Is there some special technique to using the fade tool?

LPHelpers:

Frustrated here

I have been transitioning to using mostly hardware instruments, and at this point almost 100% including drums. I'm good with the synths, sound design, got my rough sketch of the main parts of the song prepared, and recorded everything in sections like I usually do.

For this particular track, and like many others, I use some of my synths more than once. So I record parts separately. On this track, I'm using nothing but an Oberheim Matrix 6 because I just got it and am putting it through its paces and getting to know it.

I was under the impression that I could overlap audio regions. When I allow the playhead to cross the end of one region, and then the beginning of the next, while the regions are not touching, it sounds smooth as I edit my audio very carefully making sure I don't cut across a sample. When I do this, it sounds fine.

Then I take the second region, which is often just a copy of the previous file, and drag it into position, but then, POP!!!!!!....when the play head crosses the overlap.

Okay, its too audible and sounds even worse with some reverb on, so I set up a fade at the end of the first region and the beginning of the second. Then there is this audible dip in volume.

What is the solution here? I've experienced this more than once, but am just fed up. I know I'm not the only one that records in segments.

Am I missing something? Is there some technique I am not doing that would eliminate this pop? I thought about just creating a series of audio channels, putting each new audio file on the next channel, and then recording the output so I'd have one long audio file, but what a mess!

You guys know your stuff, and I was hoping someone could help me limit, if not eliminate that popping sound.

Thanks.

Hmmm.......I just discovered the s-curve crossfade, and that is a lot better, but still there, barely.

But it is inconsistent, looping the play head across the crossfade, sometimes it pops, other times it doesn't

First you should strive to get the least clicking without any crossfade. This is achieved by making sure the edit doesn't give you a break in the waveform at the point where the two regions meet. So if a waveform ends up very high at the end of region A and starts very low at the end of region B then it's going to click. If both waveforms meet at the same point but going in different directions, one going upward and the other downward, it's going to click. If both waveforms meet at the same point and go in the same direction, for example they both meet on the zero line and they're both going upward, then it should sound smoother.

Then if it needs further smoothing, apply a short EqP crossfade. 10ms should do the trick.

You don't even have to use the fade tool. In the inspector there's a field for fade in/out, set those to very small values which should be adequate to mask the pop, and not enough to noticeably drop the volume

lol

Thanks, I will try out the EqP Fade and the fade in/out value.

I have made sure that I cut through NO waveforms at all. When I play the single audio file beginning to end, there is no popping at all. However, when I overlap them placing the beginning of the audio region on the grid, I get that pop.

The reason I have to overlap them is that there is at least some release time on all of these sounds. It's polyphonic synth so the previous note is still audible when the next note comes in.......in this case the last note of the region, and the first note of the region.

The fade tool works, but it is very inconsistent. Sort of finicky and requires the most minute adjustments to get it to work, and then may not work at all on the next region.

I've been fighting with this for a while, and have started to record longer segments even if it is only a four bar sequence, I'll record 32 bars of it just to make things easier on myself, and then fade out after shortening the region if necessary, or just automate volume.

I'm not going to worry about it now, and just work on my arrangement, then deal with it prior to mix down.

You can overlap audio regions on an audio track, but Logic will not overlap the audio signals: it can only play one audio signal at a time. So if you want what you're hearing to correspond to what you're looking at, it's better to work in No Overlap mode.

The fade tool works consistently here, make sure you're using it right? For example don't try to apply a fade by dragging the fade tool up until the end of a region? I always witness people work like that with the Fade tool and be frustrated because it only works half the time - because really they're only going over the border half the time. You have to go OVER the region border. Exaggerate: go one bar after the end of the region, and you'll see it works consistently.

If you want to post a screenshot of your edit (if regions overlap, then make sure the topped region is the one to the right).