Mixing of N tracks automatically

Hi there,

Would it be possible to automate the mixing of N tracks via Audacity?

Let me explain the process:

Input: I have a folder with N audio tracks (say 16 wav stems), some mono, some stereo, all starting at the same time.
Output: the resulting stereo mix file (wav)

Can this be done programmatically, without human intervention?

I can’t wait :slight_smile:

Axel

http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/chains_for_batch_processing_and_effects_automation.html

Koz

Computers don’t do anything without human intervention. You have to turn it on, launch programs (or create a script to launch the program(s) on boot), … The question is “how much human intervention”.

How is your computer going to know which files you want to mix? You can select them using “File > Import > Audio” or you can create a LOF file to tell Audacity which files, or you could create an AutoKeys script, or …
How is your computer going to know how loud the mix should be?
How is your computer going to know the relative levels of each stem?
How is your computer going to know where to put each of the stems (or do they all start at time=0?

In short, yes you can automate things, but what exactly do you want to automate, and how much do you want to program?

Computers don’t do anything without human intervention. You have to turn it on, launch programs (or create a script to launch the program(s) on boot), … The question is “how much human intervention”.

Agreed.
Well, in the end, I would like to be done on a server…
So no human intervention, except for the programming, testing and deploying :slight_smile:

How is your computer going to know which files you want to mix? You can select them using “File > Import > Audio” or you can create a LOF file to tell Audacity which files, or you could create an AutoKeys script, or …

Initially, I thought of creating the .aup file and then having audacity open it and recording the mix.
Maybe it would be easier to script the “File > Import > Audio” ???

How is your computer going to know how loud the mix should be?

I would mix at unity, ie 0dB.

How is your computer going to know the relative levels of each stem?

The stems are already at the right level.

How is your computer going to know where to put each of the stems (or do they all start at time=0?

They all start at time=0

Thanks for your help.

Axel

Well, in the end, I would like to be done on a server…
So no human intervention, except for the programming, testing and deploying

What is the show or production? We’ve been led down the garden path before by someone dancing around describing the product or service. After many posts it turns out to be difficult or impossible, or, something already accomplished by an existing tool.

It’s awkward working in a vacuum. It makes my ears hurt.

Koz

If you mean an on-line web server, there are many reasons why Audacity is not a good tool for the job.
If you don’t want to write a program from scratch, then SoX may be a better option: http://sox.sourceforge.net/
If you’re dealing with PCM audio, then it may be easier to program the entire thing from scratch. “Mixing” two or more PCM files is simply a matter of summing the sample values.

Thanks Steve !!!
You are correct about Sox.
This is the tool I am looking for.
Wow… It is so powerful.
Thanks again :slight_smile: