Klangraum

Phase changes in track view is more like a chemical laboratory, and I'm not a chemical. The track view is well-made. The thing is... It's sometimes necessary to make final changes on volume or phase or anything else. Because of imperfect recording or old sample library, destructive functions are not unnecessary. What could we do with these old menu entries, which are clearly out of date? You could improve them to work well in a destructive context, or you could take them out entirely. The non-destructive way of working will certainly remain the dominant way for most of us. (channel tools, bouncing etc., which is in certain circumstances more work than necessary) As it is for now, it's a real headache, every time you open up the menu. And I do so, when the normalize function is needed. Since the discussion goes wild, I made an update on the mockup to clear up my intention a little. Btw.: I overlooked the fact that swap channels was also one of the options for this "minimonster" gain function.

I could already imagine something like that. Cakewalk seems to be taking old features with it for compatibility or just for nostalgia. More up-to-date methods than replace these old ones. For me, destructive functions on samples immediately after recording have always been the first step. As you said, everyone has their own approach. It does require a certain perspective on how to see and use the DAW. However, these "core" things are often criticized by people on various forums, as I have read. But it's ok as long as more people don't want it as a desirable improvement.

There are so many little things (like unlabeled invert phase buttons) that could be polished up. It's a bit sad that the core features feel unfinished or improvised. But what can we expect from free software today? I mean, SONAR was $500 and the problems were the same then. On the other hand, the overall appearance is much professional.

I totally understand the non-destructive approach. My intention is to have sample editing features, which make fundamental (destructive) changes easier, for having good basic material. As I said, all these functions are already there within the gain function as presets. It's the presentation (from left, to left, left-right-left), that is so inconvenient, what I would call experimental, maybe originated from a very old version of Cakewalk Audio (90ies?), when everything was packed into one tiny screen.

The clip gain functionality is a good feature, but it is not what I expect from a sample editing perspective. It would be nice to have quick and easy functions to make fixed changes on sample material. I quickly made a mockup from what I would like to see, rather than a "complicated combined multi something". Furthermore, I do understand, if people are fine with it over the years, but it could be much more transparent.

Suggestion for improvement: Way to complex audio gain command should be different menu items. (Process > Apply Effect > Gain) As a newcomer to the software, I find it extremely irritating how something elementary like audio gain combines so many functions that should actually be different menu items: - to mono, to stereo - phase invert - gain left/right (+/- dB) - cut/gain center, side channels (+/- dB) - pan + everthing with channel link This gain function, as it is at the moment, seems to be a relic from the early days of Cakewalk that has never been modernized. These improvements should not be a big effort since the functionality is already fully available. Cheers