The Acoustica 7.2 software looks and feels great, but it is still missing some essential tools!!

[aurban]

I almost bought Acoustica. It looks and feels great to use, but then when you're going a bit under the hood, some essentials seem to be missing and it feels a bit unintuitive still.
For example:
I create a new multitrack session with 4 files and want to undo the import. Doesn't let me undo. And the files remain.
After import the files are all on one track, which is fine, but they are all merged rather than separated out.
There should be a prompt saying whether there should be a 4 second gap or no gap, or something on import between each clip.
NOW!! The biggie!
I would like to jump to the beginning of each of the imported clips and insert a 4 second silence right at the start. There is NO keyboard shortcut, nor an easy way to go to the beginning or end of each of the clips on that one track. You have to carefully drag to the beginning, but there isn't even a snap option.
It's all fidgety.
Also I would love to have the ability to programme macros.
I can do all of those things in Adobe Audition, but Acoustica 7.2 still seems to be quite weak in the multitrack session area.
So, I'm likely to hold off purchasing Acoustica unless I have noticed huge improvements in that area.
Some essentials just seem to have completely overlooked at this stage.
But I must say, it looks pretty and there are areas in which Acoustica shines. Annoying to me though is there isn't one software that does everything well in regard to audio editing, with the exception of Adobe Audition, but that software is sooooo expensive!
Looking forward to check your software out in a few years time.
Hope you see these comments as constructive feedback rather than criticism, because that's all it was meant to be.
If anything said above is incorrect though, please let me know, and I will stand corrected and review my decision on purchasing. Maybe I just haven't found the info in the Help documentation.
Regards.

[Poinzy]

Almost bought... There's a daring statement. I almost bought a Ferrari.

When you mention Adobe Audition, you suggest things about your status. But you don't say what you do and where you do it, to give people a clearer idea of what you really know about audio editing programs. I do tech support for a physicist doing acoustic studies of concert halls, using various audio editing platforms. I don't see any feature deficiencies in Acoustica. I do, however, have a problem with program stability on my system. So, for now, I just use Acon Digital plug-ins in Reaper.

So, do you actually "do all of those things" in Adobe Audition, or are you just a well-read bystander? If you actually use Adobe Audition, why would you even consider buying (or purchasing a subscription plan for) another editing program? I don't get it.

[stian]

Hi!

Thanks for your interest in Acoustica! We plan to implement several usability improvements in the multitrack editor in the next update so the timing is good.

I almost bought Acoustica. It looks and feels great to use, but then when you're going a bit under the hood, some essentials seem to be missing and it feels a bit unintuitive still.
For example:
I create a new multitrack session with 4 files and want to undo the import. Doesn't let me undo. And the files remain.

I just tested this and it seems to work fine. Are you using version 7.2.8?

After import the files are all on one track, which is fine, but they are all merged rather than separated out.
There should be a prompt saying whether there should be a 4 second gap or no gap, or something on import between each clip.

Yes, you can choose to create tracks or to import them sequentially. Since you mention Adobe Audition, it actually behaves identically in this regard as far as I can see. I've added your feature request for automatic spacing, though. That could probably be a huge time saver for some users.

NOW!! The biggie!
I would like to jump to the beginning of each of the imported clips and insert a 4 second silence right at the start. There is NO keyboard shortcut, nor an easy way to go to the beginning or end of each of the clips on that one track. You have to carefully drag to the beginning, but there isn't even a snap option.
It's all fidgety.

I see your point. So we basically need an "Insert Silence" command and a way to move the cursor to the next clip end or clip begin, right? That should be very easy to implement.

Also I would love to have the ability to programme macros.

Yes, that's a larger undertaking, but I've added the request.

I can do all of those things in Adobe Audition, but Acoustica 7.2 still seems to be quite weak in the multitrack session area.
So, I'm likely to hold off purchasing Acoustica unless I have noticed huge improvements in that area.
Some essentials just seem to have completely overlooked at this stage.
But I must say, it looks pretty and there are areas in which Acoustica shines. Annoying to me though is there isn't one software that does everything well in regard to audio editing, with the exception of Adobe Audition, but that software is sooooo expensive!
Looking forward to check your software out in a few years time.
Hope you see these comments as constructive feedback rather than criticism, because that's all it was meant to be.
If anything said above is incorrect though, please let me know, and I will stand corrected and review my decision on purchasing. Maybe I just haven't found the info in the Help documentation.

I'm by no means offended -- constructive critisism is appreciated.

Best,
Stian

[stian]

Hi!

I do, however, have a problem with program stability on my system. So, for now, I just use Acon Digital plug-ins in Reaper.

That's the lost audio device settings issue you're referring to, right? We're currently testing, but hopefully, we've found the culprit. I can send you a link to the beta version if you'd like to check on your system.

Best,
Stian

[Poinzy]

I'll just wait until you guys post the official update. I'll also wait for the user reviews. I'm not really in the mood to experiment.

31 July update: I've since discovered another serious bug in Acoustica 7.28, something unrelated to device preferences, but which prevents rendered files from working correctly in other programs, and in my rackmount media player. So I've moved on to another audio editor, one which doesn't have the Acoustica bugs. I'm using the replacement program as a host for my VST plug-ins, including the Acon Digital ones. That's the way it goes.

24 September update: 12 weeks later, and still no sign of that Acoustica update. I don't know why I keep looking.

05 November update: Vaporware.

[BigHeadTodd]

Having an insert silence function is very useful.

[stian]

Having an insert silence function is very useful.

We'll try to get this into version 7.3. The time schedule is a bit tight, but I think we'll manage...

Best,
Stian

[Hermetech Mastering]

Just looking into Acoustic Premium now. The "Insert Silence" function would be absolutely necessary for me, since I use it multiple times a day. I need to add 2 seconds silence to the beginning of every file before I run it through the analogue outboard mastering chain.

[stian]

Just looking into Acoustic Premium now. The "Insert Silence" function would be absolutely necessary for me, since I use it multiple times a day. I need to add 2 seconds silence to the beginning of every file before I run it through the analogue outboard mastering chain.

Thanks for the interest! Insert Silence is already available in the clip editor (Tools > Insert Silence...) and the feature request was for multitrack sessions. The latter is already implemented in the upcoming version 7.3 along with many other goodies...

Best,
Stian

[Hermetech Mastering]

Sounds great Stian! Thanks for the reply. I was playing with the demo for an hour or so last night and must say I was very impressed. I'm gonna spend today trying to set up my usual keyboard shortcuts and layout and start using it on projects. I'm pretty sure I will make the switch from RX Advanced before the demo period ends...

[stian]

Sounds great Stian! Thanks for the reply. I was playing with the demo for an hour or so last night and must say I was very impressed. I'm gonna spend today trying to set up my usual keyboard shortcuts and layout and start using it on projects. I'm pretty sure I will make the switch from RX Advanced before the demo period ends...

Thanks, I'm very glad to hear that you like it so far! Please don't hesitate to comment if there's functionality you miss. In general, the modules are more general in Acoustica since it covers general editing, mastering as well as restoration. E.g. you'll find plosive reduction in the DeClick tool (thumps and plosive sensitivity slider), de-essing in Dynamics or Multiband Dynamics (check out the de-essing presets), etc. Version 7.3 will add additional AI based tools along with the new Extract:Dialogue plug-in which you can already download and authorize using the Acoustica Premium Edition license key.

Best,
Stian

[Hermetech Mastering]

Thank you, that's great! You can be sure I will be asking lots of questions and hopefully making lots of constructive suggestions.

The only other question I have right now, is when in full screen (Windows 10), I can't access the taskbar at the bottom of the screen to access other open applications. I often switch between a DAW and my audio editor, have them both full screen, and it's strange for me not to be able to do that in Acoustica. Of course I can use Alt-Tab, but I am very used to using the mouse for that too.

[stian]

Thank you, that's great! You can be sure I will be asking lots of questions and hopefully making lots of constructive suggestions.

The only other question I have right now, is when in full screen (Windows 10), I can't access the taskbar at the bottom of the screen to access other open applications. I often switch between a DAW and my audio editor, have them both full screen, and it's strange for me not to be able to do that in Acoustica. Of course I can use Alt-Tab, but I am very used to using the mouse for that too.

Strange, I wonder what's going on there. I can see the taskbar on my computer when I maximize the Acoustica main window. Do you have the taskbar in locked mode?

Best,
Stian

[Hermetech Mastering]

Yes, the taskbar is locked and set to automatically hide. With other apps I can still access it by hovering the mouse pointer at the bottom of the screen.

[Hermetech Mastering]

OK a couple more! I like to have keyboard shortcuts for:

"Zoom Out Fully Vertically and Horizontally to whole file" set to "0"

"Zoom to Horizontal Time Selection" set to "1"

"Zoom to Left Edge of Selection" set to "["

"Zoom to Right Edge of Selection" set to "]"

But not seeing those options in the Keyboard Shortcuts prefs, is it possible?