1st post on this forum and I apologize if this isn't technically the right place to put this but, I'm doing this in Studio One 7 so I figured might as well throw it here. And I'm starting the thread now but will upload a sound file later (once I figure out how to bounce out just one region I recorded).

I'm having an awful time figuring out the correct time signature to use on a part of a song I'm trying to record. I know how to change the meter in a specific spot of the song, but for the life of me I can't figure out what the timing of this riff is, or if it might just need a tempo change. This is really making it difficult to program some drums close enough to the grid so that I can then re-record the guitar on time.

 

Advanced Tempo Detection | New in Studio One Pro 7 | PreSonus

Testing the new enhanced tempo detection in Studio One Pro 7 | PreSonus

 

I tried this and it crashed Studio One so I didn't try it again. Guess I'll have to give it another try.

The second video is much closer to what I'm trying to do, only I'm not changing my speed when I'm recording - I just simply cannot figure out the time signature that I need to use. Again, I know this is dumb without an audio sample but I came across this forum while at work so I don't have access to my DAW right now. I will upload the specific part when I get home.

Does the tempo detection work pretty well with odd time signatures?

 

Last edited: Dec 22, 2025 at 7:47 PM

Audio file tempo detection

There are or can be a few things at play here:

- Tempo detection, which is an active process determining the tempo in a file based on its audio content, or
- Files can have tempo information embedded in the file header, which may be readable by Studio One or not
- Stretching files, which depends on (default) track settings

Tempo detection is only needed when an imported audio file does not have useable tempo data in the header. When you start the detection process Studio One analyses the audio, trying to determine the tempo and variations for a fixed tempo or for a tempo map. The new information is there for you to use, or not. If useable tempo data was already present in the file then tempo detection is not needed and even inadvisable, because automatic detection can miss a beat or two.

And then it depends on your track settings (per track) if the song uses the tempo data at all. Each audio track has the option to Follow, Don't follow or Timestretch. Don't follow means that you can place events anywhere on the timeline and they will stay there, even if you change the song's tempo or tempo track. The events will play exactly as recorded and won't change tempo at all.

Follow means the same but now the starting points of the events will move when the song's tempo or tempo track is changed, for a fixed starting point relative to other tracks/events in the song that do change tempo with the song's settings. Finally, Timestretch moves events as with Follow, but events with tempo data in them now also adapt to tempo (changes) in the song.

It means that a file which has tempo data 100bpm in it will play 20% faster when imported in a 120bpm song. And when the song's tempo track at some point goes down to 100bpm then as off that point the track will slow down to 100bpm too.

In Studio One there is a default Follow/Don't follow/Timestretch setting for when you create a new track. You can change the default or you can change the track's setting after you created it, up to you.

Source: https://studiooneforum.com/threads/audio-file-tempo-detection.1078/

Foolproof Tempo Mapping in Studio One