated to other tasks such as video work. Regular updates keep Soundscape users up to date with the fast paced evolution of recording technology.
While a Soundscape DAW does not need a powerful PC to provide outstanding results, if the Soundscape DAW configuration does includes one or more Mixpander PCI audio card(s), then the Soundscape Editor can also use the power that the host PC can provide. The Mixpander adds the possibility of streaming digital audio bidirectionally between the host computer and the Soundscape DAW with extremely low latency (subject to PC performance). This functionality can be used to place VST effects or virtual instruments directly in the Soundscape Mixer, resulting in the closest integration ever between dedicated professional digital audio hardware and the native processing world.
From recording to organizing an Arrangement and sample level editing, most of the work is carried out in the Arrange window, in which audio and automation Parts can be recorded to any one of 256 virtual tracks.
During tracking the system responds like a tape recorder, with the advantages of hard disk recording such as non-destructive punch in/out, loop recording of multiple Takes and of course, no rewind time… although there are Fast Forward and Rewind buttons. You can even listen to the audio while fast forwarding and rewinding. Reverse play is alo available, while single track or multitrack scrubbing can be perfomed with a tool. The transport buttons and scrubbing can be controlled from the on screen transport bar, the computer keyboard or a hardware control surface. Audio tracks can be armed for recording from the Arrange window, the computer keyboard, the Mixer window, or a hardware control surface. In fact, recording in Soundscape is so easy that you are free to focus entirely on what you are recording.
“Comping” in Soundscape is exceptionally easy. Any Part on any virtual track can be assigned to any audio playback track (colour-coded for easy identification), so you can easily work on dozens of Takes at the same time, whatever their position in the Arrange window (zooming in or out is instant). Before you delete the unused Parts from the Arrange window, you can select them and save them as a separate Arrangement, which you can easily drag back into the main Arrangement later, at its original time position… just in case you have second thoughts!
Note that you can even listen to an Arrangement from the SFile Manager before loading it:
If you prefer to have audio Parts automatically assigned to playback tracks according to their virtual track position, you can have it this way as well. You can also decide if Parts should be allowed to overlap, or if multiple simultaneous Parts can have the same playback track assignment (colour-code), in which case the topmost Part will play. And so on… you call the shots.
Automation Parts can be recorded and edited in much the same way as audio Parts. They contain Automation data, which is generated when you use the Soundscape Mixer, via the mouse or via a hardware control surface.
For editing, on a basic level, up to four tools can be assigned to the mouse buttons by clicking their respective icons in the current Tool Page with or without pressing the [Alt] key (9 configurable Tool Pages are available):
For lightning fast editing, you can use the Context Sensitive Edit tool:
It can assign the function of any other tool to the left mouse button, according to the positioning of the mouse pointer on the Part you want to edit, the Part type (audio or automation), and whether or not you press the [Alt] key. In total, up to 48 different editing operations can be performed with this single tool! The appearance of the mouse pointer changes according to this automatic function selection process, so that as soon as you are a bit familiar with the Soundscape editing tools, you always know exactly what will happen your next mouse click, as illustrated by the composite screenshot below:
Addtionally, the Context Sensitive Edit tool can be used to call menus that give you access to even more tools (right-click), to zoom in or out (right-click and drag) or to scroll the Arrangement window (right-click and drag with [Alt] key). Best of all, the Context Sensitive Edit Tool is itself user configurable:
Many tools can be used on both audio and automation Parts: Track Assign, Move, Copy, Move Vertical, Copy Vertical, Cut, Move to Locator, Copy to Locator, Cut at Locator, Snap Point Edit, Crop, Mute, Glue, Info (allows checking/editing of several Part parameters), Delete, Trim (exclude or including Adjacent Parts), Slip (slips data within the Part), Repeat, Timelock, Context Sensitive Edit (as described above), XPro (gives access to XPro plug-ins), Snap Point Edit.
Some are audio specific: Solo, Solo Part, Solo Scrub, Multitrack Scrub, Volume and Fade Edit, Fade In, Fade Out, Volume Trim, Normalize Process, Time Stretch/Compress Process, Pitch shift Process, Sample Rate Convert Process, Reverse, DC Removal, Mixdown, Noise-Gate, Waveform, Stereo Link, Phase Invert, Crossfade, Consolidate Process.
Others are automation specific: Automation Curve Select, Automation Event Edit, Automation Events thinning.
Other key elements for easy editing include the sophisticated Snap function, with which any object in the Arrange window, musical time divisions and SMPTE based time divisions can all be used as snap points, the Zoom tool, which can be selected with one easy to remember key press (of the [Z] key!) or by clicking the Zoom box (as soon as you have zoomed to the required level, the mouse button recovers its previous tool assignment automatically), up to 999 markers per Arrangement that can be inserted and named on-the-fly, Global Functions for macro edting, and many other facilities too numerous to list here, but all easy to learn and easy to use.
The Editor also provides comprehensive synchronization options (the Soundscape hardware has the rare capability to varispeed audio playack, modifying its sample rate in real time according to incoming Time Code), the Soundscape Video File Player (essential for Post-Production users), file import and export compatibility with various formats (WAV, BWF, Pro Tools™, MP3, MP2, SDR, and optionally OMF), etc…
Security features are included for the safety of your precious recordings. Thanks to the proprietary SDFS disk filing system, data recovery is normally possible even after accidental deletion (unless the data has been overwritten). Audio data can even be recovered in the unlikely event of a power failure occurring during recording!
Read more:
The Mixer section
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