Head Chef 1 User Guide

Glossary

Applies to Head Chef 1.0 and later 1.x releases

ARA 2 #

A standard that lets an audio editor plugin work directly on the audio of a clip in a host app, rather than on sound passing through a channel. Head Chef uses ARA 2 editors to change clip audio and keeps the original audio available.

Audio interface #

A box that connects microphones, instruments, headphones and speakers to your Mac, usually over USB or Thunderbolt. It turns sound into digital audio for recording and back into sound for listening. Choose it as the output and recording input in Settings > Audio Engine….

See also: buffer size, latency, sample rate

Bit depth #

The number of bits used to store each sample of audio. More bits record finer steps of level, so quiet detail survives and the noise floor is lower. Common choices are 16-bit, 24-bit and 32-bit float.

32-bit float can also hold levels above 0 dBFS without clipping, which makes it a safe choice for files that will be processed further.

Buffer size #

The number of samples your Mac processes in one go before handing audio to your interface. Head Chef offers buffer sizes from 32 to 2048 samples in Settings > Audio Engine….

A small buffer makes playing and monitoring feel more immediate but asks more of your Mac. A large buffer is easier on your Mac but adds delay. If playback crackles, choose a larger buffer.

Bypass #

Turning an effect off temporarily while keeping its settings, so you can compare the sound with and without it.

Channel #

The part of Head Chef that mixes one sound: its processing chain, fader, pan, solo and mute. Every track has a channel, and Effect Returns and Main are channels without clips. In Mix, each channel appears as a channel strip.

Channel strip #

The column of controls that shapes one track's sound in the Mix view: its processing, Solo and Mute buttons, pan and fader. Every track has one, and the Main output has its own.

Chord #

Several notes that sound together, such as C major or A minor 7. In Jam Console, the Chords part plays a progression, and CHORD SEQUENCE names each chord. Select a chord to try alternatives in the playing loop.

Clip #

A piece of audio or MIDI placed on a track's timeline. You move, trim and fade clips to build your arrangement. An audio clip shows a waveform; a MIDI clip shows notes.

Clip gain #

A volume setting that belongs to one audio clip rather than to the whole track. Head Chef applies clip gain before the track's processing and fader, so you can even out a loud or quiet clip without touching the rest of the track.

Clipping #

Distortion that happens when a signal goes above the highest level a device or file format can hold, so the tops of the waveform are cut off.

Clock drift #

How far an audio device's real speed differs from the sample rate it is set to, measured in parts per million (ppm). A small figure near zero is normal. Head Chef shows it in Settings > Audio Engine… and warns when it passes 100 ppm, which can point to a loose connection or a clock setting on the interface.

Compressor #

A tool that turns down the loudest moments of a sound so its level is more even. The threshold sets where it starts working, and the ratio sets how strongly it turns the sound down. Gain reduction shows how much it is turning down right now.

Control surface #

A hardware controller with faders, knobs and buttons that operate an app's mixer. Head Chef works with surfaces set to Mackie Control mode.

Count-in #

A cue of metronome clicks that helps you get ready to play in time. In Studio, one, two or four bars can play before recording; ordinary Studio playback starts straight away. In Jam Console, Count-in under Setup ↓ chooses no cue, one, two or four bars before recording or starting a new idea with Roll again. Ordinary ▶ PLAY does not add the Roll cue.

Crossfade #

A crossfade blends the end of one clip into the start of the next, fading one out while the other fades in. In Head Chef 1 each audio track holds one clip, so there are no overlapping clips to crossfade; the fade-in and fade-out of a single clip shape its ends instead.

Delay compensation #

Some effects and plugins hold sound back for a short time while they process it. Delay compensation measures that delay on every channel and holds the other channels back by the same amount, so everything stays in time. Head Chef does this automatically, including for effects that are turned off.

Direct monitoring #

Hearing an input through your audio interface's own headphone or speaker output, before the signal reaches the computer, so there is no delay. Head Chef 1 does not play an input back through the app while it records, so you use your interface's direct monitoring to hear yourself.

Dither #

A very quiet noise added when audio is reduced to a fixed number of bits, for example from 32-bit float to 16-bit. It turns the small rounding errors of that step into a smooth, even noise instead of distortion that follows the music.

TPDF dither spreads the noise evenly. Noise-shaped dither moves more of it toward high frequencies, where it is harder to hear.

Edit history #

The edit history is the list of changes you have made to a session, which Undo steps back through and Redo steps forward through. Head Chef keeps up to 512 steps, and opening a session starts a new history.

Edit mode #

A setting that decides how clips behave when you move them. Head Chef has four: Ripple closes the gap a moved clip leaves, Free lets clips move anywhere, Place moves a clip to a time you type, and Grid snaps clips to the grid.

Effect Return #

An Effect Return is a channel that holds a shared effect, such as a reverb or an echo. Tracks send part of their signal to it, and its output joins the mix, so several tracks can share one effect.

EQ #

Short for equalizer: a tool that turns particular frequency ranges up or down, for example to add brightness or reduce boominess. Chicken Strip includes a Graphic EQ with fixed bands.

Fade #

A gradual change in volume at the start or end of a clip. A fade in rises from silence, a fade out falls to silence. Short fades also remove clicks where a clip starts or stops abruptly.

Fader #

A sliding level control. Moving a channel's fader up makes it louder in the mix and moving it down makes it quieter. In Head Chef faders range from -60 dB to +12 dB, with 0 dB meaning no change.

Folder #

A folder holds a set of tracks together so a large session stays tidy. Some folders also add up their tracks' sound into one folder bus, so you can process and set the level of the whole set at once.

Free mode #

Free is the edit mode in which you can drag a clip to any position, down to a single sample. It is Head Chef's default edit mode.

Gain point #

A point on an audio clip's clip gain line that sets the clip's level at one moment. Head Chef draws straight lines between gain points, so you can raise or lower part of a clip without changing the rest. Gain points never change the audio file itself.

Grid #

Evenly spaced lines across the timeline, set to a time or musical step. With snapping on, clips you move land on the nearest grid line.

Grid mode #

Grid is the edit mode in which moved clips and trimmed edges snap to the grid. Absolute Grid snaps to grid lines counted from the session start; Relative Grid moves a clip in whole grid steps while keeping its offset from the grid lines.

Group #

A group links several tracks so that a change on one applies to the others. Depending on how it is set up, a group can share clip edits, fader moves, mute, solo and other settings between its members.

Headroom #

The space between the loudest peaks in your mix and full scale, the highest level your audio interface and fixed-point files can hold. Leaving headroom keeps your mix from clipping.

Input monitoring #

Hearing your live input through speakers or headphones as you play. In Jam Console, connect Guitar or Mic, then click MONITOR OFF to hear the input through Head Chef. The control changes to MONITOR ON. Your audio interface may also offer direct monitoring.

Insert #

An effect placed directly in a channel's signal path, so the whole channel passes through it. In Head Chef, inserts appear in the channel's processing chain, in order from top to bottom.

Inspector #

The panel that shows every control for the selected channel: its sound, processing chain, sends and Chicken Strip settings. Click Inspector in the toolbar to show or hide it. It follows whichever track you select.

Instrument track #

A track that plays a built-in instrument from MIDI notes instead of playing recorded audio. In Head Chef each instrument track holds one instrument, its sound and a clip of notes that you edit in the piano roll.

Jam #

Head Chef's sketchpad for musical ideas. A jam holds an eight-bar idea with a four-part backing, its sections, your recordings and the passes you kept. You can save jams in Your jams and open the material as editable Studio tracks.

See also: jam console, section, pass, take

Jam Console #

The separate Jam window that brings together the chord sequence, backing band, your live input and takes. You can try chord changes, play along, save your work and open the material as editable Studio tracks.

See also: jam, chord, input monitoring, take

Keyboard focus #

The part of the window that receives your key presses. Single-letter shortcuts act only while the Arrange timeline has keyboard focus, so typing in a field never edits your song. Click the timeline, or press ⌥⌘1, to give it focus.

Latency #

The delay between a sound going into or out of your computer and it reaching your ears. Head Chef shows input, output and round-trip latency in Settings > Audio Engine…. A smaller buffer size gives lower latency.

Lossless audio #

Audio stored so that every sample comes back exactly as it went in. Lossless compression, such as in a .flac file, makes the file smaller without changing the sound. Lossy formats, such as .mp3 and .m4a files, make files much smaller by leaving out detail that is hard to hear, so the decoded audio differs slightly from the original.

Loudness #

How loud audio sounds to a listener over time, rather than how high its peaks reach. Integrated loudness is measured in LUFS across a whole file, and loudness range, in LU, describes how much the loudness changes through the song.

Streaming services and broadcasters often ask for a particular integrated loudness.

Main bus #

The channel where every track and Effect Return is added together into the final stereo mix. In Head Chef it is called Main and sits at the right edge of the Mix view.

MCP #

Short for Model Context Protocol, an open standard that lets AI assistant apps use tools inside other apps. Head Chef's local assistant connection uses it so an assistant can read and edit the session you have open.

Metronome #

A click that plays in time with the session's tempo, so you can keep to the beat while you play, record or edit. In Head Chef the click is for your ears only and never appears in a rendered mix.

MIDI #

A way of recording music as notes rather than sound: which key, when, how long and how hard. An instrument track turns MIDI notes into sound, so you can change the notes or the instrument at any time.

MIDI channel #

One of 16 numbered lanes that a MIDI connection can carry, so several parts can share one cable. Drum parts traditionally use channel 10. In Head Chef's MIDI keyboard settings you can listen to all channels or to one.

Mute #

Silencing a track without removing it. Muted tracks stay in the session and come back when you turn mute off.

Non-destructive editing #

Editing that never changes your audio files. A clip only records which part of a file plays, where it plays and how loud, so you can always undo a trim or move and get the original audio back.

Nudge #

Moving a clip earlier or later by a small, fixed amount, the nudge size. Nudging is handy for fine timing changes that would be hard to make by dragging.

Pan #

Where a channel sits between the left and right speakers. Head Chef shows pan from 100 left through center to 100 right.

Pan depth #

Pan depth sets how much quieter a mono track is when panned to the center than when panned fully to one side. The usual setting, -3 dB, keeps a sound at about the same loudness as you pan it across the stereo field.

Pass #

One complete play-through of a looping idea in Jam. Jam remembers recent passes, up to 64 bars, and you can keep a pass you like with Keep this pass.

Piano Roll #

An editor that shows MIDI notes as bars on a grid, with pitch running up the side like a piano keyboard and time running across. You add, move, lengthen and delete notes here.

Place mode #

Place is the edit mode for putting a clip at an exact position. Dragging a clip in Place mode opens a dialog where you confirm or type the target sample, and you can line up the clip's start, end or sync point with that position.

Playhead #

The vertical line that marks the current position in the session. Playback starts from the playhead, and it moves along as the session plays.

Plugin #

A piece of software from another developer that adds an effect to a host app such as Head Chef. You install plugins on your Mac, and Head Chef finds them in your plugin folders.

Plugin format #

The standard a plugin is built to, which decides which apps can load it. Head Chef loads CLAP plugins, with the .clap extension, and VST3 plugins, with the .vst3 extension.

Preset #

A saved set of settings you can apply in one step. Head Chef's channel presets store Chicken Strip, the processing chain and, for instrument channels, the instrument and its sound.

Quantize #

Moving a note so it starts exactly on the nearest step of the grid. In Head Chef's piano roll, the step comes from the Snap setting.

Record arm #

Arming a track gets it ready to record. When you start recording, the input goes to the armed track.

Render #

To play a session through its whole mix and write the result to an audio file, rather than to your speakers. In Head Chef, Render Mix renders the main output in stereo, in the background, while you keep working.

Reverb #

An effect that adds the sense of a room or hall around a sound, by imitating the many reflections a real space produces.

Ripple mode #

Ripple is the edit mode that keeps clips butted together with no gaps. In Head Chef 1, where each track holds one clip, Ripple keeps that clip against the session start, so trimming its start pulls the remaining audio earlier. Ripple Lock stops you from switching into Ripple by accident.

Sample rate #

How many times per second audio is measured, shown in kilohertz (kHz). 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz are common choices; higher rates such as 96 kHz capture more detail and use more storage and processing.

Sample-rate conversion #

Changing audio from one sample rate to another, for example from 44.1 kHz to 48 kHz, so it plays at the correct speed and pitch in a session. Head Chef converts with sinc resampling, a high-quality method that keeps the sound clean.

Scrub #

Moving through the audio by dragging, so you hear it at the speed and direction you drag. Scrubbing helps you find an exact moment by ear, like rocking a tape back and forth by hand.

Section #

A block of music in a jam, such as a verse or a chorus, shown by a letter such as A or B. You can add, repeat and vary sections, then build them into a song.

Send #

A copy of a channel's signal sent to an Effect Return, with its own level. Several channels can send to the same return, so they share one effect.

Session #

Your song project: its tracks, clips, mix settings, tempo and the audio it uses. Head Chef saves a session as a file ending in .headchef.

Signal path #

The order in which a channel processes sound, from its source through clip gain, the processing chain, the fader and pan, and the sends, into the Main channel. The order decides what each control affects: a send, for example, follows the fader because it comes after it.

Solo #

Listening to one track, or a few, on their own. Soloing a track silences the tracks that are not soloed, without changing their settings.

Solo in place #

A way of soloing in which a soloed track keeps its effects. In Head Chef, the Effect Returns a soloed track sends to stay audible and play only that track's sends, so you hear the track with its echo and reverb.

Stem #

An audio file that holds one part or one group of parts of a song, such as the drums, the bass or the lead vocal, exported so that it starts at the same moment as the other stems. Played together at equal settings, a song's stems add up to the whole song. In Head Chef you import stems as separate tracks and mix them.

Sustain pedal #

A foot pedal plugged into a MIDI keyboard that holds notes on after you lift your fingers, like the right pedal on a piano. Head Chef's built-in instruments respond to it when you play them from a MIDI keyboard.

Sync point #

A position inside an audio clip that you want to line up with a moment in the music, such as the hit of a drum or the start of a word. Snapping the sync point to the playhead moves the clip so that moment lands exactly there.

Tail #

Extra time added after the end of a session when you render, so reverb and echo can fade out naturally instead of being cut off.

Take #

One recorded performance. Recording in Studio creates a clip on the armed track. Jam Console keeps takes with the jam, where you can listen to them and include them when opening editable Studio tracks.

Tempo #

The speed of the music, measured in beats per minute (BPM). The tempo sets where bars and beats fall on the timeline and how fast the metronome clicks.

Tempo map #

A tempo map is a list of tempos that change at set positions in a song, for example a song that speeds up for its chorus. Head Chef shows the tempo at the cursor and lets you move tempo changes to new positions.

Tick #

The smallest step of musical time, a fraction of a beat. The clock shows positions as bars, beats and ticks. In a new Head Chef session, a quarter note is 960 ticks.

Time signature #

How beats are grouped into bars, written as two numbers such as 4/4 or 6/8. The top number is the count of beats in a bar; the bottom number is the kind of note that gets one beat.

Track #

One lane in your session that holds clips and has its own channel strip. An audio track plays recorded or imported audio; an instrument track plays MIDI notes through a built-in instrument.

Trim #

Trimming moves the start or end edge of a clip to hide part of its audio. The hidden audio stays in the file, so you can trim the edge back out later.

True peak #

An estimate of the highest level the audio reaches after it is converted back to a continuous signal, including peaks that fall between samples. It is measured in dBTP. True peak can be higher than the highest sample value, which is why delivery specifications often set a true-peak limit.

VCA master #

A VCA master is a fader that controls the level of every track in its group at once, without carrying any audio itself. Moving it raises or lowers all members while keeping their balance. Coalesce writes its level into the member faders and returns it to 0 dB.

Velocity #

How hard a note is played, as a number from 1 to 127. Higher velocities usually sound louder or brighter. On Voltage 80, velocity 127 plays an accent.

Waveform #

The picture of an audio clip's sound, drawn as a line that grows taller where the audio is louder. Waveforms help you see where sounds start and stop.