Song A is made up of 2 sections. Sometimes we might want to end Song A after section 1. No problem, we can cue up Song B while section 1 is playing, and have jump mode set to “end of section”. But perhaps towards the end of section 1 we have audio on the +GUIDE track saying “Section 2 is coming next”.
So, just like we have +GUIDE and +LOOPGUIDE, could we have something like +SKIPGUIDE, which Ableset would use if the next section or song to be played is not the one that follows chronologically in the programmed setlist?
That’s not exactly what I mean, no… and actually I think what I need is more complex than what I originally described. Let me try to describe it in a different way. I’ll keep the description to songs, rather than sections, to keep it simpler.
Let’s say my setlist is set up in this order, with no stop markers, so playback is continuous from one song to the next:
Song A
Song B
Song C
Song D
These songs are designed to flow as a continuous medley, so in the final bar of Song A, there is audio on the guide track saying “Song B is next… 1, 2, 3, 4”.
But, what I’d like to implement is a flexible medley structure, where any song can follow any other song. So during Song A, the MD might decide that we’ll skip Song B, and go into Song C or Song D instead. So I think there are 2 solutions:
The simple solution: have a single guide track, maybe called +SKIPGUIDE, which is activated when the queued song is NOT the song that is chronologically next in the setlist. So Ableset would recognise during Song A that Song B is being skipped, and would mute +GUIDE and activate +SKIPGUIDE
The complicated solution for ultimate flexibility (but I’m not sure of the best way to implement it): have multiple additional guide tracks, which would be activated depending on which song is queued. So if Song B is queued, the “song B is coming next” guide would be activated. If Song C is queued, the “song C is coming next” guide would be activated.
I’m sorry if I’m not explaining this very well - I’m writing this on my phone. Hopefully that makes more sense.
I could see a solution by having track names that match each song name paired with the +SKIPGUIDE flag:
Song A +SKIPGUIDE
Song B + SKIPGUIDE
etc…
Upon a random song being queued, Ableset would then unmute the +SKIPGUIDE track with the queued song name and mute all other GUIDE tracks. @SteveC would that solve your dilemma?
Thank you for clarifying, that sounds like a good feature!
Adding to this, I’ve had an idea in the back of my mind for a while that might tie in nicely with this. Instead of having to put guide clips on the arrangement, AbleSet could offer complete flexibility using clips in the session view. You could create a guide track and then add audio clips for each section or song name you want to use:
AbleSet would then automatically trigger those clips before the next song or section is reached. This means you can jump around your set as much as you like and AbleSet should be able to correctly announce the next part.
