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File transfer from Pro Tools to CubaseLE AI Elements 7


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I hang out in the Songwriting Workshop and I'm new to this hi-tech recording world.

I've used Garageband for 3 years now as a tool for writing songs using real instruments so I understand some rudimentary stuff.

 

I recently purchased a Steinberg UR 22 interface and it came with Cubase AI software.

A buddy and I write songs together and we thought we might be able to import and export files between each other. The Cubase Manual says they are compatible.

However, he saved a song he had worked up in Pro Tools and I have attempted to load it into Cubase AI.

It does the transfer, but not as a complete folder. I have had to load each individual track file and try and realign them.

 

So the big question is : Is the lite version of Cubase 7 unable to take aboard the detailed instructions of a full version of a folder exported from Pro Tools?

 

I would be grateful for some advice from someone with experience in these matters.

 

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I'm not really a Cubase guy, but as far as I know, Pro Tools and Cubase are not fully file compatible. The audio files themselves are compatible, but the session files (the entire song project) are not. I recommend using Broadcast WAV files as your recording format, rather than AIFF, etc. Both programs can import and work with BWF files.

 

Typically, what I do when moving stuff from DAW to DAW is something along the lines of this:

 

  • Back up your data, then make a COPY of the full session. That way, the original is safe and sound - just in case.
  • Make sure all your edits have crossfades, etc. You don't want any clicks and pops in the audio on the next step...
  • Consolidate your tracks so that they all start from zero on the timeline. Even if there's nothing going on with the track until the bridge. This creates a single file that runs from the beginning until the end of the song, or at least until the end of the playing on that track. The beginning - starting from zero on the timeline - is the important part.
  • You can do this with, or without plugin processing ("freezing" the track in Cubase), but doing it "with" may require some in-DAW bounces to apply the plugin(s) to the audio files in Pro Tools. Plugins are one of the things that definitely won't transfer from program to program - they use completely different plugin formats...
  • Export the consolidated audio files, and import them to the other DAW program. Then slide the start of all of them to zero on the timeline. They'll all be in sync, and you can then carry on with overdubs, etc. from there.

 

 

Once you both have copies of the session / song on your local computer , it's much easier to send stuff back and forth. When you send an overdub to your friend, all you need to send is the new material / track, consolidated from zero on the timeline. He (or she) can then import that back into their original session, drag it to zero, and it will be in sync with everything else.

 

 

 

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  • 2 months later...
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Phil hit all the points I would have made. I run mostly Cubase and Sonar. Both programs have the ability to make "Bundles" of all the tracks into a compressed file. Sonar calls them .cwb (cakewalk bundle) files. Cubase calls them something else. These are nice because they are compressed and easy to transport with a USB stick or via internet.

 

The problem is they are Manufacturer Specific bundling/compression formants which will only unbundle within that specific DAW program.

On top of that, Newer versions of the DAW program can usually open up an older version bundle (minus the older plugins) An older program may not open up a newer bundle version is there's things in that bundle the older program doesn't recognize.

 

If both of you used the same DAW programs with the same plugins, you're life would be a whole lot easier. You just click the package and it loads everything up ready to go just like it was when the project was saved.

 

Its common for studios to have many different DAW programs just for this purpose. Its a big time saver. If you don't then you have to do it the hard way and assemble the project from raw track files.

 

One thing that can save you some time is if you rename the track files with and understandable name. (Many DAW programs generate a coded name for the files which may be difficult to sort through) If you gave the tracks names like Track1Vocals, Track2Lead, Track3 Bass, etc., it can make it allot easier to find the tracks and import them. Once you both have the basic projects up in your DAW's then all you have to do is send them the tracks that have changed, not all the others that remain the same.

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