Tips for syncing tracks?

[Tapehead]

Hi again,

I have two almost identical tracks but they are in different projects each with varying start and end points in the timeline. I've messed up a section of one and want to crossfade in/out a section from the other.

However the intros & outros of both tracks are fade-ups/fade outs from slightly different points so I can't just slide the second track along until the yellow line appears and I can't zoom right in and do a bit of math from the timeline values to synch them either.

I've been manually trying to line them up by progessively zooming in and sliding the second track waveform but I just ain't getting it spot on. I can hear slight phasing.

Are there other methods or a plugin that can sync identical parts of two waveforms automatically?

[kozikowski]

If you're hearing phasing, your fades may be too long. Some video editors never actually cut, they do 1/30 second crossfades.

Koz

[Tapehead]

Thanks Koz, I'll play around with the length of crossfades.

What I'm getting at is, in some other audio editors it is easy to sync identical sections of two tracks because when a track (or segment) is moved forward or back along the timeline it snaps to vertical tempo grid lines - no inbetweens. So line up two obvious peaks and then zoom in to check and both wav forms are spot on.

Is there a feature I've missed or a plugin that could do that in Audacity?

[kozikowski]

Are you sure that works with words? I have an app that works with music. But no, I don't know a way in Audacity. Maybe another elf will know.

Koz

[Gale Andrews]

What I'm getting at is, in some other audio editors it is easy to sync identical sections of two tracks because when a track (or segment) is moved forward or back along the timeline it snaps to vertical tempo grid lines - no inbetweens. So line up two obvious peaks and then zoom in to check and both wav forms are spot on.

Is there a feature I've missed or a plugin that could do that in Audacity?

You mean http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantization_(music) ? The nearest we have is Beat Per Minute labels. Clips then soft-snap to label edges.


Gale

[Tapehead]

Thanks for the quantization and beat per minute links.


Two examples I've seen spring to mind:

The snap function in Reaper
https://www.homebrewaudio.com/simple-aw ... p-setting/

Secondly a while back I demoed Melodyne 4 and it could create a tempo map from
an existing variable tempo guitar recording. The time grid could be set to 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32 etc. and the track (or a second identical track being aligned) could be dragged to each vertical marker accordingly.

[Gale Andrews]

We have a feature request you could add your vote to "Quantize to a grid like Sonar". Does that cover it for you?

Gale

Thanks for the quantization and beat per minute links.


Two examples I've seen spring to mind:

The snap function in Reaper
https://www.homebrewaudio.com/simple-aw ... p-setting/

Secondly a while back I demoed Melodyne 4 and it could create a tempo map from
an existing variable tempo guitar recording. The time grid could be set to 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32 etc. and the track (or a second identical track being aligned) could be dragged to each vertical marker accordingly.