audio popping/spikesfrom copy and paste edits

[freakuincy]

hello all -

i am about to finish up 4 tracks and to do so i have to start my dredded routine on removing the audio spikes resulting from my sloppy 16th-64th note chops and edits.

its my least favorite part of the process. i have recently made a quality effort to remove the pops before my copy/paste edits and then duplicating the loop but even then some managed to get by me.

SURELY THERE IS A BETTER WAY than editing each region by volume automation or trimming the waveform region with the trim tool.

does that pencil tool trick work -0r- is there a plugin technique that i could use as a rtas to remove these pesky little audio gremlins?
(hopefully one that comes with pro tools)

much thanks in advance
grant

[Phil Ogden]

Use crossfades over adjacent regions or in/out at the start/end of regions. You can even do them in batches.

[freakuincy]

heh - thanks for the reply.

have tried to do this with the crossfades but when dealing wiith small regions 16note or less it seems to never work for me.

maybe i should do some reading up on crossfades - don't they tax the prcessors more than simple volume automation? or is it the same?

Batches sound cool - need to look that up also.

but what about a plugin type senerio - something with less work? any ideas on that approach

[Phil Ogden]

Crossfades should work OK at resolutions much less than 16th's. Have you zoomed-in far enough?

Not sure what the processor overhead is for crossfades vs volume automation. However, once I'm happy with the edits, I tend to consolidate the regions into one to reduce CPU and read/write demands.

I'm not aware of a plug-in for this specific purpose suspect that most PT users are happy with the edit tools. I suppose you could try a restoration plug (Waves X-click or Soundsoap Pro).

[IronDioPriest]

Zoom in to the sample level and try to make your edits across an area where the waveforms are as close to zero amplitude as possible. Right after a "big down" or right before a "big up" is a good place to make your edits. The amplitude before the edit point of "region A" needs to be opposite of the amplitude after the edit point of "Region B". Then make sure that when you join any two non-contiguous regions, you match positive to negative/negative to positive amplitude. This is a good place to start if you want to reduce and/or eliminate the possibility of edit pops.

Crossfades use little CPU, and if you make the edits in the manner I suggest, short crossfades will work perfectly, as they are designed to do.

The pencil tool is only effective for audio at the sample level, for eliminating spikes for a limited duration of waveform cycles. Beyond that, its artifacts become audible, but occasionally that can be better than the alternative, depending on the quality of the source audio.