INTRODUCTION

SoundHack is a soundfile processing program for the Macintosh. It performs many utility and esoteric sound processing functions available nowhere else. These functions make SoundHack invaluable to computer musicians, sound effects designers, multimedia artists, webmasters and anyone else who enjoys working with sound.

Sound Processing

ï Time stretching or pitch shifting with the phase vocoder or varispeed.
ï Spatialize with the binaural filter.
ï Cross-synthesis between two soundfiles with soundfile convolution, ring modulation or spectral mutation.
ï Noise reduction, spectral expansion or compression with the spectral dynamics processor.
ï Separate transient and steady-state components with the spectral extractor.
ï Use your own spectral algorithm with spectral analysis/resynthesis and the spectral assistant example code.
ï Save sonograms of your soundfile in QuickTimeô movies or convert QuickTimeô movies into sound by sonographic analysis.

Utility Functions

ï Play almost any type of soundfile (including AU, AIFF and WAVE).
ï Record any size soundfile from the Macintosh sound input.
ï Import soundfiles from audio CDs.
ï Convert between different types of soundfiles with optional gain scaling and sample rate conversion.
ï Change values in the soundfile header (sample rate, number of channels, loop points and marker info).
ï Read and write Sound Designer II, Audio IFC, Audio IFF, BICSF (IRCAM), DSP Designer, QuickTime/AIFF, Microsoft WAVE (RIFF), NeXT .snd, Sun .au, ULaw, IMA4, TEXT and headerless (raw) soundfiles.
 

The rest of this document is a small tutorial (in progress) then a menu by menu description of SoundHack. Please write me if you have any problems or suggestions!

Tom Erbe
 
 

CONTENTS
 

Introduction  Contents  System Requirements  Shareware Info  On the Internet   New Features and Bug Fixes	Tutorial	File Menu  Record New...  Open...  Open Any...  Close  Close & Edit  Save a Copy...  Split Into Mono Files...  Play File  Import SND Resource...  Export SND Resource...  Import CD Track...  Quit
Edit Menu  Hack Menu  Header Change...  Loops & Markers...  Binaural Filter...  Convolution...	Gain Change...  Mutation...	Phase Vocoder...  Spectral Dynamics...
Varispeed...  Spectral Extractor... Spectral Analysis...  QT Coder  Normalize	Draw Function...  SoundFile Menu  Control Menu  Show Signal  Show Spectrum  Show Sonogram  Pause Process  Continue Process  Stop Process	Load Settings...  Save Settings...  Default Settings  Preferences...  Future Plans  History of Bug Fixes And Revisions  Bibliography  Acknowledgments

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

SoundHack requires System 7.0 to operate, Sound Manager 3.0 to playback soundfiles and Quicktime 2.0 to import CD audio tracks and read and write sonograms. It comes in 3 flavors to accommodate different hardware platforms.

SoundHack NF runs on all Macintoshes, albeit very slowly. This is the only version that will work on 68LC040 based Macintoshes.

SoundHack FPU runs on 680x0 Macintoshes with hardware floating point. The following 3 CPU/FPU configurations will work: 68020+68881, 68030+68882 and 68040. It will also run on FPUless Macintoshes (except 68LC040 machines) with John Neil's excellent SoftwareFPU floating point emulator. SoftwareFPU is available on most Macintosh software archives or from John Neil & Associates (johnneil@netcom.com).

SoundHack PPC runs on Power Macintoshes. It is available only to registered users. It is from 10 to 40 times faster than SoundHackNF.

SHAREWARE INFO

SoundHack is now freeware. Download it from http://www.soundhack.com. If you really like it, and want to show your appreciation, send something interesting to:

Tom Erbe
608 Carla Way
La Jolla, CA 92037

ON THE INTERNET

The current version of this documentation is located at http://www.soundhack.com/SndHckDoc/

There is a SoundHack mailing list. To join, send email to listproc@music.calarts.edu and include the text "subscribe SOUNDHACK Your Full Name" in the message body.

RELEASE 0.880: New Features

* The QT Coder, a sound to QuickTime Movie to sound convertor. Put your
sounds through After Effects, synthesize a graphic score. Turn your
home movie into a rhythm track.
* The varispeed function now maps correctly to the output file time.
* Playback enhancements: looping playback with control-space and a playback after processing option is added to the "Preferences" dialog.
* Loop & Marker features: WAVE loop and markers are now read and written, the
loop and marker dialog now uses sample numbers instead of time.
* The fast motorola PPC math library is built into this version.
* New read and write types:
SDII 24 & 32 bit linear
Sun/Next aLaw
AIFF-C aLaw, uLaw, 32-bit floating point, MACE3, MACE6 and IMA4
* New playback types:
aLaw and 32-bit floating point
* DrawFunction panel enhancements: a random function, a mean value can be
set and the function can be normalized.
* Increased sample rate conversion quality
* An even stranger autonaming function.
* A new splash screen with flashy messages.

Bug Fixes

+ AIFF uses the common chunk order
+ AIFF uses correct blocking and chunk boundaries
+ AIFF, AIFF-C and WAVE no longer overrun the end of the sound chunk (no end
of file click)
+ Large Kaiser windows don't crash program.
+ Playback returns to beginning after reaching end.
+ Very short soundfiles playback ok.
+ Lack of QuickTime doesn't crash PPC version.
+ Better memory conservation.
+ QuickTime files now contain proper Moov resource.