| Waveform | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer | Tracktion Software Company |
| Initial release | 2002; 23 years ago (2002) |
| Stable release | |
| Operating system | macOS,Microsoft Windows,Linux |
| Type | Digital audio workstation |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | www |
Waveform, previously known asTracktion,[3] is adigital audio workstation for recording and editingaudio andMIDI. The software is cross-platform, and runs onApple macOS,Microsoft Windows, andLinux. It isfreemium software, offering a free trial with basic features, and a paid version with additional content and support.[4]
Tracktion was developed by independentUK designer/programmer Julian Storer and was released in 2002 by UK-based Raw Material Software. In 2003, US-basedMackie, a division ofLOUD Technologies specializing in studio recording and live sound products, took over the distribution of Tracktion. It was sold in standalone, boxed retail versions and bundled with Mackie, Tapco, and Echo Audio computer-audio interfaces and digital-capable mixing boards.
Although no official word came from Mackie, the users' understanding was that Tracktion had been discontinued as the company issued no updates, communication, or announcements on it since January 2008. However, at the January 2013NAMM Show, Tracktion's original developer Julian Storer announced he had reacquired control of the software and would continue developing Tracktion with his new Tracktion Software Corporation.[5]
In 2017, Tracktion Software Corporation rebranded the DAW to be called Waveform.[3]
Waveform was designed to be transparent and intuitive. Track object controls and parameters are context-sensitive; effects, MIDI instruments, and other software objects can be added to tracks or applied directly to individual audio and MIDI clips using adrag-and-drop system offilters. Complex chains of filters can be created, stored, and recalled for later use asrack effects, analogous to a savedchannel strip settings in a traditional DAW/sequencer.[6]
Waveform, as Tracktion, represented a move away from themodal dialog boxes, multiple menus, and cluttered windows common to legacy MIDI sequencers and digital audio workstations, in favor of a streamlined, single-screen approach that presented the user with minimal options at any time. In this way, Waveform is often[who?] compared toAbleton Live, but while the latter has two separate work areas (Session and Arrange), Waveform has fully context-sensitive windows that automatically appear or hide depending on the current task. Both are also noted for their more abstract visual styles, in contrast to thephotorealistic style of other interfaces (likeReason) which imitate the appearance of real world recording equipment andeffects units.
Waveform was the first DAW to adopt a fully vector-based, resizable interface.[citation needed]
The underlyingC++ code developed to create Tracktion's graphic and audio capabilities was later released as an open-source library,JUCE.[7]
| Free and open-source | |
|---|---|
| Proprietary |
|
| Defunct | |
| See also | |
