Apple's new loop format.

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Posted by bitshift at OSXaudio.
I've been poking around those innocuous-looking .aif files in the GarageBand loops folder, and I've realized something... these are FAR more than simple ACID-type files or REX2 (or pHATfiles) which simply store transient, tempo and key information.

It appears the Apple Loop file format can store the following

1. A rendered version of the loop (what's in the standard aiff file, and and the reason you can load it into any application that supports aif)

2. Transient, key, and tempo information. (like ACID, Rex2 and pHATfiles)

3. The midi information used to create the loop.

4. The EXS patch used to create the loop (including samples, it appears, but I'm not sure) (!)

5. A 'channel preset' with effects settings for processing the loop.

What's the practical application of this?

1. In GarageBand, if you drag one of these loops to an audio track, you get an audio-style waveform reminiscent of Logic's arrange with the added benefit of ACID-style time-stretching and pitch-scaling.

1. If you drag one of these loops to a MIDI track, you get the MIDI data used to create the loop (note that that midi track could be triggering a completely different instrument, allowing you to mix and match performance data with different sounds freely.) You could also quantize, change individual notes, etc.

2. If you drag one of these loops to an empty area in the arrange (i.e. where there is no track already) it will create a new track with the channel settings, sampler patch (aka 'software instrument' in GB) and midi data TO EXACTLY REPRODUCE THE LOOP. But with more flexibility than loop based soundware has EVER provided.

This is important: instead of 'slicing' up a rendered audio loop, these apple loops can be thought of as 'open source' loops -- you literally have the program material (sampler patch, performance data, and effect settings) the sound designer had when he created them! Also, because these are midi-based, they need not be drums, be ANY type of program material. (For example, the loop I used to try all this out was a pop ballad piano loop complete with chords and piano).

Forget ACID-style time stretching, this is the ultimate in flexibility for all types of loops. Imagine getting a drum loop and deciding it's too compressed. Simply turn it off. Or change the hat sound (or entire kits). Add to this the meta-tagging features of Apple Loops (the search engine is great, as anyone who has used Soundtrack can attest to).

While this puts an (unfruitful) end to a year plus of research and development for me (the death of MetaGroove™, I'm afraid), it's EXTRAORDINARILY exciting for me as a musician to see a platform vendor do something so right and so smart. While many of us scratched our head at the apparent anti-climax of Logic Pro 6, Apple slid a revolutionary new technology into their introductory audio application right under our very noses.

Mark my words. Apple Loops are big news.

Hats off to my colleagues at Apple. Brilliant.

Art

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This looks very interesting. I guess it’s a pretty safe bet that with GarageBand pre-installed on all new Macs (and lots of people buying iLife for their older ones – I know I will) we’ll be seeing a lot of new soundware in this format. There seems to be a pretty active GB community forming already with sites like www.macjams.com , www.icompositions.com and www.soniccat.com .

/Yoss

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aahhh - time to buy an emac, fxteleport and a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigg amd supercomputer to handle all the hits i'll make.

fortune, fame and blondes - here I come!

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mauseoleum wrote:aahhh - time to buy an emac, fxteleport and a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigg amd supercomputer to handle all the hits i'll make.

fortune, fame and blondes - here I come!
Who knows, maybe the old G4:s will be a hot commodity? :hihi:

Max, this would be a good time to bring out that OS X version of FXTeleport. 8)

/Yoss

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The thing is though, most of the metadata (sampler patch, effects) is only useful in GarageBand. Aside from that, it's either a plain midi loops, or a sliced audio loop with added key (pitch) information.

Forever,




Kim.

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Jeez wrote:The thing is though, most of the metadata (sampler patch, effects) is only useful in GarageBand. Aside from that, it's either a plain midi loops, or a sliced audio loop with added key (pitch) information.

Forever,




Kim.
True, until it becomes accepted as a standard. See REX for details.

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nuffink wrote:
Jeez wrote:The thing is though, most of the metadata (sampler patch, effects) is only useful in GarageBand. Aside from that, it's either a plain midi loops, or a sliced audio loop with added key (pitch) information.
True, until it becomes accepted as a standard. See REX for details.
I don't think so. the sampler patch and effects configuration is only useful if your host (eg GarageBand) has exactly the same effects and sampler patches as GarageBand, or the developers of the loop.

Forever,




Kim.

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I have a certain feeling that SonyPicturesFoundry Acid5 will be something totally beyond comprehension.

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Jeez wrote:I don't think so. the sampler patch and effects configuration is only useful if your host (eg GarageBand) has exactly the same effects and sampler patches as GarageBand, or the developers of the loop.
What's to stop other programs reading the patch data and implementing the appropriate instruments and effects? I'm thinking a suite of SynthEdit plugs with the appropriate parameters, ins and outs... As proof of concept, you'd just dummy the parameters, effects would be "copy" and instruments would be plain sine waves...

Unless the patch data is encrypted, then I can't see any technical obstacle to re-implementing it elsewhere. Which is what I think the earlier poster meant.

(Actually, SF2 is pretty much this: there's a specification for the samples, looping, layering and effects units - section 9.1 of the SF2 file format spec. The format is extensible, allowing new effects to be added but none have so far been adopted officially, as far as I know (just pan, reverb and chorus).)
Last edited by pljones on Sun Jan 25, 2004 11:37 am, edited 1 time in total.

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When companies make file formats for loops with embedded audio or proprietary/encrypted data, everyone loses.

Apple's loop format is great, if you have EXS developer access (?) and if it can put all this data in a separate info-type file apart from AIFF/WAVE data.

I for one will never re-purchase loop CDs because they are now offered in a new format.

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There's an SDK for AppleLoops here

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Unfortunately, you need to buy Soundtrack to convert all your existing Loops into those wonderful "Apple Loops"... which begs the question, why didn't they just combine Garage band and Soundtrack??? Hmmm...shameless greed? I'd say, and fear of hurting Logic sales... Funny, how a lot of discussions of Garage Band start out with: "I don't want to learn Logic, but I just want a simple program that I can record audio, and use virtual instruments with"... Add a few features to a Soundtrack/Garage Band app and Voila! ...Adios, Logic for most of the peeps out there??

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mauseoleum wrote:I have a certain feeling that SonyPicturesFoundry Acid5 will be something totally beyond comprehension.
in what way? i doubt they are going to do anything to the acid file format if thats what you mean

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I thought that one of the wiz-es who wrote acid was snapped up by apple and thus soundtrack was born. Now that apple also owns emagic...you'd think there would be some collaboration.

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nuffink wrote:There's an SDK for AppleLoops here
*cough* In Mac OS X diskimage binary format...

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