The Source Edit page is accessed by clicking the EDIT button on any of the Source sub-pages (A, B, C, or D). It allows access to some of Alchemy’s more specialised features.

On the left-hand side of the Source Edit page is a series of general controls.

• The A, B, C, and D buttons select a source for detailed editing. The illuminated button corresponds to the currently selected source.
• The EDIT button remains illuminated while the Source Edit page is in view. To exit this page and return to the current Source sub-page, click the EDIT button.
• Several controls from the current Source sub-page are accessible here as well:
  • The ON button toggles the source on (when lit) and off (when unlit).
  • The Source Content selection field identifies the current source data (e.g. a file you have imported); click this field for access to a pop-up menu with a variety of options for working with Source content and settings. (See the Source page for a description of each of these options.)
  • Additional controls let you adjust the Loop and Keytrack modes and toggle the Stereo setting. (Again, see the Source page for a description of each of these controls.)
• The lower left-hand side of the Source Edit page lets you configure a Source with multiple Zones, each with a particular key range and velocity range. (Multiple zones are created automatically whenever you load/import a multi-sample SFZ file.)
  • The Zone Name selection field displays the file name of the currently active zone. The active zone is the one whose range and warp-marker details are currently displayed and editable. To view and edit range and warp-marker details for a different zone, click the zone selection field and choose the desired file from the pop-up menu.
  • Root Key determines which MIDI note will cause the zone sample data to play at its original pitch.
  • Low Key and High Key set the boundaries of the key range across which the active zone will play. For example, if you set High Key to E4, then the active zone will not play in response to MIDI notes from F4 upwards.
  • Low Vel and High Vel set the boundaries of the velocity range across which the active zone will play. For example, if you set Low Vel to 64. then the active zone will not play in response to MIDI notes with velocities less than 64.

  Note: when the key and velocity ranges of multiple zones overlap the first zone matching they current note will take precedence; it is not possible for multiple samples to be triggered simultaneously within a single source.

• The Show Markers field determines which of the Warp Markers are superimposed on displays in the Main, Additive, and Spectral editors. You can choose to display ‘All’ markers, only the ‘Loop’ markers, or ‘None’.
• Choosing a value from the ‘Snap X‘ menu quantizes warp marker adjustments to the selected number of evenly spaced divisions in the editor view.

The right-hand side of the Source Edit page contains a window for detailed graphical editing of Source data. Buttons across the top give you a choice between three edit modes:

• MAIN — for working with the Source loop and warp markers. See below for details.
• ADDITIVE — for editing additive data or creating it from scratch. See the Additive Editor page for details.
• SPECTRAL — for editing spectral data or creating it from scratch. See the Spectral Editor page for details.

Using the Main Editor

Once audio data is loaded/imported into a Source, the Main Editor view provides an overview of the sound’s natural amplitude envelope. A series of warp markers is superimposed on this overview. Each marker is depicted by a vertical line with a labelled handle that you can click and drag. The Play Cursor scrolls across the display, tracking the progress of the most recently played note.

What do warp markers do?

When you Morph from a sound with a fast attack to one with a slow attack, using morph xy or time xy mode, Alchemy smoothly adjusts the attack time according to the morph position. Warp markers define the boundaries of each sound’s attack portion — and more generally, warp markers define the boundaries of a series of time-aligned segments when two or more sounds are morphed together. Furthermore, two of the warp markers define the loop start and loop end points of each sound.

Whenever you import additive, spectral, or granular data, Alchemy automatically sets warp markers at five positions: (1) the very start of the sound; (2) the end of the attack portion; (3) the loop start point; (4) the loop end point; (5) the very end of the sound.

Note that the effect of the loop start and end points depends on a Source’s Loop mode. See the Source page for more information on Loop modes.

• To move a warp marker, drag its handle. You can drag the loop start and loop end markers just like any other warp markers.

Note that you cannot position the loop start later than the loop end. However, it is possible to drag both the loop start and loop end markers to the same position, creating a ‘sustain’ point rather than an extended loop region.

• To insert a new warp marker, double-click at the desired position.
• To delete an existing warp marker, double-click its handle.

If you plan to experiment with the warp marker settings, it’s a good idea to Save (or Copy) the Source, using commands from the pop-up menu in the source content field at the top left of the editor page (next to the ON switch). That way if you’re not happy with the new settings you can restore the original ones by Loading the Saved source (or Pasting the Copied source).

A FILE pop-up menu, accessible from the FILE button directly above the editor view, offers commands to Mark 8 = slices, Mark 16 = slices, and Mark 32 = slices. Each of these creates the designated number of warp markers and positions them at equal intervals across the entire sound.

Warp marker tips

One common reason for working with warp markers is to adjust the loop start and loop end markers. This can be useful for any sound that you want to play in a looped fashion. See the description of Loop modes on the Source page for more details.

Adjusting the remaining warp markers has no effect on a single source. But if you are morphing between two or more sounds, these warp markers give you precise control over the time alignment of different portions of each sound.

• If your sounds are single notes, then the placement of the five default warp markers usually gives good results. But you may wish to experiment with the placement of marker 2, so that it’s at the point where it sounds like the end of the attack for each sound. This can produce a more convincing morph between sounds with contrasting attack qualities.
• If your sounds consist of multiple events — e.g. musical phrases, drum loops, a spoken sentence — you may find it useful to create additional warp markers. If you are morphing between two voices speaking the same sentence, placing a warp marker at the start of each word will help to preserve the integrity of each word during the morph. If you are morphing between musical phrases or drum loops with different ‘grooves’ or timing nuances, placing a warp marker on every beat, half beat, or quarter beat, will help to ensure a smoother morph. (The ‘Mark 8/16/32 = slices’ commands give you useful starting points.)