Good method to tempo match imported audio and project?

Cubase
1

I often import an audio file into Cubase (10 Pro) to add some percussion. I can detect the tempo of the sample but that will not make it stay in sync with the project.

I can extract e.g. 4 bar sample slices and use the musical mode to match with the project but that’s a lot of work and sometimes the results are undesirable when there are tempo changes in the material.

I can create a tempo track from the imported sample but that yielded some unpleasant results, at least I wasn’t able to keep the beat tight after this.

So my question is if others have found any of theses methods or another method to work OK for them.

2

Hi,

First of all, do you want to match the audio to the project tempo or the Tempo to the Audio event?

3

Both would be good if it worked good… my experience is that if I match the project tempo (track) to the audio material, the groove will go bye bye, so I was thinking that matching the audio to the project is the better idea. But I am open to different suggestions, maybe I just messed up the way I extracted the tempo events from the audio.

4

Hi,

If you match the project tempo to the audio, the audio doesn’t change (is not touched at all), so the groove most remain as it was.

5

Martin, I couldn’t be less knowledgeable on Cubase but I think tim means that the groove he has established in the Project goes out of the window if he matches it to the audio.

6

When I use Project → Tempo Detection, the resulting tempo track usually has a lot if spikes. When I add a quantized instrument track, it will sometimes be out of sync for a bar or two and also the groove contains noticeable tempo changes. The promising “smooth Tempo” button on the “Tempo Detection” window is always greyed out. I usually delete all tempo events and manually drag the positions of the sample bar starts to the project bar starts with the tempo warp tool - which is a lot of work but gives OK results.

The other option I have used is slicing the audio material to 2 or 4 bar pieces manually which is also laborious, but when I cut the pieces right I can use musical mode to make them match the project tempo thereby straightening the groove (if, for example, I imported a jazz piece and wanted to add an electro beat).

Both methods work, but I feel like I am not using Cubase right - because it is so much work to process the imported audio bar by bar.