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Time Stretching Examples

There has been a lot of discussion about the various apps and plug-ins that do time-stretching. This thread is for posting comparisons of various apps so that people can make informed decisions about what apps/plug-ins will work for them.

Here is a video demonstrating 3 apps/plugins stretching 3 sources to 45 bpm. The originals were 63.5 BPM, 66.7 BPM and 143.6 BPM. I originally planned to post examples with stretched both more and less than this but with the apps/plugins in this set, the comparative results were the same.

I'll wait to identify which app is which till after some people have had a chance to post their observations. Two of the apps performed pretty similarly. One: not so much.

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Comments

  • edited March 2021

    Not able to identify the contenders (I believe one is BM3), but really interested in the results!

  • @Keyb said:
    Not able to identify the contenders (I believe one is BM3), but really interested in the results!

    Which sounds best/worst?

  • App 3 sounds shite, the other 2 are pretty good. App 1 just took it for me. No idea what any of them are, but I was guessing BM3 too. Maybe Cubasis?

    I’m very interested in how Koala’s new timestretching would compare, as I think that’s been brewed from the ground up by @elf_audio and has several algorithm options. If it is comparable I really hope they spin Koala into a simple au sampler or looper.

  • Taking a wild guess at BM3, Koala and EG Pulse. Good thread! Good to get a Cocteau Twins reminder.

  • 3 sounds like when I do it in Cubasis. 1 Auria?

  • This round focuses on real-time/playable apps/plugins. I’ll do Twisted Wave, Auditor and Auria in another test.

  • @espiegel123 said:

    @Keyb said:
    Not able to identify the contenders (I believe one is BM3), but really interested in the results!

    Which sounds best/worst?

    For me: B-A-C for all the three samples (best/worse)

  • I do my time stretching w DJay Pro.

  • For me B is the clearest, A is smoother less sliced but not as clear, C is the worst.

  • @AAnton said:
    3 sounds like when I do it in Cubasis. 1 Auria?

    I was under the impression that Cubasis 3 uses elastique which I thought was sort of industry standard??

  • @SealTeamSick said:
    I do my time stretching w DJay Pro.

    Perhaps you could share some comparisons of its time-stretching with one or more of the ones that people agree are among the better ones.

  • I think the last one was sEGments.
    Number 2 was Cubasis
    And 1 between Auria pro and BM3

  • Guessing:

    A: Cubasis
    B: BM3
    C: Blocs Wave

    @espiegel123 said: Which sounds best/worst?

    Best to worst. B-A-C.

  • @gregsmith said:

    @AAnton said:
    3 sounds like when I do it in Cubasis. 1 Auria?

    thats strange i get pretty good results in Cubasis

    I was under the impression that Cubasis 3 uses elastique which I thought was sort of industry standard??

    yeah and it does a pretty good job. this is a 80bmp sample time stretched down and up and it handles it pretty well. > @AAnton said:

    3 sounds like when I do it in Cubasis. 1 Auria?

  • @Jeezs said:
    For me B is the clearest, A is smoother less sliced but not as clear, C is the worst.

    Definitely right. B does sound clearer and more authentic.

  • edited March 2021

    @espiegel123 said:

    @SealTeamSick said:
    I do my time stretching w DJay Pro.

    Perhaps you could share some comparisons of its time-stretching with one or more of the ones that people agree are among the better ones.

    It’s free to use for that purpose, check it out.

    You’ll see immediately it’s way better than any of the other ones (the app would be pretty useless if it wasn’t). It’s like serato pitch n time.
    People don’t use it because it’s not very convenient. You have to record the stretch in real time in the app. I don’t have a problem I just record the whole source at the speed I want and then export to chop in Blocs.

  • @SealTeamSick said:

    @espiegel123 said:

    @SealTeamSick said:
    I do my time stretching w DJay Pro.

    Perhaps you could share some comparisons of its time-stretching with one or more of the ones that people agree are among the better ones.

    It’s free to use for that purpose, check it out.

    You’ll see immediately it’s way better than any of the other ones (the app would be pretty useless if it wasn’t). It’s like serato pitch n time.
    People don’t use it because it’s not very convenient. You have to record the stretch in real time in the app. I don’t have a problem I just record the whole source at the speed I want and then export to chop in Blocs.

    As far as I can tell, you need to purchase/subscribe to record in the app. If not, can you explain how?

    If you would be so kind as to take a loop or two and apply maximum time stretching in DJayPro and BlocsWave that would also be great.

  • Best to worse : A - B -C
    Both A amd B sound good but seems to me like B is doing something weird to the stereo field.
    I believe it hasn’t been mentioned, Zenbeats’ time stretch sounds really good to me, transparent and straightforward. Have no clue of what it is.
    Good thread! 👍

  • What about koala samurai?

  • A and B are really nice, C tends to be a bit hard on the audio

    I think koala and bm3 are probably a/b but I’m not sure what to guess on C

  • @Paa89 said:

    @gregsmith said:

    @AAnton said:
    3 sounds like when I do it in Cubasis. 1 Auria?

    thats strange i get pretty good results in Cubasis

    I was under the impression that Cubasis 3 uses elastique which I thought was sort of industry standard??

    yeah and it does a pretty good job. this is a 80bmp sample time stretched down and up and it handles it pretty well. > @AAnton said:

    3 sounds like when I do it in Cubasis. 1 Auria?

    Frankly, I can not really compare anything in these videos.
    When I stretch down with frequency content like in the original sample 1, I get those distorsions reminding me of results in C. That was me fist impression when listenign to Example 1. Now, C is extremenly bad, maybe Cubasis is not as bad, it would be terrifying.

    @espiegel123 Did you try in MultitrackRecorder? I tried to try it, but other issues surfaced, I do not really remember how the timestrech went. Must try again.

  • @espiegel123 said:
    There has been a lot of discussion about the various apps and plug-ins that do time-stretching. This thread is for posting comparisons of various apps so that people can make informed decisions about what apps/plug-ins will work for them.

    Here is a video demonstrating 3 apps/plugins stretching 3 sources to 45 bpm. The originals were 63.5 BPM, 66.7 BPM and 143.6 BPM. I originally planned to post examples with stretched both more and less than this but with the apps/plugins in this set, the comparative results were the same.

    I'll wait to identify which app is which till after some people have had a chance to post their observations. Two of the apps performed pretty similarly. One: not so much.

    In the video, app 1 is BeatMaker 3, app 2 is Koala (using modern mode), app 3 is sEGments.

    I’m preparing samples (but not sure how to present them for comparison because it is hard to really compare of more than three play in a row. Almost ready are Zenbeats, Auria Pro, BlocsWave, MultiTrack Recorder, Twisted Wave. All of those seem to be of quality similar to Koala and BeatMaker. It is interesting that some have a distinct preference for either Koala or BeatMaker with no consensus as to which is better for the examples posted.

    If someone is willing to prepare a comparison using the same sources that I did with some other apps (Cubasis 3 or DJayPro come to mind, let me know via PM).

    I plan to also do Samplist, Cubasis 2, Ableton Live, Serato Sample...I might add Loopy HD and Auditor into the mix if time permits. Auditor is a tricky one because there are a lot of parameters one can tweak.

    I originally prepared examples at a number of different stretch amounts for the first set but didn’t include them because with these sources at each TimeStretch amount the relative quality seemed the same to me.

  • Good work, @espiegel123 ! 👍

  • @gusgranite said:
    Good work, @espiegel123 ! 👍

    Yes great stuff!

    I believe bm3 uses elastique like cubasis and loads of others. The fact that most preferred Koala is amazing. Hats off to @elf_audio

    Now pretty-please @elf_audio , make an au sampler with your timestretching code!!! You would fill a massive hole. Segments is great but uses the built in Apple timestretching which isn’t good.
    Doesn’t have to be full Koala - just a sample bank that can be triggered by midi would do nicely!

  • @gregsmith said:

    @gusgranite said:
    Good work, @espiegel123 ! 👍

    Yes great stuff!

    I believe bm3 uses elastique like cubasis and loads of others. The fact that most preferred Koala is amazing. Hats off to @elf_audio

    Now pretty-please @elf_audio , make an au sampler with your timestretching code!!! You would fill a massive hole. Segments is great but uses the built in Apple timestretching which isn’t good.
    Doesn’t have to be full Koala - just a sample bank that can be triggered by midi would do nicely!

    To make things simpler...maybe even just “Koala Pads” that imports samples to the pads and doesn’t have to do sampling or sequencing.

  • @gusgranite said:
    Good work, @espiegel123 ! 👍

    Yes, thank you.

  • @espiegel123 said:

    @gregsmith said:

    @gusgranite said:
    Good work, @espiegel123 ! 👍

    Yes great stuff!

    I believe bm3 uses elastique like cubasis and loads of others. The fact that most preferred Koala is amazing. Hats off to @elf_audio

    Now pretty-please @elf_audio , make an au sampler with your timestretching code!!! You would fill a massive hole. Segments is great but uses the built in Apple timestretching which isn’t good.
    Doesn’t have to be full Koala - just a sample bank that can be triggered by midi would do nicely!

    To make things simpler...maybe even just “Koala Pads” that imports samples to the pads and doesn’t have to do sampling or sequencing.

    Yes! That would work :)

  • @espiegel123 said:

    @espiegel123 said:
    There has been a lot of discussion about the various apps and plug-ins that do time-stretching. This thread is for posting comparisons of various apps so that people can make informed decisions about what apps/plug-ins will work for them.

    Here is a video demonstrating 3 apps/plugins stretching 3 sources to 45 bpm. The originals were 63.5 BPM, 66.7 BPM and 143.6 BPM. I originally planned to post examples with stretched both more and less than this but with the apps/plugins in this set, the comparative results were the same.

    I'll wait to identify which app is which till after some people have had a chance to post their observations. Two of the apps performed pretty similarly. One: not so much.

    In the video, app 1 is BeatMaker 3, app 2 is Koala (using modern mode), app 3 is sEGments.

    I’m preparing samples (but not sure how to present them for comparison because it is hard to really compare of more than three play in a row. Almost ready are Zenbeats, Auria Pro, BlocsWave, MultiTrack Recorder, Twisted Wave. All of those seem to be of quality similar to Koala and BeatMaker. It is interesting that some have a distinct preference for either Koala or BeatMaker with no consensus as to which is better for the examples posted.

    If someone is willing to prepare a comparison using the same sources that I did with some other apps (Cubasis 3 or DJayPro come to mind, let me know via PM).

    I plan to also do Samplist, Cubasis 2, Ableton Live, Serato Sample...I might add Loopy HD and Auditor into the mix if time permits. Auditor is a tricky one because there are a lot of parameters one can tweak.

    I originally prepared examples at a number of different stretch amounts for the first set but didn’t include them because with these sources at each TimeStretch amount the relative quality seemed the same to me.

    Using BM3 what is the settings you used to time stretch the sample : high performance or high quality?

  • @Jeezs said:

    @espiegel123 said:

    @espiegel123 said:
    There has been a lot of discussion about the various apps and plug-ins that do time-stretching. This thread is for posting comparisons of various apps so that people can make informed decisions about what apps/plug-ins will work for them.

    Here is a video demonstrating 3 apps/plugins stretching 3 sources to 45 bpm. The originals were 63.5 BPM, 66.7 BPM and 143.6 BPM. I originally planned to post examples with stretched both more and less than this but with the apps/plugins in this set, the comparative results were the same.

    I'll wait to identify which app is which till after some people have had a chance to post their observations. Two of the apps performed pretty similarly. One: not so much.

    In the video, app 1 is BeatMaker 3, app 2 is Koala (using modern mode), app 3 is sEGments.

    I’m preparing samples (but not sure how to present them for comparison because it is hard to really compare of more than three play in a row. Almost ready are Zenbeats, Auria Pro, BlocsWave, MultiTrack Recorder, Twisted Wave. All of those seem to be of quality similar to Koala and BeatMaker. It is interesting that some have a distinct preference for either Koala or BeatMaker with no consensus as to which is better for the examples posted.

    If someone is willing to prepare a comparison using the same sources that I did with some other apps (Cubasis 3 or DJayPro come to mind, let me know via PM).

    I plan to also do Samplist, Cubasis 2, Ableton Live, Serato Sample...I might add Loopy HD and Auditor into the mix if time permits. Auditor is a tricky one because there are a lot of parameters one can tweak.

    I originally prepared examples at a number of different stretch amounts for the first set but didn’t include them because with these sources at each TimeStretch amount the relative quality seemed the same to me.

    Using BM3 what is the settings you used to time stretch the sample : high performance or high quality?

    All of the tests I am doing use the highest quality setting available...the intention is to compare the highest quality each app/plugin makes available. A quickie comparison with Serato Sample and Ableton Live 11 makes it seem as if these all compare favorably with those apps.

  • One surprise for me was that the usually reliable Serato Sample misguessed the BPM of one of my test loops (the tablas) and I couldn’t figure out a way to enter the correct bpm which led to some trial and error to get the correct conversion.

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