Logic Express 7 help please (stereo files)

Hi all,

Hope someone can help.

I am working with some live drum tracks I recently recorded in stereo.

I had a nice-sounding basic left and right mix (kick drum on the left and everything else right). It was recorded onto one stereo track - I could hear the separate channels through different speakers - but I have hit a brick wall as I seem to have mixed it (somehow) into one mono track!

How this happened:

1. I think this happened when I a) moved the stereo file onto a non-stereo track, then glued various regions together (I had made a composite of repeated verse / chorus sections etc.).

2. playing it back, everything a) sounded louder and b) all in mono.

The message I got when I went to glue them together was (something like) "non contigious files requires creation of a new file / (track?)" - or something like that!

Apologies for sounding like an idiot, but I am at the end of my tether- stayed up most of last night trying to relocate the original stereo version. I have looked in the audio files folder, but it seems to be just the original 'raw' stereo tracks, meaning if I used them I would have to start the task of editing parts together all over again.

Surely the stereo mix of my complete composite is in there somewhere??

Hope you can help.

Regards

CRAIG BROOKS

Logic Express 7.2.3
Macbook
OS X 10.6.2

You can "undo" that function, but I think you needed to do that immediately after
using the "merge" tool!
Try going in and try "undo" as it may still be in your history and still possible.
The only way to get a proper "new" sample, would be to just cut and add a bit
of silence or any other audio onto the end of your original audio, then when you "merge" you get
a full "new" sample including the silence.
You can then "cut" that bit off or "silence" it within the audio edit window.

Marty.

Hi Marty

Very kind of you to help.

I did try the undo function but too late. This was a few days ago and I have done various things since, hence I ran out of undo options.

Not quite sure what you mean in the second bit about "cut and add a bit"...?

If you have the time it would be great to hear from you again.

CRAIG

If you have run out of undo's and are not coming back to your stereo tracks, I'd say it pretty much looks like yer in fer some bad news...

I think what Marty was talking about actually sounds more difficult than just going back and re-editing your original raw tracks. If I understand him correctly, he is suggesting going back in and essentially creating stereo tracks out of your now mono track by cutting and pulling out each of the hits as they happen.

Now if you just have a main loop that you are doing over and over for 8/16/24 or so bars, I think that would work ok, given that there isn't too much overlap of drum audio bits in your recording.

Just take all the "Boom Booms" and make one track panned wherever, and move all the "Kack Kacks" and make another track panned wherever. If you have some "Ssst Sssts" or some "Klang Klangs" in there, that's where it might get messy...

Got all that? Lol! Happy St. Paddy's Day!!

Sorry, I didn't make myself very clear.
first - looks like you lost your "undo" so back to the beginning on that one.

For next time, when you really want to make a "new" file as you use the
"Merge" tool, just cut and paste a little bit of extra audio file ( silence or anything ) to the back end of your file that you want to merge.
Highlight both the main file and the small piece and merge as before.

Then you do get a new "copy" and can get back to your old one as it will still
be in the main audio regions window and NOT replaced.
Once you make that new "merge" file, go to the audio edit window and either
"cut off" the extra bit you added or "silence it"
Make sense ?

M.