EQ Magazine - February 2009 - (Page 44)

CHEAT SHEET by Craig Anderton SONY ACID PRO 7 bar. When the mixer floats, increase its window height. GIVE ASIO I/O FRIENDLY NAMES Cheat Sheet delivers concise, explicit information about specific recording/audio-related tasks or processes. This installment describes basic Acid Pro operations. SHOW MIXING CONSOLE Go View > Mixing Console or type Alt-3. CUSTOMIZE MIXER ELEMENTS Go Options > Preferences > Audio Device tab. Choose the ASIO Audio Device Type and click on Apply if it’s not grayed out. Click on the Advanced button. In the list of I/O devices, click on a name and type in the new name. Click on Reset Names to restore the original names. CHOOSE SAMPLE RATE AND RESOLUTION middle of the Soft Synth Properties page). The Soft Synth Properties page will show the available MIDI ports and compatible controllers. To stream additional channels into Acid Pro and create additional mixer channels, repeat the steps in the first two sentences. REWIRE ACID INTO A HOST The Properties (left-most button in the top mixer toolbar) drop-down menu lets you show/hide various mixer console control regions such as the Channel List, set channel width for all channels simultaneously, and choose meter characteristics (resolution, peak hold, reset meter clip, etc.). SHOW/HIDE INDIVIDUAL CHANNELS Follow the host’s instructions for rewiring. The host must be opened before Acid Pro, and Acid Pro will use the host’s sample rate and resolution, regardless of the native Acid Pro settings. ENABLE INLINE MIDI EDITING Go File > Properties > Audio tab. Choose Sample Rate and Resolution from their respective drop-down menus. CHOOSE DEFAULT RECORDED FILES FOLDER Show the Channel List (see above). Checking the box to the left of a channel name shows the channel; unchecking hides it. SHOW/HIDE MIXER CONTROL REGIONS Acid Pro defaults to storing recordings on the C: drive. To use a separate data drive, create a folder (e.g., Acid_Recorded_Files) on the drive. Then go File > Properties > Audio tab, and under Recorded Files Folder, browse for the folder you just created. SET LOOP LOCATORS Type G to enable inline MIDI editing for all MIDI tracks. To enter data, select the pencil and click-drag in the track to create a MIDI clip. Use the pencil tool inside a clip to draw notes. ADD A MARKER Click in the track view at the time where you want to add a marker, then type “M.” Or, type M during playback to drop a marker “on the fly.” Right-click on the marker to rename or delete. CHANGE TEMPO, TIME SIGNATURE, OR KEY CHANGE Use the vertical toolbar to the left of the channel strips. Note: If Meters is selected and Faders isn’t, high-resolution meters replace the faders. If Faders is selected and Meters isn’t, meters sit side-by-side with the faders. VARY INDIVIDUAL CHANNEL WIDTH Click and drag in the band just above the timeline. Use the Transport’s Loop Playback control (or type “L”) to enable/disable looping. SHOW TIME RULER Right-click in a channel strip and choose Narrow, Default, or Wide width. Or, click on a channel strip’s right splitter line and drag left or right. VARY ALL CHANNELS BETWEEN MAX AND MIN WIDTH In addition to the standard Beat Ruler, you can show a Time Ruler along the track view bottom. Go View > Time Ruler >Show Time Ruler, then go View > Time Ruler and select the desired units (samples, frames, seconds, etc.). ADD A VST VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT Click in the track view where you want one of these changes to occur, then go Insert > Tempo/Key/Time Signature change or type Shift+T. In the dialog box that appears, enter the desired changes. Click OK, and Acid Pro deposits a marker where you clicked. MIX DOWN TO AUDIO Use the slider at the bottom of the vertical toolbar (to the left of the channel strips). GROUP CHANNELS Go Insert > Soft Synth > Soft Synths tab. Click on the desired soft synth, then click on OK. A mixer channel appears for the instrument output, as does the instrument’s Properties page. REWIRE A CLIENT INTO ACID Show the Channel List. Control-click on channel names to select discontiguous channels, or Shift-click to select contiguous channels. Changing the parameter on a selected channel changes the same parameter on all selected channels. INCREASE FADER/METER HEIGHT To mix down a project, go File > Render As. Choose a file name/format. To render a portion of the project, use loop locators to define the region to be rendered, and check Render Loop Region Only in the Render As dialog box. If you check Save Each Track as a Separate File, tracks are saved as files including all processing, automation, etc. This is convenient for importing all audio into a different DAW. DO REALTIME RENDERING 44 EQ FEBRUARY 2009 www.eqmag.com Cut Along Dotted Line When the mixer console is docked, drag up or down on the top mixer splitter Go Insert > Soft Synth > ReWire Devices tab. Click on the ReWire device and channel you want to stream into Acid Pro, then click on OK. Acid Pro creates a corresponding Synth channel in the mixer (make sure Soft Synths is set to Show). If the ReWire application doesn’t open, click on the Open Rewire Device Application button (toward the upper When using an external synth or signal processor as part of your project, render in real time by going File > Real-Time Render. Even when not using external devices, you can also use this to hear the mix in real time while rendering as a final “proofing.” http://www.eqmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - February 2009

EQ Magazine - February 2009 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Dave Cooley Low vs. Diamond Hank Williams III Travis Franz Ferdinand Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drum Heads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Apple Logic Pro 8 Cakewalk Sonar Near-Field Monitor Roundup Gadgets &�Goodies Sounds Room with a Vu

EQ Magazine - February 2009

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