Alrite guys, I understand what quantizing does, however, I do not exactly understand how to use it to my benefit. Do any of you have any general rules/guidelines etc to follow when quantizing? Such as what setting to quantize at (60 80 120 etc) in order to go with certain measures (4/4 3/4 etc) and certain tempos?

Re: QUANTIZE

The quantize value you select should be determined by the smallest musical value you want to execute.

So, for example, if the smallest value you have musically in the composition is a 16th note, then setting the quantize to 120 will give you a situation where you cannot play anything smaller than a 16th note. So that is as “sloppy” as you can be. Every note will be moved to a clock value that is a multiple of 120 (or the downbeat, 000)

There are 480 pulses (clocks) per quarter note.

Using quantize in the MO can be done during record or you can wait until after you record and apply it later. It is up to you.

In general you will want to use it on performances where your timing needs help. It is not recommended in all situations and should not be used if you intend to use anything other than the keys for ON/OFF switches. By that I mean - if you are taking a guitar solo with lots of pitch bending and modulation wheel work… obviously quantizing will not be musically friendly. In such a situation you would apply quantize after the fact, as applying it later you can apply it to just note data and not the controller data.

Quantize is not a cure all.. If you are off the beat it can help you move notes toward a particular value… But if you early at one point and late at another, you may find that it jams multiple hits on the same clock… So it cannot cure all bad timing. Use with caution.

Applying quantize after the fact is a bit more flexible because you have more parameters you can set, you can apply swing quantize, you can apply a percentage quantize… which is used to simply tighten up the timing rather than making it absolutely strict.

The key is know yourself, know when your timing is bad, and know how much the technology can help you. Sometimes it will not be able to help you at all, in such a case you simply have to honest with yourself and play it again. Fortunately with today’s MIDI technology only the final take is kept - you can destroy all the evidence… Only the final product matters!

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Re: QUANTIZE

One tip, once you quantize you’re only recourse if you want to go back to your unquantized original is “undo”. If you then do something else, then undo won’t effect quantize and you are stuck with what you have. So, if you are experimenting with quantize and want to be able to go back to the original, copy the unquantized original somewhere first (usb drive or another song/pattern). Bye the way, sometimes quantize is useful not just to correct timing errors, but almost as an effect in itself. It is worth playing around with.