Does DP7 have a "flex time" or "elastic time" type tool?

[MonoPoly307]

Hi Guys

I've been held back from moving to DP because it doesn't have a tool for moving audio around like Logic's Flex Time, or ProTools' Elastic Time.

This tool is really handy (indeed necessary) for tightening up parts, right in the arrange window.

Does DP7 introduce something like this?

Cheers
Mike

[Shooshie]

Yes. It takes a lower profile in DP, because DP was the first to have it implemented at a level that was practical and didn't produce "chipmunk" or "whale" sounds. In other words, it's been there for well over a decade in DP, with refinements over the years. In DP you can create an entirely new conductor track, which has entirely different tempos all through it, including ritards, pauses and so on, then select the audio tracks and choose "Adjust soundbites to sequence tempos," and in a couple of seconds it perfectly matches the new version, without artifacts. We just don't have a cute name for it.


Shooshie

[timriley]

[MonoPoly307]

Yes. It takes a lower profile in DP, because DP was the first to have it implemented at a level that was practical and didn't produce "chipmunk" or "whale" sounds. In other words, it's been there for well over a decade in DP, with refinements over the years. In DP you can create an entirely new conductor track, which has entirely different tempos all through it, including ritards, pauses and so on, then select the audio tracks and choose "Adjust soundbites to sequence tempos," and in a couple of seconds it perfectly matches the new version, without artifacts. We just don't have a cute name for it.


Shooshie

Hey Shooshie,

Thanks for the quick reply.

Sounds good... just to confirm though... say you had a vocal line, let's say the line was "fish explode on tuesdays". If the "tues" syllable came in a bit early, and you wanted to move just that syllable using a warping type tool, could you do it?

I thought the DP warping was more just in terms of stretching or squashing little sections, but didn't let you get down to a note or syllable level of editing...

Would love some clarification on this!

Cheers,
Mike

[James Steele]

Select the "Tues" syllable by draging around the area of the Waveform.

Command + Y to separate the syllable.

Stretch the syllable.

Crossfade edges of syllable.

Done.

Kudos to Logic and PT for coming up with such a marketable word in "flex time" and "elastic time." This question probably needs to go in a FAQ already.

[Shooshie]

James, when you say "stretch audio" are you talking about using the Audio Time Scale function in the "Scale Time" dialog?

[Kubi]

You can just grab the sound bite and stretch it into place. No need to use Scale time.

[Shooshie]

You can just grab the sound bite and stretch it into place. No need to use Scale time.

Weird. I had my audio tracks set to "Mini" size, and I couldn't get the hand tool (the one for stretching, not for moving). I thought I was doing something wrong, or else I was remembering things differently than they actually were, or... that DP7 had lost that feature! But when I resized to "small" or "Medium" the hand tool appears right below the fade tool, just as it's supposed to.

Shooshie

[FutureLegends]

But also kudos to Logic for the new functions in Logic 9 where you don't have to split audiobites to do stuff like this. Supereasy. It's certainly possible do do this stuff in DP but it surely has some catching up to to in this department... The ability to 'snap' to measures or beats in other tracks would be great!

Select the "Tues" syllable by draging around the area of the Waveform.
Command + Y to separate the syllable.
Stretch the syllable.
Crossfade edges of syllable.
Done.
Kudos to Logic and PT for coming up with such a marketable word in "flex time" and "elastic time." This question probably needs to go in a FAQ already.

[jloeb]

But also kudos to Logic for the new functions in Logic 9 where you don't have to split audiobites to do stuff like this. Supereasy. It's certainly possible do do this stuff in DP but it surely has some catching up to to in this department... The ability to 'snap' to measures or beats in other tracks would be great!

Yes the kudos are due, and yes DP's way of handling time stretching could use a little sprucing up, and I'm sure it will get it. But all the capability is there, and for the average user the feature works well.

Compare DP's native pitch editing/correction features to Logic's, though. With DP and "flextime," you have to do an extra step in DP to get the same result. With Logic and real pitch editing, you need to buy a third-party plugin to even have the functionality.

In other words, anyone considering between the two on the issue of "flextime" needs to know that DP brings a way to get the same job done (and that DP had that ability years ahead of every other major DAW). But regarding the advanced pitch and MIDI editing features that DP has, that's not true of some other major DAWs, including the ones hawking flextime/elastic audio.

[visconti]

I have to say that I LOVE the way these functions are implemented into DP. In my opinion having to split the soundbites gives you better end results than elastic audio in pro tools. It may not be cleaner visually, but it gives me an exact sense of what I'm editing. It works especially well for drum editing, cymbals in particular.

As far as DP's pitch correction abilities go, I've yet to see a DAW sporting an integrated editor that works so well, and is so intuitive.
All without auto-tune or melodyne's price tag.

These two features in particular were selling points for me!

[zaratero]

Indeed they were a selling point for me as well.