WARPING 101: MULTIPLE WARPGASMS

There are some cases where you have to do the impossible: warp a file with no time reference (such as an acapella vocal) such that it lines up with another file (such as a drum track) that has tempo fluctuations. This means that the vocal track would have to have multiple warp markers to correct […]

WARPING 101: TRICKY ACAPELLAS

The number one reason it can be tricky to get an acapella working right is that it has an odd amount of space at the beginning. You might have the overall tempo set correctly, but the vocals don’t land in the right place relative to the other clips you’re playing. Fixing this is similar to […]

WARPING 101: EASY ACAPELLAS

It’s common for folks to get stuck on warping acapella tracks (solo vocals). The obvious problem with acapellas is that there is no easy time reference such as drums to line up with the beat time ruler. However, given that acapellas are typically from sequenced music with a steady tempo, it’s often easier than you […]

WARPING 101: THE NEGATIVE BARS

Regardless of what warping method you use, I usually recommend that you get the Start Marker placed at the first clear downbeat of the audio before you start warping. This means that you’ll be leaving out any intro material from the clip. In order to have that material play back, once the clip is warped, […]

WARPING 101: THE LOOP METHOD

As you warp a wider variety of material, you’re going to encounter stuff for which the methods described so far simply don’t work for. In the process of making my hobotech mixes, I work with all sorts of old acoustic music that not only fluctuates in tempo, it often includes no percussion, so there’s a […]

WARPING 101: THE SEG. BPM METHOD

When warping a bunch of audio that I know (or strongly suspect) to be steady-tempo, I’ll often skip dragging around transients and just go straight for the Seg. BPM box. Let’s say I’m warping a bunch of techno and electro. I’m gonna park Live’s master tempo at 128 because this within a couple BPM of […]

WARPING 101: ABOUT SEG. BPM

When you look at the Seg. BPM box as I’ve suggested in a few tips, you may find it grayed out, looking like this: To enable Seg. BPM so you can manually type in a value, you first have to click on a Warp Marker. In the case of steady-tempo clips where only one Warp […]

WARPING 101: A LITTLE COMMON SENSE

Using a little common sense while keeping an eye on the Seg. BPM box can be a powerful way to check your work. Here are a couple of examples: Let’s say you’ve done your basic warping, and you’re about to check your work by ear. First, take a look at Seg, BPM. It’s not uncommon […]

WARPING 101: INTERMEDIATE MANUAL WARPING

Sometimes you’ll encounter a song which has a steady tempo with occasional tempo fluctuations. Songs like this require multiple warp markers.  Once you’ve gotten the tempo close by tapping it in, you’ll need to drop a warp marker periodically to keep the song lined up with the beat time ruler. How many warp markers you’ll […]

WARPING 101: CHECK YOUR WORK BY EAR

Whether you use Auto Warp or one of the other techniques for getting your audio warped, the most important part of the process is knowing how to check your work. In my opinion, the most important method is…by ear. This involves listening to your newly warped audio with Live’s metronome turned on: To check by […]