This must be easy... (recording multiple passes)

[banta24]

This must be easy, so there's probably a problem between the chair and the keyboard

All I'm trying to do is set the song boundaries, turn on overdub and memory cycle modes, and then head into the live room to sing multiple passes of a song. I can't seem to make it work. The recording stops after the 1st pass, even though the song does cycle playback properly.

I had hoped that POLAR could handle such an easy loop record, but they seem to have left out the ability to create a new take on each memory cycle restart without intervention from the user.

So, how should I go about getting multiple takes on a track without having to run back into the control room to restart the recording process?

Thanks!

[Dwetmaster]

Is overdub on? ( that's the little knob right under the play button on the control panel.)

[grouse]

Not sure which version of DP you're on because this has probably changed since the addition of the "comping" feature in 6....but in 5.13 on an audio track with "memory cycle" and "overdub" enabled the track will automatically create a new take as the track cycles between the memory points.
When you stop play it jumps back to "take 1", don't be fooled by this, if you look at the take drop down menu all the other takes you did will be there.
I have a feeling you might have "auto stop" enabled instead of memory cycle. Memory cycle is turned on by pressing the "-" key.
Just make sure auto stop is disabled.

[banta24]

Thanks for the replies guys!

I was certain that I had both memory cycle and overdub turned on and that auto stop was off, but I will double check.

Edit: I'm using DP 5.13

Cheers!

[midifool]

I didn't ask the question, but I sure did benefit from the reply.

I had just laid down a nice bass line and just needed to brainstorm a vocal melody for a bit, creating a new take with each pass. I knew there had to be a way to do this in DP7, but I sure couldn't find it in the manual. I played around with POLAR too!! I finally thought to come to MOTUNation, and I found the answer here with a few minutes!! Thanks for the info!!

[FMiguelez]

I had hoped that POLAR could handle such an easy loop record, but they seem to have left out the ability to create a new take on each memory cycle restart without intervention from the user.

I've never used POLAR, but I remember reading from the manual (long ago) that it saves in RAM all the takes you do automatically. You can keep jamming and you don't have to worry about anything. If I'm not mistaken, that is precisely its raison d'etre.

[misterlast]

I'm replying to an old post here, since I'm searching to see if Polar was updated from version 5.13 to 7.12.
But if using Polar, a new take is created each pass, but they are layered on top of each other. You have multiple export options, and can set it up so you can separate each take later, or combine them into one track.

With memory cycle and overdub recording, it's handled differently depending on whether you're using MIDI or audio. With MIDI overdub notes are added and layered with each pass, much like Polar. But with audio, a new take is created, so you have to find those passes in the dropdown arrow in the take column.

Hope it worked out back in February,

[magicd]

POLAR is killer for this job.

There are two ways to record multiple takes in POLAR. You can either increment the take manual, or you can set the new take to be created by gate trigger. If you set the new take to be generated by gate trigger, you have attack, release, and threshold conrols. Generally, the attack is best left at default. You'll probably want to adjust a longer release time so that POLAR doesn't make a new take everytime you pause between notes.

The auto take feature doesn't work if you don't stop playing. Therefore, I set an extra bar or two on the loop, so POLAR has time to reset for the next take.

Dave

[Tritonemusic]

Therefore, I set an extra bar or two on the loop, so POLAR has time to reset for the next take.

Dave

I can't believe I never thought of doing that. Generally, I've been getting along just fine with POLAR but this tip is really good to know. Perhaps I'll try it later today (I'm still waiting for UPS to show up today with my brand new DP7 CD and Manual).

[misterlast]

I'm not sure Polar would be used for what the original poster was trying for, but while going off on Polar:

Yes the extra bars suggestion is a great tip, as is the longer release time. I actually do change the threshold often depending on my recording conditions or desired results.
Just got DP7 and checked out Polar to see if there were any changes from DP 5.13 and although I'm glad to see it's still there, I'm surprised that it seems you still cant option click or shift click or drag across the play buttons in the way you can in the tracks window, etc.

Am I missing something? I realize that Polar seems to be vastly underused among DP users, but it is such a great aspect of the program that it seem to be to be deserving of more promotion and a few tweaks. I find it much more elegant at doing what it does than trying to set up a similar situation in Ableton Live.

But honestly the lack of being able to more quickly select groups of passes to play, by dragging or shift-clicking, or to easily solo passes, discourages me from using it more often. Hopefully I'm just missing a shortcut?

[Tritonemusic]

I'm surprised that it seems you still cant option click or shift click or drag across the play buttons in the way you can in the tracks window, etc.

Am I missing something?

I'm not aware of a way to do what you describe. However, there are many times I wished the feature was available. Perhaps it's time to send the idea to MOTU's suggestion box.

[magicd]

But honestly the lack of being able to more quickly select groups of passes to play, by dragging or shift-clicking, or to easily solo passes, discourages me from using it more often. Hopefully I'm just missing a shortcut?

Good suggestion. In the mean time, print the passes to tracks in DP and work with the tracks there.

Dave

[misterlast]

Thanks,
I do end up printing the passes, but it would be great to be able to lessen the number that I have to print, since I often print the polar session into a project that already has multiple virtual instruments which take up processing power.

Also, maybe there's a way around this, but when printing multiple polar sessions, the second session overwrites, or at least overlays the new polar audio tracks over the old ones. I have got around this by renaming the first set of polar tracks first, but it would be great (since I embarassingly end up with so many polar tracks to go through, if the numbers could just continue. For example if I print one polar session with tracks 1-4, the next session could continue at 5-8.

Another naming inconvenience i have found with naming, is that currently, if I print polar passes to separate tracks, with four passes for four tracks for example, then the track automatically named Polar-1 will contain the audio file title Polar out-pass-4. Polar-2 will have Polar out-pass-3, Polar-3 will have Polar out-pass-2, and Polar-4 will have Polar out -pass-1 ... essentially the whole thing is reversed which leads to accumalations of multiple minor naming hassles. Maybe my preferences are set up wrong, but I can't find a reason why it is doing this.

[Shooshie]

Printing tracks shouldn't affect your CPU. Your VI's do not double; only the tracks.

Just occurred to me; are you a former Logic user? In DP, tracks and instruments are separate things, just as they were back in the days of rack gear. You an print as many tracks to an instrument as you want, and as long as they all aren't playing at once, the CPU hit will not rise. Even if they all play at once, the hit is only in playing the extra notes, not holding another instrument in RAM.

Shooshie

[misterlast]

Hi,
Maybe I wasn't clear, I'm talking about printing polar passes, not printing or freezing virtual instruments. I'm not a former Logic user and appreciate having the MIDI tracks and instrument tracks separate. I also have appreciated the freeze feature which allows me to treat virtual instruments as if they were audio to free up CPU.

There are times though, when I want the to tinker with many MIDI tracks fed to VI's and Polar at the same time, and i tend to run up the number of tracks, wish to play them all at once, and edit MIDI and reduce and combine them later, so there have been times when my CPU was maxed out (though I confess that was with a powerbook G4, and it hasn't really been an issue with my macbook pro).

Regardless, the issue for me was with Polar, trying to streamline and cut down the number of passes before they're printed onto audio tracks. And then the fact that when printing, Polar creates audio tracks, and then creates audio files which are named in reverse order of those tracks. Then if i attempt to print more than one polar session per sequence, the new polar passes (now audio files, or "soundbites" are laid on top of the prexisting Polar audio tracks. I then have to create new audio tracks, and drag the soundbites off of the prexisting Polar audio tracks and go through a renaming hassle and try to sort everything out, which is a pain if my first polar session had, say, 9 passes, and my second session had 13 or even 30 passes.

Thus my desire for shifting-clicking, option-clicking and dragging over the play buttons within Polar before printing. And if I must print them all to audio tracks to sort them out, it would be great if they could be named in a more sequential manner without being placed over my first polar tracks, though I understand the names could get long and crazy, and wouldn't reflect the names of the passes in the second Polar session. At the very least, the names of the audio files or soundbites should reflect the name of the Polar audio track.

Thanks so much all,
I appreciate the responsiveness of this forum