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Torq 2.0 User Guide

1. Se ect QuickCue 1 on Deck D FS 1 or F12 6 FS 1 or F12 6 Se ect QuickCue 2 on Deck D F8 2 or F12 7 FS 2 or F12 7 Se ect QuickCue 3 on Deck D F8 3 or F12 8 FS 3 or F12 8 Se ect QuickCue 4 on Deck D F8 4 or F12 9 FS 4 or F12 9 Se ect QuickCue 5 on Deck D F8 5 or F12 0 FS 5 or F12 0 Torq 2 0 User Guide 157 Appendix A Key Commands Miscellaneous Function Mac Key Windows Key Clear all effects in a rack Shift Bypass Shift Bypass Quit key learn mode Esc Esc Delete key assignment Delete Backspace Open Torq Preferences Cmd Ctrl Quit Torq Cmd Q Alt F4 Torq 2 0 User Guide 158 Appendix A Key Commands Appendix B Torq Vinyl Control System Technical Information and Tips on Torq s Vinyl Control System By Chad Carrier When you first experience the thrill of controlling an MP3 file with external vinyl some of you may feel that itis nothing short of magic In some ways this is almost the truth because the system employed in Torq is very complex and subject to numerous variables all of which can have an impact on its performance This docu ment will outline in basic terms the vinyl tracking system and its workings Thorough knowledge of this in formation will help you get better performance from the system and also aid when troubleshooting issues An
2. In recent years DJ s have used samplers to add sound effects to their mix Such effects range from simple sounds like laser guns and bombs to more complex passages such as a radio station s identification or the DJ s name Torq s Sampler lets you do the same Due to its tight integration with the Decks you can also record loops that stay synchronized to your mix You can record and layer a song on top of itself or play other loops in sync with your music This is very effective when using the Sampler with various drum and percussion loops You can create your own drum patterns to layer with your mix for added emphasis or to keep the beat flowing during a breakdown in the music Torg has 18 individual Sample Slots each capable of recording and playing back a single audio sample Below you ll learn the how to use the various controls in the Sampler along with techniques for capturing perfect loops Signal Source Before you can record a sample you must choose an audio source to sample from When using Torq this is as simple as engaging the PFL headphone icon on a Mixer channel When you do this you ll hear that chan nel in your headphones and it will also be routed to the Sampler In this instance the Headphone Volume slider also acts as the Recording Level adjustment for the Sampler This routing scheme has two benefits First you can record a sample from an audio source that your audience cannot hear For example you could record
3. L and contain only CAPITAL letters 11111 22222 33333 44444 55555 JJJJJ BBBBB CCCCC DDDDD EEEEE 012345012345 Activation Key Manual Activation Key Entered 5 Click Next 6 When you see the Activated screen your copy of Torq is activated and ready to use Click Finish and Torq will continue to launch If you have a large number of VST plug ins installed on your computer the initial launch of Torq may take a couple of minutes while the application scans the VST folder Activated Thank Activated Screen Torq 2 0 User Guide 8 Chapter 2 Software Installation 30 day Trial Activation If you would like to demo Torq before purchasing you can activate a 30 day trial version of Torq The 30 day trial period cannot be extended and Torq must be activated and authorized if you wish to continue using the application If you deactivate Torq during the 30 day trial period the application will still launch for the re mainder trial However as the trial cannot be extended you will need to complete the activation and autho rization process To activate Torq for the 30 day trial period 1 Choose Trial Version and click Next Activation Trail Version R Trial Activation A 47 Internet Connection is NOT required for Trial Activation 2 When you see the Activated screen your 30 day trial of Torq is activate and ready to use Click Finish and the application will continue to la
4. Remove from the pop up menu The folder will then be removed from the Database while the original audio files will still remain on your hard drives To remove folders from the Browser 1 Go to the Files listing in within the Index and locate the original folder on your computer 2 Right click the folder 3 Click Remove to remove this folder only If the folder contains sub folders that are part of the Database they will remain in the Database 4 To remove the folder and all its subfolders click Remove from Database Recursively Files Hard Drives and CD s Torq can also search any internal or external hard drive on your computer including any CD s found in the optical drive Clicking the plus sign to the left of the Files category reveals a listing of all drives and CD s on the system Clicking the plus sign to the left of a drive or any or its subfolders reveals its contents im mediately below it When you click on a subfolder containing audio files mp3 wav or aif the file list on the right side of the Browser window You can explore the contains and add folders from any drive to the Database using the methods described earlier Crates The Crates feature lets you manually create collections of song to use in your mixes in a similar way to how a DJ would select vinyl records or CD s to take out to a performance Creating New Crates To create a new Crate 1 Right click CTRL
5. Down Jump to text Search Field Enter jumps back to Index File List Ctrl F Ctrl F Jump to Filter Text Field Enter jumps back to Index File List Ctrl Shift F Ctrl Shift F Jump to Crates Shift C Shift C Jump to Playlist Shift P Shift P Jump to Database Shift D Shift D Add song to selected Playlist Cmd P Ctrl P Add song to selected Crate Cmd C Ctrl P Deletes items from Crate Playlist Database Delete Delete Create new Playlist Alt P Alt P Create new Crate or Sub Crate Alt C Alt C Rename selected Index item Crate Playlist etc Ctrl R Ctrl R Select all files in File List Ctrl A Ctrl A Force analyze a song without loading to a deck Shift A Shift A Torq 2 0 User Guide 152 Appendix A Key Commands Function Mac Key Windows Key Toggle keyboard control from Browser Mode to Performance Mode Ctrl Enter Ctrl Enter Toggle Browser and Snapshot view Tab Tab Refresh Browser window Shift F5 Maximize Browser view Shift F6 Shift F6 Deck Commands Deck Selection The the table below lists key commands for assigning the Decks to either side of an M Audio Xponent DJ Con trol surface However it is also important to remember that commands also bring the decks into focus when using your mouse and keyboard to control Torq If you are using qualified third party hardware refer to the its documentation A
6. F7 Shift 3 or F11 Shift 8 F7 Shift 3 or F11 Shift 8 Set QuickCue 4 on Deck C F7 Shift 4 or F11 Shift 9 F7 Shift 4 or F11 Shift 9 Set QuickCue 5 on Deck C F7 Shift 5 or F11 Shift 0 F7 Shift 5 or F11 Shift 0 Se ect QuickCue 1 on Deck C F7 1 or F11 6 F7 1 or F11 6 Se ect QuickCue 2 on Deck C F7 2 or F11 7 F7 2 or F11 7 Se ect QuickCue 3 on Deck C F7 3 or F11 8 F7 3 or F11 8 Se ect QuickCue 4 on Deck C F7 4 or F11 9 F7 4 or F11 9 Se ect QuickCue 5 on Deck C F7 5 or F11 0 F7 5 or F11 0 Torq 2 0 User Guide 156 Appendix A Key Commands Deck D A The Up Down Left and Right Arrow Keys are listed as Up Down Left or Right Function Mac Key Windows Key Load selected song to Deck D Unload Track on Deck D F4 or Cmd Down Shift F4 F4 or Ctrl Down Shift F4 Set QuickCue 1 on Deck D FS Shift 1 or F12 Shift 6 FS Shift 1 or F12 Shift 6 Set QuickCue 2 on Deck D FS Shift 2 or F12 Shift 7 FS Shift 2 or F12 Shift 7 Set QuickCue 3 on Deck D FS Shift 3 or F12 Shift 8 FS Shift 3 or F12 Shift 8 Set QuickCue 4 on Deck D FS Shift 4 or F12 Shift 9 FS Shift 4 or F12 Shift 9 Set QuickCue 5 on Deck D FS Shift 5 or F12 Shift 0 FS Shift 5 or F12 Shift 0
7. then you will only be able to control nudging Assign the turntable s MIDI CC output to con trol the corresponding Main Waveform Display in Torq using the MIDI Learn feature Refer to Chapter 14 External and MIDI Control for more information about MIDI Learn Nudge Sensitivity This setting allows you to adjust Torq s sensitivity to nudging or gradually slipping the phase of one deck to match the phase of the other deck By default this parameter is set to 5 Increasing the number causes the Decks to nudge tracks more rapidly while lower values cause the Decks to nudge tracks more gradually External MIDI Clock Out In Phase Offset These two parameters are used to adjust the timing between Torq and the external MIDI devices If Torq is fol lowing the MIDI Clock from an external device use the MIDI Clock In Phase Offset option to align Torq If Torq is transmitting MIDI Clock to an external device use the MIDI Clock Out Phase Offset option to align the external device to Torq MIDI Stop Behavior This preference determines how Torq reacts when receiving a MIDI Stop command from an external device STOP default When set to Stop Torq will stop all Decks and Samples upon receiving MIDI Stop FREEWHEEL When set to Freewheel Torq will continue to play essentially ignoring the MIDI Stop command allowing the DJ set to continue after stopping the external device y Holding down Shift while clicking the Send MBC Downb
8. If you have Drum amp Bass se lected and attempt to analyze a trip hop song Torq will give you the wrong tempo In this instance you can change the music type and re analyze the song if needed The BPM value will change if you alter the speed of the song with the Speed Adjuster This is extremely helpful when trying to synchronize two songs since you ll be able to match the tempos of the two songs just by matching the BPM values shown in the displays Flatten Tempo When this button is pressed this function analyzes the position of all Tempo Anchors and the speed of the music between each of them to come up with an average tempo This lets you synchronize the other decks to the song This is useful when locking one or more of the other decks to a song that has a live drummer For example you have song on Deck A where the drummer tends to speed up right before a drum fill and may get even faster during the choruses only to slow back to the basic song tempo during the verses On Deck C you have song with a more constant tempo because it contains programmed drums Pressing the Flatten Tempo button on Deck ladjusts the playback to a constant tempo based on the average speed calculated by Torq An excep tion to this is when Deck A is synced to a Master Deck that is not playing a song with a constant tempo A The Flatten Tempo button will be greyed out for decks which do not have Tempo Anchors set up on their songs Torq 2 0 User Guide 5
9. Two Deck Mode QUICK CUES CONTROL TRANSP AS AMT ALGN O 2 ROUTE HPF VOLUME 10 0s Q lll MAIN OUT ppm n QUICK CUES CONTROL TRANSP ROUTE BRAKE GAN PICH y v Qe SEARCH polypha X ALTER Enter ignore Tens Snapshots DataBase Files Music E Desktop ARTIST Polyphasic Polyphasic Polyphasic Polyphasic Polyphasic SONG Dig Down Had To Hate You Spoke Spoke inst ALBUM e TRACKF BPM KEY e GENRE Originals e LENGTH e COMMENT 02 00 02 57 02 51 02 40 00 55 amp Munes Women have to care polyp 00 00 Polyphasic Yaawn 01 04 Music Polyphasic feb9 tor feb11 45 18 Movies Dnhmhasin vaine MAA TY Chwe Torq in Two Deck Mode Torq 2 0 gives you the option of working in either Four Deck Mode Decks A B C and D or Two Deck Mode Decks B and C Switching Torq from Two Deck to Four deck Mode is achieved by clicking the Torq Mode but ton located in the Toolbar When you switch to Two Deck Mode the number 4 in the icon will change to a number 2 Torq Mode Button Although the functionality is the same there are slight differences in how certain features are accessed Where applicable this user guide will make note of these differences XY Placing your mouse cursor over the various on screen controls will display their names in the bottom edge of the Torq interface You can also user your mouse wheel to control the on screen knobs and sliders Torq 2 0 User
10. blank effect at the top of the pop up list Bypass Button BYP Effects Rack Bypass Button This activates and deactivates an Effect Rack Because the effects are generally already switched on when loaded bypassing an empty Rack lets you load an effect or previously saved Effects Rack setup with out un wanted changes to your mix When using multiple effects at the same time you may want to turn them on or off all at once instead of clicking each effect s Enable button Clicking the Bypass button at the top of the Rack sends audio directly to the Mixer and the effects are no longer heard Click the button again to disengage the bypass Enable Button Effects Slot Enable Button The Enable Button switches an individual effect on or off By default this button will be on whenever you load a new effect This allows you to set the effect the way you desire before you use it in your mix Lo Some of the effects don t utilize the Enable button and will function in a different way as described in the various effect sections in this chapter Torq 2 0 User Guide 79 Chapter 8 Effects Amount Knob AMT AMT Effects Slot Amount Knob The functionality of the Amount knob differs depending on the status of the Routing button e When the Routing Button is set to Insert Chain see Effects Chains Chain Mode on page 81 the Amount knob will adjust the wet dry mix of the effect When the Amount knob is all the way to the left onl
11. s file analysis An ID3 tag is a standard format for storing additional in formation within a music file You can resize the width of any of these columns simply by clicking and dragging left and right on any of the vertical lines separating the columns Additionally you can re order the arrangement of the columns by click ing and dragging the column name to a new position the column name will turn white while doing this If you wish you can also hide certain columns from view by right clicking on a category name and choosing which items to display from the pop up menu You can sort the contents of the File List by clicking on any one of the categories at the top of the window For example if you click the Album category the File List will be sorted alphabetically A to Z by Album name If you click Album again the order will be reversed Z to A You could also click on the BPM column to sort all your songs by their BPM This can be very useful when looking for songs of a similar BPM Click the Reset button to return to the default sort order The Filename column is available in the event that the music you re trying to use does not contain an ID3 tag such as AIFF and WAV formats or does not have the proper text filled in Here the actual name of the file as it exists on your hard drive will be shown Torq 2 0 User Guide 31 Chapter 4 Accessing Your Music Searching the List The simplest method for searching is to ty
12. tinues turning When the needle is placed back on the vinyl the song continues playing from the previous lo cation even though the vinyl has turned some number of degrees Torq 2 0 User Guide 142 Chapter 14 External and MIDI Control Setting the Relative Mode preference to Absolute Rotation Angle see Skip Protection Button on page 122 or clicking the Absolute Rotation Angle ARA button locks the hit point to the position of the needle within a single rotation of the turntable This means that correct sound will play every time the hit point passes un der the needle Try out Absolute Rotation Angle Mode 1 Click the Enable ARA button in the Torq Toolbar to activate Absolute Rotation Angle mode 2 Find a suitable sound or hit point in a song and make a visual note of how it falls exactly on the orange Now Line in the Waveform Display 3 Set a Quick Cue at this location 4 Place a small piece of tape a sticker on the label of the record so that it is level with the needle At this point when the sticker is level with the needle the Quick Cue should also line up with the Now Line 5 Start playback and scratch the track at the hit point multiple times 6 Stop scratching and check the alignment of the Quick Cue and the Now Line as well as the sticker and the needle They should all be in line with each other 7 Lift the needle from the record 8 Turn the record forward 90 or 180 degrees 9 Place the needle back on th
13. 106 Chapter TL Synchronization 2 23 8 cot ceed a td pe hehe a vee a eee eed 107 Automatic Tempo and Phase Detection 0 00 ccc ee ee eee eee ena 107 Phase Grid Manipulations ssoi enea sd doetig dk acts ee dd bet boa ees 107 Auto Master Deck Selection iia ee ea ie hee ae ee eee es ee eae Se ad 110 Chapter 12 Torq Preferences ooo bee ke fee beak eee be Ghee nda ee eee 111 Audio Preferences A A ead A A a eee E et 111 MIDI Preferences rpn fen Sass a A A A A A AA oe ee ee ed 117 External Preferences ita it ate it abated d Sa UGA Poke aa 122 VSTi Preferences oseti ri is Shek deb heb dpe Awe oR el ddd hued Gh oe Pa eee eed 126 Behavior Preferences 0 ui A te die AUG ag a each Vata of hehe eee dae 127 Locations Preferences lt i 22503 a SA E SP BE ey ie A ia e aa 134 GUI Preferences yig 23 4 00058 Sed eee Ne A IA Re OA Pea Ee et Ae ee ee A 135 Chapter 13 Rewire aaua 137 Master Tempo 22 2260 end Gee eee neko ett a ee eek do Ao 4 do ee el et 137 A dio ROUTINE raan lr a grate add on Spring oe AG ap yee Shah anata pases lavas at ad GOE wean ia 137 Chapter 14 External and MIDI Control 00 0 00 ono 139 External Control L z daio aa a i at eh ee Al aaa lia Pate oles 139 External Control Calibration 0 0 aeaaaee 140 Resolving Playback Issues oia A ae whe A A A GRR EAR AA a 6 145 MIDECONtrol ii Ss ee ee ead oe na lp Bee a A E e AOE 148 iv Contents Chapter 15 MIDI Platt
14. 2 0 User Guide 163 Appendix B Torq Vinyl Control System Best Practices Aside from the troubleshooting tips above there are a few other things you can adopt as common practice to make sure your DJ sets go off without a hitch Always Carry Extra Control Vinyl DJ s typically take more music to a gig than they would ever play they do this so that they are prepared for any eventuality that could arise That same logic suggests that you should take multiple copies of control vinyl with you to the gig so you are similarly prepared for any event that could damage the records It s wise to start the gig with at least two copies of the control vinyl per turntable Use Both Sides of the Control Vinyl While the control signals are technically different on the two sides of the Control Vinyl Torq will treat them the same Therefore try to use both sides of the record to help distribute wear by flipping them over every other song Keep Your Hands Clean As mentioned earlier the sweat and oils on your fingers will attract dust and dirt to the record s surface This isn t as noticeable a problem when changing records every song like a traditional DJ but when using the same records over and over again all night the problem pronounces itself much more quickly This is aggravated even more if you re continually drinking from dirty bar glasses and bottles or snacking on foods A clean towel and wet wipes are good to use regularly so you re not inadvertentl
15. Cues and Tempo Anchors to another Deck For more information about Cues Loops and Tempo Anchors refer to Markers on page 43 Refer to Tempo Anchors on page 62 for more information about Tempo Anchors To copy a song to another deck 1 Load a song onto a deck For example Deck A 2 Choose a destination Deck For example Deck D 3 Choose Deck A from the dropdown menu of the destination deck 4 Click the Make Double button on destination Deck The destination Deck in this case Deck D will contain a copy of song on Deck A Unloading Songs from the Decks To unload a song from a Deck hold Shift while pressing F1 for Deck A F2 for Deck B F3 for Deck C or F4 for Deck D w In Two Deck Mode the key assignments for Decks B and C are the same as in Four Deck Mode Torq 2 0 User Guide 39 Chapter 5 The Decks Displays Each Deck has various informational displays on the interface These are mostly for relaying information to you such as which song is playing how long it s been playing and how much time is remaining Song Name The top area of each Deck displays the title of the song that was loaded onto it This is the same as the title listed under the song column heading in the File List If there is no title listed in the File List the name of the actual file will be shown instead Artist Name Below the Song Name is the Artist Name Like the Song Name this field will be empty if there is no ent
16. Guide 35 Chapter 5 The Decks Deck Switch The Deck Switch feature offers a set of key commands for assigning any deck to either side of your two deck hardware This lets you bring an assigned deck into focus as the Target Deck to be controlled by your hard ware This capability also extends to situations where you want or need to target and control any of the decks with a single hardware deck or with your computer keyboard and mouse Once a deck has been selected Torq lets you access and control numerous other functions on a per Deck basis using additional key commands listed in Appendix A under Deck Commands on page 153 When the Highlight Deck Assignment option is set to Yes default on the GUI page of the Torq Prefer ences the edge of currently targeted decks will be highlighted with a colored rectangle Torq Decks assigned to the left side of your controller are highlighted in green while Decks assigned to the right side are high lighted in purple If a deck is highlighted in red it will be controlled by both sides of your hardware Refer to Chapter 12 Torq Preferences for more information about the available Torq preference settings The the table below lists key commands for assigning the Decks to either side of an M Audio Xponent DJ Con trol surface However it is also important to remember that commands also bring the decks into focus when using your mouse and keyboard to control Torq If you are us
17. Its editor window will pop up when loaded 2 Right click on the Tweak knob in Torq s interface It will turn red indicating that it standing by for assign ment 3 Using the mouse move a control in the VST Effect s editor window This could be a knob slider or button 4 When you move the control Torq will catch it and assign it to the Tweak knob Moving the Tweak knob will now operate the assigned VST parameter 5 To assign a MIDI control to the Tweak knob follow the usual procedure of right clicking then moving your desired MIDI control 6 Once complete the MIDI control will operate the VST parameter The same procedure above can be used for assigning a VST parameter to the Tweak button Once the assignments are made as described above Torq will remember those assignments whenever you load that VST Effect in the future VST Crash Guard A plug in works by inserting small bits of programming code into another program in this case you ll be in serting an effect processing plug in into Torq This can be problematic since some VST s are made with little to no external testing at all and they may not have been tested with Torq specifically Granted it s usually the free VST plug ins found on the web that lack the testing imposed by other professional plug ins These dirty plug ins can be some of the most experimental and creative offerings out there which is why you may still want to try them Obviously it would be completely
18. Mac the Mid EQ knob and moving the MIDI Knob Doing so will clear the as signment to the Low EQ knob and the MIDI control will now be mapped to the Mid EQ knob This allows you to use a small controller for Torq since you can continually reassign its controls without worrying about what the previous assignments were Torq 2 0 User Guide 149 Chapter 14 External and MIDI Control Chapter 15 MIDI Platter Control MIDI Platter Control Mode Torq now features a new per deck function called MIDI Platter Control mode Unlike External Control see External Control on page 139 the MIDI Platter Control parameter does not appear in the Torq interface However it is accessed using the Motor Off button on your hardware A MIDI Platter Control mode is only available in Vinyl mode Switching to MIDI Platter Control mode au tomatically selects Vinyl Mode Selecting Hybrid or CDJ de activates MIDI Platter Control Mode While Torq is in MIDI Platter Control mode pressing the Play button on your hardware will resume the play back of a paused track and the speed of the hardware platter is determined by the position and range of the Speed Slider In this instance Torq reads the turning speed of the hardware control platter and uses this in formation to adjust the tempo of the audio you hear The very first time MIDI Platter Control mode is activated Torq prevents unwanted and jarring speed changes by waiting before it plays the song at th
19. Mac users should go into the Keyboard Preferences in Mac OS X and change the following options before using Torq key commands On the Keyboard page Enable Use all F1 F2 etc keys as standard function keys On the Keyboard Shortcuts page under Dashboard amp Dock disable Dashboard F12 Then dis able Expos under Expos amp Spaces Deck Assignment Selection Mac Key Windows Key Left Xponent side controls Deck A F5 F5 Left Xponent side controls Deck B FG FG Left Xponent side controls Deck C F7 F7 Left Xponent side controls Deck D FS FS Right Xponent side controls Deck A F9 F9 Right Xponent side controls Deck B F10 F10 Right Xponent side controls Deck C F11 F11 Right Xponent side controls Deck D F12 F12 The corresponding Function keys listed above for selecting Decks B and C are the same in both Four Deck and Two Deck modes Torq 2 0 User Guide 153 Appendix A Key Commands Deck Functions The following table list key commands for various deck related functions A 4 function keys in parentheses are the Deck assignment key commands listed in the found in the previous section In the context of this section the parentheses mean that you should momentarily press or tap them instead of holding them down and then follow up with the rest of the key stroke as usual For example ES Shift 1 means you should tap the FS to bring Deck A into focus on the left side of your hardw
20. This preference chooses the level of detail in the Tooltips Full Default When selected all Tooltips will be displayed both when you hover your mouse and when you operate a con trol Adjust When selected the only Tooltips that will appear are those showing the adjustment applied to a knob or slider The normal Tooltips seen when hovering the mouse over a control will be hidden None This setting disables all Tooltips Torq 2 0 User Guide 136 Chapter 12 Torq Preferences Chapter 13 Rewire Torq is unique in that it can operate as a ReWire slave ReWire is a special technology created by Propellerhead that allows two or more different audio applications to share audio and MIDI data The system is composed of a single ReWire host such as Pro Tools or Ableton Live and multiple ReWire slaves The slaves will all send their audio outputs to the host allowing you to mix EQ and refine the audio using the tools within the host application Furthermore the host and slaves will all share transport and timing information allowing the multiple software applications to act as a single unit To launch a Torq ReWire session 1 Launch your ReWire Host application This could be Ableton Live Pro Tools M Powered or any other ap plication that will host a ReWire session 2 Launch Torq Since Torq is launched second it will automatically launch as the ReWire Slave 3 In order to hear Torq you ll need to select the program as the s
21. a stan dard Save dialog box which saves a proprietary Sample Bank file This file references the samples currently loaded into the Sampler Browse to your hard drive and choose a location to save the file The file will be saved with the extension tsb Torq Sample Bank A folder will also be created of the same name but with the word Samples added to the end This Samples folder contains copies of the samples used in the bank for easy recall in the future Torq 2 0 User Guide 101 Chapter 9 Sampler Loading Samples onto Decks QuickScratch Loading a sample onto a Deck lets you control a sample using the variable speed and variable key engine within the Deck This means you can scratch the sample using the mouse or qualified hardware controller Assign to Deck Buttons Deck Buttons Each Torq Sampler has 4 Assign to Deck buttons A B C and D that correspond to each Deck Clicking one of them loads the sample onto the corresponding Deck For example pressing the A button on Sampler 3 loads the sample onto Deck A In this instance the A button on each of the remaining samplers will be greyed out You can then manipulate the sample in the same manner used for full songs Pressing the Assign to Deck button again unloads the sample from the deck and reloads the original song Y Clicking all four Assign to Deck buttons on a sampler cell loads the sample onto each or the four Decks A In Two Deck Mode each sampler cell
22. a vocal break from your next song and play it to hint at the track you re about to play Secondly you can record from more than one source at a time If you enable the PFL on multiple Mixer channels their signals will be mixed together for sampling as a whole The idea when making any type of digital recording is to record the sound as loud as possible but not so loud that it causes distortion Torq includes a limiter on the PFL so you won t have to worry if the sound you re re cording has a few loud peaks Torq 2 0 User Guide 97 Chapter 9 Sampler Sampler Controls GAIN PITGH Sampl008 fs Sampler Controls This section provides an overview of the controls within the Sampler Record Sample Button Samples can be categorized into two groups one shot samples and loops One shot samples are sounds that play once when you trigger them and are not automatically synchronized to your mix Loops are samples that will play repeatedly when the end of the sample is reached playback will return to the beginning Torq will play these loops in sync with the Master Tempo allowing you to use multiple loops from different sources all at once The method in which you use the Sampler s Record button will determine whether you record a loop or one shot sample Recording One Shot Samples 1 Click the Pre Fader Listen PFL button in the Mixer to choose the source of the sample The button will light up 2 Click the RECORD button
23. and wish for the music to run freely afterward click the Sync button once to turn it on then click it again to turn it back off the Tempo will be matched to the other Deck and you ll be free to start and manipulate the music as you wish Master Tempo Using the Sync button as described in Chapter 5 The Decks lets you sync the Decks to the Master Tempo set by the Master Deck or a Rewire Host such as Pro Tools see Chapter 13 Rewire However if you do not have an active Master Deck and you wish to synch your looped samples to your mix you ll need to use the Master Tempo controls to set the Master Tempo When you adjust the Master Tempo then click the Sync button on a Deck it will sync to the Master Tempo instead of one of the other Decks Additionally when you trigger looped samples those loops will play in sync with the Master Tempo and any synced Decks Changing the Master Tempo will result in the same change to the synced Decks and the Sampler There are a couple ways to adjust the Master Tempo e Use the and buttons to increment or decrement the current tempo by one BPM e Hold the Shift key while dragging up and down on the Master Tempo Display to make smoother slower changes to the tempo e Click repeatedly on the Master Tempo Display to tap a new tempo A This synchronization method is only available when Auto Master Deck is switched off and you do not have a manually selected Master Deck set up as describ
24. bass Phonographs are very delicate de vices and care needs to be taken to ensure no unnecessary noise is making its way into the control signals Wiring Torq is listening to phase relationships in the left and right channels of the control signals If you have the turntable hooked up backwards such that the left channel plays into the computer s right channel the vinyl control system won t work properly The most obvious consequence of wiring backwards is that the music will play backwards while the record is spinning forwards If this happens swap your left and right connections Signal Levels Earlier we discussed the phenomenon where slowing down playback of a record causes the pitch to drop In addition to this slowing the record will also cause the overall volume to drop The slower the record the qui eter the signals If you are using Torq in a noisy environment or with a needle that has very low output Torq may loose the ability to hear the control signals when the record is moved slowly Try using a stylus cartridge with very high signal output Otherwise you will have to lower the Power Threshold in Torq s External Con trol Preferences If you lower the value too much the music will never stop moving even if you stop the con trol vinyl it will move just a little as Torq responds to almost any sound that is picked up by the turntable If the value is set too high Torq will stop playback before the turntable has come to a compl
25. both your sets By sharing MIDI Beat Clock between two computers running Torq two DJ s can sync themselves together and create a massive 4 Deck mixing extravaganza Torq 2 0 User Guide 119 Chapter 12 Torq Preferences Torq and Rewire Torq s ReWire capabilities allow it to be run alongside applications such as Pro Tools or Ableton Live on the same computer MIDI Clock will allow you to sync up the two applications across two computers While you won t be able to transfer audio from Torq to the other application without making additional audio interface connections you can at least get both programs to run in sync with each other Then adding clips in Live or tracks in Torq will result in one synchronized performance between both computers Setting Up MBC Input To slave Torq s Master Tempo to an external MIDI device 1 Connect the MIDI Output of the external device to a MIDI Input on your computer 2 In Torq s MIDI Preferences select the MIDI Input port mentioned above as the MBC Input Close the Pref erences 3 Click the AUTO button in Torq s Toolbar to disable Auto Master Deck Torq s Master Tempo will run inde pendently until an incoming MIDI Clock is received 4 Enable transmission of MIDI Clock from your external device Please refer to the product s user manual for the proper method of doing this 5 Start the external device possibly by pressing Play or Run 6 The Master Tempo display will change to match the tempo of th
26. click on Mac on the Crates heading in the Index and choose Create Crate from the pop up menu 2 A new Crate called Empty Crate will appear below the Crates heading 3 If there is already an Empty Crate in the list a number will be appended to the name to differentiate it from the other s For example Empty Crate 1 Torq 2 0 User Guide 23 Chapter 4 Accessing Your Music Renaming a Crate To create a new Crate 1 Right click CTRL click on Mac on a Crate in the Index and choose Rename from the pop up menu 2 Enter a new name for the Crate Adding Songs to Crates Torq give you the choice of either adding songs to an existing Crate or adding them to a new previously non existent Crate To add songs to an existing Crate 1 Navigate to the folder containing the song or multiple songs you want to add 2 Click the song or multiple songs you want to add o You can use the usual methods of selecting multiple songs provided by your operating system 3 Right click CTRL click on Mac on the song or any of the multiple songs that are highlighted 4 Choose Add to Crates from the pop up menu 5 Choose the name of an existing crate The song or multiple songs are be added to the Crate and will be visible when it is accessed To add songs to a new Crate 1 Navigate to the folder containing the song or multiple songs you want to add 2 Click the song or multiple songs you want to add o You can
27. close The sample rate of the recorded file will match the sample rate currently selected in the Audio tab of the Pref erences Refer to Chapter 12 Torq Preferences for more information about setting the sample rate and other au dio preferences Setting the Record Level The Main Out volume knob controls the level of your recording Set volume as high as possible without con stantly triggering the limiter it s OK if you trigger the limiter every once in a while Setting the Main Out vol ume too low will result in a recording that is too quiet Changes made to the Master Out volume will be committed to your recording even while you re in the middle of your mix Recording Once you have set the filename and recording level you can begin recording To start recording 1 Click the Record button It will light up to indicate that recording has commenced You ll also see the Record Time window begin to count the length of the recording 2 Perform your mix as normal Press the Record button again to stop the recording and save the file Torq 2 0 User Guide 77 Chapter 7 The Mixer Chapter 8 Effects Effects 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 When the Mixer is not hidden see Hide Mixer on page 70 the Effect Racks are located at the bottom
28. controls on all Decks The default setting is 5200 0 Hz Effect Signal Flow Selecting the Chain option causes Torq to automatically set up effects chains as described in Amount Knob AMT on page 80 and Effects Chains Chain Mode on page 81 Traq Morph Filter Style This parameter determines the frequency range used by the Traq Morph Frequency algorithm Low High This mode places a High Pass filter on the source Deck and a Low Pass Filter on the second Deck Both filters are set at the same Cutoff Frequency in order to cover the all of the available frequency range However the Cutoff Frequency is changed according to the position of the Crossfader Mid The Mid setting places a Mid Pass filter on the source Deck and a Mid Cut filter on the second Deck This de fines a Mid Band characteristic with a center frequency of 1 kHZ that is cut from the source Deck and passed to the second Deck The width of the Mid Band is controlled by the Crossfader Traq Morph Cut Style 1 8 1 8 Default This cuts between songs in an 1 8 note rhythm where the source Deck is heard on the first 1 8 note while the other Deck plays is heard the second 1 8 note otherwise known as the off beat 1 16 3 16 This setting cuts between songs in a 1 16 note rhythm where the source Deck is heard on the first 1 16 note of each beat while the other Deck plays is heard the on the following three 1 16 notes 1 6 16 This setting cuts also between
29. creating a small change to the playback speed of the song If the song is ahead of the beat press the right Nudge button to slow it down You ll see the waveforms of the two songs move in relation to each other Release the Nudge button once the songs are aligned properly and the original playback speed will be restored Torq 2 0 User Guide 51 Chapter 5 The Decks Synq Reference Button The Sync Reference Button lets you change the forcefulness or resolution of the synchronization between the Decks Each click of this button cycles through the options listed below Synq Reference Button Bar Default With this option selected Torq will align a synced Deck to the tempo and downbeat of the other Deck or Mas ter Tempo 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 Beat Torq will match a synced Deck to the tempo and beat of the other Deck or Master Tempo with no regard to the downbeats in the Phase Grids Any attempts to realign the synced Deck will result in Torq forcing the track back into alignment with the nearest beat the thick lines of the Phase Grids may be out of alignment with each other Tempo Torq will only match the tempo of a synced Deck to the other Deck or Master Tempo When you press Play on a Deck Torq will not force the song into
30. effect will begin repeating a new section of audio whenever you press the button as if you d instantaneously turned the effect off and back on again Resonator This plug in adds harmonic resonance to an audio signal Enable Button Switches the plug in on and off Amount Knob and Routing Button The works best with the Routing button set to Insert mode This allows you to completely replace the original audio signal with the processed version by turning this knob fully clockwise in order to emphasize the effect Pitch The Pitch know is used for changing the pitch of or tuning the resonant frequency S L This button adjusts the decay of the resonant sound The default setting is S which set a short decay time Pressing this button sets the decay to L which caused the notes to ring for a longer duration Torq 2 0 User Guide 92 Chapter 8 Effects Compressor The Torq Compressor works in the usual manner to control the volume of an audio signal by limiting or eve ning out its dynamic range This is done by lowering the volume of louder sounds while leaving quieter sounds unaltered In most cases with the correct setting this can also make a song sound much louder With extreme settings a compressor can be used to add a pumping characteristic to an audio signal Enable Button Pressing this button switches the Compressor on and off Amount Knob and Routing Button The Routing button will automatically sw
31. file has its sample rate lowered it loses the ability to accurately reproduce high frequency sounds Instead of sounding soft and muf fled like a Low Pass filter the Sample Reducer will sound grainy and harsh Enable button This button turns the Distortion on and off Amount Knob and Routing Button Like the Dual Filter above the Distortion is designed to be used as an Insert effect The Routing button will switch to Insert mode automatically any time you load the Distortion effect You should also turn the Amount knob fully clockwise so that you can only hear the output of the distortion if you blend the distorted signal with the original signal the distortion will be less pronounced Torq 2 0 User Guide 88 Chapter 8 Effects Mode Button This button is used to set the operating mode of the Distortion When the button is off the Distortion is in Overdrive mode When the button is on the Distortion will be in Sample Rate Reduction mode Drive Sample Rate SRATE Knob When Mode button is off the Drive knob increases the volume of the signal being fed into the distortion When the knob is fully counterclockwise the input signal is not boosted and therefore un distorted As you turn this knob clockwise the volume will begin to increase At a certain point you ll start to hear the audio become distorted You can leave the knob here for a subtle distortion or you can continue to turn it clockwise in order to push the distortion int
32. heavy After repeated use the control signal may become distorted and unreadable Simply flip over the Control Vinyl to the second side or pur chase a replacement record from the M Audio Webstore www m audio com Torq 2 0 User Guide 146 Chapter 14 External and MIDI Control If the output level of your stylus cartridge is too low this can also result in high Error Index readings Try re placing your stylus cartridge with one of the recommended models listed on our website at www avid com torqFAQ Refer to Wreckin the Records on page 161 for more information about resolving playback issues Torq 2 0 User Guide 147 Chapter 14 External and MIDI Control MIDI Control Torq provides the option of MIDI control for nearly every button knob and slider on the interface Since MIDI is a common protocol shared between all types of music equipment you can use almost anything ca pable of generating MIDI note or CC messages to control Torq they do not need to be specialized DJ con trollers This will offer you a way to experiment with different control methods when DJing such as using an M Audio Trigger Finger to control samples or an M Audio Axiom 25 keyboard to control effects and pitches Please go to the M Audio Support site at http www m audio com index php do supportSttab manuals for the Controller Assignments Appendix Document MIDI Learn Every musician approaches their craft from a slightly different direction DJing is no d
33. iPod is connected it will be listed in the Browser window INDEX Snapshots Files Music Desktop Tunes Crates Playlists iPod s iPod Index Listing Like the iTunes Library the contents of an iPod can be searched using the Library or Playlist headings You can also include the contents of the iPod in the Database by doing the following 1 Open the Preferences 2 Click on the Behavior tab 3 Next to Search iPod With Database select Yes 4 Close the Preferences Torq will now include the songs from the iPod the next time you click the Database heading When using an iPod with a large song collection it may take Torq a moment to download the entire music list the first time the device is accessed A Torq streams music directly from the iPod Do not disconnect the iPod until you have finished playing mu sic from it Torq 2 0 User Guide 30 Chapter 4 Accessing Your Music 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 These additional categories can help you find song with greater efficiency eg While ID3 tags will support storage of the in
34. in a song you ll find that playback is now two bars before the chorus when you resume normal playback Torg overcomes these shortcomings by implementing reversed playback as an effect rather than as a function of the Deck By doing so you can reverse playback instantaneously there is no lag due to the turntable changing directions Furthermore since this is an effect the song on the Deck will continue to play normally the waveform will continue to scroll in the forward direction thus keeping the play position correct as you switch the Reverse effect on and off Enable Button When using the Reverse effect this button is always on and cannot be turned off Amount Knob and Routing Button The Amount knob has no function The effect is routed as an Insert effect by default Tweak Knob The Tweak knob has no function Reverse Button This button will turn the Reverse on and off This button is momentary meaning you have to keep holding it while the song plays backwards When you release the button normal playback will resume Torq 2 0 User Guide 90 Chapter 8 Effects Beat Reverse Beat Reverse lets you create the impression that the drum or percussion parts of a song were recorded back wards Enable Button Turns Beat Reverse on and off Amount Knob and Routing Button The Amount knob sets the wet dry mix of the effect turn this knob fully clockwise for the proper sound Beat Reverse is automatically configured as an
35. in the sampler cell you want to record to The button will turn red to indicate that Torq is recording Record button 3 When the Record button is pressed again the sampler cell is taken out of record mode and the recording will stop The sample is now ready to play Recording Looped Samples 1 To record a loop instead of a one shot press and hold SHIFT while clicking on the Record button Instead of beginning recording immediately recording will wait for the downbeat determined by the phase informa tion of the source Deck The Record button will be yellow while it s waiting for the downbeat Once the downbeat is reached the button will turn red and recording will commence Torq 2 0 User Guide 98 Chapter 9 Sampler 2 Clicking the Record button again while recording will not stop recording immediately Instead recording will continue until the end of the next bar again determined by phase information from the source Deck The Record button will be yellow while it s waiting for the end of the bar the Sampler will be recording during this time Once the end of the bar is reached recording will stop and the loop will be ready to play loop will be white Ea Loop Button Loop Sample Button This button enables and disables sample looping When active the sample will automatically re trigger when it reaches its end The looping will be synchronized with the Master Tempo When deactivated the sample will be triggered as a o
36. input to which your second turntable or CD player is connected Control Input C Click to access the pop up menu and select the stereo input to which your third turntable or CD player is connected Control Input D Click to access the pop up menu and select the stereo input to which your fourth turntable or CD player is connected A When Torq is being used as a ReWire slave the Audio Interface options will be disabled Torq 2 0 User Guide 116 Chapter 12 Torq Preferences MIDI Preferences Preferences MIDI INTERNAL MIDI Preferences This page features options which let you determine how Torq is controlled via MIDI MIDI Devices This list shows all MIDI devices currently recognized by Torq Each device is listed by name and is followed by a pop up menu for setting the device as being Inactive or Active If you wish to use a device to control Torq choose Active from the corresponding pop up menu Choose Inactive for any controller you do not wish to use with Torq This section of the MIDI Preference page lists Refresh MIDI Device List When this button is pressed Torq will detect all qualified MIDI controllers that have been properly installed and connected to your computer A warning screen will appear asking you to confirm that you want Torq to start the detection process Once this process has completed Torq will refresh the list of available MIDI devices Internal Platter Tolerance This
37. navigating to the proper location Torq 2 0 User Guide 134 Chapter 12 Torq Preferences GUI Preferences The options on this page affect the visual appearance of Torq Preferences GUI Yes Default Default english Full GUI Preferences Highlight Assigned Decks With this option is set to Yes default the edge of currently targeted decks will be highlighted with a colored rectangle Torq Decks assigned to the left side of qualified hardware controller are highlighted in green while Decks assigned to the right side are highlighted in purple If a deck is highlighted in red it will be controlled by both sides of your hardware Refer to Deck Switch on page 36 for more information Skin These option allows you to select a different Skin or appearance for Torq Visual Scheme These options let you choose different color schemes for the Torq interface Language These options let you choose which language will be used in all areas of Torq Once you have chosen a lan guage setting Torq will need to be restarted before the changes take effect Torq 2 0 User Guide 135 Chapter 12 Torq Preferences Tooltips If you hover your mouse over a control in Torq often a small Tooltip will appear along the lower edge of the GUI describing the function of the control Additionally when you move a knob or slider with the mouse a Tooltip will be displayed showing the new setting of the knob or slider next to it
38. not increase the volume or exaggerate the modulation the morphing Traq Morph Pre listening While Traq Morph is active you can hear what your crossfade will sound like before the audience does by tem porarily routing the Crossfader signal to PFL channel This help avoid sudden and sometimes drastic volume changes To pre listen to a Traq Morphed crossfade 1 Move the Crossfader all the way to the right or left depending on which deck you want to hear first 2 Press the Crossfader PFL Headphone button to send the signal to the PFL channel 3 Press one of the Morph Mode buttons 4 If necessary choose one of the related Mode Preferences from the Preference dialog 5 Perform the crossfade to hear how it will sound 6 If necessary change the Mode Preferences and perform the crossfade again 7 Press the Crossfader PFL Headphone button again to route the signal back to the main output 8 Perform the crossfade for your audience Torq 2 0 User Guide 75 Chapter 7 The Mixer Main Out Section MAIN OUT Main Output The Main Out section controls main mix heard by your audience and features an audio recorder for recording your performances as well as a Limiter Volume Control The Main Out knob controls the overall volume of Torq s Main Outputs It is also used for setting the level of the Torq Recorder Turning the knob to the right increases the output volume while turning to the left de creases it Level Meter and Limiter Si
39. of each Deck Torq lets you load up to four built in library effects one external VST effect for each Deck In Four Deck Mode this means you can use up to twenty effects within your mix at the same time while Two Deck Mode lets you use up to ten Cy When the mouse is moved over a knob slider or button the name of the control is displayed in the lower edge of the Torq window HPF Four Deck Mode Effects Rack ROUTE HPF REVERSE Two Deck Mode Effects Rack Torq 2 0 User Guide 78 Chapter 8 Effects Controls The controls for the built in and external VST effects are basically the same and will be described here How ever VST effects have some additional controls and considerations of which to be aware of and these are cov ered in VST Effects on page 94 Effects Slots To begin using effects you need to load and effect into one of the Effect Slots To load an effect 1 Click on an empty Effect Slot A pop up menu of available effects will appear 2 Click on one of the effect names from the list to load it into the slot The name of the effect will appear in the Effect Slot By default the Enable button for the slot will change from grey to the corresponding Deck color to signify that the loaded effect is active A When the Reverse effect is loaded the On Off button for the Effects Slot will remain grey because the Re verse effect is always on See Reverse on page 90 3 To remove an effect choose the
40. of the effect turn this knob fully clockwise for the proper sound The Brake effect is automatically configured as an Insert effect Speed Knob This knob will set the Brake time As you turn this knob clockwise the Brake time will become longer Torq 2 0 User Guide 91 Chapter 8 Effects Brake Button Press this button to engage the Brake effect The music will slow to a stop Press the button again to resume normal playback Repeat This effect can be used to create the granular hyper repeats heard in lots of today s dance music All you have to do is trigger the effect and play with the loop length to get instant results Here s how it works Enable Button Engaging this button will start the effect The Repeat will remain active until this button is turned off again Amount Knob and Routing Button The Amount knob will set the wet dry mix of the Repeat effect Turn the knob fully clockwise to hear only the repeated audio While the audio is repeating you can use the Amount knob to fade the original music back in if you wish The effect will automatically be configured as an Insert effect when loaded Size Knob This knob sets the size of the audio slice being repeated A tooltip will appear showing the current slice length whenever you move this knob The repeated slices will always be quantized to the current tempo Capture Button When you press this button it will re seed the Repeat effect In other words the
41. of the songs from the Playlist possibly because the drive containing the song is no longer connected to the computer or the source file has been deleted a pop up dialog will appear with the following message Cannot find one or more of the files used in this Playlist What would you like to do You will then have a choice of clicking one of the following buttons Torq 2 0 User Guide 27 Chapter 4 Accessing Your Music Ignore Clicking this button will allow the Playlist to load however all missing songs will be displayed in red in the File List window Auto scan Clicking this button will cause Torq to search all hard drives connected to your computer in an attempt to find the missing file s If a file is found with the same name but in a different location another dialog box will ap pear with the following message Would you like to use this file for name of missing file e By choosing Yes Torq will use the file and automatically assume that the rest of the missing files will also be in this same folder Once found these files will automatically be loaded If the other missing files are not in this location Torq will continue searching the computer until another file is found e Choosing No will allow the search to continue for another possible file in a different location e If the search completes without finding the proper file a dialog box will appear with the following mes sage Cannot find name
42. place on the record at the beginning Constantly cueing and scratching in this area will eat away at the grooves on the Torg Vinyl When using traditional records spotting cue burn is easy you hear it It sounds like the record is really dirty as if it had been scrubbed with sandpaper However when using the Torq Vinyl you won t hear cue burn be cause Torq will still be playing pristine digital audio files Instead of hearing the audio get scratchy when your control records start getting burned you ll find that Torq s ability to follow the control records is compro mised This usually manifests itself right at the beginning of each song the music will jump around errati cally This is because Torq is unable to determine the proper location because the signal from the control re cords has been damaged So instead of hearing the audio get scratchy when your control records start getting burned you ll find that Torq s ability to follow the control records is compromised This usually manifests itself right at the beginning of each song the music will jump around erratically This is because Torq is unable to determine the proper location because the signal from the control records has been damaged The usual solution for this is to either flip the record over to the other side or if you ve already done that to throw the record away and get a new one However using the Lead In option in the Preferences you can ex tend the li
43. record When you load up a new track onto a Deck you can place the needle anywhere on the record and the music will start from the beginning once you start the record By putting the needle in a different place it keeps you from burning the same area of the record over and over again thus extending life Lastly Torq has a Lead In preference that offsets the start of the music relative to the start of the control vinyl If you ve burned the beginning of the vinyl increment the Lead In by one This will add a rotation to the re cord before music starts Once the new area is burned increment the Lead In again Each increment will make the music start further into the record Ground Hum One factor that can inhibit the functionality of the vinyl tracking is a ground loop A ground loop manifests itself as a low hum or buzz in the audio system a noise that never stops even when the record is not playing As explained earlier Torq listens to the pitch of the pilot tone to determine speed and direction Torq can be come confused if there is a ground hum mixed in with the pilot signal Torq might lock to the ground hum instead of the pilot tone causing the playback speed to be incorrect It could also contaminate the position stamps making them impossible to read position stamps are scattered throughout the audio spectrum If you listen to the record directly such as by clicking the Line In button in Torq you should be able to hear if a groun
44. sound That s what s happening when you play a record the grooves in the record vibrate the stylus as they play and those vibrations are translated to audio The problem with turntables though is that they cannot distinguish between what is an intentional vibration caused by the moving grooves in the record and an unintentional vibration picked up through the body of the turntable For example if you kick the table the turntable is on that thump will be transferred through the turntable up through the needle and translated into sound What this means in terms of the External Control system is that vibrations and other unintentional noise can contaminate the control signals being read from the vinyl When this happens the noise can tempo rarily throw off the ability of Torq to track the records In order to help minimize this problem Torq has a setting called Power Threshold with various level set tings The idea is to set this value above any of the extraneous noise such that Torq will only focus on the louder control signals from the records To set the Power Threshold 1 Open the External Control Preferences and enable External Control 2 Place the needle of your turntable on the Control Vinyl but leave the turntable stopped 3 Lower the Power Threshold to 40 and look at the Velocity value for the deck 4 If the Velocity is showing random values even though the turntable is stopped that means the Power Threshold
45. such as the space bar or a button on your control hardware to the Tap Tempo function To map a key or button to the Tap Tempo function 1 Choose the Deck that you want to use when adding Tempo Markers to a song 2 Right click on the BPM display for the Deck 3 Tap the key or controller button you are mapping to the Tap Tempo function Torq 2 0 User Guide 62 Chapter 6 Waveform Display Adding Tempo Anchors To add Tempo Anchors to a song 1 Load a song onto a deck and press the Play button 2 Use the Tap Tempo feature to determine the approximate tempo while the song plays The tempo will ap pear in both the Global BPM display in the Toolbar and the Deck BPM display This is very important since this will get the Phase Grid close to the proper position leaving only minor edits for you to do later 3 Stop the song and rewind back to the beginning 4 Hold SHIFT and drag the Phase Grid so that the downbeat the thicker white line is aligned with the first visible beat of the song This will ensure that the Phase Grid starts at the right location you will only need to use Tempo Anchors to fix issues where the Phase Grid drifts out of alignment 5 Click the Edit Anchor Points button in the Toolbar The background of the Scrolling Waveforms will turn purple indicating that Anchor Edit is active Edit Anchor Points Button 6 Search through the song looking for places where the Phase Grid no longer aligns with the beats of the mu sic W
46. the beginning or end 3 Click Next and Torq will connect to the Internet and activate automatically 4 When you see the Activated screen your copy of Torq is activated and ready to use Click Finish and Torq will continue to launch A fyou have a large number of VST plug ins installed on your computer the initial launch of Torq may take a couple of minutes while the application scans the VST folder Activated Thank you for purchasing Torq You are now res art using the application please click Cancel to start tight sway Wa recommand you visit the verity the configucation To walk through steps to halp customize Torg to match your envwoement nen the Setup Assistant by clicking the Next button Activated Screen Torq 2 0 User Guide 6 Chapter 2 Software Installation Manual Activation This option lets you activate Torq without an Internet connection To activate Torq manually 1 Choose Manual Activation and click Next Activation Manual Activation R Manual Activation 2 Enter your serial number and System ID in the respective text boxes Your serial number and system iden tification number are located inside the enclosed Torq 2 0 Quick Setup Guide If you purchased Torq online you received your serial number and system identification number from Avid by e mail You can also view your serial number and system identification number by logging in to your support account Serial Number Syst
47. the same control record 50 times Since the same records stay on the turn tables for the entire set this greatly increases the record s exposure to dirt dust and other nasty elements which will quickly build up over time Even worse since the same records are used for each performance many DJ s never remove their vinyl from the turntables leaving them out to collect dust all day and night That dust and dirt will collect within the grooves of the record compromising the control signals Dust and dirt will also collect on the stylus itself usually looking like a grey ball of dust on the end of the needle This ball will limit the movement of the stylus which in turn distorts the control signals The obvious solution to this problem is to remain diligent with your cleaning efforts Clean the records and styli at the beginning of your set and continue to do so throughout the duration This is extremely important in club environments where dust from smoke machines cigarettes dusty ventilation systems and more can collect extremely fast This is compounded by the fact that sweat and oils from the DJ s fingers help glue the dust and dirt to the surface of the vinyl Get into a routine of checking for dust every 5 10 songs Using prod ucts like Discwasher and Gruv Glide will help keep the surface of the vinyl nice and clean Cue Burn The second most common reason for tracking failure is cue burn Cue burn occurs on all records and is caused by rep
48. them completely removes their corre sponding frequency from the audio signal When all three have been pressed the signal is muted in the same way as if the Mute button G has been activated The EQ controls are used to 1 improve the sound quality of poorly recorded or produced songs 2 assist in matching the overall frequency content of two songs 3 add emphasis to the music by removing or isolating one or more of the frequency ranges and 4 mix songs together in a jigsaw fashion by swapping the fre quency ranges of two songs as they play together Old songs typically don t have as much bass as today s tracks Therefore you ll often use the Low EQ to boost the bass low frequencies of the old song to match the louder bass of a recent song Without doing this it may sound like the music gets quieter as you mix from the recent song to the older one Likewise even tracks recorded within the same year can sound different from one another even when playing at the same volumes This is usually because one song will have stronger Mid frequencies compared to the other If the bass parts in both songs sound like they re the same volume you can use the Mid EQ to turn down the louder song until it more closely matches the quieter song DJ s also like to mix things up during their sets by adding their own manipulations to the songs they play For example a DJ might cut the High and Low frequencies from a track a few beats before th
49. your VST directory this section will tell you how many new VST plug ins were found in that location Clicking the Start button tells Torg to scan the folder for compatible plug ins During the scan the VST Plug in Scanner window will appear showing the plug in that is currently being scanned and the progress of the scanning operation You can control the scanning process by pressing the corresponding buttons to skip or ignore certain plug ins at any time Ignored Plug ins This section displays a list of plug in that were ignored by Torq because either they are not supported or be cause you had pressed the Skip or Ignore button during the scan If you would like to have any of them re scanned you can highlight the individual plug in listing and then click Remove Selected The plug in will be removed from the list and you can click the Start button under Scanning to start the scanning process Torq 2 0 User Guide 126 Chapter 12 Torq Preferences Behavior Preferences Preferences BEHAVIOR QUICK CUES AND LOOPING DATABASE Behavior Preferences This page lets you set limits for functions as described below Mixing Transport Mode You can reverse the direction of the Nudge and Advance buttons in the Decks using this preference By default this option is set to Normal In this mode the left Nudge button advances the phase of the song while the right Nudge buttons moves backwards Normal mode also causes the left Advanc
50. 1 in the Torq Preferences chapter When using ReWire those same audio outputs are available within the Host application Torq 2 0 User Guide 137 Chapter 13 Rewire Internal Mixer Mode If you switch Torq into External Mixer mode you ll find that ReWire channels 1 and 2 carry the signal from Deck A channels 3 and 4 carry the signal from Deck B channels 5 and 6 will carry the signal from Deck C channels 7 and 8 will carry the signal from Deck C The audio signal from the Torq Sampler is sent over chan nels 9 and 10 External Mixer Mode When using Internal Mixer mode channels 1 and 2 will carry the Master Output from the Mixer while chan nels 3 and 4 carry the PFL Headphone signal This allows you to create your own monitoring path or mixing path in the Host application to suit your needs Torq 2 0 User Guide 138 Chapter 13 Rewire Chapter 14 External and MIDI Control One of Torq s greatest features is the ability to use external sources to control the playback of your song files This lets you use the Torq Control Vinyl or Torq Control CD s as well as other qualified hardware to provide the same method of DJing as traditional turntables and or CD decks Torq also allows you to use external MIDI hardware to control nearly any feature within the application The Control Vinyl and Control CD system works by using vinyl records and compact discs imprinted with special control signals You ll play these control signals on your turn
51. 2 0 User Guide 16 Chapter 3 Torq 2 0 Configuration If Your MIDI Device is Not Listed If you do not see a listing for the MIDI device you want to use click the Refresh Device List button A Warn ing screen will appear asking you to confirm that you want Torq to scan for the missing MIDI Device Read the screen very carefully then click Yes if you still want to refresh the device list Once the process has com pleted and your device appears click Next Warning This action can lead to crashes for certain controller setups Please make sure you have tested this with your hardware setup before trying in front of the audience Do you want to proceed Setup Assistant Refresh Device List Warning 14 Torq preselects the most common location for your music folder based on your operating system If the folder path displayed on the Music Library Setup screen is correct click Next se If the preselected location is incorrect click the Browse button to the left of the folder path and navigate to the proper location on your system Once you have found the folder click on it once then click Open Mac or OK Windows When that window closes click Next on the Music Library Setup screen Music Library Setup for music Bbraries If the di lo Warary mansaty Please no Setup Assistant Music Library Setup Torq 2 0 User Guide 17 Chapter 3 Torq 2 0 Configuration 15 If you have iTunes install
52. 4 Chapter 5 The Decks Divide Tempo The first time you press this button the tempo of the current song will be divided by 1 5 If the song was de tected as 120 BPM it will now show 60 BPM 120 BPM 1 5 60 BPM The second time you press this button the division factor will stay the same 1 5 and the tempo changes to 40 BPM 60 BPM 1 5 40 BPM Multiply Tempo The first time you press this button the tempo of the current song will be multiplied by 1 5 the multiplication factor will be shown in the Tooltip If the song was detected as 120 BPM it will now show 180 BPM 120 BPM x 1 5 180 BPM The second time you press this button the multiplication factor will increase to 2 If the song had been detected as 120 BPM it would now show 240 BPM 120 BPM x 2 240 BPM The multiplica tion factor will continue to increase in 0 5 steps each time this button is pressed Manual Tempo Adjustment ADJ As mentioned above Torq can determine the tempo of most dance music Some music however is too com plex 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 Tap Tempo On rare occasions Torq will determine an incorrect tempo that has no direct relation to the actual tempo not a fraction or multiple At times like this you l
53. AV i gt Torq User Guide Version 2 0 Legal Notices This guide is copyrighted 2011 by Avid Technology Inc with all rights reserved Under copyright laws this guide may not be duplicated in whole or in part without the written consent of Avid Technology Inc Avid the Avid logo Pro Tools M Audio Torq Conectiv and Traq Morph are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology Inc Tunes and iPod are registered trademarks of Apple Inc All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners Product features specifications system requirements and availability are subject to change without notice Guide Part Number 9329 65034 00 REV B 02 11 Documentation Feedback We are always looking for ways to improve our documentation If you have comments corrections or suggestions regarding our documentation email us at techpubs avid com Chapter 1 Introduction to Torq 2 0 o oo e ene nnees 1 Welcome 2245 5 A AA A EAS eek SR a a o ea 1 Torg 2 0 Features iia A BS A ea AA A A a A AD AE a eee 1 Using Torq 2 0 With WindOWS satione a a n y aaan a a a a a aa a a aE o boa ada 2 System Requirements ssp siir a E A bP eee A ea 2 Product Registration ic odos fen eae AA th acd AA eA A Ba eae ea ee eee as 3 Chapter 2 Software Installation cece nee n nen n ees 4 Installation snis ta iieo Ae A saa A we eos Oe a aes Go a eee ee eee eee 4 Activation A AA
54. C is 240 Hz In this instance the volume of the song on Deck B will gradually decrease at 240 HZ as the Crossfader is moved towards Deck C Standard This setting lowers the volume of the first Deck across the whole frequency range as the Crossfader moves to wards the second Deck Traq Morph Style Strong Default The Strong setting places a 24db filter on a deck which makes the audio signal sound louder and enhances the modulation of the morphing Gentle This setting is more subtle as it does not increase the volume or exaggerate the modulation the morphing Synq Reference This option determines the forcefulness or resolution of the synchronization used in Torq based on the op tions listed below Bar Default With this option selected Torq will align a synced Deck to the tempo and downbeat of the other Deck or Mas ter Tempo 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 Torq 2 0 User Guide 129 Chapter 12 Torq Preferences Beat Torq will match a synced Deck to the tempo and beat of the other Deck or Master Tempo with no regard to the downbeats in the Phase Grids Any attempts to realign the synced Deck will result in Torq forcing the track back into alignment with the nearest beat the thick lines of the Phase Grids may be out of alignm
55. Control Calibration displays on the External Control Preferences tab will be your first place to look in order to diagnose the problem Control Type If the external control system is enabled but doesn t seem to be working first check the Control Type settings for each Deck If you have the wrong Control Type selected Torq will not react in the proper manner to the control signals Once you ve verified the setting here you can continue diagnosing your problem Velocity and Position When operating properly the external control system provides three vital pieces of information to Torq s Decks the direction of the Control Vinyl or Control CD its rotation speed and the current position on the record or CD These values are reflected in the Torq as described below Velocity The Velocity display shows a number that indicates both speed and direction at the same time When the Ve locity is O the record or CD is stopped or the needle is no longer in contact with the vinyl If the number is 1 0 that means the vinyl record is running forward at normal speed when using Torq Control Vinyls this re fers to 33 1 3 RPM playback on the turntable When the number is 1 0 it means the record or CD is running backwards at normal speed 33 1 3 RPM As you manipulate the record or CD by hand or with their pitch ad justers the Velocity display immediately changes to reflect the movements Position The Position display shows a number that Torq use
56. Controls The Transport buttons let you control various aspects of song playback as described below Advance Advance Buttons Sometimes when mixing two songs together you may find that the beats are aligned with each other yet the two songs are still out of phase This is most obvious when one song is offset by one beat causing the snare drums of the tracks to be out of alignment The Advance buttons can be used to correct this Pressing these buttons will make the Current Song Position jump forward or back by one beat length Holding down the Shift key and clicking one of the Advance buttons moves the Phase Grid an entire beat left or right This is a quick way to fix the Phase Grid if it happens to be aligned to the beats but has the downbeat in the wrong location Refer to Phase Grid Manipulations on page 107 for more information about moving the Phase Grid Lo If you have the Sync Mode set to Bar in the Toolbar or Torq Preferences Synq Reference the Offset but tons will have no effect when the Deck s Sync button is on This is because Torq will counteract a one beat offset when set to Bar mode If you want to offset the music by one beat when Sync is on you ll need to offset the Phase Grid as explained in Phase Grid Manipulations on page 107 or switch the Synq Refer ence to Beat by clicking the Synq Reference Button in the Torq Toolbar Refer to Synq Reference on page 129 for more information about S
57. Cuei aces ee keen ozo ate oe A A ele Soa tay bun aa Sec at cae bee ieee Sha ee 69 Hide Mixer ts See ee ead A see ie aed ee ee ee es eee E A 70 Crossfader acca ia Bite tee ei eri eth ee eo hee A Se be ba de eee Pelee de ek 71 Trad Morph 222 io a amd hacks a ds Sirata aia dt 72 Main Out Section i104 cir pira e it bed di pata wanda oh eed dea 76 iii Contents Chapter 8 Effects cio a a ib 78 Controls 200 o A A A A ee A A E po a 79 Built In Effects it E AA A Ae eee A A Ae A A i Se A ee EEE 84 MST ETOCS ir a O A A A a apes ates Goan cag eee aca 94 Chapter 9 Sampler 00 200 it DAA dla ick a ee hee kd 97 Signal Source is idad ide da a ia A A a da 97 Sampler Controls 2 246 4444 aaa ds rata db a 98 Chapter 10 Snapshots ci ti ls ee tl a ee eke 103 Snapshot List 2 93 en A A A A A oe ee 103 Creating a Snapshot ta cada aes A At dle Bis eal Sia aed wade ae tea 103 Masking a Snapshot 60st Goa ded da dae Ry dae ee A he eat in tee 104 Using Snapshots cg hens is Meee PE Seg Ve ae woe ech iP tee ee Mi Ane gee Pd ee 104 D plicat Snapshot see ice kon sods a Gas iene Bete eet date a ate hes So ap hee ea Sage ab cee acca ine a ee 105 Swapping Snapshots icin red eae ere Se ee ee ee a OD ee eee eee RA a h 105 Delete Snapshot neas aeaa na a a a a a a E aE NE E E a aa See ore ed 105 Momentary vs Latching Behavior o o ooooco eee 105 Polyphonic SnapshotS s sssi mieia aa e eed a aE a g a aa baaa A aa Gane a a Ra
58. F2 F2 or Ctrl Right Shift F2 Set QuickCue 1 on Deck B F6 Shift 1 or F10 Shift 6 F6 Shift 1 or F10 Shift 6 Set QuickCue 2 on Deck B F6 Shift 2 or F10 Shift 7 F6 Shift 2 or F10 Shift 7 Set QuickCue 3 on Deck B F6 Shift 3 or F10 Shift 8 F6 Shift 3 or F10 Shift 8 Set QuickCue 4 on Deck B F6 Shift 4 or F10 Shift 9 F6 Shift 4 or F10 Shift 9 Set QuickCue 5 on Deck B F6 Shift 5 or F10 Shift 0 F6 Shift 5 or F10 Shift 0 Se ect QuickCue 1 on Deck B F6 1 or F10 6 F6 1 or F10 6 Se ect QuickCue 2 on Deck B F6 2 or F10 7 F6 2 or F10 7 Se ect QuickCue 3 on Deck B F6 3 or F10 8 F6 3 or F10 8 Se ect QuickCue 4 on Deck B F6 4 or F10 9 F6 4 or F10 9 Se ect QuickCue 5 on Deck B F6 5 or F10 0 F6 5 or F10 0 Torq 2 0 User Guide 155 Appendix A Key Commands Deck C A The Up Down Left and Right Arrow Keys are listed as Up Down Left or Right Function Mac Key Windows Key Load selected song to Deck C Unload Track on Deck C F3 or Cmd Up Shift F3 F3 or Ctrl Up Shift F3 Set QuickCue 1 on Deck C F7 Shift 1 or F11 Shift 6 F7 Shift 1 or F11 Shift 6 Set QuickCue 2 on Deck C F7 Shift 2 or F11 Shift 7 F7 Shift 2 or F11 Shift 7 Set QuickCue 3 on Deck C
59. Finder for Mac To add folders from your OS 1 Find your desired folders using the tools of your operating system Explorer or Finder 2 Click and drag the folder from the operating system onto the Database 3 Release the mouse button and the folder will be added to the Database 4 You can also include the subfolders by holding the Ctrl key Alt key on Mac while dragging the folder into the Database Searching Specific Database Folders Clicking on the Database heading will display every song contained in the Database in the File List to the right of the Index If you would like to confine your search to only a particular folder within the Database 1 Click the in front of the Database heading The list will expand to show all of the folders contained in the Database 2 Click on one of the folders The File List will be updated to only show the songs contained in that specific folder Torq 2 0 User Guide 22 Chapter 4 Accessing Your Music Removing Folders from Database There are two ways to remove folders from the Database You can either search through the folders currently listed within the Database and remove them or you can locate the original folders on your hard drives to re move them To remove folders directly from the Database 1 Click the plus sign next to the Database This will drop down a list of all folders assigned to the Database 2 When you have found the folder you want to delete right click it 3 Choose
60. If you have a large audio buffer the buffer will have to play out its entire contents before you ll hear any new EQ changes in the audio When DJing this can be a nightmare if you re trying to do things with accurate timing all of your actions will have a delayed effect on the music Torq 2 0 User Guide 113 Chapter 12 Torq Preferences The solution is to set the buffer size as low as it can go without inducing any audio problems This is just like playing a game of limbo To find the appropriate buffer size 1 Load a song onto a Deck and play it 2 While the music is playing open the Audio Preferences 3 If music is playing back properly open the Buffer Size menu and select the next smallest buffer size The buf fer will be updated immediately and the music will continue to play 4 Listen to the music for a moment If you do not hear any clicks pops or glitches lower the Buffer Size to the next lowest setting 5 Keep repeating this procedure until can hear the audio breaking up 6 Set the Buffer Size to the next highest setting the last one that worked properly and your system will be op timized While Torq should be very stable at these settings keep in mind that the system performance can be compro mised as you increase the CPU load This is most notable when using CPU intensive VST effects or the Elas tique Time Stretch algorithm Loading one of these effects may cause pops and clicks in your audio at which point you w
61. Insert effect Align Knob This knob controls the offset of the effect such that turning it to the all the way right increases the offset mak ing the effect less dramatic As the knob is turn to the left the effect becomes more pronounced HPF Button Clicking this button places a high pass filter across the output of the plug in to accentuate the higher fre quency rang or the reversed audio Brake As mentioned above turntables don t respond instantly to changes in speed or direction When you press Stop on a turntable it takes a moment for the turntable to slow down and reach a complete stop This is due the weight and momentum of the turntable two factors that don t exist in the virtual world of Torq Still some DJ s like the sound of a turntable slowing down to a stop and creating that sound is the purpose of Torq s Brake effect Like the Reverse effect above the Brake effect does not actually stop the playback of the song on the Deck In stead it just simulates the sound of the song slowing down while the song continues to play normally as seen by the scrolling waveform Because the song keeps playing you can use the Brake effect to create the slow to stop sound then bring the music back in on the next downbeat which is impossible with real turn tables or CD players Enable Button This button will be on at all times it cannot be turned off Amount Knob and Routing Button The Amount knob sets the wet dry mix
62. Introduction to Vinyl Tracking Before starting we must state that tracking vinyl is no small task especially when the only mechanism avail able is a standard tonearm equipped with a standard stylus There are many more mechanisms for reading the rotation of an object that would yield better results but as DJ s this is what we re forced to use This creates some unique problems that have been solved by various companies in a number of similarly unique ways all with varying levels of reliability and accuracy We ll start now by explaining what kinds of information we need in order to make an MP3 or similar digital audio file playback under the control of vinyl There are three things the computer needs to know The speed of the record its direction of rotation and the position of the stylus on the record The speed will tell the com puter how fast to play the audio file The direction will determine if the file is played forwards or backwards The position will set the playback location within the file With all three of these parameters being commu nicated to the computer at a high enough rate the results are astounding The audio file will react as if it s pressed directly on the record So how can a computer determine these three values by dragging a stylus across some wax The answer is sound How It Works Each of Torq s Control Vinyl records are imprinted with special audio signals that the computer can listen to in order to determine
63. Key columns the Deck s Key setting will be updated by the Snapshot along with the EQ Kills too Checking all of the columns and all parameters within the Snapshot will override the current settings When you release the Snapshot all previous settings will be restored Using Snapshots The second column in the Snapshot list is labeled Assignment and contains the name of the current keyboard key or MIDI note assigned to the Snapshot This column will contain the word Unassigned when you make anew Snapshot Click Unassigned and the message Press A Key will appear indicating that Torq is waiting for your key assignment Press a key on your computer s keyboard or trigger a MIDI note on your external controller and Torq will immediately assign it to the Snapshot For example if you have assigned the C key on your keyboard to the Snapshot the letter C will be listed in the Assignment column for that snapshot Now the Snapshot will be activated any time you press the assigned key If you want to assign a different key or note click on the Assignment listing in this case the letter C and the Press A Key instruction will re appear an Due to the large number of Snapshots you may create while using Torq you can to use modifier keys when making assignments For example you can assign the W key SHIFT W WTRL W and ALT W to different Snapshots you can even use multiple modifiers like SHIFT ALT
64. Line in the Waveform Display remains stationary as the Waveform moves e Waveform Display in Two Deck Mode Torq 2 0 User Guide 59 Chapter 6 Waveform Display Information Shown on the Display Waveform By looking at the audio waveform itself you can see where the beats are in the song These sharp hits tran sients typically look like long thin spikes in the waveform In the picture below you can see the heavy bass drum beats of a song in the Waveform Display Waveform display When the drums stop you ll notice that the tall spikes go away This is how you can tell if a breakdown or slow section of the song is approaching This is also lets you see where the drums come back in Waveform display showing lower volume audio Phase Grid Waveform with Phase Grid By default Torq superimposes a Phase Grid over the Scrolling Waveforms to indicate the location of the beats in a song The thicker lines in the Phase Grid indicate the locations of the downbeats beginning of each bar in the music Torq will attempt to position the Phase Grid in the proper location as part of the analysis when loading a song into a Deck and uses the position of the Phase Grid to properly synchronize the song Hiding the Phase Grid Hide Phase Grid Button If you would like to turn the Phase Grid lines off click the Hide Phase Grid button located above the wave form display next to the zoom controls Torq 2 0 User Guide 60 Ch
65. Quick Loop button the loop will grow in size doubling in length with each press of the button Direct mode resembles the behavior found on some DJ CD players When selected the QuickLoop buttons will become divisors once a loop has been captured For example pressing the QuickLoop 4 button will cap ture a 4 bar loop Pressing QuickLoop 2 will now divide the loop length by 2 resulting in a 2 bar loop 4 bars 2 2 bars Pressing QuickLoop 4 will result in a 1 bar loop 4 bars 4 1 bar Pressing QuickLoop 1 will reset the loop back to its original length 4 bars 1 4 bars Torq 2 0 User Guide 47 Chapter 5 The Decks Control Deck Mode In order for Torq to feel familiar to all types of DJ s each Deck can be operated in one of four different modes which are accessed via the Deck Mode pop up menu Vinyl Mode Vinyl Mode causes a Deck to behave as if it was a turntable e Pressing Play Pause to pause playback will cause audio to stop just like pressing stop on a turntable e Clicking and dragging on the Scrolling Waveform will have audible results like scratching a record Try out Vinyl mode 1 Click and hold the mouse on the waveform Playback will stop as if you have placed your hand on a record to stop it 2 Continue holding the mouse button then drag the mouse left and right This will scrub or scratch the song Using your mouse to control a waveform in this manner is known as Scratch via Waveform Rele
66. V WMA AAC and CD Audio Built in effects and signal processors Support for third party VST plug ins 18 individual samplers for looping and loading samples onto any of the four decks Rewire Support for host applications such as Pro Tools and other qualified DAW s Support for Torq Xponent and qualified third party hardware Support for up to four external control surfaces Deck Switch for controlling four decks with qualified two deck hardware MIDI Platter Control for resuming playback of paused songs in perfect sync MIDI control assignment MIDI Learn A Each qualified hardware product works with Torq in a different manner Refer to the documentation pro vided with your controller for manufacturer specific information Refer to www avid com torqFAQ for a current list of qualified hardware the latest news and updates Torq 2 0 User Guide 1 Chapter 1 Introduction to Torq 2 0 Using Torq 2 0 With Windows Screensaver and Power Options To avoid system crashes and unexpected errors Windows user should change or disable the display and power options via the control panel as described below Cy Further information about how to locate and change the options mentioned in this section can be accessed by clicking on the Help menu within a Windows Explorer window Screen Saver Double click on the Display icon in the Control Panel and choose the appropriate option to disable the screen saver Power Options Double c
67. W Torq 2 0 User Guide 104 Chapter 10 Snapshots Duplicate Snapshot Duplicate Snapshot button Click on a Snapshot in the list to select it then click the Duplicate Snapshot button Another Snapshot will appear in the list but this one will contain an exact copy of the parameters from the previously selected Snap shot You can give the duplicate a new name then select different masking parameters to make the Snapshot behave differently Assign a different key to this Snapshot and you can fire off either with ease Swapping Snapshots Frequently you may find that a Snapshot set up for one deck would be useful for another or vice versa For ex ample you may have created a Snapshot which loads a Delay effect while also killing the Low EQ on Deck A Torq allows you to swap the left and right assignment of Snapshots to do this easily To start with duplicate the Snapshot as described above a copy of the Snapshot will appear in the list Give this new Snapshot a new name i e if the original Snapshot was called HP Delay A you might rename it to HP Delay C Once you ve created the new duplicate place check marks in the Swap and Deck C columns and remove the check mark from the Deck A column This will essentially take any assignments made to Deck A and now apply them to Deck C when using this Snapshot Delete Snapshot Delete Snapshot button To delete a snapshot choose a Snapshot from the list and then cli
68. When playback reaches the end of the section you want to loop click the Loop Out button This will place a Loop Out Marker at the Now Line which will also snap to the nearest 16th note At the same time the Loop On Off button will automatically be activated causing playback to jump back to the Loop In Marker The mu sic will now loop between these two points indefinitely When you have finished looping this section of the song you can click the Loop On Off button to turn it off Now when playback reaches the Loop Out Marker it will simply pass it and continue playing the rest of the song Y If you reposition playback using one of the QuickCue buttons while Looping is activated playback will jump to the new location Torq automatically places the Loop In Marker at the new location and places the Loop Out Marker in a position which maintains the same loop length Loop Out Behavior By default Torq places the Loop Out marker at a position that is the closest multiple of 2 in length from the Loop In marker In other words Torq will only allow you to make loops with the lengths of 1 beat 2 beats 4 beats 1 bar 2 bars 4 bars 16 bars etc This makes it easier to achieve even loops without having to press the Loop Out button with 16th note accuracy Torq has a second Loop Out mode that always quantizes the Loop Out marker positions to the nearest 16th note To change the Loop Out Behavior 1 Open Torq s Preferences and click on the Behavi
69. again indicating that the parameter in the first Snapshot is in use again Torq 2 0 User Guide 106 Chapter 10 Snapshots Chapter 11 Synchronization At 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 time with one another If done properly the audience will never have to stop dancing as the beat of one song blends in with the new song DJ s will do this for hours at a time creating one gigantic non stop mix from the individual songs they have in their collection Proper execution of this technique requires the mastery of two tasks matching tempo and matching phase Automatic Tempo and Phase Detection As mentioned before tempo is the measurement of the speed of a song expressed in beats per minute BPM Phase refers to the location within a song in reference to its downbeat Torq automatically determines the tempo and phase of a song when you load it onto a Deck so matching tempos is as simple as moving the Speed slider on a Deck until the BPM Display shows the same value as the other Deck If you re using external vinyl or CD control you can adjust the speed of the song using the turntable s or CD player s pitch adjuster Once you have matched the tempos of two songs you need to start both songs at precisely the right moment or in phase with each other When beat matching songs you ll nor
70. alignment It will be up to you to start the music at the right mo ment and keep it in alignment Torq 2 0 User Guide 52 Chapter 5 The Decks Speed Slider SPEED Speed Slider Torq s Decks are each equipped with a Speed Adjust slider for the purpose of beat matching songs This slider behaves just like the pitch adjusters found on DJ turntables and CD players As you move this slider the neigh boring ADJ display will show how much the song s speed is being altered expressed as a percentage where 0 is the original speed of the song and the BPM display will change to show the new tempo of the song For those not familiar with these controls your first impression may be that the slider is working backward since the speed of the song will increase as you move the slider down on screen However this is the proper behavior for pitch controls found on DJ turntables and CD players It makes sense if you consider the follow ing The pitch adjust slider on a turntable is mounted flat on the surface of the turntable s housing Therefore when you use the slider you either push it away from you or pull it towards you When a song is going too fast you push the slider away from yourself just as if you put out your hand in a slow down motion If you need the song to go faster you pull the slider toward you similar to how you would gesture towards yourself if you wanted someone to move quickly After a few hours of practice this ba
71. annel which is what your audience hears Each Mixer channel has a dedicated set of controls as described below Line Input Button Line Input Buttons Next to each channel name A B C and D or B and C in Two Deck mode is a Line Input button Clicking this button will activate the line input for the corresponding channel This lets you to send audio from an external audio source connected to your audio interface for example a CD player or turntable to the channel Cy In order for Line Input to work you will need to assign audio channels to the Line Inputs in the Audio tab of the Preferences See Audio Preferences on page 111 for more information about setting up these in puts Torq 2 0 User Guide 66 Chapter 7 The Mixer Gain Mute Gain Knob This knob increases or decreases the volume of the incoming audio signal by as much as 12db This lets you match the levels of the songs you re mixing together Gain Mute Button The G button next to the Gain knob is the Mute button Pressing this button will mute the incoming au dio resulting in a silent channel EQ Kills Each mixer channel is equipped with a 3 band EQ which lets you use each knob to control the levels of High H Mid M and Low L frequencies of the song being played Turning them to the right boosts their respec tive frequency range while turn them to the left decreases it Next each knob you will find a corresponding kill button Pressing
72. apter 6 Waveform Display Cue Points 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 The QuickCue markers have numbers attached to them corresponding to the assigned QuickCue button and the standard Cue Point appears as an red line Tempo Anchors In addition to its automatic BPM detection features Torq provides you with another alternative for BPM matching that becomes an indispensable tool when working with songs that include tempo changes or fluc tuations Torq s automatic beat detection is designed to work with songs that have a constant tempo Using Tempo Anchors you can manually specify the location of beats within a song thus allowing Torq to follow the tempo of any song even if it speeds up or slows down in the middle Editing Tempo Anchors is a more in volved process and should therefore only be used in the event that none of the normal methods yield the proper results Tempo Anchors are edited within the Scrolling Waveform window and should be done at the highest zoom factor so you can place the Anchors accurately Furthermore this is more of an off line process you should prepare a song with Tempo Anchors before trying to play it to an audience Torq will save the Tempo Anchors in the TOD file so that you will only have to do this once for any particular song Tap Tempo In order to add Tempo Anchors to a song you will need to map a key
73. apter 6 Waveform Display Zoom 10 0s Q Zoom controls Torq lets you zoom in or out of the Waveform Display using the Zoom control found in the Toolbar by click ing the magnifying glass icon and moving the mouse with the button held down When this is done the value will change in increments of 0 1of a second allowing you to see as little one sec ond or as much as 40 seconds of the waveform either side of the orange Now Line Zooming in is useful for matching beats more precisely while zooming out allows you to see how the Phase Grids for each song line up over a longer duration of time Maximize Waveform View Maximize Waveform Button Clicking the Maximize Waveform button located in the Toolbar expands the Waveform Display so that it takes up the whole of the user interface hiding all other Torq controls except the Toolbar This lets you view the waveforms in greater detail and when used in conjunction with the Zoom control allows for increased pre cision when matching beats Marker Display Whenever you set Loop Points or Cue Markers within a song Torq places visual representations of them and their positions in the Waveform Display as described below Loop Points 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 Torq 2 0 User Guide 61 Ch
74. ard This setting lowers the volume of the first Deck across the whole frequency range as the Crossfader moves to wards the second Deck Torq 2 0 User Guide 73 Chapter 7 The Mixer Cut Hill Traq Morph Cut This mode lets you perform crossfades while rhythmically cutting between two decks These settings are useful when mixing Techno or House music especially if the songs have short 1 bar or 2 looped sections You can choose from the following settings from the Traq Morph Cut Style pop up menu on the Behavior Pref erences page see Chapter 12 Torq Preferences 1 8 1 8 Default This cuts between songs in an 1 8 note rhythm where the source Deck is heard on the first 1 8 note while the other Deck plays is heard the second 1 8 note otherwise known as the off beat 1 16 3 16 This setting cuts between songs in a 1 16 note rhythm where the source Deck is heard on the first 1 16 note of each beat while the other Deck plays is heard the on the following three 1 16 notes 1 6 16 This setting cuts between songs in a 1 16 note rhythm The difference here is that Torq alternates between the signals source Deck is heard on the first 1 16 note and third 1 16 note of each beat while the other Deck plays is heard the on second and fourth 1 16 notes of each beat Cutting in this manner is best for mixing songs with a strong 1 16 note feel such as Trance or Drum n Bass Triplet Mode Triplet Mode Button Clicking the Tri
75. are then hold down Shift and press number 1 key above the letters on your keyboard Deck A A The Up Down Left and Right Arrow Keys are listed as Up Down Left or Right Function Mac Key Windows Key Load selected song to Deck A F1 or Cmd Left F1 or Ctrl Left Unload Track on Deck A Shift A Shift A Set QuickCue 1 on Deck A F5 Shift 1 or F9 Shift 6 F5 Shift 1 or F9 Shift 6 Set QuickCue 2 on Deck A F5 Shift 2 or F9 Shift 7 F5 Shift 2 or F9 Shift 7 Set QuickCue 3 on Deck A Set QuickCue 4 on Deck A F5 Shift 3 or F9 Shift 8 F5 Shift 4 or F9 Shift 9 F5 Shift 3 or F9 Shift 8 F5 Shift 4 or F9 Shift 9 Set QuickCue 5 on Deck A Select QuickCue 1 on Deck A F5 Shift 5 or F9 Shift 0 F5 1 or F9 6 F5 Shift 5 or F9 Shift 0 F5 1 or F9 6 Select QuickCue 2 on Deck A F5 2 or F9 7 F5 2 or F9 7 Select QuickCue 3 on Deck A Select QuickCue 4 on Deck A F5 3 or F9 8 F5 4 or F9 9 F5 3 or F9 8 F5 4 or F9 9 Select QuickCue 5 on Deck A F5 5 or F9 0 F5 5 or F9 0 Torq 2 0 User Guide Appendix A Key Commands Deck B A The Up Down Left and Right Arrow Keys are listed as Up Down Left or Right Function Mac Key Windows Key Load selected song to Deck B Unload Track on Deck B F2 or Cmd Right Shift
76. asing the mouse button will cause the Deck to play the song back from the current location CDJ Mode CDJ mode will make the Deck behave as if it was a CDJ player Pressing Play Pause to pause playback will cause the Deck to stop and begin repeating a small section of au dio The repeating section corresponds to the position where playback will resume when you press Play Pause again e While the audio is repeating you can click and drag on the Scrolling Waveform to move the start loca tion you ll hear the repeating audio slice change as you do this Press the Cue button to set the Cue Point to this location and the repeating audio slice will stop e Clicking and dragging on the Scrolling Waveform while the Deck is playing will not stop audio Instead you ll be able to drag left or right to offset the playback speed of the track Controlling the waveform in this manner lets you to align the track against another Deck when beat matching A Switching to MIDI Platter Control Mode selects Vinyl Mode while selecting CD Mode switches off MIDI Platter Control Mode For more information about MIDI Platter Control Mode refer to Chapter 15 MIDI Platter Control Try out CDJ 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 in creased making the waveform scroll a little faster to the left 3 Now hold and drag the mou
77. ass filter is essentially a High and Low Pass filter put together it will remove high and low frequencies from the audio signal only al lowing a narrow band of frequencies to pass The most important parameter for a filter is its Cutoff Frequency It determines the frequency where a filter will begin to stop frequencies For example when using a Low Pass filter with a cutoff frequency of 1kHz fre quencies below 1kHz will pass through the filter unaffected while the frequencies above 1kHz are reduced or removed While there are other parameters that also affect the behavior of a filter Cutoff Frequency is the pa rameter that you ll be controlling in Torq Enable button This button will switch the Dual Filter on and off Torq 2 0 User Guide 87 Chapter 8 Effects Amount Knob and Routing Button The Dual Filter is designed to be used as an Insert effect For this reason the Routing button will automatically switch to Insert mode whenever you load this effect Then the Amount knob will serve as a Dry Wet adjust ment which you will want to leave fully clockwise so you only hear the output of the Dual Filter Band Pass BPF Button The Band Pass button is used to set the filter mode for the Dual Filter effect When this button is off the two filters High Pass and Low Pass will be adjusted one at a time When you click this button on the High Pass and Low Pass filters are be linked to create a Band Pass filter where both filters a
78. at any time Deactivate Screen Torq 2 0 User Guide 11 Chapter 2 Software Installation Chapter 3 Torq 2 0 Configuration Setup Assistant Once you have completed the installation and activation process the Torq Setup Assistant will launch allow ing you optimize the of the program to work on your system with qualified hardware The Setup Assistant lets you use two methods of configuring Torq Manual Setup This method guides you through a detailed set of options for more sophisticated hardware configurations To Manually Setup Torq 1 Choose Manual Setup then click Next Setup Assistant 3e you can change any settings uier wnacted audio and MIDA devices and wil is that has Setup Assistant Manual Setup 2 Click the pop up menu on the Audio Device Setup screen and choose the audio device you wish to use from the list of available options then click Next Audio Device Setup Pinasa select the audio device settings you d lla lo use Setup Assistant Audio Device Setup Torq 2 0 User Guide 12 Chapter 3 Torq 2 0 Configuration 3 When the Mixer Mode screen appears choose one of the two Mixer modes If you are going to use an ex ternal hardware mixer with Torq proceed to step 11 under External Mixer Mode on page 16 otherwise pro ceed to step 4 Internal Mixer Mode Mixer Mode Internal Moses mode is the nathe and most in and Setup Assistant Internal Mixer Mode Choosing Interna
79. auses Torq to use the sound picked up by the internal microphone as the control source This causes the BPM value and Speed Adjust randomly change leading to errors Reversed Playback Direction If you find that Torq seems to be responding backwards to the Control Vinyls or CD s take a look at the Ve locity display If the number shown is negative while the control source is playing forward it could mean the audio cables connecting the turntable or CD player to your interface are backwards Swap the left and right plugs on the back of your audio interface and the problem should be resolved Erratic Playback Position If Torq seems to jump to random locations in a song during playback take a look at the Position display This number should rapidly increase as the control source plays If this value looks like it s changing erratically it is most likely due to damaged control records which is normal after extended use Another cause could be poor stereo separation in the turntable s needle or preamp which is especially common with very old needles To fix this purchase a replacement vinyl record replace your stylus or purchase one of the recommended styli cartridges listed at the end of this manual Torq 2 0 User Guide 145 Chapter 14 External and MIDI Control Power Threshold Controlling Erratic Velocity Values A turntable is a very sensitive piece of equipment It can take the smallest vibrations and amplify them into audible
80. aving all other settings chan nel volumes EQs etc as they currently are This is the purpose of masking which allows only particular por tions of the Snapshot to be used Each column in the Snapshot List corresponds to certain portions of the Torq interface You ll find columns for Deck A Deck B Deck C Desk D Key FX EQ Kills EQ knobs Crossfader Channel Volumes and Gains When you create a new Snapshot these columns will be blank As a result nothing will happen when you trigger the Snapshot The way to enable the Snapshot is to place check boxes in these columns to indicate what portions of the in terface you d like the Snapshot to control For example if you put a check box in the Deck B column the Snapshot will use the information for the left side of the interface You can check Deck C or Deck D instead if you wish the Snapshot to only affect the right side of the interface Check them both and the entire interface can be updated with the Snapshot Once you ve selected which Deck s should be controlled by the Snapshot place additional check boxes in the columns corresponding to the parameters you d like to control For example if you check the Deck B and EQ knobs columns only the EQ knobs on the left side of the mixer will be updated when the Snapshot is trig gered Any other settings the current key of the song any effects in the Effect Racks etc will remain un changed If you were to also check the EQ Kills and
81. b crate into the parent crate You choices are Yes No or Cancel Duplicating a Crate If you want to create a new Crate based on an existing Crate you can create duplicate and then add songs to the new one if you want to To duplicate a Crate 1 Right click CTRL click on Mac the Playlist you would like to duplicate and choose Duplicate from the pop up menu 2 A duplicate of the selected playlist will be created and displayed underneath it 3 A number will be added to the name of the Playlist to differentiate it from the original For example Crate 1 This duplicate Crate can be renamed using the method described above Torq 2 0 User Guide 25 Chapter 4 Accessing Your Music Playlists INDEX Tunes House Set 1 House Set 2 Hip Hop Mix Dubstep set iPod s Playlists While many DJ s will perform off the cuff without any previous rehearsal or forethought other DJ s will pre program their sets either due to the complexity of the set or simply as a method for remembering vital songs this can be helpful for wedding or party DJ s who take requests Torq features Playlists to help you organize and store lists of songs You can create and manage multiple Play lists each with as many songs as you like Each Playlist can then be edited by adding or deleting tracks or by rearranging their order within the Playlist Creating New Playlists To create a new Playlist 1 Righ
82. ck the Delete Snapshot Momentary vs Latching Behavior By default a Snapshot will only be active as long as you hold the assigned key As soon as you release the key the Snapshot is deactivated and all previous settings are restored This is excellent for simply punching in little tweaks and effects that you only use for a few moments at a time If you place a check box in the Latch column of the Snapshot list the Snapshot will become active when you press the assigned key until you press the same key again This mode lets you recall a setting that you want to leave active for a while such as a special stutter pattern that you created using multiple Strobe effects Torq 2 0 User Guide 105 Chapter 10 Snapshots Polyphonic Snapshots This feature lets you trigger multiple Snapshots at the same time You can for example trigger one Snapshot that cuts the bass and boosts the treble on Deck A while triggering another that detunes the track on Deck B Whenever you activate a Snapshot a check mark will appear in the Active column If you trigger another Snapshot with duplicate settings for example both Snapshots triggering have FX checked the last Snapshot triggered will take precedence You ll also notice that the green check mark in the FX column of the first Snap shot will turn red indicating the parameter is overridden by the other Snapshot As soon as you deactivate the second Snapshot the red check will turn green
83. ckward response will feel nat ural A Al tempo changes made on a designated Master Deck will also be applied to the Master Tempo Speed Range RNG By default the range of the Speed Adjuster is 8 That means that if you move the slider to either of its ex tremes 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 The order is 8 10 20 50 then 100 When you click the display again the range will wrap around back to 8 You ll only need to increase the range when you re trying to match two songs with very different tempos or when you want to perform an extreme speed change as a special effect especially effective when the range is set to 100 Most experienced DJ s will simply match the tempos of two songs by hand using the Speed Adjust slider which is a perfectly acceptable method of matching songs indeed this is the way it s been done for decades Since it requires a lot of practice to hear when one song is playing faster or slower than another those new to DJing will benefit from some of the extra features built into Torq Such features include automatic beat detec tion BPM displays scrolling waveform displays and automatic synchronization Torq 2 0 Us
84. con Clicking the Preferences icon in the Torq Toolbar opens the preferences dialogue which has seven tabs la belled Audio MIDI External VST Behavior Locations and GUI Each preference page offers various options which can be chosen from the popup menus listed Along the lower edge of the preference pane are buttons for accessing the Setup Wizard see Chapter 3 Torq 2 0 Configuration Controller Assignments Page and the Licensing page Activating and de activating Torq see Activation on page 5 Audio Preferences Preferences AUDIO GENERAL HARDWARE output 1 output 2 output 1 output 2 Audio Preferences This page determines how audio is routed and processed within Torq Torq 2 0 User Guide 111 Chapter 12 Torq Preferences General Timestretch Algorithm This section chooses the type of Time stretching method used by Torq based on two options Standard This is Torq s default time stretching algorithm which is suitable for making small changes in Key or Speed However using performing drastic changes to an song will result in audio artifacts Elastique Transient This algorithm is better suited for making more drastic changes to pitch and key and yields very few audio ar tifacts Although this setting offers higher sound quality it is more CPU intensive and therefore more suitable for faster computers AutoGain Target RMS This setting lets you choose a gain reduction level that s
85. connected external hard drives such as C or Macintosh HD and CD s in your computers optical drive The other standard headings are for your local Music folder Music on Mac and My Music in Win dows the Desktop iTunes Crates Playlists and any connected media players such as an iPod Clicking any of the headings will display its contents in the File List on the right side of the Browsers Clicking the plus sign to the left of any heading reveals the subfolders belowit and the plus sign changes to a minus sign Clicking the minus sign to the left of any folder hide its subfolders Clicking on a folder that containing compatible audio files aif wav or mp3 displays the songs in the File List on the right hand side of the Browser However the File List will be empty if Torq cannot identify any playable files within a folder Once you have located a song you can either preview it in your headphones before using it in a mix or you can load it onto a deck XY Torq offers a number of useful preset Key Commands for working within the Browser These can be found in Appendix A listed under Browser Commands on page 152 Refer to File List on page 31 for more information about the File List features including Song Preview Torq 2 0 User Guide 20 Chapter 4 Accessing Your Music Snapshots Creating Snapshots lets you save multiple movements such as button presses and knob adjustme
86. cording to the position of the Crossfader Mid The Mid setting places a Mid Pass filter on the source Deck and a Mid Cut filter on the second Deck This de fines a Mid Band characteristic with a center frequency of 1 KHZ that is cut from the source Deck and passed to the second Deck The width of the Mid Band is controlled by the Crossfader Duck Traq Morph Duck Duck mode lets you create a seamless crossfade that does not layer one track over the other like a conven tional crossfade This is done using either a frequency based or volume based ducking effect This lowers the perceived volume of the first track at the very moment the crossfader reaches the transition point between two audio signals The overall effect is the both tracks will sound like one continuous song You can choose the either of the following settings from the Traq Morph Duck Style pop up menu on the Be havior Preferences page see Behavior Preferences on page 127 Band Duck Default As the Crossfader is moved from one deck to another Torq locates the loudest frequency of the second song and gradually attenuates or lowers the same frequency in the first song For example let s say you have songs on Decks B and C with the Crossfader set to Deck B and the loudest frequency in the signal from Deck C is 240 Hz In this instance the volume of the song on Deck B will gradually decrease at 240 HZ as the Crossfader is moved towards Deck C Stand
87. ction on the computer and when you finally hear the results When running without any VST plug ins Torq s latency is nearly undetectable Torq will respond to scratches button presses and knob movements immediately Some VST plug ins however must perform very complex calculations on the audio Sometimes these calcu lations require that the plug in buffer the audio so that it can process it in large chunks In these cases the plug in will fill its buffer with some audio sent from Torq It will then process the audio and send it to an out put buffer Once the output buffer is filled the audio is sent back to Torq This process while extremely fast can still manifest itself as a perceived lag in response time And as you can see this phenomenon is beyond the control of Torg the latency is created by the plug in not Torq If you find that a VST plug in you re using is creating latency you can try to find a similar sounding plug in with minimal latency or simply try to play ahead and anticipate the latency While some other programs feature Plug in Delay Compensation such a system would not work with Torg because the program is en tirely real time the music and effects are not preset or programmed Selecting Effects To begin using a VST you ll need to select one from the list of available VST s To select a VST plug in 1 Click the VST button to reveal the VST Effect Panel 2 Click on the pop up menu at the to
88. d loop is present If so you ll need to change the wiring of your system possibly plugging the turnta ble s into different power outlets or by changing the location of the turntables Once the ground hum is gone tracking will be improved Stereo Separation The vinyl tracking system relies on two channels of audio signals left and right played back from the control vinyl Torq will judge the phase offset and other aspects of the signals to determine direction and position If the left and right channels are not separate when they enter the computer Torq will not be able to perform any phase offset calculations and the system will fail There are two main causes of poor stereo separation wiring and stylus The first problem will occur if there is a short or other problem with the wiring connections of the turntable to the computer If there is a short in the turntable that causes left and right channels to mix together even partially Torq won t work properly Similarly if the stylus cartridge is worn to the point where signals on the left are bleeding through into the right or vice versa the vinyl control system will also fail This problem can be difficult to diagnose a turn table test record is recommended The test record will play sounds isolated to one channel or the other If you hear the sound out of both channels when it should be out of only one then you ve got a stereo separation problem Try a new stylus cartridge If that doe
89. delay If you tap a tempo that is read as 158 BPM the delay tempo will be rounded up to 160 which is a dotted eighth Reverb Reverb is the phenomenon in which sound bounces off the walls within a room creating hundreds thou sands of echoes that cannot be individually identified by the human ear The total result of all these echoes is a wide and ethereal sound that can add a nice touch of space to your mix The most obvious characteristic of a Reverb is how long it lasts This is referred to as the Reverb Time and is the only adjustable parameter in Torq s Reverb effect Enable button This button enables and disables the Reverb effect If this button is switched off while the Reverb is active the sound of the Reverb will be cut off Amount Knob and Routing Button When the neighboring Routing button is set to Send mode the Amount knob will set the amount of signal fed into the Reverb processor This signal will then be blended with the original signal from the Deck making it sound like the Reverb was added to the song When the Routing button is set to Insert mode the Amount knob will adjust the Dry Wet balance of the Re verb The difference is that the audio generated by the Reverb will replace the original song as you turn this knob up Torq 2 0 User Guide 85 Chapter 8 Effects By default the Reverb effect will load with the Routing button set to Send mode since this is the typical way to use a Reverb However feel free t
90. e activated and authorized using the Avid Acti vation Tool if you wish to continue using the application at the end of the trial period If you deactivate Torq during the 30 day trial period the application will still launch for the remainder trial However as the trial cannot be extended you will need to complete the activation and authorization process There are two methods of activating Torq as described below Automatic Activation This option lets you register Torq over the Internet To activate Torq automatically 1 Choose Internet Activation and click Next Activation se Torq 2 0 by clocking o Internet Activation Internet Activation Torq 2 0 User Guide 5 Chapter 2 Software Installation 2 Enter your serial number and System ID in the respective text boxes Your serial number and system iden tification number are located inside the enclosed Torq 2 0 Quick Setup Guide If you purchased Torq online you received your serial number and system identification number from Avid by e mail You can also view your serial number and system identification number by logging in to your support account Internet Activation Please enter your serial number and system ID Serial Number and System ID Entered A Torq 2 0 serial numbers start with the letter J and contain only CAPITAL letters System ID numbers contain only numbers no letters If copying and pasting these to Torq make sure there are no spaces at
91. e button to reverse the track while the right Advance button moves it forwards Setting this preference to Reverse cause these buttons to work in the opposite direction The left Nudge button moves the phase of the song backwards while the right Nudge buttons moves forwards Reverse mode also causes the left Advance button to forward the track while the right Advance button moves rewinds it A Choosing Reverse mode will not change the tooltip descriptions or names for the Nudge and Advance but ton shown on the lower edge of the Torq interface Cue Exclusivity This option controls the behavior of the Cue buttons for all Decks When this option is No default you can cue multiple channels at once These Cue sources are mixed and heard through your headphones simultaneously With each channel that is added to the Cue mix the overall Cue bus volume will be attenuated by 3dB to keep it from clipping Torq 2 0 User Guide 127 Chapter 12 Torq Preferences When this option is set to Yes pressing the Cue button on a channel causes the other Cue button on the other channel to switch off This ensures that you are only hearing one audio source through your headphones at any given time EQ Low Frequency This value sets the crossover point between the low and mid frequency range for the EQ controls on all Decks The default setting is 250 0 Hz EQ High Frequency This value sets the crossover point between the high and mid frequency range for the EQ
92. e called Tempo Anchors Refer to Tempo Anchors on page 62 for more information about Tempo Anchors Key The Key Adjust is used to raise or lower the key pitch of a song without changing the tempo This is useful when attempting to match the melodies of songs on different Decks during a mix known as key matching You can adjust the key of a song with the Key Adjust buttons or by dragging the up or down on the Key Dis play Fine Tuning To fine tune a song s key 1 Click and hold the mouse cursor over the Key Display number 2 Drag the mouse up or down The number will adjust in increments of one cent To reset the key transposition to 0 hold down the Shift key on your computer keyboard and click on either of the Key Adjust buttons Key Displays If you have adjusted the key in finer increments the key will be reset to 0 however the fraction will remain For example if the key is 4 23 resetting will make it 0 23 Key Lock The Decks in Torq have the special ability to change the playback speed of the song without changing the pitch of the song this is known as time compression and time expansion This means you don t have to worry about music changing pitch as you beat match However if you would like to disable this feature and essentially lock the Key and Speed of the music together turn on the Key Tempo Lock button With this on the music will behave like a regular vinyl record slowing down the music will make th
93. e chorus of a song then bring them back right when the chorus starts the perfect job for Torq s High and Low Kill buttons When two songs are playing at the same time you ll frequently find that the music sounds muddy This is normally due to un complementary bass content in the two songs This can be as simple as the two songs being in different keys or could occur if both songs have long sustained bass notes In order to clean things up you can simply remove the bass from one of the songs with one of the Low Kill buttons This will leave the bass from the other song in the mix so it will still sound natural When you re ready press both Low Kill Torq 2 0 User Guide 67 Chapter 7 The Mixer buttons at the same time This will kill the bass in the first track while bringing in the bass from the other This will sound like the bass part in the overall mix has changed which it has and the mix will still sound full You can also swap frequencies with the other frequency bands You can also make the swaps less abrupt by using the EQ knobs instead PFL Headphone Button Once the audio signal leaves the EQ it is sent to two different locations One location is the PFL Button which looks like a pair of headphones PFL stands for Pre Fader Listen which refers to hearing an audio signal with out being under the influence of the Volume fader on some mixers this function is called Cue That def inition may not make sense if you re
94. e external device The Master Tempo LED s in the Torq Toolbar will also flash in time with the external device Setting Up MBC Output To slave an external MIDI device to Torq 1 Connect a MIDI cable from the MIDI Output from your computer to the MIDI Input of the external MIDI device 2 In Torq s MIDI Preferences select a MIDI Output port as the MBC Output and close the Preferences At this point the MIDI out indicator will glow red Midi Out Indicator 3 On your external MIDI device enable reception of MIDI Clock Refer to the product s user manual for fur ther instructions 4 On some external devices you ll need to put it into a standby mode where it waits for MIDI Clock before it starts to run This may require pressing Play or Run please check with the product s user manual to see if this is required 5 In Torq enable Auto Master Deck by clicking the AUTO button in the Toolbar or manually select a Master Deck by clicking its Master button Torq will transmit MIDI Clock at the tempo specified in the master Tempo Display in the Torq Toolbar but the external devices will not run Torq 2 0 User Guide 120 Chapter 12 Torq Preferences 6 To start the external devices a MIDI Start command must be sent from Torq This is done by clicking the Send MBC Downbeat icon the exclamation mark to the right of the MBC indicator in Torq s Toolbar The button will momentarily turn white when clicked indicating that Torq is waiti
95. e fact that external control can be toggled back and forth between the Decks at will Any time you do this you ll want the Decks to keep their previous tempos If the tempo of a Deck changed when swapping external control the mix would suddenly fall wildly out of sync Therefore the speed of the Control Vinyl or Control CD must remain constant Torq will scale the playback rate as appropriate based on the setting of the Decks Speed sliders If you change the speed of the control source you ll find that the Decks suddenly change speed any time you toggle external control There is however one unique advantage to this setup you can make use of Torq s automatic beat matching Instead of manually moving the on screen Speed slider with the mouse or MIDI Control you can simply click the Deck s Sync button and it s Speed slider will be moved to match the tempo of the other Deck Click the Sync button again to turn it off and the Deck will remain at the proper speed waiting for the external control signal to begin All you have to do then is start the music at the right time and keep it in alignment during the mix via external control This makes the process of preparing the next track much faster Torq 2 0 User Guide 144 Chapter 14 External and MIDI Control Runout Protection Since there is only about 12 minutes of usable control signal on each side of the Control Vinyls or on each track of the CD it is possible that the song you are contro
96. e music drop in pitch Torq 2 0 User Guide 56 Chapter 5 The Decks 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 To assign a MIDI slider or knob to Key Adjust 1 Make sure that your MIDI keyboard or control surface has been properly installed and is configured to work with Torq Please see chapter 6 for more information about configuring your external MIDI hardware to con trol Torq 2 Right click CTRL click Mac on the Key Display it will turn red indicating that it s waiting for an assign ment 3 Move a MIDI knob or slider on your MIDI controller This will automatically assign the knob or slider to the Key Adjust 4 The Key will be adjustable in one semitone steps MIDI CC value 64 equals 0 semitones This generally means when the knob or slider of your MIDI controller is at center position the Key will be at 0 To assign a MIDI button to Key Adjust 1 Make sure that your MIDI keyboard or control surface has been properly installed and is configured to work with Torq Please see chapter 6 for more information about configuring your external MIDI hardware to con trol Torq 2 Right click CTRL click Mac on the Key Adjust button It will turn red indicating that it s waiting for an assignment 3 Pre
97. e new sample name the file name box the choose the file format you want to use for the sample and click Save in a new name for the sample The original audio file for the sample will be renamed A fou wish to keep a copy with the original audio file with the original name choose Save from the pop up menu to do a Save As The Torq samples folder will list both the original and new versions See Save on page 101 Load Bank This option will allow you to load samples into all 18 sampler cells at the same time Choosing this option opens a standard dialog box that looks only for tsb Torq Sample Bank files Browse your hard drive and select a tsb file Torq will read this file and load the required sample files into the appropriate slots It will then set the playback parameters for each sample A This operation replaces all currently loaded samples If you want to keep the current configuration use the Save Bank feature below to save the current set of samples before loading the new bank This operation will replace any samples that are currently loaded into the Sampler If you want to keep the cur rent configuration save the bank using the procedure below before loading a new bank Save Bank Once you have built a collection of samples drum loops of a particular style or a collection of vocal stabs for example you can save the collection as a sample bank Choosing this option from the menu opens
98. e new tempo However this monetary wait does not occur when MIDI Platter Control mode is already active For example you re playing a song with MIDI Platter Control mode switched off The you activate MIDI Platter Control and mix in a second track At this point the play back of the second song will be subjected to the waiting before it is heard However playback of the next track will not go through the waiting process as long as MIDI Platter Control has not been switched off Playback Methods Based on the platter speed in RPM s set by the Speed Slider and the resulting playback tempo MIDI Platter Control will work in one of the three playback methods Playback modes listed below Untouched If the difference between the original song tempo and the new tempo set by the Speed Slider is very slight Torq assumes the platter is not being touched and leaves the playback untouched This prevents rapid pitch changes or pitch fluttering in the audio Nudge Mode When Key Tempo Lock is switched off and the Speed Slider is set to increase the playback tempo by 20 or more Torq will perform a beat alignment process using a nudged time stretch Scratch If the platter speed is increased or decreased by more than 20 Torq assumes that you are using the platter for scratching and this is what will be heard Releasing the platter for a moment will revert to one of the pre vious playback methods A MIDI Platter Control mode i
99. e record and turn the record back to where it is level with the tape The Hit point and the needle are back in alignment allowing you to keep your marks and your sounds tied together Relative Speed Mode Relative Speed mode is activated by setting the Relative Speed Mode preference to Automatic see Relative Speed Mode on page 123 When controlling multiple decks with one turntable or CD player Relative Speed Mode lets you use the speed slider on your hardware to adjust the speed of one song and then switch to controlling another deck without causing the tempo on the second song to jump to match the position of the slider s position or adjusted tempo Instead the tempo of the song remains constant yet the Deck s tempo slider will still respond to movement of the external hardware tempo slider In effect this ties the current position of the internal speed slider in Torq to the current position of the external speed or pitch adjust slider on your hardware even if they don t match Expanding the Range of a Hardware Speed Slider Another advantage of Relative Speed mode is that it can be used to expand the available range of your hard ware speed slider beyond the values of 8 and 8 For example if you are playing a song that was recorded at 100 BPM the maximum adjustment you could or dinarily with a traditional turntable is 8 in either direction In this instance 108 BPM 8 or 92 BPM 8 However in Rela
100. e they don t have even loop lengths Smart This option prevents you from accidentally creating odd loop lengths that can be generated when using the 16th setting In this mode Torq will force every loop to a length that will always loop in time with the mu sic Smart Mode also lets you create a loops as small as a 16th note and grows in powers of two from there There fore you can achieve the following loop lengths 1 16 bar 1 8 bar 1 4 bar 1 beat 1 2 bar 2 Beats 1 bar 2 bars 4 bars 8 bars 16 bars etc Quantize Cue and Loop Points The following options determine whether or not the placements on Loops and QuickCues will be quantized to the nearest 16th note A Enabling Quantize does not change the positions of QuickCues or Loop points that are already set in a song It only controls the creation of new QuickCues and Loops No Default With this option selected Torq will not quantize the placement of loops or QuickCues when they are created This gives you the freedom to set these points wherever you wish Yes This option forces each new Loop or QuickCue to the nearest 16th note This ensures that your QuickCues and Loops occur right on beat when creating them on the fly Quantize Loop and QuickCue Points Button Quantize Loop and QuickCue Points Button You can also switch this feature on and off by clicking the Quantize Loop and QuickCue Points in the Torq Toolbar Torq 2 0 User Guide 132 Chapter 12 To
101. eat button exclamation mark icon in the Torq Toolbar sends a MIDI Stop command which stops all decks Torq 2 0 User Guide 118 Chapter 12 Torq Preferences MBC MIDI Beat Clock Torq s Master Tempo can be slaved to an external device that transmits MIDI Beat Clock called MBC in Torq In this instance the Master Tempo which controls all aspects of Torq the Sampler and synced Decks will fol low the MIDI Beat Clock Torq can also transmit its Master Tempo as MIDI Beat Clock so that other MIDI equipment can synchronize with it External drum machines groove boxes synths etc than can receive MIDI Clock will follow Torq s Master Tempo Refer to the documentation for your hardware for further information about their MIDI clock capabilities In order to use these MBC features you need to have a MIDI interface connected to your computer Some M Audio DJ products such as Xponent have a MIDI interface built into them If you do not have a MIDI in terface on your product or are already using them for connections to other devices you need to add one to your computer such as the M Audio UNO USB MIDI interface The complete range of M Audio MIDI inter faces can be found on our website at www avid com Applications for MBC Here are some possible applications for MIDI Beat Clock External Drum Machine Dance music is dance music thanks to the drums You can make your DJ sets even more dance heavy by lay ering your own custom beats
102. eatedly dragging the stylus over the same surface of the record over and over again As the DJ works the record back and forth getting ready to drop it into the mix the friction built up between the vinyl and stylus increases and turns into heat This heat along with the abrasive nature of dragging a sharp point across vinyl starts to physically distort and destroy the grooves on the record Once they re destroyed Torq will no longer be able to track accurately over that section of the record There are a number of techniques you can use to help limit cue burn on the control records The first is track ing force of the stylus Many DJ s will put a lot of weight on their styli either by adjusting the counterweight on the tonearm or by placing additional weight on the headshell to help keep the needle from skipping across the record during vigorous scratching While this may help prevent skipping in some cases the extra weight makes the stylus dig into the vinyl with even greater force thus increasing friction and heat which leads to cue burn It is recommended that you do not set the weight of the needle any higher than recommended by the stylus manufacturer Setting the proper weight will increase the life of the vinyl Torq 2 0 User Guide 161 Appendix B Torq Vinyl Control System Another technique that can be used by digital DJ s is Relative tracking mode in the software When using Rel ative mode Torq ignores the position of the needle on the
103. ed in Chapter 5 The Decks under Master But ton on page 51 Torq 2 0 User Guide 109 Chapter 11 Synchronization Master Tempo LED s Master Tempo LED s To the right of the Master Tempo display in the Torq toolbar is a row of 4 LED s one green and three red These will illuminate in succession creating a chase pattern that will indicate the Master Tempo s position within a bar with the green light signifying the first beat of a bar Master Tempo Metronome Clicking the Headphone button to the left of the Master Tempo LED s lets you hear the metronome in your headphones The sound of the Metronome can is not recorded into the Sampler or heard by your audience Auto Master Deck Selection By default Torg 2 0 automatically chooses which deck will be the Master Deck based on which deck has been playing the longest while routed to the Master Output The tempo and beat position of the Master Deck con trols the tempo and beat position of any slave synced deck This means all tempo based Torq functions and Looped samples will follow its tempo even if there are tempo changes set with Tempo Anchors Pressing the AUTO button in the Torq Toolbar deactivates and activates Auto Master Deck AUTO AUTO Button Torq 2 0 User Guide 110 Chapter 11 Synchronization Chapter 12 Torq Preferences The Torq preferences let you change the default settings for various functions within the application Torq Preferences I
104. ed on your computer Torq will preselect the default location of your iTunes li brary based on your operating system If the folder path displayed on the iTunes Library Setup screen is cor rect click Next w If the preselected location is incorrect click the Browse button to the left of the folder path and navigate to the proper location on your system Once you have found the folder click on it once then click Open Mac or OK Windows When that window closes click Next on the iTunes Library Setup screen iTunes Library Setup Setup Assistant iTunes Library Setup 16 Review the information displayed on the Summary screen then click Next if all the information listed is correct CY If any of the information is incorrect click Previous to go back to the appropriate page or click the Gear icon to open the Torq Preferences see Torq Preferences on page 101 to change the settings Summary To change of update any of these settings intusing 3303 103090 CA Une geartcorr which t located in Ihe 109 bar at arty tie Setup Assistant Summary Torq 2 0 User Guide 18 Chapter 3 Torq 2 0 Configuration 17 Click Finish on the Enjoy screen Music Library Setup Below To selected the most common location for music Libraries 11 he directory istas Moran select Me location of your music ADrary marraaly Please note Pat Panes lite ext step of this werd Setup Assi
105. ee AA ed eee ee ek eee Bd ee 5 Chapter 3 Torq 2 0 Configurati0n cnet e ene nn ees 12 Setup Assistants 23 4 c2s0 20924 Sent A eae ee ek ee cE ee ned ts Dae 12 Chapter 4 Accessing Your Music 0 0 0000 cnc e ence nn ees 20 The Browser tii A A A ed A A Re EAS eg ete ade a 20 File Lists 3 32 of sed ita See TA A AA A A A AAA AA EIA e A EIA AS 31 Chapter 5 The Decks een n nent eee nen nees 34 Four Deck Mode vs Two Deck Mode 0 cece eee 35 Deck SWITCH A aay Ae ce eee eed 36 Loading Songs onto the Decks gt oce pr eer a a e a eee 38 Display Siau eet kw aE A A A A ee ep ee ee ws Pe 40 Transport Controls mer fk Ss A Se en A end A PAE E E Se lane 41 Markers tes 52 tea Dt td cated ta o do Calta bl arco rt Weave te RR tie 43 WOOP cess ees incase ost Pence ee ko Skee NO ee 45 Control Deck Mode ise 2 20 ss 35 wrens A ee aS ee es 48 Master Syne uta stots whee Vee te ed A atl Sa eee eek ieee Re aed Ree i E 51 Speed Slider SPEED sci naci a eed eta sates ee ee Aue Ste A LAS Ri AE Aach oun ete elo 53 Effects FX noe cde ba a bet ee dol book 4 oe ely a dened Adele oto 2 edd Gat ort She 58 Chapter 6 Waveform Display ence ne ence ene en ees 59 Information Shown on the Display o eee 60 Chapter 7 The Mixer 2230240 feelin Posten e fara odes op Sesleri sane 65 Mixer Architecture eva eet aude ge hdd he et asta ad a ped eda oe elk ea ta 65 PEL Headphone
106. elays to fill up space during a break in a song the last couple of beats before the break can be echoed or to stretch out the ending of a song by letting it echo and slowly fade away Because of the tempo synced nature of Torq s Delay effect you ll also be able to add rhythmic variance by layering echoes that are perfectly timed to the music Enable Button Deactivating this button switches off the Delay effect The output of the Delay will stop immediately when the effect is turned off Amount Knob Routing Button When the Routing button is set to Send the Amount knob will control the amount of audio from the Deck to feed into the Delay When the knob is fully counterclockwise no signal will be sent into the Delay so you will not hear any echoes As you begin to turn up the Amount knob you ll begin to hear the echoes from the Delay When the Routing button is set to Insert turning up the Amount knob will cause the output of the Delay ef fect to replace the sound from the Deck This is a subtle difference that won t be noticeable until you do one of the following e When you turn the Amount knob beyond its 12 o clock position the sound from the Deck will begin to fade away leaving only the sound of the Delay e If you quickly turn the Amount knob back to 0 you will cut off any remaining echoes before they can be heard The Delay effect will load with the Routing button set to Send mode since this is the typical routi
107. elect Torq Vinyl or Torq CD respectively Gen1 Gen2 and Gen3 are for use with Ms Pinky records generations 1 2 and 3 Torq 2 0 User Guide 123 Chapter 12 Torq Preferences Power Threshold This parameter sets the minimum signal level required to make External Control work If this setting is too low quiet noises picked up by the turntable could be interpreted incorrectly as control signals If this setting is too high the Deck will not respond to the external control signals at slow speeds This should be set as low as possible without introducing any anomalies Refer to External Control Calibration on page 140 for more information Lead In Any practiced DJ knows that playing and scratching records will eventually destroy them If the needle is ex ceptionally heavy or if you scratch in the same place a lot the grooves in the record can be eaten away thus tarnishing the sound quality This frequently happens at the beginning of records and is something DJ s call cue burn With traditional records cue burn was something to pay attention to because it didn t sound very good When using control records like the Torq Vinyls cue burn becomes a serious issue This is due to the fact that you use the same two records to play every song in your set all the time and because Torq might not be able to track the motion in a section of the vinyl with cue burn If you re using Absolute mode every song will be gin at the same
108. em ID Serial Number an System ID Entered A Torq 2 0 serial numbers start with the letter J and contain only CAPITAL letters System ID numbers contain only numbers no letters If copying and pasting these to Torq make sure there are no spaces at the beginning or end 3 Retrieve and Enter an Activation Key You can retrieve an Activation Key using another computer s Internet connection or by contacting Avid Customer Support To retrieve an Activation Key you will need your Serial Number System ID and Your machine ID To retrieve an Activation Key Torq 2 0 User Guide 7 Chapter 2 Software Installation e To activate using another computer s Internet connection go to http activate avid com and enter your Torq 2 Serial Number System ID and Your machine ID and then click Activate e Go to http www avid com US support support contact maudio and provide your Torq 2 Serial Num ber System ID and Your machine ID and a support rep will be able to issue an Activation Key A Be sure to select your country or region from the dropdown if you are outside of the US Activation Keys can be provided by phone or online support 4 Enter the Activation Key in the last line of the Manual Activation window You can type it in or copy the entire Activation Key from a text file and paste it into the first text box and it automatically fills the rest of the text boxes A Torq 2 0 Activation Keys start with the letter
109. ent with each other Tempo Torq will only match the tempo of a synced Deck to the other Deck or Master Tempo When you press Play on a Deck Torq will not force the song into alignment It will be up to you to start the music at the right mo ment and keep it in alignment Synq Reference Button Synq Reference Button The Sync Reference can also be changed by clicking the Synq Reference button on the Torq Toolbar Each click of this button cycles through Bar Beat and Tempo modes Reset Speed Slider on Deck Load These options determine how Torq behaves when a new song is loaded onto a Deck Yes This is the default option which tells Torq to reset the speed of a Deck to 0 original tempo every time a new song is loaded No With this option selected Torq will maintain the position of the Speed Slider when loading a new song This is the preferred mode when using MIDI to control the Speed Sliders since the position of the on screen slider will remain synced to the position of the MIDI slider Load on Deck While Playing These options determine what Torq will do if you try to load a song onto a Deck that is already playing Ask Default With this option selected Torq will always ask you confirm that your want to load a song onto a deck that is already playing Enable Choosing this option lets you load a song onto a Deck that is already playing Disable This option prevents you from loading a song onto a Deck that i
110. er Control o o oooo oooooooo oo 150 MIDI Platter Control Mode pr peia i a land Mee AA AA SA Se ed 150 MIDI Platter Control Mode and Auto Sync 2 000 ee 151 Appendix A Key Commands 00 006 ence nee e ene enn ees 152 Browser Commands soi A a a A A ed ae es EE ON es 152 Deck Commands i siie sea Batali A Ee Ae ee EE Pot LR EG Ce A ee n 153 Miscellaneous 2 24 23442244 ep ebie hehe take td abd a cued Avene dad rg eye bea beet 158 Appendix B Torq Vinyl Control System 0 0 00 0 cence eens 159 Technical Information and Tips on Torq s Vinyl Control System 00000 eee 159 Appendix C Warranty oi Seen cars hie entice dale mae ead Moe ane Gee WARES a etna E 165 Warranty Terms 0 20 ie eed a ec eee ed ee e ete atta Ado AA AA dde es 165 v Contents Chapter 1 Introduction to Torq 2 0 Welcome Congratulations on your purchase of Torq Torq software combines traditional DJ tools with features nor mally found in advanced audio production applications such as sampling and VST effects to mix your music on Mac OS X and Windows platforms To help you achieve the best results this user guide explains how to setup and configure Torq as well as how to use the extensive features found within the application Torq 2 0 Features Four Decks Optional Two Deck Mode e Traq Morph offering four new Crossfader algorithms Standalone functionality without hardware Compatibility with M3 AIFF WA
111. er Guide 53 Chapter 5 The Decks BPM Display BPM BPM Display Tempo is a measurement of the speed of a song and is normally expressed as Beats Per Minute BPM As the BPM increases the speed of the song increases In order for two songs to be mixed together with their beats aligned the two songs will need to be playing at the same tempo This is why Torq decks are equipped with Sync Buttons and Speed Sliders In the event that you are trying to mix two songs with different tempos which happens more often than not you will need to use the Speed Sliders or Sync Buttons to match the tempo of the new song to the tempo of the current song Automatic BPM Detection Any time you load a new track into a Deck Torq will analyze it and attempt to determine the tempo of the song For most dance music Torq will be able to determine the tempo accurately Once scanned the tempo of the song will be shown in the BPM display for the Deck which is located just to the left of the Speed Adjust slider w The Torq beat detection system usually provides accurate results when set to default settings However some types of complex music can confuse the software resulting in incorrect tempos In these cases you can specify the type of music you ll be using in the Preferences menu This limits the tempo range used by the beat detection system and increases the accuracy of the function Be sure your selection matches the type of music you re trying to analyze
112. er to inputs 3 4 of your audio interface Again you ll need to set its input selector switch as described above 3 Open Torq s Preferences and select the Audio tab Audio preferences tab 4 Make sure your audio interface is selected in the Audio Device drop down menu 5 Click the Control Input A drop down menu and choose input 1 input 2 6 Click the Control Input B drop down menu and choose input 3 input 4 7 Click the Control Input C drop down menu and choose input 1 input 2 8 Click the Control Input D drop down menu and choose input 3 input 4 9 The next step requires that you select the type of control signals you 1l be using for each Deck If you re using the Torq Control Vinyl records select Torq Vinyl for the Control Type If you ll be using the Torq Control CD s select Torq CD for the Control Type Since this selection is independent for each Deck you can use any combination of vinyl and CD control that you d like A Ifyou want to use the Ms Pinky Interdimensional Wrecked System vinyl records to control Torq select ei ther Gen1 Gen2 or Gen3 depending on the generation of records you own 10 Close the Preferences window 11 Select the appropriate Control Input for each Deck from its Deck Mode pop up menu Control Input 1 for Deck A Control Input 2 for Deck B Control Input 3 for Deck C and Control Input 4 for Deck D 12 Enable External Control by clicking the C
113. es will follow its tempo even if there are tempo changes set with Tempo Anchors will follow the Master Deck If you re using Torq Xponent as your controller you can select a Master Deck by holding a SHIFT button on the controller and pressing the corresponding Sync button The Auto Master Deck function will be disabled and the Xponent Sync button will flash confirming that the target deck is the Master A Y vou are using Torq with qualified third party controller refer to the documentation provided with your hardware for detail about the equivalent functionality Sync Button Clicking the Sync button automatically synchronizes a Deck to the Master Tempo While Sync is active the Deck is also affected by changes to the Master Tempo For example if you lower the Master Tempo the other deck will also slow down If you attempt to scratch or re align the deck Torq will automatically snap it back into alignment to match the phase of the Master Tempo When you deactivate the Sync button the deck maintains the tempo setting allowing the song to play at the Master Tempo However Torq will no longer attempt to keep the Deck in sync if you make changes to it such as scratching Nudge Buttons Nudge Button If you re not taking advantage of Torq s ability to keep tracks aligned using Sync you can do it manually using the Nudge buttons If a song becomes ahead or behind the other the Nudge buttons let you push the song back into alignment by
114. escribed in Chapter 8 Effects Four Deck Mode Mixer Hidden Two Deck Mode Mixer Hidden Torq 2 0 User Guide 70 Chapter 7 The Mixer Crossfader Crossfader The Crossfader lets you to fade between two audio signals When the Crossfader is in the middle position you will hear both decks that are sent to it If you move the Crossfader all the way to the left you will only hear the audio from the Deck assigned to that side Similarly if you move the Crossfader all the way to the right you will only hear the Deck assigned to the right side A The Torq Crossfader has been designed to be very quick and responsive However if you are only using a mouse to control Torq you probably won t be able to use the Crossfader for more than fading between songs Ifyou want to use the Crossfader for cuts and scratching we recommend using a qualified M Audio or third party hardware controller A current list of qualified hardware controllers can be found on our website www avid com Crossfader Curve The Crossfader Curve knob set the rate at which the songs fade in and out as the crossfader is moved from one side to the other By default the Crossfader knob is set to the twelve o clock position or halfway between the two extremes Turning the knob all the way to the left sets the Equal Power Contour which is good for slow fades between two songs As you move the fader from the edge toward the center it will slowly fade in one son
115. ete stop Pitch Phenomenon We mentioned earlier that Torq determines playback rate by listening to the pitch of the pilot tone When the record slows the pitch of the pilot tone drops Well it turns out that the pitch of the position stamps is also affected they drop when the record slows down and they rise when the record speeds up This poses two prob lems When the record is moved slower the pilot tone and position stamps will occupy an area at the low end of the frequency spectrum a portion which is usually infected by some amount of ground hum or other mechan ical noise This makes tracking become more difficult as the record slows Often as a consequence you ll find that you can still scratch at slow speeds but you will not be able to perform needle drops Conversely when the record is moved very quickly this forces the pilot tone and the position stamps to rise in pitch possibly beyond the range where the stylus can reproduce them properly If this occurs the signals heard by Torg could be distorted and tracking will not perform correctly As a result the pilot tone and posi tion stamps are placed within a narrow frequency band thus allowing these signals to be read as best as pos sible when the record is moving slow or fast This is also the reason for ensuring that there are no ground hums mechanical noise or bass being picked up by the turntable as these frequencies will mask the control signals at low velocities Torq
116. ets the Channel Gain knobs to a position which main tains a volume of 0dB RMS for a song that is loaded onto a Deck This ensures that the volume levels of all tracks are even before doing a mix Mixer Mode This option lets you to switch between Internal and External Mixer mode Internal This is the default setting where Torq s on screen mixer is used to blend the signals from the Decks When this option is selected you will be able to set channel assignments as describe in Internal Mixer Mode Channel As signments on page 115 External This will bypass the Torq mixer and route each Deck to its own output pair on your audio interface These in dividual stereo outputs can then be connected to your favorite DJ mixer in the same manner as two turntables or CDJ s Once you have set the channel assignments described in External Mixer Mode Channel Assign ments on page 116 you can mix and cue your tracks using your DJ mixer instead of Torq s Mixer Reset Sample Counter Each new audio file recorded by the Sampler is assigned a name with the format of SampleXXX wav where XXX is a three digit number The numbers start at 001 and increase regardless of which Sampler Cell is used Clicking the Reset button restarts the Sample Counter so that the sample numbers start at 001 again Torq 2 0 User Guide 112 Chapter 12 Torq Preferences Hardware Audio Device This preference lets you choose which audio in
117. evice appears click Next Warning This action can lead to crashes for certain controller setups Please make sure you have tested this with your hardware setup before trying in front of the audience Do you want to proceed Setup Assistant Refresh Device List Warning Torq 2 0 User Guide 14 Chapter 3 Torq 2 0 Configuration 7 Torq preselects the most common location for your music folder based on your operating system If the folder path displayed on the Music Library Setup screen is correct click Next 10d If the preselected location is incorrect click the Browse button to the left of the folder path and navigate to the proper location on your system Once you have found the folder click on it once then click Open Mac or OK Windows When that window closes click Next on the Music Library Setup screen Music Library Setup Setup Assistant Music Library Setup 8 If you have iTunes installed on your computer Torq will preselect the default location of your iTunes library based on your operating system If the folder path displayed on the iTunes Library Setup screen is correct click Next Y If the preselected location is incorrect click the Browse button to the left of the folder path and navigate to the proper location on your system Once you have found the folder click on it once then click Open Mac or OK Windows When that window closes click Next on t
118. eyboard has enough keys to make up four 4 octaves Cy Torq allows notes from the same controller and MIDI channel to be used as long as the root keys are at least two octaves apart Effects FX Torg includes 13 internal VST effects units and offers support for qualified third party external VST effects The Effects section of each deck lets you load up 5 4 internal and 1 external plug ins at a time This means you can use up to 20 effects 10 in Two Deck mode within your mix at the same time Refer to VST Effects on page 94 for more information about using VST effects with Torq Torq 2 0 User Guide 58 Chapter 5 The Decks Chapter 6 Waveform Display One of the most prominent features of the Torq user interface is the Waveform display located above the Mixer 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 This lets you see the alignment and syn chronization of the Decks and providing other important information as explained in this chapter The song in Deck A is shown at the top of the Scrolling Waveform display with songs on Decks B C shown immediately below In Two Deck mode the Waveform Display shows the song loaded on Deck B in the top half with the song on Deck C below it While the yellow Now Line in the Overview Waveform for each deck moves from left to right as a song plays the Orange Now
119. f an external DJ mixer Deck B Output Click to access the pop up menu and select the stereo output for Deck B This signal will not be processed by Torq s Mixer it will be fed into a stereo channel of an external DJ mixer Deck C Output Click to access the pop up menu and select the stereo output for Deck C This signal will not be processed by Torq s Mixer it will be fed into a stereo channel of an external DJ mixer Deck D Output Click to access the pop up menu and select the stereo output for Deck D This signal will not be processed by Torq s Mixer it will be fed into a stereo channel of an external DJ mixer Sampler Buss Output Click to access the pop up menu and select the stereo output for Torq s Sampler Line Input A Click to access the pop up menu and select the stereo input pair for use as the Line Input for Channel A of the Mixer Line Input B Click to access the pop up menu and select the stereo input pair for use as the Line Input for Channel B of the Mixer Line Input C Click to access the pop up menu and select the stereo input pair for use as the Line Input for Channel C of the Mixer Line Input D Click to access the pop up menu and select the stereo input pair for use as the Line Input for Channel D of the Mixer Control Input A Click to access the pop up menu and select the stereo input to which your first turntable or CD player is connected Control Input B Click to access the pop up menu and select the stereo
120. f the control source could fall out of sync for example if you loop the song on the Deck the song will no longer proceed forward but the loca tion of the control source will continue to play forward When you switch back to Absolute mode Torq will immediately jump to the position indicated by the control source even if it s a position after the song has ended Therefore be extremely careful when toggling back to Absolute mode Only do so if 1 you know the location of the song and control source are still in sync or 2 if you ve muted the Deck before switching over to prevent any jumps from being heard by your audience Absolute Rotation Angle ARA ARA Button When scratching with a traditional record where the music resides on the vinyl itself you can be certain that a sound you want to scratch will always be in the same place In other words the location of the sound or hit point is absolute So long as the needle never skips to a position before or after the location or to a different physical groove the hit will always play whenever the rotation of the record causes the needle to cross that spot On the other hand when using DJ software the location of the hit point can change for various reasons which can make it challenging to pinpoint the location of the sound relative to the position of the vinyl For example in relative mode picking up the needle will stop playback and the song position while the vinyl con
121. fe of your control records By default Lead In is set to 0 which causes the music to start playing from the beginning of the record In creasing Lean In to 1 will make the music wait for an additional rotation of the record before starting So when the start of the record gets burned increase the Lead In by one value Once that new location is burned increase the Lead In again Once you ve burned both sides of the record with the Lead In set to 5 you ll have to buy a replacement Torq 2 0 User Guide 124 Chapter 12 Torq Preferences Velocity This row of boxes displays the current Velocity values for each Deck The value indicates both speed and di rection at the same time When the Velocity is O the record or CD is stopped or the needle is no longer in con tact with the vinyl If the number is 1 0 that means the vinyl record is running forward at normal speed when using Torq Control Vinyls this refers to 33 1 3 RPM playback on the turntable When the number is 1 0 it means the record or CD is running backwards at normal speed 33 1 3 RPM As you manipulate the record or CD by hand or with their pitch adjusters the Velocity display immediately changes to reflect the movements Refer to External Control Calibration on page 140 for more information Position This row of boxes displays a number that Torq uses to calculate the playback position for the audio file loaded onto each Deck This value increases when
122. fect on and off Amount Knob and Routing Button Like the Flanger effect above the Phaser works best with the Routing button set to Insert mode This allows you to completely replace the original audio signal with the phased version by turning this knob fully clock wise in order to emphasize the effect A The effect will still work in Send mode but it will be less pronounced Frequency Freq LFO Knob and Button The function of the Frequency Tweak knob is determined by the state of the LFO button e When the LFO button is off the Phaser will be in Manual mode The Frequency knob will then control the phase of the effect e If the LFO button is on the Phaser will be in Automatic mode In this mode the phase will be adjusted automatically The name of the Frequency knob will change to LFO The LFO knob will then set the rate of the automatic adjustment turning the knob clockwise will increase the modulation rate Dual Filter Audio filters prevent particular frequency ranges within an audio signal from passing through the effect Torq features three of the most popular types Low Pass High Pass and Band Pass The names of these filters de scribe what they do A Low Pass filter for example will only allow low frequencies bass tones to pass through it will remove the high frequency treble content from the audio signal A High Pass filter works the other way it allows the treble to pass through while bass is removed A Band P
123. form The music will continue to play 2 While holding on the mouse button drag the mouse left The playback tempo will be momentarily in creased making the waveform scroll a little faster to the left 3 Now hold and drag the mouse to the right Playback will remain going forward but the tempo will be slowed slightly resulting in a waveform that still scrolls right to left but at a slower rate Controlling the waveform in this manner while aligning the song with another deck is another example of Nudge Via Waveform During this process the Phase Grids for each song will become closer in line with each other as the synchronization between them improves As soon as you stop dragging playback will return to its original tempo even if you are still holding the mouse button Torq 2 0 User Guide 49 Chapter 5 The Decks Control Inputs 1 Though 4 This option switches Torq to External Control Mode which lets you use the Torq Control Vinyl or Torq Con trol CD s as well as other qualified hardware to provide the same method of DJing as traditional turntables and or CD decks Torq also allows you to use external MIDI hardware to control nearly any feature within the application The Control Vinyl and Control CD system works by using vinyl records and compact discs imprinted with special control signals You ll play these control signals on your turntables and or CD players and feed that sig nal into any professional audio interface tha
124. formation listed above it is common to find music files with some if not all of the ID3 fields blank In these instances you can manually fill in the missing informa tion to aid future file searches Editing Fields Torq will extract the relevant song information from the file s ID3 tag in order to populate the fields of the File List as described above You are free to edit the information shown in the File List simply by double clicking a field typing in new data and hitting Enter Torq does not update the song s ID3 tag with your edits Instead your edited fields are stored in a special file with the same name as the song but with the extension tqd at the end This is the Torq Data file By saving your edits to the TOD file Torq can save your changes much faster changing an ID3 tag requires re writing the entire audio file something that could affect system performance during live use Additionally the audio file could become corrupted during the re write process So Torq leaves your precious music files untouched by saving data to the TQD file Sorting the List There are fourteen categories that can be displayed across the top of the File List window Artist Song Album Track Track Number BPM Beats Per Minute Key Genre Length Comment File Type Bitrate Label Year and Filename These categories are taken from the ID3 tags of your music files or in the case of song length and BPM calculated as part of Torq
125. g However asitis fading in this song it will also start fading out the other song The end result is that the overall volume remains the same as you fade even when both songs are playing at the same time When the knob is turned all the way to the right Crossfader is set to the Hard Cut curve This shape causes a song to fade in to full volume almost immediately after moving the fader inward from the edge Similarly the other song will not begin to fade out until the crossfader is almost all the way at the other edge Then right before the crossfader reaches the edge the other song will fade down This is the shape preferred by scratch DJ s as they can cut in a track to full volume with very little motion of their hand When performed quickly you don t even hear the volume fade up and down it sounds as if the sound is being abruptly cut in and out Input Assign Buttons By default in Four Deck Mode Deck A is routed to the left side of the Crossfader while Deck B is routed to the right However Torq lets you assign any of the four decks or a combination of decks to either side by clicking the Deck Buttons located at both end of the Crossfader The buttons for any unassigned decks will be grey but they will change color as soon as they are clicked In Two Deck mode the default input assignment routes Deck B to the left side of the Crossfader while Deck C is assigned to the right Either deck can be re assigned using the B and C buttons at eithe
126. h results and only show songs that contain your search term within the selected field 3 You can hold SHIFT and click additional categories if you wish i e you can select Song and Album simul taneously 4 SHIFT clicking a selected category will de select it Torq 2 0 User Guide 32 Chapter 4 Accessing Your Music Using our example above confining the search to the Song category would yield the following results Artist Song Album Deee Lite Power of Love World Clique Jennifer Love Hewitt Can t Stand in the Way of Love Let s Go Bang Madonna I d Rather Be Your Lover Bedtime Stories Now only the songs with love in their titles are shown Filter 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 will display only the songs that contain the information required in the Search field while omitting the songs that fit the criteria of the Ignore field Again using the example above entering the term Lover into the Ignore field will return the following list Artist Song Album Deee Lite Power of Love World Clique Jennifer Lo
127. hanging the speed and or key of the song looping sections of audio and jumping to other locations within a song Using these controls as described below you can match tempos of various songs during a mix or re arrange a song CY Torq offers a number of useful preset Key Commands for working within the Deck These can be found in Appendix A listed under Deck Commands on page 153 Torq aso 7 9 o A Open Up the Door Cant Get Done B7 Game Over 0000 2218 0003 2561 00 00 21 05 ee QUICK CUES LOOP QUICK CUES LOOP 10 05 A TANTA QUICK CUES besote pai QUICK CUES CONTROL Vinyl 7 TRANSP SPEED BPM 98 0 170 e 50 Snapshots DataBase Files Music Desktop 3 Munes Music Movies TY Chrno CONTROL Vinyl TRANSP SPEED BPM KEY Beat Rev AMT AUGN Polyphasic Polyphasic Polyphasic Polyphasic Polyphasic Polyphasic Polyphasic Dnhmhacia Torq in Four Deck Mode Torq 2 0 User Guide SEARCH polypha SONG Btrack 062909caster 062909eamon 062909instrum 960 1960 2Days2Nights_JohnnyPayc 2days 2nights Johnny Payc AdaueIninhtodantt CONTROL TRANSP X ALTER Enter ignore Terms ALBUM e TRACKS BPM e KEY e GENRE Listening Party Set July 2 Various 34 LENGTH e 03 08 02 56 02 56 02 56 03 45 03 40 07 12 07 12 mza CONTROL TRANSP SPEED BPM ADJ KEY COMMENT COMMENTI e Chapter 5 The Decks Four Deck Mode vs
128. has two assign to deck buttons B and C However they function in exactly the same manner Looping a QuickScratch If a one shot sample is used as a QuickScratch the sample will not be looped when loaded onto the Deck If a looped sample is used as a QuickScratch the sample will be looped when loaded onto the Deck so that it will play indefinitely If you change the deck assignment by clicking an Assign to Deck button in a different Sampler while using the QuickScratch feature on a Deck the sample used in the Deck will be updated immediately For example if you have a sample loaded on Deck A from sampler cell 13 and you press the A button on sampler cell 5 Deck A will update and play the new sample Torq 2 0 User Guide 102 Chapter 9 Sampler Chapter 10 Snapshots A Snapshot is a virtual picture of Torq settings You can configure the controls and effects in Torq as you like then save all those settings in a Snapshot that you can recall instantaneously Torq enables you to make a vir tually unlimited list of Snapshots all with unique control parameters and sort them in the Snapshot list For example you can remix the song using loops and QuickCues adjust the sound using effects and EQ and add samples to the mix Torq s innovative Snapshot system allows you to perform multiple tasks with the push of a button or two Snapshot List Press the Tab key on your keyboard or clicking the Snapshots heading in the Browser Index
129. he Load Rack button A standard dialog box will appear 2 Browse to the location on your hard drive in which the Effect Rack configuration file is stored select the file and click Open Mac or OK Windows The file will load all Effects in your Rack configuration exactly as you saved them 3 Loading an Effect Rack discards all effects currently in the Rack If you have a combination you like make sure to save it before you load in another configuration Clearing all Effects To clear all effects in a rack hold the Shift button while clicking the rack s Bypass button Torq 2 0 User Guide 82 Chapter 8 Effects United View United View Button United View Four Deck Mode United View Two Deck Mode Clicking the United View button lets you see all of the effect slots at the same time You ll notice that although you do not have direct access to the various effects parameter you still have the ability to enable and disable individual effects units or even a complete Effects Rack In addition to the plug in name each Effects Slot also displays a colored bar representing the value of its Amount knob United View is useful when loading pre programmed Effects Racks that you may have prepared for a certain song or in preventing accidental effects parameter changes In Four Deck mode you can alternate between the standard Effects Rack view and United view by clicking ei ther the 1 2 3 4 or VST button follo
130. he iTunes Library Setup screen Tunes Library Setup Setup Assistant Tunes Library Setup Torq 2 0 User Guide 15 Chapter 3 Torq 2 0 Configuration 9 Review the information displayed on the Summary screen then click Next if all the information listed is correct Cy If any of the information is incorrect click Previous to go back to the appropriate page or click the Gear icon to open the Torq Preferences see Torq Preferences on page 101 to change the settings Summary To change of update any of hese settings Including audio 10999 OEA Uva gear tcorr wach b located ma ve moet dar at arty be Setup Assistant Summary 10 Click Finish on the Enjoy screen Enjo Thank yos for choosing Torq Your software has been contaras Setup Assistant Enjoy External Mixer Mode Choosing External Mixer Mode lets you mix you songs with a hardware mixer and an audio device with at least two stereo outputs However the on screen mixer will be hidden For more information about External Mixer Mode Preferences refer to External on page 112 and Ex ternal Mixer Mode Channel Assignments on page 116 11 Choose External Mixer Mode and click Next 12 When the Deck Mode screen appears choose the number of Torq Decks you want to use and click Next 1 13 When the MIDI Device Setup screen appears choose a MIDI device from the available options then click Next Torq
131. hen you find one that is out of alignment double click it The line will change from grey to green in dicating that the grid line has been turned to a Tempo Anchor 7 Now that the grid line has been converted to a Tempo Anchor you can now move it left or right until it aligns with the beat Simply click and drag the Anchor to set it to a new location 8 Repeat steps 6 and 7 until all of the tempo anomalies have been corrected When complete every grid line and Tempo Anchor should visually align with the beats in the song 9 Click the Edit Anchor Points button again to exit Anchor Edit mode The Scrolling Waveforms will revert to their original color Now when you play the song it will play with a constant tempo the tempo variations will be removed Some will say that editing Tempo Anchors is more of an art than a science Indeed there are other techniques that can be used other than the steps listed above which will give the same results As you edit more and more songs you ll learn which techniques are best for various types of music Here are a few other methods that can assist with Tempo Anchors Tap Tempo Anchors If you use Tap Tempo when Anchor Edit is on each tap will place a Tempo Anchor at that location If you re working with a song that has lots of tempo changes such as older music that was not recorded to a click track this can be very advantageous Just tap along with the music and the Phase Grid will be pretty close to w
132. henever you load this effect The Amount knob will control the Dry Wet mix of the effect In other words this knob controls the depth or intensity of the Strobe effect Since the Strobe effect is muting the signal that passes through it setting the Amount knob at 50 will result in 50 of the signal still being present whenever the Strobe is muting Rate Knob This knob changes the rate of the Strobe A tooltip will appear whenever you adjust this knob to show the cur rent rate expressed in note values CY Activating Triplet Mode as describe in United View on page 83 adds additional note value choices to the Rate knob Torq 2 0 User Guide 89 Chapter 8 Effects Invert Button Activating this button reverses the behavior of the Strobe so that what was muted is un muted and vice versa Reverse Reversing the playback direction of a song is a useful technique for adding emphasis to certain sections of a mix The traditional method for reversing playback is to actually reverse the rotation of the turntable This has a couple of inherent problems First the turntable can t change direction immediately as it must slow down to a stop then speed back up in the opposite direction This can make reversing playback seem sluggish Additionally if the song is playing backwards it will no longer be in the proper location when you resume normal playback For example if you reverse playback as a way to add emphasis one bar before the chorus
133. here it needs to be You can then manually adjust any of the Tempo Anchors that need it Use fewer Tempo Anchors While you could surely turn every single grid line into a Tempo Anchor this is usually not necessary Often long sections of a song will have a consistent tempo In these cases it s usually enough to place a Tempo An chor at the beginning and another at the end of that section All the grid lines will distribute themselves evenly between the Tempo Anchors Torq 2 0 User Guide 63 Chapter 6 Waveform Display Fixing corrupted audio files From time to time you may notice that a song seems perfectly in sync then suddenly falls out of sync This can be due to corruptions within the audio file Torq will skip over sections of data that are corrupted and will continue to play the remainder of the song Every time Torq skips over corrupted data it will make the Phase Grid look like it has shifted to the right In cases like this you can use Tempo Anchors to adjust the tempo only where the jump occurs Simply make two Tempo Anchors one right before the jump and one right after Drag the second Anchor to the left until it is aligned with the beat All of the grid lines to the right of the last Anchor will shift as well so the remainder of the song will then be in alignment unless there is another cor ruption Torq 2 0 User Guide 64 Chapter 6 Waveform Display Chapter 7 The Mixer The Torq Mixer sounds and behaves just like a p
134. ifferent That is why Torq 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 impor tant controls for you to whatever MIDI controls make the most sense to you Creating a MIDI Assignment Torq uses a simple MIDI Learn scheme to make assigning controls on your MIDI controllers a breeze 1 Right click CTRL click on Mac the button knob or slider you wish to control via MIDI The control will be highlighted in red indicating that Torq is standing by 2 Move the desired control on your MIDI controller That is move the knob or slider you want to use or press the button key you wish to use 3 Torq will intercept the incoming MIDI message and will instantly assign it to the control The red highlight will disappear and the MIDI control will be active Keyboard Learn You can also use your computer s keyboard to control elements of the Torq interface using the same method as MIDI Learn above Simply right click CTRL click for Mac on a control on screen then press a key on your keyboard That key will then be assigned to the selected control The same method for changing and clearing MIDI assignments described below also works for keyboard assignments Assigning Buttons to Knobs or Sliders You can assign a MIDI button key or a key on your computer keyboard to a knob or slider in Tor
135. ill have to increase the buffer size until the audio is clean again A Using some external VST effects can introduce additional audio buffering latency within the Torq ap plication When this happens your manipulations of the Decks will seem sluggish This is a side effect of the VST plug in being used and not related to this buffer setting Torq 2 0 User Guide 114 Chapter 12 Torq Preferences Auto Detect Audio MIDI Devices When this option is enabled Torq automatically sets the Audio and MIDI interface options to those of any qualified M Audio or third party controller and interface connected to your computer This ensures proper op eration of Torq with connected devices A Leave this option turned off if you do not want Torq to replace custom mappings for your controllers or special assignments for your audio interface with default settings Channel Assignments Each Mixer mode offers a unique set of options which let you assign the outputs of Torq to the channels of the selected audio interface The options for each Mixer mode are explained below Internal Mixer Mode Channel Assignments Master Buss Output Click to access the pop up menu and select the stereo output pair for the Torq Master Out put This is the output you will connect to the speakers Cue Buss Output Click to access the pop up menu and select the stereo output pair for cueing or pre listening to the output of a Deck This is the output for the headphones L
136. ine Input A Click to access the pop up menu and select the stereo input pair for use as the Line Input for Channel A of the Mixer Line Input B Click to access the pop up menu and select the stereo input pair for use as the Line Input for Channel B of the Mixer Line Input C Click to access the pop up menu and select the stereo input pair for use as the Line Input for Channel C of the Mixer Line Input D Click to access the pop up menu and select the stereo input pair for use as the Line Input for Chan nel D of the Mixer Control Input A Click to access the pop up menu and select the stereo input to which your first turntable or CD player is connected Control Input B Click to access the pop up menu and select the stereo input to which your second turntable or CD player is connected Control Input C Click to access the pop up menu and select the stereo input to which your third turntable or CD player is connected Control Input D Click to access the pop up menu and select the stereo input to which your fourth turntable or CD player is connected Torq 2 0 User Guide 115 Chapter 12 Torq Preferences External Mixer Mode Channel Assignments Whenever Torq is switched to External Mixer mode the available options for outputs and inputs change to those listed below Deck A Output Click to access the pop up menu and select the stereo output for Deck A This signal will not be processed by Torq s Mixer it will be fed into a stereo channel o
137. ine speed But how does it determine direction The answer is stereo phase shift Records are stereo devices and can encode two channels of audio left and right The pilot tone is printed onto the record with the left and right channels 90 degrees out of phase When the record plays forward the right channel will be 90 degrees ahead of the left channel When the record plays backwards the right channel will be 90 degrees behind the left channel Torq evaluates this phase relation ship to determine direction of playback The pilot tone mechanism explained above allows the computer to generate a Velocity value The velocity is both speed and direction expressed as one number When the Velocity is 1 000 the record is spinning forward at normal speed When the Velocity is 1 000 the record is spinning backwards at normal speed If the Veloc ity is 0 500 the record is spinning forward but at half its normal speed If the Velocity is 0 000 the record is stopped Torq displays the Velocity value for each Deck in the External Control Preferences The last piece of information needed to properly emulate vinyl control is Position While you can do scratch ing just using the Velocity value you won t be able to perform needle drops or prevent sticker drift without using the Position information Position is one of the most difficult pieces of the vinyl control puzzle and is also the mechanism that differs most from one vinyl control system to the nex
138. ing by right click CTRL click on Mac on the folder and choosing Stop Addition to DB Now when you click on Database the contents of the folder you just assigned will be listed in the File List Torq 2 0 User Guide 21 Chapter 4 Accessing Your Music 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 al bum by that artist Therefore if you want to add all the music by this particular artist to the Database you ac tually need to add all of the individual album folders To add folders including their subfolders to the Database 1 Locate the folder containing the sub folders you want to add 2 Right click CTRL click on Mac the folder and select Add folder to Database Recursively Torq will auto matically add the folder along with all its sub folders to the Database Cy You can stop this process at any time while it is running by right click CTRL click on Mac on the folder and choosing Stop Addition to DB Adding Folders from Your OS If you d prefer you can add folders to the Database by dragging them from your operating system into the Torg Browser You can do this using either Explorer for Windows or
139. ing qualified third party hardware refer to the its documentation A Mac users should go into the Keyboard Preferences in Mac OS X and change the following options before using Torq key commands On the Keyboard page Enable Use all F1 F2 etc keys as standard function keys On the Keyboard Shortcuts page under Dashboard amp Dock disable Dashboard F12 Then dis able Expos under Expos amp Spaces Deck Assignment Selection Mac Key Windows Key Left Xponent side controls Deck A F5 F5 Left Xponent side controls Deck B F6 FG Left Xponent side controls Deck C F7 F7 Left Xponent side controls Deck D F8 F8 Right Xponent side controls Deck A F9 F9 Right Xponent side controls Deck B F10 F10 Right Xponent side controls Deck C F11 F11 Right Xponent side controls Deck D F12 F12 A The corresponding Function keys listed above for selecting Decks B and C are the same in both Four Deck and Two Deck modes Torq 2 0 User Guide 36 Chapter 5 The Decks Deck Assignment The following instructions explain how to assign Torq Decks to either side of your hardware controller Again this feature is designed to let you assign any deck to either side of your controller Although the table above and the following example refers to the M Audio Xponent DJ Controller these steps also apply to qualified third party hardware Refer your third party documentation for additional manufacturer specific inf
140. ing your sound and Send Effects adding to it Routing Button Send Mode Each time you click the Routing Button it will toggle its state between Insert and Send When loading an ef fect Torq will automatically set the Routing Button to the mode most appropriate for the effect i e the Reverb will be loaded in Send mode while the Dual Filter will be loaded in Insert mode Torq 2 0 User Guide 80 Chapter 8 Effects Effects Chains Chain Mode Torq lets you create Chains with the Send Effects which takes the output of the Send Effect and process it fur ther with Insert Effects For example you can take the output of the Delay and feed it through the Phaser to create psychedelic echo patterns Chain Mode Icon Once the Effect Signal Flow has been set to Chain in the Torq Preferences see Effect Signal Flow on page 128 a Chain will automatically be created when you place an Insert Effect after Send Effect in the rack Instead of seeing the normal Insert icon you ll see a Chain icon indicating that the effect is chained to the one above it This indicates that the effect is taking its audio from the output of the effect above it A With effects routed in this manner it is only possible to create an Insert Effect if the Effect is placed before a Send effect in the Rack All Insert Effects placed after a Send Effect will be chained to it Also when using Chain mode the output of Send effects will be sent to the Crossfader mea
141. is all sounds great doesn t it In practice things are a little more difficult There are a number of factors that fight this system s reliability including stylus quality clean liness audio isolation ground hums and wiring Torq 2 0 User Guide 160 Appendix B Torq Vinyl Control System Wreckin the Records As explained above Torq is paying meticulous attention to the audio signals being received from the turnta ble A slight variation in pitch represents a change in the speed of the record The difference between left and right channels helps determine direction and position If any of these systems are compromised the tracking system will start to degrade or completely fail Sometimes these issues are hard to track down because during normal usage of Control Vinyl you re not listening to the sounds from the vinyl you re listening to the output of the computer There could be all sorts of noise being picked up by the turntable that doesn t make it to the speakers The tips below should help you identify the source of such problems as well as identify solutions Dust and Dirt Dust and dirt is the number one cause of vinyl tracking failure The main reason for this is that the digital DJ uses the same records over and over again throughout the entire performance This differs from traditional DJing where the record is changed for every song While a traditional DJ might play 50 records one time each during his set a digital DJ will play
142. is too low Torq is picking up noise and interpreting it as a control signal 5 Increase the Power Threshold by 5dB and look at the Velocity value again If you still see random Velocity values raise the Power Threshold another 5dB 6 Eventually you ll reach a point where the Velocity stays at 0 00 This is the optimal setting for the Power Threshold A If you re in a noisy environment that does not have proper turntable isolation to prevent external vibra tions from being picked up by the stylus you may need to raise the Power Threshold setting a little higher to filter out the additional noise in the room Error Index If you ve checked your audio cable connections and have also replaced your turntable s needles yet still expe rience problems go to the External page of the Torq Preferences see External Preferences on page 122 and look at the Error Index displays These boxes typically display a number between 0 15 and 1 50 which is per fectly normal If the number is above 2 0 it will turn red indicating that there is too much noise in the audio signal for Torq to properly track position and velocity Try cleaning the record using a high quality vinyl clean ing system Too much dirt on the record can cause errors in the tracking process A high Error Index can also be caused by wear and tear on the Control Vinyl Each time a record is played it is slightly damaged especially if the tracking weight of the needle is very
143. itch to Insert mode whenever you load this effect The Amount knob adjusts the amount of compression used on an audio signal based on increasing both the Threshold and Ratio of the Compressor Release Knob This knob controls the amount of time the Compressor will process the signal before stopping Attack Button Clicking this button significantly decreases the time it takes for the Compressor to react to the volume peaks of the audio To give you an idea of how this control works disable the compressor and turn the Amount knob all the way to the right and the Rate knob all the way to the left Now play a song with a very strong drum beat and after a few seconds click the Enable button to switch on the compressor You should now hear or feel a pumping or pulsating effect in the music This is because the short release time causes the compressor to quickly precess and let go of the audio signal As you turn the Release knob to the right you will notice that the pumping effect becomes less apparent Torq 2 0 User Guide 93 Chapter 8 Effects VST Effects The built in effects provided with Torq cover a wide range of effects typically used by DJ s However others DJ s will want to explore the possibilities of additional effects For this reason Torq allows you to use third party VST plug ins Latency Another potential drawback from using VST plug ins is latency Latency is the observed lag between when you trigger an event or a
144. keep audio playing while it s jumping around to do other tasks The answer is buffering An audio buffer is a temporary storage tank that can hold a brief moment of audio The computer will fill the audio buffer with music then let the buffer play while it does other things like update the clock on your screen check your net work connections monitor RAM usage etc When all things work properly the computer will complete its other tasks and fill the buffer with more data before the buffer empties thus resulting in perfect audio while multi tasking If the audio buffer happens to empty before the computer can fill it with more data the audio playback will stop until the computer can fill the buffer again These dropouts happen very quickly not sounding like prolonged gaps of silence but sounding more like clicks and pops or otherwise distorted audio When this happens the solution is to either lighten the CPU load by closing unnecessary applications or processes that are wasting the computer s time or by increasing the size of the audio buffer allowing it to play longer thus giving the computer enough time to perform its other tasks So why not just go with a large buffer size and avoid dropouts The problem is that increasing the buffer size increases the system latency Latency is the time between when you tell the computer to do something such as activating an EQ Kill and when you actually hear the results from the speakers
145. l Mixer Mode lets you mix all of the Decks within Torg using a hardware controller such as Torq Xponent any other qualified third party controller or your mouse While Torq is set to Internal Mixer Mode the internal mixer will be visible on screen and all hardware controller movements will be reflected in the application 4 Select Internal Mixer Mode then click Next Deck Mode By default Torq 2 0 is set to run in Four Deck Mode which provides four Decks in the Torq interface However you also have the option of using the program in the more traditional Two Deck Mode with two on screen Deck Refer to Four Deck Mode vs Two Deck Mode on page 35 for more information Deck Mode Setup Assistant Deck Mode 5 Choose the Deck Mode you wish to use then click Next Torq 2 0 User Guide 13 Chapter 3 Torq 2 0 Configuration 6 When the MIDI Device Setup screen appears choose a MIDI device from the available options then click Next MIDI Device Setup Choose Your MIDI Devices Setup Assistant MIDI Device Setup If Your MIDI Device is Not Listed If you do not see a listing for the MIDI device you want to use click the Refresh Device List button A Warn ing screen will appear asking you to confirm that you want Torq to scan for the missing MIDI Device Read the screen very carefully then click Yes if you still want to refresh the device list Once the process has com pleted and your d
146. l be added to the name of the Playlist to differentiate it from the original Of course you can rename this Playlist using the method described above Adding Songs to a Playlist 1 Once you have created and selected a Playlist you ll begin adding files to it using the following procedure 2 Using the Browser or Database locate the song or songs you d like to add to the Playlist 3 Right click CTRL click on Mac the song name s and select Add to Playlist from the pop up menu 4 The song s will be added to the bottom of the Playlist Removing Songs from a Playlist You can remove songs from a Playlist as follows 1 Right click CTRL click on Mac the song in the Playlist you wish to delete 2 Select Remove from Playlist from the pop up menu 3 Torq will remove the song from the Playlist but the song will remain in the Torq Database it will not be de leted from your computer Reordering Songs in a Playlist The order in which your songs are displayed in the Playlist can be changed by doing the following 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 Activating a Playlist When you select a Playlist Torq runs a quick scan of your computer s drives to ensure all the audio files ref erenced by the Playlist are present on the computer If Torq cannot locate one or more
147. l want to use the Tap Tempo feature to determine the tempo of the song while it plays To set the tempo using Tap Tempo 1 While the song is playing click on the BPM display with each beat that you hear 2 The BPM display will update the BPM to reflect the timing of the taps you performed 3 The more taps you provide the more precise the calculation will become To revert to the automatically determined tempo hold the Shift key while clicking on the BPM display This will also clear any Tempo Anchors see Tempo Anchors on page 56 A Tap Tempo cannot be used if there are Tempo Anchors in a song Torq 2 0 User Guide 55 Chapter 5 The Decks BPM Entry If you happen to know the BPM of the song you can manually enter it into the BPM display thus overriding the tempo detected by Torq To enter BPM manually 1 Hold the Shift key and double click on the BPM display 2 Type in a new BPM value from your computer keyboard and press Enter 3 The new BPM will then be set for the song If at any time you wish to revert back to the automatically determined tempo hold the Shift key while click ing on the BPM display This will also clear any Tempo Anchors if any have been created Tempo Anchors Torq provides you with another alternative in the event that none of the above methods provide an accurate BPM for the song or when a song contains tempo changes Torq will allow you to create a custom tempo map for a song employing a featur
148. le control source see Relative Speed Mode on page 143 When using external Vinyl or CD control Torq will preserve the pitch of the music even if you change the speed of the turntable or CD player When you scratch Torq will disable time stretching and re enable it when you let the music play again If you want Torq to respond like a true vinyl record click the Key Speed Lock but ton so that key and speed are locked together You will then hear pitch changes when altering the speed of the turntable or CD player External Control can be configured in the Torq Preferences dialog as explained in External Control on page 139 A Switching a Deck to External Control Mode while using the internal soundcard on a laptop causes Torq to use the sound picked up by the internal microphone as the control source This causes the BPM value and Speed Adjust randomly change leading to errors Torq 2 0 User Guide 50 Chapter 5 The Decks Master Sync Auto Master Deck By default this function is always active and automatically chooses the Master Deck based on the position of the Crossfader and the Level Meters Pressing the AUTO button in the Torq Toolbar deactivates and activates Auto Master Deck AUTO Button Master Button Clicking this button selects a Deck as the Master Deck and the Master Tempo will change to the tempo of the new Master Deck With a Deck set as the Tempo Master all tempo based Torq functions and Looped sampl
149. lick on the Power options icon in the Control Panel Once the new window has opened disable all options that hibernates or put your computer to sleep as well as any option which turns off or dims the mon itor or display You will also need to disable all disable all options that allow the hard drive to automatically turn off If avail able you should also disable the USB Selective Suspend option as well ClearType Font Usage in Windows XP In order to offer the best appearance on LCD displays Torq uses ClearType fonts when displaying text in var ious parts of the program However this option is disabled by default in Windows XP SP3 If the text or icons in the Torq interface appear jagged or blurry please go to http www microsoft com typography clear type tuner step1 aspx for details on how to resolve the issue Windows Vista and Windows 7 users should not experience this issue because ClearType fonts are enabled by default A This is a system wide change which may affect the fonts used in other applications on your computer System Requirements Avid can only assure compatibility and provide support for hardware and software it has tested and ap proved For complete system requirements and a list of qualified third party hardware visit www avid com torqFAQ Torq 2 0 User Guide 2 Chapter 1 Introduction to Torq 2 0 Product Registration Please register your product online at http www avid com US support register product t
150. list respectively Each song you load onto a Deck will automatically be added to the bottom of the Session Playlist If a Playlist already exists with the current date a number will be appended to differentiate it Torq will only store Session Playlists for the last 30 days Any Session Playlists that are older than 30 days will be automatically deleted in order to keep your hard drive from becoming overpopulated with Playlists Torq 2 0 User Guide 29 Chapter 4 Accessing Your Music Rename the Session Playlist If you find that you d like to permanently keep a Session Playlist all you have to do is rename it Once re named the Playlist will be moved from the pool of Session Playlists and be kept with your normal Playlists To do this 1 Right click CTRL click on Mac on the Session Playlist and choose Rename from the pop up menu 2 Type in a new name for the Playlist and press Enter 3 The Playlist will be saved If you renamed the current Session Playlist a new Session Playlist will be created that will track all songs played from that point onward Deleting Session Playlists You can delete the Session Playlists using the same method for deleting standard Playlists If you delete the current Session Playlist a new one will be created that will track all songs played from that point forward iPods Torq also allows direct access to the contents of any connected iPod excluding the iPod Shuffle iPod touch and iPhone When an
151. lling could exceed the length of control signal avail able on the record or CD This is extremely common when using Relative mode since the needle or CD posi tion could be halfway through when you start the next track In order to prevent the music from stopping abruptly ifthe control signal runs out on the record or CD Torq features Runout Protection which essentially disables External Control when the record or CD reaches the last 30 seconds of its signal When this happens the song s waveform will start to flash yellow and the song on the Deck continue to play You will now be able to take the needle off the record and place it back at the beginning without Torq stopping the music the same is true for the CD you can jump back to the beginning of the track without stopping the music Once Torq reads a few seconds of signal from the new location the flash ing will stop and Torq will re engage External Control allowing you to scratch and manipulate like normal If you are currently in Absolute mode when the last 30 seconds of control signal are reached Torq will au tomatically switch the Deck into Relative mode when it engages the Runout Protection The Deck will re main in Relative mode after you reset the record or CD thus preventing the music from jumping to an un expected location when external control is enabled again Resolving Playback Issues Using a Deck in External Control Mode while using the internal soundcard on a laptop c
152. mally want the downbeats of both songs aligned with each other When aligned properly the beats of both songs will blend together into one larger beat If the songs are misaligned or out of phase it will sound terrible as the beats of the two songs will be playing at different times Torq s scrolling waveforms in the Waveform Display will help you match the phases of the two songs Not only can you visually align the transients in the waveforms you can also use the Phase Grid for automatic syn chronization Phase Grid Manipulations Torq places a Phase Grid over the Scrolling Waveforms to help you see where the beats are even during a breakdown or rhythmless intro of a song In order for the automatic synchronization to work the Phase Grid needs to be properly aligned with the music With the Phase Grids of both songs aligned properly Torq will be able to sync the two songs together Torq will attempt to place the Phase Grid in the proper location during song analysis If Torq positions the Grid incorrectly it will be up to you to re align it to the proper beat Mis Aligned Phase Grid Torq 2 0 User Guide 107 Chapter 11 Synchronization 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 t
153. n the PFL signal from a deck and the main mix with or without split mode being active Turning it all the way to the left mutes the Main Mix leaving your with just the PFL signal in the left side of your headphones turning it all the way to the right mutes the PFL signal leav ing the main mix signal in your headphones Volume Knob This knob slider in Two Deck mode controls the overall volume of the PFL section in your headphones Torq 2 0 User Guide 69 Chapter 7 The Mixer Hide Mixer Hide Mixer View Button In both Four Deck and Two Deck modes the mixer can be hidden by clicking the Hide Mixer View button lo cated in the Torq Toolbar This can be useful in various situations such when you are using an external mixer or when you want to enlarge the browser Whenever the Hide Mixer View button is pressed the Effects Racks move from their respective decks to the center of the center of the Torq interface beneath the Waveform Display However instead of four racks there will be two In Four Deck Mode each rack has four buttons on the left side labelled A B C and D to corre spond with each deck In Two Deck mode the will be two buttons labelled B and C In either mode pressing any of these buttons lets you accesses the Effects Rack for their respective Deck and the appearance of the rack will change to reflect the current effects units and their settings Aside from these differences the Effects Racks will continue to function as d
154. nce Torq is a digital audio system it has a limited amount of headroom dynamic range Whenever your mix exceeds the headroom clipping distortion normally occurs To prevent this undesired sound Torq fea tures a Limiter on the Main Output which will keep the signal from clipping It does this by quickly reducing the volume any time the Master Volume exceeds the maximum headroom However you want to be sure the limiter isn t being triggered all the time In this instance the limiter will re duce the volume all the time and this will sound strange If this happens down the Main Out knob so your mix doesn t constantly activate the limiter and increase the volume on the house sound system to make up for any reduction in output volume Main Out Recorder The Main Out Recorder lets you record your performances as an audio file You can then burn the recording onto a CD or distribute it as a Podcast or mp3 The duration of your recording is displayed in the digital coun ter just below the Record button Recording a mix performed in Torq involves setting a filename and location where the file will be saved set ting the recording level and recording your performance as described below Torq 2 0 User Guide 76 Chapter 7 The Mixer Filename To set the filename for your recording 1 Click the 00 00 00 Timer A dialog box will open 2 Select the destination folder for your recording and type a name 3 Press enter The dialog box will
155. nces External Preferences Preferences EXTERNAL CALIBRATION Torq Vinyl Torq Vinyl Torq Vinyl To External Preferences This preference page contains options for configuring and calibrating Torq for use with control vinyl or con trol CD s when a Deck is switched to External Control Mode Further calibration instructions can be found under External Control Calibration on page 140 Options Skip Protection When this option is set to Yes Torq will maintain playback of the music even if the needle skips across the record This works in a similar manner to Relative mode the position of the needle will be ignored after it skips but the music will not stop playing as soon as the needle leaves the control vinyl When this happens the song will continue to play for about half a second If the needle makes contact with the vinyl again within that time you will not hear the music stop A If the tonearm bounces completely off the record the music will stop Skip Protection Button ES Skip Protection Skip Protection can also be switched on and off by clicking the Skip Protection button in the Torq Toolbar Torq 2 0 User Guide 122 Chapter 12 Torq Preferences Relative Mode The following options determine how the Decks react to the position of the needle when they are switched to Relative Mode Refer to Relative Mode on page 142 for more information about how the Decks behave when set to Rel ati
156. ne shot This means the sample will play only once when triggered w Ifyou wish to use samples already on your hard drive as opposed to recording them in Torq the sample will need to be cut to an even bar length in order for the loop to play properly You will need to use an ex ternal audio editor to cut the loop if it s not already trimmed to the proper length Play Sample Button b Sampler Pressing this button plays the corresponding sample One shot and looped samples exhibit slightly different behaviors Playing One Shot Samples 1 Click the Play Sample button The button turns white and the sample will play During playback a progress bar behind the sample name will fill from left to right When the sample ends the button will deactivate 2 If the Play Sample button is clicked while the sample is already playing the playback position will imme diately return to the beginning of the sample 3 To stop sample playback before the sample ends hold the SHIFT key on your computer keyboard and click the Sample Play button Triggering Looped Samples 1 Click the Sample Play button The sample will start playing in sync with the Master Tempo set by the Master Deck or Rewire Host see Chapter 13 Rewire If you trigger the sample at a point other than the downbeat the sample will jump to the proper playback location in order to remain in sync with the Master Tempo 2 To stop the loop click the Trigger button again The loo
157. ng for a De lay Torq 2 0 User Guide 84 Chapter 8 Effects Feedback Knob FBK Use this button to change the Delay time of the effect The Delay s time will be set to match the rate at which you tap this button The maximum delay time is two bars and the minimum time is 1 16 note 1 16 of a bar The operation of this button is governed by a few rules e When fully counterclockwise feedback will be disabled e When the knob is turned up to three quarters of the maximum the feedback will be 100 i e the delay will never fade away e When the knob is turned past three quarters the feedback will be increased beyond 100 allowing the delay to get louder with each time it is repeated Tap Button Use this button to change the Delay time of the effect The Delay s time will be set to match the rate at which you tap this button The maximum delay time is two bars and the minimum time is 1 16 note 1 16 of a bar The operation of this button is governed by a few rules e Torq will determine the tempo within only two taps This allows you to change the delay time very quickly even while the Delay is already active e Since Torq knows the tempo of the song playing on the Deck the delay time you tap using the Tweak but ton will automatically be adjusted to match a note value at the current tempo For example if the song BPM is 120 and you tap a tempo that is interpreted as 122 BPM the delay time will be set to 120 BPM quarter note
158. ng for the downbeat of the mu sic you re playing Send MBC Downbeat Icon When the downbeat arrives Torq will transmit the MIDI Start command and the external device should begin to play The Master Tempo LED s will also begin to chase indicating your current position within a bar MIDI LED Sync When this setting is set to On default the buttons on your MIDI controller will blink in time the music to provide a visual representation on the current song tempo for a particular Deck For example if you re using an M Audio Torq Xponent the buttons on the left side of the controller will flash in time with its target Deck while those on the right side will flash in time with the Deck controlled by thew right side of the controller External Meter This setting determines which signal will be reflected in the level meter on your controller hardware For ex ample with a Torq Xponent with the Deck Volume default option selected the left side of the level meter will reflect the level of any Deck controlled by the left side of the hardware while the meter on the right re flects the level of Decks controlled by thew right side When you switch this setting to Master Volume your level meter will only display the signal from the Mixer Output Using Torq Xponent as an example both level meters will work in unison to reflect both sides of the stereo signal coming from the Mixer Torq 2 0 User Guide 121 Chapter 12 Torq Prefere
159. ning effects tails of delays and reverbs will still be heard after turning down the Channel Volume fader or stopping playback However moving the Crossfader away from the channel will silence both the music and the effects Tweak Knob Routing Button Insert Mode To keep things simple and easy to manage Torq provides the Tweak knob for parameter control on each effect Because effects alter audio in different ways the function of this knob will change and is labelled depending on the effect loaded in the slot Tweak Button The Tweak button toggles the state of a parameter in the selected effect Like the Tweak knob its function de pends on the effect you re using Torq 2 0 User Guide 81 Chapter 8 Effects Saving Effect Racks Save Effects Rack Button You can save an entire Effect Rack including the effects used and their settings using the Save button at the top of the Rack To save an effects rack 1 Load the Rack with effects and adjust the controls to get the sound you want and then click the Save button in the upper right area of the Rack A standard Save dialog box will appear 2 Type a name for the file and choose a location on your hard drive to store it and click Save Mac or OK Win dows The file will be saved as a preset containing all information regarding the Effect Rack configuration Loading Effect Racks Previously save Rack settings are loaded as described below To load an effects rack 1 Click t
160. not familiar with a mixer so think of it as a way to privately hear the mu sic in a mixer channel regardless of what your audience can or cannot hear This is what a DJ uses to listen to the next song before he plays it for his audience When you press the PFL button that channel is sent to the PFL Headphone section see PFL Headphone Cue on page 69 This lets you use your headphones to hear how a mix will sound before your audience hears it 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 How ever some DJ s prefer the technique of leaving the Channel Volume faders fully up you then match the vol umes of the songs using the Gain knobs The reason for this is that you re then free to use the Channel Volume faders for other effects such as volume fades cuts and stutter effects similar to the scratch techniques used on the Crossfader Whichever approach you choose is entirely up to you Cy You can quickly return a Channel Volume fader to full volume by holding SHIFT and clicking on the fader Line Input Buttons Located above the PFL icons in each channel of the Mixer is a Line Input icon Clicking this icon will activate the line input f
161. nts into a macro that can be triggered by a single keystroke Torq manages a collection of Snapshots which can be re called interchangeably even in rapid succession Snapshots can even be layered together to create massive changes in your mix Refer to Chapter 10 Snapshots for more information about creating and using Snapshots Database INDEX Snapshots Files Music Desktop iTunes Crates Playlists iPod s Database The Database is a collection of folders located throughout your computer system including external drives This is feature lets you quickly and efficiently locate and organize your music collection Once a folder is added to the Database the songs it contains will be listed in the File List whenever you click on the Database heading If you have multiple folders assigned to the Database all the files in all folders will be listed simul taneously in the File List Therefore to use the Database efficiently you ll only want to assign folders that con tain music you d like to spin Adding Folders to Database To add a music folder to the Database 1 Locate the folder you want to add to the Database 2 Right click CTRL click on Mac on the folder 3 Choose Add to database from the pop up menu 4 The folder will then be assigned to the Database you can click the in front of Database to see this new folder listed beneath it y You can stop this process at any time while itis runn
162. o experiment with Insert mode you can create ambient textures that can be interesting to blend into your mix Time Knob This knob controls the Reverb time When fully counterclockwise the Reverb will be extremely short similar to the sound heard in a small shower stall As you turn this knob clockwise the Reverb will become longer un til it sounds similar to a huge cathedral Freeze Button Pressing this button will freeze the Reverb When activated the Reverb will stop accepting audio input from the Deck and will feed back on itself instead The result is a reverb that hangs or stalls indefinitely When you turn Freeze off the Reverb will begin accepting input signals again and the current frozen reverb will fade away following the current Reverb Time This can be another interesting way to fill up space during a break or to add emphasis to a hit in the song Flanger A Flanger is a common effect found in most effect processors Flanging grew from a studio trick where engi neers would play identical material on two tape decks then make slight changes to the play speed of the two tape machines by dragging their hand on the flanges of the tape reels The result is a whooshing sound that can be compared to a jet fly over Enable Button Naturally this button turns the Flanger on and off Amount Knob and Routing Button Unlike the two effects discussed so far the Flanger works best with the Routing bu
163. o fix a mis aligned Phase Grid Which method you choose to use will probably depend on whether you re comfortable using the mouse and keyboard or whether you prefer to use external MIDI control The results are all the same so choose whichever feels good for you A the song you re attempting to use has tempo variations Torq s automatic beat and phase detection will not work You will have to manually set the tempo for the song using Tempo Anchors as detailed in Chap ter 3 before you will be able to exploit Torq s automatic synchronization Adjusting with the Mouse To adjust the Phase Grid placement with the mouse 1 Hold down the Shift key then click and drag left or right with the mouse 2 The Phase Grid will move left or right following your mouse movements 3 Once you have aligned the thicker downbeat marker of the grid to the downbeat of the music release the mouse button Effects Rack Bypass Button Cy You can turn on Caps Lock instead of holding Shift if you need to adjust the grid using just one hand Turn off Caps Lock when you re finished so you can regain proper control of the waveforms Adjusting with Nudge Buttons Hold down the Shift key then click on one of the Nudge buttons The Phase Grid will move left or right depending on which Nudge button you click Use the buttons to align the thicker downbeat marker of the grid to the downbeat of the music Adjusting with Advance Buttons Hold down
164. o really nasty realms When the Mode button is active the name of the Drive button will change to SRATE indication that the effect unit is in Sample Rate Reducer mode The SRATE knob controls the output sample rate When the knob is fully counterclockwise there is no sample rate reduction so the audio will be un distorted As you turn the knob clockwise the sample rate will be lowered The high frequencies will be the first to exhibit signs of distortion As you continue turning the knob the distortion will move lower and lower into the frequency range of the audio until all that remains is low sample junk Strobe Just about anyone who has been to a dance club in the last 20 years has experienced a strobe light Those are the super bright lights that flash really quickly They have the effect of making everyone look like they re in stop motion because the flash is so fast that you can t see movement anymore Torq s Strobe effect will create a similar stop motion effect but it will do it to audio The Strobe will essentially mute and unmute the audio at a rate that you can control The rate can be as slow as one bar 2 beats un muted followed by 2 beats muted or as fast as 1 64 note Enable Button Turns the Strobe effect on and off Amount Knob and Routing Button Because the Strobe effect is designed to mute the audio from a Deck it needs to be used as an Insert effect Therefore the Routing Button will be set to Insert mode w
165. of missing file When you click Ok Torq will display the file in red in the File List indicating that the song cannot be played If there are other files to search for the search process will continue Manual Clicking this button will open a standard operating system dialog box that will allow you to manually search for the audio file on your hard drive s Although you are searching for a specific missing file it is possible to select any audio file to be used in its place If you choose a file that is different than the missing file shown in the File List the ID3 tag info for the new file will be shown in the Playlist in place of the original song Saving a Playlist All playlists created using Torq are automatically saved to your local hard drive These playlists can be opened by any application that supports the m3u playlist format Torq playlist location Windows XP C Documents and Settings username Application Data M Audio Torg Playlists Torq playlist location Windows Vista C Users username AppData Roaming M Audio Torg Playlists Torq playlist location Mac Library Application Support M Audio Torq Playlists In Windows Vista and Windows XP systems the playlists are located within hidden folders You will need to change your Folder Options gt View settings to make these hidden folders visible before you can ac cess the playlist files Windows XP From My Computer click on
166. on to jump to a QuickCue within the track without playing the selected cue sur Cy If you reposition playback using one of the QuickCue buttons while Looping is activated playback will jump to the new location Torq automatically places the Loop In Marker at the new location and places the Loop Out Marker in a position which maintains the same loop length Clearing QuickCues If you d like to clear all of the QuickCues in a song click the Clear button Torq 2 0 User Guide 44 Chapter 5 The Decks Loop Torq offers you two different ways to loop audio You can specify the start and end points of the loop manu ally or you can capture loops of a specific length using the QuickLoop buttons Furthermore Torq will help you make the perfect loop every time by automatically matching your loop points to the tempo of the song 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 To move loop markers in real time Load a song onto a Deck and press Play When playback reaches the beginning of the section you want to loop click the Loop In button This places a bright yellow Loop In Marker in the Overview Waveform for the deck and at the orange Now Line in the Waveform Display above the Mixer If the Quantize button is active the Loop In marker will snap to the beginning of the nearest 16th note in the song s waveform
167. on the fly with an external drum machine Add extra kick drums and hi hats Double up a snare drum with a hand clap Create drum fills where none existed before Simply slave the drum machine to Torq using MIDI Beat Clock and it will play in time with the Master Tempo even if you change the Master Tempo External Synth Sequencer Beats are easy to add but you may want to take it to the next level and actually add your own synth parts on top of your mixes New bass lines Sound effects Rapid fire sequencer patterns Simply slave the external se quencer to Torq and you re ready to go Swapping DJ s If you re in the middle of a Torq set and another Torq DJ is ready to play after you you can transmit your Mas ter Tempo to that DJ allowing him to sync up everything on his computer to yours for automatically beat matched transitions between DJ s If you re the first DJ set your computer to output MBC and set the Deck you re using for the last song in your set as the Master Deck If you re the second DJ set your computer to receive MBC and adjust your Master Tempo to the one set by the previous DJ Your computer will now be in sync with the other DJ If you re the second DJ you should also set your MIDI Stop preference to Free wheel to ensure that Torq doesn t stop when the first DJ presses stop on his system Dual DJ If one DJ could sync the beginning of his set up to the end of another DJ s set then why not sync up the entire length of
168. ontrol button on each Deck The playback of the Decks will now be controlled by the incoming control signals you have selected Control button Refer to Audio Preferences on page 111 for more information about Torq Audio Preferences External Control Calibration While terms such as digital vinyl are sometimes used to describe vinyl control systems such as the one used in Torq the truth is the system is still analog There are digits encoded in the analog domain on the Torq Control Vinyls and CD s and those digits are transferred to Torq by analog means through the inputs of your audio interface Because of this the control system is subject to certain environmental and physical variables that can influ ence its performance The system is very robust and compensates for many of these factors allowing a wide range of variance between equipment to yield identical control response This means the equipment you al ready own turntables cartridges styli CD players etc is probably sufficient for use with Torq s external con trol system Torq 2 0 User Guide 140 Chapter 14 External and MIDI Control Avid has diligently tested the control system using a wide variety of equipment from different manufacturers but not every possible combination could be tested While unlikely it is possible that there could be problems with components in your DJ setup that might render the control system inoperable When this happens the
169. opens the Snap shot List on the right side of the Browser The list has multiple columns like the File List and each row rep resents one Snapshot Press the Tab key again or click the Database heading within thew Index to return to the Database Creating a Snapshot To create a new Snapshot click the Add Snapshot button located above the Index or the Take Snapshot button located in the Torq Toolbar Torq will immediately create a new Snapshot entry and the name will be high lighted so that you can type in a proper name for the Snapshot Type in something you can remember and press Enter You can always rename the Snapshot by double clicking its name and typing in a new one Add Snapshot Button Take Snapshot Button Torq 2 0 User Guide 103 Chapter 10 Snapshots Masking a Snapshot Each Snapshot you create contains the settings of almost every Torq component This in formation includes the Key setting of a Deck the EQ settings in the Mixer including the state of the EQ Kills the channel gains and volumes the Crossfader position and the contents and settings of the built in Effect Racks You can there fore have a Snapshot that will update all of these parameters at once if you wish A VST effects and their setting are not saved within Snapshots More often than not however you ll want to only override a portion of your current settings using a Snap shot For example you may want to recall the settings of one effect rack while le
170. or Tab 2 Switch the Loop Out mode from Smart to 16th and close the preferences Now the Loop Out marker will be quantized and snap to a location that is the nearest 16th note length from the position of the Loop In marker However this requires that you press the Loop Out marker within a 16th note of where you want the loop to end Torq 2 0 User Guide 45 Chapter 5 The Decks Loop On Off The Loop button will indicate whether Torq is looping audio or not Whenever this button is illuminated Torq will be looping something whether triggered with one of the QuickLoop buttons or set manually with the Loop In and Loop Out buttons Click this button to toggle the current selected loop QuickLoop More often than not a DJ will loop audio that is an even number of beats or bars For example a single bar four beats or two bars eight beats or micro loops of only one or two beats Instead of having to quickly press the Loop In and Loop Out buttons to create loops of these lengths Torq provides one button access to these loops via the QuickLoop buttons Using QuickLoops The QuickLoop buttons allow you to instantly loop a section of a song by a preset length By default each of the four buttons represents a different bar length one bar two bars four bars and eight bars Simply press one of these buttons at the beginning of the section you want to loop and Torq will automatically place the Loop In and Loop Out Markers in the ap
171. or that channel This will allow you to feed audio from an external audio source such as a CD player or turntable connected to your audio interface for mixing with Torq s Mixer All functions such as EQ Gain Effects and PFL will still work even when using external audio sources Ww In order for Line Input to work you will need to assign audio channels to the Line Inputs in the Audio tab of the Preferences See the Preferences section for more information on setting up these inputs Torq 2 0 User Guide 68 Chapter 7 The Mixer PFL Headphone Cue MAIN VOLUME de PFL Four Deck Mode PFL Two Deck Mode PFL stands for Pre Fader Listen which refers to hearing an audio signal without being under the influence of the Volume fader on some mixers this function is called Cue That definition may not make sense if you re not familiar with a mixer so think of it as a way to privately hear the music in a mixer channel regard less of what your audience can or cannot hear Split Button Clicking the Split button headphone icon sends the PFL signal from any Deck to the left side of your head phones while the signal your audience hears will be on the right side This makes it easier for you to hear mis alignments in rhythm and tempo Clicking the Split again switches off split mode and the PFL signal from a deck will be heard in both sides of your headphones Source Knob The Source Knob lets you balance the levels betwee
172. ord will be named Sample001 wav The next sample that is recorded will be named Sample002 wav and so on This numbering can be reset to start at 001 within the Torq Preferences menu see Reset Sample Counter on page 112 You can also rename any recorded sam ple using the Rename Sample function which is detailed later in this section Sample Name Window The Sample Name window serves multiple purposes e It will display the name of the sample file loaded into the slot e The background of this window will fill from left to right as the sample plays like a progress meter e Clicking on this window will display a pop up menu with the following options Load Choosing this option will open a standard dialog box Use this dialog to navigate to your hard drive and locate a sample If you load a sample into a slot that already has a sample loaded the current sample will be imme diately replaced Unload Choosing this option will remove the current sample from the sampler Torq 2 0 User Guide 100 Chapter 9 Sampler Save Choosing this option opens a standard Save dialog box Use this dialog to name the current sample and save it to a specific location The new name will also be displayed in the Sample Name window Once you ve recorded a sample you can rename it from the generic SampleXXX naming format automat ically applied to new samples Choosing this option from the pop up menu opens a save dialog window Type th
173. orma tion To assign a Torq Deck to the left side of your controller 1 Choose a deck to assign to the left side of your Xponent For example Deck C 2 Press the corresponding Function key for the Deck For example F7 A green rectangle appears around the edge of Deck C indicating that it is the Target Deck for the left side of your Xponent Moving or pressing a slider knob or button on the left side of your hardware controls its cor responding on screen Torq function or parameter To assign a Torq Deck to the right side of your controller 1 Choose a deck to assign to the right side of your Xponent For example Deck D 2 Press the corresponding Function key for the Deck For example F12 A purple rectangle appears around the edge of Deck D indicating that it is the Target Deck for the right side of your Xponent Moving or pressing a slider knob or button on your hardware controls its corresponding on screen Torq function or parameter Torq 2 0 User Guide 37 Chapter 5 The Decks Loading Songs onto the Decks Torq lets you choose the following methods for loading a song from the File List onto any of the Decks Drag and Drop to a Deck To drag and drop a song to a deck 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 to any of the Decks 3 Once the song is over a Deck release the mouse button and the track will load Drag and Dro
174. orq 2 By doing so you become eligible to receive the following e Technical support information e Software update and upgrade notices e Hardware warranty information Conventions Used in This Guide The following symbols are used to highlight important information w User Tips are helpful hints for getting the most from your system Important Notices include information that could affect your data or the performance of your system su Shortcuts show you useful keyboard or mouse shortcuts Cross References point to related sections in this guide Torq 2 0 User Guide 3 Chapter 1 Introduction to Torq 2 0 Chapter 2 Software Installation Installation The following directions are for installing the Torq software onto your computer Please follow the installation instructions provided with your hardware device before launching Torq Windows 7 Vista and Windows XP To install Torq on a Windows computer 1 Place the Torq disc in your CD DVD drive 2 Windows will automatically launch the install screen If you are using Windows Vista or XP and see an Au toplay dialog window click Run autorun exe to launch the installer If the install screen fails to launch you can manually start it by clicking on Start gt Computer gt Torq Disk If you are using Windows XP Computer will be labeled My Computer in this step If you have purchased Torq as a download locate the zipped installer on your desk
175. our Mode buttons described below With Traq Morph switched off the Crossfader performs normal volume based transitions for one deck to the other Direction Button Direction Button Each Traq Morph mode is directional and you can use the direction button to determine which deck the cross fade effect is applied to Selecting the direction also determines which track will be the source of the morphing characteristic If for example you have songs on Decks B and C with the Crossfader set all the way over to Deck B pressing a Morph Mode button Mph followed by the direction button sets Deck B as the source In this instance when the Crossfader is moved toward Deck C the second song will adopt the sonic characteristics of Deck B Torq 2 0 User Guide 72 Chapter 7 The Mixer Traq Morph Modes Traq Morph offers four crossfade modes as described below Frequency Traq Morph Frequency This mode lets you perform a tonal crossfade by simultaneously sweeping the frequency range of both tracks You can choose the either of the following tonal characteristics from the Traq Morph Filter Style pop up menu on the Behavior Preferences page see Chapter 12 Torq Preferences Low High Default This mode places a High Pass filter on the source Deck and a Low Pass Filter on the second Deck Both filters are set at the same Cutoff Frequency in order to cover the all of the available frequency range However the Cutoff Frequency is changed ac
176. ource for audio channels in the host appli cation In Live this is done by selecting Torq in the top box of the Channel I O strip You ll also need to turn the Monitoring to In to allow the audio from Torq to pass through Live In Pro Tools choose or create a new Aux track and select the stereo ReWire Instrument plug in Torq in the top effect slot Master Tempo Because Torq is the Rewire Slave the Master Tempo is determined by the tempo and timeline of the Rewire Host This lets you synchronize any or all of the decks to the host by clicking their corresponding Sync button Now any song you play on a synced deck in Torq is locked to whatever you re currently doing in the Host program even if you change the host tempo while the music is playing Audio Routing When using two programs together via ReWire the audio generated by Torq will be fed to audio channels in the Rewire Host This lets you further process the outputs of Torq using the Host application s effects You can record the output of Torq into the application to add to your productions You can also create your own drum parts basslines and loops and also play virtual instruments in real time within the Host which can be lay ered on top of the music you re playing in Torq When Torq is used with a regular audio interface you have the option of assigning various Torq output chan nels to outputs on the audio interface see Audio Preferences on page 11
177. p of the VST Effect Panel and then click the name of the VST plug in you want to load It will loaded immediately and the VST s graphic interface will open and float over the Torq interface LO While the built in Effects units are switch on as soon as they are loaded you will need to press the Enable button for a VST plug before it can be used 3 To close the window click the close icon in the window s title bar or click the VST Window button to the Right of the VST slot 4 Click VST Window button the To open the same VST interface again At the top of the VST drop down menu list you will see a blank plug in as an option If you select it no VST will be loaded into the Slot any current VST will be unloaded Torq 2 0 User Guide 94 Chapter 8 Effects Assigning Controls It s fun to tweak effects using knobs and buttons VST effects are no exception However before you start messing with the Tweak knob and button you ll need to assign a function to them Unlike Torq s 10 built in effects the VST Effect you choose to use will probably have more than two parameters to play with You can always adjust these parameters within the VST Effect s editor window To gain MIDI control however you must assign one of the VST Effect s parameter to the Tweak knob or button which you can control via MIDI It s a two part process as outlined below To assign VST plug in controls to Torq Tweak Knobs and Buttons 1 Load a VST Effect
178. p to the Waveform Display 10 0s Q ki D TEN M ATT ven MAIN VOLUME y MAIN OUT Four Deck Mode Waveform Display Songs can also be loaded onto a deck by dragging it to the Waveform Display which is located above the Mixer In Four Deck Mode dragging a song to the top of the Waveform Display loads it onto Deck A while dragging it to the upper middle loads it onto Deck B Dragging it to the lower end of the display loads it onto Deck D while dragging it to the lower middle of the display loads it onto Deck C Two Deck Mode Waveform Display In Two Deck mode dragging a songs to the top half of the Waveform Display loads it onto Deck B and drag ging it the lower half loads Deck C Refer to Chapter 6 Waveform Display for more information about the Waveform Display Torq 2 0 User Guide 38 Chapter 5 The Decks Using the Function Keys To load a deck using the Function Keys 1 Click on the desired song in the File List 2 Press one of the following F1 for Deck A F2 for Deck B F3 for Deck C or F4 for Deck D y In Two Deck Mode the key assignments for Decks B and C are the same as in Four Deck Mode When using a Mac laptop you may need to hold the Fn key while pressing the Torq function keys in order for these features to work Copying Songs to Other Decks Make Double Make Double Button Pressing the Make Double button lets you copy a song including all Markers such as Loop Points
179. p will stop immediately 3 To stop the loop immediately hold the Shift key while clicking the Trigger button The loop will stop im mediately when clicked Torq 2 0 User Guide 99 Chapter 9 Sampler Sample Gain Knob Each sampler cell has its own gain control allowing you to mix multiple samples together with appropriate levels Click and drag up and down on this knob or user your mouse wheel to change the sample playback volume Hold SHIFT and click on the knob to reset the volume to unity the original sample volume Sample Pitch Sample Pitch Knob This knob adjusts the playback speed of a one shot sample or will scale the playback rate of a looped sample When using one shot samples the Speed knob will set the playback speed pitch for the sample When the knob is set at 12 o clock the sample will play at its original speed Pitch Double Halve When using looped samples the Sample Pitch knob changes to a pop up menu which lets you double or halve the playback rate in order to remain in sync with the Master Tempo The available choices are labelled as 2 Half x1 default or regular speed and X2 Double Naming Scheme for Recorded Samples Each time you record a sample Torq will give it the name SampleXXX wav where XXX is an automatically generated number The number will increment every time you create a new sample regardless of which Sam pler you use for the recording The first sample you rec
180. pe a keyword or keywords into the Search field above the Data base Browser To search the list 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 There is no need to hit the Enter key on your keyboard 4 When you stop typing you ll have a list of all files that contain the search term in one of its fields For example if you type the word love into the search field Torq could return the following results Artist Song Album Deee Lite Power of Love World Clique Jennifer Love Hewitt Can t Stand in the Way of Love Let s Go Bang Love and Rockets Angels and Devils Express Madonna I d Rather Be Your Lover Bedtime Stories Sade Flow Lover s Rock Search Categories As you can see the above search worked it found songs that contained the word love in any category However this may not be quite what you were looking for You may have actually wanted files with love in the song s name only To search for such titles you ll need to confine the scope of the search to the Song cat egory only To confine a search to a particular category 1 Hold down the SHIFT key and click a category name The category name will turn red 2 Torq will refine its searc
181. plet mode button in the Torq Toolbar activates Triplet mode which adds a triplet or shuffle feel to all time based or rhythmic functions Triplet mode is very useful for adding a higher degree of syncopation to your mixes When using the Traq Morph Cut algorithm clicking Triplet Mode button in the Torq Toolbar changes the rhythmic timing of the 1 8 1 8 and 1 16 3 16 1 16 1 16 settings to 1 8T 1 8T 1 16T 3 16T and 1 16T 1 16T even though the new setting do not appear in the list of available choices under the Traq Morph Cut Style preferences see Behavior Preferences on page 127 Torq 2 0 User Guide 74 Chapter 7 The Mixer Morph Traq Morph Morph Mode Morph mode lets you perform a crossfade where one track is made to sound a close as possible to another This mode is useful when mixing a song the source Deck that is very rhythmic with a song on the second Deck has a lot of bright sounding keyboard pads Mixing in this manner causes the pad to adopt rhythmical character istics that are not in the original recording You can choose the either of the following settings from the Traq Morph Style pop up menu on the Behavior Preferences page see Behavior Preferences on page 127 Strong Default The Strong setting places a 24db filter on a deck which makes the audio signal sound louder and enhances the modulation of the morphing Gentle This setting is more subtle as it does
182. propriate locations To automatically loop a section 1 Load a song into a Deck and press play 2 Press the QuickLoop button labeled 1 The Loop button will be switched on and the Loop In Marker will immediately be placed at the Now Line with a corresponding Loop Out Marker placed exactly one bar later and the song will begin looping a perfect bar 3 To turn the loop OFF click the Loop button Playback will now proceed beyond the Loop Out Marker Doubling the Length of a QuickLoop Looking at the example above once the one bar loop has been set Torq lets you double its length by holding down the Shift key and pressing the 1 QuickLoop button If needed you can increase the length up to four bars In other word the first time you double the one bar loop it will increase to two bars and the second dou ble will double the resulting two bar loop to four bars Pre Loop You can also reverse the behavior of the QuickLoop buttons by holding Shift when you create a loop If you do this Torq will place the Loop Out marker at the current playback location and will set the Loop In marker at the indicated number of Bars or Beats depending on the QuickLoop Size preference before the playback location Using this feature you can loop sections of audio that just played For example to repeat the last 2 bars of music that played hold Shift and press click QuickLoop 2 Torq 2 0 User Guide 46 Chapter 5 The Decks QuickLoop Size Prefe
183. q s interface When doing this pressing the MIDI button or key will cause the knob or slider s value to toggle between an assignable minimum and maximum value For example assign the X key on your computer keyboard to the Low EQ knob Turn up the EQ to 6 using the mouse then press the X key on your keyboard The EQ will jump to 0 Press X again and the EQ will jump back up to 6 Assigning Knobs or Sliders to Buttons You can also assign a MIDI knob or slider to one of Torq s buttons When doing this the button will turn on anytime the knob or slider is turned past its halfway point outputting a MIDI value greater than 64 The but ton will turn back off when the knob or slider is moved lower than its halfway point Torq 2 0 User Guide 148 Chapter 14 External and MIDI Control Quitting MIDI Learn If you change your mind about assigning a control or key to a function you can back out of MIDI Learn mode by pressing the Escape key Esc on your keyboard before making the assignment change Clearing a MIDI Assignment If you ve assigned a MIDI control or key using MIDI Learn and you wish to clear the assignment simply right click CTRL click on Mac the desired control in Torq then press the Backspace key Delete key on Mac on your computer keyboard Changing MIDI Assignment If you assign a MIDI knob for example to the Low EQ in the Mixer you can assign it to the Mid EQ by simply right clicking CTRL click on
184. q will only monitor the direction and speed of the control source To enable Relative mode on a Deck click the Absolute mode but ton ABS The icon will change to REL indicating that Relative mode is now active click the button again to toggle back to Absolute mode In Relative mode placing the needle in different locations on the record will have no effect on the mu sic playback will resume from the point it left off as soon as the needle touches the record again Even though the playback position of the Control Vinyl or Control CD is not affecting the playback position of the song on the Deck the speed and direction of the control source will still continue to work You can change the playback speed using the pitch adjusters on your turntables or CD players and the playback speed of the Deck will follow You can even scratch like normal The added benefit is that should the needle skip a groove while you re scratching you won t lose the sound you were using You can continue to scratch the same location of the audio file even if the needle keeps skipping While there will be no audible change in music playback when switching a Deck from Absolute mode to Rel ative mode there is a chance that the playback position could jump to an unanticipated position when switching from Relative mode back into Absolute mode This is due to the fact that while using the features of Relative mode the playback position of the Deck and the actual location o
185. r end of the Cross fader The button for an unassigned deck will be grey but the button will change color as soon as it is clicked Torq 2 0 User Guide 71 Chapter 7 The Mixer In both Four Deck and Two Deck Mode you can click the button for an assigned deck to cancel the current in put assignment However if the deck is playing a song when you do this the signal will by pass the Crossfader and go straight to the Main Out to be heard by the audience Crossfader Invert Crossfader Invert Button This button lets you swap the assignments so that a deck routed to the one side of the Crossfader will be switched to the other For example if you have Deck B routed to the left side of the Crossfader and Deck C on the right clicking this button reverses the routing so that Deck D is heard when the Crossfader is moved to the right and Deck C is heard when it is moved to the left This is sometimes known as hamster style control Crossfader PFL Headphone Crossfader PFL Button Clicking this button diverts the audio signal from the Master Output to the Crossfader to the PFL Headphone cue This let s you preview your mix before your audience hears Clicking this button a second time sends the signal back to the Master Output and your mix will be heard by everyone in the room Traq Morph Traq Morph lets you perform crossfades with various and sometimes dramatic characteristics This function is switched on as soon as you press one of the f
186. re adjusted simultaneously Frequency Freq Knob This knob adjusts the Cutoff Frequencies of the filters When the BPF button is off the knob will behave as follows e Setting the knob at 12 o clock results in the audio passing through the Dual Filter unaffected e Turning the knob counterclockwise from 12 o clock lowers the Cutoff Frequency of the Low Pass filter You will hear the music become dull and muffled as you turn this down to the point where you ll only hear low bass rumbles e Turning the knob clockwise from the 12 o clock position raises the Cutoff Frequency of the High Pass fil ter You will hear the music become more thin and brittle as you do this until only the highest of the high frequencies remain e When the BPF button is active the Frequency knob controls the center frequency of the Band Pass filter As you turn the knob down counterclockwise you ll hear the high frequencies become muffled while you begin to hear more of the bass Distortion Distortion by definition is the altering of a signal In practical terms it refers to feeding audio into a device so loudly that it exceeds the dynamic range of the device The result is a fairly raunchy noise that at times can be exactly what you re looking for This is known as Overdrive Distortion and is one of the two types of distortion possible with the Distortion effect The other type of distortion available in Torq is Sample Rate Reduction When an audio
187. rence 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 in stead of bar values To set Quickloop to beat values 1 Open the Torq Preferences menu and click on the Behavior tab 2 Click the arrow next to QuickLoop Size option and choose Beat from the drop down list 3 Click the X to close the Preferences window Now when you use the QuickLoop buttons as described above you ll find that they capture loops of one beat two beats four beats and eight beats in size Changing QuickLoop Lengths Along with being able to capture loops of a specific size the QuickLoop buttons also allow you to change the size Of the loops after they have been made Torq has two methods for changing QuickLoop lengths which are selected from the Preferences To set the QuickLoop preference 1 Open the Torq Preferences menu and click on the Behavior tab 2 Locate the QuickLoop Mode item you ll see that it has two settings Cut and Grow and Direct When this Cut and Grow is selected each additional press of a QuickLoop button will cut the current loop length in half For example if you press QuickLoop 4 Torq will grab a 4 bar loop Pressing QuickLoop 4 again will result in a 2 bar loop Press it again and you ll get a 1 bar loop If you hold SHIFT while pressing the
188. rofessional hardware mixer with the added advantage of being able to support all four decks The layout instantly familiar to anyone who has used a mixer before and it is capable of performing the same techniques utilized by DJ s on traditional hardware mixers MAIN VOLUME 2D MAIN OUT Torq Mixer in Four Deck Mode Mixer Architecture Before you start tweaking knobs and sliders on the Mixer you should have a basic understanding of the com ponents in the mixer and the signal flow between the components Without this basic understanding some controls may seem to be misbehaving or completely inoperative only because you ve unknowingly set an other control to a conflicting position Additionally there are some terms you should get to know as they will be used repeatedly throughout this User Guide Cy When the mouse is moved over a knob slider or button the name of the control and a brief description is displayed in the lower edge of the Torq window Torq 2 0 User Guide 65 Chapter 7 The Mixer Channels Four Deck Mode Mixer Channels In Four Deck mode the Mixer has four channels one for each Deck labelled A B C and D to correspond with their respective decks When switched into Two Deck Mode decks B and C are available While the signals from all Decks enters the same mixer they remain on their respective mixer channels This lets you to process each audio signal differently before mixing them together into a single output ch
189. rq Preferences Database The following preferences determine how the Torq Database will handle your audio files Search iTunes with Database If iTunes is installed on your computer selecting Yes for this option will integrate your iTunes Library into the Torq Database Any songs within the Library will be instantly accessible in Torq along with all other fold ers assigned to the Database If this option is set to No you ll have to manually select the iTunes Library in the Browser window to view its contents Search iPod with Database When this preference is set to Yes any connected iPods except the iPod Shuffle iPod Touch and iPhone will have their music libraries incorporated into the Database for instant searching and access If this option is off you will have to manually select the iPod Library in the Browser to view its contents A Torq streams music directly from the iPod Do not disconnect the iPod until you have finished playing mu sic from it Musical Genre BPM Torg attempts to determine the tempo and phase of a song when you load it into a Deck Coaxing a computer to hear the tempo of a song is partially art and science This preference is here to assist when the science fails In the Beat Detection Style menu you will find a list of musical styles genres Choosing one of the styles tells Torg to alter its analysis algorithm for all future file analysis Choosing a matching style greatly improves
190. ry in the Artist column of the File List Time Elapsed The time display on the left side of the deck under the Artist Name shows the current location of the song marked by the yellow Now Line in the Overview Waveform Display see Overview Waveform on page 40 This is expressed in hours minutes seconds frames at 30 fps When the Current Position Marker is at the be ginning of the song the Time Elapsed will be 0 0 0 0 Time Remaining The field to the right of the Time Elapsed indicates how much time is left before the song ends At the begin ning of the song the Time Remaining will be the same as the entire length of the song and decrease as the song progresses w The Overview Waveform and Waveform Display will flash red when there is less than 30 seconds re maining in a song Overview Waveform Each Deck includes an Overview Waveform display which shows a miniaturized version of the song s wave form in its entirety This display serves several purposes e It allows you to see where the breaks and builds are in a song before they happen e The yellow Now Line indicates your current location within the song e White QuickCue points see QuickCue on page 43 and a white bar representing Tempo Anchors see Tempo Anchors on page 62 will be superimposed over this waveform e You can click anywhere in this waveform and playback will jump to that location Torq 2 0 User Guide 40 Chapter 5 The Decks Transport
191. s already playing Torq 2 0 User Guide 130 Chapter 12 Torq Preferences QuickCues and Looping The options in this section control the creation and behavior of Quick Cues and Quick Loops Refer to QuickCue on page 43 and Loop on page 45 for more information about QuickCues and Loops QuickLoop Size This option affects how the QuickLoop buttons behave Bar Default When this option is chosen your QuickLoops are created in lengths of one two four or eight bars Beat When this option is chosen your QuickLoops are created in lengths of one two four or eight beats QuickLoop Behavior This preference determines the behavior of the QuickLoop buttons after a QuickLoop has been created and ac tivated Cut And Grow Default With this option selected each click of a QuickCue button cuts the current loop length in half Therefore if you press the 2 button to create a 2 bar loop pressing 2 again will reduce the loop to 1 bar in length Pressing 2 again will cut the loop to half a bar 2 beats You can continue pressing 2 again and again and the loop will get smaller and smaller to the point where only a high pitched sound is heard If you hold the SHIFT key while pressing the QuickLoop button the loop will grow in length doubling its previous length There is no limit to how long the loop can be other than the length of the song This functionality can also be utilized with the QuickLoop Size preference set
192. s switched off Torq will only perform nudges whenever the platter is turned Torq 2 0 User Guide 150 Chapter 15 MIDI Platter Control MIDI Platter Control Mode and Auto Sync Whenever synced deck is in MIDI Platter Control mode it can be used for scratching but the Auto Sync feature overrides nudge mode in order to keep the decks synchronized This synchronization is temporarily disabled whenever you use the platter for scratching Torq 2 0 User Guide 151 Chapter 15 MIDI Platter Control Appendix A Key Commands The following tables list Mac and Windows key commands for various Torq 2 0 functions as listed below Browser Commands A The Up Down Left and Right Arrow Keys are listed as Up Down Left or Right Function Mac Key Windows Key Move up or down through the Index or File List Up or Down Up or Down Move between the Index and the File List Left or Right Left or Right Hide or reveal subfolders of a selected Index item Enter Enter Enable or disable Track Preview for a selected song in the File List Shift Enter Shift Enter Rewind or forward through a song in Track Preview Shift Left or Right Shift Left or Right Load selected song to Deck A F1 or Cmd Left F1 or Ctrl Left Load selected song to Deck B F2 or Cmd Right F2 or Ctrl Right Load selected song to Deck C F3 or Cmd Up F3 or Ctrl Up Load selected song to Deck D F4 or Cmd Down F4 or Ctrl
193. s to calculate the playback position for the audio file loaded into the Deck This number will increase when the record or CD is playing forward and decrease when play ing backwards The value will also jump whenever you lift the needle off the record and place it in another lo cation known as a needle drop This is what allows Torq to play back a song just as if it was pressed right into the Control Vinyl or Control CD Absolute Mode This is the default control style when in Standard mode and is indicated by the ABS icon on what was previ ously the top half of the Play Pause button on the Decks Absolute mode means that Torq will be following the position of the external control source This is most apparent when using the Control Vinyl you can lift the needle and place it in different locations on the record and Torq s Decks will follow this position If you place the needle at the beginning of the record or rewind the Control CD back to the beginning of a track the song in the Deck will also jump back to the beginning This mode is obviously the mode that will recreate the sensation of using CD s and Vinyl with the greatest de tail You will be able to control playback position from your turntables or CD players without having to in teract with the Torq interface Torq 2 0 User Guide 141 Chapter 14 External and MIDI Control Relative Mode Relative mode will ignore the playback position of the Control Vinyl or Control CD Tor
194. se to the right Playback will continue playing forward but at a slightly slower tempo In this instance the waveform scrolls right to left at a slower rate Torq 2 0 User Guide 48 Chapter 5 The Decks Using your the mouse to control the waveform in this manner while aligning the song with another deck is called Nudge Via Waveform During this process the Phase Grids for each song will become closer in line with each other as the synchronization between them improves As soon as you stop dragging playback will return to its original tempo even if you are still holding the mouse button Hybrid Mode Hybrid mode provides a blend of the CDJ and Vinyl control modes e Pressing Play Pause to pause playback will cause audio to stop just like in Vinyl mode e While paused clicking and dragging on the Scrolling Waveform will have audible results like scratching in Vinyl mode e When playback is active clicking and dragging on the Scrolling Waveform will not stop audio Instead you ll be able to drag left or right to offset the playback speed of the track like in CDJ mode This will allow you to align the track against the other Deck when beat matching A Switching to MIDI Platter Control Mode also selects Vinyl Mode while selecting Hybrid Mode switches off MIDI Platter Control Mode For more information about MIDI Platter Control Mode refer to Chapter 15 MIDI Platter Control Try out Hybrid mode 1 Click and hold on the wave
195. setting lets you calibrate Torq for use with various qualified motor driven hardware MIDI platters This helps the program match the level of precision expected by the hardware The available choices range from Low to Very High For example you re using a Numark NS7 you would choose the Low tolerance setting and High if you re using a Denon 3700 Torq 2 0 User Guide 117 Chapter 12 Torq Preferences Scratch Sensitivity This option determines how rapidly a Deck will respond to messages sent from a MIDI controller It is de signed for controllers that move the waveform back and forth typically those with jog wheels Higher values make the Decks respond quicker while lower values make the Decks less responsive A This setting has no effect on External Control with Vinyl or CD s DJ oriented MIDI controllers with turntable platters vary in how they handle scratching and nudging Certain products only control nudging while others such as M Audio Xponent can control both nudging and scratching Refer to the product s user guide to learn if each turntable platter is capable of sending out both MIDI note and CC information If so you can assign each turntable s MIDI note and CC commands to the cor responding Main Waveform Display in Torq using the procedure described in MIDI Control on page 148 If your turntable can only send out MIDI CC information but not MIDI note data i e the turntable is not touch sensitive
196. sn t fix the problem have the turntable checked by a profes sional Poor Frequency Response Torq s position stamps are scattered throughout the audio frequency spectrum Some digits will be in the low bass frequencies while others will be in the high treble frequencies In order for Torq to read all the digits in a position stamp you will need a stylus cartridge that outputs this wide spectrum of audio frequencies If you have a worn out needle the high frequency signals might not be reproduced properly making it difficult for Torq to read the position stamps If you find that scratching works but needle drops don t you may have a worn needle Torq 2 0 User Guide 162 Appendix B Torq Vinyl Control System Audio Isolation As with the ground loop issue above any other audio signals infecting the vinyl control signals will cause problems This can happen if the turntable is not physically isolated from the room A great example of this is when a turntable is set up close to a sub woofer The vibrations of the sub woofer will travel through the floor up the stand that is holding the turntable through the base of the turntable up to the platter then into the needle These bass frequencies can confuse Torq causing Torq to lock to the erroneous bass instead of the proper pilot tone When this happens you ll frequently hear playback problems when the bass is heavy this might sound like a fast warbling of pitch coinciding with the
197. songs in a 1 16 note rhythm The difference here is that Torq alternates between the signals source Deck is heard on the first 1 16 note and third 1 16 note of each beat while the other Deck plays is heard the on second and fourth 1 16 notes of each beat Cutting in this manner is best for mixing songs with a strong 1 16 note feel such as Trance or Drum n Bass Torq 2 0 User Guide 128 Chapter 12 Torq Preferences The Traq Morph Cut algorithm and Triplet Mode Triplet Mode Button Clicking the Triplet mode button in the Torq Toolbar activates Triplet mode which adds a triplet or shuffle feel to all time based or rhythmic functions Triplet mode is very useful for adding a higher degree of syncopation to your mixes When using the Traq Morph Cut algorithm clicking Triplet Mode button in the Torq Toolbar changes the rhythmic timing of the 1 8 1 8 and 1 16 3 16 1 16 1 16 settings to 1 8T 1 8T 1 16T 3 16T and 1 16T 1 16T even though the new setting do not appear in the list of available choices under the Traq Morph Cut Style preferences Traq Morph Duck Style Band Duck Default As the Crossfader is moved from one deck to another Torq locates the loudest frequency of the second song and gradually attenuates or lowers the same frequency in the first song For example let s say you have songs on Decks B and C with the Crossfader set to Deck B and the loudest frequency in the signal from Deck
198. ss a button on your MIDI controller to assign it to the Key Adjust button 4 Right click CTRL click Mac on the Key Adjust button It will turn red indicating that it s waiting for an assignment 5 Press a button on your MIDI controller to assign it to the Key Adjust button 6 Now that your buttons are assigned press the button assigned to The Key will move up one semitone 7 Now press both buttons simultaneously 8 The Key Adjust will return to 0 Torq 2 0 User Guide 57 Chapter 5 The Decks To control Key Adjust with your MIDI Keyboard 1 Make sure that your MIDI keyboard or control surface has been properly installed and is configured to work with Torq Please see chapter 6 for more information about configuring your external MIDI hardware to con trol Torq 2 Right click CTRL click Mac on the Key Display It will turn red indicating that it s waiting for an assign ment 3 Press a key on your MIDI keyboard This key will automatically be assigned as the root key of the Torq Key Adjust 4 If you press a MIDI key that is 1 semitone ABOVE the root key the Deck s Key will be changed to 1 semi tones 5 If you press a MIDI key that is 2 semitones BELOW the root key the Deck s Key will be changed to 2 semi tones 6 The range of Key transposition is plus or minus 12 semitones This makes it possible to control the Key Adjust of all Decks using a single MIDI controller keyboard as long as the k
199. stant Music Library Setup Torq 2 0 User Guide 19 Chapter 3 Torq 2 0 Configuration Chapter 4 Accessing Your Music This chapter covers locating and organizing your music using the Browser and Database as well as creating Playlists which let you quickly access and load songs onto any of the four Decks during your performances The Browser SEARCH Enter Search Terms FILTER Enter ignore Terms INDEX ARTIST SONG ALBUM e TRACK BPM e KEY GENRE e LENGTH COMMEN Snapshots Sundia Stand Up And Be A Man Carolina Funk Stones throw 03 36 Sunny amp The Sunliners Get Down Texas Funk Stones throw 02 46 amp Files Super Jay Santa s Rap Party Stones Throw Badd Santa Stones throw 03 13 Third Guitar Baby Don t Cry Florida Funk Stones throw 02 58 Tickled Pink Reach Out And Give Me Y Texas Funk Stones throw 02 59 Timothy McNealy Sagittarius Black Texas Funk Stones throw 02 52 Crates TMG The Hatch Midwest Funk Stones throw 03 25 EX Playlists Ultimates Progressive Movement Carolina Funk Stones throw 03 49 Pod s Tha Hniuarealo Maw Ronaratinn Clarida Cunt Ctanac them Mas 8 3 4 18 2 6 6 22 1 Torq Browser The Browser is located in the lower section of the Torq interface The first column on the left of the Browser is the Index which is used for navigating your system when locating and loading songs onto the decks The Index contains folder headings for Snapshots Database and Files The Files category contains all internal and
200. t Torq employs a system of po sition stamps in order to determine playback location on a record The position stamps are digital numbers encoded as analog audio signals which are placed on the record at regular intervals In the case of the Torq Control Vinyl there are about 155 stamps for each revolution of the record As the stylus passes over a position stamp Torg can decode it to determine location Furthermore the decoding can occur if the record is playing forwards or backwards The Position value is not only determined by the position stamps Instead Torq uses the position stamps and Velocity together to determine Position The reason for this is that the position stamps are coarse That is they only occur at periodic intervals across the record instead of being continuous and there is a certain amount of empty space between each stamp How can Torq determine position if the needle is between two position stamps The answer is interpolation Torq can track Velocity between two stamps thanks to the con tinuous pilot tone Therefore if Torq reads a little bit of movement after passing over a position stamp the actual Position will be a value between that position stamp and the next This final value is displayed as Po sition on Torq s External Control Preferences So there you have it a continuous phase shifted pilot tone for determining Velocity and thousands of tiny po sition stamps for determining Position In theory th
201. t click CTRL click on Mac on the Playlists heading in the Browser and choose New Playlist from the pop up menu 2 Anew Playlist titled Empty Playlist will appear below the Playlist heading click the plus sign in front of Playlists in order to see this list 3 If there is already an Empty Playlist in the list a number will be appended to the name to differentiate it from the other s i e Empty Playlist 1 Rename Playlist 1 Right click CTRL click on Mac on your desired Playlist and choose Rename Playlist from the pop up menu 2 Type in the new name you would like to give the Playlist and hit the Enter key on your computer keyboard 3 The Playlist will display its new name Deleting a Playlist 1 Right click CTRL click on Mac on the Playlist and choose Remove from the pop up menu 2 The Playlist will be removed from the list in Torq It will still be on your computer however stored in the Deleted Playlists folder Torq 2 0 User Guide 26 Chapter 4 Accessing Your Music Duplicating a Playlist If you like a particular Playlist and would like to build a new one based upon it you can duplicate or copy it for future modification To duplicate a Playlist 1 Right click CTRL click on Mac the Playlist you would like to duplicate and choose Duplicate Playlist from the pop up menu 2 A duplicate of the selected playlist will be created and displayed underneath it 3 A number wil
202. t has four inputs with phono preamplifiers on each input if you are using turntables such as the M Audio Conectiv Torq will listen to those audio signals and will use the encoded information to control the playback of the Decks For detailed information about the connection configuration and use of qualified external control sur faces with Torq refer to External Control on page 139 and External Control Calibration on page 140 Additional information about the Torq Vinyl Control System can be found in Appendix B Torq Vinyl Control System External Control Pressing the External Control button located to the left of each Deck Mode drop down menu switches the deck to External Control Mode which lets you control the desk using Control Vinyl or Control CD s as de scribed above via Control Inputs 1 through 4 With this the appearance of the play button will change be coming two buttons The top button labelled ABS offers two different control modes affecting the behavior of the Control Vinyl or Control CD and song playback In it s default state the ABS button switches the deck to Absolute Mode button see Absolute Mode on page 141 while pressing this button activates Relative Mode see Relative Mode on page 142 Immediately below the ABS REL button is the REL S button Relative Speed which prevents the platter speed from changing when switching between decks when controlling multiple decks with a sing
203. tables and or CD players and feed that sig nal into any professional audio interface that has four inputs with phono preamplifiers on each input if you are using turntables such as the M Audio Conectiv Torq will listen to those audio signals and will use the en coded information to control the playback of the Decks Refer to Appendix B Torq Vinyl Control System for more information about using Control Vinyl with Torq External Control This section Explains how to configure qualified external hardware such as a turntable or CD player to control Torq using supported control vinyl or control CD s Refer to www avid com torqFAQ for a current list of qualified hardware control vinyl and control CD s Enabling Vinyl CD Control Before you can control Torq with your external hardware you will need to connect your hardware and enable vinyl and CD control as described below To enable Vinyl or CD control 1 Connect the outputs of your first turntable or CD player to inputs 1 2 of your audio interface If the interface has a Line Phono input selector switch be sure to set it to Phono if using turntables or Line if using CD players or turntables with built in preamps GROUND INPUTB INPUTA OUTPUTB OUTPUTA ld TU fr Turntable or CD Player Torq 2 0 User Guide 139 Chapter 14 External and MIDI Control 2 Connect the outputs of your second turntable or CD play
204. terface to use with Torq from a list of properly installed and connected devices Sample Rate The sample rate determines sound quality of Torq depending on the source material you are playing This set ting lets you choose a sample rate of either 44 100 default or 48 000 Although the higher sample rate offer better sound quality it does place heavier demands on your computer It is recommended to sample the sam ple rate only as high as you need it to be If you only play MP3 files or songs from CD s you should leave the sample rate as 44 100 since this is the sample rate used by MP3s and CD s HW Buffer Size in Samples This parameter can cause a lot of confusion for some users but is actually not that complicated To understand how the buffer size affects the performance of Torq you must understand a little bit about how your computer processes audio Multi tasking is a term that refers to doing multiple jobs all at once It s what allows your computer to run more than one program at a time i e listening to iTunes while surfing the Web While it looks like the com puter is doing two separate things at once it s actually not it s still doing only one task at a time but chang ing between tasks faster than you can see This provides for a streamlined computing experience but creates a problem when using audio applications Audio is non stop a 5 minute song will play for 5 minutes without interruption So how can the computer
205. the accuracy of Torq s beat detection For example if you have House selected in the Preferences and attempt to analyze a group of Drum amp Bass tracks the analysis will return the incorrect tempo it will be too slow Set this preference to Drum amp Bass then re analyze the affected files Those files will now be analyzed with the proper tempo Analysis BPM Low and High Limit You can further fine tune the beat detection by setting your own upper and lower limits for the BPM Once set Torg ensures that all analyzed BPM s return within the specified tempo range Whenever you set your own upper and lower BPM limits the Beat Detection Style will automatically change to Custom Torq 2 0 User Guide 133 Chapter 12 Torq Preferences Locations Preferences Preferences Users torq20user Library Application Support Avid Torq Effects AUT AMPLES Users ftorq20user Library Application Support Avid Torq Samples SAMPLES Users torq20user Library Application Support Avid Torq Samples ITUNES LIBRARY Users ftorq20user Music Tunes MUSIC FOLDER Users torq20user Music PLAYLISTS Users torq20user Library Application Support Avid Torq Playlists Locations Preferences This page lists the locations of the various system and application folders used by Torq If these locations are incorrect or if you have moved any of the folder Torq lets you reset the file path by clicking the appropriate Browse button and
206. the Shift key then click on one of the Advance buttons Instead of making a small change to the Phase Grid this will have the effect of moving the grid an entire beat left or right This is a quick way to fix the Phase Grid if it happens to be aligned to the beats but has the down beat in the wrong location Torq 2 0 User Guide 108 Chapter 11 Synchronization Sync Button Pressing the Sync button automatically synchronizes a Deck s tempo to match the Master Deck or Master Tempo This aligns the song to the phase of the Master Deck or Master Tempo While Sync is active the Deck will be affected by tempo changes made by the Master Deck or Master Tempo If you slow down the Master Deck the other Deck will also slow down If you attempt to scratch or re align the second Deck Torq will automatically snap it back into alignment to match the phase of the Master Deck For more information about automatic and manual Master Deck selection refer to Auto Master Deck on page 51 Momentary Sync When you turn Sync off on a Deck it will keep the tempo setting allowing the song to keep playing in time with the other Deck However Torq will no longer attempt to keep the two Decks in sync if you make changes to them Torq will no longer snap the songs back into alignment if you move one of them nor will Torq con tinue to match tempos if you change them So with the other deck set as the Master Deck if you just need to synchronize for a moment
207. the Tools menu select Folder Options click on the View tab and then select Show hidden files and folders from the list of options Windows Vista From the Windows Control Panel select Appearance and Personalization Folder Options click on the View tab and then select Show hidden files and folders Torq 2 0 User Guide 28 Chapter 4 Accessing Your Music Loading a Playlist Torq 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 Index 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 Once selected the Playlist will be imported into Torq and Torq will begin checking for the necessary files ex plained above Session Playlist SES 80 s Set House Set 1 House Set 2 Hip Hop Mix Dubstep set Session Playlist 10 11 09 iPod s Session Playlists The Session Playlist is an automatic Playlist that keeps track of every song you ve played since you launched Torq This is handy when you need to see if you ve played a song already or if you need to reference a list of what you played at a previous gig An empty Session Playlist is created each time you launch Torq It is named Session Playlist YY MM DD where YY MM DD represents the year month and day of the Play
208. the record or CD is playing forward and decreases when playing backwards The value will also jump whenever you lift the needle off the record and place it in another loca tion known as a needle drop This allows Torg to play back a song just as if it was pressed right into the Control Vinyl or Control CD Refer to External Control Calibration on page 140 for more information Error Index These boxes typically display a number between 0 15 and 1 50 which is perfectly normal If the number is above 2 0 it will turn red indicating that there is too much noise in the audio signal for Torq to properly track position and velocity Refer to Resolving Playback Issues on page 145 for more information Torq 2 0 User Guide 125 Chapter 12 Torq Preferences VST Preferences Preferences DIRECTORY Library Audio Piug ins IGNORED PLUGINS Library Audio Plug Ins VST WatKat vst VST Preferences The VST Preference page lets you manage your VST plug ins Directory This option lets you manually set the location of the VST folder that Torq uses When your click on the Browse button on the left side of the page a new widow will open which allows you to navigate to the location of the VST directory Once you have found it click on it and then click Open Mac or Ok Windows The loca tion of the VST directory will appear in the location line to the left the Browse button Scanning Once you have selected
209. the speed direction and position of playback In the case of Torq s tracking system the audio signal is comprised of two parts The pilot tone and the position stamps These two audio signals exist simultaneously on the record but in different frequency bands so they can be analyzed independently of one another Torq uses the pilot tone to determine two of the three values speed and direction The pilot tone itself is ac tually very simple It is a sine wave at a fixed frequency that plays throughout the entire duration of the re cord If you ve ever played with a record before you ll know that changing the speed of the record causes the pitch key of the music to change For example if you slow a record down the pitch of the music will drop Torq 2 0 User Guide 159 Appendix B Torq Vinyl Control System Conversely if you speed up a record the music will rise in pitch Torq uses this phenomenon to calculate play back speed by listening to the pitch of the pilot tone If the pitch drops that means that the record has been slowed down Torq then slows down the playback of the audio file by the same amount If the pitch goes up that means the record is spinning faster and Torq increases the playback rate of the music If Torq hears the pilot tone at its original pitch it means the record is playing at its normal speed 33 1 3 RPM thus Torq plays the song at its original speed By listening to the pitch of the pilot tone Torq can determ
210. then be used to quickly jump between the various QuickCue points Torq will save the locations of the five QuickCue points with each song so they will be available the next time you play the song Setting QuickCues There are a few different ways to set QuickCue Points e Click the Set button then click one of the four QuickCue buttons A QuickCue Point is set at the current location and visible in the Overview Waveform display This can be done while a Deck is playing or paused e Hold the Shift key while clicking one of the QuickCue buttons A QuickCue Point is set to the Now Line and is visible in the Overview Waveform display This can be done while a Deck is playing or paused CY If Quantize is switched on in Torq s Toolbar new QuickCue points will be aligned to the nearest 16th note in a song t If you try to assign a QuickCue to a button that is already set to a particular location the old QuickCue location will be overwritten in favor of the new one Torq 2 0 User Guide 43 Chapter 5 The Decks Playing QuickCues Once you ve set a couple QuickCue Points all you have to do is click on the desired QuickCue button and the Deck will immediately jump to that location and begin playing If you set your QuickCue Points at key posi tions within the song you can immediately jump to different sections on the fly such as jumping ahead to a chorus or back to the intro While a song is playing you can use CTRTL QuickCue Butt
211. tive Speed mode you can continue adjusting the tempo in increments of up to 8 at a time as described below Torq 2 0 User Guide 143 Chapter 14 External and MIDI Control To extend the range of a hardware Speed Slider 1 Set your hardware Speed Slider set to 0 2 Load a song onto a Deck switch it to External Control and start playing the song 3 Raise the or lower tempo by 8 and then click the External Control button on the Deck This releases the Deck from External Control 4 Reset the Speed Slider on your hardware to 0 and Click the External Control button on the Deck The Deck is now under External Control 5 Repeat steps 3 and 4 as needed using whatever values you want As you can see the effective range of the hardware speed slider has been expanded beyond the usual 8 range BPM Matching So how does one go about doing a DJ set with only one turntable It is a little different than doing it in Stan dard mode primarily due to the fact that you must use Torq s on screen Speed sliders to match tempos as op posed to using the pitch sliders on your turntable or CD player Try it out 1 Click Vinyl on a Deck and start the external control source 2 While the song is playing move the Deck s on screen Speed slider 3 Sure enough the playback speed of the song changes just as if you d moved the pitch slider on the actual turntable or CD player The reason for requiring the use of the on screen controls lies in th
212. to Beat Direct This mode is closer to the loop functions on some DJ CD players After you ve created your loop by pressing one of the QuickLoop buttons you can use the QuickLoop buttons to divide the loop length by their value For example pressing the 1 button will create a 1 bar loop If you then press 2 you will end up with a half bar 2 beat loop since 1 divided by 2 is 1 2 If you press the 4 button the loop will become 1 beat long 1 bar di vided by 4 equals 1 4 bar 1 beat If you then press 1 again the loop will return to its original length 1 di vided by 1 is 1 Another example Press 2 to capture a 2 beat loop Press 8 to reduce that loop to a 16th note in length 2 beats divided by 8 equals 1 4 a of beat or one 16th note Torq 2 0 User Guide 131 Chapter 12 Torq Preferences Loop Out Behavior This preference controls the accuracy of Loop Out Markers in relation to the position of the beginning of loop 16th Default With this option selected Torq will make sure that a Loop Out marker is set at a position that is quantized to the 16th note relative to the position of the Loop In marker In this mode you can create loops that are any number of 16th notes long For example you can create a loop that is 16 16th notes long 1 bar You could make a loop that is 2 bars 1 5 bars 0 5 bars 2 beats etc You can also make loops of odd lengths such as 15 16th notes long Loops like that will appear to fall out of sync becaus
213. top and open it by double clicking the icon then locate the installer icon and launch it by double clicking the icon 3 Choose your Setup Language click Next and follow the on screen instructions 4 When Torq is finished installing choose Finish 5 Close the installer screen 6 Install and connect your qualified hardware Refer to the documentation provided with your devices 7 Double click the Torq application icon to launch the program Macintosh OS X To install Torq on a Mac 1 Place the Torq disc in your CD DVD drive 2 Double click the Torq CD icon on your desktop This will display the contents of the CD 3 Double click the installer icon If you have purchased Torq as a download open the downloaded DMG file on your desktop by double click ing it then locate the installer and launch it by double clicking the icon 4 Follow the on screen instructions 5 When installation has completed select Close 6 A Torq icon will be placed in the Dock 7 Install and connect your qualified hardware Refer to the documentation provided with your devices 8 Click the icon to launch the program Torq 2 0 User Guide 4 Chapter 2 Software Installation Activation Once you have completed the software installation Torq must be activated and authorized using the Avid Ac tivation Tool This tool can also be used to activate Torq to run as a 30 day trial version A The 30 day trial period cannot be extended Torq must b
214. tton set to Insert mode This allows you to completely replace the original audio signal with the flanged version by turning this knob fully clockwise in order to emphasize the effect A The effect will still work in Send mode but it will be less pronounced Delay Rate Knob and LFO Button The function of the Flanger s Tweak knob is determined by the state of the LFO button e When the LFO button is off the Delay knob will then control the delay time of the Flanger When the knob is counterclockwise the Flange effect will be very tight As the knob is turned clockwise the effect will become more dramatic and metallic in nature e When the LFO button is on the Flanger will be in Automatic mode In this mode the delay time for the Flanger will be adjusted automatically The name of the Delay knob will change to Rate The knob will now determine the rate of the automatic adjustment Turning the knob clockwise will increase the mod ulation rate Torq 2 0 User Guide 86 Chapter 8 Effects 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 Some people describe this sound as a wind tunnel effect Enable Button This button will turn the ef
215. ue Point If a song is paused in a location different from the Cue Point pressing the Cue button will set the Cue Point to the current location If you hold Cue and press the Play Pause button the music will continue to play after you release both buttons Play Pause Play Pause Button Clicking the Play Pause button starts and stops playback CY When you pause the music the song will not return to the beginning it will stay in the same location as when you stopped it If you want to return to the beginning use the Seek buttons Torq 2 0 User Guide 42 Chapter 5 The Decks Markers Quantize Loop and QuickCue Points Button Quantize Loop and QuickCue Points Button Clicking the Quantize Loop and QuickCue Points button in the Torq Toolbar quantizes the position of Quick Cues and Loop Points see Loop on page 45 to the nearest 16th note You can also set this behavior as a default by changing the Quantize Cue and Loop Points setting in the Be havior Preferences to Yes see Quantize Cue and Loop Points on page 132 A Enabling Quantize does not change the positions of QuickCues or Loop points that are already set in a song It only controls the creation of new QuickCues and Loops QuickCue In addition to the primary Cue Point described above Torq allows you to set up to five QuickCue Points in a song that are assigned to the QuickCue buttons below the Overview Waveform display These buttons can
216. unacceptable for Torq to crash right in the middle of a gig because of a little VST plug in The music must keep playing at all times For that reason Torq has been designed with VST Crash Guard which is a system that will allow Torq to stay running even if an error should occur in the VST plug in causing it to crash If this occurs Torq will detect the crash and will quickly bypass the offending plug in to keep the music going When this happens you can either attempt to re load the plug in in hopes that it will reset and become functional again or you can remove the plug in and try another Either way Torq s got your back and will keep the music flowing Torq 2 0 User Guide 95 Chapter 8 Effects VST Preset Management Just as you can save the built in Effect Rack you can also save the settings for a VST plug in Some plug ins will manage their own presets from within the GUI In these cases you 1l need to consult the plug in s user manual to learn how to use the presets Other VST plug ins will rely on the host application Torq in this case to manage their presets In this case you ll need to use the Preset Management tools save and load that appear above the plug in GUI Torq 2 0 User Guide 96 Chapter 8 Effects Chapter 9 Sampler A sampler is a device that digitally records a sound which can be replayed at various pitches If you re into any kind of electronic dance music or hip hop you ve undoubtedly heard samplers in use
217. unch At any time during the 30 day trial period you can choose to purchase a copy of Torq and use the Activation tool to activate it by clicking the Licensing button in Torq If you choose not to purchase the software Torq will deactivate when the trial expires A Tfyou have a large number of VST plug ins installed on your computer the initial launch of Torq may take a couple of minutes while the application scans the VST folder Torq 2 0 User Guide 9 Chapter 2 Software Installation Deactivating Torq If you want to run Torq on another system you first must deactivate your software license before you can ac tivate it on a second system Deactivation occurs while Torq is running but the deactivation process automat ically saves all open bins and the current project Ay You must be connected to the Internet to deactivate your software To deactivate Torq 1 While the program is running click on the Preferences icon in the Toolbar at the top of the Torq interface Torq Preferences Icon 2 Click the Licensing button in the lower left of the Torq Preferences screen Preferences AUDIO AIL GENERAL Elastique Transient Internal HARDWARE Built in Output output 1 output 1 nput 1 input 1 input 2 Torq Preferences Torq 2 0 User Guide 10 Chapter 2 Software Installation 3 When the Deactivate screen appears click Next to complete the deactivation process Activated You may deactivate your license
218. use the usual methods of selecting multiple songs provided by your operating system 3 Righicchidk CTRL click on Mac on the song or any of the multiple songs that are highlighted 4 Choose Add to new crate from the pop up menu A Crate called New Crate is created containing the song or songs and its name will be highlighted allowing you to rename it Removing Songs from a Crate To remove songs from a Playlist 1 Right click CTRL click on Mac the song or multiple songs you wish to delete You can use the usual methods of selecting multiple songs provided by your operating system 2 Select Remove file s from the pop up menu 3 Torq will remove the song from the Crate but it will not be deleted from your computer Torq 2 0 User Guide 24 Chapter 4 Accessing Your Music Reordering Songs in a Crate The change the order in which your songs are appear in a Crate 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 Crate Deleting a Crate To delete a Create 1 Right click CTRL click on Mac on the Crate and choose Remove from the pop up menu 2 The Crate will be removed from the Crates list If the Crate you are deleting contains songs and also resides inside another Crate as a sub crate a dialog box will appear asking if you want to move the songs in the su
219. ve Hewitt Can t Stand in the Way of Love Let s Go Bang You ll see that as a result I d Rather Be Your Lover has been removed from the list A References to artists and bands is for informational purposes only and does not imply an endorsement or sponsorship of Avid by such artists or bands Song Preview Once you have located and clicked on a song in the File List it can be previewed within the browser by press ing the Preview button headphone icon on the left end of Browser search bar Pressing this button plays the song sending the audio signal through the PFL Headphone cue to your headphones Refer to PFL Headphone Cue on page 69 for more information about the PFL Headphone Cue Clear Button When you are done with your search and are ready to begin a new one press the Clear button This will clear the Search and Ignore fields as well as deselect any categories that had been previously selected Torq 2 0 User Guide 33 Chapter 4 Accessing Your Music Chapter 5 The Decks The Decks play the music that you load onto them to mix and effect using all the tools in Torq Traditionally a DJ s decks are turntables or CD players With this in mind the four Decks in Torq have been designed to em ulate turntables and CD players as well as offering a special hybrid mode only possible with software Each of the four Decks has various functions for controlling playback of the music in great detail This in cludes c
220. ve Mode Normal This is the default mode where Torq ignores the playback position of the Control Vinyl or Control CD In this instance only the direction and speed of the control source is monitored Absolute Rotation Angle Choosing this option automatically activates Absolute Rotation Angle mode whenever a deck is switched from Absolute mode to Relative mode by clicking the ABS button on a Torq Deck Refer to Absolute Rotation Angle ARA on page 142 for more information Relative Speed Mode These options determine whether or not Torq Decks are automatically switched to Relative Speed mode when they are under External Control Refer to Relative Speed Mode on page 143 for more information about how the Decks behave when set to Relative Mode Off This is the default setting in which the Decks are not automatically switched to Relative Speed mode when set to External Control Automatic This setting automatically switches the Decks to Relative Speed mode whenever they are under External Con trol Calibration The settings in this category configure each input pair of Torq for use with external control vinyl or CD s For vinyl control you can use the Torg Control Vinyl or some versions of the Ms Pinky control records Control Type Gen1 Gen2 Gen3 Torq Vinyl Torq CD This pop up menu allows you to set the vinyl or CD control source to use for each Deck To use the Torg Con trol Vinyl or Torq Control CD s
221. wed by the United View button This lets you quickly access the parameters for any effects slot and revert to United View In Two Deck mode this view change is achieved by clicking the FX or VST button followed by the United View button Triplet Mode Triplet Mode Button Clicking the Triplet mode button in the Torq Toolbar activates Triplet mode which adds a triplet based quan tize options to all time based effects parameters These options provide a higher degree of syncopation to the rhythmic quality of the effect by adding a triplet or shuffle feel Torq 2 0 User Guide 83 Chapter 8 Effects For example when using the Strobe effect see Strobe on page 89 the available quantize settings for the Rate parameter are 1 4 1 8 1 16 1 32 1 64 and 1 128 Pressing the Triplet Mode button changes the last five op tions to 1 8T 1 16T 1 32T 1 64T and 1 128T Built In Effects The following is an explanation of the 10 built in effects in Torq Delay Delay is the technical term for what the Delay effect does but you ll probably like to think of this effect as an echo Essentially the Delay effect listens to the incoming audio holds on to it for a predetermined amount of time then spits it back out When the Delay output is blended in with the audio it sounds like an echo Furthermore you can feed the Delay output back to its input again causing echoes of the echoes also known as Feedback DJ s typically use D
222. y the original audio signal will be heard no effect When the Amount knob is all the way to the right only the output of the effect will be heard thus becoming a full insert effect When the knob is at 12 o clock an even 50 50 mix of dry signal and wet effect will be created e When the Routing Button is set to Send the knob will act as an effect send amount When the Amount knob is all the way to the left the signal is not sent to the effect As you begin to rotate the Amount knob clockwise the signal is sent to the effect and you will begin to hear the results of the effect in your mix When used as a Send control turning the Amount know all the way to the right boosts the effect output making it louder than the dry source signal Routing Button When using effects there are basically two different configurations that can be used Insert and Send An In sert Effect is placed between the Deck and the Mixer The audio from the Deck can be fully processed and re placed by the effect Examples of effects that are typically used as inserts include Distortion Dual Filter Phaser Flanger Repeat Strobe and Reverse Routing Button Insert Mode A Send Effect blends the sound of the effect with the original music The effects that are typically used as Sends are Reverb and Delay When using these effects you typically want to add Reverb or add a Delay to the music that is already playing Therefore think of Insert Effects as replac
223. y transferring junk to your records Our Lady Pinky The Vinyl and CD Control System used in Torq is developed by Baby Talk FX LLC and is covered by US Patent 7 273 980 Baby Talk FX LLC has been bringing you digital vinyl realness since 2003 and would like to remind you that It may not be the real thing but at least you re playing with vinyl Enjoy Torq 2 0 User Guide 164 Appendix B Torq Vinyl Control System Appendix C Warranty Warranty Terms Avid 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 lim itations applying to your specific product Torq 2 0 User Guide 165 Appendix C Warranty
224. ynq Reference Seek Seek Buttons The Seek buttons are used to Fast forward or rewind through the song allowing you to find certain points or beats within the track from which you can start playing If you click briefly on the Forward or Backward buttons the music will jump only slightly in that direction If you click and hold one of these buttons Torq will scroll through the song and stop when you release the it To jump to either the beginning or end of the song hold the Shift key while clicking a Seek buttons Torq 2 0 User Guide 41 Chapter 5 The Decks Cue Cue Button 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 When a song is first loaded onto a Deck this Cue Point appears as a red line at the beginning of the song within the Waveform Display The Cue button works in the following manner e If you hold SHIFT and press Cue a Cue Point will be placed at the current location even if the song is al ready playing If a song is playing pressing the Cue button will make the song jump to the Cue Point and pause there If Cue is pressed and held again the music will begin playing from the Cue Point The music will stop playing when the Cue button is released and the song will jump back to the C

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