Editing/selecting/crossfading from multiple takes

mjbphotos

Moderator
Ok, I've got a track with 3 takes on it. Take 1 goes from 0:00 to 4:00; take 2 goes from 1:20 to 4:00; take 3 goes from 1:00 to 1:45.

I want to end up with Take 1 0:00 - 1:30 Take 3 1:30 - 1:40 Take 2 1:40 - 4:00. All my previous 'take' working has been with consecutive takes, not over lapping as take 3 is in this. I can't get, by dragging take end/start points, to do what I want, it'll only let me grab crossfades, which I don't want to do! I can get it to go from take 1 to take 3 at 1:30 easily, but can't get the take 3 to take 2 work at 1:40 - when I try to grab the start of take 2, it separates and pulls take 1 with it.
I know I can blow the takes to separate tracks and then volume automate each one to do what I want, but would prefer to do it the right way.
Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

BTW, the times above are ficticious, I'm at work right now!
 
Split the entire item at or near the point where you want the transition to happen and then drag the new start point around. Reaper's take system can be kinda weird to get your head around at first, but it starts to make sense after a while. Basically all of those takes are really one item.
 
Yeppers ashcat has the right idea, press 'S' to split the item both where you want to switch takes, and where you want to switch to another take. Then just click on the appropriate take, and it becomes the 'active' take between the two splits. Or you can right-click on the item, go to Takes... and all of your takes are listed at the bottom of that context menu, with a check mark indicating which take is active.

So in this hypothetical example, you'd split the item at 1:30, 1:40, and 4:00. Then in the track lane, click on take 1 for the first section, click on take 3 for the 2nd section, and click on take 2 for the 3rd section.
 
I don't use Reaper but curious, are the takes in separate lanes?
In Sonar I just do envelopes for the transitions between the tracks.
 
When you do another take in Reaper, it creates kind of "sub-lanes" within the same track, and color-codes each waveform. So if you did 3 takes for a track, you'd have 3 sub-lanes inside your single track lane, with all 3 waveforms visible.

And it highlights which take is active at any given time, so you can tell just by looking at it how your comps are set up. It's pretty nifty, but I've never done this in another DAW so I'm not sure how it compares as far as convenience.

I couldn't find a very informative picture of this, but this one gets the idea across (even though they cropped out the track info pane on the left):

Comping_zpsc854e86d.png
 
Yeah thanks. That sounds similar to Sonar's. Frankly I don't do a whole lots of takes, and if I'm not punching in, or it's easier than a tight punch, just do a new track.
Anywho, the point was with all the tracks (or takes') sitting there, I just gravitated to doing almost everything in automation lines, plus everything remains visible and as apposed to slip fades and crops.
 
Thanks ashcat and tadpui, hadn't thoght of splitting the takes. WIth just 2 takes in a trakc, its easy to just drag the end/beginning of each take to the correct spot.
 
Thanks ashcat and tadpui, hadn't thoght of splitting the takes. WIth just 2 takes in a trakc, its easy to just drag the end/beginning of each take to the correct spot.
Maybe with two takes that don't overlap to begin with. In that case there would be actually two items, I think, with empty takes where necessary to maintain the lanes.

Reaper actually has a couple different ways to deal with takes and items and lanes and it's all configurable, and of course each take has its own envelopes (heck, I think they can all have their own effects!). There is a way to do what mixsit is talking about with automating volume/mute envelopes (which would also allow more than one take to be heard at the same time) I think but keep it all in one track.

It took me a minute to get my head around how Reaper does it, but at this point I find the default behavior to be exactly what I want for comping.
 
Maybe with two takes that don't overlap to begin with. In that case there would be actually two items, I think, with empty takes where necessary to maintain the lanes.

Reaper actually has a couple different ways to deal with takes and items and lanes and it's all configurable, and of course each take has its own envelopes (heck, I think they can all have their own effects!). There is a way to do what mixsit is talking about with automating volume/mute envelopes (which would also allow more than one take to be heard at the same time) I think but keep it all in one track.

It took me a minute to get my head around how Reaper does it, but at this point I find the default behavior to be exactly what I want for comping.

Man we do have it sooo good right about now :>)
 
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