User Guide

CHP. 7 WORKING WITH TRACKS

CHAPTER

Working with Tracks

This chapter covers advanced track features including track effect chains, track envelopes, and stereo

panning modes. You’ll also learn more about track types, track properties, and rendering tracks to new files.

Using track effects

ACID enables you to create DirectX plug-in chains, adjust the order of plug-ins on a chain, bypass a plug-in,

remove plug-ins from the chain, and save frequently used chains as presets.

The EQ plug-in is assigned to all tracks by default; however, it does not use CPU power or affect the sound

until you adjust its settings. You can remove the EQ plug-in if desired. For more information, see Removing

plug-ins from chains on page 95.

Important:

We recommend that you do not use time-

altering effects (such as time stretch, gapper/snipper, pitch-

shift without preserving duration, and some vibrato settings)

with an ACID project. Time-altering effects cause a track to

play out of synchronization with the waveform display in the

track view and with other tracks.

In addition, you can use effect plug-ins in the Mixer window by applying effect chains to busses or soft

synths, or by creating assignable effect chains and routing tracks to them. For more information, see Using the

Mixer on page 111.

Creating or adding to track plug-in chains

A plug-in chain can contain one or more plug-ins. When you add multiple plug-ins, you may set the

processing sequence that the track’s events go through when the project is played back. Moreover, the plug-

ins that you add to the chain may be added more than once. For example, a plug-in chain could look

something like this: EQ, Compression, EQ, and Noise Gate.

After you create a plug-in chain, ACID processes the track’s events by each plug-in in its respective order on

the chain. The events’ effects processing is cumulative, so in some cases, you may want to rearrange the order

of plug-ins to achieve the desired sound. For more information, see Arranging plug-in chain order on page 95.

Click the Tr a ck F X button ( ). The Audio Plug-In window appears.

Note:

The Track FX button indicates whether the current

plug-in chain includes automatable effects ( ) or does not

include automatable effects ( ). By default, an ACID Pro

track plug-in chain includes the Track EQ plug-in, which is

automatable. For more information, see Adding effect

automation envelopes on page 98.