Audio comping

Record several performances on the same audio track, then choose the passages you want to keep. The arrangement shows one result. Original recordings stay underneath it, including shorter takes and later recordings that span several earlier sections.

When to use it

Keep the feel of a whole vocal take and replace one uncertain line. Try a few guitar phrases over a loop, or record a single word later without disturbing the choices already on the track. MIDI comping and automatic phrase detection are not part of this first version.

Controls

Collecting takes

Arm an audio track and record normally. With a loop enabled, each pass becomes a take. Without a loop, recording over existing audio adds another take wherever it overlaps. The first recording remains the default. New recordings keep all existing choices, including intentional silence; new audio outside the existing result fills the empty time. Imported files still behave as ordinary clips.

Quick choices in the sequencer

Hover over a stitched passage to reveal its available takes directly underneath. Click a waveform to choose it. When stopped, the passage plays once; during playback, the choice changes in place. Hovering alone changes nothing. Dotted stitches run through the full clip height so you can see each passage in the arrangement.

Arrow keys work as soon as the popup appears: ↑ and ↓ choose takes, and ← and → move between passages. M or the speaker button beside the passage name toggles silence. Turning it back on restores the previous take, even after closing the popup or saving and reopening the project. Space plays or stops the passage; Escape closes the popup. Undo restores earlier choices.

The small stacked badge appears once a second recording is available. Its number opens the full editor; its arrow opens quick choices without hovering, including on touch screens.

Making stitches in the sequencer

Use the existing Cutter tool. Clicking the waveform splits the clip into two clips. On a clip with multiple takes, a Stitch target appears at the bottom of the cut guide: click that to divide the passage inside the same clip. Both actions follow the shared grid; Alt bypasses snapping. Switch back to the selection tool to compare takes by hovering.

Opening the editor

Click the number on the stacked takes badge, double-click the clip, or choose Comp takes… from its menu. The editor’s top waveform is the result; the rows below show alternatives for the selected passage. Recordings from elsewhere in the song stay out of the list. The full editor also provides a larger workspace for touch, boundary adjustments and transitions.

Play whole result plays from the beginning. With Cut off, click anywhere in the top waveform to listen from that point. Playback stops at the end of the clip. Pinch to zoom and scroll to pan; Zoom to passage moves in for a closer edit and Full view brings the whole clip back. Selecting another passage preserves your zoom, panning to it only when needed.

Dividing passages

Turn on Cut and click the result where a phrase should change. The shared sequencer grid controls snapping; Alt bypasses it. Turn Cut off to listen from the waveform again. You can add cuts while listening without stopping playback. Cuts divide your choices, leaving each source recording intact. With keyboard focus on a passage, activating it in Cut mode divides it in half.

Drag a boundary to move both neighboring edges together. A focused boundary also moves with the arrow keys, or by one sample with Alt. Join previous removes an unnecessary division when both passages use the same take.

Comparing takes

Click a take to select it and hear the passage once in the song. The last take you clicked is the choice; there is no separate Keep step. Selected marks that take, and Undo restores the preceding choice. Play passage replays only the selected passage, regardless of how far the result waveform is zoomed.

Use ↑ and ↓ to select and compare takes, ← and → to move between passages, C to toggle Cut, and Space to play or stop. A short recording replaces only the part it covers, preserving existing audio outside that coverage. Done or closing stops playback and retains your choices.

Silence and transitions

Silence makes an intentional gap. It does not reveal a lower take. Choosing another recording restores audio there.

New choices request a short 3 ms crossfade. Transition adjusts the fade at the selected passage’s left boundary, from 0 to 20 ms. A crossfade needs both recordings to cover the join; its actual length is limited by available audio. Move a boundary inward if a recording ends exactly at the join. Listen around consonants and attacks rather than assuming a longer fade is always better.

Returning to the arrangement

Done returns to one collapsed clip. Move, trim, split, duplicate, mute, gain and outer fades work on that result and retain the alternative takes. Project saving, reopening and Undo retain them too. Export and Render use the kept choices.

To reverse or loop the completed result, render it to a new track first. This first version does not reverse or repeat a comp container directly; the original comp remains available for more decisions.

Tips

• Use Convert to notes… on a single-note comp to create MIDI from its chosen passages. Hidden alternatives and silenced passages do not contribute notes.

• Choose a broad performance first, then divide only the places that need a different take.

• Keep a breath and the beginning of the next word visible in the result when placing boundaries. Performances rarely line up at exactly the same boundary.

• Record harmonies and doubles on separate tracks when you want them to sound together.