Don't Let Me Fall 105 bpm or 107 bpm?

[TheElement]

Hi Everyone,

I'm still working on this song. It was recommended I sped up to track to 107 bpm but I'm hearing deterioration of some sounds in the mix like the kick's top click.

Maybe I am doing it wrong? I just mixed down the 105 bpm track and loaded it into a new session and then sped it up to 107 bpm.

Or maybe I need to do it in the original session?

Here are the 2 tracks.

105 bpm: https://soundcloud.com/elementproducer/ ... olF9Zisj9Y

107 bpm: https://soundcloud.com/elementproducer/ ... oFQIvXKnTB

Thanks for any help with this. It might be simpler just to stick with 105 bpm

[SubRivers]

Are there reasons why you haven't tried upping the tempo in the original project ?

Groove wise it does feel better @107.

The pumping feels tighter - so probably could point to some tweaking of the compressor release times.

[TheElement]

Are there reasons why you haven't tried upping the tempo in the original project ?

Groove wise it does feel better @107.

The pumping feels tighter - so probably could point to some tweaking of the compressor release times.

Thanks yes we think the 107 bpm works a little better. I tried adjusting tempo in original project but some of the tracks didn't look aligned to the grid but it seemed like it was. I have to try it again. Some tracks are midi so they should adjust automatically. I think I had those selected the same as the audio which I do not need to do. Will try it again. Would be better to adjust tempo in original session before mix down. Thanks for the feedback!

[TheElement]

I'm still working on this song. It was recommended I sped up to track to 107 bpm but I'm hearing deterioration of some sounds in the mix like the kick's top click.

In my experience this is normal even with a high-quality stretch software, you will always get artifacts somewhere - sometimes more audible, sometimes less.

Or maybe I need to do it in the original session?

I would always recommend that, but I suppose the problem is the vocals? If you work with a stand-in, you can just stretch (or the opposite in your case) those for the time being.
If they are final, you can look into what they sound like after the stretch (before FX!). It could make sense to go into individual phrases/words. Some maybe just need to be moved around
(for timing) without actually stretching them (105 to 107 is not that much after all). Maybe that way, you can keep the stretching/shrinking to a minimum (just in a few places). All this I would do before any effects.

Just my quick thoughts before heading out! Obviously, I am not exactly the most experienced member (more the opposite), but I have encountered these issues before.

Tom

Thanks Tom for the feedback. Yeah will try again in original session. We havent touched vocal production so just trying to get the music straight first then will work on vocals.

[TheElement]

Regarding the vocals, before I would let an algorithm mess them up, I would also give this some thought:

(105/107)*1000ms = 981.31 ms - so if you have a sung phrase that is 1 sec = 1000 ms long under 105 bpm, it now - under 107 bpm - has to be 18.69 ms shorter.
If a C3 at 131.81 Hz is sung, one full wave is (1/131.81)*1000 ms = 7.59 ms long. So, to reduce by 18.69 ms, you can cut out 2 to 3 full waves. With higher
tones, you maybe need to cut 1 or 2.
I have done things like this before: Go into the waveform of the vocal with a waveform editor (e.g. Audacity), look for a spot of very similar waves, cut out
one or two (precision surgery!), and do the same somewhere else. Done right, this can sound perfect and much better than an algorithm that messes around with the
waveform.
On the other hand, 18.69 ms is not that much, so, maybe just leave it and move the phrases around so they are on (107 bpm) beat, even if - individually - they all are a
tiny bit too long now.

Just my 2p - do it at your own risk.
Tom

P.S.: BACK-UPs, BACK-UPs, and BACK-UPs!!

wow thanks! very technical! I'm just a simple minded producer will just finish the music first and then work on the vocal production. I plan on using Cubase Vario Audio to adjust pitch etc clean all that stuff up, then will put Soothe2 or Gullfoss plugin on vox before compressing and adding reverb.

Just need to get production to the point where I can pass it on to a professional mix engineer to do a final mix.