[Rwp] To Quantize or not to Quantize - that Is the(Non-technical(Question

[theoreomonster at reaperaccess.com]

On Nov 11, 2015, at 1:16 PM, Christopher-Mark Gilland via RWP <rwp at bluegrasspals.com> wrote:rum loops are your friend. Even if they don't stick around to the final project gives you a steady beat to start tracking to. 

> OK, but when you're the one recording the percussion to start with... LOL!
> 
> Chris.
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "theoreomonster--- via RWP" <rwp at bluegrasspals.com>
> To: "Reapers Without Peepers" <rwp at bluegrasspals.com>
> Cc: <theoreomonster at reaperaccess.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, November 11, 2015 12:42 PM
> Subject: Re: [Rwp] To Quantize or not to Quantize - that Is the(Non-technical(Question
> 
> 
>> I find my timing is better when i play to a drum track of some sort instead of just metronome. perhaps do the drums then record or record the other parts once thats in place? Just a thought.
>>> On Nov 11, 2015, at 10:24 AM, Christopher-Mark Gilland via RWP <rwp at bluegrasspals.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> You know...
>>> 
>>> I agree.  I think it really just depends on the sound you're looking for. I tend to do a lot of quantization, and I do mean, probably wayyyyyyy! overkill, but the thing is, for me, it's a must.  Even after about 5 years of major major practice, I still find that I am very very unsteady at times. I don't know why, but I just never seem to be able to follow the constant tempo, even with a metronome.  So, for me, it's a must!  For some however, they might be steady enough that it's not an issue.
>>> 
>>> I think ultimately, it just depends on the song, the sound you want, and like you said... how humanized do you want it to sound over all.
>>> 
>>> Also, remember, I'm not sure if Reaper can do this, as I'm  more a ProTools guy, but there should be a way to only quantize a certain selection of audio.  So, in other words, rather than quantizing the whole track, or for that mind, every track, just pick the parts which actually need that little push.  You may find that if it's minor... no pun intended... enough, it may be better then to just take the few beats that are off, and nudge them manually forward or back on the time ruler.
>>> 
>>> Hope that makes sense.
>>> 
>>> Chris.
>>> 
>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Matej Golian via RWP" <rwp at bluegrasspals.com>
>>> To: "Reapers Without Peepers" <rwp at bluegrasspals.com>
>>> Cc: "Matej Golian" <matej.golian at gmail.com>
>>> Sent: Wednesday, November 11, 2015 10:02 AM
>>> Subject: [Rwp] To Quantize or not to Quantize - that Is the (Non-technical(Question
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> Hi guys,
>>>> this time I don't really need any technical advice, but I'd be eager
>>>> to know how you approach the concept of quantization. I know that this
>>>> is a general recording question and so if you think that this is not
>>>> the right place to ask this, just ignore this message.
>>>> So, from what I gather quantization is very common in today's
>>>> recordings. I understand that it's more frequent in certain genres
>>>> than others, but I guess that it's safe to say that everyone working
>>>> with music has to know something about it. Quantization should be used
>>>> to fix timing issues, so that sloppy recordings don't sound sloppy or
>>>> so that they sound at least less sloppy if possible. So far so good.
>>>> But the question is: how much to quantize?
>>>> I know that this is subjective, just as everything, but the general
>>>> opinion is not to overquantize. In other words, if I for example
>>>> record something as MIDI and than make every note absolutely perfect
>>>> (in terms of length and position), the result should sound robotic.
>>>> But is this really so?
>>>> Obviously, whether one perceives something as robotic or not depends
>>>> on a number of factors, but I get the feeling that in some cases it
>>>> makes no perceivable difference whether you quantize or not. Imagine a
>>>> recording of only 8th notes at 200 BPM for instance. Maybe it's only
>>>> me and my unseasoned ears, but it seems to me that human ears have a
>>>> tendency to perceive things as much more regular than what they
>>>> actualy are - unless the recording is extremely sloppy they in my
>>>> uneducated opinion seem to compensate for minor imperfections - thanks
>>>> to or because of their imperfect nature.
>>>> My point is, if I slow down a fast recording, I'm able to tell how
>>>> much it has been quantized. If it's too perfect I might say to my self
>>>> that this is too perfect to be a human, but does this really matter in
>>>> the end?
>>>> Sorry for the essay. I started thinking more about quantization,
>>>> because I'm finally working on my first recording and I quantized a
>>>> part of it, but not because I thought it sounded bad, but because I
>>>> had the chance to easily do it.
>>>> So my personal conclusion is to quantize up to the point where you
>>>> perceive something as perfect (to keep it human), but all in all this
>>>> topic still puzzles me.
>>>> Currious to know what you think.
>>>> Matej
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