Looping Samples Clicks and Artifacts solution?

Elektron Gear Digitakt
#1

So i just spend the afternoon trying to make a soft pad out of a sample of……well a soft pad audio sample. I sampled some soft wide nice lush pads from various Software synths but since i
dont want to fill the DT2 with 60 second long samples i tried to loop it in order to be able to play it chromatically

However no matter what i do it will either have a click sound at the beginning each time it triggers or it will sound „loopy“ if the loop is too short which is to be expected.

In abletons sampler there is a Crossfade option where using it you can pretty often get away with it and make it sound nice cause it makes the „loopyness“ and sound more „washed out-blury-buried“

Is this „it is what it is“ on the DT2?

2 Likes
WERP clicks
#2

The DT definitely has some audio engine issues.

I get constant popping on Samples loaded in the Grid Machine which aren’t the same BPM as the Project. Adjusting the Attack on the ADSR does absolutely nothing. :frowning:

5 Likes
#3

I’ve been sampling all of my stereo synths like mad with my new Digitakt 2, and haven’t run into this issue. Maybe if you detail your process someone could give you specific tips, if it’s something they’ve also encountered?

1 Like
#4

Yes, that’s right, there isn’t a crossfade on sample loops on DT2. Lots of possibilities: , including covering the loop point with delay, using two tracks to imitate that crossfade, or preparing longer samples.

2 Likes
#5

Well i dont know how to describe it better. I am sampling a Pad. Lets say 10 seconds.
In many cases , for example if i want it to sustain indefinitely without being obviously looped it will have to either
A) Be a seamless loop (which i cant do in DT2 till now)
B)Be a very long sample.
However

  1. A long sample makes the workflow very draggy as load times are not stellar fast on the DT2,
  2. They take up a lot of space.
#6

hmm. Covering with Delay…. Yes but delay alters the sound completely. I want to be able to use it also Dry if i choose to. Not covered with effects. Delay and Reverb is not always needed or wanted (for my taste) .
The two tracks solution could work but i find it a fuss cause if i alter a thing on one then i need to replicate it or constantly copy-swap tracks , unless you mean something else

#7

Good luck!

2 Likes
#8

I know what you mean. I am still trying to figure out the interplay of the ADSR and the Loopig functionality-settings but it feels like the looper simply has no „soft start-attack“ itself.
So the adsr might help on the initial trigger but not when it loops. Will keep on searching!

#9

I don’t know how long the original pad sample is, but you might be able to fake a crossfade by using 2 tracks loaded with the same sample and otherwise identical settings, then alternate between which track is currently playing the sample (back and forth) and use an LFO that ramps up on the first one and an LFO that ramps down on the other.

You’d have to figure out the sweet spot for the trigs in order to effectively crossfade between the two.

This probably won’t sound very good if the pad has a stereo image with left right movement unless you can somehow time the crossover while the stereo channels are aligned, but most sounds would probably work. It’s not going to be as smooth as doing it in a daw though, that’s for sure.

4 Likes
#10

Good luck. I sent them my sample files with the bug I was encountering, and they acknowledged it, but the latest update 1.02 didn’t fix it.

Ho hum…

1 Like
#11

You might be able together rid of the click at the start by adjusting the attack on the envelope. Getting rid of a click at the loop point is a bit more tricky and takes a bit of trial and error. You can try to make it sound less loopy by using modulation eg a slow LFO on the filter - the original pad probably had some that lasted a lot longer Than the 10 seconds or so that the sample lasts

1 Like
#12

My 2 cents:

Don’t use threshold, manually start sampling instead and crop sample to avoid clicking at the beginning.
Don’t sample sounds with effects. Easier to loop.
Sample one octave or two higher if you want to save memory.
Sample with cutoff open and use build in filter sometimes helps to reduce clicks.

4 Likes
#13

Even with DT1 I’d rather choose Threshold than manual.
With DT2 : Play mode as rec start.

Why not ???

Could you elaborate?
I don’t understand how it would reduce clicks without altering original sample.

Loosing quality at normal playback ?

#14

Someone suggested this also. However if i am honest this is not how my brain works unfortunately.

I am already happy if i manage to make a session without getting stuck in having to refer to the manual constantly.
Combining two tracks to do one sound while supe intriguing is a flowkiller for me personally cause i might not know the DT2 inside out but i know myself quite well by now :slight_smile:

1 Like
#15

I am pretty curious about when and what the next update will be. Apart from little fixes i would love to see Overbridge support

1 Like
#16

The first click is not an issue as this i can solve with the adsr. My issue is that the engine seems to be very limited when it comes to fine tuning the continuous looping of a sound that does not conform with the „single cycle perfectly edited sample“ logic.
Maybe they will add cross fade in the future who knows. Its not the end of the world but i would like to see it

1 Like
#17

I know this is not what you wanted to hear but the best way to avoid clicks and pops is to make sure the loop start and end points are at zero-crossings in an audio editor.

5 Likes
#18

It might not always look like it but i am open to workarounds.

Can you suggest any good editor for this special task in a mac environment?
I could use ableton but it sometimes does funky stuf when exporting things

2 Likes
#19

:grin: I use Audacity. It has a select.at zero-crossing option.

3 Likes
#20

I had forgoten it exists! I love-d Audacity. Will try it out again.

For now i found a „medium-compromise“. solution.

I choose a pad in the software synth and then turn off as many modulations as i can. Makes it much easier to loop in DT2. However applying modulations woth the DT2 is a different world. You loose a lot of depth and magic compared with the synth capabilities the pad came from but you gain lifetime to spend doing other things i guess :slight_smile:

Yup. Will patiently wait for crossfade in the sampler of DT2 :slight_smile:

4 Likes