Tascam Digital Audio Production Environment SX-1 Reference Manual

							Part V–Effects
 TASCAM SX-1 Reference Manual 121
This is broken into two components, the reverb’s 
early reflection (I) and its decay curve (R). The indi-
vidual start times and levels of both components are 
adjustable. The sliders to the right of the window 
adjust the early reflection and decay curve levels. 
The sliders below the window adjust the early reflec-tion and decay curve start times (the amount of time 
each is initially delayed). The decay curve’s start 
time is directly related to the early reflection’s start. 
The maximum early reflection delay is 160 ms. And 
the decay curve’s start time can be set no later than 
100 ms from this initial first predelay. 
						

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Part VI–Audio tracks
Chapter 16 – Working with Audio Regions
Essential Tools
The Tracks screen and its associated Waveform tab pro-
vide the main work areas for audio waveform editing 
on an VGA display. These work areas are mirrored 
on the LCD display by the 
Tracks and Waveform 
screens. The 
Tracks screens allow coarse editing and region selection on one or multiple tracks. The 
Waveform screens provide a larger view of the wave-
form and sample-accurate resolution for more 
detailed editing.
Tool Select Menu
There are several tools located in the VGA’s Main 
Menu Bar that determine the behavior of the mouse’s 
cursor.
Click on the tool icon to select the tool you wish to 
work with (like those pictured below). You may 
cycle through the tools by repeatedly pressing the 
[ESC] key on the PS/2 keyboard.
Region Select Tool Use this tool for 
selecting (highlighting) regions to edit. Click and drag to select a region. It works in both the 
Track and Waveform screens.
Event Select Tool Use this tool to select 
audio and MIDI events. Click on the event 
or group of events you want to select. It 
works in both the 
Track and Waveform screens 
(and the 
Piano Roll screens for MIDI events).
 Pencil Tool Use this tool for drawing in 
data (automation, continuous controller 
data, and MIDI notes). Simply click, or 
click and drag where you want the data 
drawn. It works in the automation’s 
Auto Track and 
MIDI track 
Piano Roll tabs.
Curve Tool Allows precise curves to be 
drawn in for automation controllers and 
MIDI control data.
VGA Waveform Tab
From the Tracks screen on the VGA, click on the 
WAVEFORM tab to reach this window.
TIP
Remember that for a larger Waveform screen you can 
click on the divider bar’s three dots (explained in “Resiz-ing Windows” on page 16). Then drag the bar vertically 
to expand the Waveform tab.
Tr a c k  Click on the arrow to select the audio track 
you want to view. 
						

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 TASCAM SX-1 Reference Manual 123
Edit Operation
This menu is used for selecting the type of edit oper-
ation to be performed on your selected event. The 
Edit Operations are as follows:
Event Editor After selecting an event (using the 
Event Select tool), a number of fields will appear to 
the left of the Waveform.
Name Allows you to name the selected audio event.
Time Displays the start time of the selected audio 
event.
Duration Displays the length of the selected audio 
event.
Offset Allows you to set an offset for the selected 
audio event.
Muted Check this box to mute the selected audio 
event.
Initial Gain Use this field to set the selected audio 
event’s starting volume.
Final Gain Use this field to set the selected audio 
event’s ending volume.
Ramp Up Start Time This field designates at what 
time the selected audio event will begin fading in.
Ramp Up End Time This field designates at what 
time the fade-in for the selected audio event will end.
Ramp Down Start Time This field designates at 
what time the selected audio event will begin fading 
out.
Ramp Down End Time This field designates at 
what time the fade-out for the selected audio event 
will end.
HyperSelect This operation allows you to select 
the events in a given region according to rules you 
designate (see “HyperSelect” on page 160). For 
example, you could select all audio events after bar 
108.
Move Allows you to move a selected event forward 
or backward in time by a defined amount.
Render This operation takes any number of 
selected audio clips and consolidates them into one 
file. You can choose the name for the new clip before rendering. This is currently the only way to name a 
raw audio file.
Repeat Selection This operation allows the 
selection to be repeated a specified number of times. 
Repeats are pasted sequentially, end to end.
Count This field determines the number of repeats.
Merge Events This box is grayed out for audio 
event editing, as the SX-1 cannot merge audio events 
in this manner.
Reverse This operation takes the selected audio 
event and reverses it.
Gain/Fade This operation offers a quick way to 
create linear fade-ins and fade-outs. There are two 
parameters: 
Start Amount and End Amount.
Start Amount  refers to the level of the audio file at 
the beginning of the selection.
End Amount  refers to the level of the audio at the 
end of the selection. The 
Start and End amount regis-
ters are ratios based upon the actual level of the audio 
file—meaning that a value of 
100 represents 100% of 
the audio file’s amplitude.
To make a fade-in, select an audio event that you 
would like to fade (if there is not a separate event yet 
to fade, use Split to create one), and then select 
0 as 
your Start Amount, and 
100 as your end amount. 
Press 
DONE, and the SX-1 will render your fade into 
the audio event.
Normalize The Normalize operation raises the 
gain of an event to a preset ceiling. This operation 
analyzes the audio event according to the setting of 
the 
Type field. If Peak is selected, the analysis looks for 
the loudest transient in the file. If 
RMS is selected, the 
analysis looks for the average loudest value over 
time. The 
Max Level setting determines what the level 
ceiling is for the action. For example, if the 
Max Value 
is set to 
-.3, and the Type field is set to Peak, the SX-1 
will raise the level of the entire audio event equally, 
so that the loudest transient is -0.3 dB below 0 dB 
(which is full clip in a digital system).
Remove DC This operation removes any instances 
of DC Offset, which can sometimes be created by 
improper digital conversion. 
						

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LCD WAVEFORM Screen
This screen parallels the Waveform tab found in the 
Tracks screen on the VGA.
Press the 
WAVEFORM key from the LCD ACCESS 
section to reach this screen.
TRACK Allows you to scroll through your current 
project’s audio tracks.
ZOOM Magnify or contract the track view.
SELECT EDIT OP This menu is for choosing a type 
of edit operation to be performed on your selected region. The edit operations are described on the pre-
vious pages (“Edit Operation” on page 123).
SELECT Press this key to access the 
LCD screen’s additional waveform edit-
ing menu.
SINGLE EVENT Selects the audio event 
at the playbar.
ADD EVENT Adds an event to the cur-
rent selection.
SINGLE TRACK Selects an entire track 
(the track that is selected with the SEL key).
ADD TRACK Adds a track to the 
selected regions.
NUDGE LEFT Nudges the selected audio region ear-
lier in time (set Nudge amount on the Main Menu 
Bar).
NUDGE RIGHT Nudges the selected audio region 
later in time.
CLEAR Clears the current selections.
Managing Audio Takes
Several audio clips can be assembled (imported or 
recorded) to form a take. A take is essentially a self-
contained EDL made up of a group of clips. The SX-
1 has a pool of takes associated with a project, and 
the takes within this pool can be assigned to any 
track of the HDR for playback (they are not fixed to 
the track that they were originally assembled on). 
Takes can also be imported and exported between 
projects. They are managed from the 
Take Browser tab 
of the VGA’s 
Tracks screen.Audio takes are loaded to track slots by clicking on 
the   icon to the right of the   key in the 
Tracks 
screen. Then, selecting the 
Load Audio Take command 
from the pop up-menu reveals the takes that are 
available for loading.
TIP
For step by step instructions on loading audio and MIDI 
takes to tracks, see the 
Quick Start Guide. 
						

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 TASCAM SX-1 Reference Manual 125
VGA Take Browser Tab
Here you can manage your current project’s takes 
and import takes from other projects. You must load 
takes into slots by using the slot button on the VGA.
TYPE This allows you to toggle between viewing 
audio takes or MIDI takes.
Audio Clips
Clips are raw audio files created by recording on the 
SX-1, or by importing from other media (such as 
samples and loops). The SX-1 allows you to import clips that conform to one of a number of standard 
audio file formats: WAV, AIFF, SDII, BWAV, and 
AU.
VGA Clip Browser Tab
In this tab you can view audio files that are available 
to your current project as clips. Clips from this win-dow can be selected and dragged directly to an audio 
track in the 
Tracks window.
You will notice that when you select a Clip in the 
browser, information about that audio file is dis-
played to the right of the list. Bit depth, sample rate, 
number of channels (stereo or mono), and time stamp 
are all included.Also note, the type of display is determined by the 
type set for the SX-1s timecode display readouts. 
This means that if the SX-1 is set to display bars and 
beats, the data displays to the right of the Clip 
Browser will show their information in bars and 
beats instead of SMPTE or samples. 
						

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Pressing the Import button opens the import dialog 
(pictured below). Here you can import audio files 
from the internal drive, a CD-ROM or other con-nected media. Once these files are imported into your 
project’s clip window, simply drag them to an audio 
track for playback.
Clicking the 
Use Time Stamps button will constrain the 
selected file to its original timestamp when it is 
dragged onto a slot. If the original file has no stamp, 
the file can be moved anywhere on the timeline.TIP
If you dragged a file onto an audio track but can’t see 
it, it might be because the file’s original position is out 
of your immediate viewing range. Drag the cursor 
around the timeline to find your file, or go to the event 
list for that track and double-click on the audio event to 
locate the transport there. 
						

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Chapter 17 – Editing Audio
Edit Controls
Besides the editing controls found in the VGA and 
LCD screens, there are also front panel editing keys 
you can use with a parallel editing menu on the VGA 
menu bar, if you need it. Once you have selected a 
region or event using the on-screen or surface con-trols, the front panel editing keys give you quick 
access to basic editing operations.
Select an event and press one of these keys to per-
form the editing operation.
EDIT
The EDIT key opens the EDIT screen (pictured below) 
on the LCD. This screen allows you to, among other 
things, define your edit region and adjust grid and 
nudge settings.
EDIT REGION These registers let you change the 
start, end, length, and sync point of your edit region.
GRID SETTINGS These parameters are for setting 
your grid size and time value (such as samples or 
beats). From here you can also turn the grid on or off. 
The grid is explained further in “Nudge & Grid Set-
tings” on page 18.
NUDGE SETTING These parameters determine 
how the nudge value operates. The nudge time for-
mat and amount can also be set in the Main Menu 
Bar of the VGA. However, the 
Nudge Mode parameter 
is unique to this LCD screen. Possible settings for 
this parameter are as follows:
Slide Event This setting determines that a Nudge 
command will Slide the event forward or backward 
in time by the Nudge amount, depending on whether 
a Nudge Left or Nudge Right command is chosen.
Event Begin This setting determines that a Nudge 
command will modify the event’s In point by the 
Nudge amount, without changing the Out value.
Event End This setting determines that a Nudge 
command will modify the event’s Out point by the 
Nudge amount, without changing the In Point’s 
value.
Event File Offset This is an advanced setting for 
users who are used to editing samples on hardware 
samplers. This setting determines that a Nudge com-
mand will move the point where the event begins 
playing/becomes audible, without changing the posi-
tion in time of the event itself.
Slide Region This setting determines that a Nudge 
command will move the edit selection points 
together (without moving the underlying event) by 
the Nudge amount. This is useful when a region is 
selected, but you would like to move the selected 
area, not the audio, MIDI, or automation data it is 
selecting.
Region Begin This setting determines that a Nudge 
command will move the beginning point of a region 
selected for editing, without affecting the end point.
Region End This setting works the opposite of the 
previous setting. It determines that a Nudge com-
mand will move the End point of a region selected 
for editing without affecting the In point.
HISTORY LIST Press this soft key to recall the 
LCD display’s 
EDIT HISTORY LIST. Here you can see all 
of your previous recording and editing moves. This 
screen is a mirror of the VGA 
Tracks screen’s History 
tab.
ERROR LOG The SX-1 keeps a log of all events it 
classifies as errors (for example, losing clock sync). 
Pressing this soft key shows the error log readout 
screen. This LCD screen has a parallel window in the  
						

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128 TASCAM SX-1 Reference Manual
VGA that is accessed from the SX-1 menu of the Main 
Menu Bar.
SMPTE FORMAT Sets the time format for the EDIT 
REGION
 registers. The choices are: SMPTE, 
hours:minutes:seconds, bars:beats:ticks, feet:frames, 
or samples
SET TO DEFAULT Sets the highlighted parameter 
back to its factory default value.
NUDGE LEFT & NUDGE RIGHT These soft 
keys let you move your selected region forward or 
backward in time by the nudge amount given in the 
NUDGE SETTING field and the Nudge type set in the 
Nudge Mode field.
Editing
TIP
Before you can perform an edit, you must first select an 
event to modify. If you need to create an event, simply 
drag across a track with the mouse and hit the 
Split key. 
Alternatively, create the 
Edit Begin and End points with 
the 
Capture key and then select Split.
CUT Use CUT to remove a selected region. A gap is 
left between the Edit In and Out points, and the cut 
contents are placed in the SX-1’s temporary clip-
board.
COPY Use COPY to send the selected region to the 
clipboard. The clipboard contents (the copied region) 
can then be pasted to a new location.
Selected Region
Audio Before Cut
Audio After Cut
Clipboard
Selected Region
Audio Before Copy
Audio After Copy
Clipboard
InOut
Copied Region 
						

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PASTE Use PA S T E to place the clipboard contents 
at an edit In point. The newly pasted region over-
writes the area’s previous contents.
TIP
An In point can be created in two ways. On the VGA dis-
play, place the cursor (using the Region Select tool) 
where you want the In point to be and click once. Or, 
from the SX-1’s front panel, press the 
EDIT/ EDIT 
BEGIN
 key where you want the edit In marker placed.
CLEAR/TRIM Use CLEAR/ TRIM to remove the 
contents of a selected region without sending that 
region to the clipboard. Press 
SHIFT+CLEAR/ TRIM 
to crop the selected region. This move deletes every-
thing on the track but the selected region (see illus-
tration below).
SPLIT Use the SPLIT key to divide one large event 
into one or more smaller events. For example, split-
ting a region into several different events can facili-tate selection and movement (horizontally, within the 
track itself, and vertically, between different tracks) 
of sound bites and musical phrases.
Audio Before Paste
Audio After Paste
In
Pasted From Clipboard
Clipboard
Audio Before Trim
Audio After Trim
Selected Region
InOut
In
Out
Audio Before Clear
Audio After Clear
Selected Region
InOut
Cleared Region
In
Out
Audio Before Split
Audio After SplitSplit 
						

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130 TASCAM SX-1 Reference Manual
MERGE This key is for MIDI editing only. Use 
MERGE to combine two different MIDI regions (the 
contents of the clipboard and a region equal to the length of the clipboard’s selection after the paste In 
point).
RIPPLE/REV RIPPLE Ripple is a mode where data 
is moved during an edit operation, either to fill the 
gap created by a Clear or Cut, or to move out of the 
way for a Paste command. Ripple moves events later 
in time, while Reverse Ripple moves events earlier in 
time.
Use the 
RIPPLE/ REV RIPPLE key to enable rippling 
for the Cut, Paste, Split, and Clear edit commands. Press this key and its LED will light to indicate that 
all subsequent edits will be rippled. For example, 
with Ripple enabled, all material pasted from the 
clipboard will be inserted at the In point and the orig-
inal material after the In point will move later in 
time. Pressing 
SHIFT+RIPPLE/REV RIPPLE moves 
the rippled data to the left.
UNDO Use the UNDO key to revert to the project’s 
state just before your last edit or record move.
REDO Use the REDO key to revert the last Undo 
move.
TIP
In the VGA, click on the History tab to view all of the ses-
sion’s previous recording and editing moves.
SELECT Press this key to jump to the HyperSelect 
LCD screen (pictured here). This screen mirrors the 
controls of the 
Waveform tab’s HyperSelect command 
(explained in “HyperSelect” on page 160), an item of 
the 
Edit Operation menu. Use these controls to select 
multiple audio events that conform to HyperSelect’s 
Selected Region
Region 1
Region 2InOut
Audio After MergeInOut
Merged Region
Audio Before Paste Ripple
Audio After Paste Ripple
In
Pasted From Clipboard
Clipboard
Audio Before Reverse Paste Ripple
Audio After Reverse Paste Ripple
In
Clipboard
Pasted From Clipboard