Subject:Beatmapper

Posted by: luceses

Date:6/1/2004 2:00:41 PM

Hey there, I was wondering if there is some sort of trick to get the Beatmapper to actually play back without a crappy garbly sound! What I am doing is taking a file approx 60 measures long and beatmapping that sucker at 80 bpm(which is what the original track was recorded at). It is only a kick drum track so it's not like there is a ton of transients.

When I play it back at anything faster than 84 bpm it starts to sound like CRAP! I am a bit frustrated b/c I need to get these tempos to be more flexible. even if I use a short Beatmap track it still drifts like crazy!!!!! HELP PLEEEEZZZ!!!! luceses

Subject:RE: Beatmapper

Reply by: herrdue

Date:6/1/2004 2:59:46 PM

I'll give my 2 cents worth, although I'm not a big beatmapper user and just an intermediate Acid user,,,not as knowledgeable as others here. I thought this feature was used to establish the beats per minute based on an existing song for the purpose of adding additional loops along side the original. I did not think the purpose of the feature was to facilitate modifying the beats per minute. The original song, once stretched, is going to get crappy quickly just like other loops if you stretch them too much.

Can anyone validate this?

Subject:RE: Beatmapper

Reply by: DKeenum

Date:6/1/2004 5:56:23 PM

luceses,
Paint the track, then zoom in and adjust the BDs to the grid (you'll have to do some editing by "split at curser" and erasing small portions of the track. When you get it the way you want at 80 bpm, then render it. You'll probably have to do some more editing in the properties window, but I think you'll be happier.
Try it and tell us how it works.

Subject:RE: Beatmapper

Reply by: luceses

Date:6/2/2004 12:31:56 AM

Thanks! will try. luceses

Subject:RE: Beatmapper

Reply by: Big_Faced_Boy

Date:6/3/2004 3:20:54 AM

Beatmapper is a very handy thing, but it does affect sound quality when you tell it to preserve pitch and it often does not detect the tempo correctly. You could also try unchecking the "Preserve Pitch" box in the track properties. This will pitch shift the segments to fit the bpm and shouldn't affect the pitch of your kick too much if you're only moving it by a few bpm.

Why not just draw in one-shot kicks under the beatmapped track (I recommend using the eraser tool and r-click to do this), then mute it and stick with the one-shots? It's really not that much work, though if it's a live kick track you're using, you may want to keep its dynamic sound rather than use a repetetive hit.

As for the beat drifting, you may find discrepancies between tempos from different applications, and if the device/drummer you used to make the kick track isn't rigid in timing, you may well get such problems. Beatmapper doesn't always detect tempo correctly. Use the beatmapper wizard and zoom right in to ensure that this works.

BFB

Subject:RE: Beatmapper

Reply by: Iacobus

Date:6/4/2004 1:11:22 PM

Adding to what BFB mentioned, if the tempo is off even a tenth of the original actual tempo (e.g., 80.450 BPM as opposed to a rigid 80.000 BPM), you're going to get drift no matter what.

For percussion tracks, I would suggest not trying to time stretch them too much, as artifacts are a little bit more evident when stretching such tracks. One-shots can be handy here, but as BFB noted, they can feel anemic (unless a mechanical beat is your intention).

To remedy this, you can turn snapping off and nudge One-shot events a pixel or two using the numpad's left and right cursor keys. (Remember that the zoom level determines the amount of nudging, so zoom in all the way if you only want a slight nudge.)

You can also use different kick drum hits to get a less rigid, more "human" feel.

Iacobus
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