Sony Acid 7 Manual

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Using ACID with ReWire panel applications
ACID can act as a ReWire mixer application. After you enable a ReWire panel application to work within 
ACID, you can insert it as a soft synth control in the mixer, and the soft synth bus connects ACID and the 
ReWire device and carries the data back and forth between them. The applications share timeline and 
cursor position data. ACID can mix or apply effects to your panel application’s audio data output and then 
record the data. 
Note: The ReWire panel application data will not be 
included in playback or rendering if the panel application is 
not open.
Locating ReWire panel applications for use in ACID
If you have ReWire panel applications installed on your PC, you can select them for use as soft synth 
controls.
1.From the Options menu, choose Preferences. The Preferences dialog appears.
2.Click the ReWire Devices tab.
All installed ReWire panel applications appear in the 
Select ReWire Device to be available as soft synths box 
at the bottom of the dialog. To choose the ReWire panel application you want to use, select its check box.
3.Click the OK button.
Inserting a ReWire panel application as a soft synth
You can insert a ReWire panel application as a soft synth on the mixer just as you would a DLS or VSTi 
soft synth. For more information, see Adding soft synth controls to projects on page 116. 
To synchronize ACID with your ReWire panel application and edit audio data at any time, double-click 
the soft synth icon on a control ( ).
Opening a ReWire panel application
There are several ways to open a ReWire panel application for use with ACID:
For ReWire 1.0 soft synths and ReWire 2.0 soft synths routed to a specific channel, double-click the soft 
synth control icon on the Mixer ( ) or right-click the icon and choose 
Open ReWire Panel from the 
shortcut menu.
For ReWire 2.0 soft synths routed to the panel application’s master output, you can start the ReWire 
panel application by double-clicking the soft synth control icon on the Mixer ( ) to display the Soft 
Synth Properties window and then clicking the 
Open ReWire Panel Application button ( ). You can click 
this button again to close the application when your editing is finished.
Note: Select the Lock MIDI Port Configuration button 
() to lock MIDI ports so ACID does not lose port 
assignments due to dynamic changes from ReWire panels.
If ACID is unable to start your ReWire panel application, you can start it manually.
Note: For more information on working with your ReWire 
panel application, please see the application’s documentation. 
						

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Deleting soft synth controls
Just as you can add soft synth controls to a project at any time, you can also delete superfluous soft synth 
controls. When you delete a soft synth control from a project, tracks assigned to it are reassigned to the first 
soft synth control in the Mixer window.
To delete a soft synth control, right-click the control in the mixer and choose 
Delete from the shortcut 
menu, or select the control and press  .
Routing MIDI tracks to soft synth controls
If your project contains multiple soft synth controls, you can assign each MIDI track to a specific soft synth 
control. To assign a track to a soft synth control, click the 
Device Selection button ( ) on the track header 
and choose the desired soft synth control from the menu. For more information, see Routing MIDI tracks to 
MIDI devices or soft synth controls on page 149.
Using mixer controls
Although busses, assignable effects, and soft synth controls are used to accomplish different tasks, they have 
many features in common. You can adjust fader levels, mute or solo audio, and apply effects on all mixer 
controls. In addition, you can select multiple mixer controls to apply changes to several controls 
simultaneously. You can also view mixer controls in track view in order to automate them.
Working with mixer controls
You can adjust, solo, and mute mixer controls independently. 
Adjusting faders
You can adjust mixer control levels during playback and preview the results in real-time. In addition, the 
stereo faders are split into two channels. This allows you to adjust the levels of the left and right channels 
independently of one another. For more information, see Adjusting split faders in the mixer on page 52.
Assignable effect controls contain two distinct faders, each of which is split into two channels. The left fader 
adjusts the level of the input signal entering the control, while the right fader adjusts the output level.
Changing meter resolution
You may specify the meter resolution at which mixer controls display their signal levels. When a mixer 
control’s meter resolution is changed, all meters in the Mixer window automatically change to reflect the 
new resolution setting. To change the meter resolution, right-click the meter and choose the desired 
resolution from the shortcut menu.
Setting levels
When signals are routed through a mixer control, the signal levels may cause the meter to clip. If the meter 
clips, the level is displayed in red at the top of the meter and the audio is distorted. You can lower the mixer 
control level and click the red display to reset the meter. A better way to reduce clipping, however, is to 
adjust the volume of each track.
Tip: You can also reset the clip by right-clicking the meter and 
choosing Reset Clip from the shortcut menu.
Delete 
						

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Muting mixer controls
Clicking the Mute button ( ) on a mixer control temporarily suspends playback of the control. When a 
mixer control is muted, it appears grayed out and the word 
Muted appears at the bottom of the meter. 
Clicking the 
Mute button a second time returns the mixer control to normal playback.
You can also press   to mute a mixer control or group of controls.
Tip: Press   and click the Mute button to mute only the 
selected mixer control (and restore any other muted 
controls). If the selected mixer control is already muted, press 
 and click the Mute button to restore all controls.
Soloing mixer controls
Clicking the Solo button ( ) on a mixer control isolates playback by muting all other mixer controls. For 
example, when you solo a bus, all remaining busses, assignable effects, and soft synths appear grayed out and 
the word 
Muted appears at the bottom of their respective meters. Clicking the Solo button a second time 
returns all mixer controls to normal playback.
You can also press   to solo a mixer control or group of controls.
Tip: Press   and click the Solo button to solo only the 
selected mixer control (and restore any other soloed controls). 
If the selected mixer control is already soloed, press   and 
click the Solo button to restore all controls.
Adding effects to mixer controls
ACID allows you to add DirectX compatible plug-ins, either individually or as a chain, to a mixer control. 
You can build plug-in chains from any DirectX compatible plug-ins installed on your system. You can add 
plug-ins (individually or as pieces of a chain) to a mixer control at any time, and once you have added them, 
you can reorder them, remove them, and combine them with additional plug-ins to achieve the desired 
effect.
Adding a plug-in to a mixer control results in the track signals assigned to that control being processed by 
the plug-in. However, plug-ins assigned at the track level are processed before plug-ins added at the mixer 
level. For more information, see Using track effects on page 93.
Important: Do not use time-altering effects (such as time 
stretch, gapper/snipper, pitch-shift without preserving 
duration, and some vibrato settings) with an ACID project. 
Time-altering effects cause a track to play out of 
synchronization with the waveform display in the track view 
and with other tracks.
Z
Ctrl
Ctrl
X
Ctrl
Ctrl 
						

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Adding plug-in chains
1.
Click the FX button ( ) on the mixer control. The Plug-In Chooser dialog appears.
2.Select the plug-ins that you want to add. The selected plug-ins appear in the chain area. There are three 
ways to add a plug-in to the chain:
Double-click the plug-in.
Drag the plug-in to the chain area.
Select the plug-in and click 
Add.
Tip: If you have saved any plug-in chain packages, double-
click the 
Packaged Chains folder to view those packages. For 
more information, see Saving plug-in chains as packages on 
page 124.
3.Click OK to close the Plug-In Chooser dialog. The Audio Plug-In window opens and displays the plug-in 
chain.
4.Click a specific plug-in and adjust the effect’s parameters manually, or choose one of the presets from the 
Preset drop-down list. For more information about effect parameters, click the Plug-In Help button ( ) in 
the Audio Plug-In window.
Tip: You can save an effect’s parameters as a preset to be 
used in other projects. To save a preset, enter a name in the 
Preset box and click the Save Preset button ( ).
5.Click the Close button ( ) to close the Audio Plug-In window.
Adding plug-ins to existing plug-in chains
1.
Click the FX button ( ) on the mixer control. The Audio Plug-In window appears.
2.Click the Edit Chain button ( ). The Plug-In Chooser dialog appears.
3.Add the desired plug-in(s) to the chain. 
4.Click OK to close the Plug-In Chooser dialog. The Audio Plug-In window opens and displays the plug-in 
chain.
5.Click a specific plug-in and adjust the effect’s parameters manually, or choose one of the presets from the 
Preset drop-down list. For more information about effect parameters, click the Plug-In Help button ( ) in 
the Audio Plug-In window.
6.Click the Close button ( ) to close the Audio Plug-In window. 
						

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Arranging plug-ins on plug-in chains
The effect of plug-ins placed on a chain is cumulative. For example, when a signal passes through a plug-in, 
it carries those settings through the next plug-in, and carries both settings through the next plug-in, and so 
on. Because of this cumulative effect, you may need to rearrange the plug-ins on the chain so that one plug-
in’s processing does not adversely affect the next one in the chain. 
There is no right or wrong way to order plug-ins, and the chain’s plug-in order is strictly based on your 
preferences and desired output. However, certain plug-ins function better at specific points in the chain. For 
example, the dither plug-in typically works best as the last plug-in on a chain.
1.Click the FX button ( ) on the mixer control. The Audio Plug-In window appears.
2.There are two ways to arrange plug-ins in your chain:
Drag the plug-in to a new location in the chain.
Right-click the plug-in and select 
Move Left or Move Right from the shortcut menu.
3.Click the Close button ( ) to close the Audio Plug-In window.
Bypassing plug-ins on plug-in chains
You can bypass a plug-in without removing it from the chain by clearing the check box on the plug-in. 
Alternately, right-click the plug-in and choose 
Bypass from the shortcut menu.
Tip: To bypass (or re-enable) all plug-ins in a chain, right-
click the 
FX button ( ) on the mixer control and choose 
Bypass All or Enable All.
Removing plug-ins from chains
You can remove a plug-in from a chain at any time.
1.Click the FX button ( ) on the mixer control. The Audio Plug-In window appears.
2.Right-click the plug-in and choose Remove from the shortcut menu, or click the Remove Selected Plug-In 
button ( ).
3.Click the Close button ( ) to close the Audio Plug-In window.
Plug-in chain 
						

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Removing or bypassing all effects on a mixer control
You can clear a mixer control of all effects by right-clicking the FX button ( ) and choosing Delete All from 
the shortcut menu.
You can bypass the effects on a mixer control without removing them by right-clicking the 
FX button ( ) 
and choosing 
Bypass All from the shortcut menu. To apply them again, right-click the FX button and choose 
Enable All from the shortcut menu.
Saving plug-in chains as packages
ACID allows you to save plug-in chains as packages so that you may re-use them in other projects. If you use 
a combination of plug-ins often, saving them as a package saves you time. Effect packages retain their chain 
order and individual plug-in settings.
You may save plug-in chains as packages from existing plug-in chains or in the Plug-In Chooser dialog during 
the actual creation of the chain. The plug-in chains that you save as packages appear in the Plug-In Chooser 
dialog in the 
Packaged Chains folder. 
1.Click the FX button ( ) on the mixer control. The Plug-In Chooser dialog appears if a plug-in chain does 
not already exist.
To save an existing chain, click the 
FX button ( ) to open the Audio Plug-In window and skip to step 
four.
2.Add and arrange plug-ins to create a plug-in chain and click OK.
3.In the Audio Plug-In window, adjust the settings for each plug-in to achieve the effect you want. For more 
information about effect parameters, click the 
Plug-In Help button ( ) in the Audio Plug-In window.
4.Click the Save Chain Preset button ( ). The Save Plug-In Package dialog appears.
5.Enter a name for the package.
6.Click OK to save the plug-in chain as an effect package.
Organizing your plug-ins
ACID allows you to create folders for organizing your plug-ins within the Plug-In Chooser dialog. You will 
notice that the Plug-In Chooser dialog functions similarly to Windows Explorer. However, the Plug-In 
Chooser dialog only allows you to work with plug-ins installed on your system.
Using the Preset Manager
Once you have created custom presets for effects or effect chains, you can use the Preset Manager to back up, 
transfer, or delete custom presets from any of the plug-ins you use in ACID. The Preset Manager is a 
standalone application that you can use to manage ACID, Sound Forge, and Vegas presets.
You can install the Preset Manager from the ACID CD. After you install the application, choose 
Contents 
and Index
 from the Help menu in the Preset Manager for instructions on how to manage your presets. 
						

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Working with multiple mixer controls
When you select multiple busses, assignable effect controls, or soft synth controls in the mixer, you can 
simultaneously perform functions on the controls. These functions include the following:
Change bus or hardware routing
Mute/solo bus or control
Delete bus or control
Change fader level
You can select multiple, nonadjacent controls by holding the   key while clicking each control’s name. 
You can select multiple, adjacent controls by clicking the first control and holding the   key while 
clicking the last control in the range.
Note: You cannot group the Preview fader in this manner 
with other mixer controls.
Automating mixer controls in track view
You can automate bus, assignable effect, and soft synth controls in track view. ACID allows you to view each 
of these controls on tracks at the bottom of track view and to add envelopes to automate functions such as 
volume, pan, and assignable effect chain input/output levels. You can also add envelopes to automate effect 
parameters for plug-ins that support automation. For more information, see Adding effect automation envelopes 
on page 98.
For creative ways to use bus automation, see Fading in and out of mixes on page 190.
Viewing bus tracks
From the View menu, choose Show Bus Tracks or press  . The bus tracks appear at the bottom of the track 
view. A bus track appears for each mixer control in your project. 
Adding track envelopes
Right-click the track header in the track list, choose Insert/Remove Envelope from the shortcut menu, and 
choose the appropriate envelope type from the submenu. 
You can identify which mixer controls have envelopes by looking at each control’s letter or number. An 
automated mixer control has a small fader icon on its letter or number in the Mixer window. 
Modifying track envelopes
You can modify a track envelope for a bus, assignable effect, or soft synth in the same way you do with any 
other track. For more information, see Using track envelopes on page 97. 
Ctrl
Shift
U
Bus with 
automationBus without 
automation 
						

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							9
CHP. 9RECORDING IN ACID
CHAPTER127
Recording in ACID
ACID is a loop-based audio-production tool. It is not designed for multi-track recording projects. However, 
the application does allow you to record audio from your system’s sound card. This limited recording 
capability makes it possible for you to record audio or MIDI from an external source and place it in your 
project.
This feature actually makes ACID an excellent tool for recording song demos. You can build a backing track 
of the appropriate length and tempo using a variety of loops and combine the backing track with a one-shot 
vocal or guitar track that you record.
Note: Recording MIDI is covered in greater depth in 
Recording MIDI tracks on page 131.
Recording audio
If you are familiar with other Sonic Foundry applications, recording in ACID should be fairly intuitive. The 
following procedure briefly outlines the steps involved in recording audio.
1.Connect the audio source or MIDI device to your computer.
2.For audio recording, verify that the card is properly configured for the audio source (microphone, line 
level, etc.). 
3.Place the cursor in the track view at the position where recording will begin. To record multiple takes, 
create a loop region instead. For more information, see Recording multiple takes on page 130.
4.Click the Record button ( ) on the transport bar. The Record dialog appears. 
5.Set the desired recording properties. For more information, see Setting ACID’s recording properties on page 
128.
6.Set the recording level. For more information, see Setting recording levels on page 129.
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7.Click Start to begin recording. ACID creates a new track in the project and begins to record the incoming 
audio signal into it.
8.Click Stop to end recording. 
The recorded audio is placed on its track as a Beatmapped file and can now be manipulated at the track or 
event level, like any other file in the project. 
ACID adds regions to mark each measure in the recording. You can view the regions in the Track Properties 
window. These regions can be useful when creating loops from your recordings in ACID or Sound Forge.
Setting ACID’s recording properties
Prior to recording in ACID, you must configure the application’s recording properties in the Record dialog. 
This ensures that you are recording through the appropriate device with the desired attributes, and that you 
are storing the recorded file in the appropriate folder.
Record type
Use these radio buttons to specify the type of recording you are about to make.
File name
This box allows you to name the recorded file prior to actually recording it. If you do not specify a name, 
ACID provides the default name “Record Take” and appends a unique number to identify it. ACID saves 
recorded audio as a WAV file and saves MIDI as a MID file.
Record folder
This box displays the path to the folder where recorded files are stored. If you want to specify an alternate 
location, click 
Browse and specify the new folder.
Free space
This value indicates the amount of available free space in the current record folder.
Time recorded
This value provides you with a running summary of the length and size (in megabytes) of the audio currently 
being recorded.
Record from
By default, ACID begins recording at the cursor position when you click the Record button ( ). However, 
you can use the 
Record from radio buttons to specify an alternate starting point for recording.
Selecting the 
Start of project radio button configures ACID to start recording at the beginning of the 
current project.
Selecting the 
Pos it i on radio button allows you to enter the recording start position in measures and beats 
format.
Make new track follow project tempo
Selecting this check box configures ACID to use its stretching features to expand/contract your recording in 
relation to the project tempo. However, if you are recording your audio track at the final project tempo, you 
should clear this check box to allow ACID to treat the recorded file as a one-shot.
Record device
This drop-down list allows you to choose the hardware device and channel that ACID uses to record your 
audio.