How do I slow down audio file without the pitch-preserving "flex" processing?

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Level 1

5 points

How do I slow down audio file without the pitch-preserving "flex" processing?

I have seen 8 billion posts and support topics about how to change the tempo of an imported audio file without effecting the pitch, but I'm completely unable to figure out how to have the tempo adjustments in a song result in a default, normal, analog slowdown. Like, actually slow down the audio file, making it lower, slower, etc. I have seen several posts on the "slow down" fade option, but I'm looking for some way to get the audio file to follow the tempo global track, without invoking the "flex" processing that preserves the pitch. So far I have been unable to figure out how to do it. By turning on "follow tempo", my audio file does slow down, but the flex is automatically enabled with seemingly no way to disable it. Any ideas?

Posted on Sep 21, 2020 4:24 PM

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Answer 1

Eriksimon

Level 6

15,428 points

Sep 21, 2020 4:39 PM in response to ATalkingFish

First: right- or controlclick on the lightgrey area and choose this command:

Then enable this:

Then click on the word Varispeed in the LCD and choose this:

Then click-hold the number under the word Varispeed and move the mouse up or down:

That's it!

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Answer 2

Eriksimon

Level 6

15,428 points

Sep 21, 2020 5:01 PM in response to ATalkingFish

I don't think that is possible other than by painstakingly editing (a copy of) the audio file in the audio file editor, with Time and Pitch machine.

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Answer 3

ATalkingFish Author

Level 1

5 points

Sep 21, 2020 4:41 PM in response to Eriksimon

I should have included that I'm aware of this feature as well which demonstrates to me that what I want is possible, but I'm not looking to shift the playback of the entire thing. I want to be able to freely modify the tempo throughout the track, have the audio file follow the tempo shift, and not invoke flex adjustments to preserve pitch. Varispeed is close to what I want, but doesn't let me actually control the pitch over the song (unless I'm missing how to do that).

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Answer 4

ATalkingFish Author

Level 1

5 points

Sep 21, 2020 4:48 PM in response to Eriksimon

No, that's not actually what I want.

If you take a track, and then enable "follow & flex", and then go to the global tempo track, add keyframes to adjust the tempo, you'll see that the audio files in that track follow the tempo. It gets slower when the tempo gets slower, etc. However, it automatically enables flex, which preserves the tempo and also modifies the actual sound wave based on the transients and such. I would like the last part of this to not happen. I want it to be so that when the files slow down, as intended with "follow pitch", the actual sound wave is slowed down–kind of what you would expect to happen by default–slow down audio, the pitch gets lower.

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Answer 5

ATalkingFish Author

Level 1

5 points

Sep 21, 2020 5:08 PM in response to Eriksimon

After a couple hours of going through everything I could think of, I just now (since my last comment) discovered that the Flex setting of "Speed (FX)" does exactly what I want. Any track with follow enabled, and the flex setting of the audio file set to Speed (FX), will have the pitch adjusted with the speed as changes are made in the master tempo track.

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