Recording Software Focus: Twisted Wave Tune Up Tricks

One of the more interesting things which popped up in the recent Twisted Wave “Desired Features” survey was that a number of those responding asked for “Punch & Roll” recording. That has actually been a core function within Twisted Wave for several years now, and there were a few other functionality requests that already live happily in the menus. Those requests for existing tools reminded me how we never completely “learn” any computer application. We know how to use the tools we frequently reach for, but seldom venture from established pathways.

Why should we do things differently? Once up and running in a logical and direct recording environment such as Twisted Wave, stuff just works. There aren’t a lot of extra distractions or variables to deal with. This keeps us focused on the choices made behind the microphone. That’s one of the key reasons I prefer the powerful simplicity of Twisted Wave.

But the “unused” can become “unknown.” I just want to highlight a few quick tune-up tweaks which I recommend when setting up the application.

Twisted Wave Tune Up Trick #1 – Strip the Toolbar

The “Toolbar” in Twisted Wave runs along the top of the screen and has lots of icons and buttons. It’s been so long since I’ve used the original Toolbar layout in Twisted Wave that it always shocks me slightly when helping someone install the application for the first time. It’s certainly reassuring to see all of the Zooming controls and Undo/Redo icons on screen, and there’s a nifty volume control slider right there at the top.

But, the zooming controls are exceptionally intuitive with a mouse or trackpad. It’s easy to increase detail, slide along the timeline, and access key points in your audio. This means most users won’t ever reach up with their controller and tap on the specific controls. Speaking of controls, what are the Play/Record buttons doing way over to the left? Wouldn’t they be more useful right in the center of the Toolbar? How about that volume control slider? If you have an interface connected to your computer, there’s a headphone volume button right on the device. The most common fix to a “where did my sound go?” situation is to simply bring the playback slider up to “0” once again.

All of this can be easily changed by right-clicking or control-clicking (holding down the “control” button while clicking) in the Toolbar area. This will reveal a floating menu giving you the option to “Customize Toolbar”. You can then just drag and reposition all of those elements so they are in a more useful location. As you can see by the image at the top of this email, I keep mine very minimal.

Twisted Wave Tune Up Trick #2 – Activate “Zooming centered on mouse”

Twisted Wave easily zooms in for more detail, or out for more of an overview of your audio file. This is as simple as a two-fingered drag on a trackpad, or a single movement on a magic mouse or mouse scroll wheel. The default zoom-in behavior centers on the Play/Record cursor (the vertical green or yellow bar which appears in the audio window). That can be good…if that’s where you want to go. But, that behavior often pushes the area we are interested in off the edge of the viewing screen.

I much prefer activating the option to have the zooming center on the exact spot where I’ve positioned the “pointer” using the mouse or trackpad. In the current version of Twisted Wave, the “pointer” is an “I” shaped insert cursor, the thing that moves onscreen when you move your mouse or trackpad.

To activate this behavior, go to the Twisted Wave menu at the top left of your screen, and select “Settings”. When the Settings window opens, select the “Editing” tab at the top. You should then see a checkbox to turn on “Zooming centered on mouse.” Then click “OK” to save that setting.

Twisted Wave Tune Up Trick #3 – Keyboard Shortcuts on Effects

Twisted Wave becomes even more powerful when using third-party plug-ins. Tools like Waves Clarity Vx, or Izotope RX’s Mouth Declick tools, are often an essential aspect of many voice actors’ workflows. However, those plug-ins tend to be nested first on the Effects menu, then through “Audio Units & VST” choice, finally through the plug-in manufacturer. It can be kind of a drag to mouse your way down to that particular item (though there is a dynamic “Recent Effects” menu which is closer and shows the last 10 Effects you’ve used).

I’ve written in detail about using keyboard shortcuts to speed up workflow, but one thing to keep in mind is that any command that shows up on a Twisted Wave menu can be assigned to a keystroke. If the RX Mouth Declick tool is three layers down, then you can simply add a keystroke to open it without having to reach for the mouse. This also means once you create a processing Stack (which is a combination of several Effects), you can add a keyboard shortcut for that as well. One hack I’ve implemented is to switch between Audio Output devices. Through a quick Option-1 or Option-2 on the keyboard, I can direct my Twisted Wave playback to my SSL2+ interface or out to a Zoom Session so a client can hear it.

The “Edit Keyboard Shortcuts” tool lives under the “Edit” menu. It will let you assign specific keystrokes to any menu item that appears in Twisted Wave. (You can actually see the keyboard shortcut I use for Mouth Declick in the image above). 

Though Twisted Wave presents in a very easy-to-understand manner, there are powerful tools residing in the menus. In my beginning and advanced Twisted Wave workshops, we cover many of these in detail. As I documented with the Speech Recognition tool, it’s always worth considering whether there’s a tool for that.

Wondering if your audio quality meets professional standards? For a free review of your vocal recordings, please use the upload tool on my Audio Review page.

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