Track properties, MIDI

The properties of a loop as it occurs in ACID are modified through the Track Properties window. To view a loop s properties once it has been inserted into a project (track), irom the View menu, select Track Properties. Click on a track to change the focus of the program to that track and view its properties in the Ttack Properties window. While a track s properties are initially determined by the information saved with the media file, the track properties are still independent and can be changed. The track properties always supercede the loop s properties. The specific properties that are available depend on the track type, as previously discussed. MIDI and video files can also be inserted into tracks, but not into audio tracks. MIDI and video tracks are dealt with in their own chapters. 

The Reload button allows you to reset any changes you ve made to the MIDI track back to the defaults of the MIDI file by reloading it into the project. The Replace button lets you browse for another MIDI file to use in place of the current one. This is most useful when you have used a number of envelopes on the main timeline and don t want to have to redo them or when you have edited the MIDI file in an external application and saved it to a new name. The Save bntton saves the root note to the MIDI file, but it does not save any other information. Most of the changes made in the Track Properties dialog box are saved at the project level when you save the project. 

The Root note functions the same as in other Track Properties dialog boxes. Most MIDI tracks will use Don t transpose as a root note, since MIDI events are usually longer and may contain internal key changes. If you would like a MIDI track to change key as the project does, set the root note of the MIDI file to be the same as the project key. This will ensure that the MIDI file will play back in the default key it was created in and will not be transposed initially. Transposition for MIDI files poses less of a distortion problem than with audio files. The root note can be saved to the MIDI file using the Save button at the top of the Track Properties window. 

The MIDI data recorded into AQD is recorded without a specific instrument selected. To change the voice or the instrument used in the track, open the Track Properties dialog box for the newly created track. Then go to the Voices tab and, under the Program data field, click the arrow and select a Bank and instrument (voice), as shown in Figure 10.9. This new instrument information is not saved with the MIDI file, even if you click the Save button at the top of the window. Instead, instrument information is project specific and will be saved with the project that contains the media file. To make this a permanent part of the MIDI file, you will need to use a MIDI file editing application. 

Especially useful in improving the quality of MIDI in ACID are Equalization plug-ins. Any of these can be used to bring out the specific voices you want to emphasize, although keep in mind that you can also do this by increasing the volume of individual voices in the Track Properties dialog box. Boosting the bass bequencies a little can often add richness to MIDI tracks. 

Video tracks do not have any properties that can be displayed in the Track Properties dialog box. None of the audio controls (Volume slider, Mute button, and so on) on audio and MIDI tracks is available or necessary on a video track, and neither are any envelopes. 

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