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how would you change the tempo of a tune.....

Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 11:50 am
by jerkrecords
here's my senario..
i have a client who decides that after one tune is 90% tracked, it is too fast and they need to know if i can slow the whole thing down. now i know how to change the time base on individual soundbites by dragging them shorter or longer, but how do i accomplish basically the same thing with like 16 or so tracks worth of soundbites?
here's the kicker... the sequence is not linked to the conductor track at all - this was tracked to a separately recorded click (the band wanted a custom click to record to - long story - don't ask) on it's own track.

so... i think thats all the info i have on the problem... how would you guys go about changing the time base of all soundbites so that the song drops from 100 to 90bpm?

pete

Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 12:45 pm
by nixon72
Assuming all your soundbites have the same start point...(if not; merge them with a start marker so that they do)......Set the tempo of your sequence to 100. Select all soundbites and "Set Soundbite Tempo" to 100bpm. Now change the sequence tempo to 90 (and all the vertical red lines will appear in your audio showing that their tempo does not match the sequence tempo. Select all soundbites again and "Adjust Soundbite Tempo To Match Sequence".

Unfortunately there will lots of artifacts and phase relation issues since this is a 10% change.

Also consider that the "feel" at which a musician might play this song at 90 is different than their "feel" at 100.

I say re-record...Since my bet is that after hours are spent trying to time shift these tracks, you will be dissatisfied and choose to re-record anyway.

Never underestimate the value of pre-production and a quick demo to live with for a few days before recording "real" tracks.

Re: how would you change the tempo of a tune.....

Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 1:10 pm
by MIDI Life Crisis
I agree. Re-record. It is essentially not your problem. If they want a high quality product, they need to deliver that to you as well. I view 'quality' as all inclusive, from performances, to intonation to tempo.

By all means, show them what is possible with adjusting soundbites. If they like it, you're done. If not, it's time to tune up the git box.

Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 1:12 pm
by jerkrecords
thanks nixon -
i had a feeling this was the method -
i know the chances of this working well are next to zero as a 10% change will most def. result in crazy artifacts - especially in the overheads. i just wanted to show the client how unlikely it would be to actually pull off. then they can decide weather or not they want to invest ni a re-tracking session after seeing the results.

thanks -

pete

Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 1:30 pm
by wynsmth
I haven't tried this but I contemplated it on a track for my CD that was a little on the slow side. I was going to adjust the 2 track final mix's tempo rather than try to adjust 24+tracks. It might produce less artifacts. You could test by doing a bounce of what you have now, adjust the tempo & see if you get acceptable results.