Effects Brought Back in Audition CS6?

[topmonkey]

I, like many Audition users were disappointed to see many features stripped away when Audition 3 moved on to CS5.5. I was particularly frustrated that the convolution and vocoder effects were removed will these return in CS6? They are particularly useful tools for sound design (which is what I do), especially when creating transitions from one sound to another. I also thought the 'Generate..' effects were a major oversight, though I see a new version of 'generate tones' is to be in CS6, but what about 'Generate Noise'. Is it possible to have a full list of effects in CS6?

[kingery12]

Ok. Up review I see the CC in blue that I didn't see before. When I watched the video (which I just double-checked), he says in Adobe Audition that the pitch bend is a new feature. He doesn't specify that it is only on the cloud version. Thus my confusion. So the material is all correct, but if you  lack attention to detail as I apparently do, you get the impression that Pitch Bend is in Adobe Audition itself. I didn't take it to mean ONLY in the "CC" version. My apologies for the confusion.

http://tv.adobe.com/videos/using%2Dpitch%2Dbend/

[_colin_]

For those following this thread, the CS6 web site just "turned on" about 30 min ago and you can now see the complete "buying guide" that does a fairly good comparision between 3, CS5.5 and CS6 (the web people only let us go 3 versions back total): http://www.adobe.com/products/audition/buying-guide-version-comparison.html

Colin

[topmonkey]

Thanks for the link Colin - not sure it works, in terms of enticing people to upgrade though - if anything it shows how good Audition 3.0 is! Also, I found a mistake (sorry!) - "Noise Reduction processing " should be listed as being available in Audition 3 as well.

Steve - thanks for the alignment demo - actually doesn't sound THAT bad with sung vocals and it's something the Adobe guys could definitely work on.

[noiseboyuk]

I see here - http://www.adobe.com/content/dotcom/uk/products/audition/features._sl_id-contentfilter_sl_featuredis... - under new effects it says "pitch bender".  "Yay", I thought, that is such a staple for me, and one of the reasons I keep using 1.5 still.  But then I saw on this very thread and here - http://www.adobe.com/products/audition/buying-guide-version-comparison.html - that the feature is still absent.  Which is right?

[_colin_]

noiseboyuk wrote:

I see here - http://www.adobe.com/content/dotcom/uk/products/audition/features._sl_ id-contentfilter_sl_featuredi... - under new effects it says "pitch bender".  "Yay", I thought, that is such a staple for me, and one of the reasons I keep using 1.5 still.  But then I saw on this very thread and here - http://www.adobe.com/products/audition/buying-guide-version-comparison .html - that the feature is still absent.  Which is right?

This is an error by the web team and I have notified/yelled at them thoroughly, it seems to only appear on the UK version of the site as the US english pages do not have them listed. How they messed it up is beyond me.

To be confirm, Pitch Bender is NOT in Audition CS6, nor is Generate Noise.We tried to get pitch bender in but simply ran out of time (it's a relatively complex effect to port believe it or not), but it remains VERY high on the list for the future.

Colin

[_durin_]

Hi noiseboyuk

I don't know why the UK feature page is so different, but it is incorrect.  Pitch Bender was not implemented in time for the CS6 release.  I have notified those who can correct the website and apologize for the confusion.

[noiseboyuk]

Thanks Colin and Durin for clarifying even if the news isn't good.  I appreciate you folks always have a list of missing features with people saying "but it's really important", but it's really important!  Would be nice to just use 1 version of Audition.

This might be a bit OT, but in general it looks to me like you're placing Audition as a full scale dubbing tool.  Is this correct?  Such a hard market to break into where compatibility is king, but the feature set does now look very promising.

[topmonkey]

Audition CS6 will forever be known as the 'nearly there' release. I just don't get the point of rushing a release and leaving out features that are almost ready, especially when said features were already previously part of the program. I'd rather wait for a version of Audition that ticks all the boxes and I'm sure most would agree with me.

[MusicConductor]

That is, sadly, the nature of the beast when you have software releases coordinated company-wide, and a product team that works hard to eliminate as many bugs as possible so what IS there works well (safe to say that more bug fixes would have to equal fewer features).  I don't suppose you were around and saw all the discussion (rants/arguments/justifications/whining) when Audition CS5.5 came out?  So, as a long-time Cool Edit, Cool Edit Pro, and Audition user, I sympathize with your questioning the nature of things.  But, at the same time, I'm glad that Audition is alive, well, kicking hard, and about to launch some fresh goods.

So let me encourage you to see the glass as 9/10s full, not a little empty, even if it means running back to an older version for the odd missing feature.

[Paul_Ferguson]

Hey, topmonkey, I don't see it that way.  I see CS6 as the 'this is what should have followed Audition 3' release.  Looking at it that way, it hasn't been rushed - it's taken a long time.  But one thing that has impressed the socks right off me is how the dev team got this version out on schedule.  A year ago, Durin predicted it would be out by May, and lo and behold it's coming out in May!  And *that* is why some features weren't included in this release.  So my advice is to lobby NOW for the features you want to see in 7, which will then be forever known as the 'completely there' release. 

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

topmonkey wrote:

I just don't get the point of rushing a release and leaving out features that are almost ready, especially when said features were already previously part of the program. I'd rather wait for a version of Audition that ticks all the boxes and I'm sure most would agree with me.

Doesn't work like that. What they worked on for this release is what's in it. Nothing else has already been a part of this particular codebase, simply because it hasn't existed in this form before. If you'd experienced what happened with Audition 2, which was essentially what you are asking for, you'd realise very rapidly why the developers release versions now the way they do. 2 looked and worked like a late beta (still does), and I don't know of anybody who actually likes it at all.

As for 'waiting for a version that ticks all the boxes' - well, how long are you going to wait? If I decided to wait for a version that does absolutely all the things I might ever want, then I'd never have got the program at all - or any other software, come to that. Simply because it doesn't exist. But for the vast majority of things I ever realistically want to do, Audition CS6 does them. Okay, CS5.5 didn't, but for those few things I wanted that it didn't do, I still kept Audition 3 on the DAW. I knew exactly what the purpose of CS5.5 was, and didn't object to this - just as the half a dozen mac users who got it didn't, either (I don't think that there are actually any more than that... hehe!). Basically, the concept of 'feature complete' doesn't exist for Audition, just as it doesn't for most other software; just like the concept of 'bug free' doesn't.

[topmonkey]

MusicConductor - I started using the first version of Cool Edit Pro at Uni and then bought my own copy of CEP 2.0, so yes I have followed the programs progress - how I miss the Brainwave Synchronizer lol. I managed to source an Audition 3 upgrade (fully legit) after downloading a trial of CS5.5 and deciding it wasn't worth paying over £300 for. I can't believe any Audition 3 users upgraded to CS5.5 - I have no idea why Adobe even bothered releasing it. But as you say, CS6 is certainly heading in the right direction now, I just wish they had spent less time on this alignment effect and more time on restoring 3.0 features.

therealdobro - I have high hopes for CS7. I shall be giving CS6 a spin when the trial arrives, so I will suspend my decision on whether to upgrade until then!

[ryclark]

Remember that if you were a Mac user you would never have used Audition before and therefore CS6 will be a revelation to them.

That's why it has taken so long because it had to be rebuilt from the ground up to be cross platform. This has also allowed the developers to make the code multi processor conscious and much more efficient/quicker. They wouldn't have been able to do that with the old Syntrillium/Audition 3 based code.

[MusicConductor]

topmonkey, I agree that AA3 is superior in many ways to CS5.5 -- I'd be crazy to argue otherwise -- and glad you found a copy before it disappeared.  It will forever stay on my system even after I grow to love CS6 or CS7 or whatever...  But there is some forward progress in CS5.5 in that I could do multitrack album editing in it like never before.  CS6 is going to rock...  unless you need a brainwave synchronizer.

Looking forward to the trial/release and how well the multitude of new features & functions hit everyone.

[_colin_]

topmonkey wrote:

MusicConductor - I started using the first version of Cool Edit Pro at Uni and then bought my own copy of CEP 2.0, so yes I have followed the programs progress - how I miss the Brainwave Synchronizer lol. I managed to source an Audition 3 upgrade (fully legit) after downloading a trial of CS5.5 and deciding it wasn't worth paying over £300 for. I can't believe any Audition 3 users upgraded to CS5.5 - I have no idea why Adobe even bothered releasing it. But as you say, CS6 is certainly heading in the right direction now, I just wish they had spent less time on this alignment effect and more time on restoring 3.0 features.

therealdobro - I have high hopes for CS7. I shall be giving CS6 a spin when the trial arrives, so I will suspend my decision on whether to upgrade until then!

topmonkey - First, thanks for all the feedback. RE upgrading, at the end of the day, all we ask is that you take it for a spin and see for yourself and I appreciate that you're willing to do that.

My end goal personally, and why I work here and do what I do, is help people to be productive, creative and get the job done they need to do. If CS6 does that for you (or even is 90% there), then great! but if not, we get it and all we ask for is for constructive feedback (somewhere out there is an Audition feature request/bug request form which goes to a team mailbox).

this might sound like crazy talk, but we are even ok if you want to just stay on an old version forever. I realize they're not supported anymore, but if it's your perfect audio tool and no matter what we do will ever change that in the future versions, then we are honestly OK with that. Sure we'd like you to upgrade and I believe you'll be surprised once you dig in to the new version, but we can't make you like CS6 nor can anyone else, that's something you have to decide for yourself 🙂 and it sounds like by early May'ish (I'm hearing May ~7th estimated dates) ship will start and trials should begin around then.

Colin

[topmonkey]

Thanks Colin,

It's great that Adobe now seem to be listening to what users want. I have been very unsatisfied with Adobe's level of customer service in the past and there was a general feeling of the big corporation not caring about the little guy, BUT I do believe that things may be changing and CS6 is actually a massive step in the right direction, showing that Adobe does listen. OK, not everything was taken onboard, but a lot was. To be fair, maybe I expected too much, all I wanted was Audition 3.0 with some enhancements, but I was unaware that the whole program was being rebuilt from the ground up. Even so, I think it was a logical expectation, given the reaction to CS5.5.

[Teetow1]

topmonkey wrote:

It's great that Adobe now seem to be listening to what users want.

Just to chime in here -- it's not about giving you what you want, but giving you what you need. It might sound like nitpicking, but the difference is incredibly significant to a software developer.

Our usage patterns are like fingerprints -- no two are exactly alike. As some on this forum have already heard me say ad nauseum, I'd sell my firstborn for a scripting API for Audition. Couldn't give a crap about CD burning. Odds are very high that we can throw a microphone in a random direction and find someone who feels the exact opposite. Does this mean that I'm wrong? No, it means Adobe needs to get as many points of view as possible to get a fair idea of how Audition can best serve the community as a whole. Our job isn't to give them a work sheet -- they need data. Lots of it, given in a structured and constructive way.

So, while it's incredibly important that we share our experiences, describe our workflows and enumerate the tools we rely upon, we shouldn't treat this dialogue (which, by the way, is quite rare in the audio field) as a buffet where we pick and choose which features go in next. Design-by-committee is a one-way street to feature hell, and it never ends well.

(By the way, I don't mean to single you out personally. I just picked your quote as a suitable anchor for making this point)

[topmonkey]

Totally get your point Teetow1. This would be perfectly valid if Audition were a brand new program (yes I get that it was rebuilt), but all people were asking for when CS5.5 was coming out was that nothing is taken away that was already part of the program in 3.0.

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

topmonkey wrote:

.... but all people were asking for when CS5.5 was coming out was that nothing is taken away that was already part of the program in 3.0.

The point here is that this was simply not possible within the launch timescale set by Adobe corporate. They haven't even managed that now, for heaven's sake! The whole argument hangs around the best use of finite resources; Adobe have to pay developers, but they also have to sell some software, and there's a delicate balance point you have to try to reach with this to prevent going broke in the process.

Also, what people wanted even more than 'nothing taken away' was that Audition CS5.5 didn't do what Audition 2 did when it was launched, and continues to do...

[Bob_Howes]

The impression I'm getting is that the Audition developers have tried their best to listen to users' feature requests so it's probably worthwhile to head over to the Feature Request sub forum ( http://forums.adobe.com/community/audition/audition_general/audition_feature_requests ) and post away.

[Paul_Ferguson]

Bob Howes wrote:

The impression I'm getting is that the Audition developers have tried their best to listen to users' feature requests so it's probably worthwhile to head over to the Feature Request sub forum ( http://forums.adobe.com/community/audition/audition_general/audition_f eature_requests ) and post away.

+1

The development team's receptivity and skills, plus this forum's experienced and helpful users, is the main reason why Audition's so good.  I'm astounded at how good it is, considering that it's housed in a giant corporation.  Don't tell Adobe.  They probably wouldn't like it.

[Todd_Kopriva]

> Don't tell Adobe.  They probably wouldn't like it.

Hey!

Actually, several folks on other product teams hold up the Audition team and their interaction with customers  as an example of how everyone should work.