'Arm recording' in GarageBand

jackio · August 2023

Hi

I'm recording audio tracks from my Model:Cycles into GarageBand (GB). I want each of the 8 tracks (Bass, snare etc) in a separate track in GB. I'm new to this.

I can mute the 7 tracks, that's all good. I can only seem to try to coordinate 'Play' on M:C and 'Record' on GB which is fine but then the tracks don't always line up. I can move them but there are complex rhythms.

It would be simple if there was 'arm record' which then records when I press "Play' on the M:C.

Does this exist in GB? Does it exist in any DAW? I've searched wen including manuals but cant find out. Any help gratefully received.

theatreanchor · August 2023

Why not just have a four count or something and then record? That’s what I do.

jackio · August 2023

Tried but I seem to be micro-inaccurate.

jackio · August 2023

I was hoping there was a function like sampling on the digitakt, or on a zoom recorder

theatreanchor · August 2023

jackio said:

Tried but I seem to be micro-inaccurate.

Do you have a latency issue? You an always just drag the track into the right place if it drifts.

jackio · August 2023

Thanks @theatreanchor. ;Not that I know and shouldn't given the kit is ok. I can try and improve my technique with practice, my question is though, is there a way to auto arm GB (or any DAW) so that pressing play starts recording? Maybe I'm asking something stupid, probably am but it would seem a sensible thing to have on a DAW

theatreanchor · August 2023

You can press record and start recording of course. You don’t have to have a count in. But then that gives you no time to start playing as your hands are busy. You can get a remote with Logic and operate the recording remotely - I do that. I don’t use GB but I think the two have some similarities.

Hellsbells87 · August 2023

I’ve encountered this challenge with my DrumBrute into Reeper. Very difficult to nail the timing on 8 different tracks 8 times in a row, and equally difficult to manually align them afterwards.

Seems like a very simple feature and common use case to me, but doesn’t seem to be resonating with denizens of tFB?

stickyfiddle · August 2023

Just to be sure I'm understanding, you want to use the hardware play/record/stop buttons on the Model:Cycles to trigger those functions in GB, right?

This should be possible because it's pretty fundamental to using drum machines and samplers- it definitely is in Logic.

jackio · August 2023

Yes @stickyfiddle ;
Exactly this. Does it have a special name? I've called it 'arm recording' but that may not be right

stickyfiddle · August 2023

Yeah, they're usually referred to as Transport Controls. I can't see a way to trigger them remotely in GB though. I guess they consider that to be a "pro" enough thing that you'd need to upgrade to Logic for

Musicwolf · August 2023

I'm asuming that the MC and your DAW are sync'd via MIDI, yes? Which is acting as the master and which the slave?

Hellsbells87 · August 2023

For drumbrute, possibly a config issue. I find that pressing record on the drumbrute will trigger record in Reeper (but not play on drumbrute). Pressing play on the drumbrute will play the pattern on drumbrute but do nothing in Reeper.

TheBigDipper · August 2023

A few questions, if I may.... I don't know much about the Model:Cycles, but I'm assuming that you can create (and save) music made up from several tracks and replay them on that and you want to get it into GB for posterity and/or to do some more work on it?

1: Is it GB on the Mac or GB on the iPad?
2: Are you hoping to export each track one at a time or all at once?
3: How many independent tracks can your audio interface manage - just two (stereo) or more?
4: Do you have the BPM set on your Model:Cycles?
5: Do you want to record the tracks onto GB as audio tracks or as MIDI tracks?
6: Can you export your Model:Cycle tracks individually as either audio or MIDI to the device running GB? I do mean "export", not "play" - just a copy function.

jackio · August 2023

Musicwolf said:

I'm asuming that the MC and your DAW are sync'd via MIDI, yes? Which is acting as the master and which the slave?

No. Its audio via usb direct into Mac

jackio · August 2023

A few questions, if I may.... I don't know much about the Model:Cycles, but I'm assuming that you can create (and save) music made up from several tracks and replay them on that and you want to get it into GB for posterity and/or to do some more work on it?

Yes. Its an electron box. Synth engine allowing 6 different tracks with a powerful sequencer.

1: Is it GB on the Mac or GB on the iPad?
Mac
2: Are you hoping to export each track one at a time or all at once?
One at a time. I want to be able to manipulate the individual tracks in GB to make a song.
3: How many independent tracks can your audio interface manage - just two (stereo) or more?
Hmmm. I'm straight out of the MC via USB straight into Mac USB.
4: Do you have the BPM set on your Model:Cycles?
Yes and matched
5: Do you want to record the tracks onto GB as audio tracks or as MIDI tracks?
Audio
6: Can you export your Model:Cycle tracks individually as either audio or MIDI to the device running GB? I do mean "export", not "play" - just a copy function.
No

jackio · August 2023

Yes. My digitakt sampler has two modes for sampling
1) "record" which records when you press the button. It will record silence
2) "arm record" which records when the input audio exceeds the threshold you set. It will not record silence

It is this 2nd one I want to enable somehow

jackio · August 2023

And thank you everyone

TheBigDipper · August 2023

jackio said:

Yes. My digitakt sampler has two modes for sampling
1) "record" which records when you press the button. It will record silence
2) "arm record" which records when the input audio exceeds the threshold you set. It will not record silence

It is this 2nd one I want to enable somehow

That sounds like an audio version of "motion sense" video recording. I'm pretty confident that GB won't do it. Nor will Logic. I guess the question I now have is "Why?".

jackio · August 2023

TheBigDipper said:

jackio said:

Yes. My digitakt sampler has two modes for sampling
1) "record" which records when you press the button. It will record silence
2) "arm record" which records when the input audio exceeds the threshold you set. It will not record silence

It is this 2nd one I want to enable somehow

That sounds like an audio version of "motion sense" video recording. I'm pretty confident that GB won't do it. Nor will Logic. I guess the question I now have is "Why?".

Yes that is a good analogy, motion sense. Why? Cos it's so easy when sampling. Sample (.wav) starts dead on the beat, no shifting tracks this way and that.

But maybe I'm just inexperienced and need to try harder. I guess I thought it would be 'normal' but now I know it's not, I'll work it through...

Thanks for the help

Musicwolf · August 2023

Apologies for being a bit slow tonight, but I think that I understand what you want to do.

You have what could be described as a multi-track project (7 tracks I think you said) on the MC. You want to transfer each of those tracks to Garage Band but you need to do this one track at a time, as the MC only has stereo output, and have them line up in GB. Yes?

You are pressing record on GB then play on the MC. What you would like is to have the recording on GB start automatically when, and not before, audio is present?

If I've got the scenario correct then I would say that you are approaching this the wrong way. You should set things up so that MC and GB are locked in sync. Just setting both to the same bpm isn't enough.

The way I have always locked two machines is to go into the MIDI menus and set one device to master and the other to slave (I think chapter 12 of the MC manual covers this). You can use Midi Machine Codes (MMC) to send transport information from one device to the other (so that when you press play on one device the other device starts as well) and MIDI clock to keep both devices locked together. You can now make multiple passes and everything should be aligned.

jackio · August 2023

Awesome. OK. I hadn't even thought about using MC MIDI to start GB recording.

Thank you @Musicwolf ;

I might be going about it the wrong way but I'm puzzled why what I described isn't a standard feature on GB...but hey, live and learn. Or maybe everyone just knows to do it the way you describe

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'Arm recording' in GarageBand

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