• Introduction
• MetaTrack Basics
• Working with MetaTrack and MetaSynth at the same time
• MetaTrack features (reference section)
  • Event editing
  • Top tools
  • Bottom tools
  • Menu commands
    

Introduction

MetaTrack, the MetaSynth mixer, is a direct-to-disk audio montage and mixing application capable of mixing 16 audio tracks to disk. Its simple drag and drop interface makes it a snap to create multi-track mixes of your MetaSynth projects. MetaTrack is also capable of importing any 16-bit Sound Designer II and AIFF files for use in your mix. All sounds are displayed graphically using MetaSynth preset pictures and sonograms rather than the waveform representations found in most mixing programs.

You will be amazed at the range of compositions you can realize without any external hardware.

While MetaTrack does not feature the bells and whistles of more complex mixing applications, you will find that its ease of use helps you to quickly put together wonderful sounding mixes. You can even export tracks from MetaTrack and import them into the audio mixing application for final sweetening or synchronization.

- MetaTrack can generally play back 16 stereo tracks on a 200 MHz machine. The actual performance will vary with the speed of the hard disk and the number of effects in use. (This number may decrease dramatically on slow or badly fragmented drives.)
NOTE: Even a slow machine can be used to mix 16 tracks even if it can not play back all of the premixed tracks in real time.

- The MetaTrack user interface is designed to be used with screen sizes 832*624 or larger. It will work on a smaller screen but not all 16 tracks will be visible.

- MetaTrack preloads small sounds into memory for improved performance. Giving MetaTrack a large partition size will often increase the number of tracks that can be previewed.

- DSP effects such as reverb, stereo echo, eq and more are available for each track. Certain effects are CPU intensive and a 300 (or more) MHz machine may be necessary for smooth play back. However effects will be applied correctly when mixed to disk regardless of the CPU speed.

Demo Mode
MetaTrack will run in Demo mode without a serial number for a limited amount of launches. Although saving is disabled, the demo mode allows you to open a montage file and listen to and modify the given examples. Serial numbers are available for purchase on-line at uisoftware.com.
The MetaSynth 2.5 CD contains examples of full pieces created only with MetaSynth and MetaTrack. For best performance, an example's folder should be copied onto your hard disk, since the CD may be too slow for direct from disk playback and mixing.

MetaTrack Basics

Overview

Generally, you will create your compositions/mixes in two stages:

• Create the elements (in MetaSynth) - You create a preset library for your composition, synthesize the sound pictures with MetaSynth's synthesize (compute) tool, and save the sounds to disk. You may also incorporate sounds created in other applications in the next stage.
• Assemble the montage (in MetaTrack) - You open the preset library created in the previous stage, import any other sounds you would like to use in your composition (MetaTrack automatically computes a sonogram to represent the sound), drag and drop the pictures into place, adjust track volumes, pan and effects, and mix to disk.
  
  

Creating the Elements in MetaSynth

Here are guidelines for using MetaSynth when creating elements to be mixed with MetaTrack. These are just guidelines, not hard and fast rules, but we think that they are the best way to start working into you feel comfortable with how MetaSynth and MetaTrack work together.

Create a project folder. This step will help you manage your project. While you do not have to keep all of the files in one folder, we have found that keeping the preset library, sequence (montage) file (or files) and sound files together in one folder is very helpful and will help avoid confusion in the long run.

Create a new preset library. You should create a new preset library in the Image Synth to be used for your composition--even if you plan to use pictures that you have already saved in another library. See the MetaSynth manual for tips about copying presets between libaries.

Create a preset for each sound fragment. You should save a preset for each individual sound fragment you intend to use in the mix. You should even save separate presets if you render the same picture with different source sounds or tunings as MetaTrack maps one preset to one sound file. For example, you might render the same picture with violin and with oboe. Even though the graphic content is the same, you should add a preset to the library for each sound that you will save. In another instance, you might create a drum pattern and save two versions of the preset, one modified with Effects palette effects and one that is dry. Save a preset for both versions. It will make things easier later on since MetaTrack uses these pictures to create the mix.

Save (render) each sound using the default name to the preset library's home folder. As you synthesize your sounds, save them using the default names suggested by MetaSynth to the same folder that contains the preset library. The default name will be a name such as "Sound01" which maps the sound to the preset from which it was created. While technically speaking MetaTrack can use sounds with different names and saved to different folders, using the default names and keeping them with the preset library will save you work in the long run. Otherwise, you will have tell MetaTrack where to find the sounds if you ever move or rename the folders which contain them. If you follow this convention, you will never have to locate the sounds for MetaTrack even if you move parent folder or change its name.

Tips: The tempo/samples per pixel setting for the first preset in the library will be treated as the default tempo for the montage when it is created in MetaTrack. Both MetaSynth and MetaTrack are pixel/sample based applications. So this setting will determine the granularity with which MetaTrack aligns regions. (See Edit->Preferences)

Creating a montage of structured and rhythmic pieces is thus made very easy. By default, MetaTrack assumes that there are 128 pixels per measure (32 pixels per beat). Thus a 512-pixel wide MetaSynth picture will span 4 measures. You may change this value with the Edit menu's Preferences command. The presets don't need to all have the same value but should be multiples of this value to maintain alignment. For example, if the first is 1800 spp, some of them may be 900 spp, 450 spp or 3600. The grid units are pixels and can be set with the Preferences command.

If you need to be able to make fine adjustments of event placement, you should create your presets with small pixel per samples settings, as the smallest unit of displacement is one pixel. This is not an issue with most structured, rhythmic music. You can of course use MetaSynth 2.6's new Offset By command to make fine adjustments of the sound's placement within its sound file.

See Preferences in this document for a discussion of the relationship between Tempo, Duration and Samples Per Pixel settings. You may want to refer to the MetaSynth Reference Manual's discussion of the relationship between Tempo, Duration and Samples Per Pixel settings (p. 72 of the MetaSynth 2.5 Reference Manual).

Once you have created some sounds, you are ready to assemble your montage MetaTrack.

Assembling a mix/montage (MetaTrack)
These are the basic steps for assembling a mix. More detailed descriptions of the features are found in the MetaTrack features portion of this document.

Open the preset library in MetaTrack. Use the File menu's Open MetaSynth Presets command (keyboard shortcut: command-M) to open the preset library created during the previous stage. (Note: You can have the preset library in both applications at the same time.) Notice that the presets appear at the top left of the window. Use the arrows at the left or right edges of the preset display area to scroll through the library's presets. You can audition a preset by clicking on the picture and clicking the speaker icon.

Note: When MetaTrack opens the preset library, it compares the duration saved in the preset and the length of the actual corresponding sound file. If the durations are different (which may happen if you modify the sound file after rendering it with MetaSynth), MetaTrack will calculate a new representation for the sound.

Import other sounds (optional). If you want to incorporate other sound files into your composition, use the Import or Import All commands in the File menu. This allows you to choose other 16-bit sound files. MetaTrack will perform a quick FFT analysis, build a quick sonogram of the sound and add it to the library. From that point on, you treat the sound as if it were created in MetaSynth. (Tip: for the best results, move or copy the sound to the folder containing the preset library before adding it to the montage.)

Assemble the montage. Assembling the mix is simple. Just drag the pictures from the palette at the upper left onto the tracks in the track display area.

Preview the mix. Use the play and play selection buttons to audition your mix. Normal playback starts at the left edge of the screen. Play selection will play the selected region (all tracks) if there is one or the selected events. Note that the number of tracks that can be previewed will depend upon the size of the memory partition, the speed of your machine and the number of dsp effects. Even if MetaTrack cannot preview all the tracks in realtime, it can create a full-fidelity mix since mix to disk is not done in realtime.

Adjust track volumes, effects and pan. Each track of the montage has its own volume, pan and effects setting. These settings apply to the track and not to the individual events.

Add event fades. Each event in the sequence can have its own fade envelope. Use this feature to tweak the volume of individual events. These are described in the reference section.

Mix to disk. Generally, the final step is to press the Mix button and save your mix to disk. You can also use the Export Tracks command (found in the File menu) to export each individual track to a separate sound file. For more information, see the reference section.

Working with MetaTrack and MetaSynth at the same time

Track and pan controls and simple fade envelopes are provided in MetaTrack. More sophisticated envelopes and sound manipulation features must be carried out at the sound design phase in MetaSynth. If you have enough memory, it is a good idea to work with both applications open at the same time. (MetaTrack can run with only 16 MB.) You can open existing samples in MetaSynth to modify them with filters and effects, or even recompute new versions. You won't have to reload them in MetaTrack. In other words, you can use the full functionality of MetaSynth to modify your sounds while working in MetaTrack. At some point, you will create new sounds or parts "on the fly" in MetaSynth depending on the needs of the piece you are working on. Just add a preset for a sound and you can use it immediately in MetaTrack. Remember to save the sounds to disk when you compute them. (The new versions of MetaSynth (2.5 or later) automatically suggest a name that is appropriate for working with MetaTrack.)

MetaTrack features

Event editing

When you drag a preset into the montage area, you create an Event. Events appear as movable boxes containing either a sonogram or MetaSynth sound picture.

Events can have associated amplitude (fade) envelopes (though not individual volumes). Edit->Event infos lets you modify some of the event attributes and see the start and end time of a particular event. This information window is also be accessed by double-clicking on an event.

• Choosing an event from the presets library
  A library of presets (sound pictures) appears at the upper left of the window. This library can be imported from MetaSynth or created by importing sounds (see Menu Commands). When you click on a preset's box, a green highlight should appear around the box. A red border indicates that MetaTrack cannot locate a sound file for the picture.
  
  If you are concurrently using MetaSynth, make sure to save your changes, i.e.--replace the modified preset and save the sound to disk-- so that they are updated in MetaTrack.
  
  When you click on one of the preset icon you can immediately insert it into the montage as explained below.
  
  
• Insert an event
  Preset sound files from the library can simply be dragged and dropped to a track to create an event. To copy an existing event to another location, option-click and drag the event.
  
  Note: events cannot be overlapped in the track. Events will be pushed if you insert a longer event between two closely spaced ones.
  
  Note : All drags and drops will be snapped to an implicit grid .You may change the grid value in the Preferences dialog.
  
  
• Selecting an event in the montage area
  Click on an event to select it. Selected events are highlighted in blue. To select multiple events, select an event then use shift+click to select the others. You may also use the selection area (above the bottom tools) to select a time range; events that intersect the time range will be selected.
  
  Selections can be deleted and moved. You may also apply a special fade or volume curve to a particular selection (see Bottom Tools: Event Buttons).
  
  
• Track options / Selecting a track
  
  Click on the ear icon to mute a track. The icon will appear darker gray.
  Clicking on "select" will select all events within a track and make that track "current;" in other words, the corresponding track volume and pan sliders will display at the bottom of the user interface. Using Play Selection will then play that track in solo.
  Click on the effect box to assign a particular effect to a track. The effect box will appear colored when an effect has been applied to a track. Use effects sparingly on slow machines.
  
  To preview an effect on specific sounds, select the events then click on the Play Selection arrow (see Bottom Tools: Transport Buttons). Click on the Effect button for the event's track, and the following window will appear :
  
  Clicking on the Bypass box will turn the effect off. The *2 and /2 boxes allow you to quickly double and halve, respectively, the ranges of the parameter sliders. Parameter values can be changed by moving a slider or by clicking on the number to the right of the slider (highlighting it in blue) and typing in a number.
  
  Each effect features a Dry/Wet slider with a range of 0(100% dry) to 255(100% wet). Time related parameters use samples as their units (i.e. 1 second = 44100). The effects you can choose from and their additional parameters are:
  
  Echo: Delay, Feedback, Brightness
  
  Stereo Echo: Echo time L/R, Feedback
  
  Parametric EQ: Frequency, Width, Gain
  
  Sweep EQ: Frequency, Width, Gain, LFO speed
  
  Early Reflections: Size, Feedback
  
  Rotary Speaker: Echo Delay, Echo, LFO width, LFO speed
  
  Chorus/Flanger: Echo Delay, Echo, LFO width, LFO speed
  
  Stereo Delay: Delay L/R (in samples), Echo (from 0 to 100)
  
  Note: LFO speed (which ranges from 0 to 100%) is based on the montage's tempo, which you can specify (see Edit->Preferences). Setting the speed to 100 divided by a power of two (i.e., 100, 50, 25, 12.5, etc.) results in a modulation that is in sync with the tempo of the piece.
  
  
• The measure selection bar
  .
  This feature will be familiar to Xx users. The measure selection bar is used to select a point in time or a series of measures. This selection determines where a copied event will be pasted or which measures will be affected by a command. A vertical green line represents an insertion point and a blue bar, a measure selection. Start time is shown in minutes:seconds:milliseconds. Selecting a range of measures simultaneously selects all of the events occurring in that range.
  
  The Play Selection and Mix Selection buttons use a chosen measure range to play events in that range.
  These two buttons play events highlighted in the track area. If no events are selected, the buttons will play/mix the measures selected by the measure selection bar. However, if events highlighted in the track area intersect measures chosen by the measure selection bar, only the intersection of the events and the measures will be played/mixed.
  
  
• Duplicate
  Option+click & drag to duplicate a selected event (or a series of events)
  
  
• Copy / Paste events
  Copy places any selected events onto the clipboard.
  The currently copied events are pasted starting at the current insertion point (see Measure Selection Bar).
  Note that insert will push events to make room for the copy. (MetaTrack does not allow overlapping sounds on a same track)
  Add will place the event in the first empty track.
  

Top tools

The available presets are displayed here. Each picture is either a sonogram or a MetaSynth sound picture and represents one sound file. These presets make up a library. Note that since MetaSynth and MetaTrack both share the same library file on disk, any changes made to the library within MetaTrack, will also be reflected in MetaSynth, and vice-versa.

The preset pictures are dragged and dropped onto the track area below to create an event. To import a sound into the current library, double-click on an empty box. To replace a preset in the library with another sound, double-click on a preset picture; a new picture will be computed for the sound. Option-clicking on a box will delete a preset from the library.

• If you are using more presets than can be displayed, you can scroll through the preset viewer with these arrows.
  
  
• Open a new preset library :
  Usually used when starting a new piece, you will open a preset library created in MetaSynth. That library contains presets which have implicit references to sound files.
  
  The tempo of the piece is automatically defined by the MetaSynth Sample per pixel ratio of the first preset.
  Double click on the event to reassign/ locate the sound file.
  To import or replace a preset you may double click on a preset picture.
  
  
• Eraser icon :
  Delete a particular preset .
  
  Note: This will clear the preset in both MetaTrack and MetaSynth. It does not delete the corresponding sound file from the disk.
  
  
• Play preset (play icon) :
  Listen to the sound associated with the selected preset. If the sound file is not located or does not exist , the Macintosh will beep. In this case the preset will have a red border.
  
  
• Full Screen icon (in upper right corner):
  Returns a window to full-screen size.
  
  

Bottom tools

• Open Sequence (cmd-O)
  Opens a sequence file (montage) and the corresponding preset library. Presets and file paths are saved in the sequence. It is generally easiest to keep everything in the same folder so you can move the whole folder and still have MetaTrack be able to locate all the files. If some of the sound files have been moved or deleted, MetaTrack will prompt you to locate them. If you cancel this operation, that particular sound will be removed from the library and will appear as an empty box in the tracks area. You may still import another sound in that place by double clicking on the preset or by selecting file->import sound.
  
  
• Save Sequence (cmd-S)
  Saves a sequence file with all associated path references.
  Note that you may create several sequences using the same preset library.
  
  
• Mix to disk
  Mix all the tracks to disk in a single stereo or a pair of mono sound files.The mix does not take place in real time so even the most complex arrangements will mix properly to disk.
  
  MetaTrack uses 64-bit floating point values for the mix, and the result is dithered down to 16 bits. It is the best quality possible in CD standards.
  
  Note : The Export Tracks feature allows you to mix every track individually for further processing in another mixing package.
  
  The Mix dialog has several options :
  
  
  • File format : Specify the file format. Only SDII (Sound Designer II format) is supported, either interleaved or not.
    Note: The SDII interleaved file format is suitable for CD burning.
    
    
  • Use selection only
    Since there is no way to cut within a given event in MetaTrack, you may use the option "use selection only" to isolate a specific span in a sound within a time-constrained interval. Also, you can use it to test your reverb settings or to merge a subset of tracks when you hit the track number limit. The mix takes the intersection of the current measure selection (if not empty) and the selected events.
    
    It is possible, of course, to use Mix to bounce several tracks to one if 16 tracks are not enough.
    
  • Use reverb
    The reverb provided in MetaTrack is an improved version of the new MetaSynth reverb and should be more than acceptable for most cases. However, if you have a better reverb available to you, it is easy to mix without reverb and add one in final mastering.
    
    
    
• Event buttons
  
  • Remove from memory:
    Click here when a sound has been changed on the disk and MetaTrack still plays the older version in memory.The name of the sound displayed in the event box has an asterisk when the sound is in memory.
    
  • Fades (in & out):
    MetaTrack provides some simple fade envelopes for convenience. More complex envelopes may be done in MetaSynth.
    
  • Event info :
    The question mark icon (Event info button) presents a dialog to set the volume in and out values. Double-clicking on an event opens the same dialog, the Event info dialog
    
    Note: applying envelopes to existing sounds is CPU-intensive and may decrease the number of simultaneous tracks you can play.
    
    
    
  • Delete event (eraser icon or backspace)
    Will remove the selected events from the montage.
    
  • Delete measure (push things left)
    
    
  • Insert measure (push things right)
    
    
    
• Transport buttons
  • Rewind (or return key) to go back to measure 1
    
  • Stop
    
  • Play : start playing at current position (shortcut: spacebar)
    Note : Some of the samples used will be put in memory at the time of the first playback (an * is shown when the sound is in memory). The more events in memory, the better the playback performance. Giving MetaTrack more memory improves playback performance. A good working size is about 32 meg.
    
  • Play selection (blue play icon) : will play only the selection, highlighted in blue.
    If an event does not play, the file reference may be wrong or outdated. Double-click on it to display the Event info and eventually reassign the sound file. You can use Play selection to "solo" a track after having selected the whole track.
    
    
    
• Volume/Pan
  
  The selected track global volume and pan are displayed right to the transport button. Click on the track to select it : this will update the track volume and pan sliders. The volume will affect all events within that track. Use event envelopes for adjusting individual sound volume.
  
  
• Navigation
  
  Use the scroll bar to scroll the visible portion of the montage.
  (+) and (-) key or the zoom icons can be used to zoom in and out.
  
  The hand tool (shortcut = h) allows for both vertical and horizontal scrolling. Vertical scrolling is necessary when there are more tracks than can be displayed at once.
  
  
• Grow box (in lower right corner): Used to resize a window.
  
  

Menu Commands

• FILE MENU
  • File->New (Cmd-N)
    Creates a new document and an empty preset library (named MetaTrack.preset1). The "new" command is rarely used in MetaTrack since most of the time you will use "open preset library" to open an existing preset library to start a new piece.
    
    Multiple windows
    MetaTrack allows you to have multiple MetaTrack files open simultaneously. Each file's window can be resized by clicking and dragging the icon in its lower right corner and can be expanded to full screen by clicking the icon in the upper right corner. Note: selecting tracks in one window and copying them to another only copies the graphical track structure, which does not contain information about the measure divisions or preset sounds used. This function is most useful when copying and pasting between two windows using the same tempo and library of presets. (As might happen when preparing alternate mixes of the same source material.)
    
    
  • File->Close
    Closes the current document.
    
    
  • File->Open MetaSynth Presets (Cmd-M)
    This opens a MetaSynth preset library. It is usually the first step when creating a new montage.
    
    Remember, when sounds are saved in MetaSynth from a saved preset (save the preset THEN compute and save the sound) MetaSynth suggests a name which MetaTrack can use without needing you to locate the sound. If you have used these default names, just open the preset library and all references are implicit. (The sounds should be in the same folder as the preset library). This is very nice when you get used to it because you won't have to spend locating your samples even if you move the folder or change the enclosing folder's name.
    
    
  • File->Open Sequence (Cmd-O)
    Opens a MetaTrack document, including the library associated with it.
    
    
  • File->Import Sound (Cmd-H) (or double-click on a preset, preferably an empty one)
    Inserts a sample file into the current sound library and computes a graphical representation of it. Sound Designer II (SDII) or AIFF (16-bit) files are supported, but for efficiency, MetaTrack converts any interleaved stereo files to SDII split stereo (i.e., 2 mono files: left and right channels) when it imports them.
    Note: Other formats must be translated before they can be used in MetaTrack.
    
    
  • File->Import All
    Imports all sound files in a selected folder.
    
    
  • File->Save Sequence
    Saves a MetaTrack document, including the library associated with it.
    
    
  • File->Save Sequence As
    Saves a copy of the current document under a different name.
    
    
  • File->Export tracks (Cmd-E)
    Create a separate sound file for each non-muted track. Pan and effect information is used when generating the files but not track volume. The files will all be the length of the montage.
    
    This feature is very handy if you are using MetaTrack to construct a piece but would like to complete the mix in a mixing application such as Pro Tools, Vision, Performer, Cubase or Logic Audio.
    
    Tracks are exported as SDII dual mono files.
    
    All tracks are bounced to disk starting at zero and until the end of the given track. Muted or empty tracks are not included.
    
    
  • File->Quit
    Closes all current MetaTrack documents and quits the MetaTrack application.
    
    
    
• EDIT MENU
  
  • Edit->Cut (Cmd-X)
    Removes selected events from a track and places it on MetaTrack's clipboard.
    
    
  • Edit->Copy (Cmd-C)
    Places selected events on MetaTrack's clipboard without removing it from its location.
    
    
  • Edit->Insert (Cmd-I)
    Inserts events on the clipboard into a track, displacing later events to the right. An event will be inserted into the same track that it was copied from. You set the insertion point by clicking on a point on the measure bar locator at the bottom of the track area.
    
    
  • Edit->Add (Cmd-V)
    Pastes events on the clipboard onto the first track(from top to bottom) that is empty at the insertion point you've selected.
    
    
  • Edit->Clear
    Deletes selected events.
    
    
  • Edit->Clear Measures
    Deletes measures selected with the measure bar locator at the bottom of the track area. All events occurring during those measures will also be removed.
    
    
  • Edit->Select All (Cmd-A)
    Selects all events on the track area.
    
    
  • Edit->Deselect All (Cmd-D)
    
    Deselects all events on the track area.
    
    
  • Edit->Fade In (Cmd-[)
    Applies a volume increase (0 to 100%) across the duration of a selected event. Can be modified with Edit->Event infos.
    
    
  • Edit->Fade Out (Cmd-])
    Applies a volume decrease (100 to 0%) across the duration of a selected event. Can be modified with Edit->Event infos.
    
    
  • Edit->Remove Fades
    Removes a fade applied to a selected event.
    
    
  • Edit->Event infos
    
    
    Displays the information associated with a particular event. : Fades, File reference and Time.
    
    Fade options:
    
    
    • Envelope shape
      By clicking on the Shape pop-up button, you can choose from various fade in/out shapes. Each shape is applied across the duration of an event and a single fade cannot be applied across multiple events. However, the shapes can be further modified by entering different values for the start and end volume % or by clicking and dragging the shape graph. For example, if you wanted to create a linear fade-in across two adjacent events, the first event could fade in from 0 to 50% and the succeeding event could fade from 50 to 100%. Also, symmetrical fade envelopes can be made asymmetrical by setting different values for the In slope % and Out slope %.
      
      
    • Reassign
      The Reassign button allows you to select a sound to occupy a selected event. This function can be used if MetaTrack cannot locate the original sound file you selected for that event. If the sound file has been moved to another directory or renamed, you can browse to this new location and restore the sequence.
      
      Tip: When sounds are imported into MetaTrack, the application generates a sonogram as a pictorial representation of the sound. If the sounds originated in the Image Synth and were saved as presets, the pictures of the sounds will be MetaSynth sound pictures, which can be used to regenerate the sounds they represent in MetaSynth, should the originals be destroyed. If a sound file has been moved, using Reassign (as opposed to Import Audio or double-clicking on an empty preset box) to correct its path will preserve the MetaSynth graphic.
      
      Reassign can also be used to point to a different version of the sound file (for example a processed version) without replacing the original picture representation.
      
      Event time in and outs are displayed in minutes,seconds and milliseconds.
      
      
      
  • Edit->Quantize (Cmd G)
    This command will quantize selected events to the current grid size. Grid size can be changed with Edit->Preferences.
    
    
  • Edit->Play (space bar)
    This command, as clicking the Play button, plays the current montage from the first visible measure.
    
    
  • Edit->Preferences (Cmd P)
    Displays he preferences dialog
    
    
    • Preferences : Samples and pixels in MetaTrack
      Unlike other audio sequencers, MetaTrack does not define tempo in beats per minute (BPM), but in samples per pixel (SPP), instead. SPP defines the number of samples associated with one pixel in a MetaSynth picture. This enables MetaTrack to have a well-defined relationship between time and the visual representation of a sound.
      
      The duration of a sample in MetaTrack is always 1/44100 of a second because of the application's sampling rate of 44100 Hz; however, the duration of a pixel is variable. Changing any of the values in the Preferences window (above) will not alter the playback speed of your sounds but will affect the measures layout.
      
      Converting from Beats per Minute (BPM) to Samples per Pixel (SPP)
      
      To convert from BPM to SPP, use the following equation:
      
      SPP = 44100 x 60 / (pixels per beat x BPM)
      
      Example: to convert 120 BPM to SPP, first note the value for "pixels per measure" in the preferences window. Divide this number by the number of beats you would like to be in a measure to get a value for pixels/beat. If you wanted a piece in 4/4 time at a resolution of 64 pixels per measure, the pixels/beat would be 64/4, or 16.
      
      Next, multiply this number with the BPM to find the pixels per minute. In this case, it would be 16 x 120, or 1920 pixels/minute. Finally, the number of samples per minute in MetaTrack is the sampling rate multiplied by 60 seconds, or 44100 (samples per seconds) x 60 seconds. Divide this large number by the pixels per minute. In our example, the result is 2646000/1920, or 1378.125. Round down to 1378 and enter this value in the "samples per pixel" box to get a 4/4 time signature at 120 BPM.
      
      
      • Samples per pixel
        The Sample per pixel field usually does not need to be changed since it is specified when you create a sound in MetaSynth. When all presets share the same SPP they will align nicely in MetaTrack and can be looped seamlessly.
        
        
      • Pixels per measure
        The pixels per measure defines the measure division system, that is how many pixels are considered being a measure. It can be changed to adjust the measures' numbering. Even multiples of 32 are well suited for 4:4 time signature, while multiples of 24 are appropriate for 6:4 or 3:4. The montage area of the user interface displays a vertical line for each measure. For example a 256 picture will span exactly two measure at 128 pixels per measure.
        
        
      • Grid (in pixels)
        The Grid value sets the current automatic edit quantisation. Event start times will be snapped to the closest grid value.
        Clearly if the grid value equals the pixels per measure you can only place an event at the start of a measure.
        
        
    • Display
      When the option "show file name " is on, sound file names will be shown in selected events regions.
      
      
    • Playing mode
      When the option "scroll in play" is off you can navigate or use the scroll bar independently from the playback. When on, the visualization of the montage simply scrolls along the playback.
      
      
• WINDOWS MENU
  • Lists the MetaTrack files currently open. Selecting a file in the list will make that file active, bringing that file's window to the front.
    

  
  
  

MetaTrack and MetaSynth are trademarks of U & I Software, LLC, all rights reserved.
© 1999, U & I Software

MetaSynth and Xx are trademarks
of U&I Software, LLC,
all rights reserved.
Bryce is a trademark of MetaCreations.
© 1999, U & I Software