Change Tempo Without Altering Audio

Cubase
1

I recorded several tracks into a song from ADAT with the wrong tempo so now I need to change it. However, every option I tried for altering the tempo seems to throw the audio tracks off. Is there a way to just simply change the tempo of the song without screwing up the synchronization of all my tracks?

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2

Your probable best bet is to re-record the tracks at the right tempo. Otherwise, youā€™re probably destined for a Cubase timestretch process or another app that will automatically timestretch with the tempo adjustment. I use Melodyne Editor for this process and it works quite well as long as the tempo change isnā€™t too extreme. Of course, that will be the case with any app.

3

2 things to doā€¦

  1. In the Audio Pool, make sure that ā€œMusical Modeā€ is unchecked for each audio file.
  2. In the Project window, switch all audio tracks from Musical Timebase to Linear Timebase (change each trackā€™s ā€œquarter-noteā€ icon into a ā€œclockā€ icon).
    You can now change Cubaseā€™s tempo without affecting the audio.
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4

Itā€™s worth trying musical mode but prepare to be highly disappointed!
Re-recording it would most likely be your best option here.

5

Linear Timebase worked perfectly!! Thanks for the replies everyoneā€¦

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6

Excellent tips. In my case, by ā€˜changing tempo without altering audio,ā€™ I wanted Cubase to actually change it so as to keep everything lined up and sounding exactly the same, except faster (I recorded a song with vocals but wanted to increase the bpm). Sort of the inverse of what vic_france is offering. So to do this instead:

  1. In the Audio Pool, make sure Musical Mode is turned on.
  2. leave all audio tracks in Musical Timebase, and
  3. change the songā€™s Tempo in the transport as usual.

This keeps all audio events in their place and stretches/compresses them to sound right. My change was only a few bpm (85 to 87 bpm) so it works, but yes, I would recommend re-recording to prevent artifacting, especially with dramatic changes (>5 bpm).

7

What about all the midi? Was this covered?

8

If you have previously quantized midi, it will all be on a grid and will move to your tempo changes accordingly. If your midi is in free form, (not played along with a tempo time clock) that may be a problem.