Syncing recorded and imported files

Drummin' Man · Junior Member Joined: 19 Oct 2008 Posts: 32

In my earlier post I didn't describe correctly what I am trying to accomplish. I recorded an ambient mic track directly into Cubase. My friend took a feed off the house mix and sent it to my on CD. I have imported his files and now want to sync them up with my preciously recorded ones. Any suggestions? I have tried eye-balling the wave forms but it is tedious and not as precise as I would like. The files are lined up under one another on seperate tracks.
Your expertise will be greatly appreciated,
Ed

Peace Dog · Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2010 10:30 pm Post subject:

No need to start one more topic on the same subject...

Drummin' Man · Junior Member Joined: 19 Oct 2008 Posts: 32

Thanks for helping, sorry about the duplicate post but I thought a more accurate subject title would get more response. No we did not start at the same time or even close. The board feed files sometimes start late missing some of the audio ( he was late pushing record button) but I can use the ambient tracks till those files kick in. I've been using the ears and wave forms to try matching but the waves from the board feed are very different so it's hard to match. Ears get me pretty close but I was wondering if there was a way to lock them together at the sample level. I sure do appreciate all the help.
Thanks again,
Ed

split · Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 11:37 am Post subject:

I would think that trying to sync the ambient track to the direct sound will not only be difficult but also wrong. Assuming the ambient mics were placed away from the stage then I would expect the sound arriving at the ambient mics to be delayed against the direct mics, this is how it should be and will help to give a sense of distance.

This funnily enough could play into your hands when trying to place the ambient track against the original direct sound. You will probably have noticed the ambient track looks quite different than the direct sound but if you can find some common reference points to work with then it'll be easier.

Then roughly estimate how far the ambient mics were away from the stage and assuming sound travels about 340 meters per second then thats around 2.94 milliseconds per meter, so if your ambient mics where 10 meters from the stage then move the ambient track back 29 milliseconds. It wont be too critical and should in fact help as the track will be far enough back to reduce any comb filtering/phase problems when trying to align tracks to sample accuracy, and will restore the "distance" to the sound.
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Split V4.5.2 The Devil is in the detail Twisted Evil

Drummin' Man · Junior Member Joined: 19 Oct 2008 Posts: 32

Thanks Split. Very helpful post. I did notice that sliding the tracks around brought them into "focus" i.e. tighter bass and more definition overall. So thanks agin for your help. I will use the rule you posted to sync them up and keep the ambient distance. Any suggestions for determinig the milliseconds of the tracks? Can I use the time in the trabnsport box?
Ed

split · Posted: Sat Nov 13, 2010 12:07 pm Post subject:

The inspector under the track name should show a box that you can set a delay in ms, and/or right click on the timeline and select seconds.

Align the ambient track as best you can to be in alignment with the direct sound then type in your delay time in ms.
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Split V4.5.2 The Devil is in the detail Twisted Evil