2019-07-01_Computer_Music

Ashappenseveryyear,thelatestversionof

theDAWformerlyknownasTracktionis

uponus.We’regoingtofocusentirelyonthe

newfeaturesforthisreview,soif youneedan

overviewofthesoftwareingeneral,digoutour

reviewofWaveform9 (8/10, 257),orheadto

theTracktionSoftwarewebsite.

TheDoctorisin

Forus,thebiggestnewadditiontoWaveform’s

featurelistforv10mightwellbetheGroove

Doctor.Thisisa pop-out‘wizard’-styledialogue

forgroove-quantisingaudioandMIDIclips,and

extractingtheirtiminginformationfor

impositiononotherclips,orasa tempomap.Set

a rangeforanalysisintermsoftimeandtracks/

clips/groups(thelastofwhichwe’llcomeback

toshortly),thenhittheAnalysebuttontoplace

transientmarkers(whichcanbefreelyedited,of

course)intheselectedclip(s).Whatyouthendo

withthosemarkersdependsonwhichofthe

threeoperationalmodesisthenselectedinthe

Analyse‘step’.‘Quantise/groove’slices the clip at

themarkersforquantisingtothegrid at various

beatdivisions,ortoa groovemap(preset or

user-created),iterativelyatupto100%, with

adjustablecrossfadesanda Consolidate option

forfinallyrenderingtheslicesbackto a single

clip.‘Extracttempomap’createsa tempo map

fortheprojectbasedonthetimingof the

capture,snappedtoa one-bargrid– ideal for

reclockingtheclicktoa looselyplayed drum

track,forexample.And‘Extractgroove’ converts

thetimingofthetransientstoa groove map for

savingoutandimposingonotheraudio or MIDI

clipsin‘Quantise/groove’mode.

TheGrooveDoctorbringsa much-needed set

ofgroovemappingfunctionstoWaveform, and

theabilitytoanalyseandslicemultiple tracks

togetherisidealfortighteningupmultitrack

drumsandotherlayeredensembles. The

interfacecangeta bitconfusing,though, with its

often-unnecessarystep-by-stepparadigm, and

wedon’tgetwhyMIDIgrooveextraction is

Tracktion Software

Waveform 10 $119

Another year,anotherupdateto thisnowwell established and still-

innovative DAW, butwhatfruits have thelast 12 months borne?

VIEW MANAGER

Hide and reveal

Waveform 10’s

various sections

RACKS

Waveform’s

Rack-based

paradigm is as

effective as ever

GROOVEDOCTOR

OpentheGrooveDoctorfor

audioquantiseandmore

TRACK EDITOR

Pop single or

multiple tracks

out to separate

windows

COMPACT

CONTROLS

PANEL

Nowcollapsesfor

morespaceabove

ACTIONSPANEL

Accesscustomised

shortcutsfortracks,

clips,plugins,etc

MIXER

Thehighlyconfigurable

mixeralsopops out

MIDIEDITOR

EditMIDI in the

mainUI or pop the

pianoroll out

ARTISAN

COLLECTION

62 freebiecreative

effectsplugins

SLICEDAUDIO

TheGrooveDoctor

hasslicedand

q u antisedthisclip

ACTIONPANEL

FILT ER S

Setfavouritesfor

exclusiveviewing

housed in the new Actions Panel (see below)

rather than the Groove Doctor interface.

The aforementioned edit groups feature is

another biggie. Any number of tracks can be

assigned to a group, of which you can have as

many as you like in a project. Groups are

managed in the new Groups panel, where tracks

are added/removed, and linking of Colour,

Volume, Record, Pan, Mute, Solo, Sends, Track

Height and Visibility are toggled on and off:

adjust a linked parameter for one track and all

others in the group follow. Activating the Edit

option links clip positions and boundaries

across grouped tracks for combined moving/

resizing, the latter, inevitably, a little

unpredictable with overlapping clips. That aside,

for control of main parameters, groups are fab.

Actions speak louder

Waveform 10’s Actions Panel moves the old

Properties panel over to the left hand bar

(revealed and hidden using the nifty new

88 / COMPUTER MUSIC / July 2019

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