New MAutoAlign user

[zabukowski]

Hi,

After i spent some time with SR Auto-Align demo and found it pretty good, decided to try MAutoAlign.
Looks like it's nice plugin, but i have mixed success with it.

1. aligned kicks - GRP1 - sounds fine
2. aligned snares - GRP2 - sounds fine
3. aligned the rest of close mics - GRP3 - sounds fine
3. when i try to align GRP1, GRP2 and GRP3, things slowly started to fall apart

With every new analyze, delay is changing (on the same part of the song). I have no plugins with latency, working in Reaper. Spectral Phase Compensation is disabled.

Finally i aligned all close mics group (GRP1-GRP3) with (aligned) overheads group and the same thing is happening.

I have a feeling, the more complex is scenario, the more unpredictable the results are.
I didn't have this kind of problems with SR Auto-Align. Delay values vary from time to time, but far from MAutoAlign.

Any ideas, suggestions, am i doing something wrong? I really want to use this plugin.

Thx!

edit: i posted a video on Melda FB page, showing very simple example of this behaviour.

[zabukowski]

I have to correct myself - it is important that you analyze the same part of audio, but it is even more important that you start analyzing always at the same point of that part. The more accurate you are, more constant is delay value. Obeying this rule i am now getting pretty good results - will test further.

[mibby]

I have a couple of thoughts on your questions:

1. First off, I'd do a search through this forum. There have been a few discussions on MAutoAlign (and others) with some really good information. Great plugin!
2. If you're going to "stack" the auto-aligns like that, maybe you should render after doing the first analysis to keep the randomness out of the equation?
3. What I do: typically, I put the close mics in the same group and auto-align everything to the snare top mic. If a phase gets toggled in the analysis, then I'll A-B by toggling the "Bypass All" to see if I like it better or not. When a "phase flip" shows up, I spend more time going through various iterations and parts of the song until I can settle on which setting I like. Otherwise, MAutoAlign has made me very lazy. I'd say 80% (?) of the time, I do an analysis, then move on. The instances are set up in my template and usually it just takes a few seconds to go through the drums - literally.
4. I also check the OH mics in their own group. Typically, if they were mic'd properly, there are minimal adjustments, but sometimes you'll be surprised.

I'll be curious to see hear how others use this plugin...

[Starship Krupa]

Solely on pairs so far. I set my drum overheads using the "Glyn Johns/Recorderman" whatever you want to call it placement where you measure the distance from the center of the snare head to the diaphragms of the mics.

Done a little bit with close-mic'd acoustic guitar, it's always fun to have the player in the room when I pan the 2 guitar mic's 75% L&R, then hit the analyze button and suddenly there's this 20' guitar in the monitors.

As a recording engineer, there must be a name for the feeling you get when you've set up your drum overheads just right, by eyeballing it, then you do your tracking, then turn MAutoAlign loose and it comes back "0 samples." It's a feeling of studly pride mixed with a tiny sliver of disappointment that the clever plug-in can't improve the mix.

[mibby]

As a recording engineer, there must be a name for the feeling you get when you've set up your drum overheads just right, by eyeballing it, then you do your tracking, then turn MAutoAlign loose and it comes back "0 samples." It's a feeling of studly pride mixed with a tiny sliver of disappointment that the clever plug-in can't improve the mix.

WOW! That's really impressive because this plugin is very precise!

As for you sliver of disappointment, I guess you'll have to wait for the Mix Revolution with the rest of us for a plugin to improve your mixes.

[zabukowski]

I have a couple of thoughts on your questions:

1. First off, I'd do a search through this forum. There have been a few discussions on MAutoAlign (and others) with some really good information. Great plugin!
2. If you're going to "stack" the auto-aligns like that, maybe you should render after doing the first analysis to keep the randomness out of the equation?
3. What I do: typically, I put the close mics in the same group and auto-align everything to the snare top mic. If a phase gets toggled in the analysis, then I'll A-B by toggling the "Bypass All" to see if I like it better or not. When a "phase flip" shows up, I spend more time going through various iterations and parts of the song until I can settle on which setting I like. Otherwise, MAutoAlign has made me very lazy. I'd say 80% (?) of the time, I do an analysis, then move on. The instances are set up in my template and usually it just takes a few seconds to go through the drums - literally.
4. I also check the OH mics in their own group. Typically, if they were mic'd properly, there are minimal adjustments, but sometimes you'll be surprised.

I'll be curious to see hear how others use this plugin...

Thx for suggestions ... as i wrote in my previous post, randomness goes away if do analysis for all channels at the same exact position in song (for example start of chorus). The whole system of stacking auto-aligns i described, is now working flawlessly. I really like the plugin.

This is my first MeldaProduction plugin and i had kind of tough start with it (completely my fault). Anyway, today I used it on two projects with great success, so i think it won't be the last - i am already checking MCompare, awesome stuff