Today the lines are blurred as to when the "mix" process begins. I would like to take you on a journey of advanced sound enhancement techniques for mixing. If you ever record drums and your kick, snare, and toms are not cutting through the mix. I would like to suggest something for you to try. The plugin is “SoundReplacer”. It should be called “Sound Enhancer”.

What is it?

SoundReplacer is a unique Pro Tools LE and HD plug-in that allows you to replace or mix an existing audio track with new samples from your sound library. Retain the original feel by matching the timing and automatically adjusting the dynamics of the replacement sound to match the changing levels of the original performance.

After one listen to the John Bohnhamʼs Led Zepplin drum outtakes directly off the multi track, the reality that not all good music fits on a tempo grid will becomes pretty obvious to any recording engineer or musician. And when it comes to determining whether to use a click track while recording your project it may not always be quite so clear when it is going to good use or ripping the good write out of your musicianʼs performance.

Iʼve seen inexperienced recording engineers painstakingly attempting to fix live drum recordings after the fact with beat detective or elastic audio going for that perfect performance when the opportunity to capture that perfect performance was long past. After some further investigation most would tell me that when they put the click track in the session timing problems occurred causing an over all lack luster performance to an otherwise cool sounding and talented group. My question is usually always the same “Why did you use a click if it wasnʼt working?”

Most of the answers were usually something like this “so the music is in time” or “so I can get it on the tempo grid” There is one big recording rule that I have learned through experience that is broken here. That is “music comes first, engineering second” It is the engineers job to capture the most natural, quiet and clean possible recording and creating an environment in which the creativity can flourish. So for me, two things usually determine whether I use a click tack in a recording session. The first is the type of music Iʼm recording and the second is the level of musical experience. Letʼs first talk about the type of music.

If were doing a straight ahead pop track, or modern rock track, or anything of that nature a click should work just fine providing your working with experienced musicians. These styles are mostly produced in the box and are more about subtle groove and rhythmic precision and less about a natural organic feel. Now if I was recording a bebop jazz band, choir, or a classical orchestra most likely I wouldnʼt use a click because these styles typically will dictate a much looser feel. This is by no means the rule, but should be a good staring point when making your decision.

The second is musical ability. You may find yourself working with a great sounding band which may contain some inexperienced musicians, that have little or no studio experience and have never even practiced or recorded to a click track. Often these bands have a very natural feel and chemistry together that is the key ingredient to making the music work. In this case a click can be the biggest buzz kill ever. Your going to need to get a feel for who your working with ahead of time and it may be a good idea to attend some rehearsals beforehand.

If you do decide to use a click track and will find out in a recording session that itʼs not working it is very important you carefully and promptly address the issue to avoid a possible downward spiral. I usually say something like “letʼs see how it works with a natural feel“ or “I think the click is too rigid for your bandʼs style” This is much better then forcing the issue by trying multiple takes to reinforce something you already know which is that itʼs not working.

All this being said it is ultimately your decision to use a click or not. After taking a few Pro Tools classes one quickly realizes that by using Pro Tools Identify beat or beat Detective naturally recorded music can be easily put on a grid afterwards. So remember one size does not fit all and donʼt be afraid to let things breath a little. After all itʼs just music right?

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.

Today there are many ways to self-promote. With many social networking websites and video-posting sites available, tools for promoting ones career can be administered through high-speed internet connection.

I would like to share with you a couple of self-promotional tips to assist you with getting your word out.

Success is defined by preparation meeting opportunity. First, write a bio about yourself or your band. Then get professional photographs taken and put them up on your website.

Groove-Making with TransFuser

The way we can manipulate audio today is amazing. My first sampler was an ASR-10, then Kurzweil K-2000.

When I learned that I could record grooves from vinyl and re-trigger them with a key on the keyboard then organize them into a sequence using the onboard sequencer it was also amazing. Then computers came into the picture with powerful editing software (i.e. protools).

The evolution of graphic waveform editing in DAW`s increased my workflow tremendously. The process was very time consuming and tedious but still very manageable. However today’s sample recording and playback devices have all become more powerful and reliable in the form of virtual instruments. One of my favorites is called Transfuser.

Transfuser allows me to drag and drop samples right from my timeline in ProTools. To get a groove going with this RTAS plug-in is faster than ever. It’s filled with stock grooves loops and sound FX. If you want to use more custom loops and grooves you can access your hard drive right from the Virtual instrument.

Time stretch audition features allow you to hear the loops in tempo with you Protools session. The unique M.A.R.I.O feature allows you to change the groove in real time to any groove. This “re-sampling” technique used to take hours and multiple pieces of software and hardware. Now with Transfuser you can record edit sample and re-sample in minutes. All inside transfusers GUI.

Check out the DTV Transfuser video series to learn more about this amazing groove maker.

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