Subject:loops not in the supossed key

Posted by: Pindal

Date:4/5/2005 9:11:15 AM

I am using Acid Pro 5a. and I have discovered that the loops are not in the key they should be. I mean a loop in C is really in A and so on. I think this happened with Acid 5 too but not with 4. I noticed this first with the new collection Bass on Demand but it happens with my Sony loops too. Any help?

Compaq Presario SR1219EAS. Pentium 4 3,2. 512 Mb Ram, 160 Gb HD. M-audio Firewire Audiophile.

Subject:RE: loops not in the supossed key

Reply by: Illogical

Date:4/5/2005 1:59:59 PM

My ears are jealous of your ears. Good luck, I never noticed that.

Subject:RE: loops not in the supossed key

Reply by: JohnnyRoy

Date:4/5/2005 8:31:49 PM

Forgive me if you already know this, but ACID will always play the loops in the key of the project unless you select the Don’t transpose in the Stretch tab of the track properties. If the loop’s root note is in C and the project is in A the loop will play in A. Change the project key to C and the loop should now play back in C. Is that not what you are seeing?

~jr

Subject:RE: loops not in the supossed key

Reply by: Pindal

Date:4/6/2005 12:54:48 PM

JohnnyRoy, I think your commentary is going to be very useful to me. The problem is that if I want to do for example a blues in E and i take three bass loops in E, A and B they will not sound good.

Subject:RE: loops not in the supossed key

Reply by: Pindal

Date:4/6/2005 1:01:40 PM

Sorry I had not finished the message, I will end it.
JohnnyRoy, I think your commentary is going to be very useful to me. The problem is that if I want to do for example a blues in E and i take three bass loops in E, A and B they will not sound good. I have looked in the tempo/key/signature/change menu and I have seen that by defect the project is in A. The key change is marked by defect. if I don´t select this then the loops will play in the real key?. I will investigate. it seemes stupid but I have been using Acid for years and I had never seen this problem before. perhaps in Acid 5 this place is activates by defect and in previous versions no ?. Thank you anyway for your interest. I love Acid.

Subject:RE: loops not in the supossed key

Reply by: JohnnyRoy

Date:4/7/2005 5:58:21 AM

> The problem is that if I want to do for example a blues in E and i take three bass loops in E, A and B they will not sound good. I have looked in the tempo/key/signature/change menu and I have seen that by defect the project is in A.

If you want to play a blues in E, then you should set the project key to E (not A) and all the loops that have their root note attribute set properly will play in the key of E.

For the loops that don’t sound good together, do this:

1. Place the loop on the timeline
2. Right-click the track header and select Properties...
3. Select the Stretch tab
4. What does the Root Note: attribute say?

If the root note says Don’t transpose, then that is why the bass loops don’t sound good together. They need to have their root key set in order to be transposed into the key of the project. If they do have their root note set, then I don’t know why they are not being transposed into the project key. They should be.

~jr

Subject:RE: loops not in the supossed key

Reply by: billybk

Date:4/7/2005 8:44:12 AM

I have the BOD library, I have not had time to work with them much yet, but they do work, as acidized loops, in ACID, 5 like they are supposed to. IOW, they are set to loop and transpose to whatever key ACID tells it to. I think the problem PIndal is having, is that the bass loops already come in predefined tempo Song Set folders with genre matching loops in various matching keys already. Like A, D, E and so on (I, IV, V etc.). So when you preview or put them on the timeline they all sound, in the same designated ACID key. So when you drop them on the timeline, what were once I-IV-V progression loops, are all now playing, as if they are I progression loops (following the master project key). What I found to work well, is to set up your song arrangement beforehand. Across the ACID timeline, place the appropriate Markers (M key) for helping organize your song arrangement and then place Key change makers (K key) where needed. Say for a 12 bar blues, in the key of A:

First set the master project key, in ACID, to A and the appropriate tempo

Bars 1-4: use the project default Key
Bars 5-6: place a D key change marker @ bar 5
Bars 7-8: place a A key change marker @ bar 7
Bar 9 : place a E key change marker @ bar 9
Bar 10: place a D key change marker @ bar 10
Bars 11: place a A key change marker @ bar 11
Bars 12 place a E key change marker @ bar 12

Place the entire 12 bar arrangement in loop mode, as you work out your instrument parts. If you want to work on a particular section, say the turnaround, at bar 12, just loop that one bar section, and because, of the Key change marker, anything you preview, from the Loop Explorer will play in that key. In this case, the key of E. Which makes it easier to preview prospective loops, in the correct key, for your arrangement, from the BOD library, in ACID.

So ACID is doing what it is supposed to do. Transpose the loops to the current key. By using the key change markers you can keep and use the BOD loops, in the key, that you want them in.

Well, hopefully, that all makes sense :-)

Subject:RE: loops not in the supossed key

Reply by: Pindal

Date:4/7/2005 1:59:04 PM

You are absolutelly rigth. That was my problem. Now I understand what is going on. Thank you for your help to all.