Repeat / Looping issues

[DJ Decryption]

Greetings kinfolk,

I've been using ProTools for over 2 years now and have been doing more sequencing in it recently. I'm using version 7.1, and I've had a bizarre experience when using the repeat function to loop a beat all the way through a song (5min). I select the beat, making sure I'm in Grid mode, and select exactly 1 bar. I separate the clip (Ctrl-E). Then I use the repeat function and put in 70 times. Upon close inspection, the beat stays perfectly within the grid for about 30 bars, and then it slows starts to deviate from the grid by a tiny amount... but the cumulative effect is noticeable with other tracks by the 5th minute when the beat is no longer synced to the grid.

I've made sure that I'm slicing the beat at exactly one bar in Grid mode, so it should be working fine. The manual suggestions that Repeat should work for exactly this function. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance for your help!

[JaxMan]

Hey DJ,

This happens to me a lot to. After I repeat the region, I usually quantize the regions so that they conform to the bar beat grid. Quantizing will align the regions to the grid so that they all snap to the bar/beat division exactly.

I kinda wish I didn't have to do this...if I select a region exactly within a bar/beat division and repeat it 1000 times it should stay locked to the grid and not drift over time...not much to ask...

Maybe someone else has a better method??

JJ

[DJ Decryption]

Thanks JaxMan - I really appreciate the tip. You're right... it's kind of a bizarre thing to have to do. I guess that's why people use sequencers like Ableton...

[spkguitar]

You might want to try one of the newer features of the software; region looping.

[DJ Decryption]

Thanks spk - you're a legend

[DJ Decryption]

I've been trying the suggested fixes to the slight grid deviation problem, but it keeps deviating. After I select the loop in grid mode, I separate the region. Then I "quantize to grid", and set up region looping. I make sure that the loop length is exactly to the grid, and then I enter the number of times to loop it. Now, the amount of loop deviation is consistent with that method (i.e. it's off by the same amount each time), but it still won't loop exactly on the grid. It's driving me a bit mad since this shouldn't be hard at all, as you all know. Can you think of anything else I might try to fix this problem? Thanks for your help...

[deanguidry]

when you select a loop make sure to capture the whole measure to its end or the end of the last measure, not just the loop itself. That should eliminate the drift.

Alternatively, if you are dealing with a track where the initial transient is a little early or comes in slightly ahead of the measure, you should create a sync point within the region with which to use to align the repeated loops later down the time line, otherwise you will not capture the transient.

Hope this makes sense.

[DJ Decryption]

Thanks Dean - yeah, I've been able to pinpoint the problem... and it's very weird. Apparently, each time I duplicate or repeat the loop (exactly aligned to the grid), it cuts the loop short by a small amount OR increases it by a small amount. The amount is consistent - the smallest amount you can select in Slip mode when fully zoomed in. What blows my mind is that it's not consistent whether the amount is ADDED to the loop or SUBTRACTED from it. For example, I'll duplicate the loop one time, and it'll be that small amount short of the next grid line. But the next time I duplicate the *same loop*, it's longer than the grid by the small amount. It's surreal, but I'm positive that this is why the loop isn't aligning using any of the methods that are supposed to work. Does anyone have any idea what's going on? I've made sure 100 times that the loop is exactly within the bar on the grid (cut it in grid mode), quantized to grid, sync pointed... everything. Thanks for your help with this mind warp...