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S o u n d s h a p e r |
| SOUNDSHAPER
is a control
interface for CDP. SOUNDSHAPER-CDP together make an easy-to-use
fully
featured sound transformation and composition package. Details of how
to
obtain the CDP software suite are available from the Composers'
Desktop Project (CDP).
The full
program,
Soundshaper Pro (PC only), supports the latest CDP Release 6, which has
many new processes for multi-channel work. SOUNDSHAPER-CDP CDP works in
non-realtime:
all sound-processing output
is written to files. Soundshaper
writes
these
to
temporary
files,
so
that
you
are not burdened with
un-necessary housekeeping. At any stage you can save files you want to
keep. Although realtime processing allows you to hear changes
instantly, you always have to run the processes through to the end in
realtime. With Soundshaper patches, you can often process a patch
faster than in realtime. More fundamentally, many CDP processes simply
could not be run in realtime, because they are dealing with information
that is ahead in the file, for example BLUR, which averages the
information across successive time-windows in the spectral
domain. MAIN PAGE  view full size
MULTI-PROCESS PATCHES The heart of Soundshaper is the multi-process PATCH GRID, a kind of musical spreadsheet:  Each process
occupies one cell and each row represents a sequence of processes
derived
from a separate source, or representing a separate channel. Here, the source (Cell A_0) is
converted into the spectral
domain by FFT (PvocAnal), timestretched, converted back into the
time-domain (PvocSynth), modulated (Vibrato), then mixed with
transposed copies of itself (Stack); finally the result is normalized
(Loudness).
The structure as a whole is called a patch. Patches can be saved, recalled and run with different source sounds. Any cell in the patch can be auditioned, saved, viewed in an editor, re-edited or replaced with a different process. Setting up patches for common sequences of processes is an efficient way of working with the often low-level functions of the CDP suite and storing a complete record of what you did. You can build templates for use with standard CDP process chains, saving time and recording your favourite procedures. For example, the simple mini-patch Source-->PvocAnalyse-->Getpitch-->Make extracts pitch from a spectral analysis and then 'Make' combines this with formants extracted from a second sound. By running the patch with different source sounds and choosing different formant files, you can quickly try different possibilities. Soundshaper supports a chain of 12 processes per row and has up to ten rows (2 in LITE) deriving from different sources or representing different audio channels. There are many support facilities for patches: copying cells, copying rows in whole or part, importing and exporting whole or partial rows, adding and deleting cells, linking cells and rows. CDP can work with a variety of soundfile types, sample-rates and bit-rates. In Soundshaper, all source files are converted to .WAV before processing. MULTI-CHANNEL
WORK CDP doesn't just
work with
soundfiles. The other main file types are Frequency Analysis files (for
spectral processes), Pitch files (for processing pitch extract from
spectral
files) and Envelope files (for processing the amplitude envelope of
sound).
To help you select the correct type for a process, all menus have
colour-coded
icons. FILE POOL:
SECONDARY
INPUTS The Main page's
status
bar displays all input and output files so that you see the underlying
patch structure. Though not as immediately visual as a system of
virtual patch cords, this is much less cluttered, and the information
is readily available just by clicking on the cell. SPARE FILE PLAYING FILES
SELECTING PROCESSES
The new Process List feature allows you to save and recall favourite processes via a drop-down list. You can store and load as many of these selections as you wish. PARAMETER PAGES Selecting a process nornally leads to a Parameter Page where you set the appropriate values to run the process.  view full size If you run a process
and
are not satisfied with it, a double-click on the cell returns you to
the Parameter Page where parameters are
normally
as you left them, ready for amendment.
TIME-VARYING PARAMETERS Many parameter values in CDP can vary over the lifetime of the input (occasionally the output) sound. In the GRAIN example above nearly all parameters can be time-varying (PITCHSHIFT is shown). Time-varying data is stored by CDP in textfiles, which can be quite messy to handle: Soundshaper makes this process easy by saving the files with the patch, so that you can store source data files as templates (like the above) and time-scale these for use with the current sound. T-V parameters
can also
be
edited visually in the GraphEd visual
editor, where
you
can
create
or
edit
suitable
time-varying
values
or
import
data from another file created earlier. Points are created
by
clicking
and moved by mouse-drag or fader, or you can adjust all values as a
group.
The data is also shown in table form (just as it will be saved) and all
table data is fully editable.  view full size The GraphEd visual editor also has presets for the quick creation of table data, such as this 1/3-8ve MIDI-based Graphic EQ:  view full size PARAMETER PRESETS Parameter settings are easily stored and recalled: they can be saved temporarily as snapshots or to file as presets, or written to a text file. Presets are simply sets of parameters and are not tied to any specific source files. Datafiles, such as time-varying data values, are saved automatically along with presets. Using presets you can select and run a process with as few as 3 clicks/keystrokes. Soundshaper can also save parameter sets as Snapshots (temporary) or as parameter files.
HELP AND INFORMATION A brief Hint is
given for
every process in the Main-page Menus, with links to CDP Help. Enabling
'QUICKHELP' displays a fuller description when the process is selected,
with the option to proceed to the Parameter Page. On each
Parameter
Page there is a brief Help description for every process-mode and
parameter,
and there is one-click access to Soundshaper's HTML
manual, in which CDP processes are described at two levels, as well as
to the very
detailed CDP Help. Detailed
information is
readily
available on soundfiles and all CDP
file
types. Conversions can be also made between common audio and musical
data
types
such as MIDI-Hz, Semitones-Ratio, dB-Gain.  MARKERS Although Soundshaper does not have a built-in visual editor, you can send the current soundfile to your favourite editor from within the program. Several editors, including AUDACITY, WAVESURFER, WAVOSAUR and CDP's VIEWSF can export markers (time-points for editing, playing etc.) which Soundshaper can pick up via the Marker section's GET button or by Hotkey. You can also Record Markers while a soundfile is playing or stopped at any point. Markers have many uses for editing, creating lists of time-points for several CDP functions, or processing part of a file.
Every kind of editing is available within Soundshaper-CDP: for example, you can specify cuts and splices down to sample level. Some editing tasks are more precisely achieved non-graphically: for example the SWITCH processes, which produce a rapid oscillation between two or more sounds, based on a file of time-points. SPLITTING, INTERLEAVING and MIXING The Patch Grid is ideal for splitting stereo or multi-channel sounds into separate channels and processing them independently. In this example, SLICE splits the spectrum into separate bands, which are treated to varying degrees of transposition and then interleaved to make a four-channel file:  CDP is a
creative tool and its mixing facilities are best used for creating new
sounds by mixing, rather than for mixing tracks. Several functions can
do a quick mix of sounds, optionally with a balance parameter, or you
can create and run a mix using CDP Mixfiles, which specify a
series of soundfiles to be mixed at
particular
times, levels and panning, or mix sounds to create a multi-channel
output
(CDP6/Soundshaper Pro only) .
MIX PAGE Soundshaper's Mix Page provides a dedicated editing environment for selecting files, creating and editing Mixfiles. In this screenshot, mix parameters are set for sounds pre-selected on the Main Page and the mix is run without any need to understand the CDP mixfile format:  view full size You can also import or
re-edit a previous mix, using the same parameter faders, or by manually
editing values in the mix list:
 DATA EDITOR  view
full
size
OTHER FEATURES EXTERNAL PROGRAMS You can set up paths to up to 10 favourite external programs and launch these from within Soundshaper. You can easily process your sound externally, e.g. using VST or DX plugins hosted by your editor, and return the result to Soundshaper for further processing. SEQUENCES Soundshaper has MIDI support for CDP Sequences. The SEQUENCE2 function is virtually a software sampler, playing any number of sources at any pitch, time and level. Its data format is quite close to MIDI, but it's not MIDI. Soundshaper Pro allows you to convert a standard MIDI file (SMF) into the Sequence2 format and realise it in audio using any suitable source sounds. HISTORY
ACCESSIBILITY SUMMARY OF KEY
FEATURES
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