# What do you think about quantize?



## Frank (Sep 17, 2005)

Is quantize a function i should never use? It can save a lot of time when you're not so good in playing drums via keyboard and so on, but it often sounds too clean and too perfect. Also the groove quantize sounds unimpressive. How do you handle this?


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## Leandro Gardini (Sep 17, 2005)

For orchestral stuff quantize sucks!!!


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## José Herring (Sep 17, 2005)

Depends on what music you're doing. If you're doing electronica styles then quantize away.

For Jazz drums I quantize the down beats then swing the afterbeats by hand. I usually get a bar or two that sounds right then paste the rest from that.

I usually quantize string, brass and woodwind sections because it just sounds unatural for every player to be out in a section of violins so it's better to be on than have 32 vlns all out in the same place.

Solo material I don't quantize. Unless I need a really rock solid rhythm piano accompaniment.

I use Cubase and never use anything but just dead on straight forward quantizing. I know that Thonex is a big fan of Iterative Quantizing, but since I don't know what that means and I haven't had the time to look it up everytime I use it nothing happens :? 

Jose


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## Leon Willett (Sep 17, 2005)

What's iterative quantize, then?


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## Ed (Sep 17, 2005)

I dont understand how some people dont quantise. I quantise A LOT. But it makes it sound better, not worse. I cant imagine trying to do something and not using quantise at all, it would sound terrible and sloppy.

Ed


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## Spirit57 (Sep 17, 2005)

I completely disagree with leogar-.....


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## Niah (Sep 17, 2005)

I never quantize, but yes my work always sounds sloppy  But the thing is that if I quantize it, it usually sounds even worse, or maybe it's just me that doesn't know how to tuse quantize  

Bottom line, see if it works for you, use it, if it doesn't don't use it.


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## lux (Sep 17, 2005)

I think mostly depends on time and difficulties of the material to play. If time goes very fast its difficult avoiding to quantize.

I usually quantize just when it becomes not avoidable.


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## Ed (Sep 17, 2005)

When I play things in sometimes it just sounds right, and I dont quantise it. For things such as string runs however i never quantise, because of the way i do it. If I quantised that it would always sound computerised. The reason it sounds fake still is becuase of my sounds 

Ed


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## ChasingTheSun_Jeff (Sep 17, 2005)

I think the way it works best for me is finding out which instrument in the current peice can be maniulated to feel more solid with the quantize function. then I let my fingers follow the solid part and I build most other parts by hand matching the adjusted part.


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## Tod (Sep 17, 2005)

Oh boy, Quantizeing? :D 

For myself I use it a lot (almost on everything), but the "way" I use it depends on a lot of things.

First of all I'm not a great keyboard player (I use a keyboard to input most of my midi). For this reason I'll practice a line or part out untill I've got it in my head, both note wise and inspirational wise Once I'm capable of playing the part correctly and with feeling (at least what I'm feeling) I'll then record it.

The next thing I'll do if I'm basicaly happy with the track is go in and edit it, fix any wrong notes, delete the little unintentional notes that I'm so prone to play because of my sloppyness, and just generaly clean it up.

At that point I'll realy examine my track. Over the years I've found that generaly what I've just played will be slightly behind the beat. Whether it's because that's the way I feel it or maybe my hesitation because I'm not a great keyboard player, or it might even be due to the "midi lag" induced by the computerized components or a combination of all of the above, I don't know. The important thing is I've captured a feeling or inspiration even if it is my own.

Now comes the hard part. Based on the type of music I'm working on and the player/instrument that I'm working with I have to decide, should this be on top of the beat, behind the beat, or maybe somewhere in between. At this point I have to make a decision and will shift the track accordingly.

After all this I will then quantize it any where from 0% to 60% (rarely beyonde 60%) depending on how I determine my sloppyness is.

As far as Orchestral tracks go I just quantize them 100% and then manualy make adjustments. Some libraries (or instruments within the library) have a real lag time in the way thier "on notes" sound or happen. I'm constantly shifting notes ahead for these situations. For Orchestral stuff I basicaly quantize 100% and then adjust accordingly which includes shifting the starting times of notes to avoid the "chord" sound. Unless of course it's a solo instrument.

Thats the way I do it.. :D 

TOd


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## Ed (Sep 17, 2005)

Tod said:


> . Over the years I've found that generaly what I've just played will be slightly behind the beat.



I get that too. What I do before I do anything is select all the midi data and move it so the first note is straight on beat and usually all the rest line up correctly as well. Then after that I quantise it. If I quantise before I do that, quantise can put notes the the wrong places and its annoying to try and fix it. Its only a few clicks but it makes a difference

Ed


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## Ed (Sep 17, 2005)

Before I figured out how to use quantise, my stuff used to be all out of time and sloppy.

Now I understand quantise and my music has never been better, and in time!

GIVE YOURSELF TO THE QUANTISE!


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## fictionmusic (Sep 17, 2005)

I use a gtr controller mostly so I need to time shift my tracks as the tracking process is pretty complicated and there is an inherant delay. As the delay is peculiar to each string the time-shifting is not easily done globally. Usually I slow the tempo down and play on the high strings (better tracking). Even still I end up quantizing here and there. Logic has cool features for that with quantize range and strength.

There are times though, where the track just as originally played at tempo is better than the quantized, or timeshifted or slow tempo record versions. It depends on how it sits with the other tracks.


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## DPK (Sep 17, 2005)

Tod said:


> Oh boy, Quantizeing? :D
> 
> For myself I use it a lot (almost on everything), but the "way" I use it depends on a lot of things.
> 
> ...



Exactly... :D 

I was gonna comment on this topic but you saved me a lot of typing. Thanks.

Dan-


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## FrozeN (Sep 17, 2005)

One thing I found it quite hard to quantize an orchestral MIDI effectively is, sampled (acoustic) instruments don't give you SAME & EXACT envelops from notes to notes, articulations to articulations. It's like if you are sequencing this measure




, say, for a solo violin. If you quantize the result, the last note "D" will probably sound a bit delayed as in reality the violinist will likely be anticipating the upbow a little bit so it will sound "on beat" when the actual sound comes through, as it has a slow attack time, while strong staccato notes always have a much faster attack time.

This matters more to soft legato strings than any other instruments, in my experience. But in a passage where there are a lot of different articulations mixed together, quantizing them might actually make it sound less "on beat" sometimes! :lol: :lol:


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## TheoKrueger (Sep 18, 2005)

I always compose with "snap to grid" on and afterwards, selectively i move certain notes forward a few ticks or create swings without snap beeing on. 

Depends on the feel you want to get, a bit of randomizing can give excellent results!

For bad keyboard input the best way to go is to quantize everything with automation and then randomize it. Or just put most notes in place by hand.

I like randomizing all mallets, piano, celesta and one shot instruments. 3 snares with quantize sound like one snare, with randomize they sound like an ensemble.

Pretty hard question, depends on the situation i guess and the amount of sloppyness the keyboard input had in the first place. Sometimes keeping the sloppiness is what makes it real.


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