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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Apr 2009
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Posts: 10,805 |
The clock tip is pretty funny. I have a song that highlighted bleed of a click track (even though there were no open mics) that has haunted me for several years. I am finally getting around to re-recording it.
It's not noticeable until the fade at the end of the song, but there it is: tick tock tock tock tick tock tock tock gently whispering in the fade.
I was recording one of the first takes of Come & Go in my studio. My wife was downstairs working on a project for her classroom. It involved a large sheet of crisp plastic. She moved that thing and it made a noise that was picked up by the mic. It took me a while to figure out what that sound was. I've also had the occasional dog bark, car, etc sneak into a take. I've had the metronome click get picked up. When those things happen in the silent places, I just usually edit them out with envelopes or processing. Normally they are too low in the track to be heard over the vocal so those remain as hidden things in the track.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,540
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,540 |
I would like to address the too many tracks issue. I think it should read to many unnecessary tracks.
If one wants realism then many times each instrument would be on its own track like the following set up for a funk song:
1-drums - kick, snare, hi-hat, 3 toms, 2 cymbals = 8 tracks
2-bass - 1 track
3-clavicord/piano, organ = 2 tracks
4-guitars - 2 tracks
5- horns. 2 trumpets, tenor-alt-bari sax, t-bone = 6 tracks
6-lead instrument/singer - 1 track
We now have 20 tracks and that doesn't include any percussion or backup singers. Note this is for audio (RT) tracks as well as audio (RT) tracksMIDI.
Now I know that you might be able to bring the drums down to one track but you would lose the individual drum control. Same with the horns.
FWIW I have used both of the above methods as well as mixed and matched them. It depends on the song and how much realism you want as well as how much time you have.
I think it can all be summed up in Herb's "Add nothing that adds nothing to the music"
YMMV
My wife had her driving test today.
She got 8 out of 10.
The other 2 jumped out of the way!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 1,591
Expert
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Expert
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 1,591 |
I would like to address the too many tracks issue. I think it should read to many unnecessary tracks.
Now I know that you might be able to bring the drums down to one track but you would lose the individual drum control. Same with the horns.
FWIW I have used both of the above methods as well as mixed and matched them. It depends on the song and how much realism you want as well as how much time you have.
I think it can all be summed up in Herb's "Add nothing that adds nothing to the music" YMMV Movie makers felt theyt had gotten things too pure & added "atmosphere" tracks for realism -- white noise, even street sounds. That's 1950's stuff. Mario has opened up the workflow dilemmas. Once you do a mixdown, even a new track render, those tracks are blended and pretty much bound. how can you pause the drums after a mixdown? These ideas of four tracks are opening my eyes. I hav to deal with CPU overload when too much is going on. Ditto on that compression. I think it is a rock and roll technique -- bass and drums.
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 8,849
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Posts: 8,849 |
I routinely record several minutes of room noise prior to a recording to have the normal background available for adding into recording punch in's that may be recorded at a different time with different settings in order to blend the new recordings with older takes more seamlessly.
In Biab, I also record two or more different instruments on the same track using F5 to alternate the two instruments playing. I will include a solo on a vocal track during the instrumental break. Old habits retained from the many years I recorded with 4 track and stereo recorders. I have had some version of a home recording studio continously since 1968. I recall using high quality VCR's to bounce 4 tracks to stereo or a mono track and feeding that back into the porta studio freeing up some 4 track recorder tracks to add addition songs and mixing that down to a final stereo mix.
BIAB 2025:RB 2025, Latest builds: Dell Optiplex 7040 Desktop; Windows-10-64 bit, Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz CPU and 16 GB Ram Memory.
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,540
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,540 |
Charlie, your VCR comment brought back memories. Many years ago a radio station played new age from midnight to four in the morning. I hooked up my VCR to my stereo so I could record the entire program.
My wife had her driving test today.
She got 8 out of 10.
The other 2 jumped out of the way!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 8,849
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Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 8,849 |
I really enjoyed VCR's and still have several around. Our local waste center (dump) has a swap shop shed where people put items they no longer need but aren't really trash. I recently picked up 9 vcr tapes that were brand new and still in shrink wrap -- I haven't found the need to use one yet but I do feel the Vcr's I have aren't quite as obsolete since I have tapes to play and use.
Charlie
BIAB 2025:RB 2025, Latest builds: Dell Optiplex 7040 Desktop; Windows-10-64 bit, Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz CPU and 16 GB Ram Memory.
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Apr 2009
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I recently picked up 9 vcr tapes that were brand new and still in shrink wrap -- I haven't found the need to use one yet
Charlie I helped a musician buddy clean out a hoarders house a few years back. I have some brand new cassette tapes still shrink wrapped. This hoarder was into stamps... not collectable ones, just stamps, tens of thousands in boxes..... and also VHS movies. Thousands of VHS movies. Some were the "box set collectable" editions still in their original shrink-wrap. The bathroom was movie tapes floor to ceiling. This guy kept the tupperware company in business.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 221
Apprentice
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Apprentice
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 221 |
Then there's the colleague of mine who currently has the sound radio wants for hard rock. A single guitar part might have two dozen tracks. Doubles, octaves, fuzz, flanger... Several tracks for the bass. Several for the kick. Well over a hundred in total not including sends. Says his aim is to create a brick wall wave form without resorting to over compression and limiting, even on the stereo buss. Even he thinks it's funny and sad.
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
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