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Consolidation (Pro Tools) - Seeking Logic Equivalent


lincolnk

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Does anyone know the equivalent to "Consolidating" in Pro Tools - In Logic?

 

I would like to consolidate audio regions into 1 single region,..I know the = key makes multiple regions into one..but can that same thing be done from bar 1 (which would include empty space)?

 

I probably can figure this out on my own later - but I won't be at my computer w/Logic probably for another couple of hours.

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!!

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Merge/glue won't work unless you have a region at bar 1 (which I'm assuming you don't?)

 

I really miss the consolidate feature in Live as well, you could highlight any area and consolidate into a region. It would be perfect if you had the ability to marquee select an area of a track and convert to an audio file!

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Thanks a Million Triplets, Timothyallen, and Tarekeith,..

 

I think I'm feeling the "Export All Audio Tracks" option...but I will also try the Merge/Glue way,...but I really need to be able to import tracks and have them line up the right way; which is a feature that consolidation does very well in PT - however, I have used the "Export All Audio Tracks" feature in the past - and it really works like a charm in regards to starting things @ measure 1.

 

i will try these all of these options now and will let you all know how everything worked out for me.

 

Peace.

 

Linc!

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Often if I want to do things the manual way, with the glue tool, I'll just copy back a very small portion of audio to bar 1 beat 1, and use it on every track I wish to glue.

 

Don't forget also now in Logic 9 there is the bounce in place command which is GREAT for this.

 

BIP won't do the empty space thing like consolidate though :)

 

 

edit: nm, it will if you copy a blank bit of audio at the start like you say. Hacky way of doing it though!

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,...but I really need to be able to import tracks and have them line up the right way; which is a feature that consolidation does very well in PT -

What you want to do is use the "Convert Regions to New Audio Files" command. This will create new audio files that only have region content. Each of these files is timestamped in Logic with the original region position, so, when you bring your new files into a new track, use the "Move Regions to Original Record Position" command and they will pop to their original locations.

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Thanks a Million Triplets, Timothyallen, and Tarekeith,..

 

I think I'm feeling the "Export All Audio Tracks" option...but I will also try the Merge/Glue way,...but I really need to be able to import tracks and have them line up the right way; which is a feature that consolidation does very well in PT - however, I have used the "Export All Audio Tracks" feature in the past - and it really works like a charm in regards to starting things @ measure 1.

 

i will try these all of these options now and will let you all know how everything worked out for me.

 

Peace.

 

Linc!

 

Use Bounce-Replacing All Tracks in place if you are on Logic 9.

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every time this topic comes up i am more and more convinced 90% of user here have no idea how pro tools handles this :lol: :lol:

 

so, for the record, it works like this in PT- its like the merge tool, except it can create silent audio before/after regions too. so just say you have audio that starts at 5 seconds on the timeline, but you want to give it a start time of 0 seconds, you just select the file and the gap before it, and hit consolidate. thats it. dead simple. you can select one track, 10 tracks, all tracks, and they will all become files of the user specified length when consolidated. there just absolutely is no faster way of exporting files than this. all you gotta do after this is delete your unused files and then you can basically copy and hand the audio files folder out like a multitrack tape, everything is in there and synced, named, and can be opened in every DAW under the sun.

 

but, i was trying to do this tonight in logic 9 (i just upgraded from 8 ) and it appears theyve still skipped right past this feature. you still have to either bounce with all processing bypassed, or create a blank bit of audio to paste where you want files to start/end and then merge/glue them together, and then rename all the files (in PT, by default it names them based on the channel name, no need to go through menus to do it or manually type it).

 

i honestly cant figure out how logic's developers keep looking past this haha. they obviously put in the effort to get the bounce in place stuff in there and putting in the plugin/auto bypass and all that. so they understand the task people are trying to accomplish. yet they went so far on the overkill that they neglected to make a simple and fast way to do the job.

 

i swear, put the logic developers in a room with people who actually cut records for a living for a day with a notepad and a whole lot of coffee and logic would be without a doubt the coolest goddamn thing ever invented in audio. its so close to perfection, but they always seem to aim too high on new features and wind up neglecting the basic functionality/fixing bugs.

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every time this topic comes up i am more and more convinced 90% of user here have no idea how pro tools handles this :lol: :lol:

 

so, for the record, it works like this in PT- its like the merge tool, except it can create silent audio before/after regions too. so just say you have audio that starts at 5 seconds on the timeline, but you want to give it a start time of 0 seconds, you just select the file and the gap before it, and hit consolidate. thats it. dead simple. you can select one track, 10 tracks, all tracks, and they will all become files of the user specified length when consolidated. there just absolutely is no faster way of exporting files than this. all you gotta do after this is delete your unused files and then you can basically copy and hand the audio files folder out like a multitrack tape, everything is in there and synced, named, and can be opened in every DAW under the sun.

 

but, i was trying to do this tonight in logic 9 (i just upgraded from 8 ) and it appears theyve still skipped right past this feature. you still have to either bounce with all processing bypassed, or create a blank bit of audio to paste where you want files to start/end and then merge/glue them together, and then rename all the files (in PT, by default it names them based on the channel name, no need to go through menus to do it or manually type it).

 

i honestly cant figure out how logic's developers keep looking past this haha. they obviously put in the effort to get the bounce in place stuff in there and putting in the plugin/auto bypass and all that. so they understand the task people are trying to accomplish. yet they went so far on the overkill that they neglected to make a simple and fast way to do the job.

 

i swear, put the logic developers in a room with people who actually cut records for a living for a day with a notepad and a whole lot of coffee and logic would be without a doubt the coolest goddamn thing ever invented in audio. its so close to perfection, but they always seem to aim too high on new features and wind up neglecting the basic functionality/fixing bugs.

 

David, it has always kinda been like this with Logic. DAW X will only give you one way to do something where Logic will give you 5 ways, but the one way in DAW X will may quicker and more direct.

 

That said, I could give you a list of guys who use Logic who do in fact cut records for a living who communicate regularly with the developers and it really does not change their approach.

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I'd sometimes like to put an arpeggiator in front of a software instrument in protools but can't, see where I'm going?

 

The same result you're trying to achieve is absolutely possible in Logic, you just go about it in different ways.

I absolutely DO understand how PT handles this, I've done it literally hundreds of times. I also understand how you go about it in Logic and that's what we've been suggesting you do.

Sadly just saying what a shame it is that it doesn't work the way you want it to isn't: A. Going to change Logic's design. B. Going to get your work done for you!

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By the sounds of the PT description, consolidate works exactly the same in Ableton as well and it's a feature I used all the time that I sorely miss since I've started using Logic.

 

Electronic/dance music uses a lot of loops. Consolidate was a vital part of my workflow, turning an odd bunch of samples into a perfect 2 bar loop regardless of empty space. It's 'do-able' in L9, it's just a time consuming pain :) Throw in the fact that you can't have anything sidechained when doing bounce in place and it becomes even more of a hassle.

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every time this topic comes up i am more and more convinced 90% of user here have no idea how pro tools handles this :lol: :lol:

 

so, for the record, it works like this in PT- its like the merge tool, except it can create silent audio before/after regions too. so just say you have audio that starts at 5 seconds on the timeline, but you want to give it a start time of 0 seconds, you just select the file and the gap before it, and hit consolidate. thats it. dead simple. you can select one track, 10 tracks, all tracks, and they will all become files of the user specified length when consolidated. there just absolutely is no faster way of exporting files than this. all you gotta do after this is delete your unused files and then you can basically copy and hand the audio files folder out like a multitrack tape, everything is in there and synced, named, and can be opened in every DAW under the sun.

 

but, i was trying to do this tonight in logic 9 (i just upgraded from 8 ) and it appears theyve still skipped right past this feature. you still have to either bounce with all processing bypassed, or create a blank bit of audio to paste where you want files to start/end and then merge/glue them together, and then rename all the files (in PT, by default it names them based on the channel name, no need to go through menus to do it or manually type it).

 

i honestly cant figure out how logic's developers keep looking past this haha. they obviously put in the effort to get the bounce in place stuff in there and putting in the plugin/auto bypass and all that. so they understand the task people are trying to accomplish. yet they went so far on the overkill that they neglected to make a simple and fast way to do the job.

 

i swear, put the logic developers in a room with people who actually cut records for a living for a day with a notepad and a whole lot of coffee and logic would be without a doubt the coolest goddamn thing ever invented in audio. its so close to perfection, but they always seem to aim too high on new features and wind up neglecting the basic functionality/fixing bugs.

 

David, it has always kinda been like this with Logic. DAW X will only give you one way to do something where Logic will give you 5 ways, but the one way in DAW X will may quicker and more direct.

 

That said, I could give you a list of guys who use Logic who do in fact cut records for a living who communicate regularly with the developers and it really does not change their approach.

 

Yeah that's what stumps me, and makes me worry about what kind of future I'm investing in with Logic. Don't get me wrong, I do like it a lot, but they just seem to flat out ignore the experienced users suggestions on real day to day workflow to please ignorant beginners. Great for Garageband, but fatal for any serious pro audio software. Fingers crossed that V9 turns this around as updates arrive

 

 

I'd sometimes like to put an arpeggiator in front of a software instrument in protools but can't, see where I'm going?

 

The same result you're trying to achieve is absolutely possible in Logic, you just go about it in different ways.

I absolutely DO understand how PT handles this, I've done it literally hundreds of times. I also understand how you go about it in Logic and that's what we've been suggesting you do.

Sadly just saying what a shame it is that it doesn't work the way you want it to isn't: A. Going to change Logic's design. B. Going to get your work done for you!

 

Oh I know what you're saying, but the point remains. Users have said "We need a function that does X. The practical method of doing it is Y. Please give us Z" and Apple seem to fire back with "We can do better! Here's Z.1. Same end result, but slower and with more bells and whistles!". That's all well and good, and I do appreciate the extra effort for the bells and whistles, but how about getting the basic idea working first and THEN developing new ideas from there? And expressing disappointment with it WILL change Logic's design. I had lost faith that they were listening, but 9 has shown a bunch of improvements people had been begging for. It's just that some of those improvements were so innovative that they forgot the original point :lol: :lol:

 

 

So, with so many ways to do this, what is the best way to do this in Logic?

 

To get files out of Logic- go with "Export all audio files". If you're staying in Logic, you'll have to paste a chunk of blank audio at whatever region boundaries you want and then merge files.

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So, with so many ways to do this, what is the best way to do this in Logic?

 

File > Export > Track(s) as Audio File(s).

 

This is the best way. No question.

Experiment and you will see how flexible it is.

 

Much more flexible than PT Consolidate, as you have options to export with or without plug-ins or automation.

 

If you are side-chaining or using send effects you have to do a bounce - In Logic or PT.

 

(Sorry, forgot to mention, this is LP9)

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So, with so many ways to do this, what is the best way to do this in Logic?

 

File > Export > Track(s) as Audio File(s).

 

This is the best way. No question.

Experiment and you will see how flexible it is.

 

Much more flexible than PT Consolidate, as you have options to export with or without plug-ins or automation.

 

If you are side-chaining or using send effects you have to do a bounce - In Logic or PT.

 

(Sorry, forgot to mention, this is LP9)

 

uh... nope. sorry, i swear im not just trying to be an argumentative prick here :lol:, but this is not the same thing as consolidating in PT, therefore nonsense to say its more flexible cause its a totally different feature. yes, its a nice feature, but no, its not a replacement for PT's consolidate function. i really cant find a way to make this any clearer to you guys haha. we are seriously talking apples and oranges. ok, maybe apples and pears. but i hate pears regardless.

 

this discussion always seems to have a platform war vibe on this forum, so i should nip that in the bud- i hate digidesign way too much to praise the program for any fanboy reasons or anything. i spent years using it, and switched because logic strikes me as better OVERALL. BUT.... PT just flat out wins in this particular category. the logic file export thing is great at just that- exporting. consolidating CAN be used for exporting, but its not simply a method of exporting. this is what logic users dont seem to get. things like exporting tracks with plugins and stuff is a nice bonus feature here and there, but i have no use at all for it professionally. if im archiving files or sending files to someone else to mix there is no reason to apply all the effects. i dont wanna sit around deselecting options and thinking about this s#!+. i wanna hit a button and go make a coffee while it does its thing.

 

let me try again to give you a rundown of PT's consolidate thing. i know guys keep SAYING they understand it, but the posts dont reflect that. i think the problem might be stemming from people going FROM logic to PT and only using the consolidate feature in ways they would understand from using logic. and therefore they dont get the whole story. again, im not trying to be a prick here by saying you guys dont understand it, its not a skills or intellect thing, its just clear to me that wires are crossed

 

lets say i have a 32 track project in PT. some tracks are continuous from the start of the timeline til the very end of the project. some tracks run the full length, but contain edits. some tracks are just random scattered chunks. i leave the continuous files alone. i select all the tracks that dont share the start point or tracks that contain multiple regions or edits and hit consolidate. no clicking options or turning on/off plugins, no new channels created in my windows, no muting old tracks, etc. its a simple tool that does one task, thats it. i mean hell, when i find a loose screw, i dont need or want a 10 in 1 tool, i just want a screwdriver, you know?

 

so anyways, the files all share a common start point now and everything is neat. with one mouse movement (ok, maybe a shift click here and there) and one key command. i delete the unused files (not on the screen by the way, i mean in the files list, also a very simple process) and im golden. if i want to share the files, i dont need to use any export feature. i just copy my audio files folder. doesnt matter what platform they are on, doesnt matter if session files get corrupted (ive seen that on both PT and logic), everything will always line up and work right. it is without a doubt the most failsafe way of managing and sharing digital audio tracks known to man. exporting is NOT the same, because there are ways for plugins to get applied, automation to be included, etc. as i said, these are very nice options that might be handy sometimes. no argument from me there. but they mean more time, and more risks that inexperienced users will totally jack up a project and cost me even more time.

 

yet another way of looking at it. the requirement of the exercise is to create a crashproof collection of correctly named and synchronised files exactly as they have been recorded that can either be played in the original program if available or easily imported into another if its not:

 

in PT, i could hit command-A and consolidate (ive forgotten the key command now haha, its been a while) and im done.

 

in logic i have to create a chunk of blank audio, paste it at the start of a track, select the next track and hit return to zero, paste it, etc for every track (try doing that quickly on a big session...), then select them all and tell logic to merge them per track, then select them all and tell logic to rename them to the channel name.

 

OR

 

i can tell it to export all audio tracks from the file menu, specify the path, make sure the options to include automation, plugins and normalise files are all off, make sure the format is correct, then open up the finder and drag the files back into logic onto the tracks they were originally on. and here's the kicker- i just did it this way to make sure i wasnt adding or missing any steps, and upon reimporting the files i found one file has a pile of digital noise instead of silence where there was a gap before the track start.

 

so yeah.... you still wanna stand by logic being the better option here? its not a platform war, im a logic fan too. this is dead clear- logic does not possess the same function, and its kind of an important one for working with digital audio.

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the merge tool function is essentially it! we just need to be able to set the boundaries ourselves.

 

Watch out for the merge option when dealing with audio.

If you merge a couple of regions that are at the exact relative time position from each other as in the original file Merge will function more like a heal option.

 

Try it:

Take an audio region and delete some of it with the marquee just in the middle.

Now merge.

Edited by Eric Cardenas
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the merge tool function is essentially it! we just need to be able to set the boundaries ourselves.

 

Watch out for the merge option when dealing with audio.

If you merge a couple of regions that are at the exact relative time position from each other as i the original file Merge will function more like a heal option.

 

Try it:

Take an audio region and delete some of it with the marquee just in the middle.

Now merge.

 

ahh yeah, i forgot about that, i remember getting stung by that a couple times when i was first using logic. this just goes to further illustrate the need for a proper consolidate function then i guess

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I think the simple answer to your question is this:

 

NO there is no feature in Logic which does exactly what protools does when you press Shift+Option+3. It JUST doesn't exist. So I guess you'll just have to work around it.

I'm also not being a prick about this, people were just suggesting other ways of doing this, as the actual command you're looking for just does not exist in Logic.

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