Sample Start Point: Batch Processing

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I've been working with samples for a zillion years, but sadly I still either tweak one-shot audio files manually or batch process to remove the noise before.

Any thoughts about ways and apps to use for batch processing to accurately truncate to the start point without cutting off the initial strike or leaving a gap before?

Note: With a few samples manually is no problem, but with hundreds or thousands . . . Aye ye ye.
Last edited by tommyzai on Sat Oct 24, 2020 9:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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A few months ago I found my heaven sent help in REAPER. It's the only way I found so far to crop files (start or/and end) automatically which truly works w/o (like you mention) cutting off too much or too little. Let me have look in my REAPER-project.

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https://youtu.be/nzJDNkp0mZ0
Made video above about Auto Trim/Crop batch processing with REAPER. If you have noise floor then you can raise threshold. Little odd that it implies additional rendering. But I didn't find so far an audio editor w batch processing plus variable threshold included.

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Thanks, Et
Very generous of you to share your knowledge and make a vid. I'll certainly check it out.
T

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tommyzai wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2020 9:04 pm I've been working with samples for a zillion years, but sadly I still either tweak one-shot audio files manually or batch process to remove the noise before.

Any thoughts about ways and apps to use for batch processing to accurately truncate to the start point without cutting off the initial strike or leaving a gap before?

Note: With a few samples manually is no problem, but with hundreds or thousands . . . Aye ye ye.
Despite of the usual Detection Algos in every? DAW, Sampler and also here http://www.noisetime.com/silrem.html I´d recommend to use Grid Slicing (Halion offers that Function) - but it´ll work only for perfectly aligned Materials.

I´ve made good Experiences with MPCs Slicing before - but I´d not recommend all that for thousands of badly cut One Shots.

But doesn´t that all depend on the Files, too?

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My experience with Reaper is that it often leaves a good bit of leading wave, which gives a sample set a long (and worse, variable) latency. Part of the reason is that Reaper is a general purpose DAW, and it's taking pains not to lose anything. But for a sample set, it's more important to do one of two things:

For live playing, minimum latency, even cutting of some "pre-noise" in the attack. Consistent and low latency (<2 msec) is paramount.

For DAW use, we can compensate for latency, as long as it's consistent. So, as much latency as needed to retain pre-noise and all the details of an attack is best, as long as it's the same time between the start of the sample and the strongest part of the attack (the main transient.)

Reaper doesn't do either of these (and probably shouldn't anyway.) Perhaps it can be configured to do the first one. Or maybe it's more configurable than I realize. (I haven't used it myself; I've seen videos, and I've played -- and fixed -- sample sets creating using it.)

My finicky python code does the first, at the risk of being rather abrupt. Don't expect to hear the hammer whooshing before it strikes the note! Maybe someday I could add the second, though it'd take a lot longer (having to process all samples before actually processing any samples -- or else you'd have to configure/specify the preamble time.)

But the Reaper way is definitely a good way to get started.

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I'm using Audacity macros. Working well/adjustable...

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NTO wrote: Wed Nov 04, 2020 11:22 pm I'm using Audacity macros. Working well/adjustable...
Does it locate start/transient points or remove silence leading up to the start point?

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I've never quite been able to trust these, and keep doing things the time-consuming way, even if it adds lots of work to a library's development. I'm sure it's a solvable problem, though, just needs to have a slightly more sophisticated decision tree than the macros I've seen.

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@tommyzaii
Yes. I'll post a pic of an example chop in process...
Audacity Auto Chop_1.jpg
You can specify the before/after times in mS. (20 mS here for example - tighter than my actual :wink: )
Audacity Auto Chop_0.jpg
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NTO wrote: Thu Nov 05, 2020 5:49 pm @tommyzaii
You can specify the before/after times in mS. (20 mS here for example - tighter than my actual :wink: )
So users can specify some padding/buffer before sample start point (or end) for safety? That would be ideal . . . then I could go in and micro adjust as needed. At least it would get me close without truncating off any attack.

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