How to slow down audio substantially in Logic 9

Question

Level 2

163 points

How to slow down audio substantially in Logic 9

I would like to take field recordings of various everyday sounds and slow them down to between 1 and 5% to create abstract organic sounds.

I know that they will lose a great deal of fidelity but I am recording at 96kHz 24bit on a Zoom H6. I have tried all kinds of techniques but they seem limited to much smaller speed changes. I can't find a plug-in which will do it either.

However, I can achieve this extremely easily in Final Cut Pro 7 by simply right clicking the audio track and selecting change speed but this is a very awkward work flow as in order to tweak the speed to fit the track I am working on in Logic, I would have to keep exporting it from FCP and importing it into Logic.

Is there a way of achieving this in Logic or is there a VST or AU plugin which can do it?

Mac mini, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3), 8GB RAM, 1TB + 1TB HD

Posted on Jul 28, 2015 4:31 PM

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Answer 1

CCTM

Level 6

13,159 points

Jul 31, 2015 2:54 AM in response to Alf Megson

Hi

Sure... there are basically 2 ways that might do what you need:

A Use Flex time (non-destructive)

B) Use Time and Pitch Machine in the audio file editor ( destructive). You can also do this direct in the Arrange window by Option dragging the lower right side of the audio region. You may need to stretch several times to get the results you want

CCT

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Answer 2

Alf Megson Author

Level 2

163 points

Jul 31, 2015 8:31 AM in response to CCTM

Thank you for taking time to respond, CCTM.

However, I had tried both these methods before going off on a search for possible plug-ins.

When I tried the Flex-Time option, I found that it created a non-uniform and quite unquantifiable effect which was unsuitable for the ideas I am working on.

When I tried Time and Pitch Machine, the amount I could slow down the audio was limited to about 10%. When I realised this and that the process was destructive, I thought OK, carry out the procedure more than once (10% of 10% being 1%) but unfortunately, when I click play after carrying out the process once, the clip played at normal speed and when I clicked on it a second time, it returned to its original length - so it was completely ineffective.

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