Cycle Recording

It is possible to re-record a section over and over again using the Cycle mode of the transport. Cycle playback uses the left and right locators to determine the beginning and end of the cycle.

1. Set the left and right locators to the start and end of the cycle you wish to record. (See Figure 6.9.)

2. Enable cycle playback on the Transport panel. (See Figure 6.10.)

3. Start recording from the left locator. Once the right locator has been reached, the cursor will jump back to the left locator and continue recording.

4. After recording five takes, you will have each take in a lane with the last complete one active. (See Figure 6.11.)

Figure 6.9 Left and right locators set.

Figure 6.10 Cycle enabled on the Transport panel.

Figure 6.11 Five takes recorded in Cycle mode.

Notice how each event is named Take 1 (VO_24), Take 2 (VO_24), etc. What has happened is that one audio file (VO_24) has been recorded with five regions within that audio file each creating an event in a lane (Take 1, Take 2, etc.). This really helps identify takes and speeds up the editing process afterward.

The audio record modes affect the way cycle record deals with overlaps and lanes. The above example applies when the audio record mode is Keep History. When the mode is set to Cycle History + Replace, Nuendo will remove any previously recorded events and replace them with all the new lanes created by the current recording cycle. In Replace mode, only the last complete take will remain in the lane.

Pro Tools User Tip: Playlists Pro Tools uses a similar system to Nuendo’s lanes but with some significant differences. Instead of lanes, Pro Tools uses playlists. Playlists differ in that they are essentially alternate versions of a track. They can contain differing audio regions, and (as with Nuendo) only one playlist can be heard at a time.

Playlists must be created manually or by loop recording in a special mode. Each playlist acts like a Nuendo lane with the record mode set to Replace.

Lanes in Nuendo are a bit more fluid since they are created automatically during cycle recording or Keep History mode. Merely punching in on a Nuendo audio track will create lanes from overlapping audio events. With Pro Tools, you would have to manually create a new or duplicate playlist to record new material without removing previous takes.

Each model can accomplish the same basic tasks with differing workflows. The similarities between Pro Tools playlists and Nuendo’s lanes will be discussed further in Part III, “Editing.”