Cutting Up Vocals in Acid

I get asked quite frequently how I cut up my vocals in my tracks. In a recent remix I did for Jennifer Glass entitled "Return to Love", I not only edited the vocals to sound cut up, I added a pitch bend to the cut up section the second time you hear her vocals cut up in the song. The end result in this track was a great way to drop before the chorus. I have used this technique of cutting vocals in other tracks like "Sapphira", "Rain" & another recent remix for Major Attitude Records, "You Are Love".

It is a very easy technique. I am going to tell you how I do it. You may find other software that you prefer or another way altogether. This is just the best way I have found. As with most of my posts, this comes from my own personal experience and I am only passing it on.

I use the program by Sony called Acid. I like using Acid for this because it allows me to cut in tempo an exact amount I want each time. ie: If I want to cut say each beat in half, I would zoom in my view in till the eraser deletes exactly half a beat and wahla. Half a beat deleted. Your cuts can be at an exact BPM also. Acid cuts in quantize and quick fades the edges making using this program hot for this effect.

You will want to turn on loop mode. Go to "Options" menu at top and choose "Loop Playback".

Now you will want to adjust the loop length. At the very top of your tracks you should see a blue line with a thin beginning line and ending line. Once you are set up your view, you can begin to cut. I do a few cuts and listen. Usually you want to cut each beat in quarters. That means every 1/4 of a beat, you will erase the next 1/4 area. Once done, your cut on 2 beats would look like this.

This will give you an edit or cut up sound. Simply export your loop and import it into your existing track. On vocals, it is best to just render them from the original program dry (with no FX), then open that rendered track of vocals in Acid. Remember to set the tempo the same as your existing project. After your cutting, export the edited track and replace the vocals in your existing project. This way the cuts can have FX on them.

• Try cutting small pieces of the beginning of the sound, then paste it several times before the sound plays to create a stutter effect.
• Try cutting in different patterns instead of every other one. Make the cut s more rhythmic.
• You can use this technique on all your different tracks. Try it on the drums or the synths.

....the possibilities are endless....

You can really get creative with your cuts. It is not hard and adds a nice touch to your tracks.