How to edit loop recordings quantized

[Matthias Grob <matthias@grob.org>]

If you bring looped recordings to an audio editor, its MUCH easyer 
when the tempo fits to the recording so you can use the grid to 
select entire loops to move them arround.

This may be trivial but it took me a while to find it out for the 
Performer so here is the cook book:

- Create a SoundBite with exactly and entire known number of loops in 
it. Select for example 8 loops (more is more acurate) of a track 
where the structure is easily visible and copy/paste it to a new 
track.
- Select this SoundBite in the SoundBite window and go to Menu Audio 
Set SoundBite Tempo. Multiply the number of bars in your loop with 
the number of loops in the SoundBite, type it into the duration in 
bars slot and see a reasonable result in BPM.
- In Edit Window, select the SoundBite and apply Menu Audio Adjust 
Sequence to SoundBite Tempo.
Confirm and correct maybe looking at a later bit...
- Set the grid in the upper right corner of the Edit window to 1/2 or 
1/4 of the total loop. By this, you still have a choice to select 
several parts of it, but have it easy to count 2 or 4 bits of 
selection.

Now, maybe you want to create more loops or replace the recording of 
the loops by relooping the recording of the original instrument:
- select the bit you want to loop, copy paste it onto a new track.
- Choose Set Loop in the Menu Audio (I created the cmd-L keyboard 
access for it ;-)
- They only offer you to indicate the number of repetitions or 
infinite. This is not so handy, since you may not know how far it 
will go. Since the number of tracks is limited, you may want to 
overwrite the loop with another one later in the piece. Sadly, its 
not possible to overwrite, you need to end a loop before another can 
start on the same track! So I suggest to choose infinite, and when 
you come to the point to replace it:
- go to where the first loop starts on the track, click on the very 
left lower corner of it (when the cursor turns into a hand) and click 
once to go to the Loop level and agan to select it. Now you can 
either delete it and create a new one (seems easier to me), or go to 
the event window and edit its length there. Unfortunatly they let you 
just type in where you want it to end, so in any case you have to 
calculate or count the number of repetitions.

I also tried to create the loop by Repeat... but did not like it, 
because it does not work with the selection of a SoundBite and Larry 
sais it uses more RAM...

I may be wrong and really hope, someone comes up with easier ways!

I would say: Performer is not quite Loop Proof yet!
-- 


          ---> http://Matthias.Grob.org