ALESIS MASTERLINK ML-9600 HIGH RESOLUTION MASTER DISK RECORDER ADDENDUM TO OWNER'S MANUAL FIRST EDITION VERSION 1.0 APPLIES TO OPERATING SOFTWARE VERSION 2.00 ©2000 ALESIS CORPORATION Table Of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Version 2.00 Highlights .................................................................................................................1 1.2 How Do I Get Version 2.00 Software? ..........................................................................................1 New Playlist Edit Features ................................................................................3 2.1 Seamless "Adjacent Track" Transitions.........................................................................................3 2.2 Track Split.......................................................................................................................................3 2.2a An Alternate Method......................................................................................................4 2.3 Track Join........................................................................................................................................4 2.4 Mark New Track While Recording ...............................................................................................5 2.5 Track Start/End Pointer Capture..................................................................................................5 2.6 Audio File Copy .............................................................................................................................5 2.7 Audio File Delete Override ...........................................................................................................6 New Track DSP Features.................................................................................. 9 3.1 Copy DSP Settings .........................................................................................................................9 3.2 Paste DSP Settings..........................................................................................................................9 3.3 Reset DSP Settings........................................................................................................................ 10 3.4 Render DSP To Audio File........................................................................................................... 10 3.5 Improved Peak Limiter Output Resolution................................................................................ 11 New Utility Features ....................................................................................... 13 4.1 Track/Playlist/CD Loop ............................................................................................................. 13 4.2 Playlist Backup ............................................................................................................................. 13 4.3 Playlist Restore ............................................................................................................................. 14 4.4 Render Playlist To Disk ............................................................................................................... 16 4.5 Red Book Start/End Time Offsets............................................................................................... 16 4.6 Enhanced System Information Display ...................................................................................... 17 New CD Features ............................................................................................ 19 5.1 Move Entire CD To Playlist......................................................................................................... 19 5.2 Playlist Exceeds Disc Capacity... ................................................................................................. 20 5.3 Improved Macintosh-CD24 Compatibility................................................................................. 20 ALESIS ML-9600 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.00 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Congratulations on your purchase of an Alesis MasterLink! In a continuing effort to provide our MasterLink customers with the utmost in mastering convenience, we are pleased to announce the debut of MasterLink operating system software version 2.0. Version 2.0 software is packed with over twenty all-new features and improvements over version 1.0 software, and the update does not require you to open the lid; just drop in a MasterLink Operating System CD-ROM, and in less than one minute, your MasterLink will be fully updated! Listed below are some of the highlights of MasterLink version 2.0 software. 1.1 VERSION 2.00 HIGHLIGHTS · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · Seamless "Adjacent Track" transitions Track Split & Join Mark a new track while recording Audio File copying Audio File Delete override Track Start/End Pointer capture Copy/Paste/Reset Track DSP parameters Render DSP to Audio File Improved Peak Limiter output resolution Track/Playlist/CD loop modes Playlist Backup and Restore "Render Playlist" function Red Book Start Point and End Point offsets Enhanced CD track move operations Improved Macintosh-CD24 file compatibility 1.2 HOW DO I GET VERSION 2.00 SOFTWARE? If you recently purchased a MasterLink and received this addendum in your MasterLink box, you already have version 2.00 software installed in your unit. To check this, turn on your MasterLink and press the UTILITY button repeatedly until the first line of the display reads "Util9: Sys Info". The second line of the display should read "Software: 2.00". If you do not have a "Util9: Sys Info" page, or if the second line of the display of that page does not read "Software: 2.00", then read the section below. ALESIS ML-9600 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.00 1 Chapter 1 MasterLink software updates occur via a special "MLOS" (MasterLink Operating System) CDROM. If you do not have Version 2.00 software, there are several options available to you: · · · Call 1-800-5ALESIS and choose "Option 1" to have a free update MLOS disc sent to you. Contact your nearest Alesis dealer for the update. If you have a computer with Internet access and a CD-R drive, you can download a CDROM "image" and create your own MLOS disc. Simply go to http://www.alesis.com/products/ml9600/index.html and click on "How to Create an Alesis MasterLink OS Disc" for detailed instructions. 2 ALESIS ML-9600 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.00 Chapter 2 NEW PLAYLIST EDIT FEATURES 2.1 SEAMLESS "ADJACENT TRACK" TRANSITIONS In version 1.xx software, two adjacent tracks would always play back with a miniscule amount of silence between them, even if the start time of the second Track was equal to the end time of the first Track. This was due to the way the MasterLink handled Audio Files and Tracks in a playlist. In Version 2.0, adjacent tracks play back with no audible gap; the Tracks will have adjacent samples at the track boundary. This, however, is only true if neither of the adjacent tracks have (real-time) Track DSP applied to them. If you have two adjacent tracks that must play seamlessly over the track boundary and one or both have Track DSP applied, use the Render DSP function (described in Section 3.4 of this addendum) to commit this DSP to the Audio File (which will then turn off the real-time DSP for the track). This feature is very important when considered with the next two features: Track Split and Track Join. 2.2 TRACK SPLIT One of the most important features added to version 2.0 software was the ability to Split and Join Tracks. This section describes a Track Split; the following section describes a Track Join. A Track Split is simply the act of taking one Track (and its associated Audio File) and splitting it into two Tracks (and two Audio Files). Track Splits can be useful in several ways: · · · · Inserting Track Markers into a long, continuous piece of audio, without interrupting the audio flow. Breaking a long recording into discrete songs. Isolating regions of a song for re-sequencing. Isolating regions of a song for different DSP processing. The point at which the track is split is determined by the TRACK START pointer, whose operation is described in detail in section 4.8 of the MasterLink User's Manual, and in Section 2.5 of this addendum. Once the TRACK START point has been set, holding PLAYLIST EDIT and pressing NEW TRACK will cause the Split Confirmation Screen to be displayed, an example of which is shown in Figure 2.2.1. Figure 2.2.1 ALESIS ML-9600 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.00 3 Chapter 2 Track Split Confirmation Screen Pressing DOWN/NO while this screen is displayed will cancel the Split operation and return the machine to its previous state. Pressing UP/YES while this screen is displayed will cause the track to be split at the TRACK START pointer. Because MasterLink defaults to 0.0 seconds of "gap" between Tracks, the audio during the transition from the first track to the second track will play back seamlessly, as if the track had not been split. However, if the original Track had DSP applied to it before it was split, the two resulting Tracks will both have the original DSP applied to them, and will not play back seamlessly until the DSP is either turned off or rendered to the Audio File (see Section 3.4 for details on rendering DSP to an Audio File). Note that the second Track will have the characters "Sxx" appended to the track name. This designates Split xx, where xx designates the split number. For instance if you split a track named "MyHit ", the resulting Tracks will be named "MyHit " and "MyHitS01". If "MyHitS01" is then split, the resulting track names will be "MyHitS01" and "MyHitS02". 2.2A AN ALTERNATE METHOD... An alternative to using the Track Start pointer to determine the Split point is to play the track up to the point at which you wish the split to occur, then press PAUSE to pause the Track. If you then hold the PLAYLIST EDIT button and press NEW TRACK, the Track will be split, with the split point set to equal the pause point (the last audio that you heard). This method may be preferred when you are roughly breaking a long recording into smaller parts, and do not need the accuracy of the scrubbing process. NOTE: Using the "Pause" method to split a Track will override the Track Start pointer, if it has been set. 2.3 TRACK JOIN The Track Join operation is the opposite of a Track Split; Track Join will combine two adjacent Tracks (and their associated Audio Files) into one. If there is DSP applied to the first track, it will be applied to the entire joined track. If there is DSP applied to the second track, it will be removed after the Join (because the second track is always joined to the first). Performing a Track Join is a simple procedure. Assuming Track 1 and Track 2 are in a playlist, until Track 2 is selected. Hold the PLAYLIST EDIT button and press DELETE press SKIP TRACK. The display will change to the Track Join Confirmation Screen, as shown in Figure 2.3.1. Figure 2.3.1 Track Join Confirmation Screen 4 ALESIS ML-9600 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.00 Chapter 2 Pressing DOWN/NO while this screen is displayed will cancel the Join operation and return the machine to its previous state. Pressing UP/YES while this screen is displayed will cause Track 2 to be joined to Track 1, removing the inter-Track gap, if one exists. TIP: If you are previewing a Join and notice that the transition from Track to Track seems abrupt, or if you notice a "pop" or a "click" at the transition point, try applying a short (10mS) fade to the end of the first Track, or the beginning of the second Track. If the fade solves the problem, render it to the Audio File (see Section 3.4 of this addendum) and then proceed with the Track Join. 2.4 MARK NEW TRACK WHILE RECORDING Pressing the NEW TRACK button while recording will cause a new track to be created and audio to begin to be written into that new track, without losing any audio data during the track creation process. It can be thought of as an "on the fly" Track Split. This feature can be extremely useful in live recording applications, in cases where either multiple takes are occurring and it would be inconvenient to stop recording and create new Tracks, or if certain portions of a recording (different movements in a classical performance, for example) need to be marked separately. This feature is analogous to the "force start ID" feature on most DAT machines. 2.5 TRACK START/END POINTER CAPTURE Version 2.0 MasterLink software offers improved functionality when adjusting Track Start and Track End pointers. In addition to the standard "scrub" method (described in Section 4.8 of the MasterLink User's Manual), there is a new way to quickly adjust either Track Start or Track End pointers, via a "capture" method. If you are listening to a Track and you hear a sec ...