|
Creative AudioHQ: Sound Blaster Live! Value Sound Card User's Guide
Back to Contents Page
Creative AudioHQ: Sound Blaster Live! Value Sound Card User's Guide
Overview • Advanced Controls • SoundFont Control • Device Controls • Creative Keyboard • Sound Graph • Creative Mixer • Speaker Control • Environmental Audio Control
AudioHQ can be accessed from Creative Launcher or by opening the
Programs menu from the Windows taskbar-click the Start button, point to Programs, point to
Creative, point to Sound Blaster Live! Value, and then click AudioHQ. AudioHQ uses the
familiar Windows group to display the icon for each utility.
Figure 1. AudioHQ
control panel.
The AudioHQ interface has the standard look and feel of the Windows
Control Panel. It contains several control utilities that allow you to view, audition, or
set up the audio properties of one or more audio devices on your computer.
There are advanced controls which are hidden in AudioHQ. These
advanced controls are meant for advanced users. To turn on and see these advanced
controls, in the AudioHQ control panel, click on the Options menu and select Advanced.
If you turn on the advanced controls:
- two more icons will appear in the AudioHQ control panel for the
utilities Device Controls and Creative Mixer.
- advanced configurations options will appear in some utilities' applet
window.
Figure 2. AudioHQ
control panel with advanced controls enabled.
Creative SoundFont Control allows you to configure MIDI banks with
SoundFont files and instruments, as well as set the caching algorithm and space.
 |
NOTE: The Configure Instrument and Options tab will be
available only if the advanced controls are enabled. |
Configure a MIDI Bank
Figure 3.
Soundfont Control dialog box where you configure MIDI banks.
To configure a MIDI bank:
- In SoundFont Control, click the Configure Bank tab.
- In the Select Bank list, select the MIDI bank to configure.
- Click the Load button and load the SoundFont file you want to the
MIDI bank. The latest file loaded always appears at the top of the Bank Stack box. The top
of the stack is indicated by an arrow.
- To replace a SoundFont file, click the file and then click the
Replace button.
OR
Double-click the file, and select the replacement.
- To clear a bank from the stack, select the bank and then click the
Clear button. A variation bank can only be cleared by clearing its main bank.
- Repeat Steps 3, 4 or 5 as required.
By stacking a SoundFont file instead of replacing one with the
other, you may return to the original sounds or use the new selection.
You can "spot" hide particular instruments by loading one
or more SoundFont files on top of the original.
When you clear a SoundFont file, you remove the latest configuration
of the main bank and any variation banks, including the latest configuration of
instruments on the Configure Instrument tabbed page.
Configure an Instrument
Figure 4.
Soundfont Control dialog box where you configure instruments.
To configure an instrument:
- In the SoundFont dialog box, click the Configure Instrument tab
- In the Select Bank list, select the bank whose instruments you want
to configure. You can select any bank.
- In the Select Instrument list, select the instrument to configure.
In the Instrument Stack, you may see an instrument entry although you did not load an
instrument on this page. The instrument can be found in a bank loaded on the Configure
Bank tabbed page.
- Click the Load button and load a SoundFont or single-instrument (for
example, .WAV) file.
The last file loaded always appears at the top of the Instrument Stack with an arrow
pointing to it.
- To clear an instrument from the stack, select the instrument and then
click the Clear button.
- For faster processing of SoundFont files, the files are loaded into
memory. You need to set the maximum amount of cache memory your SoundFont files can
occupy, so that your system performance does not suffer from insufficient memory.
|
NOTE: Setting the maximum amount of cache memory for SoundFont
files does not mean setting aside or reserving the space. The space can still be used by
your computer or other files if needed. |
SoundFont Caching
Figure 5.
Soundfont Control dialog box where you configure other soundfont settings.
To specify the caching algorithm:
- On the Options tabbed page of the SoundFont Control dialog box,
select an algorithm from the SoundFont Cache list.
To set the amount of cache for SoundFont files:
- On the Options tabbed page of the SoundFont Control dialog box, move
the SoundFont Cache slider to set the amount of cache.
SoundFont Device
To change the SoundFont device
- On the Options tabbed page of the SoundFont dialog box, select the
new device from the SoundFont Device list.
Device Controls allows you to configure for audio playback the audio
devices that allow multiple simultaneous Wave playback sessions. For example, you can play
five Wave tracks at the same time and enjoy the sounds from them all.
Playback Sessions
Figure 6. Device
Controls dialog box where you configure Wave playback settings.
To set maximum simultaneous Wave playback sessions:
- On the Wave tabbed page, drag the Maximum Simultaneous Wave Playback
slider to the right to set a higher number of Wave playback sessions, or to the left to
set a lower number of simultaneous playback sessions.
Sound Device
Figure 7. Device
Controls dialog box where you select the sound device.
To select the sound device to configure:
- On the Options tabbed page, click the device you want to configure
from the Sound Device list. The device is immediately selected.
Creative Keyboard allows you to play musical notes on various
instruments much like a composer would play notes on a piano (or other instrument) while
creating or arranging music. To edit the sound, use Vienna SoundFont Studio or another
sound editor.
|
NOTE: The Options button on Creative
Keyboard will be available only if the advanced controls
are enabled. |
Figure 8. Creative Keyboard
options dialog box where you configure its settings.
MIDI Input
To select a MIDI input device:
- In the Select MIDI In box in the Options dialog box, click the
correct MIDI port.
- Click the OK button.
You can now use the external MIDI input device to test your sound
creation.
You can use external MIDI input devices to audition your MIDI banks
and instruments. First, connect a MIDI input device to your audio card and then select
that device in Creative Keyboard.
Test an Instrument
To test an instrument:
- In Creative Keyboard, click the bank and the instrument you want.
- Click the keys on the keyboard to test the sound. If you have an
external MIDI input device, you will probably find it easier to use it instead.
Tips
- To select multiple notes to play simultaneously, use your right mouse
button to click the keys—which will be marked by black dots.
- To release the keys, right-click them one by one, or click the All
Notes Off button for simultaneous release.
- To slide across the keyboard, drag the mouse.
- If the playback’s sustain is too long, click the All Notes Off
button.
To test instruments with MIDI controllers:
- In Creative Keyboard, click the MIDI controller you want to use.
- Specify a value in the Controller Value box or drag the slider to the
value.
- Click the keys on the keyboard to test the sound. If you have an
external MIDI input device, it may be easier to use.
If you do not like the effects on your instrument, click the Reset
Controllers button to set the MIDI controllers to their default values.
If the playback is sustained too long, click the All Notes Off
button.
To silence all MIDI sustain sounds:
- In Creative Keyboard, click the All Notes Off button. All the black
points on the keyboard are removed.
Creative Sound Graph complements the Record Control view of Creative
Mixer by giving a graphical view of the sounds mixed for recording.
There are three display modes:
- VU Display Mode
displays the playback signal levels of the left and right channels.
- Scope Display Mode
displays the amplitude-to-time relationship between the playback signals.
- Spectrum Display Mode
- Logarithmic spectrum displays the normal frequency spectrum of the
recording signal in logarithmic form, that is, non-linear. The frequency bands are 250 Hz,
375 Hz, 750 Hz, 1 kHz, 2 kHz, 3 kHz, 4 kHz, 6 kHz, 8 kHz, 10 kHz, 12 kHz, 14 kHz, 16 kHz,
and 18 kHz.
- Fine grain spectrum displays the normal frequency spectrum of the
recording signal linearly. Its range is 160 Hz to 12 kHz, with a frequency interval of
about 86 Hz, and is very detailed. (This mode is the fine grain version of the spikes
spectrum mode.)
- Spikes spectrum displays the normal frequency spectrum linearly. Its
range is 160 Hz to 12 kHz, with a frequency interval of about 86 Hz, and is very detailed.
(This mode is the spikes version of the fine grain spectrum mode.)
Double-click the center of Creative Sound Graph to switch to the
next display mode.
Click the buttons labeled 1, 2 or 3 on Creative Sound Graph to
switch to the Logarithmic Spectrum Mode, Spikes Spectrum Mode, or Fine Grain Spectrum
Mode, respectively.
Creative Mixer allows you to control, combine, and manipulate sound
from various audio sources. You can control the volume of an audio source while running
other Windows applications, and you can select and mix different audio sources during
playback and recording.
You can hide or unhide device panels by dragging the borders of the
Mixer left or right.
Figure 9. Creative Mixer
See the online help file for instructions in
- Basic tasks
- Customizing the view
- Mixing, Recording and Playback, especially on recording from a single
source, from multiple sources, "dry" and "wet" recordings. Learn what
the "What U Hear" device is all about!
Speaker Control allows you to specify your speaker output
configuration and the setup of audio source positions for the output. It provides you an
intuitive graphical interface to arrange the audio sources about you to get the panning
effects you want.
Figure 10. Speaker
Control dialog box where you configure speaker output.
To configure your speakers or headphones
- In the Speaker Configuration Output box on the Configuration tabbed
page, select the output device you will be using. For best results, select the entry that
corresponds to your actual output device.
- If you select Headphones, a Headphones icon (representing you)
appears at the bottom of the Preview box.
- If you select 2 Speakers, a sofa icon (representing you) appears at
the bottom of the Preview box, with the two speakers at the (front) upper corners of the
box.
- If you select 4 Speakers, a sofa icon (representing you) appears in
the center of the Preview box, with the four speakers at the corners of the box.
- For the selected output configuration, the last used setup appears in
the Setup box. A setup preset stores the relative positions of audio sources under the
selected speaker output configuration. You can have same-named setups across different
speaker output configurations the setups can have different settings from one another.
Select the setup you want.
- If you cannot get the setup that you want from the list, create your
own setup—use the current setup as the basis for change—or import a setup from a
file. To import, click the Import Setup button and then select the .SPS file you want.
- For headphones or 2-speaker configuration, you can place audio
sources anywhere along the top border of the Preview box. Try dragging the audio source
icon and hear the resulting panning effect.
- For a 4-speaker configuration, you can place the sources around you
as desired. As you place them further away from you, they sound softer.
- If you used a factory setup as a basis for your own revisions, save
the revised settings as a user-defined setup by typing a new name or the name of an
existing user-defined setup in the Setup box, and click the Save button. If you want to
share with your friends the setup you have created, export the setup (you must first save
it) into a file. To do so, click the Export Setup button. You can save using the
recommended name or rename as you like.
|
NOTE: An icon with a down-arrow on the lower-right
corner denotes an analog audio source, such as CD Audio, Line In, TAD, Auxiliary, and
Microphone. Right-click the icon to select the analog audio device to activate. |
|
NOTE: If you want to change environmental effects of
the sound, use the Environmental Audio Control applet to do so. |
|
NOTE: To adjust the volume of individual audio sources,
go to the Creative Mixer applet. |
Environmental Audio Control allows you to configure the EMU10K1
effects engine. It allows you to specify to a low level the components that make up the
audio elements that in turn make up an environment. An environment is the modeling of a
real-world experience. We have provided some entertainment, gaming and concert hall
environments to get you started with.
|
NOTE: The Source, MIDI and Options tab will be
available only if the advanced controls are enabled. |
Figure 11. Environmental Audio dialog box where you configure your
audio environment.
Learn from the online help how to:
- Configure master effects
- Add to or remove effects from an environment
- Specify the effect type
- Specify the degree or amount of the effect
- Edit an effect all the way down to its parameters or building blocks
- Configure source effects, that is, set the amount of the effects to
apply on an audio source.
- Configure MIDI playback effects
Back to Contents Page
|
