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 "◊ Natural Pitch Transpose" from the "Timebase & Pitch Conversion" 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. Define the area of the audio recording to be processed by 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. Make sure the "Easy" Checkbox is checked to enable automatic routing.
9. 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".
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.
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 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.
