Sams Teach Yourself Acid 3.0 in 24 Hours

448 Pages·2001·10.52 MB·English

by  Gary Rebholz

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Gary Rebholz
Michael Bryant
Teach Yourself
Acid 3.0
24
in Hours
201 West 103rd St.,Indianapolis,Indiana,46290 USA
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Sams Teach Yourself Acid in 24 Hours EXECUTIVEEDITOR
Jeff Schultz
Copyright  2002 by Sams Publishing
DEVELOPMENTEDITOR
All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced,stored in a Kate Small
retrieval system,or transmitted by any means,electronic,mechanical,photo-
MANAGINGEDITOR
copying,recording,or otherwise,without written permission from the pub-
Charlotte Clapp
lisher. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information
contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation PROJECTEDITOR
of this book,the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or Carol Bowers
omissions. Nor is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of
the information contained herein. COPYEDITOR
Alice Martina Smith
International Standard Book Number:0-672-32046-0
INDEXER
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number:00-105838 Sharon Shock
Printed in the United States of America PROOFREADER
Plan-It Publishing
First Printing:August 2001
TECHNICALEDITOR
04 03 02 01 4 3 2 1
Sonic Foundry
Trademarks
TEAMCOORDINATOR
All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service Amy Patton
marks have been appropriately capitalized. Sams Publishing cannot attest to MEDIADEVELOPER
the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be
Dan Scherf
regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark.
INTERIORDESIGNER
Warning and Disclaimer Gary Adair
Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as COVERDESIGNERS
possible,but no warranty or fitness is implied. The information provided is on Aren Howell
an “as is”basis. The author(s) and the publisher shall have neither liability nor Alvaro Barros
responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages aris- PAGELAYOUT
ing from the information contained in this book or from the use of the CD or
Susan Geiselman
programs accompanying it.
Michelle Mitchell
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Contents at a Glance
Introduction 1
I Understanding the Basics
1 Introducing ACID Pro 3.0 7
2 Getting Started 21
3 Basic Mixing 39
4 Saving Your Work 59
II Moving Beyond the Basics
5 Additional Editing Techniques 73
6 Shaping Your Project 93
7 Constructing Your Musical Arrangement 107
III Adding Additional Track Types
8 Working with MIDI Tracks 125
9 Incorporating One-Shot and Beatmapper Tracks 137
10 Scoring to a Video 151
IV Using the Special Construction Tools
11 Editing with the Chopper 173
12 Using Audio FX 189
13 Using the Mixer 207
14 Uncovering Tips and Techniques 231
V Recording
15 Recording and Creating Your Own Loops 251
16 Adding Vocals 265
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VI Delivering Your Creations
17 Creating Mixed Audio and Video Files 281
18 Burning to a CD 299
19 Publishing to ACIDplanet.com 309
20 Creating Music for Flash Movies 323
VII Using the Companion Software
21 Introducing Sound Forge 341
22 Improving and Editing Recordings 359
23 Vegas Audio LE Basics 369
24 Using the Sonic Foundry Virtual MIDI Router 383
Glossary 393
Index 401
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Contents
Introduction 1
PART I Understanding the Basics 5
HOUR 1 Introducing ACID Pro 3.0 7
Making Music with ACID ......................................................................................8
Setting Up the Hardware ........................................................................................9
Minimum System Requirements ......................................................................9
Your Computer Sound Card ..............................................................................9
Your Computer Speakers ................................................................................10
Installing and Registering ACID ..........................................................................10
Understanding the Interface ..................................................................................11
The Menu Bar ..................................................................................................12
The Toolbar ....................................................................................................13
The Time Displays ..........................................................................................13
The Track List ................................................................................................13
The Track View Area ......................................................................................14
The Window Docking Area ............................................................................15
Understanding What’s New in Version 3.0 ..........................................................16
CD Extraction ..................................................................................................16
Beatmapper ......................................................................................................16
Chopper ..........................................................................................................16
Video ................................................................................................................17
MIDI Support ..................................................................................................17
New FX ..........................................................................................................17
New Mixer ......................................................................................................17
Window Docking Area ....................................................................................18
Summary ..............................................................................................................18
Q&A ......................................................................................................................18
Workshop ..............................................................................................................19
Quiz ................................................................................................................19
Quiz Answers ..................................................................................................19
Activities ..........................................................................................................19
HOUR 2 Getting Started 21
Opening Your ACID Project ................................................................................22
Getting Familiar with Your Project ......................................................................26
Using the Track List Area ..............................................................................26
Using the Track View Area ............................................................................26
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vi Sams Teach Yourself Acid in 24 Hours
Task:Understanding the Transport Controls ........................................................27
Previewing Loops ................................................................................................29
Adding Loops to Your Project ..............................................................................30
Arranging Loops on the Timeline ........................................................................31
Task:Creating an Arrangement ............................................................................33
Adjusting the Master Project Settings ..................................................................34
Adjusting Project Tempo ................................................................................34
Adjusting Project Key ....................................................................................34
Summary ..............................................................................................................35
Q&A ......................................................................................................................35
Workshop ..............................................................................................................36
Quiz ................................................................................................................36
Quiz Answers ..................................................................................................36
Activities ..........................................................................................................37
HOUR 3 Basic Mixing 39
Exploring Track Headers ......................................................................................40
Changing Track Order ....................................................................................41
Task:Place Track 9 Between Tracks 2 and 3 ......................................................41
Color-Coding Tracks ......................................................................................42
Task:Color-Coding Your Tracks ..........................................................................43
Maximizing/Minimizing Tracks ......................................................................43
Cutting,Copying,Pasting,and Deleting a Track ............................................44
Naming Your Tracks ........................................................................................44
Resizing Your Tracks ............................................................................................45
Resizing Tracks by Dragging ........................................................................45
Resizing Track Height with Zoom Control ....................................................46
Using Keyboard Shortcuts to Change Track Height ......................................46
Setting the Default Track Height ....................................................................46
Zooming Horizontally ..........................................................................................47
Task:Adjusting Track Time and Height ..............................................................48
Controlling Volume ..............................................................................................50
Adjusting Track Volume ..................................................................................50
Using the Master Control ..............................................................................52
Panning in the Stereo Field ..................................................................................54
Solo and Mute ................................................................................................55
Summary ..............................................................................................................56
Q&A ......................................................................................................................56
Workshop ..............................................................................................................57
Quiz ................................................................................................................57
Quiz Answers ..................................................................................................57
Activities ..........................................................................................................57
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Contents vii
HOUR 4 Saving Your Work 59
Saving an ACID Project ........................................................................................60
Saving for the First Time ................................................................................60
Copying the Media ..........................................................................................60
Opening the Save As Dialog Box ..................................................................62
Saving Your Project as an ACID Archive ........................................................62
Exporting Loops ..................................................................................................63
Rendering Your Project ........................................................................................63
Choosing a File Format ..................................................................................64
Choosing a Template ......................................................................................66
Saving the Loop Region ..................................................................................66
Exporting Tracks for Use with Other Software ..............................................66
Publishing Your Songs to the Internet ..................................................................67
Summary ..............................................................................................................68
Q&A ......................................................................................................................68
Workshop ..............................................................................................................68
Quiz ................................................................................................................68
Quiz Answers ..................................................................................................68
Activities ..........................................................................................................69
PART II Moving Beyond the Basics 71
HOUR 5 Additional Editing Techniques 73
Duplicating a Track ..............................................................................................74
Task:Duplicating a Track ....................................................................................75
Changing the Pitch of a Track ..............................................................................76
Task:Creating a Harmony Track ..........................................................................77
Adjusting the Start Offset of an Event ................................................................77
Task:Creating Effects with Offset ......................................................................79
Changing the Pitch of an Event ............................................................................81
Task:Shifting the Pitch of an Event to Create Harmony ....................................82
Automating Your Mix with Envelopes ................................................................84
ASR Envelopes ................................................................................................84
Track Volume Envelopes ................................................................................85
Task:Customizing a Track Volume Envelope ......................................................86
Track Pan Envelopes ......................................................................................87
Task:Applying a Pan Envelope ............................................................................88
Track Assignable FX and Bus Envelopes ......................................................89
Envelope Options ............................................................................................89
Hiding and Removing Envelopes ....................................................................90
Summary ..............................................................................................................90
Q&A ......................................................................................................................91
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viii Sams Teach Yourself Acid in 24 Hours
Workshop ..............................................................................................................91
Quiz ................................................................................................................91
Quiz Answers ..................................................................................................92
Activities ..........................................................................................................92
HOUR 6 Shaping Your Project 93
Making Selections on the Timeline ......................................................................94
Selecting Events ..............................................................................................94
Selecting a Time Range ..................................................................................95
Selecting a Combination of Time and Events ................................................96
Trimming Edges ..................................................................................................96
Working with Snapping ........................................................................................97
Snapping Options ............................................................................................97
Grid Spacing ....................................................................................................98
Task:Editing Edges with and Without Snapping Enabled ..................................98
Splitting Events ....................................................................................................99
Splitting Events at the Cursor ........................................................................99
Splitting Events at a Time Selection ............................................................100
Task:Splitting Events ........................................................................................101
Working with Beat Markers ..............................................................................102
Renaming Markers ........................................................................................103
Navigating to Markers ..................................................................................103
Using Undo/Redo History ..................................................................................103
Summary ............................................................................................................104
Q&A ....................................................................................................................104
Workshop ............................................................................................................105
Quiz ..............................................................................................................105
Quiz Answers ................................................................................................105
Activities ........................................................................................................105
HOUR 7 Constructing Your Musical Arrangement 107
Using Key-Change Markers ..............................................................................108
Task:Combining Key Changes with Event Pitch Shift ....................................109
Adding Tempo Changes ....................................................................................110
Task:Experiment with Tempo Changes ............................................................111
Rearranging Events ............................................................................................112
Moving Events Using the Mouse ..................................................................112
Using Cut,Copy,Paste,and Delete ..............................................................113
Using the Paste Repeat Command ................................................................113
Using the Paste Insert Command ..................................................................114
Editing in Ripple Edit Mode ........................................................................115
Locking Envelopes with Events ....................................................................116
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Contents ix
Task:Copying and Pasting an Envelope with the Event ....................................116
Using Region Markers ......................................................................................117
Creating Regions ..........................................................................................118
Task:Creating Regions ......................................................................................118
Copying and Pasting Project Regions ..........................................................119
Using Regions to Construct an Arrangement ................................................119
Task:Copying and Pasting Regions ..................................................................119
Summary ............................................................................................................121
Q&A ....................................................................................................................121
Workshop ............................................................................................................122
Quiz ..............................................................................................................122
Quiz Answers ................................................................................................122
Activities ........................................................................................................122
PART III Adding Additional Track Types 123
HOUR 8 Working with MIDI Tracks 125
Understanding MIDI ..........................................................................................126
Type 0 Files ..................................................................................................127
Type 1 Files ..................................................................................................128
Adding a MIDI file ............................................................................................128
Considering Three Different MIDI Scenarios ....................................................128
Using External MIDI Hardware ....................................................................129
Using a Sound Card Synthesizer ..................................................................130
The Good News and the Bad News ..............................................................130
DLS to the Rescue ........................................................................................130
Assigning a Track to the Desired DLS ..............................................................132
Using the MIDI Filter ........................................................................................132
Task:Adding a MIDI Track ................................................................................133
Recording MIDI Tracks ......................................................................................134
Summary ............................................................................................................134
Q&A ....................................................................................................................135
Workshop ............................................................................................................135
Quiz ..............................................................................................................135
Quiz Answers ................................................................................................135
Activities ........................................................................................................136
HOUR 9 Incorporating One-Shot and Beatmapper Tracks 137
Adding Longer Files to Your Project ..................................................................138
Extracting Audio from a CD ..............................................................................139
Choosing Between Beatmapper and One-Shot Tracks ......................................140
Choosing the One-Shot Option ....................................................................140