By Paul Mac
Paul Mac finds quality in both the sound and the interface of this second generation Audiosuite plug-in.
Time compression and expansion has got to be one of the most used (and abused) processes on a DAW system. Consider the EU sample CD mountain, and all of those incompatible tempos that would be discarded in bedroom corners were it not for this singularly useful function.
If however, you need more than an extension on your house - maybe a dialogue refit, a portamento where there wasn't one before, a rallentando to a dramatic pause, or simply a creative slant on pitch and time, then you need more than a quick-fit friend. The integral Pro Tools facility, for example, is admirably simple and eminently practical, but does not offer the best quality in the universe, nor the most imaginative user interface.
Serato's Pitch 'n Time 2 is an entirely different bag. From the moment you select it from the AudioSuite menu, you know there's some fun to be had - although first impressions do not necessarily reveal the power in this plug-in, nor its versatility, nor for that matter, the quality of the processing (which is quite important, after all). It's worth putting the manual aside for a while, selecting a few bits of audio that won't mind being put through the mill, and playing with the buttons. You'll soon find a lot more than first appears. I mean that literally.
The first controls and parameters you are presented with aren't too much of a conceptual leap - well laid out, textual, and fader-driven adjustments to time in the top half of the display, and pitch in the bottom half. While there's more to be said about the adjustments and nifty details, I need to point out the 'Views' buttons. These take you through three stages of visual interface for each process type, and offer a lot more possibilities. For time-stretch you get the choice of fixed, variable, or morphing; and for pitch you get fixed, variable, or vari-speed mode. This last one allows pitch to be directly controlled by the tempo adjustments, thus simulating vari-speed.
The 'Fixed' interfaces are simple - there are text fields for precise information, and sliders for easy, graphical adjustment, and a preferences panel allows you to select units (for example, samples, time, timecode, or feet & frames for the length and positional units). A bpm value will be imported from Pro Tools if it exists, or you can use the simple bpm calculator function in the plug-in.
The variable panels have graphic displays that act rather like the automation or volume vectors in Pro Tools itself. By default, the panel shows you the windowed grid that represents the entire audio selection. Variable zoom bars assist in the detailed work. Of course, you simply click anywhere on the vector to add a new node, and then drag that node around the display. The node will always be joined by a straight line, from the central node to the two adjacent ones. Options in preferences give you the choice of linear or logarithmic scales, plus grid settings (on, off, snap).
Morph Talk
The Morphing time-stretch panel (there's no equivalent for pitch, except via vari-speed mode), is possibly the most interesting, and maybe even ingenious, of the three. There are two grids, one above the other, that show the guide and source waveforms. In the source grid you place 'reference' markers. For example, you might have markers at the beginning and end of a note that needs extending - within, say, a four-beat region that you don't want to, or can't, split and fit. You then have equivalent markers in the guide waveform panel, which you adjust to where you would like the source markers to be. Press process, and Pitch 'n Time does the rest. Brilliant - incredibly useful and definitely one of those 'why didn't they think of it sooner?' details.
Before the bottom line, I must pay homage to a particular Pitch 'n Time button - Capture. Gone are the days of trying to remember the length of one region and filling in the boxes the stretch another region to the same length. Just select a region, click 'Capture' (the software remembers the length), then highlight the region you want to change... it's all sorted out for you.
I said before that the quality of the process outweighs everything else. It's especially true of Pitch 'n Time compression/expansion, because so often it just doesn't sound very good, or even convincing. If we were to be honest, we'd say that a change of more than a few percent in many processes is disastrous. Not so with Pitch 'n Time 2 - you should listen to this for yourself.
Yes, the literature tells much of patent pending processes and extra special software methods, but it's only when you hear a 50 percent stretch or pitch change and don't get that lumpy low-res feeling that says there just aren't enough looping read and write pointers in the world, that you start to believe it. Apparently this process is different, and it certainly sounds like it. I tried the process on loops, instrumentals, vocals, and much more, and each time was as impressive as the last.
Conclusion
Have I forgotten anything? Oh, there's phase coherence, multi-channel mode, a good manual, and the much preferred challenge/response authorisation... Did I mention the Capture button? I cannot say that the process is perfect, or indistinguishable from the original - there was a certain 'thinning effect' that became more prominent as the ratios went up. But otherwise, I was very impressed - it makes this process a much more viable option when given the choice between an expensive new take, and a trip into AudioSuite.