Emax II operation manual
198
TESTING A SPLICE POINT
Do you get as nervous as I do when slicing up a multi-track master tape? It’s no fun to
slash a 2-inch tape into pieces, only to find that maybe that snare hit wasn’t the right
splice point after all.
The usual procedure is to test your splice by recording a mix of the multi-track on to
quarter-inch tape, and then doing your “practice” splices on the quarter-inch version.
Once you find the right place, you then do the “real” splice on the multi-track master.
This is all well and good, but no longer necessary if you have a sampler with a splicing
function. Start by sampling a couple of seconds around each of the potential splice
points. Truncate the samples to the splice points, then use the splice function to glue the
truncated samples together. If it works, great—go do the splice. If not, re-truncate the
samples and try again. When you find the right splice point, proceed to slicing and
dicing the multi-track master.
FIXING THE OUT-OF-TUNE NOTE
Here is where a sampler can truly save a session. The singer has just given a stunning
performance except...that last note was just flat enough to blow the take.
Or was it? Sample the note into the sampler, and punch over the existing bad note. Only
this time, artfully move the pitch bend wheel at just the right moment to bring the note
up to pitch. This is the kind of salvage job that can make a singer your friend for life.
Incidentally, you can also use this technique during the recording process to help a
singer hit a note outside of his or her range. Sample the highest note the singer can sing,
and when it’s time to hit that ultra-high note, play it on the sampler by transposing the
sampled sound upward.
STEADY, STEADY...
What happens if the kick drum is just a shade off tempo? You guessed it: assuming the
kick is on its own track, you can sample the sound, then during the transfer back to tape
hit the sampler key at the right time so that the bass drum falls right into the pocket.
CURING THE NO-VIBRATO EFFECT
During mixdown, I heard a vocal line that was just crying out for a real heavy, thick, even
vibrato at the end of a phrase. Unfortunately, not all singers can provide this...but a
sampler can. Sample the note, and when you record it over the existing note, turn up the
mod wheel for the desired amount of vibrato. You can even do some really bizarre things
like simultaneous pitch bend and vibrato...pretty bionic sounding.
FIX IT IN THE MIX
Fixitinthemix
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