Mackie - T2 - Reference Guide

Chapter 2: The Settings Page

2.1 The Audio Devices Tab

The “settings” page is where most of Tracktion’s configuration settings can be found. Here you will find a range of options that can be used to tweak Tracktion to better suit your way of working, and to get the best out of your computer hardware.

There are five tabs contained within the settings page:

The audio devices tab is used to configure your audio and MIDI hardware.
The plugins tab is used to control how Tracktion locates plug-ins installed on your computer.
The key-mappings tab offers options for personalising Tracktion’s keyboard shortcuts.
The external-controllers tab allows you to attach control surfaces such as Mackie’s Control Universal, and Control C4 devices.
The miscellaneous tab provides a range of general settings that you can adjust depending on your needs.

To configure your audio and MIDI devices:

Click on the settings tab at the top of the Tracktion interface. This will display the settings page.
Select the “audio devices” tab to view and configure the audio devices available on your computer. The top-most part of this page is the wave device region (Fig. 2.1.1).

At the top of this display there is a drop-down list. This is where you choose your wave device. In Tracktion, the term “device” is used to refer to all input and output hardware, such as sound-cards and MIDI interfaces. Tracktion will normally select a suitable ASIO or CoreAudio driver by default. If you have more than one sound-card installed, or Tracktion chooses a DirectSound driver instead of an ASIO one, you may need to change this.

The entries in the wave device list refer to the available audio drivers installed on your computer. There may be a number of entries in this list depending on the type(s) of sound-card(s) you have installed, but generally speaking, you will only be interested in the ASIO/CoreAudio options, as these offer the best performance within Tracktion.

Sample rate: This control sets the sample rate that Tracktion uses for playback and mixing. For audio intended for CD you will typically want to set this to 44100. Opinion is split on whether working at higher rates is worthwhile, but if you like to work at higher sample rates then it is a good idea to increase this value in fixed multiples of your desired final sample rate (e.g., 88200 Hz for CD audio). Be aware that higher sample rates require correspondingly more processing power, so doubling the sample rate will likely halve the amount of effects, VSTis, and tracks, your computer can process.

Latency: This control sets the size of the audio buffer. The buffer is required to provide an uninterrupted audio stream. Setting this value lower than your computer’s processor can properly handle may cause audio problems during playback and record and can increase the demands placed on your processor.

Restart device: Clicking this button causes Tracktion to re-initialise the drivers for your audio hardware. This can sometimes help if the audio driver crashes. In addition, if you have made changes to your hardware settings through the ASIO control panel, then you may need to restart the audio device before Tracktion will recognise the changes.

PC and ASIO drivers

There are a few extra ASIO related options available for PC users. These options are not available for Mac users.

Use ASIO direct mode: This option may improve performance with some ASIO drivers. Typically it is benign at worst, and many USB devices will benefit from it, so it is probably worth leaving it enabled. If you are having problems with sound in Tracktion, you should try toggling this setting.

Show ASIO control panel: This button displays the control panel for the currently selected ASIO device. Please note, the screen you see here will be specific to your hardware, so refer to the documentation that came with your audio hardware for further information.

Use real-time priority mode: This option can help with compatibility for some ASIO sound cards. Note, this option should only be enabled when absolutely necessary, as it can conflict with some VST plug-ins, causing Tracktion to freeze.

PC users note: Some ASIO drivers do not allow settings such as sample rate and latency to be adjusted by external applications. If your ASIO driver is one of these cases, then Tracktion’s sample rate and latency options will have only the current values as choices. In this case you will need to set these values from the ASIO driver’s own interface by clicking the “show ASIO control panel” button. Be sure to click the “restart device” button when you are done.

Mac and CoreAudio drivers

If you are using a Mac and some of your CoreAudio devices are not listed, this may be because they are not currently connected to the Mac. Close Tracktion, check the connections, and try again.

A good way to check if a CoreAudio device is properly connected to your computer, is to launch the “AudioMidi Setup” Utility and make sure that the device in question is available as a hardware choice.

The audio input and output devices

With a suitable wave device chosen, select which audio inputs and outputs you will be using. Be aware that all active inputs and outputs consume computing power, so disable any I/O channels that you do not need. For example, if you are using only virtual instruments, and therefore only need a single stereo output, you can disable any other outputs you may have. Equally, if you use a particular input or output only occasionally, it probably makes sense to leave it disabled. You can always enable it when needed.

At the bottom of the “audio devices” tab there is an option labelled “only show enabled devices” (Fig. 2.1.2). Enabling this option can be convenient if your audio interface has a large number of inputs and/or outputs, some of which you rarely use. You will need to uncheck this setting temporarily if you wish to enable devices that are currently disabled, however.

To enable or disable an audio device, just click on the enable/disable label to the left of the entry.

You can also nominate one audio output to be the “default audio device.” The default output will become the master output for Tracktion’s mixed stereo output from the master fader in the lower right hand corner of the edit screen. To make a different output the default, just click on the “make this the default” label.

The MIDI input and output devicesMIDI input and output devices can be enabled or disabled in the MIDI device section (Fig. 2.1.2) of the audio devices tab. Whilst MIDI devices consume much less computing power than audio devices, it is still good practise to disable any I/O channels that you do not need.

At the bottom of the “audio devices” tab there is an option labelled “only show enabled devices” (Fig. 2.1.2). Enabling this option can be convenient if your MIDI interface has a large number of inputs and/or outputs, some of which you rarely use. You will need to uncheck this setting temporarily if you wish to enable devices that are currently disabled, however.

To enable or disable a MIDI device, just click on the enable/disable label to the left of the entry.

You can also nominate one MIDI output to be the “default MIDI device.” The default output will be used by the click-track (see Chapter 4.4). To make a different output the default, just click on the “make this the default” label.

2.2 The Audio Output Device Properties

When an audio output device is selected, its various configuration options will be displayed in the properties-panel (Fig. 2.2.1).

Treat as stereo channel pair: You can opt to have Tracktion combine two mono audio outputs into a single stereo pair (the default state). When disabled, the two channels appear as two mono devices; when enabled, they appear as one stereo device. The files created when recording through mono input devices will correspondingly be mono. Audio recorded to a stereo input will likewise produce stereo files.

Dithering enabled: Dithering can subjectively improve quality when reducing the sample resolution from Tracktion’s internal 64/32 bit format, to the 24/16 bit format used by most audio devices.

Left/right reversed: When selected, the left and right channels are swapped. You can use this option to correct for audio devices with incorrect stereo configuration, or patching mistakes in your studio.

2.3 The Audio Input Device Properties

When an audio input device is selected, its various configuration options will be displayed in the properties-panel (Fig. 2.3.1).

Treat as stereo channel pair: You can opt to have Tracktion combine two mono audio inputs into a single stereo pair (the default state). When disabled, the two channels appear as two mono devices; when enabled, they appear as one stereo device.

Enable end-to-end: When end-to-end is active on an input, audio is received during playback and not just when recording. If an input is actively receiving an input signal, it will be using some of your computer’s processing power. However, enabling this option allows you to use Tracktion as an effects processor for a live external audio source, such as a guitar or vocals. Generally, you want to leave this option enabled since you can silence inputs within the edit page at any time.

Note: In addition to this end-to-end option, there is a global end-to-end option in the transport-section (see Chapter 3.6). This global end-to-end option allows Tracktion to receive and transmit audio and MIDI data even when playback is stopped. If you are intending to use Tracktion to apply effects to a live guitar, vocal, or synthesiser performance, you should enable this end-to-end option also.

Input gain: This option allows you to boost or cut the level of the incoming audio.

Note: This option should be used with caution. This is done digitally after the signal has been converted from analog. So changing this gain will not help with proper gain staging. It is simply a convenience for a situation where you know you will need to increase the gain of the recorded audio files. Normally it is much better to change the gain non-destructively using the channel fader or the clip level properties, as well as to make sure the level of audio received by this input is loud enough.

Trigger level: Recording from this device will only begin when the trigger level has been reached. It is good practise to leave this setting at “–INF dB” when not needed, as it may save you a few frustrating minutes trying to work out why your recordings are being lost.

You can use the trigger level as an alternative to punched recording:

In the edit page, select the audio input though which you wish to make recording.
The properties-panel will show the audio-input-device options with an extra input meter.
Use this input meter to see the audio level of any background noise reaching the input.
Set the trigger level at a few dBs above the noise-floor level.
Start recording. If you have set the threshold correctly, Tracktion will begin recording from this device when the vocalist or instrumentalist attached to this input begins their performance.

Time adjust: If you find that your recorded audio is a little early or late in relation to everything else, try adjusting this value to compensate. The “auto detect” button can be used to have Tracktion automatically compensate for timing errors caused by audio hardware.

Auto-detect: The auto-detect option will determine the time taken for audio to pass through the converters of your audio hardware, and configure the “time adjust” field to compensate for any delay. To perform the delay detection, Tracktion sends a series of pulses from an audio output device, and records the time taken for them to reach the audio input device. Before starting the test, you will need to connect a cable from one of your audio outputs to the input you wish to test.

It is a good idea to use the “auto-detect” option after installing/re-installing Tracktion, or adding new audio hardware to your computer.

Alias: If you have a number of input devices it can sometimes be hard to keep track of them all. You may, therefore, find it helpful to enter a descriptive name in the alias box.

Record mode: This option controls how the recorded material is added to the edit. There are three modes (Fig. 2.3.2):

Overlay newly recorded clips onto edit: When this option is selected, recorded audio clips will be placed on top of the existing clips. Note that in loop-record mode, this option is ignored.
Replace old clips in edit with new ones: When this option is selected, new clips will delete existing clips. The existing audio material will not be lost, however, and this operation is entirely non-destructive. Note that in loop-record mode, this option is ignored.
Don’t make recordings from this device: Select this option if you need end-to-end capability for this input but do not wish to record from it, i.e., if you are recording from one or more inputs, and wish to monitor signal on another input, but don’t want recordings to be made from it at the current time, you can use this option.

Filename: You can create custom file-name patterns for recorded audio.

File format: You can select whether Tracktion stores recorded audio as a broadcast WAV, or AIFF, format file. If you choose to store the audio as a WAV file, Tracktion will insert an industry standard BWAV time-stamp. This allows audio to be quickly aligned to its original position, without affecting compatibility with any other software that you will use your recorded WAV files with.

Bit depth: You can select the bit depth to use for the saved audio. Note, this does not set the recording resolution for the audio input. The bit-depth that the signal is recorded at is determined by the audio drivers for the device. This setting only affects the format of the audio file that is stored to disc. If your input device can only record at 16-bit, setting the bit-depth to anything higher than 16-bit will not produce any benefits.

Reset filename: If you have changed the contents of the “filename” field, you can use this button to restore the default setting.

Use the same properties for all devices: When this option is selected, all audio input devices will share the same settings. Changing a setting on one device will apply that setting to all devices. Clicking this button displays a pop-up menu (Fig. 2.3.3) that offers the following options:

Copy this device’s settings to other devices: When this option is selected, the properties for the current device are applied to all other audio input devices.
Leave other devices settings unchanged: When this option is selected, the properties of other devices are not altered. This option allows you to change an option globally, without affecting other options.

It typically makes sense to enable this setting, especially if you have an audio device with many inputs, but if you need to set different settings for each device, then you can disable it.

2.4 The MIDI Output Options

When a MIDI output device is selected, its various configuration options will be displayed in the properties-panel (Fig. 2.4.1).

Pre-delay: If you find that your external MIDI tends to trigger its sound a little early, or late, in relation to everything else, try adjusting this value to compensate. The pre-delay value is given in milliseconds.

Send midi timecode: When this option is selected, this MIDI output will send MIDI timecode to any attached devices.

MIDI timecode is a very powerful synchronisation tool that shares much in common with SMPTE. MIDI timecode carries time-of-day information that allows for a degree of error recovery if timing messages are lost, making a very robust method by which to synchronise two or more MIDI devices.

MIDI timecode is sent at the frame rate of the edit. This is set from the timecode menu on the edit screen. See Chapter 4.2.

Send midi clock: When this option is selected, this MIDI output will send a MIDI clock signal to any attached devices. MIDI clock is the most simple form of synchronisation between two MIDI devices. Unlike MIDI timecode, it carries no time information, just a pulse that effectively stamps out a metronome. Other MIDI devices can then use the pulse to keep time with the master device.

2.5 The MIDI Input Options

When a MIDI output device is selected, its various configuration options will be displayed in the properties-panel (Fig. 2.5.1).

Action: This option controls how the recorded MIDI material is added to the edit. There are four modes (Fig. 2.5.2):

Merge newly recorded midi into any existing clips: When this option is selected, MIDI data will be added to existing clips. New clips will only be created if no clip is already present.
Overlay new clips containing newly recorded midi: When this option is selected, new clips will be created and placed on top of existing clips in the edit.
Replace existing clips with newly recorded clips: When this option is selected, any existing clips will be deleted by newly recorded clips.
End-to-end from this device, but don’t actually record: Select this option if you do not wish to record from this device but wish it to be active whilst recording is in progress, i.e., if you are recording from one or more inputs and wish to monitor signal on another input, but don’t want recordings to be made from it at the current time, you can use this option.

Midi filter: MIDI data will be passed from the input (and recorded) for all enabled MIDI channels. Disabling any of the 16 channel buttons will filter out those channels. MIDI data transmitted on these disabled channels will be ignored by Tracktion, and will not be played or recorded.

Channel: Here you can assign a default MIDI channel for any MIDI recorded through this input.

Program: If you wish to assign a default program to recorded MIDI, you can choose the program here (uses General MIDI program names).

Alias: If you have a number of input devices, it can sometimes be hard to keep track of them all. You may therefore find it helpful to enter a descriptive name in the alias box.

Set program: This option provides a pop-up menu to set the “program” value.

Quantise: Destructively quantises the incoming notes to the note size selected from the list. Note: MIDI clips have a non-destructive quantise tool that you may wish to use instead of this.

Set all incoming note velocities to full: Select this option to force all Incoming note velocities to full (velocity value 127).

Time adjust: If you find that your recorded MIDI is a little early or late in relation to everything else, try adjusting this value to compensate.

Allow midi controller remapping: Controller remapping allows MIDI controllers, such as a modulation wheel, to control parameters of VST plug-ins. When this option is disabled, no remapping will occur for this input. For more information on control-remapping, see Chapter 7.2.

Enable end-to-end: When end-to-end is active on an input, MIDI will be received during playback, and not just when recording. Generally you will want to leave this option enabled, since you can silence inputs within the edit page at any time.

2.6 The Plug-Ins Tab

The top-most part of the plug-ins tab shows the list of directories that Tracktion searches for VST plug-ins (Fig. 2.6.1). The directories listed in this box, and all of their sub-directories, are searched for VST plug-ins.

Remove path: Click this button to remove a path entry from the search list.

Add path..: Many 3rd party plug-ins will not give you a chance to alter the installation directory. If the installation is to a path that Tracktion does not know to search, the plug-in will not be available for use. This option allows you to add a new path to the search list, and as such you can add the directory that your new plug-in installed to. When this button is clicked, Tracktion will display a dialogue-box. Navigate to your plug-in directory, and click “OK.”

Move up / down: These buttons allow you to adjust the order in which directories are searched. Directories at the top of the list are searched first.

The next box (Fig. 2.6.2) shows a list of plug-ins that Tracktion has chosen to ignore. If a plug-in file cannot be opened as a VST plug-in, Tracktion will add it to this list. Plug-ins may fail to open properly if they do not correctly adhere to the VST standard.

Sometimes plug-ins are incorrectly added to the list because they failed to initialise correctly at some point. If you believe a plug-in should work, but it has been added to this list, try removing it and rescanning the plug-in directories.

Rescan plug-in directories: This button cause Tracktion to look for new or changed plug-ins.

Always check for new plugins at start-up: This option sets whether Tracktion should look for new plug-ins when starting up. When disabled, you will need to initiate a manual rescan after installing new plug-ins. Tracktion may open faster when this option is disabled, however.

Enable Rewire: Selecting this option activates support for ReWire applications, if any are installed.

Add low-level noise to avoid denormalisation: Denormalisation happens when processors are required to process numbers that are two small to work with in an optimal manner. Typically numbers need to be extremely small to cause a processor to denormalise. Different processors have different thresholds though, and certain Pentium 4 processors have a much higher than usual threshold. Often these low numbers will be caused by reverbs, and delays. If you notice that your CPU usage tends to spike unexpectedly at certain points in an edit, even if there seems to be little going on at that point, this is probably denormalisation. The best approach if you experience denormalisation is to contact the plug-in developer, but when enabled, this option can sometimes help.

2.7 The Key-Mappings Tab

Tracktion has a comprehensive range of keyboard shortcuts. Learning the shortcuts, and configuring them to your taste can greatly improve your workflow.

Each line in the editor corresponds to a Tracktion function. The function description forms the left-hand column, and the assigned shortcut (if any) is shown to the right.

If you click on an existing shortcut, you are presented with a menu from which you can change or remove the shortcut. Clicking on the plus (“+”) symbol allows you to set, or add, a shortcut for the function. Up to three shortcuts can be created for each command.

If you choose to add a shortcut, you will be prompted to press the keys you wish to be mapped to the current function. If you choose a key-stroke that is already assigned to another function, Tracktion asks if you wish to clear the existing shortcut or cancel the current operation.

Reset to defaults: This button sets the key-mappings back to the factory default.

View as HTML...: This button opens a web-browser and displays the current key-map. You can use this to obtain a printout of the key-mappings.

Save/load key-mappings...: These buttons allow you to save and recall key-maps. In addition, Tracktion ships with key-maps that match those used by other sequencers, so if you are familiar with a set of keyboard shortcuts, you may find one of these key-maps more comfortable to work with. Clicking either of these buttons will display a standard file-requestor dialogue-box.

2.8 Installing External Controllers

Tracktion can support external control surfaces such as the Mackie Control Universal and Control C4 devices. Many people find devices such as these faster to work with than a mouse, as they provide many of the most commonly accessed features right at your finger-tips and provide a familiar tactile environment for mixing and editing.

The list on the left (Fig. 2.8.1) shows the control surfaces supported by your version of Tracktion. If you own one or more of these devices, simply select it from the list, and select the MIDI input and output devices to which your control surface is connected.

An external controller requires a MIDI input and output pair to itself, and MIDI cables should be connected directly from your MIDI device to the external controller.

Once the input and output devices have been chosen, the controller will update to work with the current edit the moment you switch to the edit page.

The Mackie Control Universal and Control C4 devices are described in detail in Chapters 7.3 and 7.4.

2.9 The Miscellaneous Settings Tab

The miscellaneous tab (Fig. 2.9.1) contains various settings for customising Tracktion’s behaviour. These options are common across all edits (global settings). The “options” button in the control-section of the edit page contains further options available for adjusting Tracktion’s behaviour, but unlike the miscellaneous tab options, those options are saved with an edit, and are local to that edit (session dependent). The “options” button is discussed in Chapter 3.5.

Username: Set the name of the current Tracktion user.

Import user-settings / export user-settings: You can use these buttons to save and recall configuration settings. This allows you to backup your configuration settings, and also to create custom configurations for different projects, or types of project.

Temp directory: This is where Tracktion stores temporary files. The temporary directory will be emptied when Tracktion is closed, so be sure to create a dedicated folder. If you have a fast, dedicated audio hard-drive, you should place the temporary directory on that drive.

Auto-save edits: Use this option to set the frequency at which Tracktion automatically saves your work. Saving edits: You can set how Tracktion reacts if you attempt to exit the application without first saving an open edit.Undo levels: This controls how many stages of undo/redo are available for the edit page. Increasing this value will allow you to backtrack through more edits, but uses correspondingly more of your computer’s memory to store the edit history. The default size is generally a good compromise.

Cache size: You can adjust how much of your computer’s main memory (RAM) is used to cache audio files. Caching helps audio tracks play back without glitches or drop-outs, but reduces the amount of memory available to applications and plug-ins. Making this value too large will also be counter-productive because computers become much less efficient once main memory is depleted. The default setting of 64 MB is usually fine, but you may want to increase it if you have lots of RAM installed on your computer.

Middle-C: The correct octave to use as middle C is not standardised. As such, many different devices and MIDI applications use differing octaves to represent middle C. You can set your personal preference for the middle C octave here.

MIDI popup: When editing MIDI, a piano display is visible to the left of the clip. This option allows you to select whether the piano is positioned at the side of the clip, or in the input area. The MIDI editor is described in Chapter 6.1.

Track resizing: This controls how tracks and clips vertically resize when double-clicked.

Double-clicking a track toggles between small and medium height: A double-click on a clip or a track causes the track to resize to a size roughly six times the default track height. This height is large enough for the MIDI editor tools to become available. A subsequent double-click reduces the track to the default size.
Double-clicking a track toggles between small and large height: A double-click on a clip or a track causes the track to resize to nearly the height of the arrange area. A subsequent double-click reduces the track to the default size.
Double-clicking a track toggles between small, medium, and large heights: Each double-click cycles the track height between the three default stages.

Renaming a clip in an edit also renames its source item: When enabled, renaming clips in the edit page will cause the corresponding entry in the item-list of the project page to be renamed.

Hide big VST interfaces when the mouse isn’t over them: When enabled, Tracktion automatically hides 3rd party plug-in interfaces when the mouse is moved out of their window. This option can be useful for laptop users with small screens.

Send all-controllers-off midi message when play stops: Enable this option to have Tracktion send an all-controllers-off message to MIDI devices, and plug-ins, when play-back stops. Some devices need this message to correctly react to play-back changes, but other devices may dislike this setting.

If you are experiencing stuck notes, you may find that this setting helps as well. Generally it is better on than off, but if your MIDI gear is doing strange things when you stop playback, try disabling this option.

Use 64-bit math when mixing tracks: Enabling this option will improve audio fidelity when mixing lots of tracks. Be aware that this option comes with a performance cost, and may not be suitable for lower power computers.

Meter response: This setting controls how quickly level meters decay. You can choose between slowly, quickly, and instantly.

Peak hold: Here you can set for how long the peak level indicator is held.

Level meter peaks drop after two seconds: When this option is selected, level meters will show the highest level attained within the last two seconds.
Level meter peaks drop after ten seconds: When this option is selected, level meters will show the highest level attained within the last two seconds.
Level meter peaks never drop: When this option is selected, the peak level will be shown until playback is restarted.

Show colour editor: This option displays the colour editor for configuring the appearance of Tracktion. The editor is described in the next section of this chapter.

2.10 The Colour Editor

The colour editor (Fig. 2.10.1) allows you to adjust the appearance of Tracktion to your taste. The colour editor is highly versatile, allowing nearly every aspect of Tracktion’s user interface to be altered.

The list on the left-hand side of the window contains all of the modifiable UI elements. When an item is selected, its colour can be adjusted via the colour controls on the right-hand side of the editor.

Colour changes generally affect the user interface in real-time, so you can see the impact your changes are having, as you work. If you find user interface elements that do not update in real-time, switching back and forth between pages will show the changes.

Tracktion also ships with some preset colour schemes. You can access these from the “preset schemes” button. In addition to providing some great alternatives to the default Tracktion look, you may find it useful to look through these to get a feel for how the editor can be used to customise Tracktion.

Tip: To make real-time changes to elements on the edit page, use the SHIFT + CTRL + G (SHIFT + ALT + C for Mac users) keyboard shortcut to display the colour editor, without having to switch page tabs.

Load colour scheme...: Load a previously saved colour scheme. When this button is clicked, a standard file-requestor dialogue-box appears. From this box you can navigate to a previously saved colour-scheme file on your hard-drive.

Save colour scheme ...: Save the current colour scheme. When this button is clicked, a standard file-requestor dialogue-box appears. from this box you can select a file-name and a path under which to save your colour scheme.

Preset schemes...: Click this button to access a collection of preset colour schemes. Undo: If you edit an element’s colour, but are unhappy with the result, you can use the undo button to return the element back to the pre-edit colour.

The colour box: The top-tight hand side of the colour editor shows the current colour, and the hexadecimal value for it.

The saturation/lightness selector box: The large square region allows you to adjust the colour shade of the selected element. Click on the region that matches your desired shade to select it.

The hue selector: The vertical hue selector strip is used to pick a base colour. If, for example, you wanted a light yellow colour, click on the yellow region of the hue selector bar and use the saturation/lightness box to create the specific shade of yellow you have in mind.

Red: You can use this control to adjust the red content in the colour. In addition, you can enter a red value as a hexadecimal number.

Green: You can use this control to adjust the green content in the colour. In addition, you can enter a green value as a hexadecimal number.

Blue: You can use this control to adjust the blue content in the colour. In addition, you can enter a blue value as a hexadecimal number.

Alpha: The alpha value controls how “opaque,” or transparent, the colour is. An alpha value of zero effectively makes the selected element invisible. Correspondingly, setting the alpha slider to the far right (value “FF”) produces a solid colour that completely hides elements beneath it. To see some of the selected element’s background “through” the element, choose an alpha value somewhere between these two extremes.

Note: Changes made to the colour editor are remembered between sessions, but it is still a good idea to save your scheme.