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Precisely adapting project tempo to an audio file (instrumental)


ojan327

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So I ripped an instrumental from youtube and recorded vocals to it. Now, I want to remake the instrumental so it can actually be mixed, and do so exactly in time with the original instrumental.

 

I successfully beat mapped the project tempo to follow the instrumental, so that the tempo adjusts every 1 bar, and as a result, my instrumental remake is almost perfectly in time with the original.

 

However, at certain points it’s slightly off. You can hear my snare not quite lining up with the snare in the instrumental.

 

When I try anything more intricate than 1 bar, like 1/2 or 1/4 note, it starts mapping quite erratically, with abrupt tempo changes visible on the beat map, and the results are less accurate.

 

I’ve tried opening a new project and importing the instrumental with tempo adapt on. This results in the tempo adapting by every 1 bar, no different than my result with beat mapping.

 

I remember having seen tempo adapt very smoothly, where you can visibly see a ton of nodes on the beat map continually adjusting to the snare and kick hits without the abrupt tempo shifts.

 

How to get the tempo to adapt more smoothly and precisely to the instrumental?

 

Thanks!

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When I try anything more intricate than 1 bar, like 1/2 or 1/4 note, it starts mapping quite erratically, with abrupt tempo changes visible on the beat map, and the results are less accurate.

It really makes no difference to Logic whether you map to 1 bar, a 1/2 note or a 1/4 note, however of course the results are going to be more sensitive to the precise placement of the transient you choose. Can you post one specific example of a 1/2 note or 1/4 note mapping before and after screenshots that you're not happy with?

 

How to attach files to your post

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Thanks, David. Well, here's two screenshots, the first is of the better scenaro, beatmapping by 1 bar where the grid does a pretty good job of following the source material.. it's only very slightly off in places. this is my issue.

 

Then there's the beatmapping by 1/4 Note which I tried, and the resulting grid is just totally untrue to the source material.

1653393219_QuarterNote.thumb.png.0bc26e859cfd1aef9e1f623fb1dedd6f.png

1586476009_1Bar.thumb.png.bd402b6bad7cffc234af44431f19fab4.png

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to the precise placement of the transient you choos

 

Good point about the transients.. The beatmapping calculates based of those, right? So if I go in and manually adjust them so that they are more accurate, I'll get better results, right?

 

I can tell by looking at where the transients are automatically placed on the audio file that they are not totally on point.. I'm using the + and - buttons to try to strike a balance between retaining the accurate ones (kicks and snares) and eliminating the inaccurate ones..

 

Can you manually add and delete or are the + and - buttons all you got here? Thanks bro.

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Excellent :) This audio file is nothing but a four bar loop. I assume that if I manually adjust the transients in the first four bars and then loop or copy/paste, that my transient placement on those first four bars will apply to loop or the other regions, right?
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Nothing wrong with Command-R. That's one of my favorite key commands!! :D Sometimes I find it easier to press Command-R 7 times than to use the mouse/trackpad to determine where the loop ends and then Control-L to convert. Also you can use the Marquee to determine what you want to repeat which is awesome. Or the Time Handles in the Piano Roll which is a bit more finicky but works.
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I must say I enjoy it as well :lol: Nice pro tip with the marquee tool... Thanks :)

 

Of the Time Handles in the Piano Roll which is a bit more finicky but works

:?:

So I'm in the audio editor and wondering... What are those numerical values by the millions with the corresponding greyed out markers in the audio file?

 

Also, should I avoid the + and - buttons once I start adding and deleting transients manually? Will it override my manual work?

860234114_ScreenShot2020-06-13at5_47_48AM.thumb.png.19dcccb72d03e097da39fde13af2bdd6.png

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Man, David...

 

This whole process has been so difficult. It's difficult for me to see the transients with great precision, so I can't blame Logic for having trouble detecting them in the same vein. The reference material mp3 is kind of low quality and muddy, and while the snares are quite distinct, the kicks are not.

 

So now I'm trying to line up my MIDI drums manually, and it's taking a ton of time. All the melodic instruments in the mp3 are right in time and tight on the tempo, but the drums swing unpredictably. I'm used to the opposite, with melodic instruments drifting around drums that are tight in-time.

 

I've selected great MIDI insts and laid them down.. I didn't think it would be so difficult to get my instrumental remake to lock in with the referenece file

Edited by ojan327
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So my plan now is to get my own snare and kick down perfecty aligned with the mp3 from beginning to end, and then beat map based on that MIDI snare and kick to the 1/16 Note.

 

Can you beatmap from MIDI or will I have to convert to audio?

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