D E S I G N G RO U P DJ Performance/Production Software User Guide
Table of Contents Torq LE User Guide Chapter 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Chapter 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 WELCOME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 SYNCHRONIZATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 TORQ LE OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Table of Contents Torq LE User Guide Chapter 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Chapter 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 MASTER OUTPUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 APPENDIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Volume Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Preset Key Assignments . . . . .
3 WELCOME T hank you for choosing M-Audio’s Torq LE DJ performance software! M-Audio is an industry-leader in professional music products for computer-based musicians and DJs. What you hold in your hands is a piece of that heritage—a piece of the very products used daily by professionals around the world. With this software, you will DJ using your collection of audio files on your computer. You can even record the results and burn them onto CD, or copy them onto a media player.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 1 TORQ LE OVERVIEW T orq LE is a software extrapolation and extension of tried-and-true DJ tools and techniques for your Mac OS X or Windows XP computer. Torq is not bound by the limits of hardware—it embraces the technology of today’s most advanced audio production applications and integrates with them in a fashion that makes you part of the music.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 1 Decks DJing begins with music, so you will get to know Torq’s Decks very well. A Deck is what Torq LE uses to play back a single digital music file and is analogous to the turntable or CD player used by DJs. The Deck allows you to play a track, change its speed and its key, as well as rearrange it by looping and jumping to new locations within the song. Torq is equipped with two of these Decks—one on each side of the screen.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 1 PFL/Headphone Cue DJs commonly listen to a track on their headphones without letting their audience hear it. This allows them to match the tempo of the new song to the current one, along with finding the correct starting position for the song. Torq LE will allow you to monitor either Deck on headphones, and also features a stereo headphone split normally reserved for high-quality DJ mixers.
7 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Windows: Minimum System Requirements Recommended System Specifications OS: Windows XP (SP2) OS: Windows XP (SP2) CPU: Pentium III 933 MHz CPU: Pentium IV 2 GHz (or greater) RAM: 256 MB RAM: 1 GB Hard drive: 7200RPM or faster Chapter 2 1 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS . . . . . . 7 Mac*: Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Mac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Minimum System Requirements INSTALLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Mac OS X 10.4.6 CPU: G4 1.
8 DECKS W hen DJing, everything begins with the Decks. The Decks will play the music that you’ll mix and effect using all the tools in Torq LE. Traditionally, a DJ’s decks will be turntables or CD players. Therefore, the Decks in Torq have been designed to emulate both turntables and CD players, as well as offering a special hybrid mode only possible with software. Displays Each Deck has various informational displays throughout the interface.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 3 1 Time Elapsed This is the current location of the song, marked by the yellow Current Position Marker in the Overview Waveform Display. The Time Elapsed is expressed in hours/minutes/seconds/frames (30 fps). When the Current Position Marker is at the beginning of the song, the Time Elapsed will be 0:0:0.0. Time Remain This field indicates how much time is left before the song ends.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 3 1 10 Cue The Cue button will establish a primary Cue Point within a song. A Cue Point is a reference position within the track that you can jump to instantly, rather than having to seek through the track to find it. Typically, a DJ will set the Cue Point where the beat begins in a song. It is visible (in red) within the Waveform Display. The Cue button abides by the following rules: 1.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 3 1 11 Deck Mode In order for Torq LE to feel familiar to all types of DJs, the Decks can be operated in one of three different modes. < Vinyl Mode Vinyl Mode will make the Deck behave as if it was a turntable. This means: 1. Pressing Play/Pause to pause playback will cause audio to stop, just like pressing stop on a turntable. 2. Clicking and dragging on the Scrolling Waveform will have audible results, like scratching a record.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 3 1 12 < Loop In/Out Looping an entire song doesn’t have much benefit for a DJ, so Torq allows you to move the Loop Markers by using the Loop In and Loop Out buttons: 1. Load a song into a Deck and press Play. The song will begin to play. 2. When playback reaches the beginning of the section you want to loop, click the Loop In button.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 3 1 13 » QuickLoop Size Preference As mentioned above, the default loop lengths for the four QuickLoop buttons are one bar, two bars, four bars, and eight bars. The QuickLoop Size preference allows you to change the QuickLoop buttons to beat values instead of bar values: 1. Open the Torq LE Preferences menu and click on the Behaviors tab. 2. Click the arrow next to QuickLoop Size option and choose “Beat” from the drop-down list. 3.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 3 1 14 < Slider Range By default, the range of the Speed Adjuster is +/- 8%. That means that if you move the slider to either of its extremes, you’ll only get an 8% change in the speed of the song. To the left of the Speed Adjuster is a display showing the current range setting for the slider: You can change the range of the Speed Adjuster by clicking on this range display. Each time you click, the range will advance to the next highest setting.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 3 1 » Manual Tempo As mentioned above, Torq LE can determine the tempo of most dance music. Some music, however, is too complex or not repetitive enough for Torq to detect the tempo with precision. Fortunately, you can help Torq to determine the proper tempo through a number of different methods. The appropriate method will be based on the type of tempo correction you’re trying to achieve.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 3 1 16 < MIDI Slider/Knob Control MIDI control of the Key Adjust is different from other controls in Torq. You can assign a knob or slider to the Key Adjust, or you can assign keys on your MIDI keyboard—the behavior of the Key Adjust is dependent on your control method. 1. Right-click (CTRL-click, Mac) on the Key Display; it will turn red indicating that it’s waiting for an assignment. 2. Move a MIDI knob or slider on your MIDI controller.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 3 1 Sync Button The Sync button provides an automatic method of synchronizing the beat and BPM of one Deck to the other. When you engage Sync on a Deck (the Sync icon is on), it will change that Deck’s tempo to match the other Deck. Furthermore, when you press Play, Torq will align the song to the phase of the other. Essentially, the Synced Deck will be “slaved” to the other Deck (which would be the “master”).
18 WAVEFORM DISPLAY O ne of the most prominent features of the Torq LE user interface is the Scrolling Waveform Display, which takes up a decent amount of real estate above the Mixer and Effect Racks. Unlike the smaller Overview Waveforms found in each Deck, the Scrolling Waveforms only show a few seconds of the current song before and after the current play position. The song in Deck A (on the left) is shown at the top of the Scrolling Waveform display.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 4 1 19 Loop Points The Loop Points of the song (set with the Loop In/Out buttons or the QuickCue buttons) will be shown on the Waveform. The looped area of the music will appear in a lighter shade compared to the rest of the waveform. Cue Points If you’ve used the Cue button or QuickCue buttons to place various Cue Markers in the song, you will see them here.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 4 1 20 Hybrid Mode With Hybrid mode active, the waveform will respond exactly like the CDJ mode while the Deck controls (Play/Pause, Cue, etc.) behave like Vinyl Mode. 1. Click and hold on the waveform. The music will continue to play 2. While holding on the mouse button, drag the mouse left. The playback tempo will be momentarily increased, making the waveform scroll a little faster to the left. 3. Now hold and drag the mouse to the right.
21 SYNCHRONIZATION A t most of today’s dance clubs and events, the DJ will mix the songs together using a technique called beat-matching. The goal is to fade the volumes between two songs while keeping them perfectly in beat with one another. If done properly, the audience will never have to stop dancing as the beat of one song will blend in with the beat of the new song—sounding like one single song.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 5 1 When a mis-alignment occurs (as seen above), you’ll see that the grid does not line up with the beginnings of the beats (transients) in the waveform. In the example, the Phase Grid is too early, leaving a gap between the grid lines and the transients in the waveform. There are a number of ways to fix a mis-aligned Phase Grid.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 5 1 Sync Button The Sync button is an automatic method of synchronizing the beat and BPM of one Deck to another. When you engage Sync on a Deck (the Sync icon is on), it will change that Deck’s tempo to match the other Deck. Furthermore, when you press Play, Torq will align the song to the phase of the other Deck. Essentially, the synced Deck will be “slaved” to the other Deck (which would be the “master”).
24 EXTERNAL CONTROL One of Torq’s greatest features is the ability to use external sources to control the playback of your song files. In particular, you can use external MIDI hardware (such as the X-Session Pro DJ controller) to control various features within Torq LE. MIDI Prefs The second tab of the Preferences contains the MIDI options. At the bottom of this tab is a list of all the available MIDI input devices on your computer. Each device has a “Yes/No” option to enable or disable it.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 6 1 25 MIDI Learn Every musician approaches their craft from a slightly different direction. DJing is no different. That is why Torq LE is basically a blank slate when run for the first time—there are no pre-set control assignments for any of the buttons, knobs, or sliders seen on screen for you to memorize. Instead, you get to assign the most important controls for you to whatever MIDI controls make the most sense to you.
26 BROWSER/DATABASE A DJ’s most important asset, beyond the gear he uses, is his collection of music. Without a wealth of top-notch tracks in his arsenal, a DJ is not equipped to dominate a dance floor. Anyone who has been DJing for even a short while will have amassed a decent collection of songs, and finding those songs quickly is the job of Torq LE’s Browser and Database. The Browser is very similar to the navigation methods employed by your computer’s operating system.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 7 1 Navigation in the Browser follows a few simple rules: 1. To view any songs contained in a folder, click on the folder’s name. If the folder contains music files, those files will be displayed in the File List to the right of the Browser pane. If Torq LE cannot identify any playable music files in the selected folder, the list will be blank. 2. To view any sub-folders, click the plus sign (+) next to a folder.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 7 1 28 < Adding Multiple Folders You may find that one folder will contain many folders that you’d like to add to the Database. A great example of this is when your music is automatically sorted by a program like Apple iTunes. Typically, there will be a folder for each artist in your collection, and each of these folders will contain individual folders for each album by that artist.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 7 1 File List The window to the right of the Browser pane is called the File List. If you have selected a source in the Browser that contains music (such as the Database or an individual folder), the songs contained therein will be listed here. The File List not only shows you the name of the song, but also shows the artist name, album name, track number, genre, and other fields contained within the song’s ID3 tag.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 7 1 30 Loading Songs into the Decks To load a song from the File List into one of Torq’s Decks, you have a couple options. < Click and Drag 1. Click and hold on the desired song in the File List. It will become highlighted. 2. While continuing to hold the mouse button, drag the song up into either of Torq’s Decks. 3. Once the song is over your desired Deck, release the mouse button and the track will be loaded into the Deck.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 7 1 Searching the List The simplest method for searching is to type a keyword (or keywords) into the Search field above the Database/ Browser: 1. Click the Database heading in the Browser pane to select it. 2. Click in the Search field and type in your search term(s). Terms can include an artist’s name, a song title, BPM, etc. 3. As soon as you start typing, Torq will begin searching the Database for the letters you have typed.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 7 1 < Ignore Field Torq offers another method for refining your searches by means of the Ignore field. Here, you’ll enter terms that you want Torq to omit from the search results. The Ignore command will only be applied to the currently selected categories (explained above). To omit terms from the search results: 1. Click to put a cursor in the Ignore Field. 2. Type in the term you would like to filter out of the search. 3.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 7 1 < Creating New Playlists To start, you must create a new Playlist as follows: 1. Right-click (CTRL-click on Mac) on the Playlists heading in the Browser and choose “New Playlist” from the pop-up menu. 2. A new Playlist titled “Empty Playlist” will appear below the Playlist heading (click the plus sign in front of Playlists in order to see this list).
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 7 1 34 < Reordering Songs in a Playlist The order in which your songs are displayed in the Playlist can be changed. 1. Click and drag the song up or down in the list. 2. If you drag the song on top of another existing song, releasing the mouse button will cause the song to be inserted above the song in the list.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 7 1 35 < Loading a Playlist Torq LE can import Playlists created by other programs if they conform to the .m3u file format. To load one of these Playlists: 1. Right-click (CTRL-click on Mac) the Playlist’s heading in the Browser pane. 2. Select “Load Playlist” from the pop-up menu. 3. A standard dialog box will open, allowing you to locate and select a Playlist. 4.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 7 1 iTunes iTunes is a free media player available from Apple for both Mac and Windows computers (www.itunes.com). It provides an excellent way to download, organize, and rip music as well as interfacing with Apple’s famous portable media player, the iPod. Torq LE can interface with iTunes, providing you instant access to your entire collection of music and playlists without having to manually add folders to the Database.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 7 1 37 iPods Torq LE also allows direct access to the contents of any connected iPod (excluding the iPod Shuffle). When an iPod is connected, it will be listed in the Browser window. Like the iTunes Library above, the contents of the iPod can be searched using the Library or Playlist headings.
38 MIXER S tep one when DJing is controlling the music. That’s what Torq’s Decks are for. Step two is blending, or mixing, the music together. As you’d expect, Torq LE has a section for that, too. While existing in software, Torq’s Mixer sounds and behaves just like a top-of-the-line hardware mixer. It is therefore instantly familiar to anyone who has used a mixer before, and it is capable of performing the same tricks and techniques utilized by DJs on traditional hardware mixers.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 8 1 EQ/Kills Next in the signal chain is the Equalizer, or EQ for short. While the Gain knob (above) increases or decreases the level of the entire audio signal in the channel, an EQ increases or decreases the level of only a specific frequency range within the audio signal. Torq LE is equipped with a 3-band EQ, meaning it can control the levels of three different frequency ranges (bands), named High, Mid, and Low.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 8 1 40 Channel Volume Faders Besides going to the PFL, the audio leaving the EQ also goes to the Channel Volume fader. This is the primary volume control for the channel (though it is subordinate to the crossfader) which works just like a volume fader on a traditional mixer. You can match volumes of the two tracks using the Channel Volume faders.
Torq LE User Guide » Chapter 8 1 41 When Torq LE is launched for the first time, the Crossfader Curve will be set to a happy medium between these two extremes. You can, of course, change this curve using either of the following: » Adjusting with the Mouse 1. Hold down the SHIFT key on your computer keyboard 2. While holding down shift, click and drag over the Crossfader. The Crossfader itself will not move, but the graphic below the Crossfader will change to indicate the new curve.
42 PFL/HEADPHONE CUE Y ou’ve undoubtedly seen the archetypical image of a DJ: standing behind a set of turntables and a mixer...with a pair of headphones on. If everyone is dancing to the music they hear on the speakers, what is the DJ listening to on the headphones? He’s listening to the next song he’s going to play using PFL or Headphone Cueing. That’s how the DJ can hear if he’s matched the tempo of the current song. It’s also how he locates the perfect place to start the track.
43 MASTER OUTPUT T he Master Output is the last step in Torq’s audio signal flow before the music goes out to your audience. It contains a Master Level slider, a Master Level meter, a Master Limiter, as well as an Audio Recorder. All of these controls are located below the right Deck in a neat, horizontal arrangement. Chapter 10 1 MASTER OUTPUT . . . . . . . . . . 43 Volume Control Volume Control . . . . . . . . . . .
Torq TorqLE LEUser UserGuide Guide » » Chapter Chapter10 1 Filename To set the filename for your recording: 1. Click the Filename button (which looks like “...” when no name is set). A dialog box will open. 2. Select the destination folder for your recording, then give it a name and press enter. The dialog box will close and your new filename will be shown on the Filename button. Note: The sample rate of the recorded file will match the sample rate currently selected in the Audio tab of the Preferences.
45 EFFECTS E ffects are devices that alter an audio signal. These alterations can range from subtle to extreme and can be a great source of creative fun within Torq. Each Deck can be processed individually with multiple effects, and that is the purpose of the Effect Racks. The Effect Racks are located between each Deck and the Mixer and house the three effects contained within Torq LE. You can use up to three effects on each Deck at the same time. Chapter 11 1 EFFECTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Torq TorqLE LEUser UserGuide Guide »» Chapter Chapter11 1 46 Built-In Effects The following is an explanation of the three built-in effects in Torq LE: Phaser A Phaser is a somewhat mellower version of the Flanger. Like the Flanger, a Phaser works on the principle of mixing two identical audio sources together. However, unlike a Flanger, the timing difference between the two audio sources is very small. The result is that some of the frequencies in the song will be removed or “cancelled out.
Torq TorqLE LEUser UserGuide Guide »» Chapter Chapter11 1 47 < Tweak Knob This knob will adjust the Cutoff Frequencies of the filters. » When the Tweak button is off, the knob will behave as follows: 1. Placing the knob at 12 o’clock will result in the audio passing through the Dual-Filter unaffected. 2. Turning the knob counterclockwise from 12 o’clock will begin to lower the Cutoff Frequency of the Low-Pass filter.
48 PREFERENCES T his section provides a comprehensive review of the Preferences for Torq LE. Open the Preferences by clicking the Preferences icon. Audio Tab Chapter 12 1 PREFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Audio Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Audio Interface . . . . . . . . . 48 Sample Rate . . . . . . . . . . 49 Buffer Size . . . . . . . . . . . 49 MIDI Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Auto-Detect M-Audio Devices ([On]/Off) . . . . . . . . . . 50 Scratch Sensitivity . . . . . .
Torq TorqLE LEUser UserGuide Guide » » Chapter Chapter12 1 49 Sample Rate Below the Audio Interface selection you will see sample rate adjustment. Increasing this value will improve sound quality (depending on your source material) but will also place heavier demands on your computer. It is therefore recommended to leave the sample rate only as high as you need it to be.
Torq TorqLE LEUser UserGuide Guide » » Chapter Chapter12 1 50 MIDI Tab This tab features all options pertaining to Auto-Setup and MIDI control. Auto-Detect M-Audio Devices ([On]/Off) When this option is enabled, Torq LE will automatically set the Audio and MIDI interface options to those of any known SynchroScience and M-Audio controller and interface that is connected to your system (such as X-Session Pro). This will ensure proper operation of Torq and connected devices.
Torq TorqLE LEUser UserGuide Guide » » Chapter Chapter12 1 Crossfader Curve Control This preference allows you to assign a MIDI controller to the Crossfader Curve parameter. You can then control the Crossfader Curve with a knob or slider on your MIDI controller. 1. Press the button labeled “Learn” to activate it. 2. Turn a knob on your MIDI controller. 3. Torq will immediately assign the knob to the Crossfader Curve.
Torq TorqLE LEUser UserGuide Guide » » Chapter Chapter12 1 52 Miscellaneous Tab This tab contains miscellaneous options that affect the behavior of certain features of Torq LE. Torq Engine This setting is used to switch the Torq Audio Engine between Normal and Economy modes. This option should be left on Normal unless you have a slow computer. Switching to Economy will degrade graphical performance and have a slight impact on sound quality, but can often allow Torq LE to run smoothly on older machines.
Torq TorqLE LEUser UserGuide Guide » » Chapter Chapter12 1 53 Schaffel Mode Schaffel is German for “shuffle,” which has become a popular form of dance music based on a triplet rhythm as opposed to a straight 4/4 rhythm. When this mode is activated, any of the effects (or parameters that quantize their values) will include triplets in their quantizing options. Take the Strobe effect for example: The Parameter knob changes the rate of the Strobe effect.
Torq TorqLE LEUser UserGuide Guide » » Chapter Chapter12 1 Sync Mode This option determines the “forcefulness” of the synchronization used in Torq LE. » Bar—when selected, Torq will align a synced Deck to the tempo and downbeat of the other Deck. Any attempts to adjust the alignment of the track will result in Torq forcing the tracks back into synchronization with their downbeats aligned (the thick lines of the Phase Grids will be aligned with each other at all times).
55 Chapter APPENDIX Preset Key Assignments While Torq LE is basically a “blank slate” as far as keyboard assignments are concerned, there are a few keys that are preset to various functions in the Torq interface: Global Key Commands 13 1 F1—Load selected track into Deck A Shift+1—Set QuickCue 1 on Deck A APPENDIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 F2—Load selected track into Deck B Shift+2—Set QuickCue 2 on Deck A Preset Key Assignments . . . . . .
Torq TorqLE LEUser UserGuide Guide » » Chapter Chapter13 1 WARRANTY Warranty Terms M-Audio warrants products to be free from defects in materials and workmanship, under normal use and provided that the product is owned by the original, registered user. Visit www.m-audio.com/warranty for terms and limitations applying to your specific product.
