ReCycle Operation Manual
DAW | Rack Plugin | Reason+ Rack Extensions
Processing Audio
ReCycle features three effect processors, Envelope, Equalizer, and Transient Shaper, that can be used to further manipulate audio loops.
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All effects are applied globally, i.e. they will affect all slices equally in a loop.
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To be able to apply the effects, Preview mode must be activated.
To activate Preview mode for a file you must first set up the left and right locators, specify the length and time signature of the loop and create a sufficient number of slices (see the previous chapter). You could also load REX2 (ReCycle’s native file format) files for further processing of course, in which case these settings have already been made and you can apply effects in Preview mode directly.
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The principle “what you hear is what you get” applies when you apply effects, like with all the other Preview mode functions.
#Activating Effects
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Click the On/Off button for the desired effect(s).
When an effect is on (activated), the On/Off button is highlighted and the effect controls to the right become active.
Effect On/Off buttons and the corresponding effect parameters to the right.
#About the Presets
For each Effect there are a number of preset settings available.
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To select a Preset, click on the Preset button to the right of the Effect On/Off button.
A pop-up menu appears with the available Presets listed.
The Effect Presets button.
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It is not possible to store user presets.
#About the Parameter Controls
For all effect parameter controls, the following applies:
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[Shift]-clicking a parameter increases the resolution of the adjustable range.
Use this for fine tuning.
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[Ctrl]-clicking (Win) or [Command]-clicking (Mac) a parameter resets the parameter to its default value.
#Envelope
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To activate the Envelope processor, click on the Envelope On/Off button.
The Envelope Attack and Decay parameters govern how the volume of a slice should change over time, from the time it is triggered (the slice note starts) until the slice note ends. This can be used to make a loop more distinct (by having a snappy attack and a short decay time) or more spaced-out (by raising the attack time). Short attacks can also be used to mask out clicks that may occur with certain types of loops, when played back with a different tempo than the original.
The Envelope panel also features a third parameter; “Stretch”, which is described separately below.
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The Attack parameter determines the attack length (in milliseconds) for each slice.
The higher the setting, the slower the attack. Parameter range is 0 - 0.5 s.
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The Decay parameter controls the length of the end portion (tail) of each slice.
The more the knob is turned anti-clockwise, the shorter the decay. Range is 27ms - Infinite (=full decay).
#Stretch
This feature is used when you know you might want to lower the tempo of the loop in your MIDI sequencer.
#How Stretch works
When you slice up a loop and play it back from your sequencer, each sample will play in succession. At the original tempo, one slice will end exactly where another one starts.
As you understand, when you then lower the tempo, there will be small gaps between the slices, which disrupts the flow of the audio.
Stretch is used to add an extra tail of audio to each slice, to lengthen it. This is derived from the natural decay of the sound. This extra tail of sound then fills out the gap between the slices when the tempo is lowered.
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Please note that the attack of the sound is not affected in any way.
#The amount of Stretch
The Stretch knob is used to set the amount of stretch as a percentage value.
The percentage values tell you how much longer the entire sample will be after stretching. If you select the largest value (100%), for example, the slice will become twice its original length when exported.
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To decide how much stretch you need, lower the Tempo by the same amount as you intend to use, and adjust the Stretch parameter as necessary.
If there is a discernible gap of silence between slices you should raise the Stretch setting.
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Note that Stretch is not Time Stretch! The Stretch feature doesn't lengthen the whole slice, it only adds a portion of sound to the end of it.
#Stretch and the old REX Formats
You should be aware of the fact that REX (as opposed to REX2) files can contain certain settings that are irreversible. For example, if stretch was applied when the file was saved, the stretching is part of the actual REX file and cannot be removed. It is possible, however, to apply more stretch, which may or may not be what you want.
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For REX files it is therefore advisable to try lowering the tempo in Preview mode first, to see if you actually need to apply Stretch.
REX2 files however, only contain the actual audio and the slices, the rest (effects, stretch setting etc.) is added when the file is loaded and can be changed at any time.
#Transient Shaper
Transient Shaper parameters...
...and the Gain meter.
The Transient Shaper is a type of attack/release envelope control, which produces a result that could be likened to compression. Compressors level out the audio, by making loud sounds softer and vice versa. The result is that the levels become more even and individual sounds can get more power and “punch”.
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“Normal” compressors are activated by peaks and volume changes in the actual audio. The Transient Shaper is instead activated by each individual slice in the loop.
Regardless of method, if you have ever used a compressor, you will find that the Transient Shaper will affect the sound in a similar way. It is, however, important to be aware of this difference, as the Transient Shaper won’t work as intended unless the file contains slices!
To compensate for the volume loss that can be caused by this effect, the Transient Shaper has automatic gain compensation, that raises the overall level by a suitable amount. The parameters are as follows:
| Parameter
| Description
Threshold
This is the threshold level above which the effect sets in. After the initial slice attack, signals with levels above the threshold will be affected, signals below it will not. In practice, this means that the lower the Threshold setting, the more the signal will be affected by the Transient Shaper. The range is -6 to -40 dB.
Amount
This lets you specify the amount of gain reduction applied to the signals above the set threshold. The range is 0 to 99.
Attack
This governs how quickly the envelope will apply its effect when signals rise above the set threshold. If you raise this value, the response will be slower, allowing more of the signal to pass through unaffected. Typically, this is used for preserving the attacks of the sounds. The range is 0 to 91 ms.
Release
When the signal level drops below the set threshold, this determines how long it takes before the Transient Shaper lets the sound through unaffected. Set this to short values for intense, “pumping” compressor effects, or to longer values for a smoother change of the dynamics. The range is 13 ms to 1.4 s.
Gain meter
This shows the amount of gain reduction or increase (in dB), caused by the combined compression and gain compensation.
#Equalizer
The Equalizer Low Frequency parameters...
... and the Hi Frequency parameters.
The Equalizer allows you to cut or boost selected frequencies to shape the overall sound quality. To activate the Equalizer panel, click on the Equalizer button or select it on the View menu. The parameters are as follows:
| Parameter
| Description
Lo Cut
A highpass filter allowing you to set the lower limit of the overall frequency range. You can progressively cut frequencies from 15 Hz up to 12 kHz.
Low Frequency
The center frequency for the low-end equalization. Around this frequency, the sound will be boosted or cut according to the Low Gain setting. The available frequency range is 20 Hz to 3 kHz.
Low Gain
Governs the amount of boost or cut around the set frequency. The range is ± 18dB.
Low Q
Determines the width of the frequency band around the center frequency to be affected. The narrower frequency band, the more drastic effect of the boost or cut. Range is 0.5 to 10.
High Frequency
The center frequency for the high-end equalization. Around this frequency, the sound will be boosted or cut according to the High Gain setting. The available frequency range is 1.5 kHz to 16 kHz.
High Gain
Governs the amount of boost or cut around the set frequency. The range is ± 18dB.
High Q
Determines the width of the frequency band around the center frequency to be affected. The higher the Q setting is, the narrower the frequency band will be, and this will cause a more drastic effect of the boost or cut. Range is 0.5 to 10.
Hi Cut
A lowpass filter allowing you to set the upper limit of the overall frequency range. You can progressively cut frequencies from 20 kHz down to 100 Hz.
In addition to the three Effect processors, there are several other “offline” (non-realtime) audio processing functions available on the Process menu. You do not have to use Preview mode to apply offline processing. The Process menu items are as follows:
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Export as One Sample (see “Export as One Sample”)
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Silence Selected (see “Silence Selected”)
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Normalize
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Convert to Mono
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Convert Sample Format
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Crop Loop
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Remove DC
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Re-Analyze
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Add Slices at 1/16ths
#Normalize
Normalize will change the gain to ensure maximum level.
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When Normalize is selected on the Process menu, a dialog box appears asking if you want to Normalize the whole file or each slice.
Normally, you will select “Whole File”. If you select “Each Slice”, and the selected file is a rhythmic loop, the normalizing will disrupt the inherent dynamics of the loop, since the gain of each slice will be changed to more or less equal level.
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Normalizing each slice can be useful when you use ReCycle to process individual sounds that don’t belong to a loop.
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Normalize can’t do miracles. If your recording contains unwanted noise, normalizing will increase the noise level together with the other audio material.
#Convert to Mono
This Process menu item will convert stereo files to mono. It is only selectable for stereo files.
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When this item is selected, a dialog appears asking which channel(s) you wish to use as the basis for the converted file.
The options are Left, Right or a mix of both Left and Right channels.
#Convert Sample Format
This item allows you to convert the sample rate and bit depth of a file. Lowering the sample rate will make files smaller, but it will also lower the fidelity of the recording (less high frequency material will be present).
On the other hand, increasing the sample rate will not raise the fidelity of the sample in any way. It is therefore not recommended to convert from a low rate to a higher one, unless it is required by the application.
The same applies to bit depth; converting from 24 to 16 bits will reduce the size of the file (at the expense of slightly lower fidelity) and converting a sample’s bit rate from 16 to 24 bits will not increase the fidelity of the original sample.
Selecting this menu item brings up a dialog box. You select the format you wish to convert to using the respective drop-down menus.
#Crop Loop
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Crop Loop allows you to trim files, by removing all audio data outside the Left and Right Locators.
If you have set up a perfect loop with the locators, and the file contains audio outside this locator range you can use Crop Loop to remove this superfluous data.
#Remove DC
This function will remove any DC offset in the audio. DC offset is when there is too large a DC (direct current) component in the signal, sometimes visible as the signal not being visually centered around the “zero level axis”. DC offset can introduce clicks if the slices are later moved around in a sequencer, and it also affects zero crossing detection (see “Manual Slice Handling”) and certain processing functions such as Re-Analyze and Normalize.
#Re-Analyze
Re-Analyze re-runs the slice-detection algorithm on the waveform data. You may have deleted slices that were detected when the file was first sliced. This command will ”re-discover” those slices.
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Re-Analyze will add all slices to positions in the file not already occupied by other slices.
Note that the added slices may not be visible, as this depends on the Sensitivity setting!
#Add Slices at 1/16ths
This function automatically inserts slices at every 1/16th note between the Left and Right Locators.
There are a number of additional real-time processing items available on the Toolbar (Preview mode must be activated):
#Processing Gain
This function allows you to change the gain (volume) of the loop. The applied gain change will be present when the loop is saved or exported.
The main use of this function is to compensate for possible clipping or level changes introduced by other processing items, like equalization for example.
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You can boost the gain by up to 18 dB, or lower it down to silence (-80 dB).
You should avoid boosting the signal to the extent that the Level Meter clip indicators light up often. If they momentarily light up once, you should listen carefully to see if it sounds ok (a slight amount of clipping on percussive material is not necessarily even noticeable). The final judge is your ears!
Gate Sensitivity
Gate Sensitivity could be described as a type of noise gate. It is triggered (opened) by every active slice start, and closes for any material (in each slice) that falls below a set threshold. When you set the Gate Sensitivity so that the end part of the slice(s) fall below the threshold, the gated part of the waveform will be grayed out. The “gated out” material is not exported:
This function has three primary uses:
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It can be used to remove part of a file that contains silence, for example in conjunction with Silence Selected (see “Silence Selected”).
By removing “silent data”, the size of the exported data is reduced.
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It can be used if you have a file with several individual sounds containing “air” in between the sounds, and want to save each one as a separate file.
This also keeps the size of the exported data down.
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It can be used for special effects, e.g. abruptly chopping off a reverb tail.
#Preview Pitch
You can change the pitch of a loop up or down two octaves (+/- 24 semitones).
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Hold down [Command](Mac) or [Ctrl](Win) and click the Pitch knob to reset the pitch back to original.
Hold down [Shift] to adjust values in finer increments.
#Tempo
You can change the tempo of the loop. Tempo values between 20 to 450 BPM can be set using the Tempo knob or by typing directly in the Tempo box and pressing [Enter].
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Hold down [Command](Mac) or [Ctrl](Win) and click the Tempo knob to reset the tempo back to the original.
Hold down [Shift] to adjust values in finer increments.