Dp7.0 and Vocalign

[Billyrock]

Just loaded Dp7.0 and all seemed great until i tried some aligning..I use vocalign project 2.9 which worked fine in DP6.02 but isn't happy with Dp7.0
vocalign has become an essential part of my process. i'm sure there will be a fix, hopefully sooner than later.
otherwise, first impressions of DP7.0 are pretty good.

are any of you using DP7.0 and vocalign sucessfully?
all the best
billyrock

G5Quad ppc 4X2.5, 6gig ram, OS10.5.8,DP7.0, 6.02, motu 2408Mk3, MIDI express, apogee rosetta 200, other things that i love

[Billyrock]

i can get vocalign to work although only by selecting audio within soundbites.
the past i would make the dub file have the same length as the guide file (by dragging the beginning and end of file) before aligning. this process seemed to produce the best results.
vocalign is quirky in DP7 but at least it seems to work.

still working on a mix aprox 40 audio tracks @ 24/41, 10 MIDI tracks. no crashes yet this evening though it seems DP7 takes alittle longer to save.

keep rocking

[Billyrock]

final thought for DP7.0, day one.
not one crash! Dp7.0 very stable for me - more so than 6.02.
can deal with quirky vocalign. new guitar plugs seem cool though didn't spend too much time fooling around with them.
saving takes a little longer than in 6.02

very auspicious beginning - so glad i went for Dp7.0

peace

[Billyrock]

I know, it probably seems a little creepy that i keep replying to my own posts but i thought the following might set us all to thinking about MOTU, Synchroarts and how they go about their biz.
I emailed Synchroarts to see if i needed an upgrade from Vocalign project vs. 2.9 for DP7.0 and got the following response:

"We have not yet tested VocAlign with DP 7"......mmmmm

i would have thought motu and synchro would test this before releasing DP7, no?
i had the same problem when moving to DP5, which was eventually resolved with an updated version of Vocalign pro.

i am not a motu basher but in Dp7 the commands for Vocalign are embedded in the program. it should, in my opinion, have been tested by both companies before release.
thoughts?

billyrock

[wurliuchi]

I know, it probably seems a little creepy that i keep replying to my own posts but i thought the following might set us all to thinking about MOTU, Synchroarts and how they go about their biz.
I emailed Synchroarts to see if i needed an upgrade from Vocalign project vs. 2.9 for DP7.0 and got the following response:

"We have not yet tested VocAlign with DP 7"......mmmmm

i would have thought motu and synchro would test this before releasing DP7, no?
i had the same problem when moving to DP5, which was eventually resolved with an updated version of Vocalign pro.

i am not a motu basher but in Dp7 the commands for Vocalign are embedded in the program. it should, in my opinion, have been tested by both companies before release.
thoughts?

billyrock

Being that Vocalign is a menu item, yes, I agree, I would think it would have at least been tested by now and an updated version would be in the works. But that's assuming these companies have their ---- together.

[martian]

"We have not yet tested VocAlign with DP 7"......mmmmm


billyrock

at least you got a reply from them - and an honest one!

I have been interested in vocalign for a while -

does it use DP's stretch algorithm?

I did try the demo - but never got it to work... ( must have needed an update..)

Are all the audio edit functions in DP7 working ok?

u mention save times - I find 6 is slow on my intel imac to save - bit faster on mac pro...

[sdfalk]

does it use DP's stretch algorithm?

No..having used it in Protools..it sounds far better then DP's stretch algorithm

[Billyrock]

"at least you got a reply from them - and an honest one! "
yes - i was very pleased that they responded so quickly. I do love my vocalign - i do lots of vocals and find an invaluable tool.

"Are all the audio edit functions in DP7 working ok? " all edit functions seem to work ok - so far have only edited audio in DP7 - MIDI editing today so we'll see.

"u mention save times - I find 6 is slow on my intel imac to save - bit faster on mac pro..."

i can live with longer save times if there aren't lots of crashes - so far not one crash in two 6 hour sessions. i am delighted with DP7 so far.

all the best
billyrock

[miditime]

I've kept up with OSX updates - 10.5.8
I've kept up with MOTU DP updates - 7.01
Vocalign 2.9.3 has been working fine with DP7
I had updated to 7.01 not to long ago.
It's probably not even related to the problem I am presently having with Vocalign.
When I go to set a guide or dub file inside MOTU DP - all the options are grayed out, except for clear files after align.
It seems to work in stand alone mode.
I haven't been moving anything inside system folders, etc.
How do you recommend I fix Vocalign for use with DP?
Thanks very much!

[Renaissance Man]

I had to convert from wav. files to another format to make it work in DP5. working ok in DP6. Haven't upgraded to 7 yet so I don't know.

[martian]

does it use DP's stretch algorithm?

No..having used it in Protools..it sounds far better then DP's stretch algorithm

not sure I understand..

I agree protools time stretch does sound better than DP's - but not clear if vocalign is using DP stretch or it's own?

I have downloaded the demo- but maybe I didnt invest enough time in fiddling - I always tried it just when I needed it! - it never worked for me- options were greyed out ( set dub blah blah)

still intrigued tho - I do lots of language versions and this could save me heaps of time...

[sdfalk]

Vocalign uses it's own..
Wow.. I haven't thought of this post in awhile..

[martian]

well its good to know that!

sorry if this is a fragmented conversation- I was getting on and just working with DP for a while instead of just moaning about it.,,,

so my understanding of vocalign is you set a bunch of clips - dialog or singing - that u want to sync to another track- u let vocalign know which is which -

press a button and hey presto faster than u can say "magic dave" they match?

[Renaissance Man]

Not quite that easy but in essence - yes.
I'm using VocAlign Project in DP6. The user can choose from several variations within the VocAlign program which are tailored to specific needs.
If the phrases are similar in length, use standard, if one is quite a bit longer than the others, use Maximum Compression on it, if one phrase is much shorter that the others use maximum expansion on it, and so on.
I’ve had the best luck cutting the vocals into segments and aligning shorter phrases. Also, I usually have the best result if I align the head of each phrase.
In a four part harmony example, I pick the singer with the phrasing, timing and delivery that best suits the song (this can change from phrase to phrase if you like), and use him/her as the guide to which the other singers will be aligned. Then I cut the vocals into manageable segments. For example, a phrase “On that day we’ll all be free”. Line up the start point of each phrase with the guide file (best vocal) and cut off the excess blank space so each of the parts are the same length i.e. the singer with the shortest phrase may have considerable blank space at the end of the phrase. Just make sure all four of the parts are the same length, and be sure to include a bit of silence at the head and tail, using the longest phrase as your measure. This allows for movement without clipping off the beginning or end of the waveform.
There are tricks you learn and it gets easier as you go. It’s a straightforward and very effective tool, flexible, a great time saver and Syncro Arts has supported the product well over the years.
Note: For the best result, each part has to be clean and well isolated with no bleed from the other parts. Otherwise the bleed in the background of a VocAligned part won’t match up with the others.

[martian]

it does sound interesting and useful...

I will try downloading the demo and see if I can get it to work on my mac pro - last time I tried was on my imac in 10.4.11

but it didnt work - and I didnt know what wires to wiggle?