midi operation that must be possible within cubase

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Member Since: Jan 18, 2003

i'm trying to accomplish something and i know this must be possible, but i have never figured out how to do it.

i recently switched the way i input drums--i'm using my keyboard to input beats into cubase's midi editor. i record the beats i play in real time with my fingers, then quantize them.

but the result is that the visible strand of recorded data actually begins before the first midi note. there's a dead space there, a leader, which i guess corresponds to where the record cursor was placed prior to recording. like anyone, i need a little bit of play time before i jump in with my part. it'd be too strange to have recording kick in right on the first beat. even with the 2 bars of click, i wouldnt like it very much, because i wont able to feel the music and perceive the coming change. so i set the record cursor an arbitrary bit back from where the recorded data is going to appear, and let it run, then jump in when it's time. this gives the midi data a leader of dead space. does that make sense?

i want to use parts i've recorded for the first sections of the song, and paste copies of them later, for like when a verse repeats. that way i wont have to re-record them. but when i drag the copies to where i need them, i cant seem to get them to line up with the right bar and start in the right place, because the data strip itself has a leader on it. it is THAT which lines up with the grid when i try to drag the copy to the new location.

obviously i need to eliminate the leader after i've recorded something. i do not know how to do such a trimming operation on input data and get it dead on with the start of the actual midi data. i want to trim off all 'dead space' before the first midi note, so that the strip wil snap to the measure i drag it to.

is there a way to do that? if not, is there a workaround? i refuse to eyeball this. i'm sick of eyeballing things.

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Ultra Magnus
Member
Since: Nov 13, 2004


Sep 05, 2005 02:40 am

Maybe i'm not reading this right, but couldn't you just use the cut tool and snip off the leader at the first beat in the arrange window?

Member
Since: Jan 18, 2003


Sep 05, 2005 12:25 pm

i uh... dont know.

i could, i guess, if i could get it right on the grid line. that would be possible in the midi edit window where you can see the grid, but i dont remember if you CAN cut in there. and in the arrange window (im not near the program right now so i cant look) i dont think you see the grid, so there's no way to tell where to snip. i'll check this out a bit later. hopefully im just really, really stupid.


Ultra Magnus
Member
Since: Nov 13, 2004


Sep 06, 2005 12:02 am

No you can't cut in the grid, not in the same way anyway. But i was thinking, go into the grid, make a note of where your first beat is, then cut it at that point in the arrange window.

Hold 'Em Czar
Member
Since: Dec 30, 2004


Sep 06, 2005 11:23 am

ok sonar was like this....here's what i did...

since there is NO midi data to be recorded, it wont (streatch the clip with silence) because it's not recieving sound....so my work around was to first, cut > paste > then drag into proper spot.

this does take a bit more time, but it's not hard at all and you'll get fast in a few weeks. plus if you just put the cursor AT the proper point when you paste it (instead of even numbers) drop that mofo, right when it's supposed to and you'll be strait.

also if it's something you're committed to (the same loop or section) just bounce it down to an audio track that will have the 'clipsize' that you want.

i havn't gotten the opportuinity to do this in cubase yet, although i'm gonna need to know how to do this REAL soon, we started booking our studio, and have our first paying gig commin' in in two weeks. eeek! it's sneekin' up on me!

wassssuupp

wyd

Member
Since: Jan 18, 2003


Sep 06, 2005 01:50 pm

nooooo!

guys, slow down, i dont understand you.

rigsby and wyd, are you talking about eyeballing it?

that cut has to be literally ON the line where the first piece of midi data appears. let me see if i can extend the things youre saying.

do you mean: go into the edit window, and look along the top of it for numbers corresponding to the 'clock?' then position the cursor right at the first bit of data and make a note of the clock at the cursor point? then go back to the arrange window and type the right cursor location into the song clock with your number keypad, then snip?

i'll have to check to see if the edit window can be worked in that way, in conjunction with an ultra-specific clock reading and exact cursor positioning.

i'm sorry. i havent been in to check on this problem. and havent gone back to cubase since i posted this. i will today. just let me know if what i explained in this post is kind of what you meant...


Hold 'Em Czar
Member
Since: Dec 30, 2004


Sep 06, 2005 02:26 pm

sonar has a grid feature that lets you turn it on and off, and i'm 99% sure cubase has it too, cuz i've used it...it looks like a tic-tac-toe button...that makses cutting "on the beat" alot easier, you can set it to 16th note or even a whole measure at a time...

i know and undersand fully your situation....ideally you wanna be cuttin' and pasting real quickly on even beats...drag and drop whole sections at a time for arranging...

i've never found an easier way, then what i described above.

Ultra Magnus
Member
Since: Nov 13, 2004


Sep 07, 2005 02:04 am

Ditto WYD, good luck forty.

Member
Since: Jan 18, 2003


Sep 08, 2005 01:50 pm

got it. key is to use the midi edit window to place cursor (using snap) right on the beat. this places the arrange window cursor on that beat too. then you just flip to that window and trust that the cursor's in the right place, and you snip it (using a magnetic cursor), erase the chaff, and drag the snipped clip wherever you want.

thanks for the idea rigsby and everyone.

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