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Audio track sync (Help!)

oletelieroletelier
in Tutorials, Tips & Tricks

Hi guys,

I’m new at this and would love some feedback and tips on how to sync 2 audio tracks I previously recorded on an zoom H4n. I basically recorded 1 audio track as an ambient mic and another track with line inputs. The two are “synced” but I need to chop the beginning of the intro to make it shorter. This is where I get a bit stuck. When I trim the first audio track and then I go to the second audio track, I can’t trim it on the same length. I tried bpm, seconds, etc to match the trim but for the life of me I just can’t be accurate enough to have it both synced exactly and that gives me a headache as I get latency when I play both afterwards. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance! Os

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Comments

  • ronjironji

    Maybe toggle snap to grid and move the start of the sample to the same amount of bars? Any fx on either track? I'll see if I can replicate this

  • tk32tk32

    Are the two tracks the same sample rate?

    Eg both of them are either 44.1khz 48khz or 96khz?

  • oletelieroletelier

    Yeah they’re both same sample rate 44.1

  • oletelieroletelier

    Thanks for > @ronji said:

    Maybe toggle snap to grid and move the start of the sample to the same amount of bars? Any fx on either track? I'll see if I can replicate this

    Yes I’ve been trying to snap to grid but i can’t get the accuracy. Perhaps all I can do is to chance the bar count to the maximum so I can have more to choose from. From 1/8 to 1/32?

  • oletelieroletelier

    Wow StudioES! You are an absolute legend! Thank you so much. I already got it thanks to you! So happy and grateful of this forum. You guys rock!> @StudioES said:

    Seems like you need to do microscopic surgery?
    But ronji's suggestion is definitely the easiest (and non-destructive) if both tracks were originally synced from the start.

    But I'll leave this here in case anyone wants to do destructive molecular-level sample-cutting in BM3.

    Figure out the exact length of what you need to cut from the 1st track and do the same for the 2nd track.
    The most precise method is to cut both at the finest level (Sample level), and make a note of what the sample number is at the end of the cut.

    With the 1st original unedited file:
    1. Go to the Edit page.
    2. Hit Edit.
    3. Turn Snap Off (not Zero or Grid).
    4. Switch to Samples (not Beats or Seconds).
    5. Hit Select.
    6. Select the area you need to cut. You said it was just the start so you only need to pull the end handlebar over to the left.
    7. Zoom in slightly.
    8. Hit the right end arrow >| so that the view centers on the end of your selection.
    9. Move the end handlebar close to where you want to cut.
    10. Zoom in fully (to the individual sample level). Use the right end arrow >| to center the view.
    11. Move the end handlebar slightly and make a note of the Sample # (#265666 in my photo below). You can select sample-by-sample with your finger when you are fully zoomed-in. Takes a bit of practice.
    12. Hit Delete.
    13. Whoops! Now the sample starts at a zero-crossing (in the last photo below). So it's preferable in Step 11 to turn on Zero Snap and and select an area where the waveform crosses zero. That way you minimize loud clicks at the start due to the offset. It's not as important if the cuts occur in areas of near-silence. The cut (at that precise location) in the 2nd file probably won't be at a zero-crossing, so you may have to use a fade-in.

    Now with the 2nd original unedited file:
    Do the same as above but this time you'll need to zoom in and out to find that precise location to cut (#265666 in my photo below). And use the right arrow > to move the view around in small increments.





    Notice that I'm cutting the waveform at a point where it doesn't cross zero. This is not good, especially if there's no silence there, like the area in the photo directly above. You can select that non-zero area, and use Process>Fade-In to minimize the offset click.

    Notes:
    Using the arrow buttons |< < > >| are easier/safer compared to using 2-fingers to drag the view around.
    1-finger taps will de-select everything. Important to remember that.

    Don't forget to Save All with all of the options checked. The newly trimmed wav files will be appended with [001]. Later you can delete the original files, but wait until after you close that Session.

  • ronjironji

    Thanks for putting in the time to get all that info documented, @StudioES ;)

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