Steinberg Cubase SX/SL 3 Operation Manual
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CUBASE SX/SL19 – 422 Audio warp realtime processing Background Audio warp is the generic name for the realtime time stretching and pitch shifting functions in Cubase SX/SL. The main audio warp fea- tures are as follows: • Tempo match any audio loop to the project tempo – see page 423. • Match up an audio clip with fluctuating tempo to a fixed tempo – see page 430. • Pitch shift any number of audio clips in realtime – see page 439. • Quantize audio – see page 437. • Freeze the realtime processing to optimize the audio sound quality and lessen the CPU load – see page 440. Hitpoints and Audio warp features Hitpoints are also used for some of the realtime processing features. When you use hitpoints for this purpose, you should not create audio slices. Instead hitpoints are used to create warp tabs, which can, amongst other things, be used to quantize audio - see page 437. In the “Hitpoints” chapter, the focus is placed on using hitpoints for slic- ing audio. However, all the basic operations for creating and editing hitpoints are the same, apart from creating audio slices. About Musical mode Musical mode is one of the key audio warp features. It allows you to lock audio clips to the project tempo by using realtime time stretching. Before you can activate Musical mode you have to specify a length or tempo for an audio file or loop using the Audio Tempo Definition tool – see page 423. In Musical mode, audio events will adapt to any tempo changes in Cubase SX/SL, just like MIDI events. About ACID® loops Cubase SX/SL supports ACID® loops. These loops are standard au- dio files but with embedded tempo/length information. When ACID® files are imported into Cubase SX/SL, Musical mode is automatically activated and the loops will adapt to the tempo set in the project.
CUBASE SX/SLAudio warp realtime processing19 – 423 Using the Audio Tempo Definition tool The Audio Tempo Definition tool can be found in the Sample Editor, where most audio warp related editing takes place. When this tool is selected, you can set the tempo, length (in bars and beats) and time signature for an audio file. Once these parameters have been set correctly, you can activate Musical mode and the audio file will sync to the project tempo in Cubase SX/SL by using realtime time stretching. The Audio Tempo Definition tool is also used when calculating hitpoints. It can basically be used in the following ways: •To determine the tempo of an audio loop. This is virtually an automatic process – simply enter the length of the loop and the cor- rect tempo will be calculated, see below. •To determine the tempo of an audio clip. In case you have an audio clip with an unknown length and tempo you can calculate the tempo by defining the length of one bar, see page 426. Determining the tempo of an audio loop and activating Musical mode Files that already contain tempo information (i.e. ACID® files – see page 422) will automatically have Musical mode activated when imported, and the below steps are not necessary. To determine the tempo of an audio file with an unknown source tempo and length, see page 426. You can adapt the tempo of an audio loop, i.e. an audio clip of a given musical length, to the project tempo in Cubase SX/SL. Once Musical mode has been set, the loop will follow any tempo variations in real- time. The first step is to import a loop. This could be any loop, just as long as it meets the basic criteria, e.g. a loop that is exactly 2 or 4 bars long at a given tempo (if you don’t know the tempo it doesn’t matter).
CUBASE SX/SL19 – 424 Audio warp realtime processing 1.Import a suitable loop, for example a drum loop. 2.Double-click the loop in the Project window to open the Sample Edi- tor. On the toolbar you can find three numerical edit fields for setting the time signature, audio tempo and bars & beats. You can only edit these values when the Audio Tempo Definition tool is selected. The signature, audio tempo and tempo fields in the Sample Editor. 3.Select the Audio Tempo Definition tool (the button with a note symbol between arrows). A grid appears in the waveform display, and the ruler resolution is automatically set to Bars and Beats. The Audio Tempo Definition tool. A suggested bar length and tempo is set automatically, based on the length of the loop. You will get the best results with short loops (1 or 2 bars) that are cut precisely. But if the project tempo and loop tempo differ a lot, or if the loop should have a time signature other than 4/4, the calculated settings will be incorrect. If so, simply determine how many bars the loop is (and/or what time signature it is in) by listening (most loops are typically 1 to 4 bars long and in 4/4 time). 4.Enter the correct number of bars in the Bars field (and if necessary the time signature in the Signature field). •Alternatively, should you know the tempo (the tempo is often part of the loop name, e.g. “SloGroove_105bpm”) but not the length, you can enter the tempo to calculate the correct loop length. Once you have set the correct tempo and length you are ready to ac- tivate Musical mode for the loop.
CUBASE SX/SLAudio warp realtime processing19 – 425 5.Click the Musical mode button (the note button to the right of the Bars and Beats field) so that it lights up. The Musical mode button. Now the loop is automatically stretched. To the far right on the Sam- ple Editor toolbar you can find a warp setting pop-up and a warp icon. The warp icon is lit up if the audio clip is stretched. On the “warp setting” pop-up you can find various warp options that govern the audio quality of the realtime time stretching. There are pre- sets for common types of audio material, and an Advanced option where you can manually set warp parameters. See page 435 for a de- scription of the warp setting parameters. 6.Select the warp setting preset that best corresponds to the audio loop material and close the Sample Editor. 7.Activate playback. Now the loop will automatically adjust to the project tempo, and follow any further tempo changes you make! In the Project window, the au- dio event will have a note symbol and two arrows in the lower right corner. The note symbol indicates Musical mode and the arrow indi- cates that the file is stretched.
CUBASE SX/SL19 – 426 Audio warp realtime processing Activating Musical mode in the Pool It is also possible to activate/deactivate Musical mode from the Pool. When you have correctly set a tempo or length for an audio clip, this information is saved with the project. This allows you to import files into the project with Musical mode already activated. If you import a new file into the Pool, or if a clip in the pool has not had tempo or length set using the Audio Tempo Definition tool, the tempo is un- known. If you try to activate Musical mode in the Pool for such files, a dialog appears where you have to enter the tempo before Musical mode is activated. Determining the tempo of an audio clip You can also use the Audio Tempo Definition tool to determine the tempo of an audio clip with an unknown length and source tempo. For this to work properly the audio clip must have a steady tempo that doesn’t vary over time. After importing the audio file, the first thing you should do is to make sure that, with the Audio Tempo Definition tool selected, the first downbeat of the audio clip is aligned with the first beat of the first bar in the Sample Editor: 1.Import the audio file. 2.Double-click the audio event to open the Sample Editor. 3.Select the Audio Tempo Definition tool. When the Audio Tempo Definition tool is selected the Sample Editor ruler does not reflect the audio event position in the Project window, but instead displays the length of the audio file in bars and beats. In case the audio file starts with a downbeat there is no problem. But in case it doesn’t, you can offset the ruler in the Sample Editor. 4.Audition the file to determine where the first downbeat occurs. Stop the auditioning when you have located it.
CUBASE SX/SLAudio warp realtime processing19 – 427 5.Move the mouse pointer to the upper part of the ruler until the pointer changes to a hand symbol. 6.Click and drag the ruler to the right until the first bar in the ruler matches the first downbeat in the sample. 7.Release the mouse button. Now the ruler grid is offset so that it starts on the first downbeat in the sample. 8.Audition the file to determine where the next downbeat occurs, i.e. the first beat of the second bar in the sample. Stop the auditioning when you have located it.
CUBASE SX/SL19 – 428 Audio warp realtime processing 9.In this example the second downbeat in the sample is located at the start of the second beat of the second bar (at the cursor position in the picture). 10.Place the mouse pointer at the start of bar 2 in the waveform display. The pointer changes to a metronome icon with a blue line indicating the pointer posi- tion. The pointer will snap to the grid positions.
CUBASE SX/SLAudio warp realtime processing19 – 429 11.Click and drag the grid to the right until the second bar in the ruler is aligned with the position of the second downbeat of the sample, and release the mouse button. The correct tempo is automatically calculated, based on the time it takes for one bar to finish. 12.Now you can enter Musical mode, and the audio clip will adapt to the tempo in Cubase SX/SL.
CUBASE SX/SL19 – 430 Audio warp realtime processing Warp tabs and the Warp Samples tool Warp tabs are a kind of marker or anchor that can be attached to mu- sically relevant time positions in an audio event, e.g. the first beat of every bar. Warp tabs can be dragged to the corresponding time posi- tions in the project, and the audio will be stretched accordingly. A typical application of warp tabs is to make an audio file with a vary- ing tempo lock to a strict tempo. Using this method, any performance recorded “live” with natural tempo variations can be adapted to a spe- cific, exact tempo. Using warp tabs Warp tabs are created using the Warp Samples tool in the Sample Editor, but can also be created from hitpoints (see page 436) or by using Quantize Audio (see page 437). In this example we will demon- strate how a file with a slightly varying tempo can be locked to a steady tempo by using warp tabs. 1.Open an audio file you wish to process in the Sample Editor. 2.Select the Audio Tempo Definition tool and enter the original tempo (if this is non-varying) or the length of the file. 3.Enter Musical mode so that the audio event is stretched to the project tempo.