Elastic Audio is one of the most powerful new features in Pro Tools 8.   So how do you use it?  To start with , you need to set up a grid (tempo map). If you played to a click you are fine. However if you free formed your recording and now want to take advantage of Elastic audio, use identify beat /beat detective to Tempo map (Grid) your song. Please note that the term “GRID” does not mean quantize or conform performance. It simply means setting up the system to perform advanced selection, editing, pitch shifting, loop auditioning, quantizing and tempo manipulation techniques with EASE.

Now that your Bar: Beat ruler is set we can manipulate audio like never before.

To enable elastic audio simply click on the “elastic audio plug-in selector” under automation mode. Each elastic mode is specifically designed to the type of audio or instrument on a track.

Example:

Rhythmic = is for percussion like drums

Monophonic = is for single note instruments i.e. bass, vocals, leads

Polyphonic = more than one note like chords i.e. keyboards.

Now that we understand the “setup” it is time to turn on the functionality.

I’ll break it down by feature:

Tempo Manipulation:

After enabling elastic you must now change all tracks to “tick” based tracks. By doing this all material is considered “relative” which means all audio tracks like MIDI are relative to “tempo” and by changing the “relative time position”(tempo) the audio and midi will conform to the new tempo while preserving the pitch. Be sure to take advantage of the “Tempo Operations Window” found under the “EVENT” >Tempo operations sub menu.

Quantize Audio/Midi:

Quantizing audio has never been easier. The Quantize window is found under the Event menu. If there is a MIDI or audio “event” that needs to be quantized to a grid point or groove simply select the event or events and choose the “quantize resolution” and click apply.

Audition audio in Workspace Browser:

This is one of my favorites: simply play your song and open the Workspace Browser

At the top of the browser is a small metronome. Click on it and make it turn Green. Then based on what type of audio you want to “audition” conforming to the tempo of your song, pick the corresponding algorithm. Whatever audio file you audition in real time will play along with your song in the same tempo. So when you drag from browser to timeline the sample will conform to the tempo of you song. This is really nice for loops and grooves from sample libraries.

Elastic Pitch:

Simply select the audio that you want to pitch up or down. Go to the “Region” menu then click “Elastic Properties” at the bottom of the Elastic Properties window you will see where to pitch the selected region by semitone and cents. This is happening in real time so you can play the sequence and hear the pitching at the same time.

The elastic audio feature is an extremely powerful option for all your projects so have fun and stay creative using Pro tools 8.