Mute's Pro Syncing Guide ~ UPDATED 11/02/11

[Kyzentun]

Well, then you just start trying different BPM values until that doesn't happen. 162.100? Better, but still off. 162.150? A little too far. 162.125? A little off, but in the other direction. 162.130? Very close, but there's a little drift by the end. 162.132? Absolutely everything in the song lines up perfectly with the measure markers in StepMania.

Trial and error seems too haphazard and time consuming to me, at least if it's all you use. What I do is I note the millisecond of say, the first 20-30 beats. Then I take the average of the difference between them, and convert that to an exact bpm. Then I just note the millisecond of some beat every 10 seconds to the end of the song. When I get to edit mode, I first set the bpm to what I calculated, then start checking it at the various points I noted down, adjusting it by tiny increments to make them match.

[mute]

Well, then you just start trying different BPM values until that doesn't happen. 162.100? Better, but still off. 162.150? A little too far. 162.125? A little off, but in the other direction. 162.130? Very close, but there's a little drift by the end. 162.132? Absolutely everything in the song lines up perfectly with the measure markers in StepMania.

Trial and error seems too haphazard and time consuming to me, at least if it's all you use. What I do is I note the millisecond of say, the first 20-30 beats. Then I take the average of the difference between them, and convert that to an exact bpm. Then I just note the millisecond of some beat every 10 seconds to the end of the song. When I get to edit mode, I first set the bpm to what I calculated, then start checking it at the various points I noted down, adjusting it by tiny increments to make them match.

It's neither haphazard nor time consuming. I'm usually using just one point in the song as a reference point; once that one's lined up, then I double-check some other parts of the song to ensure there's no drifting. Whatever the groove you just said sounds a whole lot more time consuming. Most of the stuff I step is just a straight tempo anyway, so it's kind of a moot point. (Brandon, don't even say it.)

[PaTriCK =)]

I love this, thanks mute, but so how did you find the correct bpm of LED M.?

Step 2 of my syncing guide.

Your step 2 has 2 pictures, i dont understand. can you explain in other way?

You try different BPM values, like the "troubleshooting" section for Step 2 says.

For LED M, the BPM was obviously somewhere between 162 and 163. So, we get the offset correct so that the first beat of the song lines up properly in StepMania, starting with a BPM 162.000. We see that the other beats of the song slowly start drifting away from lining up with the measure markers. Well, then you just start trying different BPM values until that doesn't happen. 162.100? Better, but still off. 162.150? A little too far. 162.125? A little off, but in the other direction. 162.130? Very close, but there's a little drift by the end. 162.132? Absolutely everything in the song lines up perfectly with the measure markers in StepMania.

LED M is an example of a song that has a weird BPM, but it stays at exactly that BPM for the entire song. It doesn't drift. Some drifty stuff is still syncable though; for an example of that, get my "Together We Will Conquer" file from Mute Sims 4 and look at the BPM changes in Edit Mode.

Waoo! You synced "Together We will Conquer" like a Dog having sex.

[alex pr]

So how exactly do you sync a song using audacity? I don't get it.

I'm looking at the picture on the first page of this thread and I see that the top and bottom are nice and aligned. But what does the top and bottom represent and how do I sync using it?

[mute]

So how exactly do you sync a song using audacity? I don't get it.

I'm looking at the picture on the first page of this thread and I see that the top and bottom are nice and aligned. But what does the top and bottom represent and how do I sync using it?

I'm not actually "syncing the song in Audacity," per se. The song is synced in Stepmania, of course. What the pictures illustrate is how one uses Audacity to visually confirm the exact location of a particular beat on a song's timeline. Listening to Shades of Blue, you hear a particular bass kick at the beginning of a measure somewhere around the 56-second mark. You zoom in on the song's waveform and you see that the bass kick occurs at exactly 56.471 seconds. You then go back to Stepmania and ensure that the position marker reads 56.471 seconds at the corresponding beat in the stepchart. You do this sort of check at multiple points throughout the song/stepchart. If everything lines up, your song is synced. What do you need clarification about?

[PaTriCK =)]

So how exactly do you sync a song using audacity? I don't get it.

I'm looking at the picture on the first page of this thread and I see that the top and bottom are nice and aligned. But what does the top and bottom represent and how do I sync using it?

I'm not actually "syncing the song in Audacity," per se. The song is synced in Stepmania, of course. What the pictures illustrate is how one uses Audacity to visually confirm the exact location of a particular beat on a song's timeline. Listening to Shades of Blue, you hear a particular bass kick at the beginning of a measure somewhere around the 56-second mark. You zoom in on the song's waveform and you see that the bass kick occurs at exactly 56.471 seconds. You then go back to Stepmania and ensure that the position marker reads 56.471 seconds at the corresponding beat in the stepchart. You do this sort of check at multiple points throughout the song/stepchart. If everything lines up, your song is synced. What do you need clarification about?

I'm understanding more>!

[alex pr]

Oh I get it now. It now looks so easy to me now.

Thanks mute

[Vospi]

what will you do if you're not very pretty sure where the peak in the file is?
basshunter stuff where you can see every note is not the case of course.

[PUMA.Hamtaro]

what will you do if you're not very pretty sure where the peak in the file is?
basshunter stuff where you can see every note is not the case of course.

Stuff that drifts is the same thing, except you have to check the seconds much more often. Songs like TOE JAM or, well, I don't know any others that have multi-varying BPMs off hand would probably be better off-synced in DDReam studio, as it will find the BPM for you. Just find the starting BPM and gap using Mute's method.

[mute]

what will you do if you're not very pretty sure where the peak in the file is?
basshunter stuff where you can see every note is not the case of course.

That's a very good question. It's hard to be objective with poorly mastered audio or songs with difficult-to-read waveforms. To be honest, I usually stay away from stuff that falls into this category.

I can't tell you how many people have come to me with songs like this and asked me to sync them. Sorry folks, dunno what to tell ya. I'm not a magician. I'm able to sync my stuff well because I'm just really selective with what songs I pick. I had two really drifty songs in my second pack; I was able to salvage "Love Is In Danger" after a LOT of trial and error with BPM and offset, but I ended up scrapping "Operation Blackout" because I couldn't consistently decipher the beats in the waveform.

Song choice is important. If you want to step drifty songs with muddy audio...good luck.

[Vospi]

I wasn't talking about "drifting" ones. That issue can be solved with ease.
The thing I'm talking about is: If song is extremely processed and compressed (like some electrodnb songs) it's more complicated to find the transient right. So, you cannot tell that the track is anyhow "muddy", but it's just clipped very hard (and in a professional way).

I'm very interested on the topic.
Thanks for covering this and sorry for my horrible English. :)

[bns.gouki]

OH MY GOD.

SO THIS IS WHY SO MANY OF MUTE'S FILES FEEL SO grooving EARLY????

I had no idea they weren't supposed to be synced to our actual SM, that was never said. I thought the goal of the global offset was to actually match the arcade exactly? My offset is far from -0.12, and all my files are perfectly synced on SM and on arcade. I do understand the offset difference between PC and arcade, but if you take a file you KNOW is perfectly synced on arcade and sync your global offset to that song, that it should be perfectly matched.

Now, after have done that, why do his files still feel early on PC if I know my offset is perfect for AC?

I'm probably retarded, but clearly I don't understand.

You're basically saying this :

A: PC sync
B: Arcade sync
C: Mute sync

A=B
B=C
C=/=A

It's impossible.

[Vospi]

yeah, you don't understand. :)
read the 1st page one more time.

we change global offset value here only for editing purposes. with it, files are not meant to be onsync on your machine

try this:
(1) plant a new installation of openitg or stepmania
(2) use the exact method that's described in the 1st post
(3) copy the result to your 1st stepmania which you're saying is onsync with arcade files.

if both of you (you and mute) are correct, it should work.

[bns.gouki]

I perfectly already understood everything you stated, but like I said, my files that are SYNCED on my SM are ALSO synced on the machine. Now how is that possible if my offset isn't the said -0.12?

And uh, "they aren't supposed to be synced on your machine"? Then why are you "syncing" them at all?

[PaTriCK =)]

I perfectly already understood everything you stated, but like I said, my files that are SYNCED on my SM are ALSO synced on the machine. Now how is that possible if my offset isn't the said -0.12?

Good question! I want the answer now!