Melodyne - export vocal wav file

I edited a vocal track in a project using the VST Melodyne pitch correction. Question: Once you've made your edits, do you export the vocal wav file and then import back into the project so that the VST doesn't bog down CPU? I know not to export vocal aux bus F/X or automation

You can do it several ways.

Here's the 2 ways I do it depending on what I need.

1. The WHOLE TRACK edit... this is generally when I'm working with a raw vocal that needs lots of melodyning. I work the entire track and save it often as I work. When I finish I do a BOUNCE TO TRACK which processed the entire track at one time and automatically creates a new totally processed track.  I can mute the original while I determine if the new bounce track is appropriate or not. 

This way I still have the original with ME in it and I have the new ready to roll track. I will Archive the original and hide it and work with the bounced track. If I find "missed fixes" in the new track I simply delete the entire new track that was bounced, and go back to the original track with ME,  to that specific note, fix it and bounce to track again.

2. Small fixes in a track. Sometimes after I have been working with the bounced track or perhaps some other track, I will hear something that bothers me and I know it needs to be fixed. so..... I set my time line marker right before it and run melodyne on a very small section of the track.  I make the changes and fixes in Editor and listen carefully to be sure I got it right. I save the project with a click. 

On a small clip and fix like this I will simple highlight the track and select PROCESS AUDIO > APPLY FX. This is a destructive edit since I can undo it only until I shut down the project. But often, I am 100% moving forward with the fix anyway so I don't worry about having to undo it. 


Neither of those methods require an export from the project and an import back in.... they are both quick and easy inside the box and project.

#1 preserves the original track in archive form..... #2 does not. 

hope this was helpful.

What Guitarhacker said.  I usually end up using his method #1.

I like to save new versions of the project as I go along and will save the project before using Melodyne and then save a new version after pitch correcting and bouncing to a new track.

Somewhere I read that it's recommended to use a buffer size of at least 1024 samples when editing with Melodyne.  Regardless of buffer size it still crashes on me now and then so I make it a point to save after every few tweaks.

I think....( and this might not be correct) ..... that the crashes come from the processing power that Melodyne sucks out of the computer. 

I used to have a bunch of crashes with my older lappy. Especially on the full track edits.  So my solution or work around was to use correction and drift levels of 50% rather then 100% in the automatic correction window. 

OR..... work in pieces. a verse at a time..... bounce, then work the second verse from the bounced track....and so on, incrementally.

My new custom build DAW runs fine with full track 100% edits. It also has more memory and a faster CPU. I do still  tend to use about 80% correction rates because I don't want it perfect. 

What I've been doing lately is exporting the vocal track as a WAV. Then I launch Melodyne as a stand-alone, Melodyne the track and import it back into the project. I then mute the original vocal just for safety or in case I need more tweaking. I haven't had a single Melodyne/SONAR crash since I started doing this. Also, this way you don't have to use Melodyne in the project at all. YMMV.