ReCycle Operation Manual
DAW | Rack Plugin | Reason+ Rack Extensions
Setting Slices and Loops
Most of the time when working with ReCycle, you will want to cut your loop up into slices. A slice is a section of the waveform, from one slice marker to the next.
When you load or receive a loop, ReCycle analyzes it to determine where slice markers should appear (where the individual sounds in the loop are).
The Sensitivity slider is then used by you, to set the overall amount of slices. The higher the sensitivity, the more slices you will get. And, the more slices you have, the smaller entities ReCycle will cut the loop into, when you save it. For more information, see “How many Slices do I need?”.
The number to the right of the Sensitivity slider represents the current position of the slider, where 0 represents minimum sensitivity and 99 maximum sensitivity.
As described below, the quickest way to get a good selection of slices is to set the sensitivity quite high, roughly between 70 - 80, and then use the Mute Tool to deactivate any slices you don’t need (see later in this chapter for details on the Mute Tool).
#Setting Sensitivity using the Keyboard
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You can type a number on the typewriter part (not the Num Pad) of the computer keyboard.
This can be used to quickly give the slider a rough setting. If you hit [1] it gets set to “11", if you press [2] it gets set to “22” etc.
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You can use the [+] and [–] keys to “nudge” the slider up and down.
#About Stereo and Mono
For stereo files, ReCycle analyzes both channels for slice points. In all respects, the methods you can use and other considerations are the same regardless whether the audio is in stereo or mono.
Slices always cut across both channels at the same position in the waveform, they are not channel independent.
You might run into situations where there are too many slices on the screen. You could of course reduce the Sensitivity to get rid of the slice markers you don’t want, but then other slice markers could disappear too, and this might not be desirable. What you need to do in a situation like this is to “mute” an individual slice, and this is just what the Mute Tool lets you do: When you select the Mute Tool and click on a slice marker it gets diminished and its line disappears.
Before and after Muting a slice marker.
To try the effect of Muting, proceed as follows:
1.
Click on two adjacent slices which play one sound each.
2.
Mute the marker that divides the two slices.
3.
Click again to audition.
You will hear that what was previously two slices is now one.
#Muting several Slices at the same Time
If you have several slices selected (see below) they will all get muted when you click on one of them.
Clicking on one of the selected slices...
... mutes all of them.
#Unmuting Slices
To “re-activate” a muted slice, simply click on it again with the Mute tool.
#When do I use the Mute tool?
Use the Mute tool when you have a situation like the one below:
In the example above, the Sensitivity slider had to be set to a fairly high value to get the number of slices you see. But raising Sensitivity led to one unwanted slice, splitting a sound in two. Muting is the solution.
After muting the unwanted slice.
#How do I find unwanted Slices?
Our most important tip is this: Always audition each slice to hear what it actually plays. Try stepping through the loop with the “Play Slice and Move to Next” button, and adjust the slices until you hear them the way you want them.
Another good practice is to increase magnification slightly and scroll through the slices to look for sounds that have been split unnecessarily.
For optimal results, combine the two techniques above.
The Lock tool is essentially the opposite of the Mute tool. If you lock a slice, by clicking on its marker with the Lock tool, it will stay even if you drag the Sensitivity slider all the way to zero.
If a slice is locked...
...it will stay even if you set the Sensitivity slider to zero.
#Locking several Slices at the same time
If you have several slices selected (see below) they will all get locked when you click on one of the slices.
Unlocking Slices
To unlock a locked slice, simply click on it again with the Lock tool.
When do I use the Lock tool?
If you got a good set of slices by just using the Sensitivity slider, but discover that in one or two places you hear two sounds when you click on a slice, then it is time to bring out the Lock tool.
1.
Find the place where you hear two sounds when auditioning.
2.
Make a mental note of the current slider setting.
3.
Set the sensitivity slider to a higher value to get a slice between the two sounds.
4.
Audition to make sure you got what you wanted.
5.
Lock the new slice.
6.
Drag the sensitivity slider to the original setting.
Slice markers need to be selected for some operations, like Silence Selected (see “Silence Selected” and “Using Silence Selected”), or when moving and deleting slices (see “Manual Slice Handling” in this chapter):
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Selecting is done with the Arrow Tool.
You can have the Pencil Tool selected, but this automatically changes to the Arrow tool if you point in the Marker strip.
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You can select one slice marker by clicking on its handle (triangle symbol).
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If you hold down [Shift], you can click on more slice marker handles to select them. Clicking again with [Shift] pressed deselects a slice marker.
Selected (dark) and unselected (light) slice markers.
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You can make up a selection rectangle by pointing between slice markers in the Slice Marker area, pressing the mouse button and dragging left or right. When you release the mouse button, all the slice markers inside the rectangle will get selected.
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You can also use the Select All item on the Edit menu to select all markers.
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If you have a selection of slice markers, you can invert the selection by using “Invert Selection”, also on the Edit menu.
After this operation, the slice markers that were previously selected are now deselected, and vice versa. This is mainly useful together with Silence Selected, see “Silence Selected” and “Using Silence Selected”.
Before and after using “Invert Selection”
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To deselect all markers, click between two markers in the Slice Marker area.
It is possible to add new, to move, and to delete slice markers manually.
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Before adding or moving slices manually, make absolutely sure the slices found by the analyze algorithm don’t suffice. The program is very good at finding slice points, and the points found by the program often work better – for example for tempo changes – than the ones that you add manually.
#Adding a new slice
1.
Identify the area where you need a slice, and zoom in very close on it.
2.
Select the Pencil Tool.
3.
Move the pointer over the waveform display.
A vertical line moves across the waveform. This line indicates where the slice will appear when you click. The line snaps to zero crossings in the waveform (positions where the amplitude is close to zero), so manually added slices won’t introduce any clicks or pops. If the amplitude is zero for a period of time, the line will move continuously over this area.
The vertical line snaps to zero crossings.
4.
When you have found the correct position, click with the Pencil tool.
The slice appears.
The following rules apply to manually added slices:
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Manually added slices are automatically locked. They will therefore not disappear when you lower the Sensitivity.
•
If you unlock a manually added slice and drag the sensitivity slider down lower than halfway (below 50), it will disappear, just as other slices.
#Adding a Slice at any position
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If you hold down [Option](Mac) or [Alt](Win), the snap to zero crossing is disabled and you can add a slice at any position.
We do not recommend that you do this unless you have a very good reason, since it can introduce clicks and pops in the sound during playback.
#Moving a slice marker
You can move a slice marker manually, even if it is locked (muted slice markers cannot be moved).
1.
Make sure the Arrow or Pencil Tool is selected.
2.
Select the existing slice marker that you wish to move.
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Place it in the proximity where you want to move it to by dragging the slice marker.
As you drag, the vertical line of the slice marker is superimposed across the waveform. This line indicates where the slice will be placed when you release the mouse button.
3.
After having placed the slice marker in the general area where you would like to move the slice to, zoom in on it very closely and move the slice marker to where you want it.
The line snaps to zero crossings in the waveform (positions where the amplitude is close to zero) exactly like when adding slices, so manually moved slices won’t introduce any clicks or pops. If the amplitude is zero for a period of time, the line will move continuously over this area.
4.
When you have found the correct position, release the mouse button.
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Only one slice marker at a time can be moved.
#Moving a slice marker to any position
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If you hold down [Option](Mac) or [Alt](Win), the snap to zero crossing is disabled and you can move a slice to any position.
We do not recommend that you do this unless you have very good reason, since it can introduce clicks and pops in the sound during playback.
#When do I add/move Slices manually?
As described above, we suggest you only add or move slices manually when the program fails to find one at a position where you need it. In other words, you will need to add/move a slice manually when you click on a slice and hear two sounds, one after the other, even though the Sensitivity slider is set to 99.
#Where do I place the Slice?
Zoom in far enough for the display to clearly show how the cursor jumps between zero crossings. Try to find the first position before the beginning of the sound. This applies both when adding and moving slices.
#Deleting Slices
It is possible to permanently delete slice markers. Note that unless you are 100% certain that you won’t need a slice, especially in case of slices detected by the slicing algorithm, it is generally better practice to mute it using the Mute Tool.
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To delete one or more slice markers, select it/them and press [Backspace] or [Delete], or select Delete from the Edit menu.
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Deleted slices that were originally ”discovered” by the slicing algorithm can be made to appear again by using Re-Analyze (see “Re-Analyze”).
Well, it depends...
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If you plan to edit the loop a lot in your MIDI sequencer, you should try to get one slice per sound in the loop, or in some situations (very busy sections for example), one slice per eighth note or sixteenth note (to simplify editing in the sequencer).
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If you want to create a groove, you should try to get approximately one slice per eighth note, sixteenth note or whatever the loop requires.
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If your main reason for slicing the loop is to change the tempo and/or pitch, you generally need as many slices as you can get, but never more than one per individual sound in the loop. This is to retain the “integrity” of each sound when played back from the sequencer.
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Please remember that your ears are always the best judge. Careful auditioning is vital for finding a good selection of slices.
#By dragging
The left and right Locators can be dragged to set the Loop during playback.
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If you have no slices at all (if the Sensitivity slider is all the way to the left), the Locators can be positioned freely.
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If there are any slices visible, the Locators snap to the lines.
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If you want to position the Locators freely, even though you have slices, hold down [Option](Mac) or [Alt](Win) while dragging a Locator.
#By clicking
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To set the Left Locator, hold down [Shift] and click on the ruler.
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To set the Right Locator, hold down [Command](Mac) or [Control](Win) and click.
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Normally, the positions snap to the closest slice point, but if you also hold down [Option](Mac) or [Alt](Win) when you click, you can set the Locator at any position.
#Use the Slices when setting Loop Points!
When trying to find a good loop point, use snap to slices if at all possible. If you can’t seem to get a good loop point that way, try raising the Sensitivity slider to get more slices and try again.
When – and only when – you can’t find a good loop point in this way, zoom in and adjust the Loop positions with [Option](Mac) or [Alt](Win) pressed.
#What are the Locators used for?
The Locators are of course used to define the loop you get during playback. But they also have other purposes:
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ReCycle uses the Locator positions when calculating the original tempo of the Loop.
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When saving to file etc., only the part between the Locators is actually sent.
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When you create MIDI files, only the section between the Locators is taken into consideration, as with the saved audio above.
Many of the operations in ReCycle require you to specify how long the loop between the Locators actually is, meter-wise. This information is then used to calculate the tempo of the loop.
#Time Signature
The Sign pop-up menu allows you to choose between a few of the more common Time Signatures. If none of them fit your purpose, you can still “assemble” a correct Time Signature using the Bars and Beats settings, see below.
#Bars and Beats
The Bars field and Beats pop-up are used to specify the length of the loop. Let’s explain this by example:
| Actual Loop Length
| Set “Bars” to:
| Set “Beats” to:
One bar
1
0
Two bars
2
0
Half a bar in 4/4
0
2
One and a half bar in 6/8
1
3
As stated above, you can use Bars and Beats to “create” some unusual Time Signatures:
| Actual Loop Length
| Time Signature
| Bars
| Beats
Two bars in 7/4
4/4
3
2
One bar in 9/8
6/8
1
3
#Original Tempo
When the Left and Right Locators are set, and the correct Time Signature and loop Length (Bars and Beats) have been specified, this area will show the calculated original tempo of the loop.