Steinberg Cubase Le 8 Manual
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Audio processing and functions Audio processing 271 The dialog contains the following parameters: Define Bars section In this section, you set the length of the selected audio and the time signature: •Bars If you use the tempo setting (see below), specify the length of the selected audio here, in bars. •Beats If you use the tempo setting, specify the length of the selected audio here, in beats. •Sign. If you use the tempo setting, specify the time signature here. Original Length section This section contains information and settings regarding the audio selected for processing: •Length in Samples The length of the selected audio, in samples. •Length in Seconds The length of the selected audio, in seconds. •Tempo in BPM If you are processing music, and know the actual tempo of the audio, you can enter it here as beats per minute. This makes it possible to time-stretch the audio to another tempo, without having to compute the actual time stretch amount. Resulting Length section These settings are used if you want to stretch the audio to fit within a specific time span or tempo. The values will change automatically if you adjust the Time Stretch Ratio (see below). •Samples The desired length in samples. •Seconds The desired length in seconds. •BPM The desired tempo (beats per minute). For this to work, you have to know the actual tempo of the audio, and specify this (along with time signature and length in bars) in the Original Length section to the left. Seconds Range section These settings allow you to set the desired range for the time stretch. •Range Allows you to specify the desired length as a range between two time positions.
Audio processing and functions Freeze Edits 272 •Use Locators Clicking the diamond-shaped button below the Range fields sets the Range values to the left and right Locator positions, respectively. Time Stretch Ratio section The Time Stretch Ratio determines the amount of time stretch as a percentage of the original length. If you use the settings in the Resulting Length section to specify the amount of time stretch, this value will change automatically. Algorithm section Here you can choose a preset for the realtime time stretch algorithm. RELATED LINKS Time stretch algorithm on page 279 Freeze Edits The Freeze Edits function on the Audio menu allows you to make all processing and applied effects permanent for a clip: PROCEDURE 1. Select the clip in the Pool or one of its events in the Project window. 2. Select “Freeze Edits…” from the Audio menu. • If there is only one edit version of the clip (no other clips refer to the same audio file), the following dialog will appear: If you select “Replace”, all edits will be applied to the original audio file (the one listed in the clip’s Path column in the Pool). If you select “New File”, the Freeze Edits operation will create a new file in the Audio folder within the project folder (leaving the original audio file unaffected). • If the selected clip (or the clip played by the selected event) has several edit versions (i. e. there are other clips referring to the same audio file), the following alert will appear: As you can see, you do not have the option to Replace the original audio file in this case. This is because that audio file is used by other clips. Select “New File” to have a new file created in the Audio folder within the project folder. NOTE After a Freeze Edits, the clip refers to a new, single audio file.
Audio processing and functions Detect Silence 273 Detect Silence The Detect Silence function searches for silent sections in an event and either splits the event, removing the silent parts from the project, or creates regions corresponding to the non-silent sections. • To open the Detect Silence dialog, select one or several audio events in the Project window or the Audio Part Editor. On the Audio menu, open the Advanced submenu and select “Detect Silence”. If you select more than one event, the Detect Silence dialog allows you to process the selected events successively with individual settings or to apply the same settings to all selected events at once. The settings have the following functionality: Open Threshold When the audio level exceeds this value, the function “opens”, i. e. lets the sound pass. Audio material below the set level is detected as “silence”. Set this value low enough to open when a sound starts, but high enough to remove unwanted noise during “silent” sections. Close Threshold When the audio level drops below this value, the function “closes”, i. e. sounds below this level are detected as “silence”. This value cannot be higher than the Open Threshold value. Set this value high enough to remove unwanted noise during “silent” sections. Linked If this checkbox is activated, the Open and Close Threshold values are always set to the same value. Min. time open Determines the minimum time that the function will remain “open” after the audio level has exceeded the Open Threshold value. If the audio contains repeated short sounds, and you find that this results in too many short “open” sections, try raising this value.
Audio processing and functions Detect Silence 274 Min. time closed Determines the minimum time that the function will remain “closed” after the audio level has dropped below the Close Threshold value. Set this to a low value to avoid removing sounds. Pre-roll Allows you to cause the function to “open” slightly before the audio level exceeds the Open Threshold value. In other words, the start of each “open” section is moved to the left according to the time you set here. This is useful to avoid removing the attack of sounds. Post-roll Allows you to cause the function to “close” slightly after the audio level drops below the Close Threshold value. This is useful to avoid removing the natural decay of sounds. Add as Regions “Add as Regions” will create regions according to the non-silent sections. If you activate the “Add as Regions” option, you can specify a name for the regions in the Region Name field. In addition to the name, the regions will be numbered, starting with the number specified in the “Auto Number Start” field. Strip Silence “Strip Silence” will split the event at the beginning and end of each non-silent section, and remove the silent sections in between. Process all selected Events If you have selected more than one event, you can activate the “Process all selected Events” checkbox to apply the same settings to all selected events. Compute The audio event is analyzed, and the waveform display is redrawn to indicate which sections are considered “silent” according to your settings. Above the Compute button, the number of detected regions is displayed. Auto If you activate the Auto checkbox next to the Compute button, the audio event is analyzed (and the display is updated) automatically every time you change the settings in the Detection section of the dialog. Deactivate this option when you are working with very long files, as this process might take some time. Adjustments in the waveform display The upper part of the dialog displays a waveform image of the selected audio event. In case you have selected several audio events, the waveform of the event that you have selected first is shown.
Audio processing and functions Detect Silence 275 You can make the following adjustments: • With the zoom slider below the waveform to the right, zoom in and out on the waveform. You can also click in the waveform, keep the mouse button pressed, and move the mouse for zooming. Move the mouse down to zoom in and move it up to zoom out. • If you have zoomed in on the waveform, it may not be completely visible anymore. In this case, the scrollbar to the left of the zoom slider allows you to scroll through the waveform. You can also use the mouse wheel for scrolling through the waveform. • If the Linked option in the Detection section is deactivated, you can use the green square at the beginning and the red square at the end of the audio file to graphically adjust the Open and Close Threshold values (respectively). When “Linked” is activated, you can use either square to adjust both values. The Open and Close Threshold values in the Detection section reflect these changes. Making settings and processing The lower part of the Detect Silence dialog provides settings for the detection and processing of “silent” sections. PROCEDURE 1. Adjust the settings in the Detection section to the left. 2. Click the Compute button. The audio event is analyzed, and the waveform display is redrawn to indicate which sections are considered “silent” according to your settings. Above the Compute button, the number of detected regions is displayed. 3. Click “Preview” to listen to the result. The event is played back repeatedly in its entire length, but with the “closed” sections silenced. 4. Adjust the settings in the Detection section until you are satisfied with the result. 5. In the Output section, activate the “Add as Regions” or the “Strip Silence” option, or both. 6. Click the Process button. The event is split and/or regions are added.
Audio processing and functions The Spectrum Analyzer 276 NOTE If you have selected more than one event and did not activate the “Process all selected Events” option in the Output section, the dialog opens again after processing, allowing you to make separate settings for the next event. The Spectrum Analyzer This function analyzes the selected audio, computes the average “spectrum” (level distribution over the frequency range) and displays this as a two-dimensional graph, with frequency on the x-axis and level on the y-axis. PROCEDURE 1. Make an audio selection (a clip, an event or a range selection). 2. Select “Spectrum Analyzer” from the Audio menu. A dialog with settings for the analysis appears. The default values give good results in most situations, but you can adjust the settings if you like: •Size in Samples The function divides the audio into “analysis blocks”, the size of which is set here. The larger this value, the higher the frequency resolution of the resulting spectrum. •Size of Overlap The overlap between each analysis block. •Window used Allows you to select which window type is used for the FFT (Fast Fourier Transform, the mathematical method used for computing the spectrum). •Normalized Values When this is activated, the resulting level values are scaled, so that the highest level is displayed as “1” (0 dB).
Audio processing and functions The Spectrum Analyzer 277 •From Stereo When analyzing stereo material, there is a pop-up menu with the following options: Mono mix – the stereo signal is mixed to mono before analyzing. Mono left/right – the left or right channel signal is used for analysis. Stereo – both channels are analyzed (two separate spectrums will be displayed). 3. Click the Process button. The spectrum is computed and displayed as a graph. 4. You can adjust the display with the settings in the display window: •dB When this is activated, the vertical axis shows dB values. When it is deactivated, values between 0 and 1 are shown. •Freq. log When this is activated, frequencies (on the horizontal axis) are displayed on a logarithmic scale. When it is deactivated, the frequency axis is linear. •Precision Indicates the frequency resolution of the graph. This value cannot be changed here, but is governed by the Size in Samples setting in the previous dialog. •Frequency/Note Allows you to select whether you want the frequencies to be displayed in Hertz or with note names. •Min. Sets the lowest frequency shown in the graph. •Max. Sets the highest frequency shown in the graph. By adjusting the Min and Max values, you can take a closer look at a smaller frequency range. •Active When this is activated, the next Spectrum Analysis will appear in the same window. When deactivated, new Spectrum Analysis results will appear in separate windows. 5. If you move the mouse pointer over the graph, a cross-hair cursor follows the graph curve and the display in the upper right corner shows the frequency/note and level at the current position. To compare the level between two frequencies, move the pointer to one of the frequencies, right-click once and move the pointer to the second frequency. The delta value (the difference in level between the current position and the right-click position) is displayed in the upper right corner (labeled “D”).
Audio processing and functions Statistics 278 • If you analyze stereo audio and selected the “Stereo” option in the first dialog, the graphs for the left and right channel are superimposed in the display, with the left channel graph in white and the right channel graph in yellow. The display in the upper right corner shows the values for the left channel – to see the right channel values, hold down [Shift]. An “L” or “R” is displayed to indicate which channel values are shown. 6. You can leave the window open or close it by clicking the “Close” button. If you leave it open and the “Active” checkbox is ticked, the result of the next Spectrum Analysis will be displayed in the same window. Statistics The Statistics function on the Audio menu analyzes the selected audio (events, clips, or range selections) and displays a window with the following information: Channel The name of the analyzed channel. Min. Sample Value The lowest sample value in dB. Max. Sample Value The highest sample value in dB. Peak Amplitude The largest amplitude in dB. True Peak The maximum absolute level of the audio signal waveform in the continuous time domain. DC Offset The amount of DC Offset as a percentage and in dB.
Audio processing and functions Time stretch algorithm 279 Resolution The current calculated audio resolution. Estimated Pitch The estimated pitch. Sample Rate The sample rate. Average RMS (AES-17) The average loudness in accordance with the AES-17 standard. Max. RMS The highest RMS value. Max. RMS All Channels The highest RMS value of all channels. RELATED LINKS Remove DC Offset on page 269 Time stretch algorithm Standard The Standard algorithm is optimized for CPU efficient realtime processing. The following presets are available: Standard – Drums This mode is best for percussive sounds, because it does not change the timing of your audio. Using this option with certain tuned percussion instruments may lead to audible artifacts. In this case, try the Mix mode as an alternative. Standard – Plucked Use this mode for audio with transients and a relatively stable spectral sound character (e. g. plucked instruments). Standard – Pads Use this mode for pitched audio with slower rhythm and a stable spectral sound character. This minimizes sound artifacts, but the rhythmic accuracy is not preserved. Standard – Vocals This mode is suitable for slower signals with transients and a prominent tonal character (e. g. vocals).
Audio processing and functions Time stretch algorithm 280 Standard – Mix This mode preserves the rhythm and minimizes the artifacts for pitched material that does not meet the above criteria (i. e. with a less homogenous sound character). This preset is selected by default for audio that is not categorized. Standard – Custom This preset allows you to manually tweak the time stretching parameters (see below). By default, the settings that are shown when you open the dialog are those of the last preset used (except if the Solo preset has been selected, see below). Standard – Solo This mode preserves the timbre of the audio. Only use it for monophonic material (solo woodwind/brass instruments or solo vocals, monophonic synths or string instruments that do not play harmonies). If you select the “Standard – Custom” option, a dialog opens where you can manually adjust the three parameters that govern the sound quality of the time stretching: Grain size The standard time-stretching algorithm splits the audio into small pieces called “grains”. This parameter determines the size of the grains. For material with many transients, use low grain size values for best results. Overlap Overlap is the percentage of the whole grain that will overlap with other grains. Use higher values for material with a stable sound character. Variance Variance is also a percentage of the whole length of the grains, and sets a variation in positioning so that the overlapping area sounds smooth. A Variance setting of 0 will produce a sound akin to time stretching used in early samplers, whereas higher settings produce more (rhythmic) “smearing” effects but less audio artifacts.