Resampling sync issues

Hey everyone...

I've got some questions about the resampling feature. I usually 'track out' my beats my resampling them into a WAV file and saving that, since I don't have a DAW for proper tracking. I usually just do it all in one go, but as of late I've been using more tracks and the polyphony has been eaten up. Therefore, I usually track the beat twice... once with the sample/bass muted, and the other with all the drums/percussion muted. So I have two resampled tracks... I also put a series of hi hats before and after each song so I can line these up in Audacity.

So theoretically, shouldn't the hi-hats line up perfectly?? I have not changed anything, apart from muted certain elements from the beat.. however, the hi-hats are always slightly off when I zoom up in Audacity. It hasn't bothered me, as you can't tell when you listen to the beat.. but I was just wondering where does this difference come from?

Thanks

Could it be because of swing?

It could be because of the start point of your hi hat samples... or potentially the attack time. I dunno.

Sinamatik wrote:Hey everyone...

I've got some questions about the resampling feature. I usually 'track out' my beats my resampling them into a WAV file and saving that, since I don't have a DAW for proper tracking. I usually just do it all in one go, but as of late I've been using more tracks and the polyphony has been eaten up. Therefore, I usually track the beat twice... once with the sample/bass muted, and the other with all the drums/percussion muted. So I have two resampled tracks... I also put a series of hi hats before and after each song so I can line these up in Audacity.

So theoretically, shouldn't the hi-hats line up perfectly?? I have not changed anything, apart from muted certain elements from the beat.. however, the hi-hats are always slightly off when I zoom up in Audacity. It hasn't bothered me, as you can't tell when you listen to the beat.. but I was just wondering where does this difference come from?

Thanks

it's because audacity is wack and when u put anything into it you have to manually align it. i know because i used to use audacity to record tracks an shit an it was always sounding off and shit man get adobe audition or something. audacity is wack bro

I'm pretty sure it's not an Audacity issue. If both files record from the start (Bar One, Beat One) there should be no manual lining up necessary; the start of the files are the start of the track.

You can't get much better than Audacity (especially considering that it is free).

EDIT* Was going to add, Sinamatik - do you want to send me a couple of sections bounced as you have been doing? Can try syncing them on my system and see if we can't fix the problem. Alternatively, have you tried Ableton Live? You can use it for free for 14-days, and it might help see what's going on.

Could be a latency issue with the software...I had the same problem a while back on Acid Pro...Play with the under buffer or latency settings if you have them on your software... Might help to sync things up tighter.

logic_user99 wrote:I'm pretty sure it's not an Audacity issue. If both files record from the start (Bar One, Beat One) there should be no manual lining up necessary; the start of the files are the start of the track.

You can't get much better than Audacity (especially considering that it is free).

EDIT* Was going to add, Sinamatik - do you want to send me a couple of sections bounced as you have been doing? Can try syncing them on my system and see if we can't fix the problem. Alternatively, have you tried Ableton Live? You can use it for free for 14-days, and it might help see what's going on.

hey thanks for the offer logic, thats really generous.. but its all good im not too worried about it just thought it was odd.

Cold Snap wrote:Could be a latency issue with the software...I had the same problem a while back on Acid Pro...Play with the under buffer or latency settings if you have them on your software... Might help to sync things up tighter.

but all i have done is drag the saved files into audacity. it shouldn't have anything to do with the latency in audacity should it? i'm thinking its something with the mpc. its not the swing issue, EVERYTHING is the same... the note repeat of the hats at 1/16 with no swing, both before and after the song. But when I listen to them together on Audacity there is phasing, so thats why I'm not too worried cos its obviously not that much out of time if thats happening. but still..

Sinamatik wrote:

Cold Snap wrote:Could be a latency issue with the software...I had the same problem a while back on Acid Pro...Play with the under buffer or latency settings if you have them on your software... Might help to sync things up tighter.

but all i have done is drag the saved files into audacity. it shouldn't have anything to do with the latency in audacity should it? i'm thinking its something with the mpc. its not the swing issue, EVERYTHING is the same... the note repeat of the hats at 1/16 with no swing, both before and after the song. But when I listen to them together on Audacity there is phasing, so thats why I'm not too worried cos its obviously not that much out of time if thats happening. but still..

How did you save the files? Like your hi hats... do you record them to a software?

what i did was, i created a sequence 2 bars long. I put note repeat hi-hats to fill up the 2 bar sequence. Then in song mode, I put this sequence at the start and end of my actual song. Then I went and muted certain parts out to avoid the polyphony issues so I was left with 2 versions - 1 with the percussion and the other with the sample. On both versions, I did not mute the hi-hats... then I resampled these long sequences (convert song to sequence) into the mpc and saved each normally (as a wav). Then I plugged in the USB, and dragged both these sequences to audacity to line them up... so really I don't see how Audacity plays a part in any of this...

Sinamatik wrote:what i did was, i created a sequence 2 bars long. I put note repeat hi-hats to fill up the 2 bar sequence. Then in song mode, I put this sequence at the start and end of my actual song. Then I went and muted certain parts out to avoid the polyphony issues so I was left with 2 versions - 1 with the percussion and the other with the sample. On both versions, I did not mute the hi-hats... then I resampled these long sequences (convert song to sequence) into the mpc and saved each normally (as a wav). Then I plugged in the USB, and dragged both these sequences to audacity to line them up... so really I don't see how Audacity plays a part in any of this...

I see what you mean now...yea your right, Audacity don't play a part... I guess the MPC's software may have latency or some kinda timing issue... no fixin that one that I know of other than just trimming or adjusting on the time line.

^^ yeah.. ive basically accepted it as this now. like i said it doesnt bother me, but it shouldn't really be happening

alternatively is there a better way to track out my beats... keeping in mind i don't have a soundcard/interface for my comp??

I'm willing to bet your computer has a sound card if your using Audacity... basically if you can hear music off your pc you have a sound card.

What I usually do is record (say like 2 or 4 bars of hi-hats for example) live to Acid Pro... once I get that done I'll take the loop tool and stretch out a loop of the 2 or 4 bars making it infinite ...so on & so on with all other elements and basically I go to arranging on Acid... but truthfully this is rare for me lately as I'm much too impatient so I end up creating full beats within the MPC mostly...

tracking out is great for intricate tweaks but really you don't always have to track out outside the MPC... Supreme (Wu-Tang & Suns Of Man Producer) taught me that... he never tracks out to software and has mad beats on mad albums successfully.

Cold Snap - I get what you're saying and I agree, but I think your misunderstanding what Sinamatik is saying.

I'm sure he knows his computer has a soundcard in it, he was asking if there are other people who track out their MPC500 creations to a DAW, without using an external soundcard or interface and who do this successfully without the latency/sync issues he's experiencing.

I understood him to mean "I use this method of 4 snares at the start of my track but it's not working as well as I would like, does anyone know of another method that I can try? Keeping in mind I don't have an external interface, which I realise would potentially solve this problem".

While you're right, he doesn't have to track it out to a DAW, he can simply use the effects included in his 500, my guess is he's interested in adding additional affects or for whatever reason, just wants to have his songs multitracked into a DAW.

I'm interested to hear any answers to his question too as I currently don't have an audio interface to allow me to easily track out to a DAW. (I'm now looking at the MBox2 or using Ableton with a MOTU ultralite).

beetle wrote:Cold Snap - I get what you're saying and I agree, but I think your misunderstanding what Sinamatik is saying.

I'm sure he knows his computer has a soundcard in it, he was asking if there are other people who track out their MPC500 creations to a DAW, without using an external soundcard or interface and who do this successfully without the latency/sync issues he's experiencing.

I understood him to mean "I use this method of 4 snares at the start of my track but it's not working as well as I would like, does anyone know of another method that I can try? Keeping in mind I don't have an external interface, which I realise would potentially solve this problem".

While you're right, he doesn't have to track it out to a DAW, he can simply use the effects included in his 500, my guess is he's interested in adding additional affects or for whatever reason, just wants to have his songs multitracked into a DAW.

I'm interested to hear any answers to his question too as I currently don't have an audio interface to allow me to easily track out to a DAW. (I'm now looking at the MBox2 or using Ableton with a MOTU ultralite).

Right, well to put it frankly there is no easier way than using a DAW setup with a good interface... if your looking to track out without this, it's like a builder trying to build a house with a shortage of tools (try ripping a 96" piece of plywood with a unpowered hand saw) ... that being said there are still numerous ways to go about it without a proper set up...easier no... I'm fallin back on this one though, I'd be interested in hearing other member solutions myself

yea what beetle said was pretty much right. i was talking about a proper soundcard with all the ins/outs like the m-aduio or something similar.

my main reason for needing to track out is to overcome the polyphony problem though... its not really for adding any effects in the DAW or anything like that. I do all the mixing in the 500, and I would just continue to resample my songs to WAV if it werent for the polyphony screwing up.