Ghosted waveforms

Just a quick one I'm sure someone knows the answer to.

Just out of curiosity, what is the feint waveform in behind the normal waveforms in FCP X. There seems to be a real waveform represented and then another one that represents something else.

I've always noticed that too but have no idea what it's for...

This is called the "reference waveform". You can turn this on in the preferences. It is there as an indication of what the the waveform would be looking like, at full volume. This can be handy when you have reduced the audio gain to a very low level. The waveform reduces accordingly but the faint reference waveform stays there at full scale. This can make it easier to eyeball where you want to cut a clip.
So it's nothing more than a visual aid.

robbert-jan

Thanks RJ. Much appreciated.