LOOP EDITOR USER GUIDE

Transcription

1 LOOP EDITOR USER GUIDE

2 DEVELOPED IN MINNEAPOLIS COPYRIGHT BY AUDIOFILE ENGINEERING, LLC All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior consent of the publisher.

3 THE GUIDE AT A GLANCE 1 INTRODUCTION 2 QUICKSTART 3 LOOP EDITOR USING LOOP EDITOR 5 TOOLS 6 APPLESCRIPT

4 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

5 CHAPTER 1 / INTRODUCTION LOOP EDITOR 2 Loop Editor 2 is a simple music loop editing tool. It is the perfect replacement for Apple Loops Utility. Loop Editor supports all audio file formats file formats that that support support loop loop points: points: Apple Apple Loops Loops (CAF (CAF & AIFF), & AIFF), ACID (WAV &W64), ACID (WAV AIFF & and W64), WAV. AIFF Additionally, and WAV. Additionally, Loop Editor supports Loop Editor forward, supports forward-backward, forward, forward-backward, and backward and backward looping. Loop looping. Editor Loop is one Editor of is the one only of the applications only applications available available which which supports supports sustain sustain and release and release loops. Loop loops. Editor allows you to view, add, edit and export Slices. It also supports advanced property editing capabilities such as the "Genre" and Loop "Descriptors" Editor allows properties you to view, for add, Apple edit Loops and export Files. For Slices. those of you that It also work supports with Propellerhead advanced property Reason editing and ReCycle, capabilities we have such as included the our "Genre" ReCycle and Converter "Descriptors" tool properties which converts for Apple ReCycle Loops files files. (REX For & those RX2) of for you use that in work Loop with Editor. Propellerhead Reason and ReCycle, we have included our ReCycle Converter tool which converts ReCycle files (REX & RX2) for use in Loop Editor. The most important addition to to Loop Editor 2 is is full support for AppleScript. AppleScript makes Loop Editor even more powerful by by allowing you you to automate complex workflows and and simplify the the process process of working of working with large with numbers large numbers of files. of Loop files. Editor 2 even supports AppleScript recording! 5

6 CHAPTER 2 QUICKSTART

7 CHAPTER 2 / QUICKSTART STEP 1: ADD AUDIO FILES TO THE FILE LIST Drag and drop audio files in the File List. STEP 1: ADD AUDIO FILES TO THE FILE LIST Alternatively, click the "+" button at the lower left or choose Add Files... from the File menu.

8 CHAPTER 2 / QUICKSTART STEP 2: ADJUST THE LOOP POINTS IN THE WAVEFORM VIEW Select a file in the File List to view its Waveform, Loops, Slices and Properties. Loops must be enabled in Loo View before they can be edited. Once enabled, adjust the Loop start and end points.

9 CHAPTER 2 / QUICKSTART STEP 3: FINE TUNE THE LOOP POINTS IN LOOP VIEW Adjust the Loop start and end points so they are at zero crosses. This will prevent a "pop" sound at the Loop point.

10 CHAPTER 2 / QUICKSTART STEP 4: ADD SLICES AND PROPERTIES To add Slices, choose Add Slices from the Edit menu. Loop Editor offers several ways to add Slices to your loops. STEP 4: ADD SLICES AND PROPERTIES You can also choose Add Slice at Playback Position from the Edit menu (or type S) during playback.

11 CHAPTER 2 / QUICKSTART STEP 5: EXPORT APPLE LOOPS OR ACID FILES Select your completed loops in the File List and select File > Export... Choose a destination Folder and click Export.

12 CHAPTER 3 LOOP EDITOR THE BASICS FILE LIST CONTENT 3.4 PROPERTIES 3.5 PREFERENCES

13 3.1 THE BASICS

14 MAIN WINDOW Loop Editor is a single window with support for Full Screen mode. We have gone to great lengths to ensure that all functions are easily accessible and simple to use. The main window is divided into three areas: the File List, the Content area and Properties.

15 AREA 1: FILE LIST The File List is where you add files and view their basic details.

16 AREA 2: CONTENT This is where you view, edit and design loops. It contains the Overview, Waveform and Loop views.

17 AREA 3: PROPERTIES The Properties sidebar is where you add and edit audio file metadata.

18 SECTION 3.1 / THE BASICS HOVERS & POPOVERS MANY CONTROLS APPEAR ONLY WHEN YOU HOVER YOUR CURSOR OVER AN ELEMENT IN THE WINDOW PROPERTIES Rolling over an item in the Properties List will reveal a circular button with a triangle in it. Click this button and a popover will appear with a description of the field that will also allow you to view and/or edit details for that item. You can also edit a Property directly in the the list with the exception of Descriptors. CONTENT All Views have a button at the left that will open and close the view. The title bar of a Content View can be double-clicked to hide/show a view. Some Views have a gear icon at the right. Click it to open a popover with options for that View. The Waveform and Overview Views have some extra controls that we will cover later.

19 SECTION 3.1 / THE BASICS OUTPUT LEVEL PLAY/STOP PLAYBACK OPTIONS TOOLBAR The Toolbar is located at the top of the Loop Editor window. It contains universal controls for Loop Editor such as Play/Stop (center), Output Level (left) and Playback Options (right). Output Level and Playback Options are displayed popovers. You can hear how your loop sounds at different speeds and pitches by configuring the Playback Options. This will help you get a sense of how your loop will respond under various circumstances in your favorite DAW. To access Playback Options, click the Playback icon in the toolbar.

20 3.2 FILE LIST

21 SECTION 3.2 / FILES LIST THIS SIDEBAR CONTAINS YOUR LOOPS CLICK THE TRIANGLE AT THE BOTTOM TO VIEW FILE DETAILS.

22 SECTION 3.2 / FILES LIST FILE LIST The File List contains all of the files you have added to Loop Editor. To hide the File List, select Hide Files from the View menu. When a file is selected, the Details pane will show important information about the file. To hide the File Details, select Hide File Details from the View menu or click the disclosure triangle at the bottom right of the File List. EDITED LOOPS When a file has been edited, a blue dot will appear next to it.

23 3.3 CONTENT

24 SECTION 3.3 / CONTENT THIS AREA IS WHERE YOU VIEW, EDIT & DESIGN LOOPS. IT CONTAINS THREE BASIC VIEWS...

25 SECTION 3.3 / CONTENT OVERVIEW WAVEFORM LOOP

26 SECTION 3.3 / CONTENT OVERVIEW The Overview provides you with a start-to-end reference of an entire file, including any Slices contained within. Overview Options include separate or combined channels as well as Waveform and Label display options.

27 SECTION 3.3 / CONTENT WAVEFORM The Waveform View displays the Waveform, Loop and Slice points. Zoom controls are located at the bottom right of the Waveform View. The slider controls the amount of zoom. Click the arrows to switch between horizontal and vertical zooming. Command-click in the Waveform to play the area between slice points. Shift-Command-Click to add a Slice in a specific location. Option-click in the waveform to play the file from that point. Waveform Options include display options for Grid, Rulers, Loops and Slices, Waveform style and Playback Head and Autoscroll options.

28 SECTION 3.3 / CONTENT WAVEFORM CONTROLS HAND: Use the Hand to navigate the waveform. MAGNIFIER: Use the Magnifier to control magnification of the Waveform.

29 SECTION 3.3 / CONTENT LOOP The Loop View is located to the right of the File List and below the Waveform View. It shows a full zoom at the loop start and end positions so that you can easily create a smooth transition. The left side is the waveform to the left of the loop end point and the right side is the waveform to the right of the loop start point. By using the controls you can easily create a smooth loop. <Ø moves the loop point to the nearest zero cross to the left >Ø moves the loop point to the nearest zero cross to the right < moves the loop point to the next sample to the left. > moves the loop point to the next sample to the right. A vertical zoom slider is located at the bottom right of the Loop view.

30 3.4 PROPERTIES

31 SECTION 3.4 / PROPERTIES THIS AREA CONTAINS LOOP METADATA IN A SELECTED FILE.

32 SECTION 3.4 / PROPERTIES PROPERTIES The Properties sidebar is where you add and edit loop metadata. Modify Metadata by selecting a field and pressing Enter to begin typing or click for a menu. You can also edit metadata via the field s popover. Descriptors are specific to Apple Loops files. The following tags are relevant for user searches: Scale Type Time Signature Genre Instrument Descriptors

33 3.5 PREFERENCES

34 SECTION 3.5 / PREFERENCES MOST FUNCTIONS IN LOOP EDITOR CAN BE ASSIGNED KEYBOARD COMMANDS. KEYBOARD COMMANDS MOST FUNCTIONS IN LOOP EDITOR CAN BE ASSIGNED KEYBOARD COMMANDS, INCLUDING ADDING SLICES AND ZOOM. COMMANDS PREFERENCES 1 2 Choose Preferences > Commands from the Loop Editor menu Navigate to an item or search for it by typing in the search field 3 Double-click an item to assign it a command 4 Type the desired command on your keyboard

35 SECTION 3.5 / PREFERENCES WHAT ARE SCHEMES? Schemes describe special file naming conventions used for split file audio formats. In some cases, it is best to save audio files such that each file represents one audio channel at a time. In order to keep multi-channel files together and recognizable, there are a small handful of naming conventions called "Schemes" in Loop Editor, that can be used when writing and recognizing audio file sets.

36 SECTION 3.5 / PREFERENCES SCHEMES PANEL THE SCHEMES PANEL LISTS THE SPLIT FILE NAMING SCHEMES RECOGNIZED BY LOOP EDITOR A "keyword"-based system is used, where the "/abbr/" keyword represents the abbreviation for the appropriate channel, and the "/ext/" keyword represents the appropriate audio file extension. For example, the -/abbr/./ext/ scheme will be used to create and recognize files whose names could be "Audio File 1-L.wav" and "Audio File 1-R.wav", which would be used together to represent a stereo audio asset. Loop Editor includes standard audio file schemes which are locked, but you can add and remove your own.

37 SECTION 3.5 / PREFERENCES OUTPUT PREFERENCES Here you can configure various output settings and your audio output device. The channel count displayed on the left of the matrix corresponds to the number of channels contained in an audio file. The numbers on the top of the matrix correspond to the outputs on your output device. Mono files are treated as dual-mono files for output in Loop Editor. Thus, they always play via channels 1 and 2.

38 CHAPTER 4 USING LOOP EDITOR EDITING LOOPS EXPORT

39 4.1 EDITING

40 SECTION 4.1 / EDITING LOOPS SUSTAIN AND RELEASE LOOPS To add a Sustain Loop or Release Loop, select either from the Loop View and set the menu next to it to any of the three loop modes as described below. LOOP MODES There are three loop modes in Loop Editor: Forward, Forward Backward and Backward. Forward: This will loop the audio between the loop points from start to end. Backward: This will play the audio between the loop points from start to end, then loop the audio from end to start (backward). Forward-Backward: This will loop of audio between the loop points from start to end, then end to start (backward).

41 SECTION 4.1 / EDITING LOOPS FINE TUNING LOOP POINTS To easily create a smooth, pop free loop, the Loop View shows a full zoom at the loop start and end positions The left side is the waveform to the left of the loop end point and the right side is the waveform to the right of the loop start point. <Ø moves the loop point to the nearest zero cross to the left. >Ø moves the loop point to the nearest zero cross to the right. < moves the loop point to the next sample to the left. > moves the loop point to the next sample to the right. Adjust vertical zoom via the slider at the right of the Loop View.

42 SECTION 4.1 / EDITING LOOPS CROSSFADES Crossfades can be added via the sustain/release loop pop over. To access this pop over, simple double click on the loop marker in the waveform view. Here, you can enable or disable a crossfade and adjust its properties such as it s length and curve.

43 SECTION 4.1 / EDITING LOOPS A B A LOOP START LOOP END Loop Editor 2 displays crossfades for loops a bit differently than other audio applications. This is best illustrated in the diagram above. The blue areas (A) above represent the fades as they appear in Loop Editor. They both contain the same audio: the audio that precedes the Loop Start. This audio is faded in prior to the Loop End. Loop Editor applies a fade out preceding the Loop End represented by the dotted line (B), thus creating a crossfade. This fade out is inversely proportional to the fade in you choose and also inherits curve settings.

44 SECTION 4.1 / EDITING LOOPS ADDING SLICES METHOD 1: BEAT DETECTION Technique - Magnitude: detects beats by sensing sudden changes in the amplitude of the audio - Energy: detects beats by sensing sudden changes in the calculated energy of the audio - Energy Bands: detects beats by sensing sudden changes in the calculated and custom filtered energy of the audio Sensitivity The threshold that dictates whether a transient is observed as a slice point. Moving the sensitivity slider to the left increases the threshold, thus only adding slice points to larger transients.

45 SECTION 4.1 / EDITING LOOPS ADDING SLICES METHOD 2: TEMPO Notes This option will add a slice at every whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth or thirty second note. Swing Swing will effect every other eighth note by shifting it later in time, giving a musical "swing."

46 SECTION 4.1 / EDITING LOOPS ADDING SLICES METHOD 3: EQUAL SPACING Number of Slices This will add Slices at equal distances as described by the number of Slices.

47 SECTION 4.1 / EDITING LOOPS GLOBAL OPTIONS ADD SLICE AT BEGINNING Enabling this will add a slice point to the beginning of the loop. ADD SLICE AT END Enabling this will add a slice point to the end of the loop. If Within Sustain Loop is enabled, this will add a slice at the beginning of the selected loop. WITHIN SUSTAIN LOOP Enabling this will only add slice points within the range of the sustain loop. If Within Sustain Loop is enabled, this will add a slice at the end of the selected loop. AT NEAREST ZERO CROSS Enabling this will add a only slice points at the nearest zero cross. REPLACE EXISTING SLICES Enabling this will remove any previous slice points and will replace them with new ones.

48 4.2 EXPORT

49 SECTION 4.2 / EXPORT EXPORT FILES Finally, export your completed loops as ACID or Apple Loop files. Select the files in the File List you wish to export, then select Export from the File menu. Choose your desired output options and destination folder, then click Export. If no files are selected, all files in the File List will be exported.

50 SECTION 4.2 / EXPORT EXPORT SLICES When exporting Slices, Loop Editor will export the audio between Slices as individual audio files. If your file has three Slices, Loop Editor will render separate audio files for the audio ranging from the start of file to Slice 1, Slice 1 to Slice 2, Slice 2 to Slice 3 and Slice 3 to the end of the file.

51 CHAPTER 5 TOOLS FIRST AID RECYCLE CONVERTER

52 CHAPTER 5 / TOOLS ABOUT THE LOOP EDITOR TOOLS To access Loop Editor's built-in tools, choose Open Tool from the Loop Editor menu. The First Aid and ReCycle Converter tools are independent apps. This means they will remain open and fully functional even after Loop Editor closes. Like all Mac apps, you can choose to keep them in your dock by Control-clicking on its icon and choosing Options > Keep in Dock.

53 5.1 FIRST AID

54 SECTION 5.1 / FIRST AID FIRST AID Use First Aid if you suspect a problem with an uncompressed audio file that won't import or open in an audio application. Different uncompressed file formats can have different potential compatibility issues. First Aid can help you diagnose the issues and repair them in most cases. To diagnose an audio file, drag it to the icon in the upper left corner of the first aid window or select Choose... Once you have chosen a file, First Aid will show you the contents of the file. The component parts of an audio file are called "chunks." You can view the contents of a chunk and read a description of it by clicking on an entry in the top half of the window. If First Aid determines that a problem exists with the file, it will present a warning denoted by a yellow triangle or an error denoted by a red circle. A warning is non-fatal. An error denotes that the issue may prevent the file from being opened in audio applications. First Aid will inform you if it can repair a file. To repair a file, select a diagnosis, then click Repair. First Aid will not modify the contents of the original file. It will always create a new file and prepend its name with REPAIRED in brackets.

55 5.2 RECYCLE CONVERTER

56 SECTION 5.2 / RECYCLE CONVERTER RECYCLE CONVERTER ReCycle Converter is a simple utility that converts Propellerhead ReCycle files (.rex or.rx2) to usable files in Loop Editor. To convert REX or RX2 files with ReCycle Converter, choose your source and destination directories, select your desired options, then click Convert.

57 SECTION 5.2 / RECYCLE CONVERTER RECYCLE CONVERTER OPTIONS CREATE ACID AUDIO FILES This option will convert REX and RX2 files to ACID WAV files. Generally, this option should always be selected unless you only need metadata for advanced scripting. CREATE LIST OF METADATA This option will save a comma-separated value (.csv) files of all of the metadata contained in the ReCycle files in your source directory, including Slices. The file will be saved in the destination directory. This option is very useful for advanced scripting applications. CREATE CONVERSION LOG This option will save a log of your conversion in the destination directory. This is useful for finding any errors during the conversion process. Propellerhead, ReCycle and REX are trademarks of Propellerhead Software AB.

58 CHAPTER 6 APPLESCRIPT

59 CHAPTER 6 / APPLESCRIPT WHAT IS APPLESCRIPT ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FEATURES IN LOOP EDITOR IS FULL APPLESCRIPT SUPPORT SUPPORT AppleScript is an incredibly powerful and easy-to-learn scripting language in OS X. It s an indispensable tool for complex workflows, automating repetitive tasks and interacting with other Applications. We ve taken AppleScript integration to a level no other audio application has ever attained. AppleScript is so powerful we ve made it a fundamental part of the way Loop Editor itself is built. Using your custom AppleScripts in Loop Editor We have made it even easier for you to use your custom AppleScripts within Loop Editor. There is no need to execute them from the AppleScript Editor. Once you have created a script, launch Loop Editor and select Open Scripts Folder from the Scripts menu. This will open Loop Editor's folder within User Scripts folder in your home directory (called "com.audiofile-engineering.loopeditor). Move or copy your completed scripts into this directory. Scripts added to this directory will be accessible from the Scripts menu just select to run!