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[rickeyjt]

Please add a-b looping within a song feature.

[Matt]

Could you describe how you would like the user interface for this feature to work?  Would a saved loop be saved to the song, and always used?

Thanks.

[cncb]

I would like this too.  For me, being able to set start and end loop points on the position bar (slide some indicators to certain times) would be great.  If it could be saved that would be a bonus and then maybe only used when you are doing repeat playback on the "current item"?  This would be great for practicing music (playing guitar, etc.).

[rickeyjt]

This is a request from a musician so your asking about functionality opens up a lot of possibilities.

A simple introduction into the interface would be, while the song is playing, to press a single key (not a ctl,alt,shft combo) for the start point and then the same key again for the end point.  Section now loops.

Would I like to save and fine tune multiple loops in song, sure.  Save the loop points directly into the mp3 file as an additional tag, why not.  Keep this info in the  mc database outside of the file is another option but makes it more  difficult perhaps to share them.

I notice this a-b looping was asked for and discussed 4 or 5 years ago and then no mention of it again until now.

[Matt]

Would it work if there was a repeat mode next to 'Repeat Current Item' called 'Repeat A-B Loop' that showed a dialog where you could put in the start and end times?

I'm asking about the interface, because the functionality already exists.  It's just a playback range combined with 'Repeat Current Item'.

Playback ranges only work with audio (I think) so I don't know if that'll be a problem.

[cncb]

Would it work if there was a repeat mode next to 'Repeat Current Item' called 'Repeat A-B Loop' that showed a dialog where you could put in the start and end times?

This would be fine for me (although some kind of mouse drag visual indicators on the time/position bar would be great to have in the future).

[rickeyjt]

Entering numbers into a dialog box is a secondary option but not the way one would typically try to intuitively and practically use such a feature.  It has to be a mouse click on a start point button and a mouse click on an end point button.  Or as I stated before, a single key that sets these points.  The actual time points gathered with that action could be used to fill in the dialog you are talking about for that kind of visual adjustment.

This process of setting start and end loop points is always done during playback.  Let's say I click the start point button and end point button.  The section is now looping.  If the time numbers are now available during playback to adjust with a click arrow up or down one frame (out of 72 per second), then we can fine tune the loop.  Or a slider that increments/decrements start or end points.  I am not talking about one second increments, much finer 72 frames per second I believe is a standard division of an mp3 slice of time processable.

All that said, I'll take any way you get something out there now.

[Matt]

In a coming build, you can modify the 'Playback Range' field to something like '1:00 - 1:20' and set the player to 'Repeat Current Item' to loop.

Using the Tempo DSP plugin is also nice for practicing.  I've been working on a Jelly Roll Morton piece, and even slowed down it's swamping me.

[rickeyjt]

Check out Amazing Slow Downer www.ronimusic.com.  Maybe you can write a plugin for it.

[Matt]

The tempo, rate, and pitch plugin built into Media Center works pretty well, I think.

[rickeyjt]

Their slow down engine is truly amazing even at 200% slower.  I never heard another one as clean, including mc.  ASD is worth looking at to see a benchmark for this type file manipulation.  I wouldn't expect you to try to make mc do everything asd does but you may adopt some fundamental ideas.  E.g., saving preset loops, or sliding or shifting begin and end loop points.  For me, it is just about bringing a little more robust looping feature to mc.  The asd slow down engine is phenomenal and if you could tie into it that would be nice but not necessary.  Just good control of looping is enough for now.  Thanks for introducing it into the next build.