Logic-Pro

The anchor sets a temporal reference point for an Audio Region.

When you move a region in the Arrange area, Logic Pro displays the position of the anchor in the help tag, and snaps the region’s anchor to the selected Snap menu grid division. 

It is an Orange indicator in the Sample Editor and Black in the Audio Bin Window (Command 9).

A newly created Audio FILE always has the Anchor and Region Start points at the beginning of the file.

Positioning the Anchor to lock to an obvious amplitude peak of a swell sound or attack point (Kick Drum) in a drum loop will force the region to snap to the grid of the Arrangement (as defined in Transport Bar, below the Time Signature value), using the anchor as the pivot point. These are good examples of beat / grid time reference points. Therefore, when moving an Audio region with a well-positioned anchor point, you can be confident that the Audio Region will maintain its temporal relationship to your arrangement as you move it back and forth.

Positioning the Anchor at the highest (single bit) zoom resolution will ensure tight synchronization and quantization between the Audio file and  MIDI regions. * of course offset anchor placement could lead to interesting ’humanized’ synchronization or rather more desirable ‘idiosyncratic’ playback akin to early sample based recordings such as 1980’s Hip Hop which interestingly enough, was often down to ‘badly’ looped sample editing as much as the conflicting grooves of layered sample loops.

The Help Tag displays the Anchor point rather than the Region Start point when you move an Audio Region.

• Any changes to the Anchor point will change the relative position of the audio region in the Arrangement.

To maintain the Audio Region position in the Arrangement:

In the Sample Editor Choose Edit > Compensate Region Position Ctrl C.

• When active, moving the anchor won’t change what you hear in the Arrange area.
• When inactive, moving the anchor changes the position of audio regions in the Arrange area. The region shifts in relation to the Time Axis, while the Anchor remains tied to the same bar value and is marked by a dotted line.

Anchor points can not be positioned before a Region Start Point.

Hold down Option  while moving the End Marker of an Audio Region to prevent the Anchor from moving.

-MC-

Tags: Anchor, Audio, Region, Sample Editor