3. Getting Sounds into Soundprobe

Sounds can be brought into Soundprobe by opening a variety of file formats, or by recording a sound directly from your Windows input device . Soundprobe also has a tone generator which will enable you to create simple synthetic sounds. Sounds may also be copied from other applications via the Windows clipboard and used within Soundprobe.

Opening Sounds

Soundprobe supports the following file formats: ACM Wave, Amiga IFF (16SV & 8SVX), Apple AIFC, Apple AIFF, AVR, MPEG Audio (Lame), Raw PCM data, RIFF Wave, Studio 16.

To open a file:

• Double-click on the sound file's icon.

or

• Right-click on the sound file's icon or its name and select Open or Open With.

or

• Select File > Open from within Soundprobe.

Soundprobe handles sounds internally in 32 bits. To retain this high quality when editing and applying effects you can automatically convert all bit resolutions upon loading a sound. Naturally, this alone will not improve the quality of the original file. However, it will mean that there is no reduction in quality during the file's time in Soundprobe.

To automatically convert all files to 32-bit upon loading:

1. Select Tools > Properties.
2. Click the Editing tab.
3. Enable the Open All Files As 32-bit option.
4. Click OK to set the changes.

Using the Open Dialog

The Open dialog enables you open a sound file into Soundprobe. From this dialog you can play the sound before opening it to ensure that you have the sound you wanted. Only sound file formats supported by Soundprobe are displayed in the File of Type drop-down list.

To show only files of a specific format:

1. Select the File of Type drop-down list.
2. Select the file format type from this list to make Soundprobe display only these file types in the Open dialog.

To show all file formats supported by Soundprobe:

• Select File of Type > All Supported.

To show all files types:

• Select File of Type > All Files.

To change file type options:

1. Select the file format type from the File of Type drop-down list.
2. Select the Options button to change the options for this type.

Note: only some file formats support options; if not supported the options button will be disabled.

To play a file:

1. Select the file from the file list.
2. Select the Play button to play the file.

Note: Only file formats supported by Soundprobe will be played.

To stop playing a file:

• Click the Stop button; this button is displayed only when a file is playing.

To automatically play a file:

1. Enable the Auto Play option.
2. Select the file you wish to play and, if this format is supported by Soundprobe, it will begin playing.

To load a file:

1. Select the file from the file list.
2. Click the Open button to load it into Soundprobe.

To load multiple files:

1. Select the first file from the file list.
2. Hold down the CTRL key and select the other files, or use the SHIFT key to select a block of files.
3. When all the required files are selected, click the Open button to load them into Soundprobe.

 Workspaces

By using workspaces you can quickly load and save collections of sounds you are working with, or automatically load the last set of sounds you were working on. Soundprobe enables you to save all the information which makes up the workspace, i.e. which documents you have open, their window positions and number of views and graph modes.

To save a workspace:

1. Select File > Save Workspace.
2. Use the file dialog to select a filename for your workspace.
3. Click Save to save the workspace information.

To load a workspace:

1. Select File > Open Workspace.
2. Use the file dialog to select the workspace file to load.
3. Click Open to load the workspace information.

To automatically save and load the workspace between sessions:

1. Select Tools > Properties.
2. On the General tab, enable the Open Default Workspace at Startup option.
3. When you exit Soundprobe, all the currently open documents and views information will be saved to a default workspace file which will be automatically loaded next time Soundprobe starts.

Recording

Soundprobe enables you digitally record the sound from your Windows input device. This can be recorded into a new document and then saved to create a new sound file.

The Windows input device uses your sound card. Please check that you have the latest driver for your sound card to ensure that your hardware operates with maximum quality and compatibility.

To change your sound card input:

1. Double-click on the Volume icon in your system tray which is usually located on the right-hand side of your Windows taskbar.
2. Select Options > Properties in the Volume Control menus.
3. Select Adjust volume for > Recording.
4. Click OK to display the recording options.
5. From this dialog you can select the type of input to use for recording and the input volume.

Note: If you are not sure on how to use the Volume Control, please consult the Windows help and your sound card manual.

Using the Easy Recording Dialog

For quickly recording a sound from your Windows input device , Soundprobe has a small recording dialog which gives you fast access to the basic recording options. For more detailed recording, use the Advanced Recording dialog.

To open the Easy Recording dialog:

• Select the Record icon from either the control bar or the Play toolbar .

Note: If the Advanced Recording dialog appears, deselect the Always use Advanced option, then close the Advanced Recording dialog and click the Record icon again.

To change the recording attributes:

1. In the Easy Recording dialog, click the Attributes button to display the Recording Attributes dialog.
2. Change the recording attributes.
3. Click OK to set the attributes.

To record to a new document:

1. In the Easy Recording dialog, select the Record To drop-down list.
2. Select New Document.
3. Click Record to begin recording.

To record to the current document:

1. In the Easy Recording dialog, select the Record To drop-down list.
2. Select Active Document.
3. Click Record to begin recording.

To record to a selection:

1. In the Easy Recording dialog, select the Record To drop-down list.
2. Select Current Selection.
3. Click Record to begin recording.

Note: If Current Selection option is not available then you have no selection within the currently active view.

To open the Advanced Recording dialog:

• In the Easy Recording dialog, click Advanced to display the Advanced Recording dialog.

Using the Recording Dialog

When you click Record in either the Easy Recording or Advanced Recording dialog, the Recording dialog appears. From here you can actively control your recording.

To show the VU meter:

• In the Recording dialog, click the VU Meter radio button.

Note: The response of the VU meter depends on the size of the input buffer set on the Hardware tab in the Properties dialog.

To hide the VU meter:

• In the Recording dialog, click the Disable radio button.

To pause the recording at the current recording position:

• In the Recording dialog, click the Pause button.

To continue recording from the paused position:

• In the Recording dialog, click the Continue button.

Note: the Continue button only appears when a recording is paused.

To restart the recording from the start of the document:

• In the Recording dialog, select the Restart button.

To stop recording and close the Recording dialog:

• In the Recording dialog, select the Stop button.

or

• Select the Recording dialog's close icon.

Using the Advanced Recording Dialog

The Advanced Recording dialog provides more control over your recording, enabling you to do timed recording, continuous recording and to fine-tune the recording procedure.

To record a fixed length of time:

1. In the Advanced Recording dialog, set the Mode drop-down list to Fixed Length.
2. Under Length, enter the length of the sound you wish to record.
3. Click Record to begin recording.

Note: If you are recording a new document you can specify only the length. The start and end edit controls will be enabled only for Active Document mode.

To record for an indefinite time:

1. In the Advanced Recording dialog, set the Mode drop-down list to Indefinite Length.
2. Click Record to begin recording.

To continuously record a fixed length of time:

1. In the Advanced Recording dialog, set the Mode drop-down list to Fixed Length.
2. Under Length, enter the length of the sound you wish to record.
3. Enable the Continuous Recording option to tell Soundprobe to continuously record the fixed length until you stop recording.
4. Click Record to begin recording.

Note: If you are recording a new document you can specify only the length. The start and end edit controls will be enabled only for Active Document mode.

To delay recording:

1. In the Advanced Recording dialog, enable the Delay Record option.
2. Enter the amount of time by which you wish to delay the recording.
3. Click Record to begin the delayed recording. Soundprobe will wait for the time you have specified before beginning to record.

To record into the active document at a given time:

1. In the Advanced Recording dialog, enable the Timer Record option to enable the timer controls.
2. Enter the time and date at which you would like to start recording.
3. Click Record to open the Timer Record dialog; this displays the remaining time before recording will begin and enables you to start the recording manually if you wish.

To trigger recording from the input sound level:

1. In the Advanced Recording dialog, enable the Trigger check box to enable the Trigger button.
2. Click the Trigger button to open the trigger dialog.
3. Select the triggering options for starting and ending recording.

To automatically calibrate the gain of the recording:

1. In the Advanced Recording dialog, enable the Gain option to enable the gain controls.
2. Click the Calibrate button to automatically calculate the gain.

Note: To correctly calibrate the gain automatically you need to pass a sound into your input device which is a good representative of the loudest section you will record.

To manually calibrate the gain of the recording:

1. In the Advanced Recording dialog, enable the Gain option to enable the Gain controls.
2. Under Left and Right, enter the gain ratio.

Note: It can be helpful to use the VU meter to monitor your sound while changing the gain; this enables you to see the change of sound level with the new gain settings.

To automatically calibrate the DC offset of the recording:

1. In the Advanced Recording dialog, enable the DC Adjust option to enable the DC controls.
2. Click the DC's Calibrate button to automatically calculate the offset.

To enable or disable the VU meter:

• Enable or disable the Monitor option.

To change time format displayed:

1. In the Advanced Recording dialog, use the Input Format drop-down list to select the new time format.

To change the recording attributes:

1. In the Advanced Recording dialog, click the Attributes button to display the Recording Attributes dialog.
2. Change the recording attributes.
3. Click OK to set the attributes.

To record to a new document:

1. In the Advanced Recording dialog, use the Record To drop-down list to select New Document.
2. Click Record to begin recording.

To record to the current document:

1. In the Advanced Recording dialog, use the Record To drop-down list to select Active Document.
2. Click Record to begin recording.

To record to a selection:

1. In the Advanced Recording dialog, use the Record To drop-down list to select Current Selection.
2. Click Record to begin recording.

See Also:

• Soundprobe Environment
• Viewing Sounds
• Sound Sections
• Editing
• Sound Input and Output
• Saving Sounds