Kingrazor
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Reducing process time in SONAR 8 PE
I'm trying to figure out the best way to reduce the time it takes to process audio in SONAR.
When I highlight a track and go to process->audio effects and apply an effect, it can take as long as 5 minutes just to process. When you have to apply EQ and multiple stages of compression this can make for a very long editing session.
The system I use has Windows XP 32-bit, 4 GB of RAM, and an Intel Core 2 Quad processor. I'm running SONAR Producer version 8.3.1.
What do you think will offer the biggest improvement in process time? OS upgrade? SONAR upgrade? Hardware upgrade?
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daveny5
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Re:Reducing process time in SONAR 8 PE
2012/10/03 23:17:31
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There's no reason to print the effects on the track. You are wasting time needlessly. Besides, if you print the effects on the track, then you can't remove them if you want to change them later. Just record your tracks, add effects, mix, and then File-Export-Audio and you'll have your recording.
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Kingrazor
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Re:Reducing process time in SONAR 8 PE
2012/10/03 23:25:21
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Not being able to remove them after the fact isn't an issue, I always save an unedited version of the recording. I've always processed the effects because I use multiple stages of compression. That and I can see the results of the compression in the wave form, and then I can make sure my recordings are all the same level.
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Kalle Rantaaho
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Re:Reducing process time in SONAR 8 PE
2012/10/04 02:35:20
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Kingrazor
Not being able to remove them after the fact isn't an issue, I always save an unedited version of the recording. I've always processed the effects because I use multiple stages of compression. That and I can see the results of the compression in the wave form, and then I can make sure my recordings are all the same level.
Couldn't "Show waveform preview" be used in that context? I'm not sure if it works on FX, not only softsynth audio tracks. Anyways, I wouldn't feel confident relying on the visual of the waveform.
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bitflipper
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Re:Reducing process time in SONAR 8 PE
2012/10/04 09:51:11
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Dumb question, but has to be asked: do you have the "fast bounce" option checked?
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Kingrazor
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Re:Reducing process time in SONAR 8 PE
2012/10/04 10:56:30
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Kalle Rantaaho
Kingrazor
Not being able to remove them after the fact isn't an issue, I always save an unedited version of the recording. I've always processed the effects because I use multiple stages of compression. That and I can see the results of the compression in the wave form, and then I can make sure my recordings are all the same level.
Couldn't "Show waveform preview" be used in that context? I'm not sure if it works on FX, not only softsynth
audio tracks. Anyways, I wouldn't feel confident relying on the visual of the waveform.
Using the wave form gives me a easy an easy way to show volunteers how to do things. I have two other people that handle editing when I'm gone and it's easy to have a visual tool. Plus, I've never really had a bad recording just using the wave form as a guide. I think you can get away with that with compression more than anything else really. When I'm mixing live I generally use the GR meter to determine how I set the compression. @bitflipper: I haven't checked to see if the "fast bounce" setting is on or off. I'll see whether or not it is next time I have the system in front of me.
post edited by Kingrazor - 2012/10/04 12:50:41
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bitflipper
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Re:Reducing process time in SONAR 8 PE
2012/10/04 18:12:58
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I like to examine waveforms, too. But I'm more likely to freeze a track than to use Apply Audio Effects or even waveform preview. Freezing gives you the same benefits (seeing the effected waveform, saving system resources, not waiting for samples to load) but un-do is much more convenient.
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Kingrazor
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Re:Reducing process time in SONAR 8 PE
2012/10/04 20:05:12
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I don't normally bounce any tracks. I just export them when I'm done editing. I'm only working with one track usually though.
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Cactus Music
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Re:Reducing process time in SONAR 8 PE
2012/10/05 11:13:27
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I use tool copy and process in Wave Lab, It's fast, I don't like the way Sonar's rendering is set up. It often creates a stereo track from a mono. ?? Sonar has very pour wave editing functions. Thank god for Wave Lab.
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Kingrazor
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Re:Reducing process time in SONAR 8 PE
2012/10/05 12:55:26
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Cactus Music
I use tool copy and process in Wave Lab, It's fast, I don't like the way Sonar's rendering is set up. It often creates a stereo track from a mono. ?? Sonar has very pour wave editing functions. Thank god for Wave Lab.
We'd rather use the program we spent $1000 on.
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rm5700@optonline.net
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Re:Reducing process time in SONAR 8 PE
2012/10/06 06:38:10
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$1000?! What program is that? I mean, Sound Forge 10 is great and it's less than half that.
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Kingrazor
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Re:Reducing process time in SONAR 8 PE
2012/10/06 11:04:37
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Sonar 8.0 PE plus the Edirol FA-66 firewire interface and REAC drivers bundled together was about $1000.
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bitflipper
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Re:Reducing process time in SONAR 8 PE
2012/10/06 11:44:35
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I'm only working with one track usually though. So you're working with one-track projects mostly? I'm guessing spoken-word, e.g. podcasts or audio books, perhaps? Or maybe live 2-track recordings? I'd still recommend freezing the track if you want to take a look at the waveform before exporting. Yes, SONAR's editing capabilities are limited, as they are in most recording- and mixing-oriented DAWs. Fortunately, most of us don't need anything more detailed than that. For those rare occasions when we do require deep editing, we turn to external tools such as Sound Forge, Adobe Audition or one of the freebies such as Audacity. The rest of the time, metering is sufficient to see what's going on. Speaking of which, if you aren't currently using Voxengo SPAN, go grab a copy of this freebie immediately. SPAN will tell you most of what you need to know without having to look at waveforms at all.
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Kingrazor
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Re:Reducing process time in SONAR 8 PE
2012/10/06 12:18:38
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You've got it right. I'm not that familiar with freezing tracks, what would be my work flow in this case? Drop an EQ and a compressor in the FX bin, then freeze the track and look at how the wave form changes? Also I'll give SPAN a try.
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Kingrazor
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Re:Reducing process time in SONAR 8 PE
2012/10/07 12:09:00
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Well, I started doing just what I said in my last post and I only have to wait as long as one round of compression, even if I'm doing 3 stages and an EQ. So that's cool. Thanks for the tip!
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Kingrazor
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Re:Reducing process time in SONAR 8 PE
2012/11/03 19:41:43
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So, is there a way I can reduce the time it takes to render the finished project? Or open existing projects?
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Cactus Music
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Re:Reducing process time in SONAR 8 PE
2012/11/03 20:18:02
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For what your doing Sonar is not the proper software. You should use a dedicated wave editor like the ones mentioned. Some are even free, but the more you pay the more tools your get. Wave lab even shares the plug ins with Sonar and Cubase. The basic version is all you need and it's only $100. Would be WAY faster you will never loose anything recorded as it is streamed it is stored. It can be set to automatically number and name the tracks. As quick as your can hit "stop" and then "record" you get a new track running. I have been recording live this way since 2004. I record music , speech , sermons, plays and funerals. Afterwards the editing is super fast. Cut beginning and ends/ check peak level/ Normalize if needed/ Loudness Maximizer if needed/ analyze peak RMS level. Eq. rendering a track is about 5 seconds per minute of audio. And the waveform view is excellent. Sonar is excellent for making music. It is a multi track DAW. If all you are working with is a mono or stereo wave or MP3 ( it will record any format live) then look into a dedicated wave editor.
post edited by Cactus Music - 2012/11/03 20:23:45
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Kingrazor
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Re:Reducing process time in SONAR 8 PE
2012/11/04 01:05:37
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Would love to try it but unfortunately the free trial still requires that you purchase a USB key.
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scook
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Re:Reducing process time in SONAR 8 PE
2012/11/04 01:15:18
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Kingrazor
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Re:Reducing process time in SONAR 8 PE
2012/11/04 01:18:18
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Is that any better than gold wave? We used gold wave for a long time with our old board but moved on to SONAR when we got our new board because we wanted higher quality recordings. If I move to another program for editing I want to make sure the final product is just as high quality as what I'm getting from SONAR.
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bitflipper
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Re:Reducing process time in SONAR 8 PE
2012/11/04 18:32:03
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Wavosaur should preserve the audio quality just fine. Another popular freebie is Audacity. These free editors lack some of the more sophisticated features of commercial products like Goldwave and Sound Forge, but for basic editing tasks they work just fine and are capable of producing a finished product of comparable quality to SONAR.
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Cactus Music
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Re:Reducing process time in SONAR 8 PE
2012/11/05 12:05:10
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Stienberg takes no chances with Piracy so they limit the free samples.
Once you are a customer you can free trial other products.
Wave lab is a cut above all those free versions. I have tried Audacity and its like going back to 1986 for me.
I have used Sound Forge (LE?) that came with a friends USB turntable and it seemed closer to wave lab.
So I'm afraid you would just have to spring for the $100.
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Kingrazor
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Re:Reducing process time in SONAR 8 PE
2012/11/05 14:35:22
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I'll go ahead and order the USB key and use the trial version of wave lab and see how it works out.
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jm24
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Re:Reducing process time in SONAR 8 PE
2012/11/06 10:47:05
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I usually bounce to tracks to apply effects. Mostly cuz the fx are on buses.
The bounce to tracks dialog provides a way to disable lots of uneeded functions.
I sorta remember reading that even if there are no instances of a function the function still is attempting to do it. So, no buss automation, disable bus automation.
And: I always add the track and name it before the bounce. This names the clip accordingly.
But: my experience these past 10 years is the only way to go faster is to have a faster processor.
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