Questions on using the supplied Melodyne plugin.

[Ray Cube]

Apart from additional CPU usage, are there any limits as to how many instances of Melodyne that can be used within the same project?

Would it be better to use Melodyne as a single plug-in per track and render the track as one file or use on individual audio clips on the same track?

Would using Melodyne to produce new versions of a supplied sample to add to the library be a legal way to produce more versions of an instrument or would it be the same as using a sampler within a project?

Thanks for any thoughts on the above topics.

[CactusMusicBC]

The way ARA and Melodyne works in Mixcraft is you click on the melodyne tab in the editor and that loads the file into Melodyne. You edit the audio and then you Choose "Finalize" to commit your editing. Or you can remove it without saving the changes. Both choices removes Melodyne from your CPU.

Mixcraft is non destructive so what happens is the track you now see and use in the project is the rendered version but your original track is still stored in the projects folder. This is a different system than Sonars "destructive" method which required you always made a copy of the track first. But!

My only complaint is the tracks are not named in a way to easily identify them. Example Tack 5 is titled "Guild" but it shows in the folder as just "Project name (35)" ?
The Melodyne Finalized copy is called " Edit clip 5" so that's pretty vague too.

I often work on tracks like vocals in short clips as they might be a compilation of a bunch of different takes from different lanes or tracks. So my vocal track might have 30 or more clips. Lord help someone applying Melodyne to dozens of short clips and needing to retrieve the original.

Your idea of using short clips in one track is very much how I do my vocals. Just Finalize as you go. Then I guess you could drag them from clips one by one to a folder on the desktop and name them.

[cactus-head]

Would using Melodyne to produce new versions of a supplied sample to add to the library be a legal way to produce more versions of an instrument or would it be the same as using a sampler within a project?

In general, the EULA of most sample libraries have verbiage in them that states to some extent that you cannot "repackage" the samples and distribute them as a set of samples or library. Repackaging or reproducing them can be copying them into any audio or digital format by any means. Creating a derivative work using the samples is allowed. You would have to refer to the licensing for the particular library you are using to see if you are in legal compliance based on whatever your ultimate goals are in producing new versions of the samples.

If you are worried about overhead, the more plug-ins you have running the more CPU overhead. If you want to use a sampler to play back the sample library instead of the sample library plugin itself, you'd have to weigh which one is sucking up more juice. My thought is using a sampler to play the library sample back would fall under the derivative work... but I'm no lawyer.

I am curious why Melodyne is even in the equation. If you are using a sample library assumingly the notes are already tuned. Perhaps you are trying to use a single note and then pitch shift it to extend its range? Having written that last statement I now know what I should've done for a choir library that had limited ranges for each part.

[Ray Cube]

Thank you both for your quick replies.
I did not know about the naming problem or the rendering that occurs as so far I have just been seeing what is possible as it's pitch shifting abilities seems phenomenal to me sound quality wise. Thank you for forewarning me.

As for why I'm doing what I'm doing at present I found a bass line of several samples that I really liked the groove of so made a three minute track that has a specific groove to it just using that set of bass samples. Then I found another sample in another song kit but there were only two loops. The Syncopation was a great match for the bass line and for some sections also worked harmony wise but not in all the sections and needs an amount of 'retuning' to fit those sections.

Making the alteration to into a new loop was purely to ease the editing for inserting where the repetition of that altered loop would be needed to fit into the bass line and save with the project once completed.
I realised that Melodyne was probably intended for use with live played/recorded instruments or vocals but wondered if I was infringing a copyright of a loop that in the terms and conditions was free of royalty and copyright claims. So far I have only obtained loops from libraries that have those terms and conditions.
How that varies from chopping loops up and applying / rearranging the order of them in such a way as to be considered authentic use and therefore 'legal' use of a sample as per terms and conditions of use is something I am finding difficult to wrap my head around.