Cd Architect vs others - user interface

DIYdude · 19th July 2007

Hi all, I've been using Cd Architect for redbook mastering for about 5 years. For various reasons I have been interested in alternative software from time to time, and I've look at a few competitors, but have been suprised to find that few mastering suites seem to offer the "album at once" interface that Cd Architect has. (That's my name for it - they call it the Cd Architect Window.) This is where you can see the songs of an album lined up in order, so it's easy to fine-tune a running order, or jump between songs to compare loudness, or check how one song flows into another and adjust gap length, etc. As far as I can see, other mastering products work on a song-by-song rather than album-at-once basis.

I have found the album-at-once interface very intuitive, especially for customers who are unfamiliar with computer based music software and need to see clearly and simply what is going on with their album.

I guess my questions are:
* is CDA the only software that has this album-at-once interface?
* if the competitors don't have it, how do users work around?
* or is album-at-once not as useful as I think?

kidklash · 19th July 2007

I too am a CDA user, and love the "album at once" viewing and editing feature. I haven't found any other software with this feature. Extremely useful as you've pointed out, and for me, being able to run one song into another (or a soundscape into or out of a song) on the fly and adjust to taste has been a lifesaver. The only downside seems to be that CDA is a bit fussy about the CD burner you're using... works fine with some, not so good with others.

19th July 2007	#1
DIYdude Gear interested Joined: Jul 2007 Posts: 1 Thread Starter	Cd Architect vs others - user interface Hi all, I've been using Cd Architect for redbook mastering for about 5 years. For various reasons I have been interested in alternative software from time to time, and I've look at a few competitors, but have been suprised to find that few mastering suites seem to offer the "album at once" interface that Cd Architect has. (That's my name for it - they call it the Cd Architect Window.) This is where you can see the songs of an album lined up in order, so it's easy to fine-tune a running order, or jump between songs to compare loudness, or check how one song flows into another and adjust gap length, etc. As far as I can see, other mastering products work on a song-by-song rather than album-at-once basis. I have found the album-at-once interface very intuitive, especially for customers who are unfamiliar with computer based music software and need to see clearly and simply what is going on with their album. I guess my questions are: * is CDA the only software that has this album-at-once interface? * if the competitors don't have it, how do users work around? * or is album-at-once not as useful as I think?

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19th July 2007	#2
kidklash Gear interested Joined: Mar 2007 Location: PDX Posts: 14	I too am a CDA user, and love the "album at once" viewing and editing feature. I haven't found any other software with this feature. Extremely useful as you've pointed out, and for me, being able to run one song into another (or a soundscape into or out of a song) on the fly and adjust to taste has been a lifesaver. The only downside seems to be that CDA is a bit fussy about the CD burner you're using... works fine with some, not so good with others.