Possible to use Flex to adjust pitch w/o changing length

Hi Gang,

So I'm wondering it's possible to use the FlexTime feature to change the pitch of a sample, without flex readjusting the length of that same sample. I can curently get this effect somewhat in the time machine of the audio editor, but I find that rather cumbersome. As it stands now, you can use the Speed function to affect pitch, but as I've indicated this also changes the length. So anyway to stop this would be awesome.

 

Any help appreciated!

Ty.

Flex is really designed for time based audio editing. It's forte is not pitch based. Better to use the Pitch based plugins and/or Time Machine as you mentioned.

Hi,

 

I posted the same problem not too long ago.

I found out, that you can only transpose audio regions in the arrange window

(with the region parameter box) if the audio is recorded in the same project and Flex

functions are tuned off. But I'm hopeful that in the future you'll be able to do the following:

Transpose Audio Regions recorded in the same project, imported from another

project, in Flex Mode or not in Flex Mode. Time and Pitch Machine and Pitch Plug-Ins seems to me just a relict from the past.

 

melodea

 

L 9.1.1. Power Book 17" 10.6.3.

You can also easily turn your audio regions into Apple Loops and transpose them from the Region Parameters Inspector.

True, but I've encountered problems if I turned too long files into an apple loop.

To turn a whole song into an apple loop could be problematic.

 

melodea

True, but I've encountered problems if I turned too long files into an apple loop.

To turn a whole song into an apple loop could be problematic.

 

melodea

 

Yes. I agree. But the OP appears to want to work on samples (I'm assuming shortish samples) as opposed to long files.

I just tried something:

 

1. Flex-Time the region in question with the Speed algorithm to get it to the proper pitch.

2. Bounce In Place.

3. Flex-Time the newly BIP'd region with one of the other algorithms to restore it to the original length.

 

Results are OK; there are audible artifacts, but it might be usable for some purposes. You could give it a go and see if it suits your purpose.

 

There's also the AUPitch plugin - look for AudioUnit Effects -> Apple -> AUPitch.

Thanx a lot guys!! I'll give those a shot when iget in !

Select your audio region and its track, turn on Flex for that track, then turn it back off: the region now has a "Transpose" parameter you can use to change its playback pitch.

Select your audio region and its track, turn on Flex for that track, then turn it back off: the region now has a "Transpose" parameter you can use to change its playback pitch.

 

hi, where does this new transposition parameter appear?

I presume it would be directly underneath the 'loop' checkbox in the parameters section (as it is when a midi region is selected) but following these instructions there is only a dash in the transpose field.

 

am I missing something?

there is only a dash in the transpose field

 

Double-click just to the right of the word "Tranposition," and a field will appear where you can type a value of positive or negative semitones.

Thanks Guys! I'll try these in a bit!

And here's hoping for a Digital Performer-style graphical Flex Pitch in a soon-to-come version of Logic!

Select your audio region and its track, turn on Flex for that track, then turn it back off: the region now has a "Transpose" parameter you can use to change its playback pitch.

 

David - I gather these regions have to be Apple Loops for this to work? I've spent so much time with midi, that I'm just now starting to work the audio region conventions.

David - I gather these regions have to be Apple Loops for this to work? I've spent so much time with midi, that I'm just now starting to work the audio region conventions.

 

No - for me, this works with any audio I record in the project - note that Follow Tempo is automatically on when turning off the Flex mode for that track.

HI David,

I'm still not sure I'm following how to do this right. I have done the following.

 

- Highlight audio region.

- turn flex on.

- set flex to speed.

- Turn flex off.

 

I still have nowhere that says Transpose on the parameter box. Basically it's a pretty minimal param box.?

 

Thanks!

(I'm having trouble getting a screen shot together. Sorry!)

But it DOES seem to work when I use a loop I've turmed into an apple loop, Just not none-apple loops. ?

I still have nowhere that says Transpose on the parameter box.

 

Here's a 22-second movie which illustrates that it works just the way David said. It might he hard to see what I'm doing at the bottom of the window, but I'm just turning Slicing on and off.

 

 

But isn't there a slightly easier way? I can get the same result just by clicking Follow Tempo (10 seconds):

 

 

In both cases, all I did before making the movie was open a new project and create a simple recording.

 

you can only transpose audio regions in the arrange window (with the region parameter box) if the audio is recorded in the same project

 

Not so. You can also transpose material recorded in a different Logic project. You can make the Follow Tempo check box appear for audio recorded in another project, provided that you copy and paste that audio into this project. And if you don't want to have both projects open at the same time, you don't have to. Close this project, open the other project, copy the region, close the other project, open the current project, and paste. Then turn on Follow Tempo, and the transposition parameter will appear.

 

That's a pain, but it's still a possible way to approach the situation.

AWESOME! I think I'll be able to get this to work now. Should this also work with a loop I've recorded earlier?

 

Thanks!

Should this also work with a loop I've recorded earlier?

 

If you recorded the loop in this project, definitely. If you recorded it elsewhere, then there are some hoops to jump through, but it can be done. If you're running into a specific problem, just speak up, and I'm sure somehow one way or another you'll find an answer.

Hey 45, The problem is that it's .wav files that've recorded a few years ago into my old AKAI sampler. So they now exist as .wav files. Can this be why I keep getting an issue?

 

(Thank you!!!)

I tried David trick but it does not work.

 

I bounce in place a midi region in order to a new track with a audio file.

I turn on and off flex time for this new audio track but no transposition field appears.

It seems to work only with apple loops.

 

I can't also see the follow tempo field.

I tried David trick but it does not work.

 

I bounce in place a midi region in order to a new track with a audio file.

I turn on and off flex time for this new audio track but no transposition field appears.

It seems to work only with apple loops.

 

I can't also see the follow tempo field.

 

Which Logic version? Please add your Logic version and system info to your signature: Read Me Before Posting - Forum Guidelines (#5)

Hi David, as indicated earlier, I am having the same issue - looks like apple loops only? from what I can tell, it doesn't seem to work from BIP regions, or audio files that I've brought, that are a few years old. I'm on L9.1 . . . or 2.

Have you guys tried setting the Output of the Channel Strip to an unused bus and then recording through another Channel Strip whose Input is set to that bus?

I can't also see the follow tempo field.

 

Try this. Open a new, empty project file. Create an audio track. Record something. That's all you need to do. The Follow Tempo checkbox should appear as soon as you stop recording.

 

Are you looking for it in the right place? In my comment above, the second movie shows you where to look.

The problem is that it's .wav files that've recorded a few years ago into my old AKAI sampler. So they now exist as .wav files. Can this be why I keep getting an issue?

 

Let's make sure I understand the situation correctly. You're dragging these wavs into the Arrange window, and you're looking for the Tranposition parameter in the Region Inspector. You want to use that to adjust pitch without changing length. And the problem is that this parameter doesn't appear. Right?

 

The problem is not that these are wav files. The problem is that these files contain no tempo information. For Logic to show the Transposition parameter (and the Follow Tempo parameter, which is closely related), the file needs to contain tempo information. Here are some examples of files that contain tempo information: recordings made in this Logic project, (most) Apple Loops, rex files, and Acidized wavs (right now we don't need to know what all those things mean). You're working with plain wavs that contain no tempo information.

 

So I think your best approach is to turn these files into Apple Loops (which is exactly what Rounik suggested early in this thread). If you have a bunch of these old wav files, the Apple Loops Utility can convert them for you in a large batch (or several large batches). This is much easier than doing them one at a time, but there are a few tricks you'll need to know, in order to avoid some nasty bugs in ALU.

 

Try this. Find one of your wavs in the Finder, and drag it into the Arrange window. Look at the region, and notice the little icon just to the right of the name. It's either one or two circles (representing mono or stereo). But there is no line below the circle(s). We need to fix that. I'll show you how.

 

Launch ALU. It's here:

 

Macintosh HD/Applications/Utilities/Apple Loops Utility

 

If the Assets Drawer isn't open, open it (by clicking the Assets button at the bottom-left of the main window).

 

Find a folder that contains a bunch of your old wavs that you want to convert. It's going to help if your wavs are organized into batches, as follows: all the wavs in one folder are the same key, and they also contain the same number of beats. (They don't need to have the same tempo; they just need to have the same number of beats, which is probably a number like 4 or 8 or 16; for most material, this step isn't necessary, but if your material is unusual, you might get better results if you include this step.) You can still accomplish a lot even if they're not organized this way, but it will be simpler, for now, to assume that they are.

 

Let's also assume that your wavs are cut correctly. That is, when you recorded them, you were careful to make sure that the file loops smoothly, if you play it repetitively. Usually this means that the file contains an integer number of measures, and it starts exactly at the beginning of the first measure and ends exactly at the end of the last measure. (I'm also assuming the files are not exceptionally short, i.e., much less than a second; that would introduce certain problems. And I'm also assuming that each file contains at least two beats.)

 

Grab your folder of wavs and drop it onto the ALU Assets Drawer. Now all the wavs inside are listed in that drawer, and the first item is selected. Click in the Assets Drawer and press command-A, so that all the items are selected.

 

In the main part of the ALU window, the tab "Tags" should be selected (we won't be bothering with the other tab, "Transients"). Under the heading "Property Tags," turn on the checkbox for "Number of Beats." Edit that number (it must be at least 2). (Edit: Oops, sorry, that's a mistake. You'll probably get better results if you leave "Number of Beats" unchecked, and if you don't edit the number.) Under that, make sure "File Type" is checked, and select "Looping." Under that, select a Key. (There are other things you could edit, but for now we should probably consider them secondary.)

 

At the bottom of the Assets Drawer, press "Save All." In the dialog that appears, check "Apply to all," and press "Edit AIFF." In the ALU Assets Drawer, all the items are still selected. We don't want them there anymore, so press delete to remove those items from the Assets Drawer. Your Assets Drawer should now be empty.

 

Now go look inside your wavs folder. He created a new folder there, called "Converted to AIFF." Drag that folder into the Assets Drawer. Click in the Assets Drawer, and press command-A to select all items.

 

This is the part where we are working around an ALU bug. This step shouldn't be needed. But if we skip this step, the procedure won't work. In the main part of the ALU window, we need to change something. I don't think it matters what we change. I suggest you do this: pick a Genre from the Genre menu. Now press "Save All."

 

Back in the Finder, grab your "Converted to AIFF" folder, and drag it into the Arrange window. A dialog will appear ("Add Selected Files to Arrange"). Select "Create new tracks." You will then be prompted to "Import Tempo Information;" for our purpose, the choice you make in that dialog doesn't really matter.

 

A bunch of new tracks and regions will be created. If necessary, zoom in so you can see the symbol to the right of each region name. You will notice a line under the circle(s). That line indicates that this region is pointing to a looping audio file. We didn't see that line before, but we see it now. That means the conversion was successful. Look in the Region Parameter box, in the Inspector, and you'll see Follow Tempo and Transposition, for all these regions.

 

So now you have Apple Loops, and they'll do all the things that Apple Loops can do, with regard to following tempo and pitch automatically. At this point they're not listed in the Loops Browser, but it's a simple matter to drag them in there (don't drag them in there from the Arrange window; drag them in there from the Finder).

 

This description is long, but only because I tried to cover every detail. There actually aren't that many steps. And if anyone can come up with a better way to turn plain wavs into Apple Loops, in a batch, I'd love to hear about it! Because I've looked around and haven't found such a thing.

Edited May 26, 2010 by 45rpm

Have you guys tried setting the Output of the Channel Strip to an unused bus and then recording through another Channel Strip whose Input is set to that bus?

You're right, seems like a bug with the ".de" url... you know you can also attach the picture to the thread, right? I mean for now at least. Sorry about the bug....

The problem is that these files contain no tempo information. For Logic to show the Transposition parameter (and the Follow Tempo parameter, which is closely related), the file needs to contain tempo information.

That's not correct: you can add tempo information to a file using Audio > Detect Tempo, but that won't allow the file to be transposed from the Inspector.

 

I'm also assuming the files are not exceptionally short, i.e., much less than a second; that would introduce certain problems. And I'm also assuming that each file contains at least two beats.)

You're also assuming the file is an integer number of beats. You're also assuming the file is not too long to be turned into an Apple Loop.

 

You will notice a line under the circle(s). That line indicates that this region is pointing to a looping audio file. We didn't see that line before, but we see it now.

It's not a line, it's a loop icon. If you zoom in on your screen you may see it better. For a stereo file, it'll look like two loopings of a little roller coaster.

 

Anyway I think it's easier to set the output of your track to a bus and record that onto a new audio track. You get all the benefits from a plain old regular audio file recorded straight into the project, without having to deal with the hassle of apple loops.

Hi 45RPM and Dave,

Thank you both for the time and efforts in explaining this to me. I feel like both points are quite valid. Now that I've got some time off tonight I'll give both a shot!

 

Thank you again!