Best audio mixer.

Action wrote on 2/17/2007, 6:03 PM
I have VMS7 Platinum. On another computer I have Sound Forge 8, can I load it onto the VMS7 program computer and use it as the audio mixer? In a demo somewhere I saw an additional stereo fader beside the master fader, what is that.

What's the answer to get a mixer with all the bells and whistles for use in VMS7. Thanks.

Comments

Chienworks wrote on 2/17/2007, 6:45 PM
Sound Forge isn't a mixer at all. It's a two-track editor. It's great for cutting, pasting, adding effects. It's mixing capability is limited pretty much to crossfading clips.

Vegas is a very good audio mixer. What do you want to do that you don't think you can accomplish in Vegas?
Action wrote on 2/17/2007, 11:35 PM
I'll end up with a narration track, a stereo sound fx track and a stereo music track. I'll want to mix all those to a final stereo mix track.

I know how to add the tracks to the timeline, but how do I add their faders next to the master fader and turn on the automation, do I have to download any extra add ons? The book is very sparse in this area.
Thanks again.
ritsmer wrote on 2/18/2007, 12:40 AM
The manual faders for the tracks are in the track headers. There you may generally set the volume and the stereo pan for the track.

For crossfading events in the track just right click the area where the events overlap and under fade type choose between 25 different types of fades.
For the beginning and ending of sound events that are not crossfaded with other events there are 5 different types of fades.

If you click "ignore event grouping" (you may even let the sound from one video event start before the video (if you have enough "footage" that is) - This effect gives a "soft" transition often seen in films.

Above this you may insert an audio envelope to each track where you can change volume and pan in the track. You can even see the level (blue line for volume and red for pan).
Chienworks wrote on 2/18/2007, 4:13 AM
Vegas Movie Studio doesn't have automation. That's only available in the full version of Vegas. However, as Ritsmer mentions, you can add volume envelopes to each track. These let you add control points to raise or lower the volume from point to point along the track. You won't be able to adjust them in realtime like a hardware mixer fader, but you can move them around while playing your project and make adjustments that way.

Rendering your final project output will mix all the audio tracks into a final stereo mix track.
ritsmer wrote on 2/18/2007, 5:20 AM
Chien: does VMS or Vegas have a "narration function" that can fade i.e. the music track when the narrator speaks? or how do you solve this - that is apart from the boring manual changing the volume envelope of the music track??
Chienworks wrote on 2/18/2007, 9:03 AM
Not that i can think of in VMS. Sorry.

I suppose you could simulate what we used to do back in the hardware days and set up "ducking" with the compressor. The idea being that narration increases the total volume of the mix, and a compressor will then drop the whole mix to compensate, thereby lowering the music whenever there is voice. You'd want a pretty long hold on the compressor so that it doesn't keep raising the music back up inbetween words.

Of course, with the full version of Vegas you can ride the track gain and have automation create all the volume envelope points for you in real time.
ritsmer wrote on 2/18/2007, 10:34 AM
I have both versions VMS 7 Plat and Full 7 (I'm simply addicted to that product) - so with your last remark I guess I have some manual scrutinizing to do to night to see how to "ride the track gain and have automation create all the volume envelope points for you in real time"

:-)