Drawing in the Sample Editor

It is possible to edit the audio clip at sample level by drawing with the Pencil tool. This can be useful if you need to manually edit out a spike or click, etc.

1. Zoom in to a zoom value lower than 1.

This means that there is more than one screen pixel per sample.

2.Select the Pencil tool.

3.Click and draw at the desired position in the waveform display.

When you release the mouse button, the edited section is automatically selected.

Any changes created by drawing will appear in the Offline Process History, making it possible to undo them at a later stage (see “The Offline Process History dialog” on page 251).

Options and settings

Show audio event

This is only available if you opened the Sample Editor by double-clicking an audio event in the Project window or the Audio Part Editor and not, if you opened the audio event from within the Pool.

When the Show Audio Event button is activated on the toolbar (or the option “Audio Event” is activated on the Elements submenu on the Quick menu), the section corresponding to the edited event is highlighted in the waveform display and Thumbnail. The sections of the audio clip not belonging to the event are shown with a dark gray background.

• In this mode, you can adjust the start and end of the event in the clip by dragging the event handles in the waveform display.

When you move the pointer over the event handles (no matter what tool may be selected), it takes on the shape of an arrow, to indicate that you can click and drag.

Snap to Zero Crossing

Snap to Zero Crossing activated.

When this option is activated, all audio edits are done at zero crossings (positions in the audio where the amplitude is zero). This helps you avoid pops and clicks which might otherwise be caused by sudden amplitude changes.

• This setting affects the Sample Editor only. In the Project window and other editors, the Snap to Zero Crossing setting on the Project menu toolbar or in the Preferences (Editing–Audio page) is used.

Ö If hitpoints have been calculated, these will also be taken into account when snapping to zero crossings.

Autoscroll

Autoscroll activated.

When this option is activated, the waveform display will scroll during playback, keeping the project cursor visible in the editor.

Audio Warp realtime processing / Tempo matching audio to the project tempo

Audio warp is the generic name for the realtime timestretching and pitch-shifting functions in Nuendo. The main audio warp features are tempo-matching any audio loop to the project tempo (see “Determining the tempo of an audio loop and slicing your audio” on page 277) and matching up an audio clip with fluctuating tempo to a fixed tempo.

If you want to tempo match an audio loop to the project tempo, you will normally work with loops with straight beats. In this case you will only need to activate the Straighten Up mode.

Proceed as follows:

1. Import your loop into the project and double-click it to open it in the Sample Editor.

2. Open the Playback tab in the Sample Editor Inspector and activate the Straighten Up mode.

Your loop will automatically adapt to the project tempo.

If you want to use an audio file instead, or if the beat of your loop is not straight, further adjustments could be necessary. These are described in the following sections.

Determining the audio tempo automatically and time-stretching your audio

If you want to use an audio file with an unknown tempo in your project context, the easiest way to determine the tempo is to define a loop. You can then determine the tempo of the loop automatically (or manually) and finally match the tempo of this loop to the project tempo in Nuendo.

1.Import a suitable audio file, for example a drum loop and double-click on it to open it in the Sample Editor.

2.Make sure that the first downbeat of the audio clip is aligned with the first beat of the first bar in the Sample Editor.

If your audio file is a two or four bar loop, you can import it into your project and proceed with step three, if you have a longer audio file, possibly with an upbeat, you have the following possibilities to define a loop:

• Resize your event by adjusting the Event Start and the Event End and make sure that the Preview mode is activated.

Or

• Make a selection range in a longer clip and click the Audition Loop button.

Adjust the selection range until the loop is smooth.

When you click Auto Adjust, the following happens:

•If you created a loop by defining a selection range in a longer audio file, the snap point (S symbol) will be moved to the loop start.

•In the waveform, vertical lines will be displayed. The thick lines should match the bar positions and the thin lines the beat positions. You can adjust these lines by means of the Manual Adjust tool, see below.

•In the Definition tab the Manual Adjust tool will be activated (see “Manually adjusting grid and tempo of your audio” on page 275).

A 4 bar loop has been selected.

3. Open the Definition tab and make sure the Bars value corresponds to the length of the audio file, or the selection range, respectively.

If necessary, listen to your audio to determine the correct bar length.

4. Cick the Auto Adjust button to automatically adjust the grid to the audio file.

•In the Playback tab the Straighten Up button will be switched on (see “About the Straighten Up mode” on page 275).

5. Open the Playback tab to select an algorithm that should be applied on realtime playback.

In this pop-up you can find various options that govern the audio quality of the realtime time-stretching. There are presets for common types of audio material and an Advanced option where you can manually set warp parameters:

Advanced This allows for a manual tweaking of the time-stretching parameters. By default, the settings that are shown when you open the dialog are those of the last used preset (except if the Solo mode was selected, see below). The Advanced settings are described in more detail below this table.

If you select the Advanced menu item, a dialog opens where you can manually adjust the three parameters that govern the sound quality of the time-stretching:

6. If you are satisfied with the result, i.e. the vertical lines match bars and beats positions, close the Sample Editor and activate playback.

If your audio file contained an upbeat and you resized the audio event to a smooth loop with the event handles, you might want to move the audio event to the beginning of the project:

The loop will now automatically adjust to the project tempo, and follow any further tempo changes you make! In the Project window, the audio event will have a note symbol and two arrows in the upper right corner. The note symbol indicates Straighten Up mode and the arrow indicates that the file is stretched.

About the Straighten Up mode

The Straighten Up mode is one of the key audio warp features. It allows you to lock audio clips to the project tempo by using realtime time-stretching. This is very useful if you want to use loops in your project and do not want to worry too much about timing.

Straighten Up mode is automatically activated if the Preview button on the Definition tab is activated and the tempo of the audio file or loop has been specified either automatically by clicking the Auto Adjust button or manually by using the Manual Adjust tool.

When this mode is activated, audio events will adapt to any tempo changes in Nuendo, just like MIDI events. However, using Straigthen Up function should not be confused with quantizing: the timing, i.e. the rythmic feeling will be maintained.

The Straighten Up mode in the Playback tab is automatically activated, when the audio tempo (time positions) is specified and the internal audio quantization (musical positions) has been defined.

It is also possible to activate/deactivate Straighten Up mode from within the Pool by clicking the respective checkbox in the Straighten Up column.

When you have correctly set a tempo or length for an audio clip, this information is saved with the project. This allows you to import files into the project with Straighten Up mode already activated. The tempo (if set) is also saved when exporting files.

Nuendo supports ACID® loops. These loops are standard audio files but with embedded tempo/ length information. When ACID® files are imported into Nuendo, Straighten Up mode is automatically activated and the loops will adapt to the tempo set in the project.

Manually adjusting grid and tempo of your audio

If you want to manually adjust the grid and the tempo of your audio file, because you have a very special loop and the automatic functions did not lead to satisfying results, proceed as follows:

1. Open the Definition tab in the Sample Editor Inspector and activate the Manual Adjust tool.

The Sample Editor ruler does not reflect the audio event position in the Project window, but the length of the audio file in bars and beats. With the Manual Adjust tool you can manipulate this time grid for the audio file. If you select the Manual Adjust tool and move the mouse in the Sample Editor the pointer turns to a flag. Depending on the position, the tool can have the following functions:

Previous - Move [Alt]/[Option]. When it is displayed, you can drag it with

Position - Single [Ctrl]/[Command]. When it is displayed, you can drag it

You can change the modifiers for this in the “Define Auto Grid” category in the Preferences dialog (Edit- ing-Tool Modifier page).

2.Audition the file to determine where the first downbeat occurs.

3.Move the mouse pointer to the beginning of the audio file until the pointer changes to a green flag (Set Grid Start).

4. Click and drag the green flag to the right until it matches the first downbeat in the sample and release the mouse button.

Now the ruler grid is offset so that it starts on the first downbeat in the sample.

5.Make sure that the length in bars shown in the lower section of the Definition tab corresponds to your settings.

6.Audition the file to determine where the next downbeat occurs, i.e. the first beat of the second bar in the sample.

7.Place the mouse pointer at the start of the second bar in the waveform display.

8.Click and drag the red flag (Stretch Bars) to the left or right until the second bar in the ruler is aligned with the position of the second downbeat of the sample, and release the mouse button.

The start of the next bar is set, and all grid positions will be stretched.

9. Check the other beats and hold down [Alt]/[Option] to use the pink flag (Stretch Previous - Move Next) if necessary.

This flag is shown at bar positions. When you drag it with the mouse, the start of the next bar is set, and the tempo of the last bar will be changed.

10. Now have a look at the single beats in between the bars, and, if necessary, hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] to use the blue flag (Adjust Beat Position - Single) to adjust them.

Drag the flag until the single beat position is aligned with the waveform, and release the mouse button.

11. Activate playback.

If you find that the beat sounds too straight, you can either adjust the Quantize value on the Playback tab or move the Swing slider to add swing.

Determining the tempo of an audio loop and slicing your audio

1.Import a suitable audio file, for example a drum loop.

2.Double-click the loop to open it in the Sample Editor.

If your want to work with longer audio file, possibly with an upbeat, define a loop or resize the event as described in the section “Determining the audio tempo automatically and time-stretching your audio” on page 272.

3.Open the Definition tab and make sure the length in bars corresponds to the actual audio file.

If necessary, listen to your audio and enter the correct bar length.

4.On the Hitpoints tab, open the “Use” pop-up and select the desired option.

This affects which hitpoints should be shown when moving the Sensitivity slider (see “Setting the sensitivity” on page 280).

5.Adjust the Sensitivity slider.

The hitpoints are shown.

6. If necessary, select the Edit Hitpoints tool to edit hitpoints manually.

You can add, delete and listen to hitpoints by pressing [Alt]/[Option] and clicking in the waveform. For detailed informations about hitpoints and their editing, see below.