James P
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Pitch shift entire track at highest quality
I have a finished mixed track that I need to pitch shift up by a tone. It's an ambient/electronic pad-based track that's about 7 mins long and has no vocals or drums. What's the best way to do it without introducing too many artifacts (I have Sonar X1 Producer)?
Would I be better off using a standalone app or can it be done well in Sonar X1? The Cakewalk Pitch Shifter plugin doesn't seem to do a very good job - is there another way or any tips?
Alternatively I saw Sony Sound Forge Studio can maybe do it and I don't mind paying $60 but if X1 can do it well I'd rather use that.
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Zargg
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Re: Pitch shift entire track at highest quality
2015/05/29 06:58:36
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Is it a MIDI based project, or done with hardware? If MIDI, you could just transpose the notes up a tone. If audio, others will have far better answers than me.
Best of luck.
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Anderton
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Re: Pitch shift entire track at highest quality
2015/05/29 08:59:15
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If you want to preserve duration, use SONAR's Transpose DSP process. It uses iZotope's Radius algorithm which is equal to the algorithm in Sound Forge. Just make sure you check the Transpose Audio box, and choose the Mix algorithm.
If you don't need to preserve duration and don't care if transposing up shortens the song, then you can use the Loop Construction window to do a traditional "tape Varispeed" effect.
If these descriptions aren't clear enough, circle back and I'll go into more detail.
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ShellstaX
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Re: Pitch shift entire track at highest quality
2015/05/29 11:04:08
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Is it fair to say that X1 was better equipped in this regard? X3/Splat do not have Pitch Shifter nor V-Vocal ... yet have Melodyne Essential (which is just monophonic). I've done a little vocal correction/harmonizing and basic audio to midi and Melodyne Essential was fine. But after seeing this post I tried ambient pads and it didn't hold up well at all - chopping at the transients. Full Melodyne is too pricey for my needs. I saw iZotope Nectar 2 on a good sale recently but still didn't want to pay ~$120. So I picked up Melda MMultiBandHarmonizer half price on one of their regular sales - Reg US$54 - my price $26. So I tried a few things out: MAutoPitch (part of the free bundle) didn't cope too well - but it's free and you might like a look enroute to ... MMultiBandHarmonizer - this did an alright job, with a number of methods. On my short investigation 'Basic Shifter' and 'Effect' modes were as good as any. A full (I think) demo is available for 14 days as part of the full installer (along with all the freebies). If you like it and according to means, buy it or keep an eye out for the next half price sale - 5 products change weekly. I also searched my VSTs and found a freebie I'd forgotten about (though not as good nor diverse as MMBH it held up surprisingly well - you might like have a look): Aegean Music Pitchproof - Pitchshifter / Harmonizer Of course, your Melodynes, Autotunes and Nectars will likely do a better job ... with a price tag to boot.
post edited by ShellstaX - 2015/05/29 11:10:23
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James P
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Re: Pitch shift entire track at highest quality
2015/06/01 15:51:46
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Sorry for the delay in replying and thanks for all the feedback.
@Zarrg71:
The project is a mix of midi and rendered audio, so it's probably easier to just transpose the final mixed track rather than each individual part which could give mixed results.
@Anderton:
Duration doesn't really matter. If it changes by even 20 seconds it won't affect the outcome (which is to match the key of another track that fades into it). I think I did try using the Loop Construction view but it seemed to add some artifacts at various points. Perhaps I'll try it again and play around with some of the settings. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing an easier way to do it.
@ShellstaX:
Re: Cakewalk's included Pitch Shifter in X1 - maybe it's just my source material but that plugin sounded terrible on it. But thanks for the heads up on the other plugs - I'll take a look into these too.
Thank you :)
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paulo
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Re: Pitch shift entire track at highest quality
2015/06/01 17:05:51
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Larry Jones
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Re: Pitch shift entire track at highest quality
2015/06/01 17:28:53
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If you happen to have Sound Forge it will do this quite well. Probably only the "Pro" version, though.
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Anderton
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Re: Pitch shift entire track at highest quality
2015/06/01 20:35:19
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Larry Jones
If you happen to have Sound Forge it will do this quite well. Probably only the "Pro" version, though.
There's no significant difference in terms of audio quality between the Radius algorithm in SONAR and the zplane one in Sound Forge. However, the zplane can resolve to less than a semitone.
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Anderton
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Re: Pitch shift entire track at highest quality
2015/06/01 20:39:18
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☼ Best Answerby James P 2015/06/03 07:07:57
James P
@Anderton:
Duration doesn't really matter. If it changes by even 20 seconds it won't affect the outcome (which is to match the key of another track that fades into it). I think I did try using the Loop Construction view but it seemed to add some artifacts at various points. Perhaps I'll try it again and play around with some of the settings. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing an easier way to do it.
You have to use the Loop Construction window without creating a loop. Here are details for fine-tuning, but they also work for larger intervals: http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/3081053 This article I wrote for Sound on Sound covers Varispeed techniques using the Loop Construction window, again which require not creating a loop: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun14/articles/sonar-tech-0614.htm
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Larry Jones
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Re: Pitch shift entire track at highest quality
2015/06/01 20:39:31
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Anderton
Larry Jones
If you happen to have Sound Forge it will do this quite well. Probably only the "Pro" version, though.
There's no significant difference in terms of audio quality between the Radius algorithm in SONAR and the zplane one in Sound Forge. However, the zplane can resolve to less than a semitone.
I brought it up mainly because the interface and steps to accomplish this are bone simple. Good to know that audio quality is up to snuff, too. What I (still) don't know is if the "lite" version of Sound Forge often shipped free with other software and hardware has this capability. I'm guessing not.
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Anderton
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Re: Pitch shift entire track at highest quality
2015/06/01 20:46:50
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ShellstaX
Is it fair to say that X1 was better equipped in this regard? Actually, no...keep reading  X3/Splat do not have Pitch Shifter nor V-Vocal ... yet have Melodyne Essential (which is just monophonic). A lot of people don't realize Melodyne Essential can transpose polyphonic material, you just can't pitch correct individual notes. Use the Percussion mode; this article describes one possible application, transposing a strummed guitar part to create different chord progressions: http://www.guitarplayer.com/guitar-player-101/1025/tech-tips-rethinking-chord-progressions/49192 If you want to transpose an entire piece, you need to select the whole thing before proceeding as described above. Also of course the Process > Transpose option in SONAR is of very high quality - far better than the pitch shifter plug-in - if you choose the Radius Mix algorithm. See my previous post if you want transposition that also changes duration, like old school tape-based transposition did.
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Anderton
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Re: Pitch shift entire track at highest quality
2015/06/01 20:48:18
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Larry Jones
What I (still) don't know is if the "lite" version of Sound Forge often shipped free with other software and hardware has this capability. I'm guessing not.
As a general rule of thumb, any feature that requires a licensing fee is not going to be included in lite versions that are included for free. So I think your guess is probably correct.
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ShellstaX
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Re: Pitch shift entire track at highest quality
2015/06/01 22:44:25
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Anderton
ShellstaX
Is it fair to say that X1 was better equipped in this regard?
Actually, no...keep reading ...
Thanks Craig - more techniques for my trickbag, In my initial Melodyne Essential test (with ambient pads) I had converted to Melodic, from Percussive, before transposing - doh! Leaving it in percussive got acceptable results out to about 6 semitones before excessive mudiness crept in (which in turn could likely be cleaned up with additional tools). Also, of course ;P :) ... I was not aware aware of the the Process > Transpose In my 2 years with the product I've mainly stuck to FX and obviously have not explored the menu options fully (nor read the manual fully). Others likely know also ... but I had to convert the clip to non-groove before I could transpose (then converted it back).
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