Roger Montejano
Pro Tools 7.4
The new version of Pro Tools brings a good number of improvements, notably a new feature called Elastic Time, integration with data streams stored on Avid ISIS, and synchronization with Avid video sequences via Avid Media Station|PT 2.7.
Although the last two new features will be very welcome in studios that use Avid and Pro Tools together, the truth is that the star feature of this new version is Elastic Time.
With this feature, users can flexibly manipulate audio in the time domain, adjusting both the duration of the various events and their relative position in time (Live and Logic users will find this familiar).
Elastic Time lets you, for example, quantize audio automatically (even across multiple tracks), apply Groove Templates, adjust the timing of different performances, fit audio files (such as loops) to the session tempo, match different audio and video speeds...
Elastic Time comes across as a powerful tool in the studio, both creatively and in terms of its possibilities for correction and improvement.
The algorithms
Making this new feature possible required major internal reprogramming, and new algorithms, features and options have been created within Pro Tools.
Every audio track can now be converted to Elastic Time, a process in which the audio is analyzed to detect its transients. Once this operation is complete, all the detected events are shown in the new Analysis view (which joins Blocks, Waveform, Volume, Pan, etc.).
The transient detection algorithm is an improvement on one that already existed in the Tab to Transient and Beat Detective functions, and it has been added to the latter as a new option called Enhanced Resolution (the old High Emphasis and Low Emphasis remain available).
The algorithm's sensitivity can be adjusted in the new Elastic Properties window, and, much as Beat Detective works, events can be deleted or new ones created in the Analysis view in addition to those detected automatically.
To optimize Elastic Time's behavior, five different TCE (Time Compression Expansion) algorithms have been created, each designed for a type of audio. The choice of algorithm determines how the process behaves, and therefore defines how Elastic Time "sounds":
Polyphonic: an algorithm designed for polyphonic material, suitable for general use.
Rhythmic: specially for tracks with fast transients such as drums or loops.
Monophonic: ideal for audio in which only one note occurs at a time, as is the case with vocals, since it is designed to preserve formants.
Varispeed: lets you create the classic effect achieved with tape recorders, since it changes the timbre according to tempo and duration.
X-Form: the most accurate algorithm, but it cannot be used in real time; it must be rendered.
From the definition of X-Form, it follows that the first four algorithms can operate both in real time and offline. This is useful because Elastic Time can consume a lot of resources, and once the desired ET operations have been done in real time, rendering the changes frees up the CPU.
Warp View
To manipulate the audio you have to switch to Warp view (also brand new), where the event markers detected in Analysis (called Event markers) can be converted into Warp markers with which to compress or expand regions (in this view you can also create new additional markers, independent of the event markers).
Once the various warp markers have been created, there are three methods for modifying the audio: Range, Telescope and Accordion. In the first, a marker is placed on each side of the region, and one or more markers between them change the relationship between the different parts.
In Telescope, a marker at the beginning or end of the region acts as a reference point, and another marker at the opposite end contracts or expands the region linearly.
Finally, in Accordion mode, the reference marker is placed in the middle of the region, and a marker to the left or right acts on each side respectively.
Just as with normal regions and markers, warp markers behave differently depending on whether you are in Slip or Grid mode, snapping to the session grid in the latter case.
It's worth making clear that all this editing is non-destructive. When working with the plug-ins in real time, the editing information is generated using the computer's resources. When working in Rendered mode, a new folder called Rendered Files is automatically created in the session folder, which is used to store all the new files Elastic Time generates (the original regions remain intact).
If at any point you want to disable Elastic Time on one or more tracks, Pro Tools will ask what you want to do with the regions that have been changed. The first option is to discard the changes and return the regions to their original state, and the second is to apply the changes permanently to the regions (Commit). In the latter case, new files are created from the existing ones in the Rendered Files folder and placed in the Audio Files folder.
DigiBase
Elastic Time is also present in DigiBase, where new options have been introduced for previewing the various files stored on the hard drives.
In the top toolbar there is a new control for enabling Elastic Time while browsing the various audio files, which lets you hear them in sync with the session, even during playback.
Next to this control there is a selector for the ET algorithm to be used to analyze the various files. Once a file's tempo has been analyzed, a marker indicates whether the analysis was successful.
If you have large sound libraries, DigiBase lets you schedule batch analyses, so all the necessary files can be prepared in advance.
ET vs. BD
One of Elastic Time's most eye-catching features is the ability to quantize audio across multiple tracks. LE and MP users finally have the ability to fix drum performances recorded on several tracks without having to pay extra for the Music Production Toolkit to get the full version of Beat Detective.
Using a method similar to Beat Detective's Collection Mode, some users say they have achieved similar results with Elastic Time, quantizing several tracks without running into phase problems between them.
However, other users say that, although quantizing with ET is much faster than with BD, the quality of the latter is superior, and that for the moment BD is still the way to go for working on multiple drum tracks (details below).
In action
The tests were carried out on two different systems. The first was a Mac Pro with two Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors (2.66GHz) and 2GB of 667MHz DDR2 RAM, running Mac OS X 10.4.10. The second was a Dell Inspiron 9400 laptop with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor (2GHz) and 2GB of 667MHz DDR2 RAM, running Windows XP Pro.
Installation on both went without a hitch, and Pro Tools 7.4 (LE) handled sessions created with earlier versions without any problems, showing the same robustness and stability that version 7.3 already offered.
Our first impressions of Elastic Time were very positive. It is really easy to use, and you can quickly appreciate the great possibilities of this new feature.
From a musical point of view, working with this new version of Pro Tools is more creative, since it lets you manipulate audio in new ways and makes working with loops, samples, etc. easier.
It also simplifies remixing, reusing tracks in projects with different tempos, and pre-production work in which various tempos are tried out... the list of everyday tasks in which ET can be useful is long.
As a correction and improvement tool, ET is a new resource that can prove invaluable on many occasions, since it lets you tackle problems that until now were difficult or impossible to solve, whether physically or because of the amount of time required.
It should not be taken as a "fix-everything" on which to base your work (it will always be better to get things right in the first place), but it can become a very useful tool for solving many very different situations.
Considerations
When recording on tracks with ET enabled, pressing stop automatically puts the newly created regions into offline mode while they are analyzed. Although it's a fairly quick process, if you are recording on several tracks simultaneously this analysis can cause a noticeable delay, so in some cases it may be better to disable ET while recording.
Before doing any editing with ET, it is advisable to create a new playlist for it. That way you can quickly compare the edited version with the original.
In addition, once editing is finished, you can commit on that same playlist, and with the other playlist you can always go back to the version before ET was used. This rendering not only frees up resources, it also ensures that the session will arrive exactly the same on other Pro Tools systems without Elastic Time, if it is exported to other studios.
As for the comparison with Beat Detective, the truth is that Elastic Time is much faster than BD. However, it is true that, depending on the type of performance, ET may not sound as good as BD.
In this regard, correctly setting the decay rate of each of Elastic Time's Rhythmic plug-ins can make a big difference to the final sound of the process, and should not be overlooked.
In any case, each process (BD and ET) has its pros and cons, which need to be weighed in each situation. If there is time for it, BD can result in a purer sound, but often there isn't always time (=money) for that, and a quick little quantize with ET can make a really noticeable improvement.
Performance
Although the ease and transparency with which the process operates is surprising, it must be said that the difference in power between the two computers was noticeable in certain cases, such as when quantizing five minutes of a 14-track drum recording in one go.
Admittedly this is a somewhat "brute-force" case, but the difference in the response of the two machines was noticeable, and it is an indication that ET can push the computer to its limits.
Conclusions
Sometimes the improvements in a product's new version aren't convincing enough to make you want to upgrade, and it is common to wait for one or two more versions to go by before deciding the update is "worth it."
In this case, however, the tools provided by version 7.4 do seem more than enough to justify the upgrade, considering its price.
Although in this version the differences between the features of LE, MP and HD are minimal, each may bring different benefits, since each user tends to use the software differently.
For Pro Tools LE and M-Powered users, the new version opens up a new universe of exploration, provides great flexibility and offers a way to handle quantization across multiple tracks.
Professional studios with HD will not only benefit from the creative flexibility mentioned; the price of the upgrade seems small compared to the number of problems that can be solved quickly with the new tools.
Some useful Elastic Time shortcuts
The following shortcuts work when the active tool is the Grabber:
To see the spec sheet and rating table, download the magazine in PDF