Quantize audio clips

[Andrey_rbk]

I can't quantize audio clips. What could be the problem?

Cakewalk version 2021.12 (Build 102, 64 bit)

 

[msmcleod]

Quantize only works on MIDI clips.

Melodyne can quantize audio, but you need the Editor or Studio editions to deal with polyphonic material.

[Andrey_rbk]

I didn't agree. Everything worked in previous versions. In the quantization settings there is a parameter "audio clip start times"

 

[Will.]

13 minutes ago, Andrey_rbk said:

I didn't agree. Everything worked in previous versions. In the quantization settings there is a parameter "audio clip start times"

 

To Quantize Audio in Cakewalk:

Select the audio clip you want to quantize. Press Alt+A to open the AudioSnap palette. Click the Quantize button in the AudioSnap palette.  

Most users confuse transients snap with Audio Quantization, but this does not mean you can't use it too. Locate the edit filter box and click on it to Assign the track’s Edit Filter control to Audio Transients. 

 

[Andrey_rbk]

The quantize button is not active in AudioSnap palette.

Edited February 10, 2022 by Andrey_rbk

[msmcleod]

33 minutes ago, Andrey_rbk said:

I didn't agree. Everything worked in previous versions. In the quantization settings there is a parameter "audio clip start times"

 

This quantizes the start of an audio clip, not the audio within the clip itself.

As @Will_Kaydo says, it is possible to quantize parts of the audio using AudioSnap, but this is largely a manual process to get all the transients in their correct place (depending on the audio material), and is nothing to do with the Quantize dialog.

[Andrey_rbk]

9 minutes ago, msmcleod said:

This quantizes the start of an audio clip, not the audio within the clip itself.

As @Will_Kaydo says, it is possible to quantize parts of the audio using AudioSnap, but this is largely a manual process to get all the transients in their correct place (depending on the audio material), and is nothing to do with the Quantize dialog.

I need to quantize exactly the start time of the audio clip.

[Lord Tim]

@Andrey_rbk I get what you're trying to do here and I just tried it then (ensuring I have a tick in Audio Clip Start Times, and every clip I want to move is selected) and it moved the audio clips to where I expected with the quantize settings. 

Does your quantize dialogue box look like this?

EDIT: Ah, I see you're not even getting the quantize dialogue itself pop up from the menu because it's disabled.

I've just tried a few things then to make it break but the only time I have the Quantize menu disabled is when I have nothing selected.

What happens if you Select None, then go through and choose each clip by CTRL+Left Clicking it? I'm wondering if there's something else in your project that's being selected that's preventing the quantize menu from becoming active.

 

Edited February 10, 2022 by Lord Tim

[Will.]

36 minutes ago, Lord Tim said:

@Andrey_rbk I get what you're trying to do here and I just tried it then (ensuring I have a tick in Audio Clip Start Times, and every clip I want to move is selected) and it moved the audio clips to where I expected with the quantize settings. 

But its not "Quantization" that's just snapping the clip to the grid. 

Edited February 10, 2022 by Will_Kaydo

[Andrey_rbk]

Thanks to all! In order for the quantize button to be active, you need to do "Bounce to clip"

[Will.]

4 minutes ago, Andrey_rbk said:

Thanks to all! In order for the quantize button to be active, you need to do "Bounce to clip"

No need. You just need to highlight the clip 

 

[Andrey_rbk]

 

Edited February 10, 2022 by Andrey_rbk

[Andrey_rbk]

20 minutes ago, Will_Kaydo said:

No need. You just need to highlight the clip 

 

 

[Lord Tim]

1 hour ago, Will_Kaydo said:

But its not "Quantization" that's just snapping the clip to the grid. 

You are quantizing the audio clip start times, like it says on the check box. Each audio clip's start is quantized.

[John Vere]

This is a very advanced complex operation and this video is the best one I found that explains the process clearly. 

 

Edited February 10, 2022 by John Vere

[Lord Tim]

I think everyone is missing the point a little - the OP wants to make each audio clip quantize its start time, not anything inside the clip itself or changing any tempo or anything like that. For example, imagine a scenario where you've dropped 100 snare samples on a track manually and you want them to all line up with the grid, so you'd select them all and do quantize with the audio clip start time check box selected. The problem is that the quantize menu isn't enabled when these clips are selected.

 

47 minutes ago, Andrey_rbk said:

Thanks to all! In order for the quantize button to be active, you need to do "Bounce to clip"

OK, if your clip is a Groove Clip then it won't quantize, and bouncing to clip will turn that into a regular audio clip that will enable the quantize menu. I'm not sure if the clips you're editing on are actually Groove Clips or something has gotten tangled somewhere, but that seems to be the culprit and the solution.

@msmcleod is there any reason why a Groove Clip couldn't have its start time quantized like a regular audio clip can? I'm guessing this may be because there's stretch markers in the clip and some logic is written in to stop any ambiguity about what you're actually trying to quantize.

[Terry Kelley]

So while labeled "Quantize", it's not?

[David Baay]

With all due respect, Mark was mistaken in this case. The regular quantize dialog can quantize beats within an audio clip as well as audio clip start times (though not at the same time), but you have to enable Audiosnap on the clip first to quantize beats.  But this is unrelated to the OP's issue that Groove Clips can't be quantized either way.

 

Edited February 11, 2022 by David Baay