3 ways to grid drums in Cubase (quantizing live drums)

In this video I demonstrate 3 ways that I use to put live drums on the grid (Cubase drum quantization and more).
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Table of Contents:
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00:00 Intro
00:24 Overview
00:40 The drum multi-track
01:31 1 - Manual slip editing
04:19 2 - Quantizing with slices
11:12 3 - Quantizing with audiowarp
13:32 My preferred ways
13:49 Outro
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Relevant Links:
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Playlist on tempo related Cubase functions - • Cubase tempo/time editing
How I use Cubase track versions for editing - • Using Cubase track ver...
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Camera (paid link) - geni.us/fenwfH
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#homerecording #cubase #drumquantization

[@LanewoodStudios]

Amazingly, the just released Cubase 12 contains phase coherent, multi-track, Audio warp!! So method 3 in my video now is a real option and they've even made it more easy by just being able to use it right in the project window.

[@consistentsongwriter]

does the original drum recording have to be quite "tight" for the 3rd method to work too? I just tried the 3rd way with phase coherent audio warp and it sounded terrible

[@LanewoodStudios]

@@consistentsongwriter now that there is phase coherent audio warp in Cubase, that could become my preferred method actually. I have a separate video about it actually kzbin.info/www/bejne/poHKlnpvZaqbj7c Maybe it's just a matter of how you have setup your quantizing parameters?

[@consistentsongwriter]

@@LanewoodStudios thanks for replying! ok but even with the quantising parameters isn't the bass and electric guitar going to sound weird at the very least? anyway I will check out your links many thanks!

[@LanewoodStudios]

The video is just about quantizing the drums. And yes if all were recorded together and we’re playing to the drums they will be off too. But that would be the case for all methods to grid drums.

[@66fitton]

I worked for 4 hours last night fixing drum tracks using method one. Wow! It works perfectly! This info is GOLD! Thanks again to LANEWOOD STUDIOS🤘🤘🤘

[@LanewoodStudios]

Great and you are welcome!

[@kha6205]

I watched this after starting with your Hertz drums video, then your drum replacement video. Now here…. Help, if I don’t stop watching these excellent tutorials, I’ll never get back to working on my own music! Seriously, this is another of your very articulate explanations of one of those valuable production techniques that we just don’t see anywhere except from Lanewood. Thanks so much-you are a natural educator.

[@LanewoodStudios]

Wow thank you very much for that comment and thanks for watching 😁.

[@in2gadgets]

Awesome video, Maarten!! Thank you!!

[@LanewoodStudios]

Great to hear, ,thank you Kenny!

[@66fitton]

Very useful info! Appreciate this one!

[@LanewoodStudios]

You are very welcome!

[@SupertGTR]

This has been very helpful, thank you.

[@LanewoodStudios]

Glad to hear that!

[@Phi-delity]

very helpful video indeed! Thanks a lot!

[@LanewoodStudios]

Glad it was helpful!

[@gitano9001]

Thank you so much for this video. I really appreciate it sincerely

[@LanewoodStudios]

You are very welcome!

[@saschakuhn2660]

Thanks again for yet another very good tutorial . Peace

[@LanewoodStudios]

Thank you!

[@martinmcgarty7517]

Just lately came across your channel. Aleays really useful and logical videos! Thanks!

[@LanewoodStudios]

Glad you like them!

[@xicoamc]

This has become my go-to channel for Cubase related tutorials. Really we done!

[@LanewoodStudios]

Thanks so much. That’s quite an honor!

[@milanpolak]

This is by far the best video on this topic I have seen so far... thanks!

[@LanewoodStudios]

Well thank you very much!

[@stephanecollin]

As always, very useful and precise. You are a born teacher. Thank you.

[@LanewoodStudios]

Glad you like it. Thanks for commenting!

[@stephanecollin]

@@LanewoodStudios it is remarkable how I myself tried to master those techniques whithout getting that clear a picture of exactly how it works. Thanks again for helping shorter minds :)

[@LanewoodStudios]

Yeah I know. That’s why I’ve build up this series of videos on tempo related stuff. It helps to see the big picture.

[@musicriver4203]

This is great stuff! I have been basically slip editing acoustic guitar instead of using quantizing with autowarp, as it often introduces artifacts. I didn't know about slipping using control-alt, so this should make the job much easier than dragging a totally split event. Your KZbin site is a Gold Mine!

[@LanewoodStudios]

Thank you and enjoy!

[@Reg-Edit]

Nicely done 🖐❤️

[@LanewoodStudios]

Thank you 😁

[@project1265ffo]

I never been much of a fan of editing :) but if i need specialized editing video explanation now i have it :) Thanks for sharing this and have a great weekend Maarten

[@LanewoodStudios]

Glad to be your editing manual 😉. You have a great weekend too Filipe!

[@qtrax100]

MY MAN you saved ne a day of chopping LIKED SUBSCRIBED!!!!

[@LanewoodStudios]

Excellent and thanks!!

[@whanowa]

Thanks this was helpful. I still feel kinda bad like this is cheating so I have never done this before. Usually I prepare a drumtrack in addictive drums to play the guitars onto, to make them real tight. And then the challenge is to match that perfectly on the drums.

[@LanewoodStudios]

Whatever works right 👍. Knowing these techniques does not mean you have to put every full drum part perfectly on the grid. But at least you’re able correct something if necessary.

[@neilkendall5499]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this video is more about quantizing drums recorded with a click. Still a great video, but is it possible you could make a video about how to grid drums (and a full band) that were recorded without a click track? I wonder if that's possible to do whilst also sounding natural.

[@LanewoodStudios]

Hi Neil, you are right in that these drum tracks were also recorded on a click, but the used techniques in Cubase would be very similar if they had not been. First of all though you have to ask yourself whether you actually want to grid the drums (and band) if they were not recorded with a click. Because then maybe the natural tempo fluctuations are meant to be in the song. However, if gridding is still required, I would still do the drums separately as demonstrated here, using Cubase 12's new phase coherent group editing mode. I have a separate video about that. And if there is not too much bleed of the drums into the instruments, I would do those separately in the way that I've demonstrated in some of my other tempo editing videos (they are all in a playlist).

[@yvesfellay4343]

Great vidéo thank you Can we imagine the last method and then a magic plugin to make all the tracks in phase or it s not possible.

[@LanewoodStudios]

Hmm, great idea but not sure if it's possible in a multi-miked setup. What you CAN do with Cubase 12 now is to use phase coherent group editing when using audio warp. So at least the phase will not get messed up if you use audio warp to align the drums on the beat.

[@yvesfellay4343]

@@LanewoodStudios thank you for answer. I find it so complex to fix good metal drums 🤔🤔

[@LanewoodStudios]

How do you quantize multi-track drum recordings? Any nice additional tips?

[@christiaanbezuidenhout6984]

There is a another way. A bit more time consuming, but does the job perfectly. By using audio warp it stretches all the channels with coherent phase. You have to add a tempo track, then go into TimeWarp/Warp Grid mode on the Tools menu and drag the project grid lines to match that of the drums. Takes about an hour to do every 8th note for a 3min recording. Then you Bounce and replace all off the drum files, change them all to "musical mode" and and literally remove all of the warp markers you made on the tempo track. I know its hard to explain. Can also make a video of how it's done. But it's definitely the superior method.

[@LanewoodStudios]

Isn’t it sort of method 3 that I’m demonstrating but then moving the warp markers s manually? The cubase manual says that phase is not kept in sync between the multiple tracks though when using audio warp. So I tend to not use it for multi-track drum editing. Works great on individual tracks though!

[@izytang]

I'm trying to use Audio Warp for multitrack recorded drums, to fix some tempo issues in the performance, but I'm finding that I get artifacts on relatively modest adjustments - such as weaker transients and tone shifting. Can audio warping be reliably used for drum editing, or should it only be used for solo instruments (like bass guitar in your other video)? I'm using Cubase Pro 12, with group editing and phase-coherence enabled on the 8 channel drums folder. I made the edits via Free Warp in the project window, manually quantizing to the grid every bar or so (more control). Maybe audio warp isn't there for drum editing yet? Should I go with the old way of doing slices/fades/slips? Great videos by the way - they're helping me get acclimated with Cubase. (Note to Lanewood: Comment copied from audio warp bass track video).

[@LanewoodStudios]

Ah, I see you found the correct video for drum quantizing. If you have Cubase 12's phase coherent group editing enabled I would expect it to work correctly without artefacts on multi-track drum recordings when used as demonstrated in the video. Maybe there is still an issue when used with free warp in the project window. I assume you do see all your warping actions happen in the other group tracks as well?And does it really sound better when using the slicing method?

[@izytang]

@@LanewoodStudios Yes, I can confirm that all drum tracks in the group are being warped. To that end, nothing sounds out of phase, at least track to track. The drums just end up losing it's punchiness and tone - I A/B tested the before (raw tracks) and after (audio warped to grid). I tried doing it in the sample editor, but it's the same result (makes sense if the same algorithm). The interesting thing is if I disable phase-coherence, it sounds a lot better solo track (ie. kick) - but the drums as a whole sound off-phase. Have you tried testing it? Maybe you have some raw drum tracks somewhere. Try cycling a small section with a 10% time-shift "correction" on say the kick drum, and do a before/after. Do you hear a difference? I'm curious if others experience the same thing, or if there's something going on with my system.

[@neilkendall5499]

Excellent video, but how did you manage to quantize the drum audio at around 8m25 in this video by pressing only the 'Quantize' button? I use Cubase 12 Pro, and audio only seems to Quantize when AudioWarp Quantize is switched on. The Quantize button only seems to quantize MIDI, not audio.

[@LanewoodStudios]

Thanks! If you set the quatize panel to 'slices' and make sure that group editing is enabled, audio will be quantized when pushing the 'quantize' button in the dialog. I'm NOT referring to the Q key in the top toolbar but really the quantize button in the dialog, bottom right.

[@cc4046]

I would have thought that grouping the tracks in a folder and each track being warped to the same degree, would have kept phase coherence in tact.

[@LanewoodStudios]

In Cubase 12 when you enable the Phase-Coherent AudioWarp feature on a folder track, it will. But in earlier versions of Cubase it did not.

[@MrBeen992]

Cubase should contact you to make their tutorials.

[@LanewoodStudios]

Thank you 🙏

[@BillyF2LJeffs]

After I slice and quantize, the crossfade section won't allow me to do anything :( Any ideas?

[@LanewoodStudios]

What do you mean that it does not allow you to do anything? Is the crossfade button disabled? The only reason I can think of is if the gaps between the slices are too big somehow, or you have not created slices at all.

Recently discovered that audiowarp on many drum tracks have sound degradation :(

[@LanewoodStudios]

Did you already try it with the phase accurate audio warp in Cubase 12?

[@bill4510]

Why can't I slip edit to the left?

[@LanewoodStudios]

Well you can only do that if there’s actually audio available to shift. Maybe there is not in your case?

[@bill4510]

@@LanewoodStudios Thank you audio is there.I can move it to the right. I cut a little to the left. so there should be room to move it.

[@rosamondlucas8658]

???????

[@LanewoodStudios]

Yes!!