Wanted: Best method to synchronize tracks

[16string]

Hi there,

we are about to produce a demo CD. So far we have recorded the following tracks

- click
- pilot
- drum and
- bass.

We hand over the single wave files to our guitar player who will record his part.

I guess that the tracks I will get back are no more aligned, i. e. non-synchronous.

Manual synchronization pushing single tracks might be one of the methods. I wonder if any “automatic synchronization” is included in REAPER. If so please give me hints. Or is there any additional "good lab practise" for that?

Thanks in advance.

[dug dog]

Is your guitarist using Reaper? If so, just send him/her the project file (with the audio included) and have it sent back in the same manner.

Otherwise, export your stem tracks so that they all start at at the same time and have the guitarist do the same.

[16string]

Originally Posted by dug dog

Otherwise, export your stem tracks so that they all start at at the same time and have the guitarist do the same.

Thanks for answer, I see clearly what it takes to co-operate with guys applying any other software.

Remaining question on "start at the same time": I understood to stem render all of the items track by track (not group of tracks) as they are synchronous. That's alright?

[dug dog]

I'm sorry but I don't understand what you're asking.

If you render your stems using a time selection then they can be easily synchronized in any DAW as they will all be exactly the same length.

[metal_priest]

you can render the stems using the bwf wave file, it will write into the file the "time" of each item you're going to render.
It means that if the item starts at 2'36" in the project, it will have write into the file this time.

If the guitarist will use an intelligent daw, and i think the most of them are, he can for sure select an option that in reaper is called: "move item to source preferred position".
Doing this, the item will be moved to the time written inside the file (in our example, 2'36").

The name of this function will change from a daw to another, but any professional daws have it. It's necessary to sync the audio with a video of a live show(for example), or, as in this case, if you send the stems to another studio for mixing.

[dug dog]

Yet, again, something I didn't know. Thanks for sharing.

[sqkychair]

Have him paste part of the click track right at the beginning of EACH of his tracks.

That way, when you get his tracks back you line up the clicks. You only need a couple of them at the beginning right before the song starts.

Been there done that many times.

Without it, you have a nightmare on your hands. Also make sure he has the LATEST of everything and that you don't retrack something before he comes back or it is liable to not be on the groove any more.

EDIT: I just noticed that you are sending multiple tracks, I recommend you go ahead and put the clicks on those as well so that he has a reliable way to line them up in his DAW before he tracks.

[16string]

Originally Posted by metal_priest

you can render the stems using the bwf wave file, it will write into the file the "time" of each item you're going to render.

Hi metal priest,

what is "bwf" please?

[metal_priest]

bwf is Broadcast Wave Format, and it's an extension of the wav format:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadcast_Wave_Format

(i hope i can link to wikipedia :P)

so when you're going to render, you can add a "chunk" into the wav (only wav!!), it's an option in the rendering window

[16string]

.... you did link Wiki!

Shame on me. Never worked with bwf so far and so I'm pretty confused by the chuck. New galaxies opened. I'll check it out.

If you please check last track #7 (drums) includes two different takes. Have I to mix them down before rendering or simply create a time selection?

[metal_priest]

oh well, that track it's simply a crossfade between two items, just render the stem with track selection (you find the option in the render window)

if you are new into this, just try to render a track, create a new project, import that track and move it in a random time position, then right clic on the items, go to "item processing" e clic on "move item to source preferred position", and you will see the item going to 0:00.
(i see from the pic you have some silence before the tracks, the render will fill that "hole" with silence in the final wav file.)

if you dont want that silence, do the render with stem+time selection, and do it track by track changing the time selection.
By this way the "source preferred position" move will be more clear to see :P


if you decide to use this way, be sure to tell to the guitarist to render his record on bwf too, or you will not be able to resync into your reaper project!

[16string]

Thank you very much for your help. I think the job will be done excellently, provided that Murphy is not sitting just behind me (a drinkin mate of my dalmatian :-)