Drum Quantization in Logic 8

[-Noodles-]

I know, there have been loads of topics about this subject - But I've got a few personalized questions.

I've recently got back into doing drum quantization for a "fix-mix", and I wanted to ensure that I'm still doing things the best way. I use Logic 8.

So, I followed this; http://www.logicprohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=19626&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=80

I tempo mapped the track I was working on to be a stable 85BPM. I SMPTE locked the audio tracks.
So, I went through EVERY transient in the drum tracks - so far I've got around 1500 splices, and I'm around 60% of the way through. Is this best practice?
{i am doing the kick later by itself, as I'll probably be replacing it completely}

Is that guide kosher?
Am I doing wayy too many edits?

Thanks guys.
{apologies for the topic, I've not done any real editing in a few years..}

 

[Machinated]

i used to use a similar method to that one there, although since switching to L9 its just way more simple now.

when you quantize, do it in small sections at a time and watch out for triplet sections, or hits that get moved to the wrong place. I also find logic starts to lag a bit after a lot of edits, so you can consolidate as you go through (again something they improved on A LOT in L9).

 

[-Noodles-]

thanks for the tip to quantize in small sections. I was expecting to manually shift stuff, so that's not a problem!

I really need to upgrade to 9.. ! so much stuff there that I need.

Thanks for the reply dude! Good to see I remember / found the right information.

 

[Charlie E.]

I'd still love to know what the best way to edit sections is. So far I'm simply cutting in the arrange window between rolls and will try simply glueing the sections together after I'm done editing. Is this the best way?

Also, if a drummer hit his cymbals a little early in relation to the kick, do you just degroup the kick and move all the tracks to line up with the kick? (since the kick is usually the "q") or do you group just the cymbal/overheads tracks and move that?

What about a snare that is just slightly off from everything else? Degroup and move only the snare? Move snare and room tracks?

@Machinated how do you consolidate your edited drum sections? Just highlight and bounce region?

 

[jipchen]

I won't find the command to cut the whole tracks (with a keykommand) using the marquee-tool's transient detect function (mark the tracks with the marquee tool and then hold SHIFT and navigate with <- and ->
It's described in this video: (yeah the beginning is crappy)

I just can't bind a keycommand to the function he's talking about. Is it because i've got Logic 9? -.-

 

[TheDriller]

Oh holy Christ!

you couldn't pay me enough to go back to that shit in Logic 8.

Flex ftw.

anyway, what i used to do was pack the sections i wasn't working on into a folder track, edit my little section, then pack that one away, unpack and edit the next part and so on.
i used the method described in the link in the OP

 

[jipchen]

So, how exactly are you doing the drum quantization with Logic 9 and Flex Time? Seems like there are a lot of different methods.
I found this method: http://www.logicprohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=44589
(and the thread you were writing something http://www.gearslutz.com/board/music-computers/451221-2010-drum-editing-logic-9-a.html )

But to be honest, i don't get it completely. Some things work and others fucking don't. Pretty frustrating but i never did quantize drums before. Sigh....
Could you explain your method?

edit: This is the part i do not understand:
"The flextime slicing mode would be a lot more useful if there was a way to click on the regions and convert them to actual slices so you could edit the crossfades and region edges."
Why the fuck did they not include that option? You would just go in the flex mode, click on slicing mode and then everything would be sliced. Then i could do the editing and crossfading etc.
I don't want to click at every fucking transient in the whole track to be able to acutally slice.

 

[TheDriller]

I just follow the standard process.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3656

Group, Slicing mode, set the "Q" reference tracks and go through the song manually moving flex markers to the beat,
i straight-up don't trust automatic quantization.

haven't actually done much with it, i don't often get sent multi-track drums to mix. (i need to get more work )
but what i have used it on has been quite effective.

if there are any "wrong" bits, just make a slice and move it manually, or delete the flex marker and create another one just before where it was, then use that marker to move the drum hit onto the beat.

 

[Charlie E.]

Driller how do you handle late snare hits that aren't in line with the kick? Creating another marker on the snare track and moving it back would squash the kick transient.

Is ungrouping the kick, moving the snare transient grouped with the other tracks and then replacing the kick to get rid of the snare artifact the only solution? (and obviously pray that the kick is inaudible in the overheads)

 

[jipchen]

Aaaaaaah, thanks. Finally, some light at the end of the tunnel
I don't know if i'll be able to use this, but i think now i understand what i should / could do. Thanks a lot.

But yeah, Charlie has a good question: How do edit single hits
I mean, without the whole thing being in slicing mode, it would be easy to move a single hit with the normal flex tool.

I just follow the standard process.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3656

Group, Slicing mode, set the "Q" reference tracks and go through the song manually moving flex markers to the beat,
i straight-up don't trust automatic quantization.

haven't actually done much with it, i don't often get sent multi-track drums to mix. (i need to get more work )
but what i have used it on has been quite effective.

if there are any "wrong" bits, just make a slice and move it manually, or delete the flex marker and create another one just before where it was, then use that marker to move the drum hit onto the beat.

 

[TheDriller]

Driller how do you handle late snare hits that aren't in line with the kick? Creating another marker on the snare track and moving it back would squash the kick transient.

Is ungrouping the kick, moving the snare transient grouped with the other tracks and then replacing the kick to get rid of the snare artifact the only solution? (and obviously pray that the kick is inaudible in the overheads)

yeah, that would be pretty much it.
or just hit the group-clutch, slice the kick out and move it, then hit group-clutch again to re-enable group editing.
if that leads to too much weird shit happening in the overheads, sometimes it may be possible to replace that kick and/or snare with a similar "good hit" from the same verse/chorus/whatever somewhere else in the song.