[linux-audio-user] Ardour: trying to add a "bus" causes a crash?

[Sylvain Robitaille]

On Thu, 31 Aug 2006, Ichthyostega wrote:

> 1) have you the "automatically connect new tracks/busses" switch on?
>   try to set it to off, so you can see if its just the adding of
>   the bus or the connections that crash ardour.

Hrmmm....  I don't see a single such switch, but rather four switches:

   - Auto-connect new track inputs to hardware
   - Auto-connect new track outputs to master bus
   - Auto-connect new track outputs to hardware
   - Manually connect new track outputs

If these are not what you meant, I must be looking in the wrong place.

Of those, the first was selected, though I've just tried now with it
deselected, but no change in behaviour.

> 2) does the crash happen as well, if you use a smaller project
>   (e.g. only the master bus or just one track)?

Started a new empty session for testing:

    - just the master bus, Add a new bus: no problem
    - add 1 track, then add a new bus: no problem
    - add 8 tracks, then add a new bus: no problem
    - add 8 more tracks, then add a new bus: no problem

Hrmmm...  perhaps the difference here is that I'm working with empty
tracks, while in my real project I have a little over an hour's worth
of material to mix?

I'm trying importing a similar number of tracks with as much audio from
another (already completed) project.  I'll see if it's still ok with that,
or if it crashes again.

Assuming similar behaviour once the imported tracks contain more than
N megabytes of data, does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can
tune my system so that I can add new busses to a project with this much
audio to mix?

Update: the import completed as I was typing;  I added a new bus with
no problem.  Tried again with the project I'm working on, but it crashes
still.  :-(  So: Ok with new project, but crashes if I try to add a new
bus to this particular existing project ...

There must be something about the settings I have for this project.
If anyone can suggest what I should be looking for, I would greatly
appreciate it.  I really don't want to have to start over every time I
realize I need a new aux bus ...

> 3) why are you trying to use a post fader send?

It's analogous to the post-fader send on a hardware mixer, which is
what I'm used to working with.  If I could just send all 16 tracks out
as analog audio to a hardware mixer, and mix that to 2-track,, I would
be much more comfortable, and would know exactly how to get signals
to any effects and back.  That would relegate Ardour to being "just"
a multi-track "tape" machine, though, and it would be a shame to not
use the features built into the software.

>   why don't you just connect the output of your track(s) to the new
>   bus besides the master bus, add your plugin on the bus pre or post
>   fader and connect the output of the bus to whatever you like.

Two reasons:

  1. I want to be able to adjust the relative (post-fader) levels of the
     tracks going to the aux bus separately from the mix going to the
     main bus.  For example, if I want less of one track going to the
     aux bus than another track, but I don't want to change the relative
     balance between the two "dry" signals going to the main mix.

  2. I'm unable to add a new bus at all, as doing so crashes the software,
     so post-fader send, or track output or not, I can't get the signals
     to an alternate bus.

> I'm doing the latter frequently, but I must confess, I never used a
> send ;-)

I started mixing many years ago, on hardware mixers, and have spent most
of my time working with audio in the analog domain.  Mixing on a computer
is still new to me, and I want to be able to accomplish the same results
I can get on an analog mixer, while still benefitting from the features
of the DAW software.  I'm not trying to do something Ardour _can't_ do,
but it may be that I'm trying to do it "wrong".

Thanks for your suggestions.  At the very least, it inspired me to gather
additional data about the problem.

-- 
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Sylvain Robitaille                              syl at alcor.concordia.ca

Major in Electroacoustic Studies                  Concordia University
Faculty of Fine Arts / Music Department       Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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