Editing audio tracks in take folder

[stephentrask]

I have been having a hell of a time editing audio tracks in the take folder. Two days ago I took multiple passes at a guitar part for a song I am writing. Because i am a lousy guitar player, a fair amount of editing was required. (Also it was a delicate part with a pretty happening delay so it had to be played just so). In any case, it was decided that verse one from take one would be used for all the verses. Further, as this verse included a section of a repeated chord progression, it was decided that that chord progression would be taken from the same performance. Yes, I did 8 takes and only really got it right for 4 bars. So sue me. To complete the verse I also had to take a bit from another performance.

 

Now, without the magic take folder this would be a breeze. But with it I find myself at a loss. None of the tools in the toolbar seem to be available to edit the actual takes. When I split the take folder and then trim it toward the end of the song, after I am done drawing the trim the section of folder actually seems to have extended in the other direction. When I grab two measures of folder and copy them to later in the song I lost he ability to trim that section to make it longer, for instance, to make an effective cross fade. And the cross fade function for the takes folder only works with the swiping, not with this kind of editing.

 

does anyone have any suggestions here? Am I just an idiot?

 

Lastly, when I use my mouse too much in the takes folder, the program crashes. Try it. Try to rubber band a group of takes, or just click them a few times. Unexpected crash.

[chrisbrownsound]

No, you are not an idiot, the person who thought up this feature is.

 

The new comping feature is a complete joke, for the reasons you mention, and for many others.

 

My only advice is to do it the old way and record your takes on separate tracks, or unpack the takes before editing if you're cycle-recording.

[stephentrask]

What a disappointment. I mean, I'm happy not to be an idiot, but I really wish there were some way of making this feature work. How they could put it out in the world behaving like it does is beyond me. Are there no actual musicians working on Logic? Did they not try to run a recording session with a real engineer doing the sorts of things that a real engineer does before putting this out? I can't imagine any musician or engineer that I have ever worked with not trying to do the things that made the takes folder fail for me. What were they thinking?

 

That said, I'm still a pretty lousy guitar player.

[Tele-Pet]

I've only used the Comp function a little, so I'm sure someone will tell me otherwise but... Can't you Unpack your take folder, make any edits you need to do, then select all your regions and Repack them into a Take Folder?

[PSPartyband]

This is what you may need, I took this from page 377 of the manual

 

Flatten and Flatten and Merge

The Take Folder menu—accessed by clicking the arrow at the top right corner of the take folder—allows you to flatten and merge take folders.

 

1) Flatten: Replaces the take folder with regions that represent the current comp selections. This allows you to move individual sections back or forth in time.

 

2) Flatten and Merge: Creates a new audio file which replaces the take folder in the Arrange. The newly created audio file exactly matches the size of the take folder (independent of the start position of the first region or end position of the last region).

 

Note: It is not possible to merge take folders as you would merge regions (with the Glue tool, for example). The reason for this is that the number of takes and comps would multiply, making edits difficult, if not unusable.

[JPZ]

What's the big deal? Comp the part from your takes using quick swipe (which I think is pretty cool) and then if you need to fix it up later go back to the original takes or the comped take and copy/paste or option-drag. Do it the new way, the old way or a combination of both. Pretty flexible.

[stephentrask]

This is what you may need, I took this from page 377 of the manual

 

Flatten and Flatten and Merge

The Take Folder menu—accessed by clicking the arrow at the top right corner of the take folder—allows you to flatten and merge take folders.

 

1) Flatten: Replaces the take folder with regions that represent the current comp selections. This allows you to move individual sections back or forth in time.

 

2) Flatten and Merge: Creates a new audio file which replaces the take folder in the Arrange. The newly created audio file exactly matches the size of the take folder (independent of the start position of the first region or end position of the last region).

 

Note: It is not possible to merge take folders as you would merge regions (with the Glue tool, for example). The reason for this is that the number of takes and comps would multiply, making edits difficult, if not unusable.

 

Flatten and merge is simply a way of replacing the various bits and their respective crossfades with a new audio file. It doesn't have anything to do with the work putting together the comp.

[stephentrask]

What's the big deal? Comp the part from your takes using quick swipe (which I think is pretty cool) and then if you need to fix it up later go back to the original takes or the comped take and copy/paste or option-drag. Do it the new way, the old way or a combination of both. Pretty flexible.

 

No, it's not flexible. Yes, the swipe function is awesome. But the fact that other edit tools and functions are unavailable on the individual takes and don't work reliably, properly or as expected on the folder is a major problem.

 

For instance, let's say that the your comp begins with the first four bars of take one. Then you want to use bars 5-8 from take 2, then back to the first four bars of take one then end the song with take three. You cannot from inside the take folder cut up take one so that bars 9-12 are a repeat of bars 1-4. You can cut the first 4 bars of the folder, with take one swiped, and copy it. However, when you copy that 4 bars onto the folder starting at bar 9 the behavior becomes quite erratic. If you cut at bar nine and trim toward bar 13 to make a space, when you are done drawing the trim, instead of opening a space of four bars you will likely find that your folder region has extended in the opposite direction, with the new extended portion being empty. Try to cut a four bar region and delete it and you might find it instantly replaced by a new region. If you simply paste 1-4 over 9-12 who knows what it will look like. It behaves erratically. Now, you've got your pasted section in place. Let's say you want to trim the second section a bit into bar 9 because you have a wicked pop at the edit. No go. The take folder is empty past bar 9 in this second region. But you can't trim on the take and now that you've made this edit the swipe function no longer works properly.

 

If you have had a different experience, good for you. I would imagine that you either haven't run this function through its paces or you don't mind that it only works in very limited situations, very few of which accommodate a working recording situation. If I'm wrong, I apologize. But please, then tell me what I am doing wrong. Because I think it isn't me. It's the half baked programming.

[JPZ]

What's the big deal? Comp the part from your takes using quick swipe (which I think is pretty cool) and then if you need to fix it up later go back to the original takes or the comped take and copy/paste or option-drag. Do it the new way, the old way or a combination of both. Pretty flexible.

 

No, it's not flexible. Yes, the swipe function is awesome. But the fact that other edit tools and functions are unavailable on the individual takes and don't work reliably, properly or as expected on the folder is a major problem.

 

For instance, let's say that the your comp begins with the first four bars of take one. Then you want to use bars 5-8 from take 2, then back to the first four bars of take one then end the song with take three. You cannot from inside the take folder cut up take one so that bars 9-12 are a repeat of bars 1-4. You can cut the first 4 bars of the folder, with take one swiped, and copy it. However, when you copy that 4 bars onto the folder starting at bar 9 the behavior becomes quite erratic. If you cut at bar nine and trim toward bar 13 to make a space, when you are done drawing the trim, instead of opening a space of four bars you will likely find that your folder region has extended in the opposite direction, with the new extended portion being empty. Try to cut a four bar region and delete it and you might find it instantly replaced by a new region. If you simply paste 1-4 over 9-12 who knows what it will look like. It behaves erratically. Now, you've got your pasted section in place. Let's say you want to trim the second section a bit into bar 9 because you have a wicked pop at the edit. No go. The take folder is empty past bar 9 in this second region. But you can't trim on the take and now that you've made this edit the swipe function no longer works properly.

 

If you have had a different experience, good for you. I would imagine that you either haven't run this function through its paces or you don't mind that it only works in very limited situations, very few of which accommodate a working recording situation. If I'm wrong, I apologize. But please, then tell me what I am doing wrong. Because I think it isn't me. It's the half baked programming.

 

What I'm saying is that the old way works fine if quick swipe doesn't work for you. I use a combination of both. I comp with quick swipe and then if I need to edit it deeper I may or may not flatten it, unpack the take folder and do it the old way from there. Also, I color all the regions in the take folder so I know what came from where. I guess I just don't get the problem. It's a feature that might not be exactly what you need.

[stephentrask]

What's the big deal? Comp the part from your takes using quick swipe (which I think is pretty cool) and then if you need to fix it up later go back to the original takes or the comped take and copy/paste or option-drag. Do it the new way, the old way or a combination of both. Pretty flexible.

 

No, it's not flexible. Yes, the swipe function is awesome. But the fact that other edit tools and functions are unavailable on the individual takes and don't work reliably, properly or as expected on the folder is a major problem.

 

For instance, let's say that the your comp begins with the first four bars of take one. Then you want to use bars 5-8 from take 2, then back to the first four bars of take one then end the song with take three. You cannot from inside the take folder cut up take one so that bars 9-12 are a repeat of bars 1-4. You can cut the first 4 bars of the folder, with take one swiped, and copy it. However, when you copy that 4 bars onto the folder starting at bar 9 the behavior becomes quite erratic. If you cut at bar nine and trim toward bar 13 to make a space, when you are done drawing the trim, instead of opening a space of four bars you will likely find that your folder region has extended in the opposite direction, with the new extended portion being empty. Try to cut a four bar region and delete it and you might find it instantly replaced by a new region. If you simply paste 1-4 over 9-12 who knows what it will look like. It behaves erratically. Now, you've got your pasted section in place. Let's say you want to trim the second section a bit into bar 9 because you have a wicked pop at the edit. No go. The take folder is empty past bar 9 in this second region. But you can't trim on the take and now that you've made this edit the swipe function no longer works properly.

 

If you have had a different experience, good for you. I would imagine that you either haven't run this function through its paces or you don't mind that it only works in very limited situations, very few of which accommodate a working recording situation. If I'm wrong, I apologize. But please, then tell me what I am doing wrong. Because I think it isn't me. It's the half baked programming.

 

What I'm saying is that the old way works fine if quick swipe doesn't work for you. I use a combination of both. I comp with quick swipe and then if I need to edit it deeper I may or may not flatten it, unpack the take folder and do it the old way from there. Also, I color all the regions in the take folder so I know what came from where. I guess I just don't get the problem. It's a feature that might not be exactly what you need.

 

i guess we can agree to disagree. In general, although I like some of the features and ideas of this update, I find that it is rather disappointing. And the big disappointment for me is in the number of changes that seem so half-baked, non-intuitive or seem to have been made with no regard for how musicians and engineers work in real world situations. Even, or maybe even especially, some of the visual elements of this update seem to have no regard for the people who are actually going to be using the software. Look around at every plug-in and the one thing you will find is that they tend to look like pieces of hardware, the kind of equipment one might find in a recording studio. But in this update, all the instruments and effects look less like hardware than they did before. Similarly, the loop browser still looks like some piece of iLife crap. This is a professional prgram. How about throwing us a bone and coming up with a more professional interface. These things asre not big deals but they contribute to the sense that Apple has, in its effort to make this product more in line with the company brand, forgotten who its aimed at.

 

And don't start me on that lousy transport.

 

But back to the real subject of this thread, the take folder: it is a big deal because the take folder was supposed to make working with audio better in Logic. this program has lagged for, well, ever, behind Pro Tools in terms of the ease of editing audio. The takes folder was supposed to change that. Finally, there was going to be an easy, efficient intuitive way of recording and editing audio in this otherwise great application. And they blew it. So, you can say, do it the new way or do it the old way, but when the new way is a very limited, unaddaptable and counterinuitive new feature and the old way stinks, is famously stinky, stinks like an Indanna pig farm in Summertime, than I would say it is a very big deal.

 

After all this wait, I will still have to go into Pro Tools to do anything but the most rudimentary audio work.

[JPZ]

>>Look around at every plug-in and the one thing you will find is that they tend to look like pieces of hardware, the kind of equipment one might find in a recording studio. But in this update, all the instruments and effects look less like hardware than they did before<<

 

Please tell me your kidding. I think you're just looking for stuff to complain about.

[stephentrask]

>>Look around at every plug-in and the one thing you will find is that they tend to look like pieces of hardware, the kind of equipment one might find in a recording studio. But in this update, all the instruments and effects look less like hardware than they did before<<

 

Please tell me your kidding. I think you're just looking for stuff to complain about.

 

Actually, I'm serious. These are not major things but they are evidence to me that the work habits of musicians and composers and engineers were not fully taken into account in this version, that more emphasis was placed on making this into an Apple application than making it agreeable to musicians. I say this as a huge Logic fan who rarely uses ProTools and wouldn't dream of working in any other DAW besides those and as someone who works in Logic almost every day of the year.

 

I think stuff should look cool. That's not why I buy it but it's sure nice once you've got the thing.

[stephentrask]

And I still say audio editing in Logic is crap and the takes folder is junk. And I would bet that they either didn't ask engineers or musicians to use it before they put the thing out, or they didn't listen to their suggestions and complaints, either because they couldn't figure out how to make it work properly or they couldn't work it out in the context of their one window interface.

[Versamina]

>>Look around at every plug-in and the one thing you will find is that they tend to look like pieces of hardware, the kind of equipment one might find in a recording studio. But in this update, all the instruments and effects look less like hardware than they did before<<

 

Please tell me your kidding. I think you're just looking for stuff to complain about.

 

Isn't he perfectly entitled to complain?.He paid for the program, probably after years of using Logic loyally ,for want of a better word...

Stephen's points are valid and clearly put-Hopefully fixes are already underway.

Regarding the look of the program and it's interface-maybe it's a Confidence thing-I've been using Logic for 7 years as a composer because it's ingeniously flexible and wonderful and it was designed by serious Germans and it always worked when i was under pressure.

Now, the grownup part of me say's don't worry, it's not going to morph into one of Apples EasyReader apps,because it can't obviously, it's already hugely powerful and complex....But...If it looks and feels like another lifestyle addition, my confidence in what should be a professional tool is eroded and though i hate myself for it, my juvenile alter ego takes a break from howling at fart jokes to tell me "You gotta use Nuendo maaan, that's for real pro's"....

Maybe i should stop avoiding work now , night , night.

[nikkik]

Wow...

 

OK, the Takes folder may not work for you, but unless you are using HD, comping in PT is..well... either a user created workaround scenario (Skunkworks, not even out yet), or non-existent, or some half-baked workflow that is clumsy as all. If someone is using a non-HD version of PT and has some magic comping workflow that is simple, I would LOVE to hear it.

 

You can always use two Arrange windows and link them, and work with the contents of a Takes folder. There are a bunch of different ways/approaches. Some are very similar to PT HD, others are unique (in a way) to Logic, and the quick swipe, IMO, is an excellent way to get a quick n dirty preview of a comp.

 

Sure, being able to easily and accurately align the pieces of takes for a comp using only quick swipe when the recorded material is not already in time and aligned is not easy (or possible), the Takes folder idea allows for one to build playlists, easily preview takes in context, etc, just like in PT (any). You get a second dimension of playlists in the multiple comps list as well, and you also have the Folder concept, which when used by an experienced user is a phenomenal tool, exceeding anything PT has currently.

 

Which language would best allow a person to explain a concept? An idea? Would that be English? French? Japanese? Simple answer: ALL of them. It simply depends on which the person relating the idea is most comfortable with and knowledgeable of. Going from PT to Logic is like going from English to another language. It will feel awkward and clumsy, and when you try to ask where a bathroom is, you might end up staring at a stack of pancakes.

[stephentrask]

[quote name=..But...If it looks and feels like another lifestyle addition' date=' my confidence in what should be a professional tool is eroded and though i hate myself for it, my juvenile alter ego takes a break from howling at fart jokes to tell me "You gotta use Nuendo maaan, that's for real pro's"....

Maybe i should stop avoiding work now , night , night.[/quote]

 

I thought I was the only one feeling that way. i suddenly, after writing 15 film scores and countless songs in Logic (all right, I could count them but I don't feel like it) fell like it isn't a sufficiently professional environment. and I know that's crazy but that was one of my first thoughts with this upgrade and i am having trouble shaking it.

 

Maybe I just need a job.

[Spectacle]

>>Look around at every plug-in and the one thing you will find is that they tend to look like pieces of hardware, the kind of equipment one might find in a recording studio. But in this update, all the instruments and effects look less like hardware than they did before<<

 

Please tell me your kidding. I think you're just looking for stuff to complain about.

 

Actually, I'm serious. These are not major things but they are evidence to me that the work habits of musicians and composers and engineers were not fully taken into account in this version, that more emphasis was placed on making this into an Apple application than making it agreeable to musicians. I say this as a huge Logic fan who rarely uses ProTools and wouldn't dream of working in any other DAW besides those and as someone who works in Logic almost every day of the year.

 

I think stuff should look cool. That's not why I buy it but it's sure nice once you've got the thing.

I agree about stuff looking cool, and analog-like -- but I've gotta say, Logic Pro 8 and its plugs look MORE cool to me than version 7 by far. And compared to PT, Nuendo, etc.? Way more slick and "pro"-looking.

 

I've actually been a bit inwardly embarassed about thinking to myself that this mattered, and that this was one of the many reasons I like Logic (and especially the new version) so much. Good to know others seem to care about such things, and yet REALLY surprising to hear that Logic 8 is actually being complained about in this respect. Different strokes, I guess... 8)

[stephentrask]

>>Look around at every plug-in and the one thing you will find is that they tend to look like pieces of hardware, the kind of equipment one might find in a recording studio. But in this update, all the instruments and effects look less like hardware than they did before<<

 

Please tell me your kidding. I think you're just looking for stuff to complain about.

 

Actually, I'm serious. These are not major things but they are evidence to me that the work habits of musicians and composers and engineers were not fully taken into account in this version, that more emphasis was placed on making this into an Apple application than making it agreeable to musicians. I say this as a huge Logic fan who rarely uses ProTools and wouldn't dream of working in any other DAW besides those and as someone who works in Logic almost every day of the year.

 

I think stuff should look cool. That's not why I buy it but it's sure nice once you've got the thing.

I agree about stuff looking cool, and analog-like -- but I've gotta say, Logic Pro 8 and its plugs look MORE cool to me than version 7 by far. And compared to PT, Nuendo, etc.? Way more slick and "pro"-looking.

 

I've actually been a bit inwardly embarassed about thinking to myself that this mattered, and that this was one of the many reasons I like Logic (and especially the new version) so much. Good to know others seem to care about such things, and yet REALLY surprising to hear that Logic 8 is actually being complained about in this respect. Different strokes, I guess... 8)

 

Yeah, maybe they do look cooler. I don't know. I still feel a bit thrown by this update. But you definitely don't need to be embarrassed about thinking it maters. Plug-ins should look cool and be fun to use

[shadowbox]

I'm trying to figure out how the Digi plug-ins that come with ProTools look that much cooler and more professional than Logic's. All of the basic comp, eq, delays, reverbs, etc. look pretty much like variations plug-ins we've seen for the last 10 years. It's the 3rd party stuff that usually looks cool, because they are trying to sell something and they need to grab your attention.

[stephentrask]

I'm trying to figure out how the Digi plug-ins that come with ProTools look that much cooler and more professional than Logic's. All of the basic comp, eq, delays, reverbs, etc. look pretty much like variations plug-ins we've seen for the last 10 years. It's the 3rd party stuff that usually looks cool, because they are trying to sell something and they need to grab your attention.

 

I hate the look of the DIGI plug ins. The Logic plug-ins have always looked much cooler. I just am not sure if I like the new frame around them or not. I'm dithering. with noise shaping.

[bink]

Sorry to hijack away from "pro"/"not-pro" plugin borders, but I could use some more clarity on take management:

 

I am a newbie to the forum and to logic (coming from DP). . . I was so excited about the take folders/quick swipe, but I too am finding that it creates roadblocks. As a newbie though, I thought maybe I am just doing things wrong.

 

It's been suggested to just unpack and then repack for more detailed edits/moves, but things don't repack correctly. Also, I can't use a bunch of features (the junction tool and beat-mapping for example), on the active comp, so I've taken to flattening after the initial quick swipe comp. But I like to keep all my old takes, so that means I first duplicate the take folder and then pack it away in a regular folder in case I need it later. Coming from DP workflow - it seems this would work easily/quickly, but it takes too many steps and I end up with all these different obsolete tracks, folders, and duplicated regions to delete and it turns into a mess quickly. (God forbid I try to re-pack as takes!)

 

I'm convinced I am doing it ass-backwards, but with all of the hate in this thread, maybe this does need some serious reworking. In the mean time, I'd love some constructive advice on how people are making flattened comps while retaining the ability to get back to the original takes easily.

 

Thanks - I've already learned more from you all than from the manual or the macprovideo101.

[camillo jr]

I'm still doing it one of the old ways, still back in ancient L7....don't know if this'll help.

 

Record all takes on subtracks, muting each take with the mute command as you go.

 

Audition takes, cutting out and colorizing the good bits.

 

Copy and move bits where necessary, still leaving them on their original subtracks. "Go to position" is very handy here for quickly zipping back and forth.

 

Select one colored region, then key com "select equal colored regions" followed by "move selected regions to current track"

[stephentrask]

Bink,

 

Thanks for getting this thread back on track. I don't think you are doing anything ass backwards. I think the take folder/comp feature swipe thing is really only half finished. It's great for doing a comp assuming the tracks you are working with will need no editing. And its great for workflow if you are getting some takes and your in the groove. In that case its faster then playlists in ProTools. But after that, unless you are going to be doing the most straight up, no edit comps, the folder becomes more of a hindrance than a help. In fact, it almost seems at that point that the neatest and most useful thing to do would be to forget about the take folder and its nifty but limited swipe tool and unpack the takes folder and then repack into a regular folder where you can make all the edits you want on the individual tracks. You might still have a bit of pain in the ass clean up after that but as far as I can see, at this point, the take folder becomes like an appendix, something that seems to have served a purpose at one point but lord if anyone can figure it out now.

[stephentrask]

Look, since all I've done is complain thus far, I will point out, as best I can, the unbelievable shortcomings of the takes folder and the types of improvements which need to be made before it can be a truly useful professional tool. First, there should be the option to view the contents of a take folder in an hierarchical window, like in a regular folder, in which all the various editing tools can be brought to bear on the individual tracks.

 

Second, and more importantly, the full range of editing tools needs to be available when editing the takes folder, with all the usual behavior in tact. If I cope and paste measures 9-13 of a take folder to a new spot, I should be able to use the trim tool on either end to extend the audio file housed in the folder. Similarly, I should be able to create a crossfade between edits in the folder. Either that or the automatic crossfades triggered by the swipe tool should be applied at these type of edits as well.

 

If any of these things is available, please let me know. If so, I have misread the documentation. But without these abilities, the takes folder ends up causing as many limitations as it enables freedoms. And unpacking and repacking the folder creates a mess that's greater than the one cleaned up by having take folders.

 

My guess is the developers couldn't get this level of functionality working in time for the release. Hopefully they will still be working at it.

[marcel72]

I'm still doing it one of the old ways, still back in ancient L7....don't know if this'll help.

 

Record all takes on subtracks, muting each take with the mute command as you go.

 

Audition takes, cutting out and colorizing the good bits.

 

Copy and move bits where necessary, still leaving them on their original subtracks. "Go to position" is very handy here for quickly zipping back and forth.

 

Select one colored region, then key com "select equal colored regions" followed by "move selected regions to current track"

 

Exactly what I do... With vocals and single mic guitars.

 

Bass (DI and amp mic), drums (3 up to god-knows-how-many mics), keys (stereo DI)? The situation falls apart. Take folders with multiple (edit grouped) tracks are about as stable as a squirrel on methamphetamine. I know we had a discussion (that you were involved in, IIRC) about using regular folders for this a few years back, and I've tried that, and... It sucks. No offense meant, it's the best workaround available, but still...

 

Can't even group tracks for edits when recording to new track instances, and with a bunch of tracks in record, I have problems keeping the instances in order, too.

 

For me, primarily tracking bands (basics and overdubs), this is an overwhelming problem... Forcing me to use another DAW to track, and Logic to mix when tracking is complete. This brings with it a whole other set of headaches and time wasters...

 

I think I see an HD card in my future.

[camillo jr]

I don't often track whole bands but when I do I find folders very useful for managing takes - with a couple of caveats...

 

Each take goes into a folder.

 

Later when editing I use a screenset with two horizontal arrange windows, bottom one yellow linked. The folders are in the top window.

 

Top window has a right click mute tool, bottom window scissors. Whenever I select a folder in the top window it's contents appear in the bottom. When I need to copy and paste something I make sure that a track has been selected in the bottom window before pasting.

 

The main downside for me is that I cannot use punch on the fly when tracking alongside folders because only the top track will be recorded. (Most annoying, hope they have that sorted with LP8) So I have to engage record immediately, which obviously will not work for many situations. I usually don't record into a folder, just on the original tracks and then pack the whole take.

 

Of course if you have other guide tracks not in a folder, the lack of punch-on-the-fly in a folder-take scenario is workable.

[Noella]

I agree with you about the comping tool. It's not flexible enough. It's okay for vocals...but when I do guitar strumming.... eeek.

 

What I'm doing is comping, make a copy then flatten the copy. I'd then unpack the other comped folder for quick access to the files. Then I do it like i did before...cutting up and move bits and pieces that I want. But in any case, I flatten whenever I'm done comping anyway b/c weird things keep happening like random files moving.

[Noella]

I agree with you about the comping tool. It's not flexible enough. It's okay for vocals...but when I do guitar strumming.... eeek.

 

What I'm doing is comping, make a copy then flatten the copy. I'd then unpack the other comped folder for quick access to the files. Then I do it like i did before...cutting up and move bits and pieces that I want. But in any case, I flatten whenever I'm done comping anyway b/c weird things keep happening like random files moving.