Waveform Timeline, Pass Lanes, Markers & Ranges

2D waveform scrub-zooming, expandable Pass Lanes for overdub comping, dropping cue markers on the fly, defining loop ranges, and splitting Takes.

Every multitrack recording in Cave Recorder is a self-contained Take with its own timeline starting at 00:00:00.000 (t = 0). Rather than stringing an entire evening of rehearsals along a multi-hour horizontal scroll bar or stacking separate songs on top of one another, the timeline always focuses on one active Take at a time. Within that active Take, you can scrub and zoom sample-accurate waveforms, expand Pass Lanes to comp track-level overdubs, drop timestamped cue markers on the fly, loop rehearsal sections, and split long jams into individual song Takes.

6.1 Navigating the WAVEFORM TIMELINE View & Upper Mini-Timeline Well#

Cave Recorder provides two synchronized timeline viewports for the currently active Take:

1. Upper Mini-Timeline Well (TIMELINE & 3-TIER LOD on the Mix Console): Located in the right-hand well of the Upper Inspector Row on the MIX CONSOLE view (CMD/CTRL + 1). It displays the waveform of the currently inspected track alongside quick-access transport and zoom keys so you can scrub, zoom, and switch Passes without leaving the faders.
2. Full-Screen WAVEFORM TIMELINE Workspace (CMD/CTRL + 2): Displays all active tracks simultaneously with dedicated Marker (MKR) and Range (RNG) lanes, per-track headers, expandable Pass Lanes, and a two-row editing toolbar.

6.1.1 Three-Tier Waveform Detail (3-TIER LOD) & Viewport Readouts#

Both the Upper Mini-Timeline Well and the full-screen WAVEFORM TIMELINE view render audio using three-tier waveform detail (3-TIER LOD), covering full-song overview envelopes, medium phrase zoom, and individual sample-level waveform display. As you zoom from a 30-minute rehearsal jam down to a single snare transient, the display transitions across pre-computed resolution tiers so transient peaks remain sharp at every scale without frame drops.

The upper-left readout of the WAVEFORM TIMELINE toolbar displays the current horizontal resolution in samples per pixel (Zoom: 48.0 smp/px) and the visual waveform gain offset (Gain: +0.0 dB), while the right-hand status readout confirms the active Take number, cursor timestamp, and total Take duration (TAKE 001 | CUR: 00:00:00.853 | LEN: 00:00:01.000).

6.1.2 Upper Mini-Timeline Well Controls#

At the bottom of the TIMELINE & 3-TIER LOD well on the Mix Console (Chapter 4: Mix Console, Signal Flow & Channel Strips), six dedicated hardware buttons control the inspected track's timeline:

6.1.3 Full-Screen WAVEFORM TIMELINE Toolbar & Track Headers#

Pressing CMD/CTRL + 2 (or clicking WAVEFORM TIMELINE in the navigation bar) opens the multi-track timeline workspace. Above the waveform canvas, two toolbar rows provide direct access to zoom, lane visibility, marker placement, and Take splitting:

• Row 1 (Viewport & Lane Controls):
  • ZOOM IN (+) / ZOOM OUT (-) / 1:1 ZOOM: Step horizontal zoom in (=), step out (-), or reset horizontal zoom to the default 1:1 span (0).
  • 5M SPAN: Sets the visible horizontal window to a standard 5-minute (300.0 s) rehearsal span. New sessions and live recordings initialize to this 5-minute span automatically.
  • H- / H+ (Track Lane Height): Steps the vertical height of all track waveform lanes between 56 px (compact 18-channel overview) and 220 px (tall surgical transient inspection). Track header heights on the left stay locked 1:1 with their waveform lanes.
  • LOCK PH/CUR & -> CUR: Identical to the Mini-Timeline well controls, allowing coupled or decoupled Playhead and Position Cursor operation.
  • MKR LANE & RNG LANE: Toggle visibility of the dedicated MARKERS and RANGES ruler lanes above the audio tracks.
  • EXPAND ALL PASSES & COLLAPSE ALL PASSES: Unrolls (E) or collapses (SHIFT + E) the overdub Pass Lanes across every track in the active Take simultaneously.
• Row 2 (Markers, Ranges & Take Split Bar):
  • + MARKER (M) / RANGE START (K) / RANGE END (L): Drops a cue marker at the Playhead (M) or defines the start (K) and end (L) boundaries of a loop or song range.
  • NEW TAKE & SPLIT TAKE: Extracts the active range as a new self-contained Take (NEW TAKE) or divides the active Take into two consecutive Takes at the current Playhead/Cursor position (SPLIT TAKE).
  • |< FIRST / < PREV / NEXT > / LAST >|: Jumps the Playhead to the first marker (SHIFT + [ or HOME), previous marker ([), next marker (]), or final marker (SHIFT + ] or END) in the active Take.

Each row in the left-hand TRACK LANES & OVERDUB PASSES column displays the track number and scribble-strip name (01 Kick In), the Pass Lane disclosure button (▶ (1) or ▶ (2) showing the number of recorded Passes on that track in the current Take), Mute (M), Solo (S), Record Arm (R), and Input Monitor (I) switches, the active Pass badge (PASS 01 or OD 02), the output bus assignment (OUT: SUB 1 or OUT: MST), the channel fader readout (-2.4 dB), and the sample span summary (Span: 0..48000 smp (1.00s) | 2 pass(es)).

6.1.4 Complete Reference of Timeline Navigation & Zoom Gestures#

Cave Recorder supports fast one-handed 2D Scrub-Zooming directly on the timeline ruler and waveform canvas, alongside standard mouse wheel, trackpad, and keyboard navigation:

6.2 Recording Overdubs (OD) & Comping in Expandable Pass Lanes (PASSES)#

In Cave Recorder, session-level songs and track-level overdubs are strictly separated so your timeline never becomes cluttered:

• Base Pass (Rec001, labeled PASS 01): When Overdub Mode (OD) is off (the default), pressing Record (R) creates a brand-new session Take starting at 00:00:00.000. Every armed channel strip records its initial multitrack stem as Rec001 (PASS 01).
• Overdub Pass (Rec002-OD, Rec003-OD, ..., labeled OD 02, OD 03, ...): When you want to layer a second guitar solo, punch in a vocal fix, or try three alternate bass lines inside the currently active Take, latch the red OD button in the Top Deck transport bar (O) and arm only the target track(s). Pressing Record (R) plays back the existing tracks of the active Take from 00:00:00.000 while recording a new Overdub Pass (OD 02, OD 03, ...) into the active Take's rec/ folder and appending a new Pass Lane under each armed track.

6.2.1 Step-by-Step: Recording Multi-Pass Overdubs on a Track#

1. Load the Target Take: Use the < / > buttons beside TAKE 001 in the Top Deck (ALT + [ / ALT + ]) or click LOAD TAKE in the SESSION REEL view (CMD/CTRL + 4) to load the Take you want to overdub onto.
2. Disarm Backing Tracks & Arm the Overdub Track: On the Mix Console or in the left track header column of the WAVEFORM TIMELINE view, disarm (R off) the backing band tracks (drums, rhythm section) so they stream from disk, and arm (R lit crimson) only the channel(s) you are overdubbing. Enable input monitoring (I / MON) if you are monitoring through Cave Recorder's console EQ and compression.
3. Latch Overdub Mode (OD): Click OD in the Top Deck transport bar (or press O) so the OD indicator illuminates red.
4. Optional Pre-Roll or Cycle Range: Position the Playhead a few bars before the section you want to overdub, or enable Cycle Loop (⇄, C) across a defined range (Section 6.3).
5. Record the Overdub Pass: Press Record (R) to begin playback and capture OD 02. Press Stop (SPACE or SHIFT + SPACE) when finished. Cave Recorder automatically promotes the newly recorded Overdub Pass (★ OD 02) as the active playback Pass on that track and captures a post-recording Snapshot.

6.2.2 Expanding Pass Lanes, Auditioning Passes & Comping Phrases#

When a track within the active Take has more than one recorded Pass, the disclosure badge in the track header displays the total Pass count (for example, ▶ (2) on 02 Snare Top and 03 Overhead L).

• Expand or Collapse a Single Track's Pass Lanes:
  • Click the ▶ (N) / ▼ (N) badge in the track header on the WAVEFORM TIMELINE view.
  • Or select the track and click PASSES in the Upper Mini-Timeline Well (or press E while in the CHANNEL INSPECTOR view).
• Expand or Collapse All Tracks' Pass Lanes:
  • Click EXPAND ALL PASSES (E) or COLLAPSE ALL PASSES (SHIFT + E) in the upper-right WAVEFORM TIMELINE toolbar.

When expanded, each track unrolls its vertical stack of Pass Lanes in chronological order (BASE PASS PASS 01 at the top, followed by OVERDUB OD 02, OD 03, and so on):

• Visual Active vs. Standby Distinction: The currently active Pass Lane (labeled ACTIVE COMP LANE with a green ★ PASS 01 or ★ OD 02 badge) renders its waveform in bright amber-copper. Inactive Pass Lanes (labeled STANDBY COMP LANE with a Use PASS 01 or Use OD 02 button) render in muted slate-grey so you can immediately see which Pass is feeding the Mix Console channel strip.
• Auditioning & Promoting Passes:
  • Promoting a Pass on the WAVEFORM TIMELINE View: Click Use PASS 01 (or Use OD 02, Use OD 03) in any standby Pass Lane header to promote that Pass as the active playback lane (ACTIVE COMP LANE) immediately. Because playback readers pre-buffer ahead of the Playhead, switching Passes during playback crossfades cleanly without clicks.
  • Promoting a Pass from the MIX CONSOLE or CHANNEL INSPECTOR View: Click PASSES in the Upper Mini-Timeline Well (or press E in the CHANNEL INSPECTOR view) to expand the inspected channel's Pass Lanes, and click Use PASS <NN> or Use OD <NN> on the Pass you want to hear.
• Per-Pass Mute (M) & Soft Delete (Del):
  • Click M on a Pass Lane to silence that Pass without changing your channel strip Mute state.
  • Click Del on a flawed Pass Lane to mark that Pass as deleted in the session history. Because deletion is non-destructive, pressing CMD/CTRL + Z restores the Pass immediately.
• Comping Phrases Across Multiple Passes:
  • When an overdub was punched in over a specific chorus or solo section (for example, Span: 240000..480000 smp), promoting that Overdub Pass plays your new performance across its recorded span while allowing you to compare it directly against the underlying PASS 01 Base Pass or alternate OD 03 passes. Every Pass promotion is recorded in the Undo history and stored in Console Snapshots (Chapter 7: Session Reel, Mixdowns, Snapshots, Disk Layout & Cloud Sync) so you can save and compare multiple comp combinations across the session.

6.3 Dropping Cue Markers & Defining Cycle Loop Ranges (MARKERS & RANGES)#

During a live rehearsal jam or playback review, you can drop timestamped Markers and define bounded Ranges without stopping the transport. Markers and Ranges appear both as interactive flags in the MKR and RNG lanes of the WAVEFORM TIMELINE view and as sortable, searchable rows in the dedicated MARKERS & RANGES workspace (CMD/CTRL + 5).

6.3.1 Dropping & Navigating Cue Markers on the Fly (M)#

Every Take automatically initializes with two boundary markers (M001 Take Start at 00:00:00.000 and M002 Take End at the end of the longest recorded stem, forming the default R001 Full Take range). To mark song transitions, solo entrances, or mix notes:

1. Drop a Marker (M): Press M at any time during live recording or playback (or click + MARKER (M) in the WAVEFORM TIMELINE toolbar or ADD MARKER (M) in the MARKERS & RANGES toolbar). Cave Recorder places a cyan standalone marker flag (M005 Marker 05, M006 Marker 06) at the exact sample position of the rolling Playhead (or at the Position Cursor when transport is stopped).
2. Reposition a Marker by Dragging: In the MKR MARKERS lane of the WAVEFORM TIMELINE view, hover over any cyan marker flag to inspect its metadata, or click and drag the marker handle left or right to fine-tune its sample timestamp.
3. Jump Between Markers: Use the toolbar buttons or keyboard shortcuts to navigate between cue points instantly:
   • Previous Marker (< PREV / < PREV MKR): Press [.
   • Next Marker (NEXT > / NEXT MKR >): Press ].
   • First Marker in Take (|< FIRST / |< FIRST MKR): Press SHIFT + [ or HOME.
   • Last Marker in Take (LAST >| / LAST MKR >|): Press SHIFT + ] or END.

6.3.2 Defining Ranges (K / L) & Cycle Loop Playback (⇄)#

A Range (R001, R003, ...) is a named time span bounded by a RANGE START marker and a RANGE END marker. Ranges are used for Cycle Loop playback, overdub punch/loop rehearsal, zooming to a song section, and extracting a song section as a new Take.

1. Mark Range Start (RANGE START (K)): Move the Playhead or Position Cursor to the beginning of the phrase (or press it live as the band hits the downbeat) and press K (or click RANGE START (K) / SET RANGE START (K)). An amber status pill (RNG T01: START @ 00:00:00.853) appears in the toolbar indicating that a range start boundary is pending.
2. Mark Range End (RANGE END (L)): When playback reaches the end of the section, press L (or click RANGE END (L) / SET RANGE END (L)). Cave Recorder pairs the start and end boundaries, creates a new numbered Range span (such as R003 Range 03) in the amber RNG RANGES lane, and selects it as the active loop range.
3. Cancel a Pending Boundary (ESC): If you pressed K by mistake, press ESC or click CANCEL PENDING RANGE to discard the uncompleted boundary.
4. Select, Drag, or Cycle Overlapping Ranges: In the RNG RANGES lane above the waveforms, click any amber range bar to make it the active range (clicking repeatedly on overlapping spans cycles through them). Drag the left [ or right ] handle of any range bar in the RNG lane to adjust its start or end sample directly on the timeline.
5. Toggle Cycle Loop Playback (⇄): Click the Cycle Loop button ⇄ in the Top Deck transport bar (or press C). When ⇄ is illuminated amber, playback loops continuously between the start and end boundaries of the active Range (or across R001 Full Take if no sub-range is selected).

6.3.3 Managing, Renaming & Filtering in the MARKERS & RANGES View#

Pressing CMD/CTRL + 5 (or clicking MARKERS & RANGES in the workspace navigation bar) opens the MARKERS & RANGES management workspace, divided into two synchronized tables: MARKERS (top) and RANGES (bottom).

• Session-Wide vs. Per-Take Filtering: Use the top filter bar (ALL TAKES (SESSION), FILTER TAKE 001, FILTER TAKE 002) to view cue points across every Take in the evening's Session at once, or isolate markers belonging to a single Take. Clicking VIEW TAKE 001 TIMELINE jumps directly to WAVEFORM TIMELINE with that Take loaded.
• Marker Type Filtering & Automatic Color Badges: Filter the upper table by ALL, STANDALONE (crimson STANDALONE badges, such as M005), or BOUNDARY (slate RANGE START and RANGE END badges paired to a Range, such as RANGE START (R003)), or type into Search markers... to filter by marker name or description note.
• Per-Marker Actions (GO TO, EDIT, -> RNG START, -> RNG END, DEL):
  • GO TO: Loads the owning Take (if not already active) and snaps the transport Playhead directly to that marker's exact sample position.
  • EDIT: Opens inline editing fields to update the marker's Name (for example, Verse 2 Harmonies) and free-form Description note (SAVE M<NNN> / CANCEL), or click PRESET MARKER HIGHLIGHT M<NNN> to emphasize key cue points.
  • -> RNG START / -> RNG END: Promotes an existing standalone cue marker into the start or end boundary of a Range so you can drop single-key M markers during a live jam and turn them into bounded song ranges afterward.
  • DEL: Deletes the marker (reversible via Undo CMD/CTRL + Z).
• Range Filtering (ALL / FROM STANDALONE) & Per-Range Actions (ZOOM RANGE, NEW TAKE, EDIT, DEL):
  • FROM STANDALONE Filter Pill: Filters the RANGES table (alongside ALL) to show only Ranges whose start or end boundaries were promoted from standalone cue markers via -> RNG START / -> RNG END.
  • ZOOM RANGE: Switches to the WAVEFORM TIMELINE view and zooms the horizontal viewport to frame that exact Range from edge to edge.
  • EDIT: Opens inline fields to rename the Range (for example, R003 Chorus Loop or Song 2 - Midnight Drive) and update its description.

6.4 Non-Destructive Take Splitting (Split Take at Playhead / Split by Markers)#

During a band rehearsal, musicians often hit Record once and play a continuous 25-minute block containing warm-up banter, three separate songs, and an improvised jam. Cave Recorder lets you carve that long continuous capture into independent, self-contained t = 0 Takes (Take 002, Take 003, Take 004) so each song gets its own 00:00:00.000 timeline, its own song tag, and its own stereo mixdown.

6.4.1 Three Ways to Split or Extract Independent Takes#

Cave Recorder provides three non-destructive workflows depending on whether you want to divide a Take in two or extract a specific marker/range span:

6.4.2 How Non-Destructive Splitting Preserves Stems, Passes & Phase Offsets#

When you divide a Take with SPLIT TAKE or extract a span with NEW TAKE:

1. Zero Destructive File Overwrites & Full Undo: None of your original .wav files on disk are ever overwritten or deleted. Both SPLIT TAKE and NEW TAKE are tracked in the Session's Undo history, so pressing CMD/CTRL + Z reverses the split or extraction immediately.
2. Sample-Zero (t = 0) Alignment: Every multitrack stem in the newly created Take (Take<NNN>) starts at its own 00:00:00.000 timeline zero aligned to the split or range start point, with Broadcast Wave (bext) timecode metadata preserved.
3. Pass Structure & Console Routing Preserved: All recorded Base Passes (Rec001) and Overdub Passes (Rec002-OD) that overlap the extracted span are preserved in their respective Pass Lanes, along with per-track phase alignment offsets, latency compensation metadata, and internal markers shifted relative to the new 00:00:00.000 origin.
4. Immediate Session Reel Registration: The newly created Take appears immediately in the SESSION REEL catalog (Chapter 7: Session Reel, Mixdowns, Snapshots, Disk Layout & Cloud Sync) ready for tagging, live Print conversion, or offline Mixdown rendering.