MIDI Track Controls

The controls in the track list allow you to adjust track volume, panning, and MIDI controller values.

TIP Tips:

  • MIDI track controls are duplicated on MIDI track channel strips in the Mixing Console window.

  • To move faders and sliders in fine increments, hold Ctrl while dragging the control.

Change a track's color Closed

Right-click the track header, choose Color from the submenu, and then choose the color you want to use to display the track and MIDI data on the timeline.

If you've changed the color of any of a track's clips, changing the track color will not update the color of those clips.

Change a track's height Closed

Drag a track's bottom border to set its height. If you want to set a track's height as the default height for new tracks, right-click within the track list and choose Set Default Track Properties from the shortcut menu.

Click Minimize to minimize a track vertically.

Click Maximize to zoom in vertically so a track fills the track view.

After minimizing or maximizing a track, click the Minimize or Maximize button again to return a track to its previous height.

Track height keyboard shortcuts

  • Press Ctrl+Shift+Up Arrow or Down Arrow to change the height of all tracks at once.

  • Press ` to minimize all tracks. Press again to restore tracks to their previous height.

  • Press Ctrl+` to return all tracks to the default height.

Rename a track Closed

  1. Double-click the track name and type a new name.

  2. Press Enter to save the name.

Pitch shift a track Closed

Right-click a track header, choose Pitch Shift Track from the shortcut menu, and then choose a command from the submenu to change the pitch of all events on a track. The event-specific pitch shift is calculated after the project key and the track’s pitch shift.

TIP When a track is selected, press + and - on the numeric keypad to change track pitch.

Arm a track for recording Closed

Click the Arm for Record button on a MIDI track to prepare it for recording.

When you click the Record button on the main transport bar, all armed MIDI tracks will begin recording.

For more information about recording MIDI, see Recording MIDI.

Freeze a track Closed

Click the Toggle Freeze button on a MIDI track to convert a MIDI track to .wav file, effectively taking your soft synths offline and conserving processing and disk resources.

For more information about freezing MIDI tracks, please see Freezing MIDI Tracks.

Mute a track Closed

Click the Mute button to prevent a track from being played in the mix. Click the Mute button on additional tracks to add them to the mute group. To unmute a track, click the Mute button again.

Muting or unmuting a track

  1. Deselect the Automation Settings button to toggle trim mode.

  2. Click the Mute button .

TIP When you have a group of tracks muted, hold Ctrl while clicking the Mute button on an unmuted track to remove all other tracks from the mute group. Hold Ctrl while clicking the Mute button on a muted track to reset all Mute buttons.

Adjusting mute automation

When you select the Automation Settings button , the Mute button is displayed as , and you can use the button to edit mute automation.

Solo a track Closed

Click the Solo button to mute all unselected tracks. Click the Solo button on additional tracks to add them to the solo group. To remove a track from the solo group, click its Solo button again.

TIP Hold Ctrl while clicking a Solo button to solo a single track and remove all other tracks from the solo group.

Monitor track output levels Closed

During playback, a meter is displayed in the track header to monitor note-on velocities.

Horizontal meters

Vertical meters

Right-click the meters and choose a command from the shortcut menu to adjust the display of the meters. This shortcut menu allows you to set the meter's response, hold peaks and valleys, toggle vertical display, or turn output meters off.

Adjust a track's volume Closed

The Volume fader in the track header can function as a trim control that adjusts the overall volume of the track, or it can adjust track volume automation settings.

If the track doesn't have a volume envelope, the fader sets the volume of the channel (0 to 127).

If the track has a volume envelope, the fader behaves as a trim control that is added to the volume automation settings so your envelope is preserved, but with a boost or cut applied. For example, setting the trim control to -6 has the same effect as decreasing every envelope point by 6. The control range is -127 to 127, but the overall volume of the MIDI track is bound at 0 and 127.

TIP When adjusting the mix of your tracks, remember to look at the meters on the Mixing Console. Because you are adding the volumes of all of the tracks together, it is easy to clip the audio output. Make sure that the meters never display the red Clip indication during playback.

WARNING

Not all VST instruments use standard MIDI control mappings for volume and pan envelopes.

You can use the Output Settings tab in the MIDI Track Properties window to override the default envelope: right-click the controller you want to use and choose Use as Track Volume or Use as Track Pan from the shortcut menu.

Adjusting the volume trim level

  1. Deselect the Automation Settings button to toggle trim mode.

  2. Drag the Vol fader to control how loud a track is in the mix.

    A value of 0 means that the track is played with no boost or cut. Dragging the fader to the left cuts the volume; dragging to the right boosts the volume.

    You can hold Ctrl while dragging a fader to adjust the setting in finer increments, or double-click the fader to return it to 0 dB. If multiple tracks are selected, all selected tracks are adjusted.

Adjusting the volume automation level

When you select the Automation Settings button , the fader thumb is displayed as a , and you can use the control to edit volume automation.

Pan a track Closed

The Pan slider in the track header can function as a trim control that adjusts the overall position of the track in the stereo field, or it can adjust track pan automation settings.

If the track doesn't have a pan envelope, the slider sets the pan for the channel (100% L to 100% R).

If the track has a pan envelope, the slider behaves as a trim control that is added to the pan automation settings so your envelope is preserved, but with a boost or cut applied. For example, setting the trim control to -6 has the same effect as decreasing every envelope point by 6. The control range is -127 to 127, but the overall pan value is bound at 0 and 127.

WARNING

Not all VST instruments use standard MIDI control mappings for volume and pan envelopes.

You can use the Output Settings tab in the MIDI Track Properties window to override the default envelope: right-click the controller you want to use and choose Use as Track Volume or Use as Track Pan from the shortcut menu.

Adjusting track panning trim levels

  1. Deselect the Automation Settings button to toggle trim mode.

  2. Drag the Pan slider to control the position of the track in the stereo field: dragging to the left will place the track in the left speaker more than the right, and dragging to the right will place the track in the right speaker.

    You can hold Ctrl while dragging the slider to adjust the setting in finer increments, or double-click the slider to return it to the center.

    If multiple tracks are selected, all selected tracks are adjusted.

Adjusting the track panning automation level

When you select the Automation Settings button , the Pan slider handle is displayed as a , and you can use the control to edit pan automation.

Set a track's MIDI input port and channel Closed

Click the MIDI Input button and choose a command from the menu to set the track's input device and channel for recording MIDI.

TIP If you want to select multiple input channels, hold Ctrl and select additional channels from the MIDI Channel submenu.

FIGURE This track is set to accept input from any MIDI device.  

Item

Description

Auto Input

Uses automatic input routing. When this command box is selected, the focus track will accept input from any MIDI input device.

TIP Use Auto Input when you want to record multiple controllers simultaneously. For example, with Auto Input selected, you could record a MIDI keyboard and bass pedal to a single track.

Input Off

Turns off MIDI input to the track.

Hardware Input Port List

Displays the devices that are selected in the Make these devices available for MIDI input list on the MIDI tab of the Preferences dialog.

Choose the specific device you want to use to send MIDI to the track.

NOTE You must choose a specific input port to use MIDI input filters.

Soft Synth Input Port List

Displays the available soft synths in your project.

Choose the soft synth you want to use to send MIDI to the track. Use this setting to record the output of MIDI plugins like step sequencers or arpeggiators. Read more under Using MIDI plugins.

For more information about recording MIDI, see Recording MIDI.

Set a track's MIDI output port and channel Closed

Click the MIDI Output button on the track header and choose the soft synth or MIDI device and channel you want to use to play MIDI data on the track.

FIGURE This track is sending MIDI to port 1 on the DN-e1 soft synth.

Each MIDI track can be played through any VSTi or ReWire 2.0 soft synth bus control in the Mixing Console window, or external MIDI port.

For more information about routing MIDI tracks, see Routing Tracks to Soft Synths or MIDI Devices.

TIP If your track is routed to an external MIDI port, you can load a device-specific program map. When you use a program map, the MIDI Output button will display the device name, and the Program button  will display the device's patches.

Set the track voice or add a program change keyframe Closed

The Program button  in the track header displays the program (voice or patch) that will be used to play MIDI data on the track. You can set the voice used to play the entire track, or you can add keyframes to add program changes.

TIP If your track is routed to an external MIDI port, you can load a device-specific program map. When you use a program map, the MIDI Output button will display the device name, and the Program button will display the device's patches.

Changing the track voice

  1. Click the Program button .

  2. Choose a program from the menu, or choose Select Program Change to display the Output Settings tab in the MIDI Track Properties window, where you can select a program.

    If the track does not contain program change keyframes, the selected program is used to play the entire track.

    If the track contains keyframes, the selected program is assigned to the keyframe that occurs before the current cursor position.

Changing the program for a hardware synth

If your track is routed to a hardware synth, there are several ways to change programs:

  • Click the Program button and choose Synth Control of Program Change if you want to change programs using the synth's controls.

  • Click the Program button and choose Use Program Change and Bank if you want to change programs by specifying the program, MSB, and LSB values. Double-click the values in the track header to edit them: .

  • If you've created a program map for your device, click the Program button and choose Use Device Program Map to return to the device's program map. You can then choose a program by clicking the Program button and choosing a program from the menu.

    For more information about creating program maps and assigning them to hardware devices, see Creating or Editing Program Maps.

Adding a program change keyframe

  1. Click the Program button and choose Insert Program Change Keyframe. The program change keyframe row is displayed at the bottom of the track.

  2. Using the Draw or Envelope tool, double-click in the track's keyframe row to add a keyframe.

  3. To edit a keyframe, double-click it to display the Output Settings tab in the Track Properties window, and then select the program you want to assign to the keyframe.

Adjust a track's MIDI controllers Closed

The sliders and faders in the track header can function as trim controls that adjust the overall setting for a continuous controller, or they can adjust automation settings.

The trim level is added to the automation settings so your controller envelope is preserved, but with an offset applied. For example, setting the Pan trim control to -9% left has the same effect as moving every envelope point 9% to the left.

Adjusting MIDI controller trim levels

  1. Deselect the Automation Settings button .

  2. Choose the controller you want to adjust:

  3. If the track's channel selector is set to All, you can click the on the Volume and Pan controls to choose the channel you want to adjust.

    NOTE To change a track's channel, click the MIDI Outputbutton, choose MIDI Channel from the submenu, and then choose the channel you want the track to send MIDI data (or choose All to send on all channels).

    NOTE

    • Click the on the other sliders to choose the continuous controller you want to adjust.

      If the controller you want to adjust is not displayed in the menu, choose Configure Controllers from the menu. You can use the Output Settings tab in the Track Properties window to configure which controllers are available on the track.

  4. Drag the slider to edit the controller value.

    You can hold Ctrl while dragging the slider to adjust the setting in finer increments, or double-click the slider to return it to 0.

    If multiple tracks are selected, all selected tracks are adjusted.

Adjusting MIDI controller automation levels

When you select the Automation Settings button , the controller slider handles are displayed as , and you can use the controls to edit automation.

Adjust trim levels Closed

The controls in the track header can function as trim controls or automation controls for track volume, panning, and continuous controller values. Adjusting the trim control affects the level of the entire track as it did in previous releases of Acid software.

The trim level is added to the track automation setting so your automation settings are preserved, but with a boost or cut applied. For example, setting the trim control to -3 dB has the same effect as decreasing every envelope point by 3 dB.  

To adjust trim levels, deselect the Automation Settings button . When the button is selected, the track controls adjust automation settings.

Set the track's paint clipClosed

  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 will be used for creating events with the Draw or Paint tool .

For more information about using clips, please see Using Clips with Tracks.