Introduction to sonicWORX sound editing capabilities
1. Open an Audio file by choosing "Open" from the "File" menu or use the mouse to drag the audio file onto the sonicWORX icon. A waveform window opens and shows you the contents of the file.
2. Create a new parameter file by using the "New parameter file" function from the "File" menu. Make sure this window is active (placed in front of all other windows) to enable the "Algorithms" menu.
3. Select the DSP algorithm you want to try out by choosing it from the "Algorithms" menu. It appears in the list of algorithms located on the left side of the parameter window. Let's suppose you have chosen "2-Plane Timbral Morphing" from the "Audio Rendering ™ Level II" submenu.
4. Activate the algorithm by clicking on its name in the parameter list if it is not already activated. The individual parameters of the algorithm are now available in the right side of the parameter window. Use the mouse to adjust the parameter settings to meet your requirements. Please note that the standard parameter values automatically set on activating the new algorithm can be used in most cases without adjustment.
5. If you want to try out different parameter settings adjust the controls using the mouse.
6. Activate the waveform display window by clicking on its title bar or in an area not used by any controls.
7. In the upper right half of the waveform display you will now find up to four pop-up menus used for setting the input and output routing. Within the grey box of the pop-up menu the current routing scheme is being displayed (a setting of "2/inA" for example shows that this input or output is using the zone within the "inA>" and "<inA" markers on audio channel 2).
Our example algorithm has two inputs and one output (Morphing takes two input sounds and creates a new [monophonic] output sound). You therefore see two "Alg. Input" and one "Alg. Output" pop-up menus appearing in the right half of the wave editor window. The text within each pop-up tells you which region of the sample is used for that input or output(1/outB means the region between the outB marker pair on channel 1 is used for that input/output)
Define the routing scheme by first selecting a part of the sample (click into the waveform display and, while still holding down the mouse button, move the mouse to select the area you are interested in). The selection is now indicated by a different background colour.
Note: you may use the key shortcut "Command-A" to select the whole sample.
8. Second, use the pop-up menu of the input A to assign input markers "inA>" and "<inA" to the selected samples. Selecting a marker pair using the pop-up menu sets the respective markers to the beginning and end of the selected area. If you are working with an algorithm that has more than one input, repeat steps 7 and 8 for the second input this time using "inB".
Note: The standard output routing defaults to the output area being the same as input A, causing all data in "inA" to be replaced with the result of the calculations.
9. If all parameters are properly set make sure the "easy" checkbox is un-checked to disable automatic routing. Use the "Execute" button to start processing. The current state of processing is indicated by the percent value within the "Execute" button. The processed material is automatically selected (you can see the selection move through your sample as processing continues) and can be immediately played back. You can listen to the result at any time by hitting the space bar or pressing "Command-P" (processed version) or "Command-L" (last, unprocessed version). If you do not like the result you can abort processing by pressing "Command-Period".
Please note that on slower machines (that is, on 68k-based Macs) your Mac may need some time to recognize the keyboard command. After that you can use "Command-Z" (undo) to abandon your changes or "Command-L" and "Command-P" to compare the new and the previous (unprocessed) version.
Note on the inputs and outputs:
Each algorithm has a maximum of two inputs and two outputs, namely Input A, Input B, Output A and Output B. Input A and B can function as a single stereo input (as e.g. in Normalize Gain) making A equal to "Left" and B equal to "Right" so you do not define anything else. The same is true for the outputs. On the other hand, Input A and B can be completely separate Inputs to the algorithm. An example of this may be the Vocoder algorithm, which has two inputs (Carrier and Speech) that are (and have to be) completely independent.
There are also as many marker pairs as in- and outputs to make an assignment between the "hard"-inputs (the "real" inputs to the algorithm indicated by the position and appearance of the corresponding popups) and the ranges within the wave data defined by the ">" and "<" marker pairs.
Example 1: Suppose you have a mono file with a vocal recording and want to apply the Harmonic Contour EQ.
◊ First of all, start sonicWORX by double-clicking on its Finder icon. Open the file containing the audio data you want to modify using the "Open" function from the "File" menu. Use the "New parameter file" function from the "File" menu to create a new and empty parameter file.
◊ While the parameter window is still active (the frontmost window) choose the "Harmonic Contour EQ" function from the "Algorithms/Frequency Domain Filters" menu. The parameter window now shows the parameter for this algorithm. Adjust them until you are satisfied.
◊ Now click on the wave edit window to activate it. Select the segment of it you want to process by using the mouse. If you want the whole file to be processed, choose "Select All" from the "Edit" menu. Now you are ready to define the routing scheme.
• You should now see two popup menus in the upper right corner of the wave editor window just next to the "Alg inputs:" and "Alg outputs:" text. Both popups are labeled "A: 1/inA". The first letter (A:) tells you that the upper popup belongs to the algorithm Input A and the lower popup to the Output A (the upper popups always are for the inputs, as stated beneath by the text "Alg inputs:"). Click on the upper one and select "Range inA". The two markers "inA>" and "<inA" now move to their new position at the boundaries of the selected segment. You have just routed the area between the inA-markers to the Input A of the algorithm. The output must not be changed since the popup label "A: 1/inA" tells us that the output of the algorithm will be placed in the same segment - between the "inA" marker pair. Make sure that the "Easy"-checkbox is un-checked to disable automatic routing that would override the settings you've just made. If you now press Execute you will see the selection move as the new material is filled in where the original signal was.
• This example can be much more simplified if the "Easy" checkbox was used. You can shortcut the last paragraph beginning with "•" by replacing it with: "Click in the "Easy" checkbox to enable it. A small black "X" should now be visible inside. Now press "Execute" and sonicWORX will arrange its in- and outputs automatically."
Example 2: Suppose you want to apply a room simulation to a mono file using the plugin Virtual Room (only available on PowerMacs) creating a stereo output file:
◊ First of all, start sonicWORX by double-clicking on its Finder icon. Open the file containing the audio data you want to modify using the "Open" function from the "File" menu. Use the "New parameter file" function from the "File" menu to create a new and empty parameter file.
◊ While the parameter window is still active (the frontmost window) choose the "Virtual Room" function from the "Algorithms/Spatial & Phase DSP" menu. The parameter window now shows the parameter for this algorithm. Adjust them until you are satisfied.
◊ Now click on the wave edit window to activate it.
◊ Choose the "Insert Channel" function from the "Edit" menu to insert a new channel into the recording making it a stereo file. The new channel becomes inserted and you now have a stereo source file with the left channel empty. When you now play back this file you will hear your original recording through the right speaker.
◊ For easy comparison, it may be helpful to fill the empty left channel with the same material from the right channel. Since this does not alter the original audio information in any way it is a good idea to always copy the original material from the right channel into the left one. Copying is quite simple: double click into the second channel (the Right stereo channel containing your data) to select it. Now choose "Copy" from the "Edit" menu to copy the data to the clipboard. Double click into the Left channel (the empty one) to select it and choose "Paste" from the "Edit" menu. The data will now be copied. Now you are ready to define the routing scheme.
◊ Select the segment of it you want to process by using the mouse. Since Left and Right channel contain the same data, we decide to use the Left channel as input for the room simulation. Select the segment of the left (upper) channel you want to process. If you want the whole file to be processed, double click the left channel.
◊ You should see three popup menus - one input (A:) and two outputs (A: and B:). Choose the input popup (the upper one just above the two output popups) and select "Range inA". The "inA" marker pair now moves to the beginning and end of the selected area. You have just set the input range and routed it to the input A.
◊ The setting of output A (the left popup of the two lower output popups) is just fine: "1/inA" is indicating that the results are stored in the channel 1 between the two inA markers. This is right where the original material was. But output B is also set to "1/inA" causing both channels to be stored in the left audio channel (channel 1) resulting in a mono output signal. Since this is not what we want, we now select "Ch 2" in the output B popup (the left one of the output popups). The setting "Range inA" in this popup must not be changed since the Right output should appear "in sync" with the Left output - that is, directly below it in the same segment.
◊ Make sure that the "Easy"-checkbox is un-checked to disable automatic routing that would override the settings you've just made. If you now press Execute you will see the selection move as the new material is filled in where the original signal was.
How to record an audio file in sonicWORX
Use the "Record to file..." menu entry from the "File" menu.
This function is used to record from the audio input currently set in the control panel "Sound". If you want to record from an additional audio hardware (e.g. AudioMedia II) you must have the accompanying driver software for the Apple SoundManager installed that came with your audio card. See the manual of your audio hardware on how to do this.
If you experience clicks and glitches during playback, try turning virtual memory off before recording or playing back a file. This is done using the control panel "Memory" found in the control panel folder in your system folder. You should always have (but you do not have to) virtual memory turned off when working with sonicWORX to ensure a problem-free playback and recording process.
If you select "Record to file..." a dialog box appears for setting the format and sample rate of the new file. Adjust all values until you are satisfied.
If you set the sample rate to a value not being supported by your audio hardware, the nearest allowed sample rate will be used and displayed. Note that 24-bit recording is only supported if your audio hardware allows this kind of sample width. See the manual of your audio hardware for details.
If you are satisfied, click the "OK" button. A peak-meter is displayed and should show a volume representation of the input signal. If it does not show any input signal, abort by clicking "Cancel" and see whether the input source in the control panel "Sound" is set to the input you are recording from. You should always use the latest version of Apple's SoundManager to ensure problem-free behaviour.
If you are recording from an analog input, adjust the volume of the external playback device (the device you are recording from e.g. a CD or DAT player) until the peak meter never or very rarely reaches the 0dB (rightmost) segment of the meter bar. Now you are ready to begin recording. If you are recording from a digital input, volume adjustment does not apply to you.
"Cancel" allows exiting without doing anything.
If the recording level wasn't adjusted optimally you may use the plug-in "Normalize Gain" to optimize it later. However, please notice that you get a higher audio quality by recording at the highest level possible without clipping.
If you use the built-in audio input of the Macintosh computer, apply the plug-in "DC Correction" after recording to remove unwanted DC offset that is produced by the Mac audio hardware.
If the input level seems to be extremely low, make sure that the input level of your audio card is set to its maximum allowed value (control panel "Sound").
If you want to monitor your audio signal before and during recording, enable the "Monitor" checkbox above the meter bar. Please note that this feature may not work with some Macintosh models.
If you are ready to record click on "Record". If you are done, click on "Done" to finish recording and return to the editor. sonicWORX automatically opens a wave editor window with your latest recording so you can directly see and edit it.
If there are large portions of silence in the sound you wish to record you may pause recording at any time by hitting the "Pause" button. Click on "Record" to continue recording.
