Waveform Visibility while Editing Clip Gain Automation

[Tim Elmore]

I am trying to do clip gain automation in Sonar while using the Tungsten theme. When the clip is displayed normally (not doing gain editing), the waveform shows up very well. However, when switched to Clip Gain Automation mode, the waveform background is dimmed to the point where the waveform virtually disappears. It's like editing blindfolded.

This is very different from CbB in Tungsten, where the waveform background turns to medium gray during clip gain editing, and the waveform is still clearly visible. Here is how CbB and Sonar compare:

 

In Sonar, this doesn't improve much at all if I switch to the themes Dark, Dark Gray, Mercury, Cosmic, Tungsten Classic, or Mercury Classic.

Is there any setting that will keep the clip waveform from virtually disappearing during clip gain editing? I have been looking for any settings that might affect track highlighting or clip highlighting, but haven't found anything.

[icu81b4]

Hi Tim,
Apart from the colour issue, I see that in the CbB tungsten example used the actual waveform looks exactly the same, I would have expected to a see an increase in size of the  waveform where you add 3.7db and a decrease in size where you take -4.8db off. 
 

I have raised this issue in the latest update feedback thread. 

Edited December 11 by icu81b4

[Tim Elmore]

Thanks for the response. I have the "Display Clip Fade/Envelope Attenuation" option unchecked. That is why the waveform size is not displayed larger where the gain is boosted.

 

When the box is checked, the display behaves exactly as you described. I tend to adjust gain automation by ear instead of by the display, so I leave this box unchecked.

[SteveC]

The only way I see to improve it is to temporarily change the clip foreground and/or track color to something light:
 

[Tim Elmore]

Temporarily changing the track color is a step backward in convenience compared with CbB, but at least it's a usable workaround for Sonar. It's certainly a better option than changing the entire theme whenever I need to edit clip gain. Thanks for the suggestion.