Analog to Protools Transfer Problem?

[ruben62]

H y'all, beginning level Pro-Tools user (with an MBox), recently transferred 1/2 tape from a Fostex 16 track to a Mac at a studio, and then the tracks were bounced to me... on a G4 laptop. I have ProTools 6.7. The problem is that playback of everything we transferred is fast-- about one semitone 40 cents high, give or take. I tried using "pitch shift" to bring everything back down to the right tone, but it doesn't seem I can line up the tracks that way (they wander out of tempo). Someone else said it's a time clock problem... but I have no specifics on how to fix. Read the entire Pro Tools reference guide and I don't see the issue addressed. HELP!!!
Ruben

 

[AlexW]

I think it's probably an issue of the way the files were transferred into PT rather than a clock issue. Sounds like the Fostex might have been running out of spec maybe. Double check that the session sample rate the songs were transferred at matches your current sample rate setting (e.g. 44.1 kHz vs. 48 kHz). Beyond that, you may need to see if you can get them to do the transfer over, and double check the playback before sending it to you.

 

[ruben62]

Thanks Alex--will check out the possibilities you mention.

 

[ruben62]

Well, the sample rate doesn't appear to be the issue... if anyone else has any other ideas (other than the worst case scenario--starting transfers over from scratch... the tapes are in California, I'm in New Mexico!), please chime in. Thanks,
Ruben

 

[bennychico11]

were you at the studio when they transferred the tapes into the computer? and you didn't hear anything strange at the studio? what program did they use at the studio and how were they bounced down for use on your computer? do they sound fine when playing the files in ITunes or something similiar....and just sound bad in Pro Tools?

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

Reuben,

There may be an important piece of information on the process that we are missing here. Frankly, your description of the situation and the resulting problem doesn't quite make sense. I'm not saying it's your fault, I'm just saying that something seems to be missing from the equation.

Are all the tracks sped up by the exact same buck-forty rate, or is there a sync problem between the tracks even before you try the pitch shift?

If they drift out of sync - even by a less noticable amount - before you apply the pitch shift, the the tracks left the studio out of sync. This is probably the case as I can see no reason why tracks that are perfectly in sync would suddenly drift out of sync if the identical pitch shift is applied to all of them evenly.

If they are indeed perfectly in sync before the pitch shift, then you might wantto double check that you applied the pitch shift evenly to all the tracks (e.g. that the shift was applied to the entire length of each track and that the amount of shift was identical.)

If they are indeed slightly out of sync before the pitch shift is applied, then you need to contact the studio and see what's up. Were they out of sync before hitting the Fostex? If so, was there a problem with the source files? How were the source files recorded and compiled? if they were transferred or compiled digitally and without a master clock source, drifting could and probably would have occoured at that point.

And even if there were such sync problems with the source, why the $1.40 speed up? Did the studio do that to try and mask the sync problem, or did they do that under someone else's instruction?

I think the only real chance you have to find the answers to these questions is to backtrack the chain of evidence (so to speak.) The only way to do that is to call the studio and see what they have to say about it.

G.

 

[ruben62]

Thanks, G. Still fishing around for a solution, which will probably be an entirely new transfer (painful, since tapes are 1000 miles away)... the pitch shift thing is baffling to me. The transferred tracks line up--they all play fast at the same rate. But when I apply pitch shift uniformly to all tracks, suddenly they're not in sync. There are a some tools in the pitch shift menu that I'm not familiar with, maybe there's something to fiddle with there (min. pitch, crossfade, accuracy, etc.)...

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

That could be. It still seems to me to be wrong that the studio sent you files at a different pitch than the original sources if that was not requested, whether they are in synch or not. I'd still want to give them a call and see what's up.

G.