The Amazing Slow Downer

[jazzyprof]

Thought I'd share with you my new toy.  It's called the Amazing Slow Downer( https://www.ronimusic.com/)  It's software that allows you to slow down any CD without changing pitch.  So you have this amazing CD of Oscar Peterson or Horowitz playing all this incredibly fast stuff and you want to figure out how they do do it.  So you can use the Amazing Slow Downer to slow it down to whatever speed you want, loop it, and play along with it for as long as you want.  I got it about a month ago (for $40) and I've found it very useful for working on difficult fast passages and also for transcribing jazz solos.

[allchopin]

Uhh... why did you buy it?

[jazzyprof]

Uhh... why did you buy it?

You mean I could have gotten it for free?

[super_ardua]

I use my soundcard to do that

[jazzyprof]

I use my soundcard to do that

I'm not up on the latest technology...but what kind of soundcard allows you to slow down an audio CD without changing its pitch?

[allchopin]

Yes, they do offer a free demo on their site.  It does the same thing.

[Sketchee]

Free Winamp also has a free plugin that does this.

[crimper]

https://audacity.sourceforge.net  very nice software with all sorts of audio manipulation including: tempo adjustment without changing pitch and add-reverb-to that-crappy-recording-in-a-small-room-to-have-it-sound-like-a-concert-hall option.

Also compatible with three different operating systems: Windows, Mac OS 9/X, and Linux.

Best of all... FREE!

[super_ardua]

I use my soundcard to do that

I'm not up on the latest technology...but what kind of soundcard allows you to slow down an audio CD without changing its pitch?

Creative Audigy 2 Gold

[peter_g_moll]

I tested (a) Roni's Amazing Slow Downer, (b) the time warp included in GoldWave (version 4.16), and (c) the time warp in Audacity.  To do this I ripped the first variation of Brahms' Variations on a theme of Schumann, in Eb, for two pianos.  I then created a file with each of the three systems, with a 50% reduction in speed.

I was surprised at the result.  Roni's Amazing Slow Downer was far better than the other two.   There were very few artifacts and they were not readily noticeable.  The pitch was, of course, preserved perfectly.  The pianos came out sounding quite different to normal pianos in that there is much longer continuity of tone (the decay is twice as slow) so they almost sound like organs.  The quality was certainly good enough for practise purposes -- e.g. to slow down a Music Minus One or Music Partner recording, or for transcription.  It might even be good enough, depending on one's tastes, for performance/gig purposes.

The time warp in GoldWave was second best.  The artifacts were apparent and irritating in the first five seconds.  In particular, it seemed to create extra sounds in the deep base.  I guess this would still be accurate enough to transcribe, although it would be unpleasant.  It might be good enough for practise, but would be so irritating that I doubt if I'd be able to keep going for long.  Bear in mind that I have only version 4.16 of GoldWave (about two years old).  It may be that the more recent versions have improved.

The poorest was Audacity.  Again the sound artifacts were obvious and irritating from the word go.  The time and pitch were accurate so that it could still be used for practise and transcribing, but it would be very irritating.

I would have liked to have tested Roni's Amazing Slow Downer against Tascam's CD-VT1 MKII Vocal Trainer or CD-GT1 MKII Guitar Trainer or CD-BT1 MKII Bass Trainer; or against the Superscope PSD230 or PSD300.  However, I do not have access to either of these instruments.  In any case, the Amazing Slow Downer costs only $45, whereas the Tascam CD player costs $150 and the Superscope PSD230 $350 and the Superscope PSD300 $600.

I would be interested to hear whether anyone else has use the Amazing Slow Downer for practise purposes.

Regards,


Peter

[Kassaa]

You mean I could have gotten it for free?

Ofcourse you can get it for free.

[Daevren]

Plus, Transcribe! is totally free. I think.

[pseudopianist]

So what if it changes the pitch? Notate, transpose.

[adagiom]

I would be interested to hear whether anyone else has use the Amazing Slow Downer for practise purposes.

Regards,


Peter

Hi, Peter:

I bought the Amazing Slow Downer, and use it to slow down recordings to understand either tricky rhythms or ornaments, mostly. I really like it. My husband uses it for guitar recordings, too.

And yes, you can get the demo for free, and maybe even work around its built-in demo limitations, but I like to get and use my software legally.

Cheers, Michele