Hey. How do I make audio-samples automatically shorten or stretch to fit the project-tempo?
Example: If I have a project set to 142BPM, but then I decide I want to set it to 132BPM instead; then all of my audio-samples will be out of sync with the new project-tempo. I have to manually resize each audio-sample to fit the new project-tempo at 132BPM - which is very frustrating. So, is there a way to make the audio-samples automatically time-stretch to fit the new project-tempo?
This is very easy to do in FL Studio, so there must be a similar automatic function in Cubase as well - considering that Cubase overall is a bit more advanced program than FL Studio.
The easiest way is opening the audio pool, make sure the tempo on every audio file is correct and enable the musical mode check mark on them.
You can select all the files in the pool first, so you don’t have to do it on every single file, but do em all in one swoop.
Same goes for algorithm’s.
You can of cause also use the info line to edit those settings.
By the way, is there a way to make the time-stretched audio not sound “bad”?
For example, when I set the project tempo to 132 BPM (going from 142 BPM), and the audio-sample gets time-stretched to fit the new project-tempo; it sounds kind of muffled every now and then. Like every 4. beat or something, the kick in the audio-sample sounds muffled…
This “muffling” doesn’t occur if I set the algorithm to “Tape”, as opposed to “Time”. But if I set it to “Tape”, the pitch of the audio-sample changes, which is not the desired effect I’m looking for. I just want the audio-sample to sound exactly the same at 132 BPM as it does at 142 BPM - just slower. Is this achievable?
Have you read up on Time Stretch and how it works? If you’re going to be doing it a lot it’s important that you understand it.
Place individual hits on the time line or use a sampler/drum machine. Don’t stretch the loop, chop up the hits your self.
There is a setting in the preferences for the default time stretch. You can also change the time stretch in the info line, next to where it will now say MUSICAL MODE. You will get a drop down menu of the different algos. The old standard Cubase algos are there too. The elastique algos are among the best in the world.
They work by chopping the audio file into tiny pieces and inserting a gap (slower/longer) or overlapping the edges of the tiny pieces (faster/shorter), this means if the transient of your kick/snare etc is in the overlap, it will be destroyed, lost, this is what you are hearing. In the old algos you can even insert your own frequency of the splices to try and avoid, minimise the undesired results.
Other ways work more like a turntable, you won’t get splicing artefacts this way but you will go out of key as you change the size.
When I’ve made some of my bootleg mash ups, sometimes I’d use a combination of both. Using the offline processing menu (f7 i think) you can use the pitch and the time stretch windows to experiment with different combinations. But for drum loops, cutting the hits out yourself is the best result, unless you want that jungle speed up effect or slow motion sound.
