ethios4 wrote:My technique for Live5...
1) Set Live's master tempo to something around the tempo of the track. Live will use this tempo as a starting point. For instance, if the track is 140bpm and you have the master tempo at 80bpm, Live will probably figure the tempo of the clip is 70bpm. If this happens just turn Warp off and then back on for the clip.
2) Determine where 1.1.1 will be. You may have to listen to the groove to determine this. If the beginning of the track makes it difficult to determine where the 1.1.1 is, you can set 1.1.1 at a logical place later in the track (where the kick comes in, for instance, or at the track's 17.1.1). Now you can look back to the beginning and find where you really want to place the 1.1.1, perhaps at -16 or -32. Set 1.1.1 here and confirm that 1.1.1 is where it should be by listening to the music
3) "Warp from Here" at 1.1.1. Live will make a good try at auto-markering the rest of the track. It is important that you have 1.1.1 actually set at the first 16th of the first beat of the measure. If you have 1.1.1 set at the track's x.2.1, Live will interpret the music differently and may try to put in a lot of warp markers where it shouldn't. Another way to say this...if you tell Live that the 3rd beat of the groove is 1.1.1, it will be looking at the music incorrectly.
If Live auto-warped the track with no additional markers, or just a few...
4a) Scroll and zoom in on the last part of the track with a clear kick, at 257.1.1 for example. Adjust the appropriate warp marker so that it lines up with the kick. If this is difficult to determine because the waveform is unclear, back up a few beats until you find a good place and warp there.
5a) Scroll and zoom in somewhere in the middle of the track. Verify that the warp-markers are lining up as they should. You want these as accurate as possible. If they are not lined up perfectly, begin setting warp markers at logical points in the track - at a breakdown, for instance, or at the beginning of a verse/chorus etc. This should force the areas between the markers to be sufficiently accurate. Placing the markers at logical points in the track allows you to use the markers as guideposts to navigate the track when mixing. Continue placing markers until you are satisfied with the accuracy of warping.
If Live auto-warped the track with lots of markers...
4b) Try using "Warp from Here (Straight)" at 1.1.1. Sometimes this works well, especially if you correct a badly placed 1.1.1. To verify, scoll to a later place in the track and see if the markers are lining up well with the beats. Look in several places in the track. If it works well, go back up to step 4a above.
If that didn't work, the track has a tempo shift(s) somewhere. So...
5b) Try adjusting all the warp markers at once. Select a warp marker that's on a good beat; it's frame should turn black. Press CTRL-A (apple-A on mac?) to select all warp markers. Now drag the warp marker so that the warp marker lines up with the beat; this should also move the other selected warp markers at the same time. If you're lucky, they will all line up now. Zoom in on lots of warp markers to verify.
If that still didn't work...
5c) You will have to warp by hand I'm not so good at this. I try to work in logical chunks by picking 16 or 32 bar phrases. I set the warp points for the beginning and end of the phrase, then work from the middle out. This requires lots of lsitening and figuring out where the beats are, and patience.
Once the track is succesfully warped...
Save the clip! This essential step can easily be overlooked when you're deep in a 100-track warping session. Often the reaction is that Live didn't save the warp markers. This is a perfectly normal and inaccurate projection of your own warped psyche onto Live. This often a good place to stand, stretch the body, maybe have a glass of water and a ____.
Its always good to the whole track to verify that the warping is correct. It may be helpful to listen with the metronome going to hear if it lines up right. Sometimes the beat isn't where it looks to be on the waveform. If you listen with the metronome and find that the beat "feels" a little later or earlier, you can select all (CTRL-A) of the markers and shift them together so they line up well.
That's it. That's all I got.
thats it imo, everything there and some methods that always work for me:
About finding the clear start of a 16 bar measure to "Set 1.1.1": oh absolutely this is the secret that lets you warp almost any track, including ones with no clear structure at the beginning, only pads, or other oddities
Thing important is to add, once you warp the track pretty wel starting from that point ... go back and look for the grey markers to the left that mark off multiples of 8. ie.. -8, -16, -24.
Double click the furthest one of these back. Now this sets your 1.1.1 to that point and changes all the others appropriately
Now you can set your start marker here, and "Loop to current region" Hit save. Track is done if warped correctly.
Also:
- use a nice, basic 4x4 J kick loop with a clear thump and some point to the top end. then play this under all of your warping activities. way better then either the mentrome or house loop ... no need for snares hats and other distactions. the kick is simple, consistant, always cuts, and always lets you know immediately when something is flamming.
- not too much need to put the master tempo close to original bpm ... grab grey marker 3.11 and pull it to the beginning of the (usually obvious) first kick of the third measure
- then move to the grey 5.11 marker. pull that to the (usually obvious) first kick of the 5th measure.
- now look at the original bpm box in clip view. thats really close to within less than a bpm at this point. you can set the master bpm somewhere around that now.
- so ... always playing the kick as a reference ... look at 9.11 .. pull it to mark off a perfect 8 bar section. dont warp it
- look at 17. right where it needs to be near start of the kick? if not zoom in adjust.
- now right click on it and "warp straight from here here" - right click again and say "loop to current region"
- now type 16 bars in teh loop length field down there to the left.
- look to the right side of this 16 bar loop,. its barr 33. zoom, adjust, warp straight from here.
(all the while the kick is going)
- now check bar 65. kick sounds good? 65 marker is on the spot? right click warp straight from here
- at this point you can use your 16 or 32 or whatever size loop to mark off at even points
other rules of thumb: check breaks carefully, good idea to mark at either the entrance of the break, exit or both.
- near end of the track, zoom way in as you mark off the last few sections... put them at the final drops of the track in 8 or 16 bar distances to serve as guides.
beginning and end is crucial. but if you warp this way in 16/32 bar loops as you move to the right, the whole track is definitely locked in tight so you can break them down into sections for (re)mixing with confidence, anywhere in the structure
if you get used to this method you can warp almost any dance track solid, super tight anywhere from a minute to a few minutes depending on the track.
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yes!!! the magic of Live!! you can use it to sync up movie dialogue, insect chirps, Balinese gamelan, and the sound of your roomate snoring on the couch, all as a seque into a mashup of James Brown and Metallica!! yes!!!
