top guitar editing programs?

[bradseven]

Looking for opinions on the best programs to use for guitar editing. I tend to pick apart every single note so it is quite a lengthy process but still spend most of my time waiting for computer/software to do what I told it to. I love Izotopes stretching/compressing "algorithms" and would prefer to use a program that uses it or better, like I am now. I've never really done editing in anything other than Audition CS6 and previous versions so I'm sure there's gotta be better out there. Right now I'm spending at least a day just setting index markers on drum hits without a grid...(not that CS6 has MIDI or tempo lanes anyways)...So something with a grid and ability to deal with tempo changes would help also. Maybe something that doesn't have to pre-render EVERYTHING every time you open a session. I'm rather dead set in my technique and prefer to stick with it I just need to speed it up.

I'm experiencing my first label deadline...needless to say my life is hell right now but mostly because it takes days to get through editing 1 song with my current choice of DAW....and I mean REALLY edit not just volume envelopes and crossfades I mean pick-apart-every-note editing. If anyone can recommend a CPU efficient but high quality program for editing guitars it might be a lifesaver...

 

[Goodfellas453]

eh sounds like any DAW would work, Protools, Logic, Ableton, Reaper

they all do that and to a grid, logic and protools have time streching etc... maybe im not understanding your question but every daw should be able to edit to grid and quantize

 

[oroinvictus]

Most DAWs have the features you're looking for... go for Reaper if you want a free (for a trial) option, Protools or Logic if you have some cash and want something quite high-powered. Ableton wouldn't be very appropriate because that's much more geared for DJs making live music and the type.

 

[bradseven]

Guess I was just hoping there was a DAW that tends to work out better for that intricate process of splitting and stretching pretty much every single note played...or perhaps a program made specifically for that even. Technically the grid isn't even that crucial I suppose since even programmed drums don't always fall right on the grid with their own humanizing anyways--furthering the need to mark off the kicks and snares etc regardless...But even with 8 gigs of RAM and nothing going but the guitar tracks and one mixed down drum track I'm waiting like 5-10 seconds in between clicks lol. All the stretching and compressing is killing it once things get so big. Pre rendering the individual clips would be useful there if literally every single one didn't have to pre render again every time I open the session. That's like an hour of pre rendering once the session gets so big. I have till the beginning of May to finish the 10 track full length and about to just throw in the towel and let their people do the post pro as much as I hate to and as hard as I've worked on this project. Will try out some other DAWs for future projects at least. Will start with Reaper 1st so I can finally see what the fuss is about.

 

[Bay Studio]

Go to the ProTools website (Avid in that case) and downloa dthe FREE TRIAL. You´ll be satisfied.

 

[tmitchell33]

^ +1 Pro Tools is the Audio King. Although I personally don't endorse TCE on guitars, I find a much better result in using cut + paste X-Fade. Every TCE algorithm I have heard has limitations, audible artifact become noticeable quickly.

 

[bradseven]

I should have probably mentioned I'm editing raw guitars pre reamping making artifacts virtually undetectable with this izotope stretching engine within my DAW...I can generally go up to 140-150% without anything noticeable...and in several cases I can go much higher than that. The artifacts that are detectable can be edited out and replaced with other notes 95% of the time. I cut and pasted for the last 10 years until I tried this. Total fucking pain in the ass but the results are the next best thing to the most realistic guitar vst that never existed. Now that I'm not limited to cutting and pasting I can do almost anything I want and I ended up with more artifacts trying to 'stretch' notes by extending duplicated wave information. It makes it so the track is actually correct instead of giving the illusion its right through crossfades. The only overlapping that's happening here is to prevent popping. But yea it totally wouldn't work if i wasn't doing it before reamping distorted guitars and doing that bit of extra note replacement. I've also found that the process itself just naturally causes you to correct more than otherwise. Just being able to see every note through the unamped signal does wonders but being able to stretch and compress without noticeable artifacts takes it to a completely different level of perfection and control.

 

[tmitchell33]

What is the name of this Plug-in you are using? I am interested to hear it

 

[bradseven]

Its not so much a plug-in as its the built in features of Adobe Audition CS6's(I know, weak) multi-tracker. You can just stretch the clips in realtime by dragging the edges much the same way you would move the clip boundry.
If one isn't satisfied because of an artifact then you could just resort to the other slip edit method for that particular note or pattern. However I can say that since I started doing this I haven't gone back to my old traditional method for a single note! I'm just saying that you don't have to stretch and compress every note if you don't want to or if you run into a notes where it doesn't work out so well. You would also have to be really careful doing clean guitar this way. In the end there's far less note replacement so you can keep things a lot more accurate to what the guitarists are actually playing. The main difference and reason I tried this in the first place was to prevent the seemingly inevitable loss of pick attack that occasionally happens with the traditional method. The immediate improvement in quality though literally made me think I must have been doing it wrong until now.
I know AA is totally not recommended as a DAW for music production but nonetheless...
According to AACS6 its an Izotope algorithm but not sure how new that is. Also assuming its not the only DAW that has this but I really wouldn't know...

 

[tmitchell33]

I will have to check it out, I think we have AA at work. Izotope's restoration software in general is very good, it would be good if Pro Tools and Cubase improved their TCE algorithm!

 

[K Odell]

Editing in cubase is similar to this if its needed. I would always prefer getting it right in tracking, but we all know we never get perfect scenarios. In cubase I use a combination of slip editing and time stretching to do all of my editing.