Hi, I think this is a feature request to expand, and merge the functionality of these two toolsets.
I believe with an alternate function, end user can access the nuance of both (essentially remove, or transfer content), and stay within one tool, rather then having two separate. This is what I am picturing:
Eraser has a great threshold function. I would like to expand on this by:
- Having a min/max range can be accessed from this tool. Allows the user to access content above a certain threshold, below a certain threshold, and/or within a certain threshold.
- “Erase” to target layer. This is functionally the transfer tool, but if there is a greater control with the threshold as mentioned above, this would be super powerful to have inside of the transfer tool.
I see no benefit to having better threshold controls in the eraser tool without allowing the transfer tool the same operability, and thus condensing them might make more sense. I picture a modifier/alternative mode for if the content is needing to be erased, otherwise it functions as the transfer does, moving content to the targeted layer.
Currently, I have been experimenting with erasing content above X threshold in layer 1, and then phase inverting and merging layer 1 with a duplicate of an untouched layer 1, to get access to the content that is above the threshold that I wish to retain. Perhaps there is a better way to achieve this, but I cannot (to my knowledge) only transfer content above x threshold when using transfer tool, as there is only hardness or transfer percentage to adjust.
Thanks,
2 Likes
I never use Erase tool and do not want to
hence my obvious vote
I’m not sure if I would like a combination of the Eraser and Transfer tool. I rarely use it, but I think Transfer is quite unique in a way, as you want to easily move and/or retain content between layers, while in my mind Eraser is meant to simply reduce/remove something unwanted and without the need for any layer management.
What I personally could imagine more for “streamlining” instead, is a combination of the Eraser and Amplifier tool, as both are meant to change the level by a certain amount, just working in opposite directions. But as every user has their own workflow requirements, maybe it is best to leave the tool splitting as it is.
I do agree with improved threshold settings for the tools, though.
3 Likes
I understand the need/want for this, and I’ve often wish the eraser tool could send what is erased to a different layer.
There are instances where erasing something that is clouded by other source material you don’t want to affect - it can be hard to ascertain whether you’ve over done the erasing or erased something you shouldn’t have, etc, etc. So being able to go back to an “erased layer” and being able to figure out and bring back where you went wrong, and then transfer that back to the working layer, or mixing it back in at a certain level, etc, etc.
For example, I had material that had some serious headphone bleed (musician had one side off ear and the engineer didn’t put the headphone amp into mono/1 ear)… A lot of manual erasing work… a lot. And a lot of re-do erasing on the same parts to get it just right without affecting the source negatively.
I ended up using Undo levels a lot which helped massively, and then recombining the layers after. But being able to erase to another layer would have made this process even easier I think combined with Undo Levels.
I agree, having a “target” layer explicitly for erasing is what I have been doing with the transfer tool, yet I am finding that I do not get the flexibility in working with the amplitude differentiation that the eraser allows.
I would love if we could achieve even this (the improvement to threshold controls), as if the removal of tools is too much of a paradigm shift for established workflows, I can withdraw that part of the request.
One additional improvement I am thinking of as well in workflow, is being able to leverage the thresholds ability to commit the transfer or erasure of the currently made selection. So, in the current functionality, I can make a selection with the lasso tool, and then when using the eraser remove everything in that selection with a preset limit of say -32dB, but to save on the clicking and swishing around of my mouse relative to the the tool size parameters, I would like to just erase or transfer all within the current selection with the settings chosen with a command of button. Similar to the “cut to” but honouring the tool settings.