Loop Dreams An Introduction to Acid Pro 2.0
Feb 1, 2001 12:00 PM, By Dave Hill
You could describe making music in Acid Pro 2.0 as painting with
sound samples. To the Mac contingent that feels that PCs are evil
and complicated beasts, fear not.
Call it option paralysis. Before diving into hard disk recording, you have to decide which audio gear and software you should buy. Mac or PC? Cubase or Logic Audio? Full-blown Pro Tools or that spicy little Digi 001? It's an ongoing discussion that involves producers, DJs, and musicians alike. You have probably been persuaded that software X is the only application to have, but it must run on a Mac — or that software Y is the deepest, but it takes two centuries to learn on a PC.
Problem is, chasing after the perfect technology can lead to certifiable insanity and documentable bankruptcy. For the moment, forget the mythic status of the Mac 9600 and the ubiquity of Pro Tools and consider Sonic Foundry's Acid Pro 2.0, a PC-based (gasp!) application that specializes in loop-based composition and is designed with the remixer's and DJ's creative process in mind.
Any user will find Acid Pro a veritable remix machine that lends itself to instant creativity rather than an analytical swamp filled with MIDI problems or sound-card compatibility issues. Acid Pro enables real-time previewing of loops at any tempo or pitch with nondestructive editing. Admittedly, Steinberg's Cubase, Emagic's Logic Audio, and of course Digidesign's Pro Tools are great professional-level virtual-studio solutions. However, its price, features, and ease of use make Acid a serious contender, particularly for the loop-oriented producer. I have even heard of several Pro Tools — equipped studios where a low-end PC loaded with Acid Pro sits in the corner just in case. Regardless of your home-recording setup, what truly matters is the result — and I've never achieved such great results more quickly than I have with Acid Pro.
I first began tinkering with Acid 1.0 about two years ago, and recently I have been exploring the deeper realms of Acid Pro's potential in its newest form. Last year I conducted a string of Acid clinics at the Experience Music Project Museum in Seattle, which provided the basis for this story. I have since learned how deep Acid Pro 2.0 truly is. Because it offers a host of shortcut paths for any individual task, its many tricks aren't readily apparent. So think of this article as a how-to on making music with Acid Pro 2.0. I hope to save you time and help you focus on making music while turning you on to the enjoyment of experimenting with Acid (the software, wise guy — the software).
PAINT AND PLAY
You could describe making music in Acid Pro 2.0 as painting with sound samples; in fact, the basic process for placing samples into the Arrange window resembles the operation of the old MacPaint programs. I'll start with the basics. To begin composing in Acid, you'll need a few samples or loops. Because I am a drummer, I usually like to begin with a drum loop. If you don't have one, go to Sonic Foundry's Web site (www.sonicfoundry.com), click on “Products,” and scroll down to “Loops for Acid.” Pick any CD you like and download one or two of the demo loops. Also, Sonic's AcidPlanet.com site (www.acidplanet.com) offers a free 8-pack of samples, updated weekly. To download it, right-click on “WAV” and choose the Save to Disc option. Take a moment to download a couple of other loops to play with as well.
Place your new loops in carefully labeled folders. I suggest you give the folders straightforward names — “Drum Loops,” “Bass Loops,” “Tuba Loops,” and so forth. This is an essential step; it saves time and ensures that you don't inadvertently erase loops as you continue adding to your library. (For more information on hard drive organization, see the section “File Away!”)
Once you know where your loops reside on the hard drive, simply locate them in the Acid Pro Explorer window and double-click on the loop — or you can drag the loop from the Explorer window to the Track View grid (see Fig. 1). The loop or one-shot sample will load into RAM and appear on the left side of the screen in the track line. To “paint,” click and hold the left mouse button, dragging the WAV file across the Time grid; this action stretches the loop into the track at the default tempo of 120 bpm. To play it, simply press the Spacebar on your computer keyboard. To add tracks, double-click on another loop and repeat the dragging process. You can add an unlimited number of tracks, as long as your PC's RAM can keep up. Each track will appear in a different-colored line in the Time grid.
Once you have painted in a few samples, it's time to take your tune to the next level.
PARAMETER? I BARELY KNOW HER!
You can control volume, panning, and effects in Acid Pro using a couple of different methods. Under each sample on your Track List grid, you can tweak the slider on the left side of the Arrange window, or you can use actual envelope indicators drawn onto the samples themselves in the Time grid. To alter the track, use the Sample grid. To shape individual samples, use the envelopes. To fade a sample in and out, select the sample in the Time grid; the background color of the sample will become solid. Press V on the keyboard, and a flat envelope line will appear — this is the sample's volume. Double-click on the line to create a point. You can repeat this process as often as you like, creating complex volume curves; the effect is similar to automated mixing (see Fig. 2).
To alter the level of the entire track, move the Vol slider under the sample's name — right to increase, left to decrease (0.0 is flat). Select the small downward arrow next to Vol to access the track's Panning and Effect levels. The volume, panning, and effects levels can be adjusted for either the individual sample event or the entire track. You can experiment with panning, but note that the effects will not work unless you have previously installed certain DirectX plug-ins. To get you started with some of these free effects plug-ins, check out these Web sites: www.db-audioware.com, for a delay, and www.thedirectxfiles.com/plugins.htm, for other options.
For example, say you've set the master volume of a rhythm-guitar track to 0.2, but within the performance you would like to “duck” one part of the riff (fade it in and out). Press V — a shortcut key — and a volume envelope line appears on the sample. Add points by double-clicking on the envelope line; this creates variable fade-in and fade-out points within that specific occurrence of the sample. Sweet.
SLICING AND DICING: THE ART OF LOOP GINSU
Creating seamless loops is a subtle art form. The ability to layer, manipulate, and rearrange loops provides almost infinite options to help artists develop a unique style or sound. Let's take one of your downloaded loops — some sort of repeating rhythmic figure that you can tweak using a few advanced techniques. As you modify your sample, watch (and, more important, listen carefully) to determine how the changes might affect other types of sounds.
One of the coolest manipulation techniques is to cut up and rearrange samples. Zoom in on your sample by pressing the Up Arrow key (or click on the magnifying-glass icon at the bottom of the Track View grid) until you've divided one occurrence of the sample into 8 or 16 sections. Place the blinking cursor on the line dividers and press the S key (for Split) to chop the sample into 8, 16, or however many pieces you like. Each section of the sample will end up as a rhythmically correct 8th-note sample, 16th-note sample, or whatever subdivision you've selected. Now recombine these loops randomly and keep mixing them up until you get the desired effect. The results will vary, so don't get too frustrated if it takes a couple of attempts to cop that DJ Shadow breakbeat feel.
Another feature of Acid Pro 2.0 that works in conjunction with sample slicing is the Offset tool. Sample offsetting is not an obvious technique, but it is vital to shaping the feel of rhythm tracks or improving a vocal performance. To use this hidden feature in Acid Pro, grab the sample event by holding down the left mouse button as you depress the right button and drag to the right or left. The sample will offset to exactly the point at which you release it.
Say you want to line up a drum-set loop with a percussion loop. The percussion loop is a little behind the beat, so you slide the starting point of the sample in (to the left). The offset track will now sound a little more on top of the beat. Offsetting a sample to the right, by contrast, will give the loop a lazy behind-the-beat feel.
After you've got the drums cut up and feeling nasty, it's time to deepen the track. Right-click on the drum loop in the left column grid and select Duplicate Track. Select one of the two identical tracks and to detune the sample by a few semitones (or by half steps if the sample contains a pitch), press the Minus key (-) on your numeric keypad. You will hear the drums pitch down, creating a darker and deeper sound. Experiment with the mix volume of the pitched track or try pitching the track up, instead, using the Plus key (+). The Offset feature has countless applications, including step-sequencing a bass line and harmonizing a vocal performance (see Fig. 3).
SUBMIXING TO A NEW TRACK
Once you've mixed two or three drum loops and offset your percussion loop (after detuning the shaker and fading out the last couple of notes), you may think you've made a masterful 2-measure loop — and you're probably right. But to really use this loop, you would have to copy and paste it throughout the tune (and in the process alter many different tracks) anytime you wanted to change anything. This calls for Acid Pro's Mix to New Track feature. By mixing two or more tracks down to one, you add a great deal of flexibility and create a new loop saved at the tempo you're working in.
One of my favorite tricks is to make mini-mixes all the way along the track-creation process — that is, I mix a multilayered drum groove down to one track so I don't have to program it repeatedly. To do this, simply right-click on the loop bar above all tracks and select “Mix to New Track.” Following the prompts, choose where you want this new sample to be located. The track becomes a single editable loop. (Remember to mute the old tracks during playback if you use this new track, or you'll hear a phasing effect.)
DOES THIS BABY HAVE OPTIONS? FUHGEDDABOUDIT!
One of the great features of Acid Pro is its built-in File Explorer; called List View in the Help menu, it looks like Windows' Explorer. With File Explorer, you can peruse all of the samples on your hard disk, CD-ROM drive, or any other removable drive attached to your PC. Even more clever, Acid lets you preview the new sample and adjust the volume level within the current track. This enables producers and songwriters to scroll quickly through several different drum loops or keyboard pads and find the right feel or tonality for a track without actually pasting the loop in. This also makes happy accidents possible if you're just playing around rather than looking for a specific sampled sound.
It only makes sense that the way to make music you really enjoy is to build a large personal library of samples you love. Approach this goal as a sound designer. Spend some time pulling together an ideal set of loops and samples. Take a sample from one of your favorite loop CDs. (Sonic Foundry has released many discs specifically designed to work with Acid, or chop up some of your own.) I record myself playing different drum grooves, then chop and tweak them later. You'll want to create a generous library — that way you can pull from a palette of sounds, just as painters set a selection of colors at their fingertips before they lay oil to canvas.
Just for fun, try previewing some loops that logically should not work together. I have found that scrolling through my two 20 GB hard drives — both packed full of samples — is fun as well as inspiring. Through experimentation you may create a great new loop, which you can then mix to its own track. Sonic Foundry's line of loop CDs boasts a wide range of dance, trance, funk, and ethnic loops, including several selections from folks like David Torn, Bill Laswell, and Kit Watkins — some of the most innovative and interesting musicians in the business.
FILE AWAY!
One of the most important aspects of software-based music creation is file management. Where do you put the audio files so you can easily locate them, alter them while leaving the original intact, and use the least amount of drive space?
When saving a file in Acid Pro, you can choose from a variety of formats. You can save the entire track as a WAV file, as mentioned above, but when you're working on a mix, you'll want to save in one of several ways. I have found Acid Pro's Save with External Audio option extremely valuable: you can give each tune its own folder and save the Acid track (with external audio) in that folder. The current pool of samples is stored to that folder, leaving the originals in place. You have the freedom to chop, compress, or manipulate the samples in any way you see fit and then save your changes — all without affecting the original sample.
I cannot stress enough the importance of file management. It is the key to staying organized. If you do not have some sort of consistent labeling scheme for your creations, you will in all likelihood create duplicate mixes, lose samples, and — most important — waste time.
ACID FREAKS AND LOOP GURUS
So far Acid Pro is available only for Windows PCs, though I understand that it can run on Macs that use PC-emulation software (with a few limitations). To the Mac contingent out there that feels that PCs are evil and complicated beasts, fear not. Acid Pro 2.0 is straightforward enough that it no longer requires years of PC or pro-audio-recording experience to use adeptly. DJs and band-oriented musicians alike will find Acid Pro intuitive and versatile. After all, music generated and recorded on PCs is no longer exclusively for house and techno producers or drum ’n’ bass heads. Most recording software may still work off the mixing-board and reel-to-reel model, but Acid Pro is a good example of how DJ and remix culture is influencing the recording industry's software manufacturers.
Could Acid Pro 2.0 be better? Sure. Compatibility with VST effects would greatly boost its operation speed when several DirectX plug-ins are loaded. Also, I would love to see Sonic Foundry add a sequencer — perhaps one that works with E-mu/Creative Labs sound fonts or soft synths such as Native Instruments' Reaktor 2.3.1 and Software Technology's VAZ+. As for sound quality, Sonic Foundry is considering the release of 24-bit sample libraries, in addition to its ever-broadening 16-bit selection.
Triplets are also a bit tricky in Acid Pro because the grid lines are built for twos and fours. And if you are multitracking a live band or working heavily with sequencing software that drives external samplers, this program may not be the ideal tool.
Nevertheless, Acid Pro has enabled me to write and remix music more quickly and without all the frustrations of MIDI and complex applications that save two or three files for every fader edit or sample trim. Acid Pro 2.0 is smartly crafted and intuitive, allows real-time previewing and nondestructive editing of samples, and offers infinite possibilities for composing and remixing music.
Former Seattle multitasker Dave Hill has worked extensively with drummer Michael Shrieve (Santana) and is currently drumming, programming, and composing in New York. Look for more of Dave's sage advice in future issues of Remix.
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