Posted
Hey :)
I just upgraded from Synfire Express to Pro and immediately have an issue with recording.
When I add an instrument I can hear it when I play the keyboard, and I can hear it when I play along with all the other recorded instruments, but when I record the active instrument, none of the other intstruments can be heard, only the active instrument.
I'm not sure where to even look as this worked fine in Express.
Any hints?
Wed, 2016-03-02 - 07:31 Permalink
I just realized the sound is only missing if I start recording from the very beginning of the piece, almost as if the 1 bar preroll prevents the other instruments from starting.
If I start recording just inside the left 'margin' and give the other instruments a chance to play first, then recording works as it should and I can hear everything at the same time.
To test, I disabled the pre-roll and started recording from the very beginning. The instruments all played and I recorded without issue.
Maybe something funky going on when the pre-roll is enabled and the Span Tool is at the beginning of measure 1 that prevents instruments from playing after you hit the record button.
Anyone up to verify? ;)
Wed, 2016-03-02 - 17:19 Permalink
I'm synching with Studio One in this case. When record is engaged in Synfire, the playhead in the DAW jumps to bar 69905 and doesn't sync again through rewire.
This DAW has both a precount and a preroll. I tried setting both to 1 and 2 bars in different combinations with Synfire's preroll set to 1 or 2 bars but the problem persists.
It does look like the negative preroll is the cause but setting those attributes in the DAW to compensate doesn't resolve it. I really thought precount would resolve it since it shouldn't move the cursor, but I suppose since Synfire is preroll and external synchronization is active it will always jump.
Wed, 2016-03-02 - 20:27 Permalink
The solution is to start your song with 1 bar into the DAW timeline (and Synfire timeline, of course). Or in other words: Start at bar 2.
You can do so by placing a container there, which makes it easy to select the beginning of your song.
Now when you record, pre-roll will roll back to 00:00:00, rather than -00:01:00 or so. The DAW will nicely cooperate with that.
Wed, 2016-03-02 - 23:28 Permalink
Unless you're saying don't record anything in the root container but instead make a child container that starts at bar 2 and extends to the end of the piece? I followed the arrange tutorials and so have recorded instruments in the root container.
And if you are saying don't record in the root container, how do I handle the progression in the higher container? I don't seem to be able to delete the parameter.
Thu, 2016-03-03 - 21:22 Permalink
with synfire standalone, this is not needed. only if you sync with a DAW that does not support negative transport locations.
Fri, 2016-03-04 - 04:22 Permalink
Just wanted to post a follow-up.
I was again watching Synfire videos (the simple piano arrangement) and realized the part about packing containers applied to my troubles with Studio One.
I packed the root container which moved everything into the new child container then moved it forward to bar 2. After dragging the root container harmony parameter to the new packed child container, everything is clean and flexible. The result is close to the same as I did before but this way seems more direct.
With the above example and the work I've been doing with containers in the arrangement, I'm beginning to appreciate the power of this concept.
Really outstanding tool.