How deeply do we know our tools?

YouTube · Post by **James Steele** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 9:48 am

You know, I've wondered about this off and on. With all that our software is capable of... from DAWs to the individual plug-ins, how many of us have the TIME to learn ALL that these things are capable of doing?

I have all sorts of Drum VIs, other VIs, effects plugs. I've printed the PDF manuals for most of them and I keep telling myself I'm going to buy some binders and have a print-fest and print the manuals for all my plugs and organize them, etc. What I've realized though is that I have SO MANY and the features can go so deep on them, that I don't really scratch the surface on many of them. There is just SO MUCH to know about these things.

As for DP, like many DAWs, it is so deep and feature rich that an entire semester course could be taught on it and MAYBE you might come close to covering all it can do. There are features in DP that to this day I am sure I have never used.

I hate to dig up an old "endless loop" discussion point, but I sometimes think that the best thing to improve the QUALITY of music would be a moratorium on new music technology-- a unilateral musical "arms freeze." An Audio Software Non-Proliferation Treaty.

HobbyCore · Post by **HobbyCore** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 9:51 am

*shrug* I print out and read all my software manuals, often multiple times. Normally I run through all the features at least once, and the major features to my workflow more.

When I'm not working, I'm usually with my nose stuffed in some sort of manual

I guess I just have a strange hobby that happens to coincide nicely with my profession.

YouTube · Post by **James Steele** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 9:53 am

HobbyCore wrote:*shrug* I print out and read all my software manuals, often multiple times. Normally I run through all the features at least once, and the major features to my workflow more.

When I'm not working, I'm usually with my nose stuffed in some sort of manual I guess I just have a strange hobby that happens to coincide nicely with my profession.

I envy you! I tend to be the kind of person who "dabbles" with stuff and ONLY when I'm stuck do I go in search of the manual to get my way out of a jam!

HobbyCore · Post by **HobbyCore** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 10:23 am

James Steele wrote:
HobbyCore wrote:*shrug* I print out and read all my software manuals, often multiple times. Normally I run through all the features at least once, and the major features to my workflow more.

When I'm not working, I'm usually with my nose stuffed in some sort of manual I guess I just have a strange hobby that happens to coincide nicely with my profession.
I envy you! I tend to be the kind of person who "dabbles" with stuff and ONLY when I'm stuck do I go in search of the manual to get my way out of a jam!

Grass is always greener...

Imagine how much more frustrating it is when you've read the manual over and over and still cant figure something out!
^^^^^
Day in the life of a logic user

Pappy725 · Post by **Pappy725** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 10:28 am

HobbyCore wrote:Day in the life of a logic user

ROTFL!
Good one, HC!
I'm with you James, charging along till something slows me down enough to make me check the manual. Again and again and again...

Beat detection still eludes me, of course, I should probably spend more time trying to figure it out. But since I just do audio, I usually just try to get a better take.
Stephen

OldTimey · Post by **OldTimey** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 11:17 am

Beat detection, mapping is a great feature, i never record to a click anymore, just make custom time maps.

on topic though, what it comes down to is "trimming the fat." I hold myself back when i read those "Great free new AU plugs!" and don't download. If a plugin or softsynth isn't going to give me exactly what I want I don't buy it or download it. In fact, I've decided to stop buying new softsynths all together. I think I can make good music with the ones i have, and they tend to be, after DAW's the most complicated pieces of software out there in the audio world.

It's why i like hardware emulation plugs...simple, straightforward, turn the knobs, sound changes.

Delete plugs that are redundant. Same goes for bits of software.

And save up for cool hardware!

Shooshie · Post by **Shooshie** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 11:45 am

Pappy725 wrote:Beat detection still eludes me, of course, I should probably spend more time trying to figure it out. But since I just do audio, I usually just try to get a better take.
Stephen

Beat detection is one of those wonderful features that work great for some people. I tend to record things like violin or flute lines where the beat is felt more than heard. Beat Detection can't detect that stuff. Period. So, I don't get much practice at Beat Detection, but I'm sure it's easy as pie for someone who does rock band stuff, lots of percussion, loud bass and guitar, etc.

Shoosh

HobbyCore · Post by **HobbyCore** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 12:00 pm

Beat detection is very well presented in the manual IMO. (chapter 54 in dp6 manual iirc).

I've not used it in a production context yet, but I am excited to give it a go in the next few days when I have some heavy live-rock editing to do.

YouTube · Post by **James Steele** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 12:11 pm

I'm not sure I get the beat detection concept. I'm used to recording with a click anyway. Are you using it to create a tempo map and simply have bar lines fall precisely (like an automated Adjust Beats) for later overdubbing and quantization?

Or... are people using it to eliminate variation and conform audio to a precise tempo later?

You can tell this is something I've never bothered with.

SixStringGeek · Post by **SixStringGeek** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 1:58 pm

James Steele wrote:I'm not sure I get the beat detection concept. I'm used to recording with a click anyway. Are you using it to create a tempo map and simply have bar lines fall precisely (like an automated Adjust Beats) for later overdubbing and quantization?

Or... are people using it to eliminate variation and conform audio to a precise tempo later?

You can tell this is something I've never bothered with.

I've just started fiddling with it. I was noodling on an acoustic the other day and happened to have a mic set up and stumbled onto a nice little framework for a song. Not wanting to forget it I tried recording it to a click, but it just wasn't happening, so I turned off the click and just recorded what I was doing.

I hope to go back in and figure out beat detection on that track (I'm out of town on family business just now). Expect more questions/ravings in about a week on that.

Pappy725 · Post by **Pappy725** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 2:19 pm

James Steele wrote:Or... are people using it to eliminate variation and conform audio to a precise tempo later?.

This was what I was trying to get it to do after the drummer and I disagreed on where the beat was for about 3 or 4 bars in the last chorus of a song that we weren't using a click on. Shooshie (I think) had a great post about it that I've got a link to somewhere in my collection of bookmarks. I need to go back and reread that info.

Pap

monkey man · Post by **monkey man** » Thu Aug 21, 2008 10:58 am

In my experience, never quite deeply enough (to answer the thread's question).

Probably every time I've parted with gear I've experienced renewed appreciation for what I'd previously had, and often stumbled across "hidden" (ie: buried a little deeply in a manual) gems of waveforms or features that, had I known about them, might've meant my not selling after all.

Never quite deeply enough, mereckons.

Dwetmaster · Post by **Dwetmaster** » Thu Aug 21, 2008 11:11 am

I use Beat detection a lot for my tempo maps. I'll sometimes let the Drummer put his own feel to a song and then make a tempo maps following a combination of his BD, SN & HH. It's pretty easy If you have the whole kit in multitracks. That way Beat Detection can do its job pretty accurately without any tweaking needed. I can make my whole MIDI sequencing, Track the Drums after so he doesn't play to a click only. That way he has more of an idea of what the song is. after that I can easily make the whole sequence REALLY tight with the drummer thanks to Beat detection & the adjust beat function.

arth · Post by **arth** » Thu Aug 21, 2008 2:09 pm

Sometimes the shiny new wonderful features just aren't worth it.
Sure, it's nice that the software lets me spend an hour and a half going through and adjusting tempo without changing pitch, and synchronizing it perfectly to the beat, but does it buy me anything over just playing the damn thing once more, but this time right?

jeff sanders · Post by **jeff sanders** » Thu Aug 21, 2008 2:45 pm

i found success in looping a region and playing along multiple passes a dozen times. then i can usually find at least one thats pretty close to what i like. maybe even splice a couple together to get a decent pass. by the time the song goes through my head a couple hours while i work on other accompanying tracks, i know what i want and go back to those spots with my idea better dialed in. of course im not working with other people or having deadlines or getting paid, lol. so that may be the worse way for getting tracks down for pros.