Sony Acid 7 Manual

							TABLE OF CONTENTS
9
Setting up surround projects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Routing to hardware in the mixer   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Assigning audio to the LFE channel  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Panning audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Panning tracks   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Panning mixer controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Using the Surround Panner window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Automating panning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Turning on panning keyframes   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Adding panning keyframes  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Working with keyframes   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Rendering surround projects  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Burning AC-3 files to DVD   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Customizing ACID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  171
Working with ACID windows  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Docking and floating ACID windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Changing the time ruler format  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Using the ruler offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Using the project grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Setting the grid type   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Using the toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Hiding and displaying the toolbar   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Reordering toolbar buttons  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Adding buttons to the toolbar  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Removing buttons from the toolbar   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Using the time display  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Changing cursor position  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Changing the time display  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Monitoring MIDI timecode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Setting default track properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Setting ACID preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Using the General tab  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Using the Audio tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Using the MIDI tab  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Using the VST Instruments tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Using the ReWire Devices tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Using the Video tab  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Using the Editing tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Using the Sync tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184 
						

							TABLE OF CONTENTS
10
Using the Other tab  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
ACID Tips and Tricks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Adding long media files quickly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Playing with duplicate tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Detuning paired tracks  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Duplicating with offset   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Creating ping-pong pan effects   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Adding depth with assignable effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Playing double time/half time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Constructing the wall of sound. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Adding through subtraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Tweaking the dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Fading in and out of mixes   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Adding build ups  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Creating wah-wah effects with automated Track EQ  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Making automated changes more stark. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Abruptly changing volume or pan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Turning automated effects on and off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Making automated frequency changes more natural. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Overriding compress/expand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Slicing and dicing in the Chopper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Chopping new loops for alternate time signatures   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Chopping multiple files into a new loop  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Creating drum-roll build ups  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Creating drum fills  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Creating one-track remixes  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Creating DJ-style crossfades  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Creating pseudo-granular synthesis  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Building instrument solos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Building scales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i 
						

							1
CHP. 1INTRODUCING ACID
CHAPTER11
Introducing ACID
Welcome to Sonic Foundry ACID
Congratulations on purchasing a revolutionary software application for Windows. Using Sonic Foundry 
ACID
® you can create great music by simply picking, painting, and playing.
System requirements
In order to use ACID, your computer must satisfy the following minimum specifications:
300 MHz processor (400 MHz processor required for video scoring)
Microsoft Windows 98SE, Me, 2000, or XP
64 MB RAM (128 MB recommended)
60 MB hard-disk space for program installation
Windows-compatible sound card
CD-ROM drive (required for installation from CD-ROM)
Supported CD-recordable drive (required for CD burning)
DirectX 8.0 (included on CD-ROM)
Internet Explorer, version 4.0 or higher (version 5.0 included on CD-ROM)
Installing ACID
Prior to installing ACID, we recommend that you exit all open applications and temporarily turn off any 
virus protection.
Note: If you’re installing ACID on a system running 
Windows 2000, your user account must be a member of the 
Administrators group to install ACID and a member of the 
Power Users group (or higher) to register ACID.
1.Insert the ACID CD-ROM. The ACID Installation screen appears if CD-ROM AutoPlay is enabled.
Note: If CD-ROM AutoPlay is turned off, click   and 
choose 
Run. In the Run dialog, enter the CD-ROM drive’s 
letter and add :\setup.exe. Click OK to begin installation.
2.Click Install Software to begin the installation process.
3.Follow the on-screen prompts and enter the necessary information when required. At the final screen 
prompt, click 
Finish.
1 
						

							12
INTRODUCING ACIDCHP. 1
Using online help
You can access two varieties of help within ACID: 
Online help 
What’sThis? help (also referred to as context-sensitive help)
Online help
To access online help, choose Contents and Index from the Help menu or press  . 
Note: To view online help, Internet Explorer 4.0 or later 
must be installed on your system. Internet Explorer 5.0 is 
included on the ACID CD-ROM for your convenience.
The 
Contents tab provides a list of available help topics. Double-click a closed book ( ) to open the pages 
and then click a topic page ( ).
The 
Index tab provides a complete listing of the help topics available. Scroll through the list of available 
topics or type a word in the 
Type in the keyword to find box to quickly locate topics related to that word. Select 
the topic and click  .
The 
Search tab allows you to enter a keyword and display all of the topics in the online help that contain the 
keyword you have entered. Type a keyword in the 
Type in the word(s) to search for box and click  . 
Select the topic from the list and click  .
The 
Favorites tab allows you to keep topics that you revisit often in a separate folder. To add a topic to your 
favorites, click   on the 
Favorites tab.
F1
Tabs 
						

							CHP. 1INTRODUCING ACID
13
What’sThis? help
What’sThis? help allows you to view pop-up window descriptions for ACID menus, buttons, and dialog 
boxes. Choose 
Whats This? from the Help menu, press  , or click the What’sThis? help button ( ) on 
the toolbar and then click any ACID item. To use What’sThis? help in a dialog box, click the question mark 
button ( ) in the upper-right corner of the dialog box and then click an item in the dialog box.
Help on the Web
Additional ACID help and information is available on the Sonic Foundry Web site. Choose Sonic Foundry 
on the Web
 from the Help menu to view a listing of Web pages pertaining to ACID and Sonic Foundry. If 
your browser is not already open, ACID will automatically start it for you.
Overview of ACID
ACID is designed to be a powerful and flexible, but easy-to-use music creation application. Many of the 
ACID operations, menu items, and shortcut keys are common to other Sonic Foundry applications.
The following sections provide a tour of the ACID work area. 
Main interface
The work area includes three main areas: the track list, the track view (or timeline), and the window 
docking area. The other parts of the interface are tools and features used while creating and working with 
your project. You can resize the track list, track view, and window docking area by dragging the dividers 
between them.
Shift+F1
Track list
Window 
docking 
areaDividerTrack view
Divider 
						

							14
INTRODUCING ACIDCHP. 1
Toolbar
The toolbar allows you to quickly access the most commonly used functions and features in ACID.
Opens a new project. You will be prompted to 
save any changes to the current project.Locks envelope points so they move with an 
event when it is moved along the timeline.
Displays the Open File dialog. From this 
window, you can browse all of the available 
drives to select an ACID project or audio file 
to open.Activates the Draw tool to add and edit events.
Saves any changes to the current project.
The first time you save a project, the Save As 
dialog appears.Activates the Selection tool to select multiple 
events.
Opens the Publish wizard so you can share 
your ACID creation on the Web.Activates the Paint tool to insert events across 
multiple tracks.
When used in conjunction with the Ctrl key, the 
Paint tool can paint an entire one-shot, MIDI, or 
Beatmapped media file to an event with one 
click.
Clears the selected items from the track view 
and places them on the ACID clipboard. You 
can then paste them to a new location.Activates the Erase tool to erase events or parts 
of events.
When used in conjunction with the Ctrl key, the 
Erase tool can erase an entire one-shot, MIDI 
track, or Beatmapped track event with one click.
Creates a copy of the selected items from the 
track view on the ACID clipboard. You can 
then paste them to a new location.Activates the Envelope tool to select and modify 
envelope points.
Inserts the contents of the ACID clipboard at 
the current cursor position. The pasted items 
cover any existing events. To make room for 
pasted events, choose Paste Insert from the 
Edit menu.Activates the Time Selection tool to quickly select 
all events within range of time.
Reverses the last action performed. ACID 
supports unlimited undos, allowing you to 
restore the project to any state since the last 
save.Opens a dialog where you can download media 
from the Internet.
Reverses an undo. Opens a frequently updated Web page containing 
special offers, tips, tricks, and other good stuff.
Turns the snapping feature on or off. With 
snapping enabled, you can decide whether to 
snap to the grid or to all elements (markers, 
regions, etc.).Activates What’sThis? help to obtain information 
about a specific option, menu, or part of the 
ACID window. 
						

							CHP. 1INTRODUCING ACID
15
Track list
This list identifies the track order in your project and contains the track’s controls. The following sections 
identify and briefly explain the controls located in the track list. 
View buttons
These buttons control the track’s appearance (size) on the track list and the track view.
Track number and type
This area identifies the type of file (loop, one-shot, MIDI, Beatmapped) contained in the track as well as the 
track’s number in the project. You can quickly change the track order by dragging selected tracks within the 
track list.
Tr a ck  n a m e
When you add a file to a project, the track name is initially the same name as the file’s name. Right-click the 
track name and choose 
Rename from the shortcut menu (or double-click) to change the track name.
Bus assignment
Clicking the Bus Assignment button ( ) and selecting a letter from the menu allows you to assign the 
corresponding track to the specified output bus. However, the button is only available in projects containing 
multiple busses. For more information, see Adding busses to the project on page 111.
On a MIDI track, the 
Device Selection button ( ) appears instead of the Bus Assignment button. This button 
allows you to route a MIDI track to a soft synth or MIDI device. For more information, see Routing MIDI tracks 
to MIDI devices or soft synth controls on page 149.
Track FX button
The Track FX button ( ) accesses the Audio Plug-In window from which you can add, edit, and apply effects 
to the track. The button image changes ( ) to indicate when an automatable effect is present. For more 
information, see Using track effects on page 93.
Track name Track number/type
View buttons
Multipurpose slider Bus assignment
Track FX
Mute
Solo
Multipurpose slider label
Surround panner (surround projects only)
Loop
One-shot
Beatmapped
MIDI
Track type icons 
						

							16
INTRODUCING ACIDCHP. 1
Mute button
Clicking the Mute button ( ) temporarily suspends playback of the corresponding track, allowing you to 
focus on the project’s remaining tracks. A muted track appears grayed out in the track view. For more 
information, see Muting tracks on page 47.
Solo button
Clicking the Solo button ( ) isolates the track during playback by muting the project’s remaining tracks. For 
more information, see Soloing tracks on page 48.
Surround panner
In 5.1 surround projects, the surround panner allows you to view and edit surround panning settings for a 
track. Double-click a surround panner to view the Surround Panner window and make fine panning 
adjustments. For more information, see Working with 5.1 Surround on page 157.
Multipurpose slider
This multipurpose slider allows you to control the following:
A track’s volume relative to the project’s other tracks.
A track’s placement in the stereo spectrum (panning). 
The level of the track’s signal being routed to each of the project’s busses.
The level of the track’s signal being routed to an assignable effect control.
The multipurpose slider defaults to displaying a track’s volume control. ACID tracks are preset to -6.0 
decibels (dB), but the volume range is -inf. to 12 dB. Each track’s slider position is independent from the 
others; however, you can move sliders simultaneously by selecting multiple tracks before making your 
adjustment. If you do not see this slider, expand the track.
You may choose what the slider controls by clicking the slider label. Changing the slider type for one track 
changes it for all tracks so you can compare levels of the same control across the project. For more 
information, see Adjusting the mix on page 46.
Track view
In the track view, you can view and edit the events in a track. The area in which events display is the 
timeline. The track view contains other elements which are described in the following sections.
Zoom controls Beat ruler Marker bar
Transport Time ruler
(if displayed)
Loop bar 
						

							CHP. 1INTRODUCING ACID
17
Marker bar
The marker bar runs the length of your project and contains the tags for markers and regions positioned 
along the project’s timeline.
Beat ruler
The beat ruler allows you to place events in reference to the musical time of bars and beats. This ruler is 
fixed and does not update when you change the tempo. This allows the events in the tracks to maintain 
their size when you adjust the tempo.
Time ruler
The time ruler provides a timeline for your project. This ruler can show real time in many different formats. 
For more information, see Changing the time ruler format on page 173. The ruler changes with tempo, since the 
number of beats and beats per second of real time changes with tempo.
Tr a n s p o r t  b a r
The transport bar contains the playback and cursor positioning buttons frequently used while working on 
your project.
ACID also includes keyboard shortcuts for these playback commands. For more information, see Playback 
commands on page 19.
Zoom controls
To the right of the horizontal scroll bar are the time zoom controls. Clicking the Zoom In Time button ( ) 
increases the horizontal magnification of the project. To decrease the level of magnification, click the 
Zoom 
Out Time
 button ( ).
Directly below the vertical scroll bar are the dedicated track height zoom controls. Clicking the 
Zoom In Track 
Height
 button ( ) increases the vertical magnification of the project. To decrease the level of magnification, 
click the 
Zoom Out Track Height button ( ).
Note: Double-clicking the horizontal or vertical scroll bars 
adjusts the magnification so that as much of the project (either 
horizontally or vertically) is displayed as possible.
Click the 
Zoom Tool button ( ) in the corner of the track view to temporarily change the cursor into the 
Zoom tool. After you select an area of the track view to magnify, the cursor reverts to the previously active 
tool.
Note: Double-clicking the Zoom tool adjusts both the 
horizontal and vertical magnification so that as much of the 
project is displayed as possible.
Record new track Pause/resume project playback
Loop playback Stop playback
Play from beginning of project Move cursor to start of project
Play project from cursor position Move cursor to end of project 
						

							18
INTRODUCING ACIDCHP. 1
Window docking area
This area allows you to keep frequently-used windows available 
while working on a project. Windows can be docked side by side 
or in stacks in the windows docking area. For more information, 
see Docking and floating ACID windows on page 172.
Two windows display in the window docking area when you 
start ACID for the first time: the Explorer and the Mixer. The 
Chopper™, Video, Audio Plug-In, Track Properties, Surround 
Panner, and Soft Synth Properties windows can be docked or 
undocked after they are displayed by choosing the desired 
window from the 
View menu.
Tip: You can quickly hide or show the window docking area 
by pressing .
Explorer window
The Explorer window works similarly to the Windows Explorer. You can use the Explorer window to locate, 
preview and select media files to be added to your project. You can also use the Explorer window to perform 
common file management tasks, such as renaming files or creating folders. 
Mixer
The Mixer window provides access to output levels, as well as advanced features such as busses, assignable 
effect chains, and soft synth controls. For more information, see Using the Mixer window on page 50.
Chopper
The Chopper isolates audio events so that you can dissect them and reinsert them into a project to produce 
elaborate slice-n-dice effects with minimal effort. Display the Chopper by choosing 
Chopper from the View 
menu or pressing  . For more information, see Using the Chopper on page 85. 
Video
This window displays prerendered video files that can be imported and synchronized with an ACID project. 
The video file displays during project playback and can be rendered with the project to an appropriate 
format. Display the Video window by choosing 
Video from the View menu or pressing  . For more 
information, see Using the Video window on page 155.
Audio Plug-In
This window displays plug-ins and settings for track, assignable, bus, and soft synth effects chains. Display 
the Audio Plug-In window by clicking any 
FX button ( ) or by pressing  . For more information, see 
Using track effects on page 93 and Adding effects to mixer controls on page 121.
Track Properties
This window allows you to change track attributes and edit MIDI tracks using OPT plug-ins. Display the 
Track Properties window by double-clicking a track’s icon or by pressing  . For more information, see 
Configuring track properties on page 105 and Working with MIDI on page 131.
Surround Panner
This window allows you to control panning in a 5.1 surround project. Display the Surround Panner window 
by double-clicking the surround panner on a track or mixer control or by pressing  . For more 
information, see Working with 5.1 Surround on page 157.
Click a tab to 
view a window
F11
Alt +2
Alt 
+4
Alt +5
Alt 
+6
Alt 
+7