A feature I think would be very handy is more in-depth volume envelope curve editing capabilities for audio events directly on the waveform. Currently, you have only 2 options for this;
1st- with the event volume using the center-top square handle controlling it or the event info line. This is however limited to affecting the entire waveform as a whole. This is fine but allows no editing of specific sections within a waveform, so this is regarding the 2nd option only.
2nd- is using the draw tool directly on the waveform. This way you can edit custom sections of your waveform volume within one single waveform. This however is very clunky and frustrating in effect. So below I will outline how it basically works and my work around to get it to edit specific sections within a waveform.
This can only be used as a subtractive volume tool, which isn’t the bad part, but a limitation nonetheless. The “zero point” of volume being unaffected is set as the very top of the editing space within the waveform visual. There is no intuitive way to start there being that if you click anywhere with the draw tool, it starts your volume envelope curves based on where you clicked. See fig.1 below for the example. The entire waveform is now affected rather than having a starting point from which the audio is unaffected.
If you drag that one point you can see how the envelopes at no point reach the starting volume or “zero point” as depicted in fig.2.
Even if you try to create anchor points for your audio, it still does not quite get the job done, as seen in fig.3.
The only way I have found to be able to properly use this tool to attenuate a small section, like a word or two in a vocal, is to force you to create multiple anchor points. You need to create two initial anchors to go to the far left top corner and far right top corners creating your “zero point” anchors. Then you would need to create the next set of anchor points on either side of the section to attenuate, as this is the only way to leave the rest of the audio waveform unaffected. This leaves you free to finally create points to edit the volume curve in one specific section as shown in fig.4. (Please note, this is all in an attempt to keep this as one whole waveform. There are ways to split the events and go from there but it is cumbersome and unnecessarily littered with extra steps, and also has its limits, all defeating the purpose of speed, efficiency, and intuitive use.)
This feature improvement would make it similar to Pro-Tools clip gain editing, but regardless, it seems a helpful and hopefully easily implementable editing update.
Also to give an example of its use and purpose, I would say 90% of the time is to manually adjust the dynamic range of audio before it hits a compressor or limiter. Having visual feedback and manual control really is helpful to me a lot of times.
Two extra important things to note:
- This should have the capability to add volume as well.
- Currently you cannot select multiple draw points and move/edit them together. This should be incorporated, and this would function very similarly to volume automation points, and hopefully become much more useful. Now that I am thinking it through, it should just be functioning almost just like volume automation points, except on the waveform curve.
Does anybody else find this to be a worthwhile editing update?
