Hey peeps, currently I'm cruising through Serbia and Croatia on a bus, coming home :) I had an amazing week in Belgrade (Serbia) where I spent a week going on concerts (had two of my own and a recording session), and hanging around in a great great studio. 

listening to some Squarepusher and writing this post ;)

Even tho' I did a bunch of stuff, was running around, and didn't have much time, I managed to take some time and think through some basic concepts of my @sndbox project.

For more information about my multi-track sharing site read my former posts:

INTRO: https://steemit.com/sndbox/@dimitrij/i-became-a-sndbox-newbie-why-i-love-steemit-tangible-projects
FREE MULTITRACKS / MIXOFFS / FORUMS: https://steemit.com/audio/@dimitrij/project00-research-free-multitracks-mixoff-s-forums-thoughts-and-ideas
CREATIVECOMMONS LICENCES: https://steemit.com/audio/@dimitrij/project01-research-creativecommons-licenses-copyleft-noncommercial

So,

last week I've been scribbling down ideas and slowly sculpting the MVP for my project. And the more I try to sculpt down, the harder it gets to define the simple Minimum Viable Product.

Why is that? 

Well, simply because the project / software can be really simple and basic. Something like:

• Registered users can submit/publish, comment and share audio multitracks (stems).

The problem is that there is a number of similar products and platforms, but this one should be able to classify the multi-tracks (stems) by contributor and user tagging, and also provide or follow the standard that could be used in a variety of Digital Audio Workstations (DAW's). 

By that I simply mean this:

• Users should be able to import VST presets and as much of meta-data in their DAW.

So, what's the problem?

Well, it's not as simple as it sounds... 

Apparently users can't just import VST presets and projects from let's say Steinbergs Nuendo into Logic Pro, or from Pro Tools into Reaper. That's just the way it is... - but - THINGS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME!! :) 

We need to be able to transfer stems and as much of the effects that we can.

The problem here is standardization.
I guess that the DAW's are protecting and promoting themselves that way - if someone sends you a Logic project, you have to get and learn Logic to open it.

Anyways, I've been thinking, what's the bare minimum that should be provided in order for the exchange and collaboration to work.

Well, as I figured, there should be:

1. Raw stems - Multiple Audio files in .wav format - all equal by lenght and size
2. Mixed stems - Multiple Audio files in .wav format with FX applied to them
3. Mastered stereo track - One stereo track of a final mastered song.

That's how it could work without any other standardization involved.

What do you think about this 3 PART STANDARD?
What about .flac and other formats?

img from www.yardi.com

But, that way we're doubling the upload. Every person should upload two times more, and also write down and exhaustive list of all FX used on every track. Which could be an awesome thing (I encourage everyone writing about their work-flow) - but quite exhausting and time-consuming. 

If users could somehow exchange projects with effects applied we could cut down the upload in (at least) half.

So I started researching if there are some file formats that can transfer that sort of data.

UNIVERSAL FILE FORMATS

OMF -  Open Media Framework

Anyways, the format that's commonly used is called OMF. It's short for Open Media Format, and it's a neat thingy that writes down the edits, audio timestamping, track names, volume and panning of your project. OMF also include all of your projects AUDIO FILES. One problem is that OMF doesn't transfer any plugin information (no FX or VST data). So it's not a solution, but it can be used for loading edits and arrangement without any prior committing or bouncing the audio.

AAF - Advanced Authoring Format

Similar to that one is AAF. It's mostly used over OMF because (as I read on different forums) there are a lot of compatibility issues with OMF - can't be loaded through different DAW's. 

DAW's like Pro tools, Logic, Nuendo, Sonar, Digital Performer, as well as Adobe Premier, etc. support AAF without any problem.

"One of the biggest benefits of the AAF format is that it allows for both ‘essence’ data (the audio and video files) as well as modification data. In other words, if you had a drum track that you cut and spliced a bit, those cuts and splices can be maintained across platforms and DAWs in an AAF file.

Plugins and channel strip won’t be preserved across programs, but the fundamental assets of each track as well as the way in which the track is assembled will be preserved. If you are at the beginning of your recording process and haven’t yet applied oodles of effects and complex busing, you can feel pretty confident that if you had to switch DAW programs it would be a pretty painless process using the AAF format."

Quote from:
https://ask.audio/articles/exporting-and-importing-between-daws-without-losing-your-mind

XML - Extensible Markup Language

img

My friend - who's in video editing and montage said that XML's are very useful.

In audio production, .xml's (supposedly) can be used or Storing VST presets - which is very useful. But there is a subset of XML called musicXML - but I have to check that out more.

There is a great site that has an online converter using .xml files. You can convert almost anything into anything. Especially great for subtitles (.srt, etc...) and timeline-related stuff.

http://www.michaelcinquin.com/tools/subtitles/srt_to_fcp

I haven't found any format that's a complete standard and that can transfer all of the data that's needed. 

That really bugs me, and I can't understand how come we still didn't overcome that problem. I mean, we're working in a DIGITAL environment mostly, and every data can be written down, hwo come we're not utilizing that. But, I'll make a thorough research.

One more format that I've found is the .FXP and .FXB format.

 

FX Presets / Fx Bank

https://www.lifewire.com/fxb-file-2621469

FXB contains a bank, or group, of presets that can be loaded into a VST. Single presets are saved as FXP (FX Preset) files.

I tried to save a preset and load it in Reaper, and it actually works. Now I have to try to save it in one DAW and load it in another. 

This protocol would be great for transferring FX between different DAW's. I just have to install at least 10 DAW's and try out all of the combinations of data transferring, and then we'll see. :)

RECAP:

I'll try to test these formats before making final decisions about the formatting of uploads on the site. 

If you guys have any information about these formats, please leave a comment, and share your thoughts on multi-track sharing.

If there is a programmer that is interested in exploring and developing these types of formats, please contact me on [email protected] . If we manage to make a converter, it would make our lives much better, and we could finally share tracks, projects, and knowledge without any restrictions. :)

Hopefully this was informative to you :)

Cheers <3

--- thanks to @sndbox for making me try this and supporting ---
p.s. I would like a sndbox gif with my name + follow me like everybody else haaaaas! whiiiine :) (where and how can I get it?)