in search of a for my needs ergonomic workspace

[chrtob]

Hello forum members,

I am quite new to Pyramix. And I would like to ask you for help, to get a good start with this great DAW. I use the DAW with Anubis from Merging.

I need help setting up an for me ergonomic workspace within its GUI. And some templates, already existing, have to get updated concerning the numbers of channels and a few more details. Anubis and Pyramix are updated to the very last version available today (2024.02.02). I work with Windows 10 Pro 64bit, Version 22H2.

I am in the business of restoring shellac records, 78s dating back from 1926 to about 1955, produced with an electric recording chain. So my needs are quite specific. Naturally, my needs are the opposite of demanding for Pyramix. I do not depend on many channels. Big latency is no problem for me. So I do not need Masscore for my work.

For sceptics: 78s are based on a puristic live direct cut to disc recording process with a very short signal path. These discs are very old, but they can only show off all their tonal qualities with the very best of today's audio technology in the analog domain, but even more in the digital domain. DSD/DXD is therefore the perfect choice for an optimal archive format.

Until now, I have been working in Audition as DAW in 32fp96 PCM. There I was able within the GUI to set up a workspace with an intuitive workflow. Pyramix is a more powerful but also a more complex DAW. And this is what I fight with at the moment. I have to admit that I have not been able jet, to set up an adequate workspace, or at least one that comes close to my needs.

There are several reasons why I switched from Audition/Hilo to Pyramix/Anubis: The converters (ADC and DAC) of the Anubis are much better in terms of sound quality. So I want to switch to Anubis. 2024 I must switch to DSD as the basic archive format for quality reasons. So I have to switch to Pyramix.

I already mentioned that his DAW is far too powerful for my simple needs. Therefore, use the Elements version of Pyramix. I don't think that a more powerful version would make sense for me.

A first screenshot shows my workspace in Audition after summing the transfer to mono – working in the digital domain. This is a small laptop screen. In reality, I work with a larger display that shows me plenty of detail, but also gives me a good overview on the entire track, always shorter than four minutes with 78s.


http://www.argentango.ch/img/pyramix/1-Audition.png


On the left, I have all the information and tools I need at my fingertips. On the right, I have a large visual projection of the audio data I am working on. And in between is a very large level control that gives me all the detail I need. I have been working with this setup for several years. It is very efficient for me.

I will never need more than four channels – analog input and output. Six channel for output could make sense for me, but is no must. This way I could send out separate signals for woofer and tweeter instead of using an analog crossovers of my monitors. But investing in a Hapi for that advantage only is no option for me.

Shellac records are mono. When I transfer them, I use a stereo cartridge for good reasons, and save two transfers at the same time: A raw version without any de-emphasis plus an obj version with de-emphasis. These are the maximum four channels I need for input. For output, I need two channels for monitoring and two channels for an occasional return to the phono preamp to perform a different de-emphasis. These are the maximum four channels I need for output.

In step one, I perform this basic transfer in the two versions simultaneously and save them in two separate DSD files. These native DSDs remain unedited in the archive forever. In some cases, I continue with the raw file and send it back to the analogue domain for another de-emphasis as a first step before doing anything else. And I Save it again as another obj file. This is the case if a shellac disc is no longer available, for whatever reason, but my work needs to be redone with different parameters or an updated, improved process.

For the second part of my work, I make a copy of the native obj DSD file and work with that data. This can be done in the analogue domain sometimes or in the digital domain in DXD mostly.

EQing could be done partly in the analog domain, but for one specific step I depend on the digital domain. And for one or two steps EQs with FIR filter in the digital domain are as well indispensable. At the end of this step, I have an updated version of the obj file transferred back in DSD format, but also an obj file in DXD. The two files are stored in the archive.

These files will be used to convert to versions suitable for distribution in the future, whether this be pure DSD in rare cases, high resolution DXD or common PCM mostly. It is amazing how much better even common PCM sounds, if the very first analog to digital conversion was made in DSD instead of PCM.

A second screenshot shows the basic setup in Pyramix and my problems in finding a workspace within its GUI that makes sense for me. At the moment this is far from being ergonomic - apart from not being able to use all the features of Pyramix, I am struggling with several aspects. And 800+ pages of manual is quite a challenge. But even this 800+ pages don't cover every aspect sufficiently.


http://www.argentango.ch/img/pyramix/2-Pyramix.jpg


I am of course aware that I cannot have exactly the same workspace in Pyramix as I am used to working with in Audition. The approach taken by the Pyramix developers is quite different and designed for much more complex projects than mine. But I would like to at least approximate my proved Audition workflow.

What I miss when doing a transfer is a much larger level control to be able to see small changes in the mixer, especially from -6 to 0dB all the time. In Audition, I can position this control from top to bottom on the screen and wide enough. And in the transfer visualized as a horizontal track/clip, I need horizontal lines in the background, that show me the exact level in dB as the transfer of a shellac disc progresses. I know that the meters for DSD are not very precise. But I need that detail anyway. I will take into account that the DSD meters may misguide me up to one dB. A third screenshot shows what I am used to seeing all the time in Audition because of these lines displayed in the background.


http://www.argentango.ch/img/pyramix/3-Audition.png


These are not my only concerns. But solving them would be a motivating first step on my long road to a practical solution. I have already saved two templates that allow me to work in DSD or DXD, that need to be redefined concerning some detail.

Of course, it would be better if I could work with only one single template for DSD and DXD, instead of constantly moving data from a DSD project to a DXD project and back to the DSD project again in the middle of my workflow for every single recording.

I know that Pyramix offers such a setup. But in order to work in a DSD/DXD project, with instant conversion from DSD to DXD in the background, to be able to perform calculations in the data (DXD dependent), plus instant conversion back from DXD to DSD before saving, would, as far as I know, only be possible in a Masscore setup.

But I want to avoid this investment plus the complexity that comes with Masscore. Besides that I want to keep my setup small and simple – also to keep it transportable concerning laptop, Anubis and cables, because I need to be able to work in different places and countries.

Once the two templates are up-to-date, I may also need a little help defining the correct routing in Anubis. I have defined a routing, but I have not been able to jet check it with all the channels I need for my work. But I am sure this will be solved quickly.

So having an ergonomic workspace optimized for my rather special process within Pyramix, with two different templates for two different projects to be saved for every single recording, is my goal at the moment. The closer I can fit the workspace in Pyramix to my needs, the more efficient I will be able to work. My focus must remain on the music itself and the questions that appear while working. I am no gear head.

I hope to find competent help here. Have a nice day to all of you out there.

Greetings – Christian