Technique: Sony Sound Forge Tips and Tricks

Get the most out of this rock-solid digital audio editor

By Craig Anderton

Sony Sound Forge has been around for a long time, and there’s a reason: It does the job and then some, thanks to a clean user interface and a wealth of features. However, it also has lots of shortcuts and other ways to get more out of the program; following are some of my favorites.

CHANGE TIMELINE CALIBRATIONS

Right-click in the timeline or the Length selection time field the file window’s low right. Choose the calibration from the context-sensitive menu.

CUT PREVIEW

Select what you want to cut. Type Ctrl-K to initiate a pre-roll before the cut and a post-roll after the cut (you won’t hear the selection itself). To change pre-roll or post-roll times, go Options > Preferences > Previews and change the values under Cut Preview Configuration.

CREATE A FAVORITE COLLECTION OF PLUG-INS

Go FX Favorites > Organize. Click on folders in the left pane to show the included plug-ins in the right pane. Drag plug-ins from the right pane into the FX Favorites folder. Adding to the FX Favorites folder does not remove the plug-in from its source folder.

CUSTOMIZE TOOLBARS

Go Options > Preferences > Toolbars and click on the toolbar you want to customize. Click on the Customize button. Click on a tool in the left pane, then click on Add; this adds the desired tool to the toolbar. To remove a tool from the toolbar, click on the tool in the right pane and click on Remove.

SET UP CUSTOM VIEWS

Go Options > Preferences > Toolbars and enable the Views toolbar. Make the file exactly the way you want to see it, with the desired zoom and selection. In the Views toolbar, click on Set then click a number that will correspond to the view. You can create up to 8 views. Click on the number in the toolbar to jump immediately to that view.

CONVERT CHANNELS, SAMPLE RATE, OR BIT DEPTH

The lower right of the main Sound Forge window shows fields for sample rate, bit resolution, and channel configuration (mono/stereo/surround/etc.). Right-click on any of these to bring up a corresponding context menu, then change the parameter. Or, go View > File Properties, and make your changes there. Note: To add dithering or noise shaping when decreasing bit depth, go Process > Bit-Depth Converter instead. For more control over channel conversion, go Process > Channel Converter.

SCRUB AUDIO

The scrub tool is in a file window’s lower bar, just to the right of the mini-transport controls. Drag left or right to scrub. Or, use the keyboard letters J (reverse), K (pause), or L (forward).

LOCATE AUDIO EVENT

This is similar to scrubbing, but lets you jump to anywhere in a file and play back a section of audio at normal speed. Click and drag in the Overview bar just below the file header. When you stop dragging, a selection of audio plays back and loops as long as the mouse button remains held down. Edit the audio selection duration by going Options > Preferences > Previews and set the Loop Time parameter under Audio Event Locator.

QUICK ZOOMING SHORTCUT

To zoom in, press the keyboard’s Up Arrow key. Each press zooms in further. Press and hold to zoom in continuously. Use the Down Arrow key similarly to zoom out.

INSERT MARKERS DURING PLAYBACK OR RECORDING

Type M wherever you want a marker. To play back audio starting at a marker, type the marker number from the QWERTY keyboard (don’t use the numeric keypad), or choose Edit > Go To and choose the marker from the drop-down menu.

CREATE TWO ZOOM LEVEL PRESETS

Go Options > Preferences > Display tab. Choose the desired zoom levels for Custom Zoom Ratio 1 and 2. Click Apply, then OK. Make sure Num Lock is on for your numeric keypad, and use the 1 and 2 keys to choose the associated zoom level.

CHANGE LEVEL CALIBRATION

Right-click on the level ruler to the left of the waveform window and select Label in Percent or Label in dB.

SET SELECTION START/END DURING PLAYBACK

During playback, type I at the desired selection start, and O at the desired selection end. Type Q to make this a loop.

SNAP TO ZERO CROSSING SHORTCUT

When snapping is enabled, type Crtl+B to toggle between enable/disable snap to zero crossings when making a selection.

FIND CLIPS THAT HIT 0 DB

Select the audio you want to analyze, then go Tools > Detect Clipping. I usually choose the preset Detect All 0 dB Clipping. Click on OK. Sound Forge will place markers at all 0dB clips lasting more than 3 samples. You can then use the Clipped Peak Restoration function (go Tools > Clipped Peak Restoration) to restore the clipped peak you find.

Craig Anderton is Editor Emeritus of Harmony Central. He has played on, mixed, or produced over 20 major label releases (as well as mastered over a hundred tracks for various musicians), and written over a thousand articles for magazines like Guitar Player, Keyboard, Sound on Sound (UK), and Sound + Recording (Germany). He has also lectured on technology and the arts in 38 states, 10 countries, and three languages.