n-Track Studio Pro for Android

Started by Elantric, June 05, 2014, 05:44:25 PM

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Elantric

n-Track Studio for Android
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ntrack.studio.pro








n-Track Studio is an audio and MIDI multitrack recorder that turns your device into a full-fledged recording studio. Record and playback a virtually unlimited number of tracks, mix them during playback and add effects. Create MIDI tracks using the built-in General MIDI synth. Edit, cut, copy and paste, zoom and drag MIDI and audio parts.
All the audio tracks are saved as standard wave files and mixed "on the fly" during playback.
Once you are satisfied with the recording you can send it by email with a touch of the finger. Or you can mixdown the recorded song in standard .wav or compressed format which you can later open with any 3rd party audio application or use to create an audio CD. You can also export the song in multitrack .sng format and open it with the desktop (Mac and Windows) or iOS version of n-Track.
How it works
• Record a base track (i.e. rhythm guitar) with the built-in mic (activate the metronome if you need it)
• Plug a standard headphone, record a solo or vocal track while listening to the rhythm track
• Press play to listen to the multitrack recording, use the mixer to adjust levels, pan, apply EQ etc.
• Email the recording directly from your device
Main features
• Unlimited tracks (the max number of tracks depends only on the device capabilities)
• Use USB Audio devices*
• 8 effects pack: Reverb, Echo, Chorus+Flanger, Tremolo, Pitch Shift, Phaser, Tube-Amp and Compression effects can be added to any track and master channel.
• MIDI tracks with built-in General MIDI synth
• MIDI piano-roll editing
• Record 4 or more input channels (on compatible USB Audio devices) *
• Record in 24 bit quality (on compatible 24 bit USB Audio devices, built-in Android audio is 16 bits) *
• Play using an external USB MIDI keyboard
• EQ with Spectrum analyzer, Sonogram and Tuner
• Import existing wave songs and clips
• Automate track volumes using volume envelopes
• n-Track is available for Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Exchange and share your projects on all your desktop and mobile devices
Notes on audio latency:
• latency for audio monitoring (i.e. hearing through headphones the n-Track's audio output as well as the instrument input) & live processing is sufficiently on Android 4.2 and later and on devices which support audio fast-path (including all Nexus devices).
• with all other devices audio has very high latency, so input monitoring & live processing isn't practical, you should use instead an external mixer
• when using USB Audio* the audio latency can be typically made so small to be unhearable, much smaller than with the Android built-in audio
Audio latency never affects the sync of recorded tracks, may only be a problem for input monitoring & live input processing.

Notes:
* USB Audio is available on compatible Android and USB devices. Please see the USB compatibility chart: http://goo.gl/R7l3Yb[/i]

Elantric

#1


 


Installing

You can find and install n-Track Studio for Android on Google Play
Using n-Track

Calibrating recording latency

The first thing the app asks you when first started is to calibrate the audio latency. n-Track needs to do this to determine how to compensate for the inherent audio latency in the Android audio system. Make sure you let the app perform the latency calibration in a quiet room, without an headset plugged in and with the device volume turned all the way up.
If you notice a lack of sync between existing and newly recorded tracks please try repeating the latency calibration by selecting the Recording latency compensation button in the Hammer button -> Audio Settings box.

Recording audio

You can start recording simply pressing the record button. n-Track will normally record from the device builtin microphone or from the headset mic (if a headset is connected).
Press stop once you've finished recording. Click record again to start recording your second track while you hear the first track. It is usually useful to use a standard set of headphones (without the mic, i.e. not the standard headset) so that you can hear on the headphones the track(s) that you have already recorded and record with the device builtin mic the new track, without re-recording the tracks that are being played.
You can make adjustments to the tracks settings (volume, pan) by clicking on the mixer icon ios mixer button. When the mixer pane is open you can tap on a track and the mixer will show the settings for that track.
You can show the mixer settings for the master channel (i.e. the channel that all tracks are sent to, any change in the master channel will affect all tracks) by tapping on an empty area in the tracks view, i.e. below all the tracks waveforms.
You can add effects to any track or master channel by clicking on the Add efx sign in the black list box in the lower part of the mixer pane. n-Track currently includes Reverb, Compression, Tube Simulator, Pitch Shift, Echo, Tremolo and Chorus effects.
You can also apply EQ by clicking on the EQ/Spectrum button in the tab bar at the bottom of the screen. The EQ settings will be applied to the track that is currently selected.
Press the Hammer button ios settings to open the main n-Track commands menu. Select Browse/Import to import tracks. In the browser view swipe left to right then click Delete to delete audio files.


Input Monitoring & audio latency

Audio monitoring on n-Track for Android has currently a noticeable latency. This is currently a limitation of the Android audio subsystem. The latency doesn't affect the sync of recorded tracks, it may however make recording the recording process difficult because you may have trouble playing or singing while hearing what you play or sing on the headphones with a noticeable delay.

If you use n-Track to monitor the audio you want to record (i.e. from the builtin mic, an external mic or an instrument connected to your device via an adapter), you'll hear what you are playing with an usually noticeable latency. With some devices (typically Nexus phones and tablets using Android 4.2 or later) the latency is not too high, while on some other devices it may be of the order of one second. Consequently it is usually best to use an external device (i.e. a small analog mixer) to monitor the signal you're recording, and set n-Track to not monitor the input signal. This way you won't hear the input latency and it will also not affect the sync of the recorded tracks.

Setting which track to record to

By default n-Track records to the track you've last tapped on. When you have many tracks and/or input channels it's useful to use the Rec-Arm button Arm track buttonto set which track will be recorded from which input channel. When a track is armed for recording the Rec-Arm button will turn red Rec Arm button (active)
When you want to record to a new track, select the Hammer button, then Add new track, then tap on the new track to select it, then tap on the Rec-Arm button and select the input where you want to record from.

Restarting from scratch

To start a new song press the hammer button the select Close Song to close the current song and start a new one.

USB Audio

USB audio is included in n-Track Studio Pro and available as in-app purchase in n-Track Studio standard.
n-Track Studio support external USB audio devices. Since the support for USB audio is not built into the Android audio system and n-Track directly accesses the audio devices, USB audio may not work on all Android devices + USB devices combinations.
See below for a compatibility matrix that shows the devices we've tested.
Enabling USB audio

After you've connected the USB audio device to the Android device, launch n-Track, click on the Hammer button ios settings, then select the Audio settings command, click on the Select Audio driver option and select USB audio.

Android USB settings

A box may popup asking to give permission to n-Track to access the USB device:

Android USB permission

Connecting the USB device

Unless your USB device has a built-in microUSB port (some recent devices do have one) you'll typically need an adapter cable. Most Android devices use a microUSB connector, so you'll need a cable with a microUSB male connector and a female regular USB connector.
Some USB devices work well with the Android device power. Some other devices need more power and can only work when connected using either a powered USB hub or a microUSB splitter cable.
The splitter cable is very inexpensive and can be easily found for example on Ebay, searching for "microUSB OTG splitter".

microUSB OTG cable   microUSB OTG splitter cable
Android OTG MicroUSB to USB cable   Android Y MicroUSB to USB adapter


Using multichannel audio devices

When using multichannel USB audio devices you can record as many audio channels as the audio device allows.
After connecting a multichannel USB device n-Track will by default   start using only 2 inputs and 2 outputs. To use more channels change the Max Inputs and Max Outputs settings in the Audio Settings box.
Note that not all devices might be able to handle many input and/or output channels. The more channels you enable the more workload the device must handle. If when you increase the number of channels you hear that the audio starts clicking try to increase the buffering settings in the Audio settings box. See the USB compatibility chart below with notes on recommended buffering settings for specific audio devices.
24 bit recording

n-Track automatically detects wether the audio device in use has 24 bit recording capabilities. If that's the case the recorded audio files that n-Track generate will use the 24 bit audio format. 24 bit recording currently works only on external USB
audio devices, the Android built-in audio device is 16 bits only.


Editing

You can perform most common audio editing tasks such as copying, cutting and pasting portions of tracks. The gestures that you perform on the main tracks view have different actions based on the current editing mode:
   Pan & zoom. Double tap to view all song
move button   Drag tracks
ios edit button   Select & edit. Tap and drag to select, then use the Copy, Cut & Paste commands

Working with MIDI

n-Track Studio lets you record and edit MIDI track and play them via the built-in MIDI synth.
MIDI tracks, instruments and MIDI keyboard

Press the MIDI keyboard button Arm track button to open the on-screen MIDI keyboard
If the song doesn't yet contain any MIDI track, a new MIDI track and an instrument channel will be created.
MIDI tracks contain the sequence of MIDI notes. Instrument channels are where the actual audio from the MIDI notes is generated. Multiple MIDI tracks can send their output to a single instrument channel.
If you want to add a new instrument channel select a MIDI track output channel selection button Arm track button and select New Instrument.
When you add a new MIDI track by default it continues to use the same instrument used by the previous MIDI track. If you want the new MIDI track to have a different sound, you can add a new instrument clicking on the track output name
button in the left side of the track, then select New instrument from the popup menu. Now click the button again to select which sound will the new instrument use. The list of sounds appears below the New instrument command, you can select Drums kit or any melodic instrument below.
You can view all the instrument channels in the song by pressing the small right arrow in the upper left part of the screen, then add a checkmark for Show Instruments. The instrument channels will appear below the tracks. You can change volume, pan settings for the instrument channels, draw volume envelopes etc.
USB MIDI

n-Track allows you to connect a MIDI keyboard or controller. While compatibility with USB audio devices is not always guaranteed all of the USB MIDI devices we've tested work correctly with n-Track on an Android device.
For info on how to physically connect the MIDI device please see the USB connection instructions for USB audio.
Recording a MIDI track

Add a new MIDI track, click on the Rec-arm Arm track button button, select Arm Recording, then press the main record button
You can now play with the onscreen keyboard or with an external MIDI keyboard connected to your device.
Editing MIDI tracks

You can edit a MIDI track in the Piano Roll window by double tapping on the MIDI track waveform, i.e. the box that shows the MIDI notes. By default it's a small box with no notes on the left side of the track.
The Piano Roll has 3 editing modes:
add new notes
move around the Piano Roll
select groups of notes to erase

USB Audio compatibility chart

Below is a list of the Android devices & USB audio devices we've tested.
Note: If a device doesn't appear in the lst below it doesn't mean that it doesn't work, it simply means that we haven't had the chance to test it.
If you have an Android device + USB audio device combination that doesn't appear here please send us a short message using the Report Issue command telling us if the device works or not and we'll add it to the list.
Green means that the USB device works with the Android device above. Red means that the Android & USB devices don't work well together. We're interested in knowing if your device configuration works or not, when you try an USB device please report wether it works or not using the Report Issue command.

Nexus 5
   Generic USB stereo in/stereo out audio device   
   Griffin iMic   
   RME Babyface (10 inputs / 10 outputs)   Buffering: 4 x 220 samples
   Focusrite Scarlett (12 inputs / 18 outputs)   
   M-Audio Fast Track   
   M-Audio Mobile Pre   
   C-Media USB PnP   


Galaxy Nexus
   Generic USB stereo in/stereo out audio device   
   Griffin iMic   
   M-Audio Fast Track   
   M-Audio Mobile Pre   44100 hz only
   C-Media USB PnP   
   RME Babyface   
   Focusrite Scarlett   


Galaxy S3
   Generic USB stereo in/ stereo out audio device   
   Griffin iMic   
   M-Audio Fast Track   
   M-Audio Mobile Pre   
   C-Media USB PnP (kernel driver conflicts with n-Track's one)   


No compatibile devices
   Galaxy Tab 7 2.0 (faulty USB Android kernel)   
   Galaxy S4 (faulty USB Android permission prompt)   
   LG X4 HD (no Android USB support)   
   Samsung Galaxy S2 (no Android USB support)




More n-Track videos here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrxe7ao7UYXq1dFVIdSQwQA/videos

tomtheguitarguy

Quote from: Elantric on June 05, 2014, 05:46:07 PM


 

Input Monitoring & audio latency

Audio monitoring on n-Track for Android has currently a noticeable latency. This is currently a limitation of the Android audio subsystem. The latency doesn't affect the sync of recorded tracks, it may however make recording the recording process difficult because you may have trouble playing or singing while hearing what you play or sing on the headphones with a noticeable delay.

If you use n-Track to monitor the audio you want to record (i.e. from the builtin mic, an external mic or an instrument connected to your device via an adapter), you'll hear what you are playing with an usually noticeable latency. With some devices (typically Nexus phones and tablets using Android 4.2 or later) the latency is not too high, while on some other devices it may be of the order of one second. Consequently it is usually best to use an external device (i.e. a small analog mixer) to monitor the signal you're recording, and set n-Track to not monitor the input signal. This way you won't hear the input latency and it will also not affect the sync of the recorded tracks.


This is still my biggest issue with Android...  Can't understand why in this "day and age" we still have this latency - especially given the competitive nature of Android vs. iOS . . .
http://www.tomtheguitarguy.com ~ http://www.tomcatsband.com
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Elantric

#3
QuoteCan't understand why in this "day and age" we still have this latency - especially given the competitive nature of Android vs. iOS . . .

It boils down to a conflict of style  - Google and Apple have different agendas from the top > down.  Apple places higher importance on creating and growing a hardware / software environment that serves creative content creation - with resulting sales. The Beats Audio acquisition was mostly to bring Jimmie Iovine and Dr Dre on board as Apple employees


Google is more concerned with the revenue stream from targeted ads  - which generate highest revenue to its shareholders.

"Android Low Latency Audio" is a bit like "military intelligence"  - both classic oxymorons 

Acceptable audio performance on Android is the result of the huge efforts from several third parties,

more here:
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=7977.0;nowap 

Elantric




admin

https://ntrack.com/android-multitrack-studio.php

New in 9.4
• New DEnoiser effect
• New Gain effect with stereo width and phase inversion
• New in the Step Sequencer:
    • Individual steps can now be moved and changed in length
    • Humanize button moves steps by random amount

New in 9.3
• Add editable MIDI loops from the loops browser
• MIDI loop packs including Chords and Progressions, Drum Styles, Piano

If you have comments or suggestions, please use the Report Problem command in the Settings box

admin