Quantizing Phase-Locked Audio Tracks

You can apply phase-locked quantization to audio regions on grouped tracks while maintaining phase accuracy among the tracks. All transients in audio regions of grouped tracks are taken into account and a quantize marker is added for the first transient in each transient cluster. These quantize markers are then used to apply the chosen quantization scheme to all regions.

Important: For phase-locked audio quantization to be possible, all audio regions on grouped audio tracks must have the same start and end positions.

You first need to group the required audio tracks and enable them for phase-locked editing. It’s advisable to do this before you record the tracks, but you can do this afterward if necessary. However, you need to create the group before you start editing the tracks.

To create a group of audio tracks and enable that group for phase-locked editing
  1. Select multiple audio channel strips in the Mixer.

  2. Click the Group slot of one of the selected channel strips, and choose an unused group from the pop-up menu.

    This opens the Group Settings window.

  3. In the Group Settings window, select the Editing (Selection) checkbox, followed by the Phase-Locked Audio checkbox.

    The group is now enabled for phase-locked editing.

  4. Close the Group Settings window.

When you enable a group of audio tracks for phase-locked editing, a Q button appears in the track header of each track in the group. This button serves the same purpose as the Q-Reference checkbox in the Inspector’s Track Parameter box. By turning on a Q button, all regions on that track contribute their transients as reference points during the quantization process. By turning off a Q button, you exclude all regions on that track from contributing their transients as reference points during the quantization process.

To quantize a group of phase-locked audio tracks
  1. Display Flex view in the Arrange area by doing one of the following:

    • Choose View > Flex View in the Arrange area’s local View menu (or use the Hide/Show Flex View key command).

    • Click the Flex View button in the Arrange toolbar (if visible).

    This displays the Flex Mode button in the track header of each audio track in the Arrange area.

  2. Set a flex mode for the grouped tracks by doing one of the following:

    • Click the Flex Mode pop-up menu in the arrange track list, then choose the relevant mode.

    • Open the Flex Mode pop-up menu in the Track Parameter box, then choose the relevant mode.

    Your chosen flex mode is assigned to each of the grouped tracks. All audio files on these tracks are analyzed for transients, adding a transient marker for each detected transient.

    Tip: For the best results during the following steps, zoom in on the relevant regions.

  3. Open one of the tracks you want to use as Q-reference in the Sample Editor, then check the transients to make sure they are positioned correctly. You can add or remove transients, or move incorrectly placed transients, in the Sample Editor. For details, see Using Transient Markers to Edit in the Sample Editor.

  4. Repeat step 3 for any other tracks you want to use as Q-reference.

    Note: It’s not necessary to adjust the transients for tracks that are not used as Q-reference. The timing of these tracks will be adjusted with sample accuracy based on the transients in the Q-referenced tracks.

  5. In the track header of the Arrange area, click the Q button for the tracks to be used as Q-reference.

    This triggers a process where quantize markers are automatically placed on top of the existing transient markers. You can easily differentiate between quantize markers and normal flex markers, as quantize markers don’t have an orange handle at the top.

  6. Remove tracks that shouldn’t be referenced for quantization by doing one of the following:

    • Turn off the Q button in the track header.

    • Select the track, and deselect the Q-Reference checkbox in the Inspector’s Track Parameter box.

    Although these tracks are still phase-locked with the other members of the group, their transient markers will not be taken into account during the quantization process.

    All tracks that are part of the edit group that have their Q button turned on will contribute their transients for audio quantization. At this point, the position of the quantize markers is the same in all tracks—meaning that the quantization will be phase-locked.

  7. To complete the quantization process, open the Quantize pop-up menu in the Inspector’s Region Parameter box, and choose a Quantize value.