[James Nighthawk]

Hey board. A very techy post here so one for the tech enthusiasts! Turn and run now if not!!

This week I have bought me some new software, including the latest version of cubase (6.5)

One of the features I cannot wait to try out, if, it is as good as advertised. I wanted to know if anyone has used it (or similar) and the results they have had/any tips...

In cubase now you can extract hit points from audio files to create a midi file. An ideal usage; extracting the hits on a kick-drumtrack.  Then replacing or, more likely, merging with a second hit sound in midi.

Say I have a bass drum that has plenty of boom but lacks snap. This happens especially with cheaper kits. If this new system works, I can merge the kick drum from the original recording with a second sample (Cutting the low end on the sample to avoid phasing/over booming) to create a bespoke kick drum sound. Sounds awesome. In theory

I will be trying it this week.

My main concern is how precise the midi track will line up with the audio. A few ms off and a double hit phase is a risk.

2nd concern will be the air of "falseness". We are cheating here after all.  But such is production....

Any thoughts well received. And I'll post my findings too

JN

[Q]

i m sorry its just not techy enuff for me

[seriousfun]

I use cubase 6.5 myself but havnt tried this technique - its such a huge program with so much to learn I will still be a novice when its time to upgrade :/

Would be very interested to hear of your results in this trial.

[James Nighthawk]

-P_ew

Great Video, step by step.

I tried it today. It is remarkably simple for such a clever technique. And you know what....it worked!!

I extracted a kick drum channel.

It extracted the kicks to the nearest millisecond (as it would seem at least) and also the velocities. Stunning!

I have then used the midi to trigger a drum sound sample. The drum sample is on a channel with a heavy cut out of the low pass under 400Hz. So it just has the "snap" of the sample". And I can now merge that with the actual track.

It doesn't sound 100% "right". But... I wonder if that is because I know it is a cheat... hmm...

Now. I have a mixing session tomorrow with a band. Lets see if they decide to use this, or poo-poo it as "cheating" or "too produced".

[seriousfun]

Thanks for the link James. I have no specific need for it atm but I think ill try it out anyway. Can never have too many tricks and techniques up your sleeve. And I dont think its cheating any more than placing a reverb or compression on some audio. As long as it adds musically to the outcome its all fair