Vegas 12 Audio Wishlist

cchoy wrote on 11/8/2011, 5:26 PM
Hey Audio folks
(rraud, CDM, newhope, farss, geoff, Ben, Baagoo, jbolley, Chienworks, etc):

How many of you guys are still using Vegas as a primary DAW and how many have switched out? I'm teetering at the edge here (once more).

It's that time again. Vegas Audio wishlist time. Since there are ZERO audio improvements in 11-- I thought we ought to look forward to 12 and make some feature requests.

Here's me:

- Restore the mix window or eliminate it. Make a preset for the mixing console that allows it to look and function exactly how the mix window used to

- Selecting a clip on the timeline from the project media window should move the cursor to the first instance of that media. There should be a way to toggle through all the different instances of selected media

-Option for multiple colored markers

-OMF 2.0 import and export

-is there full BWF read and write support now? The ability to edit BWF meta data by right clicking in the media pool

- FIX time stretch and pitch bend issues-- clips seem to randomly stop playing

- The ability to open a clip in more than 1 external program (right now I like to open clips sometimes in IZOTOPE RX and sometimes and Sound Forge-- and I have to change the default every time I want to use a hot key to do it-- very annoying. As a result, I've ended up using RX more often)

-Better VST support/stability

-Full 5.1 bussing, panning, and routing FX. (busses shouldn't lose their 5.1 panning)

- HUI support

- automatic placement of timeline events that have TC (BWF OR LTC tracks)

- some sort of version of strip silence

- 1 click application of a chain of non-real time FX as a new take

- per item volume envelopes

More coming once I think about it a little more. Would love to hear what you guys think.

C

Comments

cchoy wrote on 11/8/2011, 5:52 PM
Here is my friend Robin's wishlist:

-Set a default time stretch Method.
-Highlight Media in Media list when selected in timeline
-Normalize multiple clips to the same level
-Choose other sources to render from besides the master buss
-Drag and Drop FX from one track/buss to the other.
-Set Handles for Open Copy in Audio Editor, and Apply Non-realtime event FX
-Use a buss as the input for a track/input buss (or be able to route tracks and busses to input busses).
-Mulitple plugin Windows open at once
-Multiple Trimmers open at once
-Buss tracks in 5.1 mode without loosing the ability to pan the track in 5.1
-Support for 5.1 Plugins
-Choose Different Record Folders for Different Tracks
-Multiple marker colors
-Automation Lanes
-Media should disappear from the master media list if I move it into a bin
-More Track Colors
-OMF Import
-Better AAF support
-Hide/Disable Tracks
-Import Tracks From other projects
-Set a fixed nudge value
-OSX support-- <-- this is a big one that I think should be taken seriously!
gwailo wrote on 11/8/2011, 7:50 PM
wow - you've put a lot of thought into this - that's a great list - I agree with every single one except for the OSX thing

If Sony did everything on that list it would really bring Vegas back up to being a market leader in innovative features.

the only additions i can think of are:

1) have the ability to raise gain of a clip by +6dB instead of maxing out at 0dB
This would be like how it works in nuendo and the pro tools 10

2) Allow audio rendering to use more than 1 core (i'm pretty sure it only uses 1 now, or is it just my waves plugins that are limiting this?)

3) (i think you may have listed this) When you process or do destructive editing to a clip using a non-realtime plugin - it should create a new take (if it did this I can't see why there would even be a need for sound forge) - except maybe it would be nice if the pencil tool could be added to Vegas ( I love the handles suggestion, maybe an easy way to implement it would be to simply allow the "open in sound forge" to create a new take - so it will open the entire clip with whatever handles it already has and form a new take, so it gives both the feature of "open" and "open as new take" all in one)

4) Allow the addition of a single master VU meter that is side by side with the PPM meter (in soundforge they call it Interleaved meters)

5) (an improvement on your suggestion) when selecting a clip in the project clip window and pressing a shortcut key - maybe the clip / clips on the timeline would flash red - so it would be easy to find them

6) Go back to the days when vegas could open anything - Finally add proper support for a few of the popular pirate video file types (divx, xvid, mkv) so I can easily steal stuff or even drop it in the timeline just to check it out, especially support for dropping in pirate stuff with surround AC3 files

7) Add full apple pro-res video codecs ( i know there's pro-res codecs available but I think it seems to only work with 2 of the 4 pro-res types - Of course the video editors that give me stuff don't have a clue what codec they're using so I haven't been able to figure out which ones work and which ones don't - if you know , please let me know thanks

8) When you say better AAF - I assume you mean - give it a full working AAF export that will let me export my entire project with surround pannings, so that I can easily take my surround pre-mix to the big room for final mix - Which usually only support pro-tools or nuendo - i've experimented a few times with exporting an aaf from vegas and trying to get it to work in pro-tools - but it never worked, so I gave up


And now for my crazy suggestion

9) Since veg12 will be out with windows8 - Re-design the interface to allow for a touch interface

Picture having 2 monitors in front of you
These are not the touch surface (that would get extremely tiring)
On the desk in front of you will be a large touch surface (just like a mixing console or drafting table)
So your hands move on this surface to interact with things on the monitors - just like a massive multi-touch pad (or at least big enough to accomodate 2 gorilla hands like mine)
gwailo wrote on 11/8/2011, 7:54 PM
and a few other codec opening problems that should be fixed - m1v, m2v
gwailo wrote on 11/8/2011, 7:59 PM
Oh and please fix my biggest automation pet peeve

When adding FX bus automation to a track - please please please change the bloody colour!!!! between FX1 and FX2 and FX3 - right now they're all green

If anyone knows how to fix this please let me know, i can't find the option
Geoff_Wood wrote on 11/8/2011, 8:03 PM
I still prefer to use V as a DAW, though my last couple of projects have been on Acid (the application that is ...) due to needing VSTIs.

Oh if Acid could be as easy as Vegas, A8 maybe ?!!!

Um, we did get the Solo/Mute-able Grouped trax in 11. I find that really useful.

- Track Group volume envelopes

- How about Control-Click to open an FX chain as a separate additional chain window ?

- VSTIs operating in realtime audio-record mode.

- Project template files

- Copy/Paste envelopes

geoff

gwailo wrote on 11/8/2011, 8:10 PM
I just discovered this last week...

you can already copy paste envelopes - you just need to be on the envelope tool instead of the editing tool
rraud wrote on 11/9/2011, 9:46 AM
Well you folks pretty much have it covered so I will not comment much and sabotage any planned improvements by SCS.
- OMF Import/Export
- AAF.. that f__ing works
- Full BWF support
- Hide tracks
- Side-chaining
- Ability to raise gain of an event ( that would be real nice)

I have not upgraded since V9. I spent my software budget on a PTs rig, but I still use V9 when I can and on an occasional video project.

M_B wrote on 11/9/2011, 1:35 PM
- Save fxchain on audiobusses.
- Duplicate audiobusses
- 64th Notes grid
- simple midi seq
- better vst support
- A notepad
- when droping more than 1 audio file an option to put them on separate channels.
- adjust master tempo with an envelope
- Rewire
More to come...
Geoff_Wood wrote on 11/9/2011, 3:09 PM
" - adjust master tempo with an envelope "

Not sure about this one.

There effectively is no 'tempo' , apart from timeline/grid 'Ruler' labelling (if the display is not on a real time mode), and metronome tick.

If there was an actual ingrained project tempo relating to the actual audio(+video) engine, it would totally change the nature of the application, basically turning it into another Acid.

geoff

M_B wrote on 11/9/2011, 3:57 PM
Its the Beats per minute i am referring to in the project properties/ruler.

It should be great to change this in a project somehow for vst that uses sync to host tempo and so on.

Im not a video worker, just pure audio editing.
Geoff_Wood wrote on 11/9/2011, 4:18 PM
Yeah. The beats per minute is purely a display ruler (and metronome) thing. It is not a part of the fundament audio engine, and has no actual effect on anything in the media/files, recording, or playback.

Which is why there is Acid as well as Vegas. Like you, I suspect, I far prefer the uncluttered elegance and ease of use of Vegas for audio recording ;-)

geoff
M_B wrote on 11/9/2011, 4:24 PM
The bpm you put in syncs to vst plugins that has sync to host so its a part of the audio engine. Been there since V8 i think

For example tempo of delay or filter with syncable lfo and so on.

And for sure i prefer Vegas, can't change after 10 years :)
quarterbrown wrote on 11/9/2011, 5:32 PM
I'd also like to see a simple 'Change Tempo' marker added.

I predominantly use Vegas for recording and mixing bands and it'd be nice to be able to edit to a proper tempo grid. If all songs were one tempo for their entirety it'd wouldn't be a problem. But if there's even one tempo change, then the Measures & Beats timeline and the Metronome become next to useless.

There's only one workaround I've found:
*Make a metronome track in another program.
*Remap the metronome track in Vegas with markers for all the tempo changes.
*Change the project tempo to the tempo of the section I'm working on.
*Click where the marker is and Set Time at Cursor to 0.

This allows the grid to be temporarily set up for tempo in any even given section but it's a slow process and, quite frankly, is embarassing to do with any other DAW users in the room.
musicvid10 wrote on 11/9/2011, 7:07 PM
Said it before, but:
** Full BWF tagging and export.
** 5.1 VST support on the Surround Master.
cchoy wrote on 11/10/2011, 9:41 AM
@gwailo
"When adding FX bus automation to a track - please please please change the bloody colour!!!! between FX1 and FX2 and FX3 - right now they're all green"

This also drives me INSANE. Maybe the ability to choose the color? if not, maybe an optional FX lane? (kind of link surround panning has its own lane and vid FX get their own lane...)

gwailo wrote on 11/10/2011, 1:28 PM
I'm not a fan of automation lanes - too much wasted vertical space.
It's one of the reasons i don't like Nuendo

I just want an option to change the colour - almost everything else has different colours and options to change them - just not this - I guess this was just overlooked
cchoy wrote on 11/10/2011, 10:08 PM
I agree that I prefer the Vegas default but
REAPER has the option of automation lanes-- and I like that
Sometimes I can have 5-7 assignable FX I want to use and all that automation can get very crowded....

C
cchoy wrote on 11/14/2011, 10:01 AM
@jbolley-- curious to know what you think.. want to weigh in?
jbolley wrote on 11/15/2011, 9:41 AM
I've gone to Reaper for my main DAW at home. Still sticking with SADiE at the office but getting a bit tired of their slow development at Prism. Loving Reaper with my Waves Gold v8. (even though waves says Reaper isn't supported.)
We still use Vegas but almost exclusively to edit Camtasia screen capture A/V. The new mixer window is a mess!
AVID HD systems do not support OMF export for HD projects - now it's all AAF so perhaps it's best to leave OMF behind...

I'd like to have more than one effect window open at a time, the ability to route an aux to a sidechain input, and multiple true surround busses. Is there enough hardware controller support to allow keyboard-less editing?

Is anyone else going nuts over the staggered mute buttons for audio and video streams in V11? Also many of my V9 projects have become corrupt and unopenable - nice.

jbolley
jbolley wrote on 11/15/2011, 10:03 AM
Something reaper and vegas could benefit from would be project sub-components. I'd like to save my playlist and my mixer independently. Imagine being able to "save as" a mixer and use it in multiple projects! SADiE's been this way for years and I love it for post work. I'd really use it a lot for music mixing as well...

Jesse
Geoff_Wood wrote on 11/15/2011, 2:05 PM
I might have mentioned before 9!), but I want the Groupded Tracks to become full Folder Tracks, but even moreso than in Acid. I want the folder track to not only have overall Solo and Mute ((thanks !) but overall Group FX and at least level automation.

geoff

geoff
cchoy wrote on 11/15/2011, 2:09 PM
I forgot about this one.
I wish that there was a way in Vegas so that middle mouse scrolling doesn't affect faders. This drives me nuts sometimes, especially when working on a common session with multiple people. Some of the folks I work with scroll the middle wheel a LOT, and accidentally change all the levels/panning. A way to disable this would be AWESOME!
cchoy wrote on 11/17/2011, 10:13 AM
Anyone else still running some XP machines? (another thing I'd like 11 to support)
ChristoC wrote on 11/17/2011, 8:49 PM
Yes I have three XP machines - all have expensive Matrox Parhelia Triple Head display cards, which will never be supported in Win7 according to Matrox; therefore I'm not so keen to "fix what isn't broken" yet.....