Is there a Macro, or other method, that will allow me to precisely trim the ends of multiple audio events at once?
I can get good results with the Detect Silence feature in Cubase. However, my issue with it is that I have sessions with hundreds (if not thousands) of clips, so using Detect Silence is not a quick solution in this situation since I’d have to apply it on one event at a time (analyzing, adjusting setting, apply, repeat). A faster solution, perhaps in a macro format, or anything really (a plug-in, other software, etc) would save me a ton of time here (though, honestly, I’d rather it be something I can do inside of Cubase/Nuendo).
Bookmarking because I’d like to see a macro or other suggestions as well!
BTW, can you expand on what you mean by:
Do you want all the audio events to be trimmed by the same set amount, or is there some “math” or open/close threshold (w/pre-roll/post-roll) function in detect silence that you’d want for content awareness of the events?
In detail, what I would like is for Cubase to automatically detect when audio in an event starts, trim at that point, then ignore the rest of the audio content until then very end of the event and trim at the point where there’s no more audio signal. IOW, I need a fast way to chop off the ends of an audio event based on its content, AND to be able to do this to several events in one pass.
This is something that probably doesn’t exist, but it doesn’t hurt to ask just in case. The closest I’ve gotten is with the Detect Silence process, but the problem with it is that I have to keep adjusting the settings per event, and even then the results are not perfect. For example, sometimes the removal of silence happens too early or too late, so there’s always a compromise. And again, it’s a bit time consuming given the cheer number of audio events I have to apply it to. In short, it kinda works, but it’s not ideal.
Hopefully I’m missing something that already does this, even if it’s not inside of Cubase/Nuendo (maybe another Steinberg software, or something else?).
Wavelab has a function specifically for this kind of operation called Auto Split. This can be set to cut the head and tail of multiple files in a folder according to silence.
Unfortunately that feature doesn’t tackle my use case since I guess what I need needs to be content aware and I don’t think there’s anything like that on the market right now.
Basically, I need something that’s smarter than a simple gate in order to determine exactly where to cut and where not to without me having to intervene by changing the settings each time. Maybe one day with A.I. this will be achievable, but for now I’ll just settle with what’s in Cubase (which is not bad for what it is). I simply need something more advanced.
I really appreciate your suggestion though. Thank you!
Have you actually used Wavelab’s Auto-Split function?
The above is what you asked for and Wavelab’s Auto-Split does precisely this. But of course outside of Cubase. If you wanted a function which acts directly upon events in some way then there’s no way to achieve this inside Cubase AFAIK.
Auto Split is ‘content aware’ as long as there’s a difference in level when the audio fades in / out from / to silence within the file. The function cuts according to where it finds silence. What is defined as silence is set by the user. The cutting of the head and tail therefore varies with each file depending on where the wanted audio begins and ends. There is zero intervention required from the user. It is only silence which is cut.
It’s similar to Detect Silence but more sophisticated and can operate on multiple files.
Additionally WaveLab has the batch processing, so you can throw hundereds of files into a batch, which will then run Auto-Split.
I think there is also an option for naming schemes for the resulting files.
Also, Auto-Split can independently process all files within a folder, including sub-folders. Thus, if a folder with its sub-folders contains thousands of files, Auto Split can be directed to process all of them with a single mouse click.
Thanks for your replies guys. I really appreciate them.
Indeed, Auto Split does what I want. The problem was that I have to make sure to clean the files before using it since it didn’t seem to do anything if there’s any background noise present. I’m working with dialogue that has some ambient noise, so that’s why it didn’t seem to be working. Removing that noise was key in getting it to work as expected.
Quick question: Does the batch processor in WaveLab have the Auto Split function?
It didn’t seem to be there. Auto Split can do batch processing, but I find not having it in the batch processor to be a bit counterintuitive. Perhaps it’s there and we couldn’t find it?
Great minds think alike! I’m wondering some of the same things… here’s a link to tie these threads together for future visitors wondering the same things:
No it doesn’t at the current time, but I put in a feature request to @PG1 for this in the other thread (linked above). Hopefully it’s something he can add for WL13.
Agreed. Would be nice to consolidate all of WL’s batch-capable features somehow in a more intuitive way, even if it’s just redundantly adding another menu item in WL TBH. Would help to see all the batch-related features in one area.
.
I’m wondering some of the same things… here’s a link to tie these threads together for future visitors wondering the same things: