APPLE COMPUTER Soundtrack 1.1 (MAC OS X)

Feb 1, 2004 12:00 PM, By Mike Levine

With its purchase of Emagic, Apple became a major player in the Mac music-software market. Now comes the release of Soundtrack, its new loop-based music-production application.

Originally bundled with Apple's Final Cut Pro video-editing software, Soundtrack is now being offered as a standalone program. Although it was initially designed to help nonmusical creative types like video editors or Web designers produce inexpensive, royalty-free music tracks for their projects, it has plenty of utility for recording musicians, and is a surprisingly full-featured application for the money.

Apple's Soundtrack software offers quck-and-easy loop-based music production with integrated video and high-quality audio and effects.

Soundtrack allows you to easily assemble compositions in a wide range of styles. The program offers automated mixing, high-quality Emagic plug-ins, tools for scoring to picture, the ability to export files in a number of formats, a 4 GB loop library, and much more.

When you open a loop in Soundtrack, the program automatically matches the loop's tempo to the master tempo you've set for your composition. It also detects a loop's key and sets it to match the key you've specified. As with many other loop sequencers, you can record audio directly into Soundtrack, which opens up the possibilities even further.

Minimum System Requirements

Soundtrack 1.1 G4/500 MHz or dual 450 MHz or faster; 384 MB RAM (512 MB recommended); Mac OS X 10.2.5 or later; QuickTime 6.1 or later; CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive for Soundtrack installation; DVD-ROM drive for Apple Loops (optional) installation; 5 GB available disk space

Unlike some similar applications, however, Soundtrack doesn't support MIDI or ReWire, so you can't sync it to an external device or to your sequencer. But it does let you export your creations, either as mixes or as separate tracks, so that you can open them in other audio programs.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

Soundtrack comes on two discs. One is a CD-ROM containing the program itself, and the other is a DVD containing the 4 GB loop collection (which breaks down to over 4,000 individual loops), giving you an instant library of considerable size to get started with. If your Mac isn't equipped with a DVD drive (as was the case with the G4/733 MHz I initially used to test the program), you'll have to find another way to get the loop content into your computer. (I networked my machine with another Mac that had a DVD drive and transferred the loops over that way.)

Soundtrack can handle up to 24-bit, 96 kHz audio, but it has pretty hefty processor requirements compared to a lot of digital audio software. It needs at least a 500 MHz G4 processor to run on a single processor machine (or 450 MHz on a G4 dual processor), which means that a lot of Macs currently in circulation won't be able to run it. Contrast that to Ableton Live — another loop sequencer that does similar time and pitch gymnastics — which can even run on a G3.

Soundtrack ran smoothly on my G4/733 MHz, although, as you would expect with any digital audio program, it slowed down when a lot of tracks with effects were open. When I later tested Soundtrack on a dual-processor G5/2 GHz, I noticed no slowdown in performance, even with a large number of tracks and effects open.

SEEK AND YOU SHALL FIND

FIG. 1: The Media Manager (left) and the Project Workspace (center and right) are the two main sections of Soundtrack; they can be displayed separately or together.

You do most of your work in Soundtrack in its main screen, which consists of two parts: the Media Manager and the Project Workspace (see Fig. 1). The Media Manager lets you find and audition loops and other media files, and you actually put your compositions together in the Project Workspace. These windows can be set to open separately or as one integrated screen.

One of the strengths of Soundtrack is its ability to organize and manage large libraries of audio files (both looping and one-shot) and allow for multiple types of searches. The program can import AIFF, QuickTime, WAV, and Acidized WAV files — which means Soundtrack users can take advantage of the many Acid loop libraries available. Soundtrack recognizes instrument and genre types from the file names of imported loops (as well as any metatags the loops contain) and uses that information to categorize them.

I tested out Soundtrack's importing capabilities in a couple of ways. First, I imported a disc of Acid loops into Soundtrack. The program successfully read the data from the CD and categorized the loops correctly.

I then tested Soundtrack's ability to handle an audio file with no embedded metadata. On an audio sampling CD, I found a loop of a country drum beat that featured a side stick. I ripped the track containing the loop and opened it in my 2-track editor. After tweaking its start and end points, I saved it as an AIFF file and named it “Country Side Stick.” When I imported it into Soundtrack, the program automatically categorized it under both the Drum Kit and Country/Folk categories.

FIG. 2: Soundtrack Loop Utility, a companion application you can open with Soundtrack, lets you edit a loop's key, tempo, and other properties and add keywords for better categorization.

Apple has also introduced its own file format, called Apple Loops. An Apple Loop is actually an AIFF file with embedded metatags that characterize the loop by genre, intensity, instrument, and several other descriptors. That information makes searching for and organizing loops within Soundtrack a lot easier.

If you're importing your own loops, you can do a limited amount of editing on them in Soundtrack Loop Utility, an included standalone editor that you can open from within Soundtrack (see Fig. 2). It doesn't do waveform editing, but you can add descriptors, add or edit copyright information, designate the basic key and tempo, and adjust how Soundtrack interprets a loop's rhythmic transients.

USER-FRIENDLY

FIG. 3: The Buttons View of the Media Manager is just one of several ways Soundtrack can display its loop library.

One of Soundtrack's most impressive attributes is its incredibly friendly user interface. You can start making music within seconds of launching the program. The default view in the Media Manager's search window (called the Search Pane) is the Buttons view (see Fig. 3), which shows four rows of keyword buttons, each with an instrument type, mood, or other descriptive word.

Click on the Drum button, for instance, and a list of drum loops appears in the Media Manager's Search Results area, which shows you the loop name, original tempo, original key, number of beats, and more. When you search for specific types of loops (you can also change views and search by instrument category, mood, and genre, or simply browse through standard directories) the appropriate files show up in the list.

When you've located a loop that you might want to use, click on it in the list, and it will start playing. If you like it, simply drag it over to a track in the Project Workspace (where it shows up as a waveform display) and hit play, and you're in business. You can drag it to any location along the horizontal Timeline, which shows you both bars:beats and hours:minutes:seconds. If you have the Snapping feature turned on, a loop that you drag in will automatically snap to the nearest beat (you can select the value, such as quarter note or eighth note), marker, or grid line. If Snapping is off you can place the loop anywhere.

Soundtrack automatically matches your loop to the master tempo and key of the song. But if you decide later in the project to change the tempo and key, no problem. You can adjust them to your heart's content using the controls in the upper right-hand corner of the Project Workspace. You can even automate master tempo and transposition with breakpoint-style editing (referred to in Soundtrack as Envelopes). However, the transpose and tempo adjustments don't work on audio that was recorded using Soundtrack's audio recording features, so make sure to settle on a key and tempo before you start overdubbing.

PRODUCT SUMMARY
Apple Soundtrack 1.1 loop editor $299
FEATURES	3.5
EASE OF USE	4.5
QUALITY OF SOUNDS	4.0
VALUE	4.0
RATING PRODUCTS FROM 1 TO 5
PROS: Good sound. Extensive included loop library. Easy to use. Useful for scoring to video. Easy to import loops from other formats. Excellent export options and search features. High-quality effects. Changes audio tempos flawlessly. Automation of volume, pan, transpose, tempo, and effects parameters. Competitively priced. CONS: No MIDI or ReWire support. OS X only. Requires fast computer. DVD drive needed for loading loop library. Manual isn't well indexed. Not enough fills in included drum loops. No click or count-off options. Lack of presets for the effects. Doesn't support multiple time signatures in a single composition.
Manufacturer Apple Computer tel. (408) 996-1010 Web www.apple.com

BUILDING A SONG

Soundtrack offers a number of features designed to help you flesh out full arrangements. For instance, extending a loop beyond its original length is a snap. Simply hold the mouse over the right edge of the waveform display, click, and drag. It makes multiple copies and extends as far as you want. You can also copy a loop and paste it somewhere else in the song.

You can shorten a loop by dragging from its right edge, and you can change its Offset Point (where the loop starts) by Command-Option-dragging it from right to left. You can use Soundtrack's editing features (which also include commands for splitting and joining loops) to chop up a loop into small segments and rearrange it, although that operation is a bit more cumbersome than it would be in a digital audio sequencer or 2-track editor.

By dragging various instrument loops into separate tracks, you can easily build grooves. You can then copy and paste sections from multiple tracks to construct an arrangement.

Although much of Soundtrack's interface is extremely intuitive, you will sometimes need to consult the included printed manual. It is well written and informative, but I was frustrated by its index, which is skimpy and not cross-referenced well.

THEM CHANGES

The program's ability to change a loop's tempo is quite impressive. You can speed a loop up or slow it down considerably from its original tempo, without a noticeable difference in sound quality. Soundtrack's transposition capabilities aren't quite as seamless — I heard some artifacts and distortion when samples were transposed too far. However, that isn't surprising. Audio transposition is always harder to do convincingly. But as long as you keep it within a reasonable range, Soundtrack's transposition feature works quite well.

As with any loop sequencer, one of the problems with Soundtrack is that it's hard to put together compositions that feature anything but simple harmonic structures. Many of the loops vamp on a single chord or contain simple changes like I-IV or I-V. Trying to put together a rhythm track for a song that has a lot of changes is almost impossible using the included loops. However, you can do some harmonic adjustments using the Transpose feature.

When you Control-click on a loop's waveform in the Project Workspace, you bring up a dialog box that lets you select a transpose value from -12 to +12 semitones. (This dialog box also gives you a number of other edit options including changing the Clip Speed, finding the loop in the Finder, and more.) I put together a 12-bar blues progression by taking bass, guitar, and piano parts that were vamping on the I chord and transposing them by +5 (to create a IV chord) and +7 (to create a V chord) at the appropriate points in the progression (listen to Web Clip 1).

For a simple transposition you do have some flexibility. However, if you want to put together something that's harmonically complex, you're going to be out of luck — unless you import your own loops that have the correct chord progressions — because you'll never be able to manipulate the loops to play all of those complex changes.

That said, it's astoundingly easy to assemble a great-sounding track in Soundtrack. I was able to put together a three-chorus, funky blues, replete with bass, piano, drums, and horn section, in about 15 minutes.

THE SOUNDS OF APPLE

The quality of the 4 GB loop library that comes with Soundtrack is, by and large, very good. And unlike some other loop-production programs, Soundtrack's sound set isn't focused exclusively on electronic dance music. I estimate that slightly less than 20 percent of the loops that ship with the program are electronica; there's also a good selection of rock, funk, blues, folk, country, jazz, and world music. In addition, the collection provides an assortment of one-shot sound effects and some complete music beds.

The bulk of the included loops were licensed by Apple from PowerFX, although there are also some in the collection that were put together by musicians at Apple who worked on the project. The collection includes loops of rhythm-section instruments such as guitar (acoustic and electric, distorted and clean), bass (electric, upright, and synth), keyboards (solo pianos, synths, clavinets, organs), and drums (acoustic and electronic in a variety of styles).

I do wish that more of the drum loops had fills to supplement them. There are some fills, but not as many as I would have liked. When you're putting together a song-length drum track and you want it to sound like a live drummer, it's useful to have a variety of fills at your disposal.

Other loop types include ethnic percussion, vocals, accordions, banjos, mandolins, and flutes. For some reason, there are no solo sax loops included, but there are some killer R&B horn-section parts that can be easily manipulated within an arrangement.

TRACK YOUR OWN

FIG. 4: In the Multiple Take recording window, you can record numerous passes of a specified section and then choose among them.

As mentioned, you can also record your own audio into Soundtrack to supplement the looped tracks or to use as raw material to make your own loops. The program has two recording modes: Single Take and Multiple Take (see Fig. 4). As its name implies, Single Take lets you record one pass at a time. Multiple Take allows you to record as many passes as you want (disk space permitting, of course) over a looping section and then choose which one to include in your track.

One of the problems with the recording section is that Soundtrack has no click available. You have to do some work-arounds to get a count-in, such as sliding all of your tracks forward by one or two measures and adding a simple rhythmic loop at the beginning (there's a loop of a clave playing quarter notes that works well for that). Another problem with the recording feature is that you can't record a mono track. Everything automatically defaults to stereo. For recording vocals or instruments it would be nice to have the option to save disk space by recording in mono.

When doing the initial testing for this review using version 1.01, I discovered a bug that made it impossible to accurately sync recorded audio with the looped tracks. Strangely, the recordings played back consistently about 125 to 150 ms before the looped audio.

According to Apple, the problem was limited to single-processor machines (such as the G4/733 MHz I was using), although another EM reviewer experienced similar problems on a dual G5/2 GHz. When I later tested Soundtrack on a different dual-processor G5/2 GHz, however, I didn't experience any audio problems.

Apple has fixed the sync problem in Soundtrack 1.1. I tested the update on both the G4/733 MHz and the dual G5/2 GHz, and the audio and loops synced perfectly every time. (Version 1.1 doesn't add any new user features, but it does offer what Apple terms as “general fixes as well as improvements in performance and linking of relocated project audio files.”) If you have version 1.01 and a single-processor machine and you're experiencing sync problems, downloading the free update to version 1.1 from the Apple Web site will take care of them.

PAINT THE PICTURE

FIG. 5: You can import QuickTime movies to Soundtrack by dragging them into the Video Pane. Once a movie has been opened, you can control the volume of its audio track.

Soundtrack has much to offer if you're scoring to picture. Since it was originally designed to go with Final Cut Pro, it has a lot of features that are quite helpful, especially in the early stages of a scoring project. You can easily import QuickTime movies into Soundtrack by dragging and dropping them into the Video Pane (see Fig. 5), which is located at the top of the Project Workspace. When a movie is opened, you see it in the video pane, and its audio track shows up with the others, allowing you to adjust volume and pan and add effects.

Soundtrack lets you set markers, which are useful for marking hit points on a video (or just to delineate verse, chorus, and so forth, in a song), and you can set the Snapping feature to snap to the markers. By zooming in on the Project Workspace (and its grid lines), you increase the resolution at which you can manipulate loops. So in a scoring situation, you can zoom in far enough that each grid line represents another frame of video. That makes it easy to shift loops (especially sound effects) a frame at a time to tighten up hit points.

The diversity of the loop library lets you put lots of different flavors into your scores (listen to Web Clip 2). In addition, Soundtrack makes it easy to try out a variety of grooves at a bunch of different tempos in order to find a combination that works well with your picture. However, while the program supports a variety of time signatures, each composition can have only one.

Once you've created the music for your picture, you can save it along with the video as a QuickTime movie. Soundtrack also includes features for importing from and exporting to Final Cut Pro.

MIX AND MATCH

Soundtrack has many useful mixing features, too. Each track has its own sliders for volume and pan, and you access them right from the Project Workspace, so there's no need to switch to a separate mixer window. Breakpoint-style automation is available not only for volume, pan, and transpose on each channel, but for effects parameters as well.

FIG. 6: Soundtrack comes with 19 plug-ins from Emagic's Logic Platinum, including PlatinumVerb, shown here.

You can add effects on individual tracks or the master bus, and their parameters can be automated. Soundtrack comes bundled with 19 effects from Emagic's Logic Platinum software, including PlatinumVerb (see Fig. 6), Sub Bass, Overdrive, Compressor, Distortion, and Bit Crusher. You also get 12 Apple Audio Unit effects, and you can install third-party Audio Unit plug-ins.

I was very impressed with the quality of the Emagic effects, all of which sounded excellent and were easy to use. The Apple effects were generally quite good too, although several offered only the most basic parameter control. A very small number of the included plug-ins — whether from Emagic or from Apple — offer presets, which is too bad. I invariably find it easier to use a preset as a starting point when setting up an effect.

APPLE TRACKING

Considering its relatively modest price, Soundtrack is an impressive and deep program. It's extremely easy to use, offers a huge library of sounds, and features good-sounding effects and useful mixing and automation features.

Those who are relatively new to desktop music production will find Soundtrack to be simple tool for putting together nice-sounding tracks. Recording musicians with more experience will find it useful for producing quick demos, as an arranging sketchpad (you can try out all kinds of instruments in your arrangements), and as a pre-production program for assembling loops into full-length tracks that can then be exported to a digital audio sequencer. Further, it's very handy for scoring to video, especially with its superb time-stretching features.

My wish list for future versions of Soundtrack would include more features in the recording section (includes click and count-off options), more drum fills in the included loops, a better indexed manual, more presets for the effects, and MIDI and ReWire capability. But as a whole, Soundtrack is a great program and an exciting alternative for those interested in loop-based music production on the Mac.