14. Tools

Soundprobe has a number of tool to assist in your sound editing experience.

Batch Converter

You can quickly convert many files from one file format to another, for example you may want to convert WAV files to MP3 for use with a portable MP3 player.

To open the batch converter:

• Select Tools > Batch Converter.

To add files to the convert list:

1. Select Add Files to display the open file dialog.
2. Select the files you wish to add.
3. Click Open to add them to the convert list.

To remove a file from the list:

1. Select the file you want to remove from the list.
2. Click Remove to remove it from the conversion list.

To change the convert file format:

1. Select the Format drop-down list.
2. Select the file format from the list.

To change a selected file formats option:

1. Select the file format from the Format drop-down list.
2. Click Options.

Note: not all file formats support options, the Options button will be disabled if it is not supported.

To change the output folder:

1. Click Browse.
2. Select the folder into which you want to save your converted files.
3. Click OK to set the output folder.

To start conversion:

• Click Convert.

Mixing Desk

You can quickly mix many sounds together from loops, bass lines to vocals to create your final mix. The mixing desk works in a similar way to a standard physical mixing desk. You can have as many tracks as your system can handle, hear the mix in real-time or mix them into a new document or file creating your final mixed tune.

Options

To create your mix you need to setup the mixing desk by setting the output quality and options. For speed you can hear the mix in real-time, but for quality

To set the attributes for the mixing:

1. Select the mixer 16-Bit or 32-Bit radio button to set the mixing resolution.
2. Select the mixer Mono or Stereo radio button to set the mixing channels.
3. Set the mixing sampling Rate .

Note: mixing is always done in stereo, selecting Mono will convert the output from stereo to mono by mixing the left and right channels.

To automatically resample all tracks to match the mixing sampling rate:

• Enable the mixer Auto Resample check box.

To mix to a new document:

• Select the mixer New Document radio button.

To mix in real-time while recording to a new document:

• Enable the mixer Real-Time Mixing check box, this will enable you to manually change the the mixing parameters during the mixing.

To mix to a file:

• Select the mixer File radio button.

To mix in real-time only:

• Select the mixer Real-Time Only radio button, this will play the mix without recording it to a document.

To set the length of time for the mix:

1. Deselect the mixer Auto check box.
2. Set the mixer Length.

To automatically set the time of the mix:

• Enable the mixer Auto check box, this will set the time to the longest track in the mix.

Tracks to Tunes

To add a new track:

• Click Add.

To remove a track:

1. Click the tracks tab.
2. Click Remove.

To clear all tracks:

• Click Clear All.

To duplicate a track:

1. Click the tracks tab.
2. Click Duplicate.

To reset a tracks options:

1. Click the tracks tab.
2. Click Reset.

To reset all track options:

• Click Reset All.

To load a mixer file:

1. Click Load.
2. Select the mixer file.
3. Click Open.

To save a mixer file:

1. Click Save As.
2. Select the filename for the mixer file.
3. Click Save.

or

• Click Save.

To append a mixer file to the current tracks:

1. Click Append.
2. Select the mixer file.
3. Click Open.

Mixing

To change the overall settings:

• Click the Master track tab.

To set the volume:

• Set the Left and Right sliders.

To set the tempo:

1. Enable the Tempo check box.
2. Set the Tempo slider.

To equalize the sound:

1. Enable the Equalizer check box.
2. Set the Equalizer sliders.

To delay the start of a track:

1. Enable the Delay Start check box.
2. Enter the delay time into the Delay edit box.

To start from an offset in a track:

• Enter the offset time into the Offset edit box.

To loop a track:

1. Enable the Loop check box.
2. Enter the number of times to loop the track into the Loop edit box.

To set the input channel of a track:

1. Select the Input drop-down list.
2. Select the input channel from the list.

Note: if the sound in the track is mono, the Input drop-down list will be disabled.

To set the output for a track:

1. Select the Output drop-down list.
2. Select the output channel from the list.

To use a document for a track:

1. Select the Document radio button.
2. Select the document from the document drop-down list.

To use a file for a track:

1. Select the track File radio button.
2. Click Browse.
3. Select the file to use for the track
4. Click Open.

Note: only uncompressed file formats can be used for mixing from a file. If you wish to use MP3 files, first convert them to WAV using either the batch converter, or by opening them then using save as to change the format. Alternatively you can open the MP3 file into a document and use the document for the track, you may want to use workspaces for quickly opening document tracks; the documents must already be opened before using the mixer.

Statistics

To select the channel for the statistics:

1. Select the Channel drop-down list.
2. Select the channel from the list.

To change the section of the sound used for the statistics:

• Select the Selection button to display the selection edit dialog.

To recalculate the statistics:

• Select the Recalculate button.

General

To select between a dB display and the sample values:

• Enable or disable the Show dB check box.

Frequency

To set the resolution for the frequency display:

• Set the Resolution slider to the FFT size you want to use.

To set the lowest intensity shown:

• Set the dB Range slider.

To set the window used for the FFT:

1. Select the Window drop-down list.
2. Select the Windowing equation from the list.

To set the magnitude type of the display:

1. Select the Magnitude drop-down list.
2. Select either Linear or a dB magnitude display from the list.

To change between filled and line graph drawing:

• Enable the Filled check box to draw the graph as a solid colour.

Amplitude

To change between filled and line graph drawing:

• Enable the Filled check box to draw the graph as a solid colour.

To change between normalized x-axis and dB:

• Enable or disable the Use dB check box.

RMS

To change between filled and line graph drawing:

• Enable the Filled check box to draw the graph as a solid colour.

To change between normalized x-axis and dB:

• Enable or disable the Use dB check box.

To set the window size used to calculate the RMS values:

1. Select the Window edit box.
2. Enter the time to use for the RMS calculations.

Delta

To change between filled and line graph drawing:

• Enable the Filled check box to draw the graph as a solid colour.

To change between normalized x-axis and dB:

• Enable or disable the Use dB check box.

Loop Crossfader

To create a new loop:

• Click New to add a loop and open the edit region dialog.

See Sound Sections > Creating and Editing Regions .

To edit the current loop:

1. Select the loop from the Loop drop-down list.
2. Click Edit to open the edit region dialog.

See Sound Sections > Creating and Editing Regions .

To select another loop:

• Select the loop from the Loop drop-down list.

To play the current loop:

1. Select the loop from the Loop drop-down list.
2. Click Play to play the loop.

To show the current loop:

1. Select the loop from the Loop drop-down list.
2. Click Zoom to show the loop.

Cross Fading

To cross fade the attack into the loop to smooth the entering into a loop:

1. Enable the Attack-Fade check box.
2. Set the attack-fade Length slider to the time to cross-fade the loops attack.

To cross fade the end of the loop to match the start of the loop for smooth looping:

1. Enable the Pre-Fade check box.
2. Set the pre-fade Length slider to the time to cross-fade the loops end.

To cross fade the post loop section for smooth transitions from a loop:

1. Enable the Post-Fade check box.
2. Set the post-fade Length slider to the time to cross-fade the section after the loop.

To set the cross fade slope type:

• Set the Slope slider, a 0% slope is linear, a 100% slope is curve.

Equalizing

To create a synthesised continuously loopable section of sound from your loop:

1. Enable the Equalize check box.
2. Set the Grains slider to the number of sections to split the loop into for synthesis .

Note: All sections within the loop will be merged together and repeated over the whole loop to give a continuously loopable sound.

Tone Generator

Simple Tones

To create a single sine wave:

1. Set the Base Frequency slider to the sine waves frequency that you want to create.
2. Set the first Level slider to 100%.
3. Set the other Level sliders to 0%.
4. Enter 1 into the first Base X edit box to set the first level as the fundamental frequency .
5. Select the Wave Type drop-down list and select Sine.
6. Enter the time you want to create the sine wave for into the Tone Length edit box.
7. Set the L and R Volume sliders to 0dB.
8. Disable all Variable check boxes to make the tone generation static.
9. Set each Phase edit box to 0.
10. Click OK to create a new document with the sine wave and to close the tone generator dialog.

To create a sine wave with harmonics:

1. Set the Base Frequency slider to the frequency that you want to use for the fundamental frequency.
2. Set the first Level slider to 100%.
3. Set the other Level sliders to: 70%, 50%, 30%, 10%.
4. Enter 1 into the first Base X edit box to set the first level as the fundamental frequency.
5. Enter the following into the other Base X edit boxes: 3,5,7,9.
6. Select the Wave Type drop-down list and select Sine.
7. Enter the time you want to create the sine wave for into the Tone Length edit box.
8. Set the L and R Volume sliders to 0dB.
9. Disable all Variable check boxes to make the tone generation static.
10. Set each Phase edit box to 0.
11. Click OK to create a new document with the sine wave and to close the tone generator dialog.

To set the harmonic frequencies:

1. Set the Base Frequency slider to the frequency that you want to use for the fundamental frequency.
2. Enter the frequency multiple into the Base X edit boxes for each harmonic , for example 2 is double the base frequency.

To set the relative amplitudes of the harmonics:

• Set the Level slider for the Base X harmonic.

Note: the percentages of each level slider is relative to the highest level you set, to change the overall level use the Volume sliders.

To set the fundamental frequency:

• Set the Base Frequency slider.

To set the type of fundamental tone generated:

1. Select the Wave Type drop-down list.
2. Select the fundamental tone type from the list.

To set the length of time to create a tone:

• Enter the time into the Tone Length edit box.

To set the phases used for the tone generation:

• Enter the phase differences in degrees into the three phase edit boxes.

To set the overall volume of the generated tone:

• Set the L and R Volume sliders.

Complex Tones

To create sweeping frequency tones:

1. Set the Base Frequency slider to the sine waves frequency that you want to create.
2. Set the first Level slider to 100%.
3. Set the other Level sliders to 0%.
4. Enter 1 into the first Base X edit box to set the first level as the fundamental frequency.
5. Select the Wave Type drop-down list and select Sine.
6. Enter the time you want to create the sine wave for into the Tone Length edit box.
7. Set the L and R Volume sliders to 0dB.
8. Disable all Variable check boxes except the Variable Frequency check box to make the tone level generation static.
9. Enable the Variable Frequency check box to enable the time variation for the fundamental frequency.
10. Click the Variation button.
11. Select the Type drop-down list and choose the Linear type.
12. Set the Start slider to 200 Hz.
13. Set the End slider to 10000 Hz.
14. Click OK to set the variation and close the variation dialog.
15. Set each Phase edit box to 0.
16. Click OK to create a new document with the tone and to close the tone generator dialog.

To create a siren tone:

1. Set the Base Frequency slider to the sine waves frequency that you want to create.
2. Set the first Level slider to 100%.
3. Set the other Level sliders to 0%.
4. Enter 1 into the first Base X edit box to set the first level as the fundamental frequency.
5. Select the Wave Type drop-down list and select Sine.
6. Enter the time you want to create the sine wave for into the Tone Length edit box.
7. Set the L and R Volume sliders to 0dB.
8. Disable all Variable check boxes except the Variable Frequency check box to make the tone level generation static.
9. Enable the Variable Frequency check box to enable the time variation for the fundamental frequency.
10. Click the Variation button.
11. Select the Type drop-down list and choose the Sine type.
12. Set the Min slider to 1000 Hz.
13. Set the Max slider to 5000 Hz.
14. Select the Period drop-down list and choose the Frequency option.
15. Set the Frequency to 2 Hz.
16. Click OK to set the variation and close the variation dialog.
17. Set each Phase edit box to 0.
18. Click OK to create a new document with the tone and to close the tone generator dialog.

To create a tone envelope:

1. Set the Base Frequency slider to the sine waves frequency that you want to create.
2. Set the first Level slider to 100%.
3. Set the other Level sliders to 0%.
4. Enter 1 into the first Base X edit box to set the first level as the fundamental frequency.
5. Select the Wave Type drop-down list and select Sine.
6. Enter the time you want to create the sine wave for into the Tone Length edit box.
7. Set the L and R Volume sliders to 0dB.
8. Disable all Variable check boxes except the Variable Frequency check box to make the tone level generation static.
9. Enable the Variable Frequency check box to enable the time variation for the fundamental frequency.
10. Select the Variation button.
11. Select the Type drop-down list and choose the Vector type.
12. Set the Min slider to 200 Hz.
13. Set the Max slider to 10000 Hz.
14. Select the Vector Envelope button.
15. Select the map to Apply Time radio button.
16. Enable the Use Variation Dialog Limits check box to use the min and max values you set in the previous dialog as the envelope min and max.
17. Select the Predefined Vectors drop-down list.
18. Select Exponential from the drop-down list to create an exponential envelope.
19. Click OK to set the vector envelope.
20. Click OK to set the variation and close the variation dialog.
21. Set each Phase edit box to 0.
22. Click OK to create a new document with the tone and to close the tone generator dialog.

To add tremolo and other volume effects to the tone:

1. Set the Base Frequency slider to the sine waves frequency that you want to create.
2. Set the first Level slider to 100%.
3. Set the other Level sliders to 0%.
4. Enter 1 into the first Base X edit box to set the first level as the fundamental frequency.
5. Select the Wave Type drop-down list and select Sine.
6. Enter the time you want to create the sine wave for into the Tone Length edit box.
7. Set the L and R Volume sliders to 0dB.
8. Disable all Variable check boxes except the first Base X Variable Level check box.
9. Enable the first Base X Variable Level check box.
10. Select the first Base X Variation button.
11. Select the Type drop-down list and choose Sine.
12. Select the Period drop-down list and choose Period.
13. Set the Period to 1000 ms.
14. Set the Min slider to 0%.
15. Set the Max slider 100%.
16. Click OK to set the variation and close the variation dialog.
17. Set each Phase edit box to 0.
18. Click OK to create a new document with the sine wave and to close the tone generator dialog.

See Effects > Controlling Effects Over Time.

See Also:

• Properties
• Soundprobe Environment
• Viewing Sounds
• Sound Sections
• Sound Input and Output
• Editing
• Effects
• Visualisation