Soundtrack Pro 2 Initial Thoughts …
Four hours have past since the Fedex driver dropped off my box. I wanted to share a bit a initial insight before I break for dinner and loose myself in this stuff for the rest of the evening.
I installed all the applications included in FCP Studio Suite 2 on two internal hard drives in my dual 2.0 ghz G5 [3 gigs of ram]. The applications require 4 gigs of disc space, and program attributes require an additional 66 gigs.
The applications were installed on the main system drive and the program attributes were sent to the secondary 200 gig hard drive. Installation lasted just shy of 2 hours. The only issue that surfaced during installation was the installer seemed to hang each time the “100% complete” reference appeared after each of the eight install discs completed data transfer. It turns out Apple posted a notice yesterday in reference to this issue. The bottom line is that it’s normal behavior. All applications now run, and all previous projects run with no problems.
Soundtrack Pro 2
Here is a quick brief:
• You can now maintain envelope point associations during clip management
• MP3 export is available from within the application
• When a cross-fade is double clicked, a customization curve palette appears
• Tracks can be colored independently
• Detailed metadata management and editing is available
• You can perform a fast Match EQ process right from the menu. Simply select a source clip, set the EQ reference - select a target clip, and process
• There are three handy “HUDS” [heads up displays] including a floating timecode palette
• The new UI configuration can be quickly modified with Pane Selection buttons
• The STP Plugins have a new aesthetic design, similar to the common Apple Pro-App palette
• In terms of multi-track recording - I couldn’t figure out why the I/O configuration would not permit me to set things up to support 8 inputs. it appears projects are limited to 6 dedicated inputs from a supported interface. My guess is that this concept is based on 5.1 audio support. Keep in mind that if the external interface has more than 8 inputs, you can still record from the additional inputs. The key is that you are limited to 6 at any given time.
I have to say - this feels like a completely new application. It’s awesome.
to be continued …
Hi Tim,
Jeez … I’m not sure where to begin. What a tremendous improvement. I seriously believe I can now operate exclusively within this application.
I’ll post additional information later this eve …
-ptfigg.
Great to see your initial thoughts. My top two missing items for the last version were Normalize RMS and that marks were time based not sound based and that you couldn’t select which you wanted (i.e. if you made all of your marks and then removed a bit of audio, all of the subsequent audio moved to the left so all of your edit marks were off) - have they addressed either of these?
Rock on Paul -
D
Hi D,
In terms of what I refer to as “dial in RMS Normalization”, this has not been added. Let me fill you in a bit of news with regards to my own personal workflow:
• You cannot beat the way Peak Pro handles this, especially for jobs that require rapid, pinpoint level processing. On the other hand, I am finding that I achieve better results when using a compressor paired with some sort of volume maximizer. An example would be engaging the required modules in Ozone, or using Wave Arts Final Plug with a compressor of choice. The draw back is the lack of precise targets. The manual method requires a few passes of processing, and then a subsequent method of measuring the results. Peak wins here as well.
If you are comfortable operating in STP, and have access to Peak Pro - perform your edits and processing in STP, and use Peak just to measure the processed results.
• In terms of the Marker issues that you mentioned - can you try something? Select a two second segment in the STP Wave Editor. Instead of deleting it - go up to the Process menu and click the Silence command. The audio selection disappears, and there is no ripple.
Now grab a replacement segment and paste it into the area of silence that you previously generated. Does this solve your problem? To the best of my knowledge the structural integrity of the entire file should remain constant.
I’ll try this and get back to you. Keep me posted.
-ptfigg.
Hi Paul,
I tried your fix with STP1 and it doesn’t do what I’m looking for. Suppose here’s an example of what I want:
I have a tape with something like this:
Good evening, *ummm, y’know*, I’m glad you’re all here *ahemmm* tonight for my *cough cough cough* big announcement.
Here the * represent marks I’ve made to edit. Now I remove the first “umm, y’know and get this:
Good evening, * I’m glad you’re *all here * ahemmm to*night for * my cough cough cough big announcement.
The first * is correct - it’s what’s left after I removed the “umm, y’know” but now all of the other marks have remained in place while the audio has shifted left.
I can’t replace the ummm, y’know with silence or I get these gaps where I want to remove sound.
This and the Normalize RMS were my main reasons for using Peak to edit my tracks. I love STP for other reasons but it looks as if I’m going to still need to use both programs.
As for your RMS solution - it sounds as if you have a software equivalent of a compellor (is that what I mean?). I’d be interested to know more about this part of your process.
Thanks again,
D
Ok, I see what you mean.
So - you move through a clip and insert marks at possible edit points before you actually begin the edit? In this case you need the markers to maintain their relationship [location] with the edit point after the samples ripple?
Occasionally I’ll do this if the program is not too long. I just log timecode references before and after the edits. Needless to say this adds additional time to the workflow.
As far as the RMS/AGC/Compellor issues, let me know if you have specific questions.
-ptfigg.
Sounds great, and I love that they included the ability to export to mp3. Come on apple, sell it without Final Cut Studio. I think it’ll actually help their sales if they did that.
Michael,
I totally agree. This would be a major plus for Apple if it was available as a stand-alone application.
-ptfigg.
You have dual 2.0 ghz G5 with 3 gigs of ram. I just wanted to know how long does it take to open this application? (After cold start and second time afer closinng it). Can you give me approximate time?
hi
i would be interested in knowing how STP 2 is working out for you. i just upgraded and while i find the new features wonderful, the program overall feels slow and somewhat unstable. haven’t had a crash but the program responds poorly, as if it’s overtaxing the computer which is impossible. strangely, i was recording audio in and it recorded flawlessly without choking. my CPU meters were at their usual spoits (round 30-40% while recording whcih is normal) but the program responded as if it was overtaxed. when moving the cursor there would be no response for a few seconds and then it would jump to the new position. it was almost impossible to use the cursor to pinpoint spots in the sound wave. the music would play before the cursor got there!
anyway, was wondering what your config and setup is like and maybe what you did when intalling.
thanks
m
Hi,
I’m using a Dual 2.0 Ghz G5 with 4 gigs of ram. Ati 9800 Pro [256 meg]video card.
I have experienced two specific issues that are problematic to me personally:
• Exporting compressed files [mp3, AAC/podcast]yields silent audio channels
• Apparent clicks and pops when a 6 channel file occupies a single track, and it is part of a more complex multitrack project.
I have not experienced any stability issues, hanging, crashes, etc. Occasionally a wave form takes some time before it paints itself into a track upon insertion. In this case the application begins to choke a bit. This was the case with the prior version as well.
It’s no secret that many people are experiencing problematic issues. My guess is that patches are in the works for all the applications included in the FCP Studio bundle.
-ptfigg.
That solves it…
I guess I’ll have to purchase it for myself!
Thanks for your review on STP2. Much appreciated. As a user of the original STP, I had found it to be extremely buggy amd wholly inadequate for film-based post sound projects. It’s clear that STP2 is a huge step up. However, one issue still remains in even this new version; a problem I have railed about from the programs arrival — the application still will not open multitrack audio files outside of two-track stereo. As a professional sound recordist using digital recorders in the field, and given how long these recorders have been out, I can’t believe Apple still has not integrated 4-track file acceptance into this program. These files require the use of third part software in order to individualize each of the four tracks for separate import. When the heck is Apple going to catch up to current field recorders producing audio tracks for film-based projects?!
Tom Beach
Tom,
Have you tried holding down the option key when dragging a multi-channel file up into a multitrack project? This works for me. Each channel inserts itself on an independent track.
-ptfigg.
PT,
Thank you for this suggestion. My experience in the past has been that when attempting to simply open in Waveform Editor or drag to Timeline, a multitrack poly file from STP browser, I would get the message informing me the file could not be opened because it was not a mono or stereo file (these were always 4-track files). I should also be clear that I still have not purchased FCP Studio 2. But if you’re saying I can work with poly files directly in STP2, I will put my upgrade order in. Thanks again.
Tom
Hi Tom,
I see. Sorry for not being clear. STP 2 supports poly’s.
Let me know when you are up and running. We can discuss additional options and features.
drop me a line.
ptfigg@mac.com
-paul.