Flex time – Forum Post & Discussion Thread : macProVideo.com

odet

Posts: 7

Joined: Jul 10th, 2012, 01:22

Flex time

Jul 26th, 2012, 12:54

Hi All, I am having some trouble with flex time. I am editing a vocal track, and for some reason every time I try to put markers and stretch the audio parts to match with the tempo, some kind of distortion or pops are created. I am using the monophonic option, and I have seen already some tutorials on youtube where people create very clean vocal tracks, but I just can't even when doing the same process. Would anyone please recommend a tutorial or suggest what is the best way to achieve very clean vocal tracks? I would very much appreciate it! cheers, odet

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GaryHiebner

Posts: 1434

Joined: May 6th, 2007, 12:54

Re: Flex time

Jul 26th, 2012, 02:04

Hi Odet, You can take a look at Steve Horelick's excellent video tutorial on Flex Time: [url]http://www.macprovideo.com/tutorial/logic9104[/url] Also Mike Watkinson has written an article on using Flex Time with Drums, but the same techniques can be applied to vocals: [url]http://www.macprovideo.com/hub/logic-pro/fixing-drums-using-flex-in-logic-pro[/url]

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odet

Posts: 7

Joined: Jul 10th, 2012, 01:22

Re: Re: Flex time

Jul 26th, 2012, 02:15

Thanks Gary! I'll check them out. My question will be now, is there a way to get perfect vocal tracks through flex time without artifacts?

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GaryHiebner

Posts: 1434

Joined: May 6th, 2007, 12:54

Re: Flex time

Jul 26th, 2012, 02:23

Flex Time all depends on what Flex Mode algorithms you are using, and how far you are taking Flex Time. Artifacts will be introduced to a degree when you use Flex Time heavily. So I would say use it sparingly for the best results. I normally use Flex Time for creative effect by taking an audio region and drastically stretching the audio to create unique sounding audio snippets. But sometimes if you are trying to correct a vocal part and artifacts are being introduced, then it is best to re-record the vocal part.

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odet

Posts: 7

Joined: Jul 10th, 2012, 01:22

Re: Flex time

Jul 26th, 2012, 03:13

Thank you for the valuable input!

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odet

Posts: 7

Joined: Jul 10th, 2012, 01:22

Re: Re: Flex time

Jul 26th, 2012, 05:18

I have one more question regarding bouncing audio tracks. I have always wondered if editing an audio track and bouncing it many times, affects quality at all. For instance, I've been editing a vocal track, changing automation parameters, etc. and bouncing it several times. I haven't noticed any change in quality, but I wanted to make sure about this. Hope to hear from you, and thanks for the help.

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GaryHiebner

Posts: 1434

Joined: May 6th, 2007, 12:54

Re: Flex time

Jul 26th, 2012, 06:57

In the digital realm, there shouldn't be any loss of quality (compared to back in the day where there was tape degrading when you bounced down). Although the quality may degrade if you are applying any form of dithering to the export. As dithering adds in some low-level noise to the audio. After too many bounces this way will after the audio.

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odet

Posts: 7

Joined: Jul 10th, 2012, 01:22

Re: Re: Flex time

Aug 3rd, 2012, 09:47

Thank you for your help! Any recommendation on how to achieve good vocals? For example, I've heard most people compress and apply a variety of effects to the vocal tracks. Would you suggest a tutorial on this please? Thanks again!

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GaryHiebner

Posts: 1434

Joined: May 6th, 2007, 12:54

Re: Flex time

Aug 3rd, 2012, 11:50

Hi Odet, You would use a combination of Eqs, Compressors, and Reverb. You can also apply effects like Delay and Chorus with short delay times to give a doubling effect. You can take a look at the following tutorial where they cover some techniques for processing the vocals: [url]http://www.macprovideo.com/tutorial/recording-vocals[/url] [url]http://www.macprovideo.com/tutorial/dubway-sessions-songcraft-producing-lauren-balthrop[/url]

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