I think there might be an opportunity here to discuss the difference between basic instrument tracks and additional tracks used for ornamental fills or patches (like a patch to correct a bad spot in a vocal.)

In brief, a BIAB “style” will give you four or five basic instrument tracks to write a song with. It is basically what the Beatles had to work with early on (track-wise) and they didn’t do so bad.

You do not really add extra tracks in BIAB. You add extra tracks by opening the BIAB file in Real Band (the free DAW that comes with BIAB) and generating more instrument tracks there. You add more instruments at your own risk. If you have more than eight or nine instruments in most popular songs, it is going to get way too busy. Eight instrument tracks in a band is about the norm.

Here is an example of what it means to minimize tracks: If in addition to your five BIAB tracks, you play a live acoustic guitar part perfectly the first time through, and decide to keep it, you have one extra track for that instrument part, which is the ideal, of course. If you have to do that in 10 takes on 10 different tracks and chop them up, things will get messy.

For most vocals, even if you do the main take perfectly, you will want to copy that at least twice to other tracks so you can experiment with different effects on each track and then do a blend of those tracks, experimenting with panning effects or other tricks. Or you may do backing vocals. There go another three or four tracks.

And now for drums!

Most people don’t know there is tone toggle on BIAB in the far right hand corner. Moving this and also the reverb switch on the drums will dramatically change their sound. You need to find a good tone for what you want and export at least one track completely dry to make your own effects later (EQ, reverb etc.)

I have found that with Real Drums, if you use at least 3 tracks of the same recording, you can get a pretty fair simulation of a live drum recording session by using EQs and effects (such as Izotope Neutron along with various EQs, including a 10 band EQ) to focus on the kick drum on one track, the toms on another, and the cymbals and snare on another.

If you spend enough time on the drums you can fool many people into thinking you have real drums—almost everyone except for drummers. Well, that’s not true. I have fooled one or two drummers on occasions, good drummers too.

While it may be true that some Nashville recordings have 300 tracks that doesn’t necessarily mean they are good songs. Many of those songs on the radio (to me) sound like a cluttered wall of sound and I can’t listen to them. I would rather hear a great two track song—one great guitar and one great vocal.

Most really good songs have about eight well-chosen instrumental tracks, a few good vocal tracks and as many extra tracks as you need to add what is needed.

The goal in any song is to get what you need done with less. Less is almost always better and more is almost always messy after a certain point.

So, bare bones:

Six to eight instrumental tracks.

About five vocal tracks (including doubles and background vocals).

Three drum tracks.

About 16 to 18 to keep it simple.

Hope this makes sense. Happy Holidays.

* Oh, one another thing, try recording Verses and Choruses (and Bridges too) on different tracks.

There may be a lot of argumentation on this point, but that's okay--and the point is I do not chop vocals. To each his own, but I may sing a verse 100 times but I won't chop it. Even if the take I use has "flaws" and is not "perfect" I find it impossible to get the rock and roll authenticity and passion I want unless all of it flows from one take. (Regardless of how many takes it took to get there.)

Others may do it differently and splice on and on forever and do just great with it, but I just don't find that works for me. I have to do it in one take to get the continuous sound I am looking for.

But again, to each his own.



David Snyder
Songwriter/Renaissance Man
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