Recording - December 2013 - 43

performing some moving and scaling
options. Trying the same function out on a
computer with a better graphics card
made all the difference in the world.
Make sure to verify that your system meets
Sony's system requirements, with special
attention to the graphics card needed.
In use
Of course, it is my job to put these tools
through their paces. I started with a task for
which Sound Forge has always been my
preferred tool: long-form audio file editing.
The lightning-fast Sound Forge code has
always given me the best way to interact
with long files (interviews, podcasts, musicfor-theater and the like), and I wanted to
make sure everything was still in place for
this kind of work.
I was pleased to find that my editing efficiency (jumping, cutting, marking and processing) remains unchanged, with the
entire workflow working as quickly as
ever. What I didn't expect was how the
simple addition of a waveform overview
would speed things up. Originally I
thought this was little more than ornamentation to the editing windows, but quickly
found it helping me locate and zoom
through the audio file without resorting to
the scrollbars. The overview provides a
high-level view of all markers and regions,
so I always felt like any part of my file was
easily brought into focus. While subtle, the
overview proves to be an excellent addition to Sound Forge's editing function!
Next up was a quickie-an overnight
mastering and compilation session to create a "physical" EP for a friend. It may
seem that physical product may have
gone the way of the buggy whip, but
bands still want "merch" to sell at gigs,
and CDs remain an important part of
many groups' financial plan.
I have other tools I normally use for this
task, but I wanted to reintroduce myself to
the Sound Forge/CD Architect pairing. The
project included cleanup of 4 tracks, laying
them out in CD format and creating a "master" disc to be sent in for duplication. I
downloaded the band's files at 8 PM, and
had to be done by the next morning. Any
problems would be paid for in lack of sleep!
Luckily for me, my familiarity with
Sound Forge, the simplicity of tools like
Sony's Noise Reduction and the iZotope
mastering tools, and clean functionality of
CD Architect helped me pull things
together in only a few hours. The resulting
disc passed muster with the client and
was shipped off the next day. Whew!
After using the Master Suite for a few
"work" projects, I decided to have some
fun. Since the user interface was such a
departure from most audio programs, I
spent some time with the "SpectraLayers
Seminar Series", a group of tutorial
videos provided with SpectraLayers Pro
that provide insight on using the software.

Once I felt like I had a handle on the system, I started playing.
To start with, I spent a lot of time extracting layers, moving and smearing audio
and creating magnificently warped samples out of the simplest tracks. Spectral
sound generation will often have a particular sound (tending toward the sci-fi), and
the result of simple edits was often surprising takes on an existing sound. I ended up
with a nice folder of twitters, squeals and
ambient washes.
Next up was playing with the Spectral
Molding and Casting function. Since many
of the tracks I'd created had very dense
sonic content, it wasn't easy to lay other
tracks over them without having to drop the
volume. Using the Spectral Casting function, I was able to take a dense pad, use
another track (in the case shown, a
sequenced analog lead line) to "carve out"
space from the background, and then combine the two into a single composite track.
The result was amazing. Where a simple
mix of these two competing tracks required
dropping the backing track volume to the
point of losing detail, the new composited
track allowed the synthesizer to stay forward in the mix while the subtle details of
the background remained in place. The
result sounds different than a standard mix,
and can provide a different way to
approach a difficult mixing project.
Conclusion
This has been a rather brief overview
of a massively deep software system. I've
been lucky to be a Sound Forge user for
many years, so digging into it (both for
myself and for this review) has been a
matter of coming to grips with its ongoing
evolution. But SpectraLayers Pro is a completely new way of manipulating audio,
and I could easily have spent another six
months digging into its many functions!
The Sony Master Suite is a clear winner for
mastering engineers and more-than-casual
audio editors. But for sound restoration or
design specialists, the addition of
SpectraLayers to the Sound Forge workflow
turns this into a go-to package for the most difficult tasks. I'd be lying if I said I've become
proficient with this software-in fact, I feel like
I've only scratched the surface. But if you
want to deal with your audio in the most creative way imaginable, the Master Suite adds
incredible new colors to your palette.
Price: Audio Master Suite, $599.95;
Sound Forge 11 and SpectraLayers Pro
2, $399.95 each when sold separately
More from: Sony Creative Software,
www.sonycreativesoftware.com
Darwin Grosse (grosse@recordingmag
.com) is a recording engineer, producer,
sound designer, and educator, living in
the Colorado Rockies (still, having been
missed by the recent floods).
RECORDING December 2013

http://www.t-funk.com http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com http://www.t-funk.com

Recording - December 2013

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