Mackie TRACKTION 3 User Manual

TRACKTION 3

MUSIC PRODUCTION SOFTWARE

R E F E R E N C E M A N U A L

TRACKTION 3

MUSIC PRODUCTION SOFTWARE

Note: Tracktion originated in the mind of Julian Storer, an English programmer with a love of audio. Stateside Tracktioneers* will notice a distinctly British ﬂavor to the user interface. To help you understand Tracktion better, the manual was written with a British accent (thank you to Adam Starkey). So sit back, imagine yourself watching the sunrise over Stonehenge (or sitting in an English pub if you prefer), and enjoy Tracktion!

*People who use Tracktion

Don’t forget to visit our website at www.mackie.com for more information about this and other Mackie products.

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Table of Contents

Introduction ---------------------------------------------------------------- 5

Introduction.1 : A Brief Guide To Navigating This Manual ------------------------------- 5 Introduction. : Digital Audio, Some Key Concepts --------------------------------------Introduction.3 : MIDI Basics -------------------------------------------------------------------- 8

Chapter 1: The Projects Page ------------------------------------------- 10

1.1 : An Overview ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------10

1. : The Projects List, And Project Properties ---------------------------------------------

1.3 : The Items List ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17

1.4 : The Control Panel -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17

1.5 : The Clipboard Panel ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 0

1.6 : The Search Tool----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1

1.7 : Template Projects -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1

1.8 : Edit Properties ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.9 : Audio Item Properties --------------------------------------------------------------------4

1.10 : MIDI Item Properties ---------------------------------------------------------------------7

1.11 : Movie Item Properties --------------------------------------------------------------------8

Chapter : The Settings Page -------------------------------------------9

.1 : Audio Settings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------30 . : MIDI Settings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------.3 : User Interface -----------------------------------------------------------------------------.4 : Plugins --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.5 : Loop Settings -----------------------------------------------------------------------------.6 : File Settings --------------------------------------------------------------------------------.7 : Key-Mappings ----------------------------------------------------------------------------.8 : Control Surfaces --------------------------------------------------------------------------

39 44 46

47 48 49

Chapter 3: The Edit Page ------------------------------------------------ 54

3.1 : An Overview ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------55

3. : The Quick Find Panel ----------------------------------------------------------------------

3.3 : Working With Tracks ----------------------------------------------------------------------6

3.4 : The Filter Section --------------------------------------------------------------------------69

3.5 : The Control Section ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 80

3.6 : The Transport Section --------------------------------------------------------------------83

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Chapter 4: Working With Clips ----------------------------------------87

4.1 : An Overview Clips -------------------------------------------------------------------------87

4. : Working With Clips ----------------------------------------------------------------------

4.3 : MIDI And MIDI Clips-----------------------------------------------------------------------9

4.4 : The MIDI Editor -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10

4.5 : Quantising And Groove Templates --------------------------------------------------- 107

4.6 : Audio Clips -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 109

4.7 : Looping Clips ------------------------------------------------------------------------------114

Chapter 5: Recording ---------------------------------------------------- 119

5.1 : Assigning And Preparing An Audio Input --------------------------------------------- 119

5. : Assigning And Preparing A MIDI Input ----------------------------------------------- 1

5.3 : The Recording Modes Explained -------------------------------------------------------1

Chapter 6: The Time-line, Synchronisation, And Snap To Grid - 15

6.1 : The Time-line, And Snap-To-Grid Quantising --------------------------------------- 15

6. : The Global Track, And Setting Tempos, Keys, And Time Signatures -----------1

6.3 : The Markers Track, And Markers ------------------------------------------------------130

6.4 : The Timecode Button Options---------------------------------------------------------13

6.5 : The Click Track, And The Click Track Button Options ---------------------------- 133

6.6 : Synchronising Tracktion With External MIDI Devices ----------------------------134

6.7 : The Movie Window, And The Movie Button Options -----------------------------136

Chapter 7: Mixing And Mix Automation ---------------------------- 137

7.1 : An Overview Of Mixing With Tracktion ---------------------------------------------- 137

7. : Sub-mixes And Effects Sends -----------------------------------------------------------

7.3 : Mix Automation ---------------------------------------------------------------------------138

7.4 : Using Control Surfaces ------------------------------------------------------------------ 146

137

Chapter 8: Importing, Exporting, Freezing, And Rendering ----- 161

8.1 : Importing And Exporting Projects ----------------------------------------------------- 161

8. : Exporting Audio --------------------------------------------------------------------------

8.3 : Exporting MIDI --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 166

8.4 : Rendering Tracks And Freezing Tracks -----------------------------------------------167

8.5 : Importing HDR, MDR, And SDR Projects -------------------------------------------- 169

8.6 : The Import Button Options ----------------------------------------------------------- 169

164

8.7 : The Export Button Options ------------------------------------------------------------- 171

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Chapter 9: Rack Filters ------------------------------------------------- 17

9.1 : What Are Rack Filters? -------------------------------------------------------------------17

9. : Working With Rack Filters --------------------------------------------------------------

174

9.3 : How To Build Rack Filters ---------------------------------------------------------------176

9.4 : Racks, Tracks, Inputs, And Outputs ---------------------------------------------------179

9.5 : Working With Multiple Output VSTis ----------------------------------------------- 180

Appendix A: Tranzport Button-Function Mapping ---------------183

Introduction

Introduction.1 : A Brief Guide To Navigating This Manual

Hello, and welcome to Tracktion! If you have not already read through the Quick-Start Guide, may we suggest that you start there. The Quick-Start Guide is speciﬁcally designed to get you up and writing music with your new Tracktion software as quickly as possible.

This reference manual will hopefully serve as both user guide and formal reference for all of Tracktion’s options and features. To help you navigate, each chapter covers a single subject, or section, of Tracktion. These chapters are then broken down into easy to manage sections. Where possible, chapters will begin with a hands-on look at the subject matter, including best practice suggestions, and walk-throughs for common tasks. Detailed reference sections will make up the remainder of the chapter.

That said, Tracktion has been designed with the speciﬁc goal of being as easy to use and accessible to you, the user, as possible. As such, while you are free to read this reference manual from cover to cover, we are conﬁdent that you will ﬁnd Tracktion so easy to learn that you will only need to turn to this manual when you have speciﬁc questions.

Conventions Used In This Manual

Keyboard shortcuts are referenced throughout this manual. They are signiﬁed by bold typeface, e.g., F1. Where multiple keys are used to create a shortcut, the + symbol is without bold typefacing, to signify that the keys should be pressed together, e.g., SHIFT+S.

The following pages assume you have a two-button mouse. For Mac users with a single-button mouse, the right-click options are available by holding down the CTRL key whilst clicking. If you have a single-button mouse, you will ﬁnd Tracktion far faster to use with a two-button mouse. Such mice are inexpensive and can be found at most good computer or ofﬁce supply stores.

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Introduction. : Digital Audio, Some Key Concepts

Before we look at working with and recording audio in Tracktion, it may be helpful to look at a few of the fundamentals of digital audio. If you have only recorded audio in analogue form before now, there are a few rules you will need to unlearn, as well as few principles you may ﬁnd helpful to keep in mind. Of course, if you are comfortable working with digital audio already, feel free to dive right into the Reference Manual.

Let’s get the most important rule of working with digital audio out of the way ﬁrst, because if there is one thing you should take away from the short primer, it’s this:

You may be used to recording with analogue hardware, and if so you have almost certainly, at some point, made recordings where the level meters are bouncing into the red areas. This is a habit you need to break when working with digital. Whilst there are some practical and artistic beneﬁts to recording a little hot with analogue recorders, when it comes to recording digitally, the level meters should be kept below the red line at all times. Digital recorders are very unforgiving with audio that goes beyond the maximum level, and such peaks will result in a most unpleasant kind of distortion. Aim to get your input levels as high as possible without ever hitting the 0dB mark, and if unsure, err on the side of caution. Most modern converters work at 24-bit, which means you can leave a clear 3 dB of headroom without in any way compromising on noise ﬂoor.

Figure I.2.1

Figure I.2.1 shows the waveform of a simple percussive pattern. The waveform at the top is the audio belonging to the left-hand stereo channel, while the waveform at the bottom belongs to the right-hand channel. This image is basically a graph of amplitude and time, where amplitude is measured on the vertical axis, and time is measured along the horizontal axis. If you know that this audio ﬁle contains a single bar of a drum pattern, you can probably see that each of the high peaks represents an individual percussive hit. Look closely at each of the peaks above and you can see that they all tend to reach a peak amplitude very quickly. Once at their peak amplitude, they decay over a short period of time, and ﬁnally fade to silence over a slightly longer period of time. If you think about the sound that percussive instruments such as snares make, you should be able to see the correlation between the sound described by the image, and the sound of an actual drum part.

That digital audio is a measurement of amplitude over time may not come as a surprise to you. After all, that basically describes analogue recordings, too. Where digital does differ from analogue though, is in how the amplitude and time measurements are made.

Sample Resolution (Bit Depth)

Although perhaps a strange analogy, a thermometer is a good model for describing sample resolution. Imagine you have a thermometer that was graded from the freezing point of water through to its boiling point. The accuracy with which you can measure the temperature of a cup of tea would be dependent on how ﬁnely gra-

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dated the thermometer scale is. If it showed a scale that jumped in increments of 10 degrees it would clearly be less accurate than a thermometer that offered a scale in terms of single degrees.

So, how does this tie in to digital audio? Well, reading a thermometer is largely a digital process. That is to say, while there is theoretically an inﬁnite spread of possible temperatures between freezing and boiling, if you were to record them, you’d be using ﬁnite approximations. The temperature may be 50.2 degrees, but you would write down 50 degrees. This is exactly what happens with digital audio. The number of tick marks shown between the minimum and maximum temperature can be thought of as the sampling resolution.

Figure I.2.2 shows what happens to a sine wave when the amplitude is measured. The ﬁrst image shows the sine wave when only two states are possible, either on or off. The second image shows the same sine wave reproduced with slightly less coarse graduations. Finally, the third image shows how increasing the sampling resolution produces a greatly more accurate impression of the original sine wave. So, when people talk about bit-depth, or sample resolution, what they are in effect describing is how accurately an audio signal’s amplitude can be measured.

Figure I.2.2

Getting back to that thermometer for a second, what happens if the temperature being measured exceeds the boiling point of water? Well, in short, the temperature cannot be accurately recorded, you would would have to log it as “off the scale.” If, for example, you were to heat a beaker of water to just above boiling, then allow it to cool, a chart showing temperature over time might look something like Figure I.2.3.

Because the thermometer cannot measure temperatures above boiling, a whole section of the chart has been cut off (or clipped). Exactly the same thing happens when audio is being recorded digitally. Any audio that exceeds the maximum recordable level is simply clipped which produces a very unmusical form of distortion.

Figure I.2.3

CD audio has a resolution of 16-bits. Modern sound-cards and audio devices can record at 24-bits or higher. A big advantage of recording at these higher bit depths is that you can reduce your input level enough to ensure that digital clipping is very unlikely to occur, while still maintaining a resolution that is greater than CD. Lowering the level may also help to reduce noise levels.

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Sample Frequency (Sample Rate)

It is all very well having an accurate recording device, but recordings need to also be made frequently enough to be meaningful. If you were to take the temperature outside of your home, you would expect to obtain different results at different times of the day. If you were to look at your thermometer only at midday though, you only ever see one temperature, and you could be forgiven for thinking that it pretty much stays constant all day long. This is because your sampling frequency matches the frequency of the temperature cycle. To get a more accurate idea of how temperature changes throughout the day, you’d need to at least double the frequency of measurements, and take a second reading at midnight. In sampling terms, the need to record at a frequency at least double the highest desired frequency is known as Nyquist’s Theorem. It is also the reason why CDs are recorded at 44 kHz, when the human ear can only hear up to around 22 kHz.

The sample frequency, therefore, is quite literally the number of times per second that the amplitude of an audio signal is measured.

When choosing a sample rate to record and work at, it is usually best to simply opt for whatever frequency at which your work will be distributed. If, for example, you are making music, and intend to have it printed to CD, you should probably work at 44.1 kHz.

Tip: If you wish to work at higher frequencies, and render down to a lower frequency when your project is complete, it is probably best to work at direct multiples of your target sample rate, e.g., 44.1 kHz and

88.2 kHz.

Introduction.3 : MIDI Basics

If you are unfamiliar with MIDI, then perhaps the best analogy to start working with is one of those old player pianos — the kind with a large roll of punched paper that allowed the piano to play itself. MIDI is a modern version of that punched roll; it tells an instrument what notes to play, and a little about how to play them. In fact it is from these devices that the term “piano roll” used to describe MIDI editors in sequencers is derived.

A common misconception is to see MIDI data as being the sound. It is important to realise that MIDI is little more than a list of instructions that an instrument can follow. Much like a sheet of musical score, MIDI data by itself is rather abstract.

In practical terms, MIDI data is made up of three types of MIDI events: note events, controller events, and program changes. In reality these groups are not quite so clear cut, and there are other types, such as system exclusive (sysex) messages. For the purposes of working with MIDI in Tracktion though, the three groups above are all you really need to be aware of.

Note Events

A MIDI note event tells an instrument to play or stop playing a given note. When a key is struck on a keyboard, a MIDI note-on event is generated. The note-on event tells any attached MIDI devices which note was played, and the velocity with which it was struck. The MIDI note is considered to be held until a note-off event is generated by releasing the key. Velocity typically corresponds to “loudness,” but it may also affect the timbre of a sound; consider the way a piano sounds when keys are struck hard.

Controller Events

Most synthesizer keyboards have pitch bend and modulation wheels that allow the keyboardist to add extra character to a performance. These controls generate controller events that typically are used to change some nature of a sound over time. The modulation wheel for example may add a vibrato effect to a synthesizer per-

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formance. Most controllers are known as “continuous controllers” as they maintain their current state without needing to be held. In the same way that the modulation wheel will physically stay where you leave it, so to will the control changes generated by the wheel.

Technically pitch-bend is not a continuous controller, but for the purposes of working with Tracktion, it can be regarded as one.

Program Changes

A program (commonly referred to as a patch) in MIDI terms is one of the different preset sounds available on a MIDI device. A typical synthesizer may be able to emulate pianos, organs, violins, and bass sounds. Each of these different sounds would be a program. A special set of controller events can be used to change the current program on a MIDI device, but Tracktion makes it even easier by offering tools and options to insert program changes into edits.

MIDI Channels

Many MIDI devices are capable of playing more than one instrument at a time. Such devices are referred to as being “multi-timbral.” A multi-timbral MIDI device may be able to play a piano part, a percussive part, a bass part, and a ﬂute, all at the same time. In order for the device to know which instruments are expected to play a given note received from Tracktion, the instruments are assigned a MIDI channel.

You can think of a MIDI channel as being broadly like a radio channel. In the same way that an FM tuner may be tuned to a radio station, the instruments in the MIDI device will only respond to MIDI events that are transmitted on their channel.

Each MIDI clip in Tracktion can be assigned a MIDI channel, and it is this channel that the MIDI events in the clip will be broadcast on. To make sure that a MIDI clip is played by the piano, therefore, you would simply set the MIDI channel for the clip to match the piano’s channel.

There are 16 MIDI channels available for every physical MIDI output. It is not a rule, but it is convention that MIDI channel 10 is used for percussion.

Working With MIDI In Tracktion

You can enter MIDI into Tracktion either by recording a performance from a MIDI controller keyboard, or by entering the notes by hand. In addition, Tracktion features a handy hybrid of these two approaches, called “step editing.” You will learn about MIDI editing in Chapter Four, and about recording MIDI in Chapter Five.

Because MIDI data merely controls an instrument, if you want to hear the MIDI data you will a MIDI instrument capable of turning to the note instructions into sounds.

There are two types of MIDI instrument you can use with Tracktion:

Hardware Instruments

You can use all kinds of external MIDI equipment with Tracktion. Tracktion can control and record your hardware synthesisers and drum machines, in addition to calling up patches on hardware effects processors.

Software Instruments

Tracktion can support the use of software instruments (often referred to as soft synths). The most common type of software instruments are VST instruments, or VSTis. There are many VSTis available both for purchase and for free. Tracktion even ships with some to get you started. The ﬂexibility and ease of use of these virtual synthesisers can stand in stark contrast to expensive, bulky, and often ﬁddly external equipment. As the quality of available VSTis grows ever closer to parity with classic hardware instruments, more and more musicians are adopting software synthesis as an important part of their sonic arsenal.

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Chapter 1: The Projects Page

Chapter Contents

1.1 : An Overview

The Projects Page In Brief

Project Management — Opening And Closing Projects

Using Folders To Manage Projects

Library Projects: A Special Case

Creating New Projects And Template Projects

1.2 : The Projects List, And Project Properties

Folder Properties And Right-Click Options

Project Properties And Right-Click Options

1.3 : The Items List

An Overview Of The Items List

1.4 : The Control Panel

1.5 : The Clipboard Panel

1.6 : The Search Tool

1.7 : Template Projects

1.8 : Edit Properties

1.9 : Audio Item Properties

The Properties

The Basic Editing Options

1.10 : MIDI Item Properties

1.11 : Movie Item Properties

1.1 : An Overview

The Projects Page In Brief

There is an old ofﬁce wall aphorism that reads: “a tidy desk is the sign of a sick mind.” Whether or not this is true, losing important work in a pile of clutter is perhaps not the best path to good mental health either. Tracktion has many tools to help avoid the loss of work, as well as tools that can make it easier to ﬁnd materials for a current project. The projects page provides a simple and seamless wrapper around many of these tools, making project management quick and painless; after all, no-one really likes to tidy their desk, do they?

If you have read the quick start guide, you will already by familiar with Tracktion projects, but in summary, a project can be thought of as a container for a complete song. All of the material used by the song will be contained in, or referenced by, the project.

Figure 1.1.1 shows Tracktion’s project page. You can see that there are a number of distinct regions. On the left hand side, working from top to bottom you have: the projects list, the search tool, and the control panel. The middle section of the screen contains the items list, and the properties panel. Finally, in the bottom-right corner of the page, there is a clipboard tool. Each of these sections will be covered in full in later sections of this chapter.

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Figure 1.1.1

Project Management — Opening and Closing Projects.

Before we dive into too much detail, let’s take a look at the projects page as a whole. In essence, the projects page is where you manage the songs and edits you are currently working on. It is not necessarily a list of all projects you have ever worked on; rather it is a list of active, or open, projects. This distinction is important, because unless a project has been opened, even though it may be on your hard-drive, it will not show in the list.

So what is an open project? In short, an open project is simply a project that you have asked Tracktion to keep handy for you. If you are familiar with the concept of bookmarks, or favourites in a web browser, you can think of open projects in the same way. The project isn’t open in any real sense, just bookmarked for easy access.

At this point it should be obvious that closing a project does nothing more than remove the entry from the projects list. No changes are made to the actual project data on your disk.

So what’s the point? Well, if you like to work on just a few projects at a time, and do not wish to be distracted by older projects that are either ﬁnished, or on hold, you can simply close those earlier works. In this way, your project list will contain only the projects that are relevant to you at any one time.

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To open a project that has previously been closed:

• Click the open project.. button in the control section (Fig. 1.1.2).

• You will be presented with a location on your hard-drive where the project ﬁle is located, and select it.

To close a project:

• Right-click on the entry in the project list.

• Select the option (Fig. 1.1.3).

close this project from the pop-up menu

browse for ﬁle dialogue. Browse to the

Figure 1.1.2

Figure 1.1.3

Using Folders To Manage Projects

As of version 3.0 of Tracktion, it is no longer necessary to close projects to move them out of the way however, as you can create new folders in the projects list. This allows for greater ﬂexibility in organizing and cataloguing projects.

To create a folder:

• Click the create folder.. button in the control section (Fig. 1.1.2).

• Enter a name for the folder at the prompt.

• Click OK.

The new folder will appear in the folder list as a top-level folder. Moving projects into this folder is simply a case of dragging them over the folder list entry.

In addition to top-level folders, you can also create sub-folders. It is even possible to create sub-folders inside sub-folders.

To create a sub-folder:

• Select the folder that will contain your new sub-folder.

• When the folder is selected, click the

• Enter a name for the folder at the prompt.

• Click OK.

create sub-folder.. button in the properties panel (Fig. 1.1.4).

1

Figure 1.1.4

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Another easy way to impose order on the projects list is to re-order it. You have already seen how projects can be dragged between folders; in addition to this though, you can change the location of a project in the list by dragging it to the desired position. This simple trick can be handy with long project lists, as frequently accessed projects can be put near the top, thus avoiding the need to scan through the list for them.

Library Projects: A Special Case

By now you are probably wondering what the purpose of the Library Projects folder is. Typically, this folder is used to store material that may be shared between a number of projects. In particular, library projects could be created to consolidate material such as sample libraries and MIDI ﬁles that may otherwise be spread across various directories and hard-drives on your computer.

Adding samples to a library project can also help keep project archives as small as possible. Normally, when exporting an archive, all material used in the project or edit will be included in the archive ﬁle. Often this can lead to very large archive ﬁles. If a project contains material that is also present in a library project, this shared material can optionally be left out of the archive. Commonly used material such as percussion samples, that might otherwise be archived along with many different projects, can therefore be easily excluded from archives. Similarly, when transferring large projects between collaborators, library projects can provide a mechanism for including only material that has changed in an archive.

Creating New Projects And Template Projects

Creating projects is extremely easy; just click the new project... button in the control panel at the bottom left corner of the projects page, and you will be prompted for a project name, project location, and your choice of template. The name will simply be the name of your project. It will also be the name of the directory that Tracktion will create on your hard-disk for your project. The location ﬁeld tells Tracktion whereabouts on your hard-drive you would like the project directory to be stored. The template ﬁeld allows you to choose a default set-up for your new project. If you are unsure about this last setting, just leave it set to the default <none>.

The new project directory will contain two ﬁles: the project ﬁle, and a default edit ﬁle. The project ﬁle will be named after the project, and end with a “.tracktion” extension. The edit ﬁle name will take the form of <project name>Edit 1.trkedit. In addition to these two ﬁles, a number of folders will be created as you work with Tracktion. These folders are used to store the various audio, MIDI, and movie ﬁles that make up your project.

Template projects are a handy way to build a collection of pre-conﬁgured projects. If you ﬁnd that you regularly use the same layout for input devices, or you like to start an edit with a simple drum part ready to go, you can create a suitable base project, and save it as a template. Then, when creating new projects, you can choose one of your templates and have everything set up ready for you. Template projects are covered in detail in Section Seven of this chapter.

To create a template:

• Create a new project, or open one that has a suitable edit already.

• Open the edit.

• Conﬁgure it to taste.

• Click the save button in the control panel, and from the pop-up menu, select save edit as template.

• When prompted, choose a name for your template.

• If you wish to include MIDI or audio clips in the template, tick the include clips option.

• Click OK.

This template will now be available when you next create a new project.

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1. : The Projects List, And Project Properties

Folder Properties, And Right-Click Options

Selecting a folder in the projects list will show the properties of that folder in the properties panel (Fig. 1.2.1). If the folder is one of the two primary folders, i.e., the active projects and library projects folders, some of the options listed below will not be present. These options are noted below.

Figure 1.2.1

Name: This ﬁeld holds the name of the folder. You can edit the text to rename the folder. This ﬁeld will not be available for the active projects folder, or the library projects folder.

Load a project or archive..: This option allows you to open a previously closed project, or to import a Tracktion archive ﬁle. The project will be contained in the selected folder.

Create a new project..: Select this option to create a new project. You will be prompted for a folder in which the project should be created, and a template to use for the project. Section One of this chapter describes creating new projects in more detail.

Create sub-folder..: This option allows you to create a sub-folder in the selected folder. This can be useful if you like to organize your projects in a hierarchy.

Delete folder: This option will delete the selected folder, and all sub-folders. Additionally any projects contained in these folders will be closed. This ﬁeld will not be available for the active projects folder, or the library projects folder.

Right-clicking on any project entry in either the active or the library project folders causes a pop-up menu (Fig. 1.2.2) to be displayed.

Figure 1.2.2

Create a new project: Select this option to create a new project. You will be prompted for a folder in which the project should be created, and a template to use for the project. Section One of this chapter describes creating new projects in more detail.

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Open a project or archive: This option allows you to open a previously closed project, or import a Tracktion archive ﬁle. You will be prompted for the path to the project or archive ﬁle. If you import an archive, you will also be prompted for a folder in which to unpack the archive contents. Archives are discussed in more detail in Chapter Eight.

Open multiple projects..: Use this option to open one or more projects and add them to the folder. When this option is selected, you will be prompted to select a directory. All projects contained in the directory you choose will be opened and added to the current folder in the projects list.

Load a Recent Project: This option displays a sub-menu with a list of recently closed projects. Selecting one of the entries will re-open the project. This option will only be shown if you have recently closed a project.

Close All Projects in this Folder: This option simply closes all projects contained in the selected folder.

Create a new sub-folder: This option allows you to create a new sub-folder inside the current folder.

Delete folder: This option allows you to delete the current folder, and additionally close all projects contained

within it. This option is not available for the active and library project folders.

Project Properties, And Right Click-Options

To access the properties of a project, click on its name in the projects list. The project properties will be shown in the properties panel (Fig. 1.2.3)

Figure 1.2.3

Name: This ﬁeld holds the name of the project. You can edit the text to rename the project. Changing the name of the project may cause the project ﬁle to be renamed. This behaviour is controlled by the rename mode option described in Chapter 2.3. Note though that even if the rename mode option is set to rename ﬁles, only the project ﬁle name will be changed. The directory name will not be altered, as this could impact on other projects if they are referencing material in this project’s directory.

Description: This ﬁeld allows you to enter a description for the project. You can also use this ﬁeld to leave yourself notes for future reference. The description is saved automatically as part of the project ﬁle.

File: This ﬁeld shows the location of the project on your hard-drive.

Purpose: The purpose ﬁeld describes the project type. This feature is reserved for future updates. Currently

only “normal” project types are available.

Export project..: This option allows you to bundle the project and related materials into an archive. Use this if you want back up your work, or transfer it to another computer. Exporting projects as single archives can be a convenient method of transferring work between yourself and a collaborator. For more information on exporting projects, see Chapter Eight.

Create a new edit: This option creates a new, empty, edit in the current project. This option would typically be of most use if you wanted an empty scratch pad edit where you can try new ideas. If instead you wish to make a copy of an existing edit in the project, select that edit in the item-list and click the make a copy of this edit button in the properties panel.

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Import material: Use this option to associate audio or MIDI ﬁles with this project, or to import tracks from an audio CD. When this option is selected, a pop-up menu (Fig.

1.2.4) will be shown:

Import an audio or MIDI File..:

•

Use this option to add material on your hard-drive, or on a data CD, to the project. Files located on CDs will be automatically copied into the project folder. If the ﬁle is stored on your hard-drive, you will be prompted whether you want to copy the ﬁle into the folder directory, or whether you would rather reference it from it’s current location.

Keyboard shortcut: A.

Import all ﬁles in a directory..: This option works exactly like the “import an audio or MIDI ﬁle...” option

•

above. The difference is that this option imports all suitable ﬁles in to the selected directory (folder).

Unpack an archive and add it to this project..: This option adds the items from an archive into the current

•

project. Project archives are discussed further in Chapter 10.

Import tracks from an audio CD...: Use this option to copy tracks from an audio CD into Tracktion. The

•

imported tracks are saved as audio ﬁles in the project folder and added to the edit as standard audio clips. Chapter Eight discusses the import audio tracks dialogue-box. Note that this option is not available on the Mac. Use the “Import an audio or MIDI File...” option instead.

Find orphan clips: This option allows you to ﬁnd any audio or MIDI ﬁles that are listed in this project’s items list, but are not used in any of its edits. This is often useful when you are trying to delete recordings that are no longer needed.

Right-clicking on any project entry in the projects list causes a pop-up menu (Fig. 1.2.5) to be displayed.

Figure 1.2.4

Figure 1.2.5

Unpack an archive into this project...: This option adds the items from an archive into the current project. Project archives are discussed further in Chapter Eight.

Close this project: Select this option to remove the current project from the projects list. Closing a project does not lose or delete the project; it merely clears the entry from the list allowing you to keep your workspace tidy. Closed projects can be re-opened at any time by clicking the open project button in the control section. In addition, recently closed projects can be re-opened by right-clicking on a folder in the projects list, and selecting them from the open recent project option.

Tracktion 3

1.3 : The Items List

An Overview Of The Items List

The items list shows the list of items that are associated with, or are a part of, the current project. To see the items in a project, click on its name in the projects list. The items list will update to show the project items.

The various item types, and their associated options and properties are described later on in this chapter. This section deals only with the items list interface.

As of version 3.0 of Tracktion, the items list is divided into convenient folder groups. These groups allow you to quickly locate speciﬁc types of items.

If you wish to revert to the single list display:

• Click the options button located in the control panel. This will display a pop-up menu.

• Untick the

In addition, from the same menu, you can also adjust the columns that are shown in the items list.

While it is not possible to drag content into the items list to add it, dragging existing items around within the list is possible. This can be useful if you wish to change the order in which items are listed. Note however that it is not possible to move items from one group folder to another, i.e., you cannot drag items that are currently in the imported audio folder over into the recorded audio folder.

Items in the list can also be sorted by column by clicking on a column header. When folders are shown, items are sorted within their folder groups. When folders are hidden, items are sorted in one long list.

show folders option in the menu.

If you wish to copy items in the items list into an edit, you can quickly add them to the clipboard by dragging them from the list into the clipboard area at the bottom right corner of the screen.

1.4 : The Control Panel

The control panel is located just below the search box, and provides easy access to much of the functionality of the projects page (see Figure 1.4.1).

New project..: This button allows you to create a new empty project.

Your project, once created, will be stored on your hard-drive in a new directory of the same name as the project. You do not need to create an empty directory, as Tracktion will automatically do this for you.

When this button is clicked, Tracktion will display a dialogue box (Fig. 1.4.2) with the following ﬁelds:

Name: Enter a name for your new proj-

• ect here. As described above, this name will be used both for the directory that will house it.

• Location: ect folder should go by changing the path in this ﬁeld. The button to the right of the ﬁeld will display a directory requester dialogue box. You can use this requester to navigate to a suitable parent directory for your new project.

• Template: From this ﬁeld you can select one of your project templates. A template is a project that can be used as the basis for other projects. This allows you to start a new project with pre-assigned inputs, frequently used effects, and pre-named tracks, for example. Templates are discussed in greater detail later on in this chapter.

You can specify where the proj-

project and the

Figure 1.4.2

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Figure 1.4.1

The <none> option will create a standard empty project. If you have not yet created any template projects,

this may be the only option you have available.

Clipboard: The clipboard button allows easy access to the common clipboard operations, such as copy and paste.

The contents of the clipboard are shown in the clipboard panel (discussed later in this chapter). You can use the clipboard to copy content between projects. When the edit page is showing, material on the clipboard can also be pasted into edits. This can be an efﬁcient way of locating audio clips for use in an edit.

Clicking this button displays the following menu options (Fig. 1.4.3):

Cut: The selected material is added to the clipboard.

•

Copy: The selected material is added to the clipboard.

•

Keyboard shortcut: CTRL + C (CMD + C for Mac users). Paste: Material on the clipboard will be pasted into the selected project. If the clipboard is empty, this

• option will be unavailable.

Keyboard shortcut: CTRL + V (CMD + V for Mac users). Paste (Inserting at Cursor Position): This option is only available when the edit page is showing.

• Delete: The selected item will be deleted. You will be prompted whether you wish to delete the item, or

• the item and the source ﬁle. The former option will simply disassociate the item with the project, leaving the source ﬁle on your hard-drive untouched; the second option, will delete both the item, and the source ﬁle. Keyboard shortcuts: DELETE and BACKSPACE.

Figure 1.4.3

Open project: Click this button to open a previously closed project, or import a Tracktion archive ﬁle. You will be prompted for the path to the project or archive ﬁle. If you import an archive, you will also be prompted for a folder in which to unpack the archive contents.

Create Folder..: top-level of the folder tree, meaning it will be a peer, not a sub-folder, of the active and library projects folders.

If you wish to create a sub-folder, instead select a folder and click the create sub folder option in the proper-

ties panel.

Options:

1.4.4) from which you can conﬁgure the behaviour of the items list.

When clicked, this button displays a pop-up menu (Fig.

• Show Folders: If this option is ticked, items in the items list are categorized into folders, based on item type. This typically makes large projects easier to navigate and manage. When this option is unticked, the items list will simply be a long list of all items.

This option allows you to create a folder in the projects list. The new folder will reside at the

Figure 1.4.4

Tracktion 3

• Show Column: This option allows you to select which ﬁelds are displayed in the items list. The ﬁelds are presented in a sub-menu. Ticked ﬁelds will be displayed.

Help: This button display a menu with various tools for accessing assistance with using Tracktion.

Show the Tracktion Quick Start Guide: This option will display the Tracktion Quick-Start Guide in

• PDF form.

Show the Tracktion Reference Manual: This option will display this document in PDF form.

• Turn on pop-up help: When this option is ticked, help messages will be shown over user interface com-

• ponents when the mouse pointer hovers above them for a few moments.

Use longer delay before pop-up help appears: This option works in conjunction with the pop-up help

• option above. When pop-up help is active, ticking this option increases the amount of time that the mouse pointer must hover over an item before the help message is shown.

First run wizard: Select this option to run the ﬁrst run wizard. This can be useful if you have changed

• hardware in your system, and want Tracktion to conﬁgure it for you.

About: This button displays copyright information, credits, and other information about Tracktion. It also shows your registration information, and provides a location where you can easily register Tracktion if it is not already registered.

If you have purchased, but not yet registered your copy of Tracktion, there are two ways you register. Regis-

tering removes the limitations of the 30-day trial period.

If the computer upon which you are using Tracktion has an Internet connection:

• Click the about button. The about Tracktion dialogue box will be shown.

• Click the

• On the new window, click the point).

• You will be prompted for your email address, password, and license number. If you have never created a registration account with Mackie, simply place your email address and your choice of a password into the ﬁrst two ﬁelds. If you do have an existing account with Mackie, you should just enter the email address and password you previously chose. Enter the license number for your copy of Tracktion. You can ﬁnd this number on a card that came with your Tracktion DVD. We strongly advise that you write this number in your printed Tracktion Quick-Start Guide if you have one, or keep it safely with your install DVD at all times!

• Once you have entered the required information, click the itself, and if necessary, create a new Mackie registration account. You can use this account to log into the registered-users area of the Mackie web-site (http://my.mackie.com).

unlock button at the bottom of the dialogue box. A second window will be shown.

unlock online button (make sure you are connected to the Internet at this

If you do not have an Internet connection available:

• Click the about button. The about Tracktion dialogue box will appear.

• Make a note of the Machine ID. You will need this later.

• Using a computer that does have Internet access, go to http://my.mackie.com using a web-browser such as Safari or Internet Explorer.

• If you have never created a registration account with Mackie before, follow the links to create a new ac count.

• When you have an account created, follow the links to log into the site.

• You will see a page with your registered products, if any. If you have already registered your copy of Tracktion, you will see it listed here. If not, follow the links to register your copy of Tracktion.

• Clicking on the Tracktion entry in the registered software list will take you to a page where you can download the Tracktion software and your keyﬁle.

• Follow the links to register your machine ID, and enter the number you wrote down earlier.

Reference Manual

• Follow the links to download the keyﬁle.

• You will need to transfer this keyﬁle to the computer upon which you have installed Tracktion. Floppy disks, writeable CDs, or USB JumpDrives are good ways to transfer ﬁles between computers.

• Once the keyﬁle has been moved to the computer that Tracktion is installed on, you can use it to unlock your Tracktion software. Open Tracktion as normal, click the about button, and click the unlock button at the bottom of the about dialogue-box. A second window will be shown.

• On the new window, click the navigate to the location where you saved the keyﬁle.

• Select the keyﬁle and click OK.

• Tracktion will now be registered.

If you have not yet purchased Tracktion, there is a button in the about dialogue box to purchase the software.

unlock from keyﬁle button. A window will be displayed, from which you can

1.5 : The Clipboard Panel

The clipboard panel (Fig. 1.5.1) shows the current contents of Tracktion’s clipboard. Whenever copy or cut operations are performed on items within Tracktion, they will be added to, or replace the existing contents of the clipboard.

Tracktion’s clipboard can contain multiple items. This means that in addition to the standard editing options typically associated with clipboards, such as copy, cut, and paste, you can use the clipboard to efﬁciently move large amounts of content between projects, and as a way of rapidly constructing basic frameworks for songs.

A standard copy or cut operation will always replace the contents of the clipboard with the selected item. If you wish to add multiple items to the clipboard, you should instead drag them in to the clipboard panel.

Note: When the edit page is selected, you can view the clipboard contents by clicking the clipboard button, and selecting the show clipboard contents option. The contents of the clipboard will be shown in the quick ﬁnd panel on the left side of the screen. You can also use the keyboard shortcut: CTRL + ALT + C (CMD + CTRL + C for Mac users).

If you right-click on an item in the clipboard panel, you will be presented with a pop-up menu (Fig. 1.5.2) containing the following options:

Remove Item From Clipboard: Use this option to remove a single item from the list.

Clear Clipboard: All clipboard contents will be cleared.

Figure 1.5.1

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Figure 1.5.2

Tracktion 3

1.6 : The Search Tool

The search tool (Fig. 1.6.1) allows you to quickly ﬁnd content in your open projects.

Searching is simply a case of:

• Click the wish to include in the search.

• Enter some search keywords in the text box. If, for example you are looking for a guitar part, and you are fairly sure that either the recording’s name, or description, contains the word “slide,” you could try entering that in the search keywords box.

• Click

Once Tracktion has ﬁnished searching, all media that matches your search keywords will be shown in the

items list.

select projects button, and untick any projects you do not

Figure 1.6.1

search.

1.7 : Template Projects

Templates projects are a handy way to build a collection of pre-conﬁgured projects.

Perhaps, like many musicians, you like to start projects with a standard rhythm section, that you can use as a basis while building your melody and song structure; perhaps you like to start a project with your input devices already assigned to suitably named tracks, ready to record your band’s jamming sessions; or, maybe, you simply like to have standard effects and instrument plug-ins ready to go on your tracks. Whatever the scenario, you’ve no doubt at some stage found yourself wishing that new projects could have some basic form from the outset. This is where templates come in.

A template is nothing more than an edit that can be used as the starting point of a new project.

Creating template projects is therefore simply a case of adjusting an edit to match your preferred initial project state, and when ready, saving it as a template. The edit could be part of a new project created speciﬁcally for the purpose of being a template, or a part of an existing project that is close to your desired template layout.

To save an edit as a template, click the save button in the edit page’s control panel. From the pop-up select the option save edit as template. You will be prompted for a template name (Fig. 1.7.1). It is a good idea to enter something meaningful in the name box, as over time you may develop a small library of templates.

In addition to the template name, the New Project Template dialogue has an option called include clips. If this check-box is ticked, any clips in the edit will be included in the template. If, as in the ﬁrst scenario above, you want your template to feature a pre-written rhythm section, you would tick this option. If, on the other hand, you just want an empty edit that features a standard input layout, or ﬁlter section layout, you should leave this option unchecked.

Once you have one or more templates created, you will be able to select them when creating new projects. The New Project dialogue box has a ﬁeld called template, from which you can select one of your templates. If a template other than <none> is speciﬁed, the new project will be created as normal, but the default edit will take the form of the edit used to create the template.

Figure 1.7.1

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1.8 : Edit Properties

When an edit item is selected in the items list, its properties are displayed in the properties panel (Fig. 1.8.1). Various tools and options related to the edit can be found on this panel.

Figure 1.8.1

Name: This ﬁeld shows the edit’s name, as seen in the items list. You can also alter the name here; this does not necessarily affect the edit’s ﬁle name, however. See Chapter 2.6 for details on item renaming behaviour.

Project: This ﬁeld shows the project to which this edit belongs.

Description: This ﬁeld allows you to enter a description of the edit, or make notes for future reference. Bear

in mind that this ﬁeld is scanned by the search tool, so by inserting simple keywords into descriptions, you can make it very easy to locate the edit later. The description is automatically saved to the project ﬁle.

File: This ﬁeld shows the location of the edit on your hard-drive. The button to the right displays a pop-up menu (Fig. 1.8.2) with the following options:

Choose a different ﬁle for this clip to refer to... : This option allows you to change the underlying ﬁle

• for the edit. Only use this option if you are sure of what you are doing!

Rename this ﬁle... : You can rename the edit ﬁle.

• Open the folder containing this ﬁle.. : Typically your edits and recordings will all reside in the project

• folder. This option is therefore a handy way of looking to see which ﬁles are physically present in the project folder.

Figure 1.8.2

Delete edit: Click this button to remove the edit from the project. Be aware that this option cannot be undone! Keyboard shortcuts: DELETE and BACKSPACE.

Create a copy: Use this option to create a copy of this edit and add it to the project. This can be useful if you wish to try out new musical ideas without risk of losing and spoiling your work so far, or if you wish to produce different mixes of a song.

Export edit: This option allows you to bundle the edit and related materials into an archive. Use this if you want back up your work, or transfer it to another computer for you or a collaborator to work on. Exporting an edit is similar to exporting a project except that other edits within the project will not included in the archive.

Selecting this option will display a dialogue-box where options related to the archive export can be set. The

export edit dialogue box offers a range of options to strip unnecessary material from the archive. These options are not available when exporting projects.



Tracktion 3

You may also be interested in reading Chapter Eight, where you will ﬁnd more information on exporting and

importing edits.

Find referenced material: This option lists all of the items that this edit requires. It is effectively the inverse of the ﬁnd orphaned clips function for projects.

Import external ﬁles...: It is possible for material to be used in more than one project. If one of these projects does not have an entry in its item list for the shared material, Tracktion regards the other project as being the material’s owner. If the project that owns the material is later closed, the current edit will no longer have access to the material.

This option creates an items list entry for such ﬁles, thus making the current project an owner of the mate-

rial.

Create new edit: This option creates a new empty edit in the current project.

Import material: Use this option to associ-

ate audio or MIDI ﬁles with this edit, or to import tracks from an audio CD. When this option is clicked, a pop-up menu (Fig. 1.8.3) will be shown.

Import an audio or MIDI ﬁle...: This option allows you to add material on your hard-drive or a data CD

• to the project. Files located on CDs are automatically copied into the project folder, whereas you will be prompted to select whether ﬁles stored on a hard-drive should be copied into the project folder, or referenced from their source location. Keyboard shortcut: A.

Import all ﬁles in a directory...: This option works much like the “import an audio or MIDI ﬁle...” op-

• tion above. The difference is that this option imports all suitable ﬁles in the selected directory (folder).

Unpack an archive and add it to this project..: This option adds the items from an archive into the

• current project. The pop-up menu that is displayed when right-clicking on a project-list entry also provides this option. Importing archives is discussed in Chapter Eight.

Import tracks from an audio CD...: This option copies tracks from an audio CD into Tracktion. The

• imported tracks are saved as audio ﬁles in the project folder and added to the edit as standard audio clips. The dialogue-box that is displayed when this option is selected is explained in Chapter Eight. This option is not available on Macs. Instead, use the import an audio or MIDI ﬁle option.

Open for editing: Clicking this button opens the edit, and switches to the edit page. The edit page is where your arrangements are actually created, and it is there where you will do most of your work. You can also open an edit by double-clicking on the edit item.

Figure 1.8.3

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1.9 : Audio Item Properties

The Properties

When an audio item is selected, its properties are displayed in the properties panel (Fig. 1.9.1). Various

tools and options related to the audio ﬁle can be found on this panel.

Figure 1.9.1

Name: This ﬁeld shows the audio item name, as seen in the items list. You can also alter the name here. This does not necessarily affect the audio clip’s ﬁle name, however. See Chapter 2.6 for details on item renaming behaviour.

Project: This ﬁeld shows the project to which this audio item belongs.

File: This ﬁeld shows the location of the audio ﬁle on your hard-drive. The button to the right displays a pop-up

menu (Fig. 1.9.2) with the following options:

Choose a different ﬁle for this clip to refer to...: This option allows you to change the underlying ﬁle

• for the audio item. This can be useful if the ﬁle has been moved, and Tracktion cannot ﬁnd it. In this case, you can use this option to locate the audio ﬁle and re-associate it with the item.

Rename this ﬁle...: You can rename the audio ﬁle.

• Open the folder containing this ﬁle...: Typically your edits and recordings will all reside in the project

• folder. This option is therefore a handy way of looking to see which ﬁles are physically present in the project folder.

Figure 1.9.2

Description: This ﬁeld allows you to enter a description for the audio clip, or make notes for future reference. Bear in mind that this ﬁeld is scanned by the search tool. By inserting simple keywords into descriptions, you can make it very easy to locate material later. The description is saved automatically with the project.

Edit audio ﬁle: This button shows a pop-up menu (Fig. 1.9.3) with the following options:

Create a copy of this wave ﬁle: This option creates a copy of the audio ﬁle, and places it in the same

• folder as the original.

Basic editing operations: This option displays a dialogue box that allows you to reverse the sample,

• change the sample rate, change the bit depth, normalise the sample, trim silence, and convert the audio to mono. The basic editing options are described a little later in this section.

Edit using...: If you have suitable audio editing software installed on your computer, you can quickly

• transfer audio material to the editing application using this option. If this menu-option is not available, use the set the audio editor to use option to choose an audio editor.

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Tracktion 3

• Minimise Tracktion when external editor is launched: This option causes Tracktion’s display to minimise when an external editor is launched. This is useful when working in a single-monitor environment. If you are working with two monitors however, you may prefer to uncheck it.

Set the audio editor to use..: This option allows you to choose a default wave ﬁle editor (see the edit

• using option above).

Figure 1.9.3

Delete source ﬁle: Click this to delete the source audio ﬁle, leaving the item in place. Be aware, this operation cannot be undone! Once the source ﬁle has been deleted, you can use the ﬁnd missing ﬁle option to associate the item with an alternate ﬁle.

Delete item: Click this button to remove the item from the project. You will be prompted if you want to remove the source ﬁle as well. Keyboard shortcuts: DELETE and BACKSPACE.

Find missing ﬁle: If the ﬁle that this item refers to has been moved or deleted, you can use this option to search for the ﬁle, or replace it with an alternate. When this option is selected, you will be given the option to search a directory or browse for a ﬁle. If you choose to search, Tracktion will attempt to ﬁnd the mislaid ﬁle. If you choose to browse, you will be given a chance to manually locate the ﬁle, or a replacement. This option is only available if the source ﬁle cannot be found.

Add marker: This option allows you to mark points of interest on audio ﬁles. Drag the arrow to point at the region to which you wish to draw attention. For example, if you feel that a vocal take needs a touch of pitch correction at a certain point, you could use this tool to highlight the problem for future correction.

Preview: Click this to preview the audio ﬁle.

Preview level: Use this option to adjust the volume level at which previews will be played.

Wave ﬁle information: This shows useful information about the resolution, and nature of an audio ﬁle.

The Basic Editing Options

Selecting the basic editing options menu-item from the edit

audio ﬁle button menu causes a dialogue-box (Fig. 1.9.4) to be shown. From this dialogue-box, you can access a number of useful tools for working with audio ﬁles. Be aware that these operations are all destructive, so be sure that you wish to make permanent changes to your source audio ﬁle!

The operation type ﬁeld shows a drop-down menu when

selected. From this menu you can select from a number of different operations. The options available below this ﬁeld will change depending on the operation selected.

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Figure 1.9.4

5

Trim silence: Use this option to remove audio that is be-

low a given threshold from either end of the audio ﬁle. When this operation type is selected, the following options are available (Fig. 1.9.4):

Threshold: Any audio below this threshold will be

• trimmed.

Trim start: When this option is selected, audio below

• the threshold level at the start of the wave ﬁle will be trimmed.

Trim end: When this option is selected, audio below

• the threshold level at the end of the wave ﬁle will be trimmed.

Normalise: Use this option to adjust the level of the audio such that the peak level of the wave ﬁle reaches the desired normalise level. Typically, normalisation would be used to make an audio ﬁle as loud as possible without introducing any digital distortion, or clipping. There is only one option available for normalise, peak level, and it is this level to which the ﬁle will be normalised (Fig. 1.9.5).

Make mono: Use this option to convert a stereo audio ﬁle into a mono ﬁle. You can opt to merge the two stereo channels together, or to disregard either the left or right channels. This option is not available when working with mono ﬁles (Fig. 1.9.6).

Figure 1.9.4

Change sample rate: If you wish to have Tracktion convert the sample rate of an audio ﬁle to a different rate, you can use this option (Fig. 1.9.7).

Change bit depth: This option allows you to alter the bit depth of the audio ﬁle (Fig. 1.9.8).

Reverse: This option can be used to reverse the audio ﬁle. Reversed audio ﬁles are literally played backwards. There are no options available for this operation (Fig. 1.9.9).

Figure 1.9.5

Figure 1.9.6

6

Figure 1.9.7

Figure 1.9.8 Figure 1.9.9

Tracktion 3

1.10 : MIDI Item Properties

When a MIDI item is selected, its properties are displayed in the properties panel (Fig. 1.10.1). Various

tools and options related to the MIDI item can be found on this panel.

Figure 1.10.1

Name: This ﬁeld shows the MIDI item name, as seen in the items list. You can also alter the name here; this does not necessarily affect the MIDI clip’s ﬁle name, however. See Chapter 2.6 for details on item renaming behaviour.

Project: This ﬁeld shows the project to which this MIDI item belongs.

File: This ﬁeld shows the location of the MIDI ﬁle on your hard-drive. The button to the right displays a pop-up

menu (Fig. 1.10.2) with the following options:

Choose a different ﬁle for this clip to refer to...: This option allows you to change the underlying ﬁle

• for the MIDI item. This can be useful if the ﬁle has been moved, and Tracktion cannot ﬁnd it. In this case, you can use this option to locate the MIDI ﬁle and re-associate it with the item.

Rename this ﬁle...: You can rename the MIDI ﬁle.

• Open the folder containing this ﬁle..: Typically your edits and recordings will all reside in the project

• folder. This option is therefore a handy way of looking to see which ﬁles are physically present in the project folder.

Figure 1.10.2

Description: This ﬁeld allows you to enter a description of the MIDI clip, or make notes for future reference. Bear in mind that this ﬁeld is scanned by the search tool. By inserting simple keywords into descriptions, you can make it very easy to locate material later.

Delete source ﬁle: Click this button to delete the source MIDI ﬁle. Be aware, this operation cannot be undone! Once the source ﬁle has been deleted, you can use the ﬁnd missing ﬁle option to associate the item with an alternate ﬁle.

Delete item: Click this button to remove the item from the project. You will be prompted to choose whether you want to remove the source ﬁle as well. Keyboard shortcut: DELETE or BACKSPACE.

Add marker: This option allows you to mark points of interest in MIDI clips. Drag the arrow to point at the region to which you wish attention to be drawn.

Preview:

Preview level: Use this option to adjust the velocity level at which previews will be played. Note, because dif-

ferent MIDI instruments, and even programs on those instruments, react differently to velocity level changes, this option is not guaranteed to adjust the volume.

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Click this to preview the MIDI ﬁle. The preview will be played through the default output MIDI device.

7

1.11 : Movie Item Properties

When a movie item is selected, its properties are displayed in the properties panel (Fig. 1.11.1). Various

tools and options related to the movie item can be found on this panel.

Figure 1.11.1

Name: This ﬁeld shows the movie item name, as seen in the items list. You can also alter the name here; this does not necessarily affect the movie item’s ﬁle name, however. See Chapter 2.6 for details on item renaming behaviour.

Project: This ﬁeld shows the project to which this movie item belongs.

File: This ﬁeld shows the location of the movie ﬁle on your hard-drive. The button to the right displays a pop-

up menu (Fig. 1.11.2) with the following options:

Choose a different ﬁle for this clip to refer to...: This option allows you to change the underlying ﬁle

• for the movie item. This can be useful if the ﬁle has been moved, and Tracktion cannot ﬁnd it. In this case, you can use this option to locate the movie ﬁle and re-associate it with the item.

Rename this ﬁle...: You can rename the movie ﬁle.

• Open the folder containing this ﬁle..: Typically your edits and recordings will all reside in the project

• folder. This option is therefore a handy way of looking to see which ﬁlSes are physically present in the project folder.

Figure 1.11.2

Description: This ﬁeld allows you to enter a description of the movie, or make notes for future reference. Bear in mind that this ﬁeld is scanned by the search tool. By inserting simple keywords into descriptions, you can make it very easy to locate material later.

View movie: Click this to preview the movie. You will need the player QuickTime installed. QuickTime will be included as standard on Macs, and for PC users, it is available on your Tracktion install DVD (Tracktion Ultimate and Tracktion Project). If you do not have a boxed version of Tracktion, you can obtain QuickTime from Apple’s web-site (http://www.apple.com).

Delete source ﬁle: Click this button to delete the source movie ﬁle. Be aware, this operation cannot be undone! Once the source ﬁle has been deleted, you can use the ﬁnd missing ﬁle option to associate the item with an alternate ﬁle.

Delete item: Click this button to remove the item from the project. You will be prompted if you want to remove the source ﬁle as well. Keyboard shortcuts: DELETE and BACKSPACE.

8

Tracktion 3

Chapter : The Settings Page

Chapter Contents

2.1 : Audio Settings The Audio Input And Output Devices

PC And ASIO Drivers Mac And CoreAudio Drivers Input Device Properties Output Device Properties

2.2 : MIDI Settings MIDI Input Device Properties

MIDI Output Device Properties

2.3 : User Interface The User Interface Options

Using The Colour Editor

2.4 : Plugins

2.5 : Loop Settings

2.6 : File Settings

2.7 : Key-Mappings

2.8 : Control Surfaces Installing Control Surfaces Into Tracktion

Custom Controllers Selected Controller Properties Mackie Control Universal Speciﬁc Properties Custom Control Surface Speciﬁc Properties The Edit Control Mappings Window

Reference Manual

9

.1 : Audio Settings

Settings related to your audio input and output devices can be managed from the audio group on the settings

page (Fig. 2.1.1).

Figure 2.1.1

At the top of this display there is a drop-down list labelled Wave device. This is where you choose your audio

device. In Tracktion, the term “device” is used to refer to all input and output hardware, such as sound-cards and MIDI interfaces. Tracktion will normally select a suitable ASIO or CoreAudio driver by default. If you have more than one sound-card installed, or Tracktion chooses a DirectSound driver instead of an ASIO one, you may need to change this.

The entries in the wave device list refer to the available audio drivers installed on your computer. There may be a number of entries in this list depending on the type(s) of sound-card(s) you have installed, but generally speaking, you will only be interested in the ASIO/CoreAudio options, as these offer the best performance within Tracktion.

The Audio Input And Output Devices

With a suitable wave device chosen, select which audio inputs and outputs you will be using. Be aware that all active inputs and outputs consume a small amount of computing power, so disable any I/O channels that you do not need. For example, if you are using only virtual instruments, and therefore only need a single stereo output, you can disable any other outputs you may have. Equally, if you use a particular input or output only occasionally, it probably makes sense to leave it disabled. You can always enable it when needed. To enable or disable an audio device, just click on the enable/disable label to the left of the entry.

Note: if you believe you should be seeing more input and output devices than are currently listed, ensure that the option “only show enabled devices” is not checked.

Tracktion 3

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