Fades don't work

[Dino]

Hey all, I've read and watched so many tutorials on how to fade in/out of a track.  They all show the Fade icon when the cursor is placed at the top of the track and you just have to drag it to apply the fade.  Fine, I got it.  Only problem is that it doesn't work for me.  When I place the cursor at the top of the track, instead of the fade triangle icon, I get this grey rectangle and it seems to just move the window.  Am I missing something?  This should be a pretty straight forward task to do.  Thanks.

[Canopus]

5 hours ago, Dino said:

Am I missing something?

The Fade tool only works on Audio tracks. On Instrument tracks I would use Automation, having the filter set to the default Volume parameter.

For even more options you can check out this old thread.

Edited January 13, 2023 by Canopus

[Dino]

Thank you for the info and tip, I will try that Automation method and see how it goes.

[Dino]

Another question, can I convert the Instrument tracks to Audio tracks?  What are the advantages / disadvantages?  Would you recommend doing that?

Thanks.

[57Gregy]

I would. Eventually, you're going to have to render all your MIDI to audio if you want to listen to the song on anything other than your computer.
In fact, I render almost as soon as I record, just to eliminate cumulative soft synth slowdowns (on my old computer).

[Glenn Stanton]

depends on what you are trying to achieve. you could record the audio of the instrument track but you may lose flexibility unless you're done with the MIDI parts. as a general note, i only use MIDI and audio tracks, not instrument tracks. this way i can do things with either independently - for example, i may want to "reuse" the MIDI on several synth patches on the same instrument - i'll set up an audio track to the synth output and record it, then add another audio track, change my synth patch, record that, etc until i have all my tracks done. of course if i need to go back and change the MIDI or patch setting, i'll need to re-record them, but for me that's not big deal. saves device resources instead of loading a bunch of synths for parts i think are going to be stable.

for fades  - also depends - if i have parts fading into each other - i'll do that as part of the mix process as opposed to the recording process.  that way i have flexibility for change arrangement sections and cross fades etc. if i'm doing for the overall song -- i'll do that in the "mastering" process where i have the stereo track and can define if i'm simply fading out, or cross fading with another song etc. 

[Dino]

I understand, so did I skip something or do something wrong at the beginning when I first recorded?  I only have a regular music keyboard as a MIDI and it's connected into my computer via the USB input.  I use the plugins from the Instrument list and have added some free ones along the way.  How do I go about doing that and recording in Audio?  Sorry, newbie here.  I thought I had this down but it seems I don't

Thanks.

[scook]

49 minutes ago, Dino said:

Another question, can I convert the Instrument tracks to Audio tracks?  What are the advantages / disadvantages?  Would you recommend doing that?

Thanks.

You may render audio to either an audio track or directly into the instrument track but there is no requirement to do so.

 

There are only two base track types in CbB: audio and MIDI. 

An instrument track is nothing more than a presentation of an audio+MIDI track pair

This is why both audio and instrument tracks may host audio clips.

 

There are two ways to render audio from a soft synth: bounce and freeze.

Bounce - renders audio to a new audio track.

Freeze - renders audio into the current audio/instrument track

Depending on setting both may apply effects. Freeze will also archive the original track data, plug-ins and disconnect the synth. Of course, these operations may be performed manually after bounce.

 

Here are four common motivations for rendering audio

• free up resources - lowering CPU and RAM footprint
• snapshot the performance - some synths and effects introduce variability to their output
• long term storage - project audio is stored in wav format, a stable and mature format whereas MIDI data is stored in proprietary projects relying on a working plug-in to render the audio
• preference - some prefer working with audio only during mixing and finalizing.

Some disadvantages are:

• lost data - there have been occasional reports of unfreezing tracks resulting in MIDI data loss, I have not had this experience
• can be difficult to modify - there may be times one must go back to the original data to make changes

 

Familiarize yourself with both methods of rendering audio and decide what works for you.

[Dino]

2 hours ago, scook said:

You may render audio to either an audio track or directly into the instrument track but there is no requirement to do so.

There are only two base track types in CbB: audio and MIDI. 

An instrument track is nothing more than a presentation of an audio+MIDI track pair

This is why both audio and instrument tracks may host audio clips.

 

Hi scook, some good info there, thank you.  So what does that look like when I'm building a song?  For each instrument (Piano, Guitar, Drums, etc.) do I have to add the Instrument track as well as an Audio track and somehow link them together?  Not sure if that makes any sense so I apologize in advanced.  Just trying to set a foundation for recording and stick with that.  Thanks

3 hours ago, Glenn Stanton said:

 

 

[Glenn Stanton]

you can just do the instrument tracks if that is simpler for you. typically one per instrument.

as scook notes: you'll need to unfreeze or re-record if you need to change the MIDI or the instrument settings.  my suggestion was only because i find it simpler and more flexible to have an audio output track and a source MIDI track because, erm, it's just the way my brain works. ? 

[Dino]

Thanks Glenn, I'm all about keeping things simple but I also want the most flexibility possible because I know I will always be tweaking a song long after it's recorded.  I wish there was a way for someone to show me this.  I'm very visual and hands-on when it comes to learning this.  Once I understand it by seeing it in real time, I retain the information better and I'd be off to the races.

[msmcleod]

When you use the fade handles on audio clip, what you're doing is fading out the clip.

Using automation on the audio track volume, fades out the track:


 

[Dino]

2 hours ago, msmcleod said:

When you use the fade handles on audio clip, what you're doing is fading out the clip.

Using automation on the audio track volume, fades out the track:


 

That's great, I'll try doing that.  Thanks Mark!

[Dino]

2 hours ago, msmcleod said:

When you use the fade handles on audio clip, what you're doing is fading out the clip.

Using automation on the audio track volume, fades out the track:


 

Hi again Mark,

When I apply that Automation fade on my tracks, how do I do it so that all 3 tracks fade out at the same time?  Notice that they all don't end at the same time. 

Thanks.

[reginaldStjohn]

There is a lot of useful information, including videos, for much of this stuff in the Tutorials section of the forum. Also, become familiar with the documentation as it has most of the answers, including pictures, of many of these questions.

 

[msmcleod]

On 1/14/2023 at 12:33 AM, Dino said:

Hi again Mark,

When I apply that Automation fade on my tracks, how do I do it so that all 3 tracks fade out at the same time?  Notice that they all don't end at the same time. 

Thanks.

 

Put the volume automation fade on the Master bus.

[Dino]

On 1/15/2023 at 5:48 AM, msmcleod said:

Put the volume automation fade on the Master bus.

Hi Mark,

Can you send me some documentation on how I can do that please?  Much appreciated.

Thanks.

Dino

[Byron Dickens]

2 hours ago, Dino said:

Hi Mark,

Can you send me some documentation on how I can do that please?  Much appreciated.

Thanks.

Dino

 

[Dino]

Thanks Byron

[Dan Patterson]

On 1/13/2023 at 1:19 AM, Canopus said:

The Fade tool only works on Audio tracks. On Instrument tracks I would use Automation, having the filter set to the default Volume parameter.

For even more options you can check out this old thread.

Thanks a TON! I had the same problem. Watched 6 vids, read the documentation. No mention of audio only.