M-Audio Torq User Manual
Performance Software
User Guide
Table of Contents
Torq User Guide
Chapter 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Welcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Torq Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Decks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Main Waveform Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Mixer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
PFL/Headphone Cue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Browser/Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Effect Racks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Sampler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Snapshots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Master Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Chapter 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Mac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Windows XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Macintosh OS X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Chapter 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Decks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Song Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Artist Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Time Elapsed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Time Remain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Overview Waveform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Play/Pause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Seek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Cue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
QuickCue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Deck Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Looping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Speed Slider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Sync Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Nudge Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Offset But tons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Chapter 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Waveform D isplay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Information Shown on Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Waveform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Zoom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Loop Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Cue Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Phase Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Playback Manipulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Vinyl Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Hybrid Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
CDJ Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Chapter 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Automatic Tempo and Phase Detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Phase Grid Manipulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Adjusting with the Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Adjusting with Nudge Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Adjusting with Offset Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Sync Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Locked Sync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Momentary Sync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Master Tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Chapter 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
External C ontrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Enabling Vinyl/ CD C ontrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
External C ontrol Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Control Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Velocity and Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Error Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Standard Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Absolute Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Relative Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
AMPutate Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Deck Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
BPM Matching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Runout Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
MIDI Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Chapter 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Sampler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Signal Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Sampler Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Record Sample Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Trigger Sample Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Loop Sample Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Sample Volume Knob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Sample Speed/ Rate Knob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Sample Name Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
QuickScratch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Chapter 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Snapshots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Snapshot List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Creating a Snapshot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Masking a Snapshot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Using Snapshots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Duplicate Snapshot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Delete Snapshot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Momentary vs. Latching Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Polyphonic Snapshots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Chapter 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Browser/Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Browser Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
File List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Editing Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Artist/Song Filename Swap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Loading Songs into the Decks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Sorting the List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Searching the List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Session Playlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
iTu nes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
iPods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Audio CDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
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Table of Contents
Torq User Guide
Chapter 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Mixer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Mixer Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Gain/Mute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
EQ/Kills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
PFL/Headphone Cue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Channel Volume Faders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Line Input Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Crossfader. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Chapter 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
PFL/ Headphone Cue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Volume Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Split Button and Source Knob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Chapter 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Maste r Outp ut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Volume Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Level Meter and Limiter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Master Recorder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Filename . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Setting the Record Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Chapter 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Effect Slot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Enable Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Mix Knob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Routing Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Tweak Knob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Tweak Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Saving Effect Racks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Loading Effect Racks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Bypassing the Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Built-In Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Reverb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Flanger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Phaser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Dual-Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Distortion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 8
Strobe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Reverse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Repeat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
VST Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Latency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Selecting Ef fects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Assigning Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
VST Crash Guard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
VST Preset Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Chapter 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
ReWire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Master Tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Audio Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Chapter 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Audio Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Audio Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Sample Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Buffer Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
MIDI Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Auto-Detect M-Audio Devices ([On ]/Off) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Scratch Sensitivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Nudge Sensitivit y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Crossfader Curve Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
MIDI SHIFT Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
MIDI Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
External C ontrol Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
External C ontrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
AMPutate Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Control Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Plug-ins Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 0
System VST Plug-in Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Custom VST Plug-in Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Miscellaneous Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Torq Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Cue Exclusivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Schaf fel Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
QuickLoop Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Search iPod with Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Search iTunes Librar y with Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Transpor t Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Tooltips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Sample Counter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Sync Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Skin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Chapter 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Preset Key Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Global Key Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Ortofon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Shure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Stanton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Windows Key Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Mac Key Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
© 2007 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Product features,
specications, system requirements and availability are subject to change
without notice. Avid, M- Audio, Conectiv, Xponent, Torq and SynchroScience
are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology,
Inc. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their
respective owners.
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WELCOME
Congratulations on your purchase of a Torq-based performance system, one of the nest
DJ tools available today. Each qualied M-Audio hardware product works with Torq in a
unique fashion, and those methods are outlined in each of their user manuals. This manual
will outline the use of the Torq application itself, and we recommend that you read this
manual rst in order to familiarize yourself with the architecture of Torq. It will then be
easier to understand how your hardware works in conjunction with the software.
TORQ OVERVIEW
Torq is a software extrapolation and extension of tried-and-true DJ tools and techniques for
your Mac OS X or Windows XP computer. Torq is not bound by the limits of hardware—
it embraces the technology of today’s most advanced audio production applications and
integrates with them in a fashion that makes you part of the music. Exercising this level of
control upon your collection of songs is a task that has many facets, and Torq addresses
each of these with a specialized array of controls and features that are cleverly arranged
and accessed throughout the user interface. This section will give you an overview of these
features and how they contribute to your arsenal of digital mixing tools and techniques.
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Decks
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Torq User Guide » Chapter 1
DJing begins with music, so you will get to know Torq’s Decks very well. A
Deck is what Torq uses to play back a single digital music le and is analogous
to the turntable or CD player used by DJs. The Deck allows you to play a track,
change its speed and its key, as well as rearrange it by looping and jumping to new
locations within the song. Torq is equipped with two of these Decks—one on
each side of the screen.
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Main Waveform Display
One of the wonderful benets of computer technology is the ability to visualize audio. While being interesting to the eyes
in their own right, waveform displays can be an invaluable tool when DJing. Torq’s user interface is dominated by two such
waveforms at the top-center of the screen, one corresponding to each of the Decks. Use these scrolling waveforms to check
the synchronization of tracks, locate sounds, predict breakdowns, and much more.
Mixer
It’s all in the mix, or so they say, and Torq’s Mixer delivers the
goods. The Mixer takes the audio from the two Decks and gives you
control over what can be heard by means of volume controls, audio
equalizers, and a crossfader. Two Decks and a Mixer: the essential
tools for a DJ.
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PFL/Headphone Cue
DJs commonly listen to a track on their headphones without letting their audience hear it. This allows them to match the tempo
of the new song to the current one, along with nding the correct starting position for the song. Torq will allow you to monitor
either Deck on headphones, and also features a stereo headphone split normally reserved for high-quality DJ mixers.
Browser/Database
There is a third ingredient to DJing, and that’s music—lots of music. To help you stay on top of your massive music collection,
Torq features a Database for cataloging and searching tracks. It will monitor your favorite folders and allow you to create playlists
for future performances.
Effect Racks
Effects are a great way for you to manipulate (or mangle) your music
in unique ways to enhance your mix. Torq has a collection of built-in
effects that are specically designed for DJ use: Tempo-synced delays and
strobes. Shimmering phasers and angers. Glitchy repeats and distortions.
Ten effects are ready to go and full of creative potential. You can use up
to three of these effects on each Deck, and you can also expand your
collection using widely-available VST plug-ins.
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Sampler
A Sampler can be thought of as a miniature tape recorder. It can record a short segment of sound, and then play it back on
command at varying speeds and volumes. DJs use samplers to add additional sounds into their mix like crash cymbals, boomy
bass drums, and vocal hits. Torq has a 16-cell sampler that can play audio les and record loops that play in perfect sync with
your mix.
Snapshots
DJing is done with the hands, but you may nd that your mind wants to hear more than your two hands are capable of. To
surmount this obstacle, Torq allows you to combine multiple movements, such as button presses and knob tweaks, into one
grand gesture called a Snapshot that can be triggered by a single keypress. Torq manages a collection of Snapshots that can be
recalled interchangeably, even in rapid succession. The Snapshots can even be layered together to create massive changes in
your mix.
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Master Module
When all is tweaked and mixed to perfection, the resultant audio is sent to the Master Output. Torq features an automatic output
limiter that will keep your music from distorting as well as a module for recording the nal mix to a le as you play. You can then
burn the results onto a CD or convert them to MP3 for podcasts.
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SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Windows:
Minimum System Requirements*
OS: Windows XP (SP2)
CPU: Pentium III 933 MHz
RAM: 256 MB
USB: One available port (for use by
approved M-Audio Hardware Device)
Mac**:
Minimum System Requirements*
Mac OS X 10.4.6
CPU: G4 1.25 GHz
RAM: 512 MB
USB: One available port (for use by approved M-Audio
Hardware Device)
Recommended System Specications
Laptop:
OS: Mac OS X 10.4.7
CPU: Mac/Intel Core Duo 1.83 GHz (or greater)
RAM: 1 GB
USB: One available port (for use by approved
M-Audio Hardware Device)
Hard drive: 7200RPM or faster
Recommended System Specications
OS: Windows XP (SP2)
CPU: Pentium IV 2 GHz (or greater)
RAM: 1 GB
USB: One available port (for use by approved
M-Audio Hardware Device)
Hard drive: 7200RPM or faster
Desktop
OS: Mac OS X 10.4.7
CPU: Dual G5 2 GHz
RAM: 1 GB
USB: One available port (for use by
approved M-Audio Hardware Device)
Hard drive: 7200RPM or faster
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* Minimum System Requirements reect the ability to run Torq using a basic feature set.
Some advanced or intensive features will require increased system specications.
** Mac G4 User Known Issues:
• Mac G4 users are strongly advised to pre-analyze all audio les prior to use in Torq.
• Mac G4 users may experience limited or no usage of VST plug-ins, momentary lapses in
GUI refreshes.
• Mac G4 users are advised to not open the Timecode Preferences Dialog while streaming
more than one Timecode source into Torq, as this may degrade G4 performance. The
user is advised to calibrate before performing, one Timecode source at a time.
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Torq User Guide » Chapter 2
INSTALLATION
Note
: The following directions are for installing the Torq software onto your computer. Torq will not run, however, unless an
appropriate M-Audio hardware device (such as the Conectiv interface) is installed and plugged in to your computer. Please follow
the installation instructions provided with your hardware device before launching Torq.
Windows XP
1. Place the Torq disc in your CD/DVD drive.
2. Windows will automatically launch the install screen. If the install screen fails to launch, you can manually start it by
clicking on Start > My Computer > Torq CD-ROM.
3. Select Torq from the drop-down menu and click “Install.”
4. The Installation Wizard will appear. Choose “Next.”
5. The License Agreement window will appear. Select “I accept the agreement” then choose “Next.”
6. Windows will prompt you to select a destination folder. The default path is C:\Program Files\Torq. If you would like to
install Torq in another location, click the “Browse” button and choose a new location.
7. When you have chosen an install folder, click “Next.”
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8. You will be asked where Torq should install the application shortcuts in the Windows Start menu. If you are not familiar
with this, leave the default selection and choose “Next.”
9. The installer will give you the option of creating a desktop icon. This icon is used to quickly launch Torq directly from
your desktop. Make your selection and choose “Next.”
10. Conrm your install settings and choose “Install.”
11. Torq will begin installing, its process indicated by a Windows progress bar.
12. When Torq is nished installing, choose “Finish.”
13. Close the installer screen.
14. Double-click the Torq application icon to launch the program.
Macintosh OS X
1. Place the Torq disc in your CD/DVD drive.
2. Double-click the Torq CD icon on your desktop. This will display the contents of the CD.
3. Double-click the “Open Me” icon.
4. Select Torq from the drop-down menu and click “Install.”
5. The Torq installer welcome screen will appear. Click “Continue.”
6. The Software License Agreement window will appear. Click “Continue.”
7. Choose “Agree” from the drop-down dialog box.
8. Select a drive on which to install Torq and click “Continue.”
Note: By default, the “Applications” folder on your main hard drive will be selected; if you would like to select another folder, click
“Choose” and make a selection.
9. Click “Install” to begin the installation.
10. When installation has completed, select “Close.”
11. A Torq shortcut icon will be displayed on your desktop. Double-click the icon to launch the program.
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DECKS
When DJing, everything begins with the Decks. The
Decks will play the music that you’ll mix and effect
using all the tools in Torq. Traditionally, a DJ’s decks
will be turntables or CD players. Therefore, the
Decks in Torq have been designed to emulate both
turntables and CD players, as well as offering a special
hybrid mode only possible with software.
Displays
Each Deck has various informational displays
throughout the interface. These are mostly for
relaying information to you, such as which song is
playing, how long it’s been playing, and how much time
is remaining.
Song Name
At the top of the Deck is the name of the current
song. The name is taken from the song category
(seen in the File List). If there is no song name
listed in the File List, the name of the actual le
will be shown instead.
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Artist Name
Below the Song Name is the Artist Name. Like
the Song Name, above, this eld will be empty
if there is no entry in the Artist category of
the le.
Time Elapsed
This is the current location of the song, marked
by the yellow Now Line in the Overview
Waveform Display. The Time Elapsed is expressed in hours/minutes/seconds/frames
(30 fps). When the Current Position Marker is at the beginning of the song, the Time
Elapsed will be 0:0:0.0.
Time Remain
This eld indicates how much time is left before the song ends. At the beginning
of the song, the Time Remaining will be the same as the entire length of the song.
When the Deck is playing, the Time Remaining will count down.
Note: The Overview and Scrolling Waveform displays will begin to ash red when there is
less than 30 seconds remaining in the song. This is to notify you that you’d better get ready
with another song to play!
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Overview Waveform
Each Deck includes an Overview Waveform display which shows a miniaturized version of the song’s waveform in its
entirety. This display serves several purposes:
1. It allows you to see where the breaks and builds are in a song before they happen.
2. The yellow Now Line indicates your current location within the song.
3. QuickCue points (described later) will be superimposed over this waveform.
4. You can click anywhere in this waveform and playback will jump to that location.
Controls
As mentioned before, the purpose of the Deck is to play a music le, similar to how iTunes
or WinAmp plays les on your computer. However, in the scope of DJing, things don’t
stop there. A DJ needs to be able to control the playback of the music with greater detail,
such as changing the speed and/or key of the song, looping sections of audio, and jumping
to other locations within the song. This allows the DJ to match tempos of various songs
during a mix, or to re-arrange the song (in essence, creating a live remix of the song). The
Torq Decks accomplish these tasks using the controls described below.
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Play/Pause
Songs are played and stopped by clicking the Play/Pause button. Simply load a song
into the Deck and press Play/Pause to start it. Press Play/Pause again to pause
the music.
Note: When you pause the music, the song will not return to the beginning—it will stay
in the same location as when you stopped it. If you want to return to the beginning, use the
Seek controls described below.
Seek
The Seek buttons are used to skip forward or backward through the song, allowing you to nd certain points (or beats)
within the song from which you can start playing.
1. If you click briey on the Forward or Backward buttons, the music will jump only slightly in that direction.
2. If you click and hold one of these buttons, Torq will scroll through the song, going faster and faster as long as you
hold the button. Scrolling will stop when you release the button.
3. To jump to either the beginning or end of the song, hold the Shift key while clicking Seek buttons.
Cue
The Cue button will establish a primary Cue Point within a song. A Cue Point is a reference position within the track that
you can jump to instantly, rather than having to seek through the track to nd it. Typically, a DJ will set the Cue Point where
the beat begins in a song. It is visible (in red) within the Waveform Display. The Cue button abides by the following rules:
1. If a song is playing, pressing the Cue button will make the song jump to the Cue Point and will pause there.
2. If Cue is pressed and held again, the music will begin playing from the Cue Point. The music will stop playing when
the Cue button is released and the song will jump back to the Cue Point.
3. If a song is paused in a location different from the Cue Point, pressing the Cue button will set the Cue Point to the
current location.
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QuickCue
In addition to the primary Cue Point described above, Torq allows you to set up to
ve QuickCue Points in a song that are assigned to the QuickCue buttons below
the Overview Waveform display. These buttons can then be used to quickly jump
between the various QuickCue points.
< Setting QuickCues
There are a few different ways to set QuickCue Points, but all methods
deliver the same results.
1. Click the QuickCue Set button, then click one of the QuickCue
buttons. A QuickCue Point will be set at the current location (this
can be done while the Deck is playing or paused). When added, the
QuickCue will be visible in the Overview Waveform display.
2. Hold the Shift key while clicking one of the QuickCue buttons. Again,
the QuickCue Point will be set to the Now Line, whether the Deck
is playing or not. When added, the QuickCue will be visible in the
Overview Waveform display.
Note: If you try to assign a QuickCue to a button that is already set to a particular
location, the old QuickCue location will be overwritten in favor of the new one.
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< Playing QuickCues
Once you’ve set a couple QuickCue Points, all you have to do is click on the desired QuickCue button and the
Deck will immediately jump to this new location and begin playing. If you set your QuickCue Points at key positions
within the song, you can immediately jump to different sections on-the-y, such as jumping ahead to a chorus or
back to the intro.
Note: There are 10 QuickCue Points—ve for each Deck. These points are mapped to the number keys on your computer
keyboard. Numbers 1-5 correspond to QuickCues 1-5 on Deck A while numbers 6-0 correspond to QuickCues 1-5 on
Deck B. Pressing one of these number buttons has the same effect as clicking one of the QuickCue buttons on screen.
Additionally, you can set QuickCue Points without using the mouse by holding the Shift key and pressing one of these
number buttons.
Deck Mode
In order for Torq to feel familiar to all types of DJs, the Decks can be operated in one of three different modes.
< Vinyl Mode
Vinyl Mode will make the Deck behave as if it was a turntable. This means:
1. Pressing Play/Pause to pause playback will cause audio to stop, just like pressing stop on a turntable.
2. Clicking and dragging on the Scrolling Waveform will have audible results, like scratching a record.
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< CDJ Mode
CDJ mode will make the Deck behave as if it was a CDJ player. In use:
1. Pressing Play/Pause to pause playback will cause the Deck to stop and begin repeating a small section of
audio. The repeating section corresponds to the position where playback will resume when you press
Play/Pause again.
2. While the audio is repeating, you can click and drag on the Scrolling Waveform to move the start location—
you’ll hear the repeating audio slice change as you do this.
3. Clicking and dragging on the Scrolling Waveform while the Deck is playing will not stop audio. Instead, you’ll
be able to drag left or right to offset the playback speed of the track. This will allow you to align the track
against the other Deck when beat-matching.
< Hybrid Mode
Hybrid mode provides a blend of the CDJ and Vinyl control modes:
1. Pressing Play/Pause to pause playback will cause audio to stop, just like in Vinyl mode.
2. While paused, clicking and dragging on the Scrolling Waveform will have audible results, like scratching in
Vinyl mode.
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3. When playback is active, clicking and dragging on the Scrolling Waveform will not stop audio. Instead, you’ll
be able to drag left or right to offset the playback speed of the track like in CDJ mode. This will allow you to
align the track against the other Deck when beat-matching.
Looping
Technology is always evolving, thus DJing is always evolving. With the introduction of DJ CD players, DJs gained many new
exciting capabilities that were unavailable to them when working within the connes of vinyl records. One of those features
is looping, which is merely the act of repeating a section of a song.
The creative aspect of DJing suggests that a simple trick such as looping can be exploited in a variety of ways. Indeed, you
can use looping to “remix” a song by changing the arrangement—extending your favorite parts of the song. You can also use
looping as a “safety net” allowing the end of a song to play innitely, giving you more time to mix into the next song. Looping
can also be used to isolate a section of the song, such as the breakbeat, for layering on top of other songs.
Torq offers you two different ways to loop audio. You can specify the start and end points of the loop manually, or you can
capture loops of a specic length using the QuickLoop buttons. Furthermore, Torq will help you make the perfect loop
every time by automatically matching your loop points to the tempo of the song.
< Loop In/Out
Looping an entire song doesn’t have much benet for a DJ, so Torq allows you to move the Loop Markers by using the
Loop In and Loop Out buttons:
1. Load a song into a Deck and press Play. The song will begin to play.
2. When playback reaches the beginning of the section you want to loop, click the Loop In button. This will place
a Loop In Marker at the Now Line (shown as a yellow marker line in the scrolling and overview waveforms) and
the song will continue to play. The Loop In marker will snap to the beginning of the nearest 16th-note in the
song waveform.
3. When playback reaches the end of the section you want to loop, click the Loop Out button. This will place a
Loop Out Marker at the Now Line, which will also snap to the nearest 16th-note. At the same time, the Loop
On/Off button will automatically be activated causing playback to jump back to the Loop In Marker. The music
will now loop between these two points indenitely.
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4. When you’re nished looping this section of the song, you can click the Loop On/Off button to turn it off. Now,
when playback reaches the Loop Out Marker, it will simply pass it and proceed playing the rest of the song.
N o t e : If you reposition playback using one of the QuickCue buttons while Looping is activated, playback will jump to the
new location. Torq will then automatically place the Loop In Marker at that point and will place the Loop Out Marker in
a position to maintain the same loop length in use prior to pressing the QuickCue button.
< Loop On/Off
The Loop button will indicate whether Torq is looping audio or not. Whenever this button is illuminated, Torq will
be looping something, whether triggered with one of the QuickLoop buttons or set manually with the Loop In and
Loop Out buttons. Click this button to toggle looping on and off.
< QuickLoop
More often than not, a DJ will loop audio that is an even number of beats or bars. That is, they will loop a single
bar (four beats) or two bars (eight beats), or may do micro-loops of only one or two beats. Instead of having to
quickly press the Loop In and Loop Out buttons to create loops of these lengths, Torq provides one-button access
to these loops via the QuickLoop buttons.
» Using QuickLoops
The QuickLoop buttons allow you to instantly loop a section of a song by a preset length. By default, each of
the four buttons represents a different bar length; one bar, two bars, four bars, and eight bars. Simply press
one of these buttons at the beginning of the section you want to loop and Torq will automatically place the
Loop In and Loop Out Markers in the appropriate locations:
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1. Load a song into a Deck and press play.
2. Press the QuickLoop button labeled “1.” The Loop button will be switched on and the Loop In Marker
will immediately be placed at the Now Line. Furthermore, the Loop Out Marker will be placed exactly
one bar later and the song will begin looping a perfect bar.
3. To turn the loop OFF, click the Loop button. Playback will now proceed beyond the Loop
Out Marker.
» QuickLoop Size Preference
As mentioned above, the default loop lengths for the four QuickLoop buttons are one bar, two bars, four
bars, and eight bars. The QuickLoop Size preference allows you to change the QuickLoop buttons to beat
values instead of bar values:
1. Open the Torq Preferences menu and click on the Behaviors tab.
2. Click the arrow next to QuickLoop Size option and choose “Beat” from the drop-down list.
3. Click the “X” to close the Preferences window.
Now, when you use the QuickLoop buttons as described above, you’ll nd that they capture loops of one
beat, two beats, four beats, and eight beats in size.
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» QuickLoop Behaviors
Along with the obvious functions stated above, the QuickLoop buttons are capable of a few
other behaviors:
You can change various loop lengths while the song is looping. For instance, if you have set a one-beat loop,
pressing the “4” button will automatically extend the Loop Out marker to make the song loop perfectly
four beats.
Also, repeatedly pressing a QuickLoop button will cut the current loop length in half. For example, if you
press QuickLoop 2 to loop two bars of audio, pressing the button again will change the loop to one bar in
length. Pressing it again will reduce the loop length again, this time to two beats (half a bar).
By holding the Shift key while pressing these buttons, the opposite behavior will occur: The loop will double
its length each time you press the QuickLoop button.
Speed Slider
Torq’s Decks are each equipped with a Speed Adjust slider for the purpose of
beat-matching songs. This slider behaves just like the pitch adjusters found on DJ
turntables and CD players. As you move this slider, the neighboring ADJ display will
show how much the song’s speed is being altered (expressed as a percent where 0%
is the original speed of the song).
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For those not familiar with these controls, your rst impression may be that the
slider is working backward since the speed of the song will increase as you move the
slider down on screen. However, this is the proper behavior for pitch controls found
on DJ turntables and CD players. It makes sense if you consider the following:
The pitch adjust slider on a turntable is mounted at on the surface of the turntable’s
housing. Therefore, when you use the slider, you either push it away from you or
pull it towards you. When a song is going too fast, you push the slider away from
yourself, just as if you put out your hand in a “slow down” motion. If you need the
song to go faster, you pull the slider toward you, similar to how you would gesture
towards yourself if you wanted someone to move quickly. After a few hours of
practice, this “backward” response will feel natural.
< Slider Range
By default, the range of the Speed Adjuster is +/- 8%. That means that if you
move the slider to either of its extremes, you’ll only get an 8% change in the
speed of the song. To the left of the Speed Adjuster is a display showing the
current range setting for the slider:
You can change the range of the Speed Adjuster by clicking on this range
display. Each time you click, the range will advance to the next highest setting.
The order is: 8%, 10%, 20%, then 50%. When you click the display again,
the range will “wrap around” back to 8%. You’ll only need to increase the
range when you’re trying to match two songs with very different tempos, or
when you want to perform an extreme speed change as a special effect.
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Most experienced DJs will simply match the tempos of two songs by hand using the Speed Adjust slider, which is a perfectly
acceptable method of matching songs (indeed, this is the way it’s been done for decades). Since it requires a lot of practice
to hear when one song is playing faster or slower than another, those new to DJing will benet from some of the extra
features built into Torq. Such features include automatic beat detection, BPM displays, scrolling waveform displays, and
automatic synchronization.
< BPM Display
Tempo is a measurement of the speed of a song and is normally expressed
as Beats Per Minute (BPM). As the BPM increases, the speed of the song
increases. In order for two songs to be mixed together with their beats
aligned, the two songs will need to be playing at the same tempo. This is
why Torq’s Decks are equipped with Speed Sliders. In the event the DJ is
trying to mix two songs with different tempos (which happens more often
than not), he will need to use the Speed Sliders to match the tempo of the
new song to the tempo of the current song.
» Automatic BPM Detection
Any time you load a new track into a Deck, Torq will analyze it and
attempt to determine the tempo of the song. For most dance music,
Torq will be able to determine the tempo accurately. Once scanned,
the tempo of the song will be shown in the BPM display for the Deck,
which is located just to the left of the Speed Adjust slider.
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The BPM shown here is a “living value”—it will change when you
alter the speed of the song with the Speed Adjuster. This is extremely
helpful when trying to synchronize two songs since you’ll be able to
nearly match the tempos of the two songs just by matching the BPM
values shown in the displays.
» Double/Halve Button
When Torq incorrectly identies the tempo of a song, it will often
return a result that is half the original tempo or double the original
tempo. This occurs frequently when using Drum & Bass tracks with
tempos in the neighborhood of 170 BPM. Torq may think that the
tempo of the song is 85 BPM, which is half the actual tempo. When this
happens, you can quickly double the tempo using the Double/Halve
button.
The rst time you press this button, the up arrow will light and the
tempo of the current song will be doubled. The second time you
press the button, the down arrow will light and the tempo of the song
will be cut in half from the original tempo. The third time you press
this button, the arrows will turn off and the tempo will revert to the
originally detected tempo.
» Manual Tempo
As mentioned above, Torq can determine the tempo of most dance
music. Some music, however, is too complex or not repetitive enough
for Torq to detect the tempo with precision. Fortunately, you can help
Torq to determine the proper tempo through a number of different
methods. The appropriate method will be based on the type of tempo
correction you’re trying to achieve.
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» Tap Tempo
On rare occasions, Torq will determine an incorrect tempo that has no direct relation to the actual tempo
(not a fraction or multiple). At times like this, you’ll want to use the Tap Tempo feature to determine the
tempo of the song while it plays.
1. While the song is playing, click on the BPM display with each beat that you hear.
2. The BPM display will update the BPM to reect the timing of the taps you performed.
3. The more taps you provide, the more precise the calculation will become.
Note: If at any time you wish to revert back to the automatically determined tempo, hold the Shift key while
clicking on the BPM display.
» BPM Entry
If you happen to know the BPM of a song, you can manually enter it into the BPM display, thus overriding the
tempo detected by Torq.
1. Hold the Shift key and double-click on the BPM display.
2. Type in a new BPM value from your computer keyboard and press Enter.
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3. The new BPM will then be set for the song.
Note: If at any time you wish to revert back to the automatically determined tempo, hold the Shift key while
clicking on the BPM display.
Key
The Key Adjust is used to raise or lower the Key of a song without changing the tempo. This is useful when attempting to
match the melodies of songs in both Decks during a mix, known as key-matching. You can adjust the key of a song with the
Key Adjust buttons or by dragging the up or down on the Key Display.
< Fine Tuning
1. Click and hold the mouse cursor over the Key Display number.
2. Drag the mouse up or down. The number will adjust in increments of one cent.
Note: To reset the key transposition to 0, hold down the Shift key on your computer keyboard and click on either of the
Key Adjust buttons’ Key Displays. If you have adjusted the key in ner increments, the key will be reset to 0, however the
fraction will remain. For example, if the key is 4.23, resetting will make it 0.23.
< Key/Speed Lock
The Decks in Torq have the special ability to change the playback speed of the song without changing the pitch
of the song (this is known as time-compression and time-expansion). This means you don’t have to worry about
music changing pitch as you beat-match. However, if you would like to disable this feature and essentially lock the
Key and Speed of the music together, turn on the Key/Tempo Lock button. With this on, the music will behave like
a regular vinyl record (slowing down the music will make the music drop in pitch).
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Torq User Guide » Chapter 3
< MIDI Slider/Knob Control
MIDI control of the Key Adjust is different from other controls in Torq. You can assign a knob or slider to the
Key Adjust, or you can assign keys on your MIDI keyboard—the behavior of the Key Adjust is dependent on your
control method.
1. Make sure that your MIDI keyboard or control surface has been properly installed and is congured to work
with Torq. Please see chapter 6 for more information about conguring your external MIDI hardware to
control Torq.
2. Right-click (CTRL-click, Mac) on the Key Display; it will turn red indicating that it’s waiting for an
assignment.
3. Move a MIDI knob or slider on your MIDI controller. This will automatically assign the knob or slider to the
Key Adjust.
4. The Key will be adjustable in one-semitone steps.
5. MIDI CC value 64 equals + 0 semitones. This generally means when the knob or slider of your MIDI controller
is at center position, the Key will be at 0.
< MIDI Button Control
1. Make sure that your MIDI keyboard or control surface has been properly installed and is congured to work
with Torq. Please see chapter 6 for more information about conguring your external MIDI hardware to
control Torq.
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2. Right-click (CTRL-click, Mac) on the [+] Key Adjust button. It will turn red indicating that it’s waiting for an
assignment.
3. Press a button on your MIDI controller to assign it to the [+] Key Adjust button.
4. Right-click (CTRL-click, Mac) on the [-] Key Adjust button. It will turn red indicating that it’s waiting for an
assignment.
5. Press a button on your MIDI controller to assign it to the [-] Key Adjust button.
6. Now that your buttons are assigned, press the button assigned to [+]. The Key will move up one semitone.
7. Now press both buttons simultaneously.
8. The Key Adjust will return to 0.
< MIDI Keyboard Control
1. Make sure that your MIDI keyboard or control surface has been properly installed and is congured to work
with Torq. Please see chapter 6 for more information about conguring your external MIDI hardware to
control Torq.
2. Right-click (CTRL-click, Mac) on the Key Display. It will turn red indicating that it’s waiting for an
assignment.
3. Press a key on your MIDI keyboard. This key will automatically be assigned as the “root key” of the Torq Key
Adjust.
4. If you press a MIDI key that is 1 semitone ABOVE the root key, the Deck’s Key will be changed to +1
(semitones).
5. If you press a MIDI key that is 2 semitones BELOW the root key, the Deck’s Key will be changed to -2
(semitones).
6. The range of Key transposition is plus or minus (+/-) 12 semitones. This makes it possible to control the Key
Adjust of both Decks using a single MIDI controller keyboard, as long as the keyboard has enough keys to
make up four (4) octaves.
Note: Torq will allow notes from the same controller and same MIDI channel to be used as long as the root keys are at
least two octaves apart.
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Torq User Guide » Chapter 3
< External Control
When using external Vinyl or CD control, the Key/Tempo Lock button will behave differently. When you press
this button, Torq will automatically re-tune the music you’re playing back into its original key. You’ll load up a song
onto a Deck, change its speed using the turntable’s pitch adjuster (which will result in the music changing speed and
pitch), then click the Key/Tempo Lock button to shift the music back into its original key while maintaining your
new tempo.
Sync Button
The Sync button provides an automatic method of synchronizing the beat and BPM of one Deck to the other or the Master
Tempo. When you engage Sync on a Deck (the Sync icon is on), it will change that Deck’s tempo to match the other Deck
or Master Tempo. Furthermore, when you press Play, Torq will align the song to the phase of the other Deck or Master
Tempo. Essentially, the Synced Deck will be “slaved” to the other Deck (which would be the “master”).
Sync will remain active until you turn it off by clicking the Sync button again. While Sync is active, the Deck will be affected
by tempo changes made to the opposite Deck or Master Tempo. If you slow down the “master” Deck, the “slaved” Deck
will also slow down in kind. If you attempt to scratch or re-align the “slaved” Deck, Torq will automatically snap it back into
alignment to match the phase of the “master” Deck.
When you turn Sync off on a Deck, it will keep the tempo setting allowing the song to keep playing in time with the
other Deck. However, Torq will no longer attempt to keep the two Decks in sync if you make changes to them. Torq will
no longer snap the songs back into alignment if you move one of them, nor will Torq continue to match tempos if you
change them.
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Nudge Buttons
If you’re not taking advantage of Torq’s ability to keep tracks aligned using Sync, you can do it manually using the Nudge
buttons. If you hear a song become ahead or behind the other, the Nudge buttons will allow you to push the song back
into alignment by creating a small change to the playback speed of the song. If the song is ahead of the beat, press the right
Nudge button to slow it down. You’ll see the waveforms of the two songs move in relation to each other. Release the Nudge
button once the songs are aligned properly and the original playback speed will be restored.
Note: The behavior of the Nudge buttons can be reversed in the Preferences if you prefer the song to speed up when pressing the
right Nudge button.
Offset Buttons
Sometimes when mixing two songs together, you may nd that the beats are aligned with each other, yet the two songs are
still out of phase. This is most obvious when one song is offset by one beat, causing the snare drums of the tracks to be out
of alignment. The Offset buttons can be used to correct this. Pressing these buttons will make the Current Song Position
jump forward or back by one beat-length.
Note: If you have the Sync Mode set to “Bar” in the Preferences, the Offset buttons will have no effect when the Deck’s Sync button
is on. This is because Torq will counteract a one-beat offset when set to Bar mode. If you want to offset the music by one beat when
Sync is on, you’ll need to offset the Phase Grid, which is explained later in the section titled “Synchronization.”
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WAVEFORM DISPLAY
One of the most prominent features of the Torq user interface is the Scrolling Waveform
Display, which takes up a decent amount of real estate above the Mixer and Effect Racks.
Unlike the smaller Overview Waveforms found in each Deck, the Scrolling Waveforms
only show a few seconds of the current song before and after the current play position.
The song in Deck A (on the left) is shown at the top of the Scrolling Waveform display.
Deck B (on the right) is shown at the bottom of the window. While the Now Line moves
from left to right within the smaller Overview Waveform Display as a Deck plays, the
Now Line remains xed in the Scrolling Waveform window while the waveforms move
behind it.
Information Shown on Display
So what purpose do these Scrolling Waveforms serve, other than looking really
cool? Answer: They offer you a way to visualize the alignment and synchronization
of the two Decks as well as providing some other important information:
Waveform
By looking at the audio waveform itself, you can see where the beats are in the song.
These sharp hits (transients) typically look like long, thin spikes in the waveform.
In the picture below, you can see the heavy bass drum beats of both songs in the
Scrolling Waveforms.
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When the drums stop, you’ll notice that the tall spikes go away. This is how you can
tell if a breakdown or slow section of the song is approaching. By the same token,
you’ll also be able to see where the drums come back in again.
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Torq User Guide » Chapter 1
Torq User Guide » Chapter 4
Zoom
At times, you may nd yourself wanting to “zoom in” to the Scrolling Waveform Display to match beats more precisely or
to “zoom out” in order to see more of each track. Use the magnifying glass icons directly above the display to do this. The
magnifying glass button on the left zooms out while the button on the right zooms in. The total amount of time (in seconds)
from the left edge to the right edge of the Scrolling Waveform Display is listed between the two buttons.
Loop Points
The Loop Points of the song (set with the Loop In/Out buttons or the QuickCue buttons) will be shown on the Waveform.
The looped area of the music will appear in a lighter shade compared to the rest of the waveform.
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Cue Points
If you’ve used the Cue button or QuickCue buttons to place various Cue Markers in the song, you will see them here. The
QuickCue markers have numbers attached to them (corresponding to the assigned QuickCue button) and the standard
Cue Point appears as an orange line.
Phase Grid
Torq superimposes a Phase Grid over the Scrolling Waveforms to indicate the location of the beats in a song. The thicker
lines in the Phase Grid indicate the locations of the downbeats in the music. Torq will attempt to position the Phase Grid
in the proper location as part of the analysis when loading a song into a Deck. Torq uses the position of the Phase Grid to
properly synchronize the song.
If you would like to turn the Phase Grid lines off, click the “Hide Phase Grid” button located above the waveform display
(next to the zoom controls).
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Playback Manipulations
The Waveform Display allows you to manipulate the song playback in a variety of ways using your mouse. The method of control
differs depending on the control type you have selected for the Deck (Vinyl/CDJ/Hybrid).
Vinyl Mode
With this mode selected, using the mouse on the waveform will work in a similar fashion to using your hand on a
turntable.
1. Click and hold the mouse on the waveform. Playback will stop, as if you have placed your hand on a record to
stop it.
2. Continue holding the mouse button, then drag the mouse left and right. This will scrub, or “scratch,” the song.
3. Releasing the mouse button will cause the Deck to play the song back from the current location.
Hybrid Mode
With Hybrid mode active, the waveform will respond exactly like the CDJ mode while the Deck controls (Play/Pause, Cue,
etc.) behave like Vinyl Mode.
1. Click and hold on the waveform. The music will continue to play
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2. While holding on the mouse button, drag the mouse left. The playback tempo will be momentarily increased,
making the waveform scroll a little faster to the left.
3. Now hold and drag the mouse to the right. Playback will remain going forward, but the tempo will be slowed
slightly, resulting in a waveform that still scrolls right to left, but at a slower rate.
4. As soon as you stop dragging, playback will return to its original tempo even if you are still holding the
mouse button.
CDJ Mode
With this mode selected, the waveform will not be “scratched” with the mouse. Instead, mouse movements will simply
nudge the music ahead or behind by a small amount.
1. Click and hold on the waveform. The music will continue to play
2. While holding on the mouse button, drag the mouse left. The playback tempo will be momentarily increased,
making the waveform scroll a little faster to the left.
3. Now hold and drag the mouse to the right. Playback will remain going forward, but the tempo will be slowed
slightly, resulting in a waveform that still scrolls right to left, but at a slower rate.
4. As soon as you stop dragging, playback will return to its original tempo even if you are still holding the
mouse button.
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SYNCHRONIZATION
At most of today’s dance clubs and events, the DJ will mix the songs together using a
technique called beat-matching. The goal is to fade the volumes between two songs while
keeping them perfectly in beat with one another. If done properly, the audience will never
have to stop dancing as the beat of one song will blend in with the beat of the new song—
sounding like one single song. DJs will do this for hours at a time, creating one gigantic
non-stop mix from the individual songs they have in their collection. Proper execution
of this technique requires the mastery of two tasks: matching tempo and matching phase.
Automatic Tempo and Phase Detection
As mentioned before, tempo is the measurement of speed of a song expressed as BPM.
Torq automatically determines the tempo of a song when you load it onto a Deck, so
matching tempos is as simple as moving the Speed slider on a Deck until the BPM Display
shows the same value as the other Deck. If you’re using external vinyl or CD control, you
can adjust the speed of the song using the turntable’s or CD player’s pitch adjuster.
Once you have matched the tempos of two songs, you need to start both songs at precisely
the right moment, or in-phase with each other. Phase refers to the starting point within
a cycle. In terms of music, it refers to where the beats are located in a song, such as the
downbeat of a measure. When beat-matching songs, you’ll normally want the downbeats
of both songs aligned with each other. When aligned properly, the beats of both songs
will blend together into one larger beat. If the songs are misaligned or out-of-phase, it will
sound terrible as the beats of the two songs will be playing at different times (in DJ jargon,
this is known as a “train wreck” and is something that should be avoided at all times).
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Torq’s Scrolling Waveforms will help you match the phases of the two songs. Not only
can you visually align the transients in the waveforms, you can also use the Phase Grid for
automatic synchronization.
Phase Grid Manipulations
Torq also places a Phase Grid over the Scrolling Waveforms to help you see where the
beats are, even during a breakdown or rhythmless intro of a song. In order for Torq’s
automatic synchronization to work, the Phase Grid will need to be aligned properly with
the music. With the Phase Grids of both songs aligned properly, Torq will be able to
sync the two songs together without creating train wrecks. Torq will attempt to place
the Phase Grid in the proper location during song analysis. If Torq positions the Grid
incorrectly, it will be up to you to re-align it to the proper beat.
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When a mis-alignment occurs (as seen above), you’ll see that the grid does not line up with the beginnings of the beats (transients)
in the waveform. In the example, the Phase Grid is too early, leaving a gap between the grid lines and the transients in the
waveform.
There are a number of ways to x a mis-aligned Phase Grid. Which method you choose to use will probably depend on whether
you’re comfortable using the mouse and keyboard, or whether you prefer to use external MIDI control. The results are all the
same, so choose whichever feels good for you.
Adjusting with the Mouse
1. Hold down the Shift key, then click-and-drag left or right with the mouse.
2. The Phase Grid will move left or right, following your mouse movements.
3. Once you have aligned the thicker “downbeat” marker of the grid to the downbeat of the music, release the
mouse button.
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Note: You can turn on Caps Lock instead of holding Shift if you need to adjust the grid using just one hand. Turn off Caps Lock
when you’re nished so you can regain proper control of the waveforms.
Adjusting with Nudge Buttons
1. Hold down the Shift key, then click on one of the Nudge buttons.
2. The Phase Grid will move left or right depending on which Nudge button you click.
3. Use the buttons to align the thicker “downbeat” marker of the grid to the downbeat of the music.
Adjusting with Offset Buttons
1. Hold down the Shift key, then click on one of the Offset buttons.
2. Instead of making a small change to the Phase Grid, this will have the effect of moving the grid an entire beat left
or right. This is a quick way to x the Phase Grid if it happens to be aligned to the beats but has the downbeat in
the wrong location.
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Sync Button
The Sync button is an automatic method of synchronizing the beat and BPM of one Deck to another. When you engage Sync on
a Deck (the Sync icon is on), it will change that Deck’s tempo to match the other Deck. Furthermore, when you press Play, Torq
will align the song to the phase of the other Deck. Essentially, the synced Deck will be “slaved” to the other Deck (which would
be the “master”).
Locked Sync
Sync will remain active until you turn it off by clicking the Sync button again. While Sync is active, the Decks will effectively
be locked together. The slaved Deck will be affected by tempo changes made to the opposite Deck. If you slow down the
master Deck, the slaved Deck will also slow down in kind. If you attempt to scratch or re-align the slaved Deck, Torq will
automatically snap it back into alignment to match the phase of the master Deck.
Momentary Sync
When you turn Sync off on a Deck, it will keep the tempo setting allowing the song to keep playing in time with the other
Deck. However, Torq will no longer attempt to keep the two Decks in sync if you make changes to them. Torq will no
longer snap the songs back into alignment if you move one of them, nor will Torq continue to match tempos if you change
them. So if you just need to synchronize for a moment and wish for the music to run freely afterward, click the Sync button
once to turn it on, then click it again to turn it back off—the Tempo will be matched to the other Deck, and you’ll be free
to start and manipulate the music as you wish.
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Master Tempo
Using the Sync button as described above will allow you to sync one Deck to the other. However, if you wish to have your
looped samples sync up to your mix, or if you wish for your mix to follow the tempo of the ReWire host, you’ll use the
Master Tempo.
When you click the Master button, the Master Tempo will be active. Now, when you press the Sync button on a Deck, it
will sync to the Master Tempo as opposed to syncing to the other Deck. If you turn Sync on for both Decks, both Decks
will be synchronized to the Master Tempo and will therefore play in sync. Additionally, when you trigger looped samples,
those loops will play in sync with the Master Tempo (and any synced Decks).
Changing the Master Tempo will result in the same change to the synced Decks and the Sampler. There are a couple ways
to adjust the Master Tempo:
1. Use the + and – buttons to increment or decrement the current tempo by one BPM.
2. Hold the Shift key while dragging up and down on the Master Tempo Display to make smooth changes to the tempo.
3. Click repeatedly on the Master Tempo Display to tap a new tempo.
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