Maud Help

How do I ... ?
Create CD quality recordings.
Set recording options.
Select a track for recording.
Delete a track.
Merge two tracks.
Save as a wave file.
Save to edit later.
Open a project.
Play with effects.
Adjusting volume and Pan.
Save as a CAB file.
Add a drum track.
Use cut, copy, paste.
Control recording and playback.
Create a final mix.
Record a multimedia or CD track.
Create a Midi track.
Use SK1 Mode.

Creating CD quality recordings

You've come to the right place! Maud (multitrack audio) allows you to use your computer as a multitrack digital recording studio. You can record 16 bit samples at 44100Hz for a CD quality sound. All you need is a sound card, a microphone and all the ram in the free world. A 3 minute recording will require 96MB. Short songs are good! You can record up to 16 tracks which should be all you really need to create rich layered sounds. Remember this is digital. Tracks can be merged endlessly with NO loss of data!

Set Recording Options

Set the recording options by selecting File and then New. You can choose how much memory will be reserved for record, play and edit buffers. It is important to keep this option in line with what your computer can reasonably handle. The dialog will tell you exactly how much memory is required and how long you will be able to record. YES you have to select the length of the song BEFORE you start recording. This is to ensure no drop outs and prevent the disk drive from running while you record. If you select more than the installed RAM on your machine Maud WILL crash.

Selecting a Track

To select a track just click on the track drop down list on the menu button bar. You can add and delete tracks at any time with the buttons to the right of the dropdown. Name your tracks something meaningful as it will be saved with the project.

Deleting a Track

To delete all tracks just select File - > New. To delete the selected track click the X button next to the track selector.

Merging Tracks

To merge two tracks click Edit - > Select All then Edit - > Copy (or cut). Next select the track to merge to and click Edit - > Select All and then Edit - > Paste Special - > Merge. Having too many tracks will cause a delay when Maud attempts to mix the tracks for playback. To reduce this delay mix the tracks yourself and mute the originals. You can also merge a mix of all the tracks into a new track by selecting Track - > Clone - > All Tracks Merged. You have 16 tracks to work with so feel free to create as many of these temporary mixes as you like.

Saving a Wave

To save your masterpiece as a wave click File - > Save as. You will be asked to give the file a name and then click OK. You will probably want to do some more editing with a .wav editor before releasing it to the public. You can use a program as simple as Windows Sound Recorder to crop the file and save it with mp3 compression.
Before you save your project as a .wav you will want to make sure it has the right mix.

Saving for Editing

To save the project for editing in Maud click on File - > Save (as). These *.mau files contain project setting and track names not the actual wave data which is stored in .WAV files.

Open a Project

In Maud click on File - > Open to reopen a project for editing. Your project will be reopened and you can edit and resave the data with no loss.

Creating Effects

There are a number of built in effects that you can apply to your recording like echo and reverse that work as you would expect. Just highlight the area to be effected and click FX - > Delay - > Echo. Most effects use similar parameters like rate, depth, mix, pan and blend. Blend determines how quickly the effect is mixed with the original to create a smooth transition. If you are running the effect over the entire track blend will be ignored. Mix determines the relative volumes of the original and the effect. Pan determines the right/left position of the effect. You can add multiple effect techniques and save these lists of effects using an FX List. You create an FX List by clicking Tools -> FX List.
Effect FamilyEffectDescriptionInputs
AmpGain Gain increases or decreases the volume of the track. Gain=Volume Control
Cutoff=Maximum amplitude
Compression Compression limits the amplitude with an inverse log function. Compression=How much compression
Cutoff=Maximum amplitude
Distortion Distortion simulates an overloaded analog amplifier. Distortion=The volume level at which distortion occurs
Fade Fade either fades the sound in or out. Start Volume and End Volume
Fuzz Fuzz adds a randomness to the amplitude. Fuzz=Amount and amp level at which fuzz is added
Chorus2 & 3 Voices Chorus is created by adding a pitch shifting copy of the output. (Variable Delay) Flanging is created just like chorus only the rate is slower and the depth is broader. Rate=Speed of shift change
Depth=Maximum pitch change.
VibeAmplitude Vibrato produces an oscillating amplitude. Rate=Speed of oscillation
Depth=Amplitude decrease
Bounce Pan Bounce Pan oscillates the sound from right to left. Rate=Speed of oscillation
Depth=How far right and left.
Ring Ring is created by multiplying two waves. It can be a rather disturbing sound but it has its uses with distortion and creating metallic effects. Rate=Frequency of sin wave
FilterLo Pass The low pass filter removes the highest frequencies. Frequency=The highest frquency to let through.
Hi Pass The hipass filter removes the lowset frequencies. Frequency=The lowest frquency to let through.
Band Pass The band pass filter removes frequencies outside of a window. Lo=Lowest frequency to pass
Hi=Highest frequency to pass
Noise Reduction Schunk noise reduction is proprietary. The general algorithm is to decrease the high frequencies when the overall volume is low. Frequency=Highest frequncy to pass at low volume
Cutoff=Volume at which noise reduction kicks in
Blend=How quickly noice reduction stops and starts
DelayShift Shift is used to remove latency and to slightly delay the right of left channel to make it sound farther away. Shift=How far to shift the whole track (left is backwards thru time).
Pan=Which channel should sound farther away and by how much
Echo Echo is created by cycling the output back into the input with a significant delay. Rate=Length of delay
Sustain=How quickly the sound trails off
Resonate Resonate is created by cycling the output back into the input with multiple delays and band filters. Rate=Length of delay
Sustain=How quickly the sound trails off
Turntable Turntable is the effect of a DJ spinning a disk. Stop/Start=The position of the back spin
Depth=How close to a stop the spin comes
FFTPitch Smoothly changes the pitch of the sound. 3rd, 5th, 7th etc. note to convert to.
Bow Squares the magnitude of each frequency to highlight overtones. None
Equalizer A simple graphics equalizer with lo, mid and hi ranges. Lo=Volume at low frequencies, also Mid and Hi
Perfect Pitch Can't sing a lick? Perfect pitch will return your off key singing to the proper key. Minor, Major, Chromatic the scale to use
Key=Musical key of music
Tuning=Fine tuning adjustment
Digitize Removes all but the dominant frequency. Range=Band width of frequencies allowed through
Harmonics Adds harmonic frequencies. 3rd, 5th and 7th=Volume of each harmonic
Bass Boost Adds a frequency one octave lower. Volume=Amplitude of Low Octave
NoteReverse The reverse note effect tries to reverse each note played in place. Cutoff=Volume at which notes are considered ON/OFF
Wah Wah transistions each note played from low EQ to high EQ. Rate=frequency cutoff between low and hi
Cutoff=Volume at which notes are considered ON/OFF
Blend=The rate the tone changes from lo to high.
Fade Fades each note in or out. Start and End Volume
Reflect Reverse each note so that it stops where it used to start. (Reflected in time.)
Cutoff=Volume at which notes are considered ON/OFF
Pitch Change the pitch of each note. 3rd,5th,7th etc.
Cutoff=Volume at which notes are considered ON/OFF
MiscPitch Harmonics are created by adding a copy which is pitch shifted up or down. 3rd, 5th, 7th etc
Mirror The right and left channels are switched. None
Negate The right and left channels are subtracted from each other. None
Reverse The samples are reversed. None
Monotonize The right and left channels are combined so that both channels are exactly the same. Input Pan=Which channel (or both) to use as input

Volume and Pan

The Volume and Pan sliders adjust the volumes of the right and left channels of each track. These settings only effect playback and the final mix for playback and exporting to a wave. They do not effect recording. To set the recording volume use the windows mixer which is accessable from the Tools menu.

Using Cut, Copy, Paste

Maud uses cut, copy and paste functions that are not compatible with other applications. You can copy to and paste from files if you need to use another sound file editor. Maud has an Undo which can be used to undo all edits from the last save. It is important to understand when Maud saves edits. Whenever you change tracks or record your edits will automatically be saved. Make sure you undo before changing tracks or recording.

Control recording and playback

Highlight an area of the track by clicking the graph, dragging and releasing the mouse and press the play or record button. This section of all the previously recorded tracks will be mixed and will start playing. Press the stop button or allow the playback/recording to continue until the end of the selection. If you don't like what you have recorded simply click the Undo button. To prevent accidentally recording over your precious tracks you must first check the Arm checkbox to enable the record button. Maud can be set to record over existing audio or it can over dub (merge) the new recording with the previous one. Just check the Merge checkbox for this option.

Advanced Tools (The Tool Menu)

Some home studio tools require a different user interface or are already included in Windows. These tools can be access from the Tools menu and include: FX Lists, Drum Machine, Mix Master, Rip MCI, SK1 Mode, TTS Mode, Audio Mixer and Midi Sequencer.

Adding a drum track

You may not have a drum kit or any natural rhythm but don't dispare. Maud can add a drum track using the drum sounds of your default MIDI out device. Click on Tools -> Drum Machine. Select a drum sound and set the volume for this sound at any beat in the measure. Create up to 8 drum measures and then create a pattern of these measures by typing the measure numbers in the song pattern text box. When you return to Maud and check the Drum checkbox these drums will start automatically when recording begins. Once the drums have been recorded remember to uncheck this box.

Create a final mix

To tweak the final mix you will not want to have to switch between each track to set the volume and pan so click on Tools -> Master. You will be allowed to set all the track volumes and right left pan.

Record a multimedia or CD track

Why start creating from scratch when you can steal from others? Use the Tools -> Rip MCI function to start recording any Multimedia file with sound or any track of a CD.

SK1 Mode

SK1 Mode is named after the wonderful Casio SK1 keyboards of yester-year. SK1 Mode will start playback and read MIDI data from a MIDI input device. It will then substitute the notes played with the contents of the clipboard as a digitized middle C note. So if you want to record your cat singing the national anthem first record it singing a middle C and copy this to the Maud clipboard. Then plug in a Midi input device and click Tools -> SK1 Mode. Play the national anthem on the Midi device. When finished the notes you played will be replaced by the sampled sound of your cat. SK1 Mode supports note on velocities. All other Midi events are ignored.

TTS Mode

TTS Mode abuses Windows Text to Speech capabilities by forcing Mike or Mary to sing. You can enter any text then similar to SK1 Mode you play any Midi input device and the speech will be 'sung' to the tune you played. This is helpful if you don't have a cat that can sing middle C.

Using the Windows Audio Mixer

You can access the Audio Mixer by selecting Tools - > Audio Mixer. The mixer is an important tool when recording as it selects the input and output devices. Here are some typical examples:
Recording with a microphone: Plug the microphone in the mic jack and select Microphone as the input under Recording Options and choose an appropriate recording level. To get to the recording options select Options - > Properties - > Recording. To hear what is being recorded make sure the microphone is not muted and the volume is turned up under Playback Options.
Recording an electric guitar or keyboard: Plug the instrument into the Line In jack and select Line In as the input.
Recording a Drum track: When you use Maud to create a drum track it is played back as MIDI. Select Stereo Mix as the input and make sure Wave Synth is set to playback.
Ripping: Maud can record any noise your computer speakers make by selecting Stereo Mix as the input. Be advised to mute any audio devices you don't want recorded to avoid the dog barking over the CD track.

Create a Midi track

There are many free Midi sequencers that you can use to create/edit Midi tracks. Our favorite is MidiMe by Roughfish World Software! You can set up Maud to launch a Midi Sequencer from Tools -> Midi Sequencer. Click on Tools -> Options to set the path to this external application. Once you create a track use the Rip MCI function to record it as a wave.

For more information, updates, help or suggestions you can contact the author at schuna1@hotmail.com