Sony Acid Music Studio 7.0 Quick Start Manual Musicstudio7 Qsg Enu

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Quick Start Manual

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April 5, 2007
After ACID® Music Studio™ software is installed and you start it for the first time, the
registration wizard appears. This wizard offers easy steps that allow you to register the
software online with Sony Creative Software Inc.
Registering your product will provide you with access to a variety of technical support
options, notification of product updates, and special promotions exclusive to
registered ACID® Music Studio™ users.

Registration assistance
If you do not have access to the Internet, registration assistance is available during
normal weekday business hours. Please contact our Customer Service department by
dialing one of the following numbers:
Telephone/Fax

Country

1-800-577-6642 (toll-free)

US, Canada, and Virgin Islands

+608-204-7703

for all other countries

1-608-250-1745 (Fax)

All countries

Customer service/sales
For a detailed list of customer service options, we encourage you to visit
http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/support/custserv.asp. Use the following
numbers for telephone support during normal weekday business hours:
Telephone/Fax

Country

1-800-577-6642 (toll-free)

US, Canada, and Virgin Islands

+608-204-7703

for all other countries

1-608-250-1745 (Fax)

All countries

Technical support
For a detailed list of technical support options, we encourage you to visit
http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/support/default.asp. To listen to your support
options by telephone, please call 608-256-5555.

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About your rights in ACID software
ACID software is licensed to you under the terms of the End User License Agreement.
The End User License Agreement is first presented to you when you install the software.
Please review the End User License Agreement carefully as its terms affect your rights
with respect to the software. For your reference, a copy of the End User License
Agreement for ACID software is located at
http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/.

About your privacy
Sony Creative Software Inc. respects your privacy and is committed to protecting
personal information. Your use of the software is governed by the Software Privacy
Policy. A copy of this policy is incorporated into the registration process and you are
asked to agree to its terms prior to accepting the terms of the End User License
Agreement. Please review its contents carefully as its terms and conditions affect your
rights with respect to the information that is collected by the software. For your
reference, a copy of the Software Privacy Policy is located at http://
www.sonycreativesoftware.com/corporate/privacy.asp.

Proper use of software
ACID software is not intended and should not be used for illegal or infringing purposes,
such as the illegal copying or sharing of copyrighted materials. Using ACID software for
such purposes is, among other things, against United States and international
copyright laws and contrary to the terms and conditions of the End User License
Agreement. Such activity may be punishable by law and may also subject you to the
breach remedies set forth in the End User License Agreement.

Legal notices
Vegas, Vegas+DVD, DVD Architect, Vegas Movie Studio, Vegas Movie Studio+DVD, DVD
Architect Studio, ACID, Music Studio, ACIDized, Super Duper Music Looper, Jam Trax, Sony
Sound Series, Chopper, Groove Mapping, Groove Cloning, Media Manager, CD Architect,
Sound Forge, Audio Studio, Cinescore, Acoustic Mirror, Noise Reduction, Wave 64, Wave
Hammer, and XFX are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Creative Software Inc,
or its affiliates in the United States and other countries.
Thomson Fraunhofer MP3
MPEG Layer-3 audio coding technology licensed from Fraunhofer IIS and Thomson.
Supply of this product does not convey a license nor imply any right to distribute content
created with this product in revenue generating broadcast systems (terrestrial, satellite,
cable and/or other distribution channels), streaming applications (via internet, intranets
and/or other networks), other content distribution systems (pay-audio or audio on
demand applications and the like) or on physical media (compact discs, digital versatile
discs, semiconductor chips, hard drives, memory cards and the like).
An independent license for such use is required. For details, please visit: http://
mp3licensing.com.

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Microsoft DirectX programming interface
Portions utilize Microsoft® DirectX® technologies. Copyright © 1999 – 2007 Microsoft
Corporation. All rights reserved.
Microsoft Windows Media 9
Portions utilize Microsoft Windows Media® technologies. Copyright © 1999 – 2007
Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Real, RealMedia, RealAudio, and RealVideo applications
2007 RealNetworks, Inc. Patents Pending. All rights reserved. Real®, Real Media®,
RealAudio®, RealVideo®, and the Real logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of
RealNetworks, Inc. in the United States and other countries.
MPEGLA and MPEG 2
USE OF THIS PRODUCT IN ANY MANNER THAT COMPLIES WITH THE MPEG-2 STANDARD IS
EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED WITHOUT A LICENSE UNDER APPLICABLE PATENTS IN THE MPEG-2
PATENT PORTFOLIO, WHICH LICENSE IS AVAILABLE FROM MPEG-LA, LLC, 250 STEELE
STREET, SUITE 300, DENVER, COLORADO 80206.
Manufactured under license from MPEG-LA.
Dolby, Dolby Digital AC-3, and AAC encoding
This product contains one or more programs protected under international and U.S.
copyright laws as unpublished works. They are confidential and proprietary to Dolby
Laboratories. Their reproduction or disclosure, in whole or in part, or the production of
derivative works therefrom without the express permission of Dolby Laboratories is
prohibited. Copyright 1992 – 2007 Dolby Laboratories. All rights reserved.
Dolby®, the double-D symbol, AC-3®, and Dolby Digital® are registered trademarks of
Dolby Laboratories. AAC™ is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories.
PNG file format
Copyright © 2007. World Wide Web Consortium (Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics, Keio University). All
rights reserved. This work is distributed under the W3C Software License in the hope that
it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTIBILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal/2002/copyright-software-20021231.
Apple QuickTime
Apple® QuickTime® application is a trademark of Apple, Inc. in the United States and other
countries.
Apple Macintosh Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) file format.
Apple® Macintosh® Audio Interchange™ File Format (AIFF) is a trademark of Apple, Inc. in
the United States and other countries.
Targa file format
The Targa™ file format is a trademark of Pinnacle Systems, Inc.
Tagged Image File Format (TIFF)
Adobe Tagged Image™ File Format is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems
Incorporated in the United States and other countries. All rights reserved.
Main Concept encoder
Main Concept® plug-in is a trademark of registered trademark of Main Concept, Inc. in the
United States or other countries. All rights reserved.

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Macromedia Flash
Macromedia and Flash are trademarks or registered trademarks of Macromedia, Inc. in the
United States and/or other countries.
Gracenote
CD and music-related data from Gracenote, Inc., copyright © 2000-2007 Gracenote.
Gracenote Software, copyright 2000-2007 Gracenote. This product and service may
practice one or more of the following U.S. Patents: #5,987,525; #6,061,680; #6,154,773,
#6,161,132, #6,230,192, #6,230,207, #6,240,459, #6,330,593, and other patents issued or
pending. Services supplied and/or device manufactured under license for following Open
Globe, Inc. United States Patent 6,304,523.
Gracenote and CDDB are registered trademarks of Gracenote. The Gracenote logo and
logotype, MusicID, and the “Powered by Gracenote” logo are trademarks of Gracenote.

Sony Creative Software Inc.
1617 Sherman Avenue
Madison, WI 53704
USA

The information contained in this manual is subject to change without notice and does
not represent a guarantee or commitment on behalf of Sony Creative Software Inc. in
any way. All updates or additional information relating to the contents of this manual
will be posted on the Sony Creative Software Inc. web site, located at
http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/. The software is provided to you under the
terms of the End User License Agreement and Software Privacy Policy, and must be
used and/or copied in accordance therewith. Copying or distributing the software
except as expressly described in the End User License Agreement is strictly prohibited.
No part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or for any
purpose without the express written consent of Sony Creative Software Inc.
Copyright 2007. Sony Creative Software Inc.
Program Copyright 2007. Sony Creative Software Inc. All rights reserved.

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Table of
Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Welcome to ACID Music Studio software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
System requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Installing ACID Music Studio software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Using online help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Online help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Show Me How tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Help on the Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Learning the ACID Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Overview of ACID Music Studio software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Main window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Track list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Track view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Starting Projects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Getting started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Setting project properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Opening existing projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Getting media files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Previewing media from the Explorer window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Adding media to the project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Working with Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Adding and editing events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Painting events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Changing the length of events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Erasing sections of events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Moving events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Making selections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Selecting an event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Selecting multiple events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Working with events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Copying events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Pasting events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Cutting events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Deleting events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Working with tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Understanding clip types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Reordering tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
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Renaming tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Duplicating tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Deleting tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Copying, cutting, and pasting tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Adjusting the mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Muting tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Soloing tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Working with groups of tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Using undo and redo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Using undo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Undoing all edits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Using redo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Clearing the undo history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Playing the project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Using the transport bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Using playback options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Using the metronome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Using the Mixer window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Viewing the Mixer window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Recording. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Recording Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Preparing to record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Recording into an empty track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Monitoring audio levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Recording MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Setting up a MIDI controller for recording into a track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Recording MIDI in real time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Using MIDI step recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Saving and Rendering Projects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Saving a project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Specifying locations for saved media files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Rendering projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i

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Chapter 1 Introduction
Welcome to ACID Music Studio software
Congratulations on purchasing ACID® Music Studio™, a revolutionary
software application for Microsoft® Windows®. With ACID Music Studio, you
can create great music by simply picking, painting, and playing.

System requirements
The following lists the minimum system requirements for using ACID Music
Studio software:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Microsoft Windows XP or Windows Vista™
800 MHz processor (1 GHz if using video)
200 MB hard-disk space for program installation
256 MB RAM
Microsoft Windows-compatible sound card
DVD-ROM drive (for installation)
Supported CD-recordable drive (for CD burning only)
Microsoft DirectX® 9.0c or later.
You must provide your registration information to Sony Creative Software
Inc. to activate the software.

Installing ACID Music Studio software
1. Insert the DVD-ROM. The setup screen appears (if DVD-ROM AutoPlay is
enabled).
If DVD-ROM AutoPlay is not enabled, click the Start button and choose
Run. In the Run dialog that appears, type the DVD-ROM drive’s letter
and add :\setup.exe. Click OK to start the installation.
2. Click Install. The installation process begins.
3. Follow the on-screen prompts to install the appropriate version of the
software for your computer.
Note: Windows Installer is used for all versions of the Windows operating
system. Windows Installer is installed and then you are asked to restart your
system.

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Using online help
For the most extensive information on the ACID application, please refer to the help.
You can access two varieties of help within the application:
• Online help
• Show Me How tutorials

Online help
To access online help, choose Contents and Index from the Help menu or press F1.
Toolbar
Tabs

Information pane

The Contents tab provides a list of available help topics. Double-click a closed book ( )
to open the pages and then click a topic page ( ).
The Index tab provides a complete listing of the help topics available. Scroll through
the list of available topics or type a word in the Type in the keyword to find box to
quickly locate topics related to that word. Select the topic and click Display.
The Search tab allows you to enter a keyword and display all of the topics in the online
help that contain the keyword you have entered. Type a keyword in the Type in the
word(s) to search for box and click List Topics. Select the topic from the list and click
Display.
The Favorites tab allows you to keep topics that you revisit often in a separate folder. To
add a topic to your favorites, click Add on the Favorites tab.

4 | INTRODUCTION

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Show Me How tutorials
You can learn more about many of the features in ACID Music Studio by using the
interactive Show Me How tutorials installed with the software.
By default, Show Me How tutorials display upon startup of the application. However,
you can access them at any time from the Help menu by choosing Show Me How.
Tip: To turn off automatic display of the Show Me How tutorials, clear the Show at
Startup check box at the bottom of the tutorial window.

Help on the Web
Additional information is available on the Sony Creative Software Inc. Web site. From
the Help menu, choose Sony on the Web, and choose the desired location from the
submenu. The software starts your system’s Web browser and attempts to connect to
the appropriate page on the Sony Web site.

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6 | INTRODUCTION

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Chapter 2 Learning the ACID Window
Overview of ACID Music Studio software
ACID® Music Studio™ music creation software is designed to be powerful
and flexible, yet easy to use. Many of the ACID Music Studio operations,
commands, and shortcut keys are common to other Sony Creative Software
Inc. applications.
The following sections provide a tour of the ACID Music Studio work area.

Main window
The ACID Music Studio workspace includes three main areas: the track list,
the track view (or timeline), and the window docking area. The other parts
of the interface are tools and features used while creating and working with
your project. You can resize the track list, track view, and window docking
area by dragging the dividers between them.
Dividers

Timeline

Marker
bar

Toolbar

Track
view

Track list

Transport
bar

Explorer, Track Properties,
and Chopper windows

Mixer and Video Preview windows

Toolbar
The toolbar allows you to quickly access commonly used functions and
features in ACID Music Studio software.

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Track list
This list identifies the track order in your project and contains the track’s controls.
Arm for Record
Track FX

Track number/type

Mute

Track name

Solo

Paint Clip Selector
MIDI Output

MIDI Input

Pan slider
Volume slider

View buttons

Track view
In the track view, you can view and edit the events in a track. The area in which events
display is the timeline. The track view contains other elements which are described in
the following sections.
Loop bar

Marker bar
Beat ruler

Zoom
controls

Transport bar

Time ruler (if displayed)

Marker bar
The marker bar runs the length of your project and contains the tags for markers and
regions positioned along the project’s timeline.

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Beat ruler
The beat ruler allows you to place events in reference to the musical time of bars and
beats. This ruler is fixed and does not update when you change the tempo. This allows
the events in the tracks to maintain their size when you adjust the tempo.

Time ruler
The time ruler provides a timeline for your project. This ruler can show real time in
many different formats. The ruler changes with tempo, since the number of beats and
beats per second of real time changes with tempo.

Transport bar
The transport bar contains the playback and cursor positioning buttons frequently
used while working on your project.

Zoom controls
To the right of the horizontal scroll bar are the time zoom controls. Clicking the Zoom In
Time button ( ) increases the horizontal magnification of the project. To decrease the
level of magnification, click the Zoom Out Time button ( ).
Directly below the vertical scroll bar are the dedicated track height zoom controls.
Clicking the Zoom In Track Height button ( ) increases the vertical magnification of
the project. To decrease the level of magnification, click the Zoom Out Track Height
button ( ).
Note: Double-clicking the horizontal or vertical scroll bars adjusts the magnification
so that as much of the project (either horizontally or vertically) is displayed as possible.
Click the Zoom Tool button ( ) in the corner of the track view to temporarily change
the cursor into the Zoom tool. After you select an area of the track view to magnify, the
cursor reverts to the previously active tool.
Note: Double-clicking the Zoom tool adjusts both the horizontal and vertical
magnification so that as much of the project is displayed as possible.

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Chapter 3 Starting Projects
Now that you have a basic understanding of the interface and controls
found in the software, you are ready to begin creating an ACID® Music
Studio™ project.

Getting started
Double-clicking the ACID Music Studio icon

on the desktop starts the

software. You can immediately begin building your ACID project using the
application’s default project properties. However, you may prefer to
customize the project properties prior to beginning the project.

Setting project properties
ACID Music Studio software allows you to configure project properties and
add summary information prior to beginning a project. Choosing New from
the File menu displays the New Project dialog. This dialog contains two
tabs: Summary and Audio. Selecting the Start all new projects with these
settings check box configures the software to use the parameters and
information in both tabs as defaults when starting all subsequent projects.
Note: You can edit project audio properties and summary information at
any time. Choose Properties from the File menu to display the Project
Properties dialog, which contains the identical tabs and parameters as the
New Project dialog.

Using the Summary tab
This tab allows you to enter information about the project. These boxes may
be left blank or if information exists, you may change it at any time.

Using the Audio tab
This tab allows you to set the sample rate, bit depth, and recording folder
for your project’s audio.

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Opening existing projects
1. From the File menu, choose Open. The Open dialog appears.
2. Choose a drive and folder from the Look in drop-down list.
3. Select a file in the browse window or type a name in the File name box. Detailed
information about the selected file appears at the bottom of the dialog box.
4. Choose a file type from the Files of type drop-down list to limit the files displayed
in the dialog box.
5. Click Open.
Note: If one of the media files cannot be located when you open an ACID project,
you can choose to leave the media offline and continue to edit events on the track.
The events point to the location of the source media file. If you restore the source
media file at a later time, the project opens normally.

Opening ACID projects with embedded media
When you open an .acd-zip project, the project file and all media files are copied to the
temporary files folder.
Any changes you make to the project are saved to the files in this temporary folder until
you save the .acd-zip file again. For more information, see Saving a project on page 35.

Getting media files
Now that you’ve created a new project or opened an existing project, the next step is to
add media to the project. You can use the Explorer window to locate, preview and add
media to your project. You can also extract audio from a CD or download media from
the Web.

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Previewing media from the Explorer window
The Explorer window allows you to preview files in looped playback at the current
project tempo before adding them to your project. You can also preview files in the
Explorer in conjunction with playing your project, thereby allowing you to preview how
a file will sound in the project.
To preview files, use the Start Preview ( ), Stop Preview (
buttons at the top of the Explorer window.

), and Auto Preview (

)

Preview your projects with these buttons

The Explorer window

Previewing a media file
1. Select the media file in the Explorer window that you want to preview.
2. Click the Start Preview button ( ). The media file begins looped playback. You can
monitor its levels on the preview bus.
3. Click the Stop Preview button (

) to end playback.

Previewing multiple media files
You can also use the Explorer’s multiple-selection preview feature to preview a group of
files in the order that you select them.

Using Auto Preview
Click the Auto Preview button ( ) to toggle automatic playback of media files when
you select them in the Explorer. If your project is currently playing when you select a
new file, the new file plays back along with your project. This feature allows you to
listen to the media file in the context of your project.

Adding media to the project
You must add media files to a project before you can paint, arrange, and process them.
When you add a file to a project, a new track is created to accommodate it. New tracks
are added at the current volume of the Preview fader in the Mixer window, unless you
have set a default track volume level.

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There are several methods of adding media files to a project.
Note: Before using long Beatmapped or long one-shot files from CDs or shared
network folders, copy the media to your local drive for the best possible performance.

Adding media files from the Explorer window
You can use the Explorer window, which operates similarly to the Windows® Explorer,
to locate media files for use in projects. Display the Explorer, if needed, by choosing
Explorer from the View menu, or by pressing Alt+1.
There are three ways to add media files from the Explorer window:
• Double-click the desired file.
• Drag the file from the Explorer to the track view or track list. Dragging a file from the
Explorer to the track name of an existing track allows you to replace the original file
with the new file, while all events remain in place.
• Right-click and drag a file to the track view or track list to specify the type of media or
clip to be created. When you drop the file, a shortcut menu appears that allows you
to choose whether to treat the file as a loop, one-shot, Beatmapped track, or as an
autodetected type.

Selected media in
Explorer window

Adding media files from the Open dialog
There are three ways to add media files from the Open dialog:
• Select the desired file and click Open.
• Right-click the selected file and choose Select from the shortcut menu.
• Double-click the selected file.

Selected media in Open dialog

Adding media files from outside the application
You can also add a media file to a project by dragging it from Windows Explorer to the
track view.

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Adding multiple media files simultaneously
To add multiple media files to the project, Ctrl+click (or Shift+click) to select the files
and drag them to the track view or the track list.

Extracting media files from CD
You can extract 44,100 Hz, 16-bit, stereo data from CDs. Extracted CD tracks are added
to new tracks in your ACID project.
1. Insert a CD in the CD-ROM drive.
2. From the File menu, choose Extract Audio from CD. The Extract Audio from CD
dialog appears.
3. If you have more than one CD drive, choose the CD drive that contains the audio
you want to extract from the Drive drop-down list.
4. From the Action drop-down
list, choose how you want to
extract audio:
•

•
•

Choose Read by track and
select each track you want
to extract. Each track is
extracted to a new track in
your project.
Choose Read entire disc
to extract the current CD
to a single file.
Choose Read by range
and enter a starting time
and ending time (or a
starting time and length).
The time range is
extracted to a new track in
your project.

Click Play to preview your selection. In order to preview, your CD drive’s audio
output must be connected to your sound card, or you can connect headphones to
the front of the CD drive.
5. Click the MusicID button if you want to obtain CD information using Gracenote
MusicID.
If CD information is not available, you can click the CD Info button to display a
dialog box where you can edit the CD information and submit it for inclusion in the
Gracenote Media Database.
6. From the Speed drop-down list, choose the speed at which you want to extract
audio.
7. Click OK. The Save As dialog appears.

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8. Enter a file name and choose a location for the new file(s).
Tip: Extracted tracks can be automatically named for you. From the Options
menu, choose Preferences, and on the General tab, select the Autoname
extracted CD tracks check box.
9. Click Save to start extracting audio.
CD data extraction begins and a progress meter is displayed. If the file is longer
than 30 seconds, the Beatmapper™ Wizard appears.
10. Use the Beatmapper Wizard or choose to open the file as a one-shot. The extracted
file is added to a track.
You can also double-click a CDA file in the Explorer window (or drag it to the track view)
to extract a CD track without opening the Extract Audio from CD dialog.
Note: When adding media from multiple CDs, you may need to press F5 to refresh
the Explorer window to view the new CD’s contents.

Downloading media files from the Web
The Get Media from the Web command allows you to view and download various
audio and video files available on the Internet.
1. From the File menu, choose Get Media from the Web.
2. Choose an icon from the left frame to specify the media provider from which you
want to download files.
3. Preview the file, select the file you want to open and click Download. The Browse
for Folder dialog appears.
4. Select a folder for the download. The selected file is downloaded to the folder
specified in the Destination box.
5. When you are finished downloading, close the Get Media from the Web dialog. The
file is added to your project.
Click Show Details to display additional information about your download. In this
mode, you can add files to a download queue, specify where the downloaded files
should be stored, and monitor the progress of your downloads. Click Start to begin
downloading queued files, or click Hide Details to return to basic mode.

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Chapter 4 Working with Projects
This chapter provides the basics you need to begin working with events and
tracks.

Adding and editing events
You have added media to the project, and tracks have been created for the
media files. Now you can add events to the track view. The following
sections describe three basic techniques used when working with audio
events: painting, deleting, and moving.

Painting events
After you add a media file to your project, you must paint it on the timeline
in order to hear it. When you paint on the media file’s track, you create an
event that displays the file’s waveform. You can paint events on the timeline
using either the Draw tool
or the Paint tool .
Note: Media files must be added to the project before either of these tools
can be used to paint events.
Clips can also be painted on the timeline with the Draw and Paint tools.
You can add one or multiple clips to a track.
Tips:
• The Draw tool adds events to a single track at a time.
• You can drag the Paint tool across multiple tracks to create events on
several tracks at once.

Adding clips to tracks
Drag a file from the Explorer window to an existing track in the timeline to
add a clip to the track and add an event where you drop the clip. The new
clip is set as the active clip for creating events with the Draw
or Paint
tool.

You can drag single-stream MIDI files to a track to add clips. When you drag
multistream MIDI files to a track, tracks and events are created.

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You can also record into a track to create a new clip.
If a track has multiple clips, events will be created using the active clip.
Tips:
• When the Paint tool is selected, hold Ctrl while clicking to paint the entire
media file as an event.
• When painting MIDI or one-shot clips, you can click the down arrow next to
the Paint tool to set the length of events that will be created when you drag
with the Paint tool.

Setting the active clip and creating events
It is simple to set active clips and create events with ACID.
1. Click the Paint Clip Selector button in the track header. A menu is displayed to list
the track's current clips.

2. Choose a clip from the menu. The selected clip is used for creating events with the
Draw or Paint tool.

Placing events with the Draw tool
The Draw tool is the most common method of placing events on the timeline. This tool
allows you to add track-specific events, one at a time. In addition, you can use the Draw
tool to select, edit, and move events.
1. Click the Draw Tool button ( ) or choose Editing Tool from the Edit menu and
choose Draw from the submenu. The pointer displays as a pencil icon.
2. Place the Draw tool at the left edge of any track containing a media file.
3. Click and hold the mouse button while dragging the Draw tool to the right. A
waveform representing the event appears on the timeline as you drag the mouse.
Notice that if you are placing a loop file on the timeline, small indentations appear
along the top and bottom edges of the event indicating the start and end points of
each individual loop.
Note: Events can be also be drawn from right (end) to left (beginning).
4. Release the mouse button to end the event.

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5. Click the Play from Start button (

Place the Draw
Tool on the
Timeline where
you want to add
an event.

) on the transport bar. The event plays back.

Drag the Draw
Tool on the
Timeline to
draw the event.

Painting events with the Paint tool
Unlike the Draw tool, the Paint tool allows you to quickly paint multiple events across
several tracks. This can be useful when you need to quickly add several seemingly
random events to a project. The Paint tool is also best used for painting multiple oneshot events that will be evenly spaced on the grid lines.
1. Click the Paint Tool button ( ) or choose Editing Tool from the Edit menu and
choose Paint from the submenu. The mouse pointer displays as a brush icon.
2. Click and hold the mouse button while dragging the Paint tool randomly across the
several tracks. Notice that events are painted in every grid space the Paint tool
contacts.
3. Release the mouse button to stop adding events.
4. Click the Play from Start button (

Place the Paint
Tool on the
Timeline where
you want to
add an event.

) on the transport bar. All new events play back.

Drag the Paint
Tool on the
Timeline to
paint the event.

Tip: With the Paint tool selected, you can use Ctrl+click to paint an entire event for oneshot, Beatmapped, and MIDI tracks.

Changing the length of events
After an event is painted on the track view, you may discover that it is too long or not
long enough; however, ACID® Music Studio™ software makes it easy to change the
length of an event. You may find it helpful to turn snapping options on by choosing
Snapping from the Options menu and choosing Enable from the submenu.
To alter an event’s length, click the Draw Tool button ( ) and drag either end of the
event. When you drag the event past the end of the file, looped files repeat, but oneshot and Beatmapped tracks draw silence.
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Original event

Drag the end of
the event...

...to increase its length.

Erasing sections of events
Occasionally you may need to delete only specific sections of an event and leave the
rest of it intact. The easiest method of deleting a section of an event is to use the Erase
tool.
1. Click the Erase Tool button ( ) or choose Editing Tool from the Edit menu and
choose Erase from the submenu. The pointer displays as an eraser icon.
2. Drag in the track view to delete event data.

Place the Erase Tool on
the event that you
want to erase.

Click the Erase Tool on
the event to erase the
event.

Tip: With the Erase tool, you can delete an entire one-shot, Beatmapped, or MIDI event.
Just hold Ctrl while you click the event.

Moving events
The position of the left edge of an event indicates when the event becomes audible
during playback. You can move events along the timeline either individually or as a
group.
In addition, you can stack events on top of one another. A longer event placed over a
smaller event conceals the smaller event and makes it inaudible. A smaller event placed
over a larger event is audible and renders the section of the longer event it covers
inaudible.
1. Click the Draw Tool button (

).

2. Click the event to be moved. The event is highlighted to indicate that it is selected.
Tip: You can hold Ctrl or Shift to select multiple events.
3. Drag the event to a new location on the track.

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Making selections
You must select events before you can move or edit them.

Selecting an event
1. Click the Draw Tool button (

).

2. Click an event. The event is highlighted.

Selected event

Selecting multiple events
You have several methods for selecting multiple events:
•
•
•
•
•

Press Ctrl or Shift while clicking events.
Use the Select All on Track command.
Use the Select Events to End command.
Use the Select All command.
Use the Selection tool.

Working with events
In this section, you’ll learn about basic event editing techniques such as cutting,
copying, pasting, trimming, splitting, and joining events.
Prior to performing the procedures in these sections, verify that the Ripple Edits
function is turned off. Ripple Edits are an extremely powerful editing option and their
scope is beyond that of this chapter. Verify that Ripple Edits is not selected in the
Options menu.

Copying events
Copying an event, a time selection, or event within a time selection places an exact
copy of the selected event(s) on the clipboard, but leaves the track view unchanged.
Events copied to the clipboard can be pasted in the project an unlimited number of
times. In addition, clipboard content remains on the clipboard until replaced by new
content.
1. Select the event data you want to copy or make a time selection. For more
information, see Making selections on page 21.
2. Click the Copy button (

) (Ctrl+C) on the toolbar.

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Pasting events
The clipboard’s contents can be pasted in a project an unlimited number of times.
However, an event is always pasted in the track it was copied/cut from. In addition,
pasting the contents of the clipboard over an existing event results in the pasted event
overlapping the existing event. To avoid pasting over existing events, you have two
options:
• Use the Paste Insert command.
• Turn on ripple editing.
When events are cut/copied to the clipboard and subsequently pasted into a project,
the time data inherent in the cut/copied events is maintained and pasted as well. For
example, if you select two events on the same track that are separated by five seconds
of silence, copying and pasting these events results in the five seconds of silence also
being pasted into the project.

Original events

Pasted events

Taking this concept a step further, if you select discontinuous events from several
tracks, copying and pasting these events results in any selected time data being pasted
into the project as well. This maintains the relative position of events in the project.

Original events

Pasted events

Using the Paste command
1. Place the cursor at the desired position on the timeline.
2. Click the Paste button (

) (Ctrl+V) on the toolbar.

Cutting events
Cutting an event, a time selection, or an event within a time selection removes the
audio data from the track view and places it on the clipboard. Once data is placed on
the clipboard, it can be pasted back into the project an unlimited number of times.
Clipboard content remains on the clipboard until it is replaced by new data.
1. Select the event data you want to cut or make a time selection. For more
information, see Making selections on page 21.
2. Click the Cut button (

) (Ctrl+X) on the toolbar.

All selected events are removed from the track view and placed on the clipboard.

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Deleting events
Deleting an event, a time selection, or an event within a time selection removes the
data from the track view and discards it. Deleted events are not placed on the clipboard
and do not replace or interfere with current clipboard content. In addition, deleted
events cannot be pasted back into a project.
Note: Deleted data can only be replaced in a project using the Undo command. For
more information, see Using undo on page 27.
1. Select the event data you want to delete or make a time selection. For more
information, see Making selections on page 21.
2. Press Delete.
All selected events are removed from the track view and discarded.

Working with tracks
A new track is automatically created for each media file added to a project, and all
events placed on the track derive from that file. Because of this, you can use track-level
functions to affect every event on the track. The following sections explain several basic
track functions and features.

Understanding clip types
When you add media to a project, a new track is created for the file. Depending on the
type of media you add, one of four clip types is created to accommodate it: loop, oneshot, Beatmapped, or MIDI. You can identify a track’s type by looking at the paint clip
selector icon in the track header.
Clip type icons
Loop
One-shot
Beatmapped
MIDI (if Loop button

is selected in the Clip Pool)

MIDI (if Loop button is not selected

in the Clip Pool)

You can also add multiple clips to one track. If you want to use one track for all the
guitar loops in your project, you can create a single guitar track and add each guitar
loop as a separate clip. When a track has multiple clips, the Draw and Paint tools create
events using the active clip. For more information, see Setting the active clip and creating
events on page 18.

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A single audio track can contain any combination of loops, one-shots, or Beatmapped
clips. MIDI tracks can contain only MIDI clips
Loops
Loops are small chunks of audio that are designed to create a continuous beat or
pattern when played repeatedly. They are usually one to four measures long. Loops are
the type of file that you will use most frequently.

One-shots
One-shots are chunks of audio that are not designed to loop, and they are streamed
from the hard disk rather than stored in RAM if they are longer than three seconds.
Things such as cymbal crashes and sound bites could be considered one-shots.
Unlike loops, one-shots do not change pitch or tempo with the rest of a project.

Beatmapped
When you add a file that is longer than thirty seconds to a project, the Beatmapper™
Wizard starts, allowing you to add tempo information to the file. As a result, these tracks
respond to tempo and key changes just like loops.

MIDI
A MIDI track is created when you open a MID, SMF, or RMI file. You can use MIDI tracks to
record data from and play back through synthesizers and other MIDI-compliant
equipment.

Reordering tracks
When building an ACID Music Studio project, you may want to reorder the tracks to
place similar instruments in proximity to one another. For example, placing all drum
loops together in the track view makes it easier for you to fine-tune the mix of the
song’s overall drum sound.
1. Drag the track header to a new location in the track list. A heavy black horizontal
line appears on the track list to indicate where the track will be placed.
2. Release the mouse button. The track is dropped in the new location and the entire
track list/track view adjusts accordingly.
Tip: You can reorder multiple tracks by holding Ctrl or Shift while selecting tracks and
dragging the tracks as a group.

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Renaming tracks
To rename a track, right-click the track name and choose Rename from the shortcut
menu, or double-click the track name. Renaming a track applies to the project only and
does not change the file associated with the track.

Duplicating tracks
To duplicate a track, right-click it and choose Duplicate Track from the shortcut menu.
An exact copy of the track and its events are created and added below the original track
in the project. The words “Copy of” appear before the name of the duplicate track to
identify it in the track list.

Deleting tracks
You can delete unnecessary tracks from a project by selecting the track and using any
of the following methods:
• Choose Delete from the Edit menu.
• Right-click a track and choose Delete from the shortcut menu.
• Press Delete.

Copying, cutting, and pasting tracks
Copying a track places an exact copy of the selected track on the clipboard, but leaves
the track view unchanged. To copy a track, click the Copy button ( ) (Ctrl+C) on the
toolbar.
Cutting a track removes it from the track view and places it on the clipboard. To cut a
track, click the Cut button ( ) (Ctrl+X) on the toolbar.
Tracks that are copied or cut to the clipboard can be pasted back into the current
project or into a different project an unlimited number of times. This is a useful way to
share tracks between different compositions. To paste a track, in click the Paste button
( ) (Ctrl+V) on the toolbar.

Adjusting the mix
Use the sliders to adjust the mix of a specific track.

Volume slider

Pan slider

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Click the slider label to choose what you want to adjust.
Function

Description

Volume

Controls how loud a track is in the mix. A value of 0 dB means that the
track plays with no boost or cut from ACID Music Studio software.
Dragging the fader to the left cuts the volume; dragging to the right
boosts the volume.
Controls the position of a track in the stereo field. Dragging the fader to
the left places the track in the left speaker more than the right, while
dragging the fader to the right places the track in the right speaker.

Pan

Because true stereo panning is used, you can introduce clipping when
panning a track to the left or right. Unlike a left/right balance control—
which simply decreases the volume of one channel—the default panning
mode actually adds the audio from one channel to the other. When
panning a track, adjust the track volume accordingly.

Once you have chosen what you want to adjust, drag the fader to adjust the level. You
can hold Ctrl or Shift to select multiple tracks and move the faders together as a group.
Note: When adjusting the mix of your tracks, remember to look at the meters on the
mixer. Because you are adding the volumes of all the tracks together, it is easy to clip the
audio output. Make sure that the meters never display the red clip indicator during
playback.

Muting tracks
Each track has a Mute button ( ). Clicking this button shades the corresponding track
(to indicate that it is muted) and renders it inaudible during playback. Clicking the
Mute button a second time returns the track to its original level in the mix. Togglemuting a track is an effective way of determining whether a track contributes to the
overall sound of a project.
You can also press Z to mute a track or group of tracks.
Tip: Press Ctrl and click the Mute button to mute only the selected track (and restore
any other muted tracks). If the selected track is already muted, press Ctrl and click the
Mute button to restore all tracks.

Soloing tracks
Located next to the Mute button, the Solo button ( ) allows you to isolate tracks in a
project during playback. When you click this button during playback, the
corresponding track remains audible and all other tracks are muted. Clicking the Solo
button a second time returns all tracks to their original levels in the mix. Toggle-soloing
a track is an effective method of configuring and previewing isolated track effects
against how they sound in the project.

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You can also press X to solo a track or group of tracks.
Tip: Press Ctrl and click the Solo button to solo only the selected track (and restore
any other soloed tracks). If the selected track is already soloed, press Ctrl and click
the Solo button to restore all tracks.

Working with groups of tracks
Select a group of tracks by holding the Ctrl key while you click the track header of the
desired tracks. Now you can adjust the volume, panning, track color, and other track
attributes simultaneously.

Using undo and redo
You have unlimited undo and redo capabilities in ACID Music Studio projects. Each edit
you perform is added in the project to an undo history, which allows you to quickly
restore the project to any of its previous states. In addition, undoing an edit
automatically places it in the project’s redo history where it can be quickly reperformed. However, any new edit performed on the project overwrites the redo
history.
Note: The undo and redo histories are cleared when you close the project or exit the
application.

Using undo
To undo an edit, click the Undo button ( ) on the toolbar or press Ctrl+Z. Edits are
undone in the reverse order they were performed.

Undoing a series of edits
Clicking the down arrow next to the Undo button ( ) displays the project’s undo
history. The history displays as a drop-down list with the most recent edit located at the
top. Undoing an edit in the list requires all subsequent edits to be undone as well.
1. Click the arrow to the right of the Undo button (

). The undo history appears.

2. Locate the edit to be undone. Notice that all subsequent edits are automatically
selected and the total number of edits to be undone is indicated at the bottom of
the drop-down list.
3. Click the edit to be undone. The project is restored to the state it was in prior to the
selected edit.

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Undoing all edits
Choosing Undo All from the Edit menu undoes all project edits and automatically adds
them to the redo history.

Using redo
To redo an edit, click the Redo button ( ) on the toolbar or press Ctrl+Shift+Z. Edits
are re-performed in the reverse order they were undone.

Redoing a series of edits
Clicking the down arrow next to the Redo button ( ) displays the project’s redo
history. The history displays as a drop-down list with the most recently undone edit
located at the top. Redoing an edit in the list requires all subsequently undone edits to
be re-performed as well.
1. Click the arrow to the right of the Redo button (

). The redo history appears.

2. Locate the edit to be redone. Notice that all subsequently undone edits are
automatically selected and the total number of edits to be redone is indicated at
the bottom of the drop-down list.
3. Click the edit to be redone. The project is restored to the state it was in prior to the
selected undone edit.
Note: Clicking the desktop outside the drop-down list cancels the redo operation.

Clearing the undo history
You can clear the undo and redo histories without closing the project or exiting the
application. After the histories are cleared, new ones are created as you continue
building the project.
1. From the Edit menu, choose Clear Undo History. A confirmation dialog appears,
alerting you that this action permanently deletes the current edit histories.
2. Click Yes to clear the edit histories or No to retain the current edit histories.

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Playing the project
You have several methods for playing your projects.

Using the transport bar
All buttons required to play your project are located on the transport bar. The transport
bar should look somewhat familiar to you, as it contains buttons found on most home
CD and cassette players. For more information, see Transport bar on page 9.

Using playback options
As you build a project, you will likely have different playback needs. For example, you
may want to hear the project in its entirety when checking the final mix, but not when
you are working on the ending. Because of this, you have three playback options:
• Playing the entire project.
• Playing from the cursor position.
• Playing in looped playback.
Playing the entire project
To begin playback from the beginning of the project, click the transport bar’s Play From
Start button ( ) or press Shift+Space. To stop playback, click the transport bar’s Stop
button ( ) or press Space.

Playing from the cursor position
To begin playback from the current cursor position, click the transport bar’s Play
button( ) or press Space. To stop playback, click the transport bar’s Stop button (
or press Space.

)

Playing in looped playback
You can also limit playback to a specific loop region on the track view. This playback
method uses the transport bar’s Loop Playback button ( ) and allows you to finetune mixes and effects while continually listening to the selected area. For more
information, see Transport bar on page 9.
1. Drag the handles of the loop bar to create the desired loop region.

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Handle

Loop bar

2. Click the Loop Playback button (

) to turn on looped playback.

3. Click the transport bar’s Play button ( ) or press Space. Playback of the selected
area begins. To stop playback, click the transport bar’s Stop button ( ) or press
Space.

Using the metronome
You can use the ACID Music Studio metronome feature to keep time during playback. If
you have the Metronome button ( ) enabled on the toolbar, the metronome will
automatically play when you start playing your project.
The metronome sounds are created by the general MIDI sound set, and the volume of
the metronome during playback is determined using the Preview fader in the Mixer.
The metronome’s sound is not mixed in the final rendering of the project.

Using the Mixer window
The Mixer window is displayed in the lower-right corner of the ACID Music Studio
workspace. The Mixer window contains the following controls:
• A Preview fader, which allows you to adjust the loudness of media files previewed
from the Explorer window, Track Properties window, or the Chopper tool. Also, the
Preview fader’s volume determines the volume of new tracks added to the project,
unless you have set a default track volume level. This allows you to set up a quick mix
while you are adding media to your project.
• A Master bus fader, which controls the overall volume.
• Faders for up to 32 soft synth controls when added to the project.
For more information about using the Mixer controls, check the online help (from the
ACID Music Studio Help menu, choose Contents and Index).

Viewing the Mixer window
The Mixer window appears by default when you start the ACID Music Studio software,
but you can hide it if necessary. To view or hide the Mixer window, choose Mixer from
the View menu or press Alt+3. A check mark appears adjacent to the command to
indicate when the window is displayed.

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Chapter 5 Recording
ACID® Music Studio™ software can record audio into multiple mono or stereo audio tracks
while simultaneously playing back existing audio and MIDI tracks. You are limited only by the
performance of your computer system and audio hardware. Audio is recorded to a media file
on your computer and into an event on the timeline. You may record into an empty track, a
time selection, an event, or a combination of time and event selection. Audio output from
your computer during recording is not necessarily recorded with the new audio.
You can also record into multiple MIDI tracks and MIDI step recording.

Recording Audio
Preparing to record
Before you record, you must arm the tracks into which you will record the new audio. You
must also select the recording settings for the tracks. You have the additional options of
using a metronome or turning off playback during recording.
You may record into an empty track, a time selection, an event, or a combination of time and
event selection. You can also record multiple takes for an event so you can maintain multiple
versions of an event that you may play back and edit.

Arming the track for recording
Whether recording into an existing track, an empty track, a selected event, or a time
selection, you must prepare a track for recording. You can arm multiple tracks prior to
recording.
Click the Arm for Record button (

) in the track list.

Once a track is armed, a record meter appears in the track list. Depending on your hardware,
a record gain fader may also appear.

Arm the track first.

Track is ready for recording.

In addition, one of two Record Device Selector buttons appears: ( ) or (
). The button
that appears is based on the Audio device type selected in the Audio tab of the Preferences
dialog.
Button
Stereo
Mono left

Description
This button appears when Use Microsoft® Sound Mapper™ has been selected as
the audio device type on the Preferences Audio tab. The Sound Mapper allows
you to choose how the signal will be recorded: stereo or mono. Click this button
to view a menu with Stereo, Left, or Right.

Mono right

RECORDING | 31

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Button

Description

This button appears when the Windows® Classic Wave Driver or an ASIO device
Stereo
has been selected as the audio device type on the Preferences Audio Device
Mono left tab. When you choose this option, you can specify which device (e.g., sound
card) you will record from on any given track prior to recording. Click this button
Mono right
to view a menu with Stereo or Mono, and a submenu with all available devices
for either option.

Recording into an empty track

1.
2.
3.
4.

Select a track. Alternately, to record to a new track, choose Audio Track from the Insert menu.
Place the cursor on the timeline where you want to begin recording.
Arm the track by clicking the Arm for Record button (
Start recording by clicking the Record button (

) on the track.

) on the transport bar.

Depending on the recording selection, a waveform is created along the timeline as you record into the
armed track(s).

Start/stop recording

Recorded
waveform

Stop recording

5. Stop recording by clicking the Record button (

) again or the Stop button (

) on the transport

bar.

6. A dialog displays the name and location of the file or files that were just created. Click Done to return
to the main workspace.

Delete—removes selected file
Rename—changes the name of a selected file
Delete All—removes all files in dialog
Done—returns to track view
When a check mark appears in this box,
ACID software displays this dialog after
each recording session.

Monitoring audio levels
While you’re recording, a responsive meter is provided in
the track header to monitor the incoming signal level of the
selected recording device. It is important that you record
with the highest signal possible without clipping.
A reading of 0 dB is the maximum for a digital signal. Clipping occurs when the incoming signal is too high
to be represented as a digital value. The result is distortion in the recording. A clipped signal will be
indicated by a red Clip warning at the end of the meters.
Right-click the meters and choose a command from the shortcut menu to adjust the display of the meters.

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Recording MIDI
You can use an external MIDI controller (or the keyboard/drum list between the track header and timeline)
to record MIDI into your ACID Music Studio project.
You can record in real time during project playback or use step recording to build MIDI tracks.

Tip: If you use the keyboard/drum list between the track header and timeline to input MIDI notes, note
that the buttons are velocity sensitive: clicking toward the right side of a button plays the note with a
higher velocity setting than clicking toward the left side. The keyboard/drum list is visible in inline MIDI
editing mode.

Important: Attempting to record MIDI controller data over an existing event will overwrite existing note
data.

Setting up a MIDI controller for recording into a track

1. Select the MIDI track you want to record into, or press Ctrl+Alt+Q to add a new, blank MIDI track to
your project.

2. Choose a MIDI input port by clicking the MIDI Input button on the track header. Choose a command
from the menu:

3.

• Auto Input
— Uses automatic input routing.
• Input Off
— Turns off MIDI input to the track.
External MIDI Device Preferences — This opens the MIDI tab of the Preferences dialog.

4. Choose a MIDI input channel:
•
•

Click the MIDI Input button on the track header.
Choose MIDI Channel from the menu, and choose the MIDI channel you want to send data to the
track, or choose All if you want the track to listen to all channels.

5. Click the MIDI Input button on the track header and choose Send MIDI Input Thru to MIDI Output
from the menu if you want to echo notes from the MIDI controller to the track's MIDI device or soft
synth for monitoring.

Recording MIDI in real time
You can record MIDI in real time while your project plays back.

1. Connect a MIDI controller to your computer. If you don't have a MIDI controller, you can use the
keyboard in the track view (when in MIDI timeline editing mode) or the keyboard in the Soft Synth
Properties window.

Note: Not all VSTi plug-ins can record using the keyboard in the Soft Synth Properties window.

2. Select the Arm for Record buttons

on the tracks where you want to record. Arming a track enables

it for recording.

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3. Choose a MIDI input device and channel for each armed track. For more information, see Setting
up a MIDI controller for recording into a track on page 33.
4. Set up any desired MIDI message, velocity, or quantize filters for your armed tracks.
5. Position the cursor where you want to start recording.
6. Click the Record
button on the transport bar to start recording. MIDI messages from your
controller are recorded as you play them.
•
•

Notes are added to an event in the timeline.
MIDI controller adjustments (such as pitch wheel and modulation wheel movements) are
recorded as track envelopes.
MIDI controllers are recorded in latch mode: envelope points are created when you change a
control setting, and recording continues until you stop playback. When you stop adjusting the
control, the control's current setting overwrites the existing envelope points.

Note: Envelope points are not thinned when recording MIDI controllers from a hardware device.

7. To stop recording, click the Record

button again or click the Stop
button on the transport bar.
A new clip is created for the recorded MIDI data on each armed track. You can use the Clip Pool tab in
the Track Properties window to manage clips.

Note: You can also record into time selections, punch into MIDI events, or record multiple clips (when
recording into a selection with Loop Playback

selected) in the same way you record audio.

Using MIDI step recording
Click the MIDI Step Record
button to open the MIDI Step Record dialog, where you can record by
specifying the interval between MIDI messages. Step recording allows you to record notes with very
precise timing.

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Chapter 6 Saving and Rendering Projects
Saving a project
Though ACID® Music Studio™ software provides you with the tools to
quickly build impressive musical projects, you may find yourself building
elaborate projects over a period of weeks or even months. While you are
working on a project, you should save it in the software’s native format, the
ACID project file (.acd).
Important: If you use this version of ACID Music Studio software to save a
project originally created in an earlier version of ACID software, it will be
unusable in earlier versions of ACID software. Use the Save As dialog to save
the project with a new name after editing it.
When you are finished building a project, you can render projects in a
variety of formats. You should determine the project’s final format (or
formats) based on how you will deliver the media. For example, you would
render to a streaming media format if you plan to publish your project to
the Internet.
Note: Be aware that projects containing MIDI files that are routed to
external MIDI ports must be rerouted to internal DLS soft synths to be
included in the rendered mix.
An ACID project file (.acd) is the default file format for saving a new project
and should be used for saving unfinished projects. There are two ACID
project file types.
Format

Extension Description

ACID Project File

.acd

ACID Project with
Embedded Media

.acd-zip

Contains all information regarding the
project including track layout, envelope
settings, and effects parameters. However,
this type of file does not contain actual audio,
only references to the audio files.
Contains all information regarding the
project including track layout, envelope
settings, and effects parameters. In addition,
all audio files used in the project are
embedded into the project file.
If you save a project in .acd-zip format, the
project file and all media files are copied to a
temporary files folder. If you continue to
work on your project after saving the .acd-zip
file, your changes are saved to the files in this
temporary folder.

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1. To save a file, display the Save As dialog using any of the following options:
•
•
•

Click the Save button ( ) on the toolbar.
From the File menu, choose Save.
Press Ctrl+S.

2. From the Save in drop-down list, choose the drive and folder where the file will be
saved.
3. Enter a name for the project in the File name box.
4. From the Save as type drop-down list, choose the desired ACID project file type.
5. If you want to save a copy of each of the project’s media files to the same location
as your project file, select the Copy all media with project check box. This is
available when saving as an ACID project file.
6. Click Save. The project is saved.
Note: Once the project is saved, you can use the Save As command from the File
menu to create a copy of the project with a new name or save to a different ACID
project file format.

Specifying locations for saved media files
You can use the Folders tab on the Preferences dialog to specify locations for saving
your project media files, such as MIDI or extracted CD data. Once you set these
locations, ACID Music Studio software automatically defaults to the specified folders
when saving project media. To set folder preferences, choose Preferences from the File
menu and click the Folders tab.

Rendering projects
Rendering refers to the process of converting the ACID Music Studio project into a file
that is formatted for a specific playback method. Possible playback methods include
media player applications, Internet streaming media, CD-ROM, and CD audio. When an
ACID project is rendered, it is not overwritten, deleted, or altered, and you are able to
return to the original project to make changes and re-render. To begin rendering a
project, choose Render As from the File menu.

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Index
Explorer window, 12–15
Extracting media from CD, 15

A
Adding
Events, 17
Media to projects, 13
Adjusting the mix, 25
Arming tracks to record, 31
Audio properties tab, 11
Audio recording, 31

G
Getting media from the Web, 16

H
Help, 4–5

I

B

Installation, 3
Beat ruler, 9
Beatmapped tracks, 24
Bit depth, 11

C

L
Looped playback, 29
Loops, 24

M
CD

Main window, 7
Markers
Marker bar, 8
Media files
Adding to projects, 13
Downloading from the Web, 16
Extracting from CD, 15
Previewing in Explorer, 13
Metronome
during playback, 30
MIDI, 24
Merge recording, 34
Recording, 33
Recording in real time, 33
Setting up a MIDI controller for recording into a
track, 33
Step recording, 34
Mixer window, 30
Moving
Events, 20
Tracks, 24
Multipurpose slider, 25
Muting tracks, 26

Extracting media, 15
Clips
Adding to tracks, 17
Setting the active clip and creating events, 18
Types, 23
Copying
Events, 21
Tracks, 25
Cutting
Events, 22
Tracks, 25

D
Deleting
Events, 20, 23
Tracks, 25
Downloading media from the Web, 16
Drawing events, 18
Duplicating tracks, 25

E
Editing events, 21
Erasing events, 20
Events
Changing length, 19
Copying, 21
Cutting, 22
Deleting, 23
Editing, 21
Erasing, 20
Moving, 20
Painting, 17
Pasting, 22
Selecting, 21

O
One-shots, 24
Online help, 4
Opening
Media files, 13
Projects, 12

P
Painting events, 17, 19
Panning tracks, 25

INDEX | i

musicstudio7_qsg.book Page ii Wednesday, April 4, 2007 3:09 PM

Pasting
Events, 22
Tracks, 25
Playback, 29
entire project, 29
from cursor position, 29
looped, 29
Playing projects, 29
Preparing to record, 31
Previewing media
Explorer window, 13
Projects
Adding media, 13
Opening, 12
Playing, 29
Properties, 11
Rendering, 36
Saving, 35
Starting, 11
Properties, 11

R
Recording, 31
Arming tracks, 31
MIDI in real time, 33
MIDI tracks, 33
Preparing to, 31
Setting up a MIDI controller, 33
Starting and stopping, 32
Using MIDI merge recording, 34
Using MIDI step recording, 34
Redo, 28
Renaming
Tracks, 25
Rendering
Projects, 36
Reordering tracks, 24
Ripping tracks from CD, 15

S
Sample rate, 11
Saving projects, 35
Selecting events, 21
Setting the active clip and creating events, 18
Show Me How, 5
Soloing tracks, 26
Summary properties tab, 11
System requirements, 3

T
Time ruler, 9
Toolbar, 7
Track list, 8

ii | INDEX

Track view, 8
Tracks
Adding clips to, 17
Adjusting mix, 25
Adjusting several simultaneously, 27
Copying, cutting, pasting, 25
Deleting, 25
Duplicating, 25
Muting, 26
Panning, 25
Renaming, 25
Reordering, 24
Soloing, 26
Volume, 25
working with, 23
Transport bar, 9
Tutorials, 5

U
Undo, 27
Undo history, 28

V
Volume
Project, 30
Track, 25

W
Windows
Explorer, 12–15
Main, 7
Mixer, 30

Z
Zoom controls, 9



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