Best technique?

As I've stated a few times before I started cutting my teeth on home recording using Acid Pro.. Using Acid, it was easy to cut and rearrange recorded parts. I understand the same can be done with Sonar, but I haven't quite figured it out yet.
 
So, I'm wondering how do you guys record? Do you record an entire guitar/bass part all at once or 1 section at a time?

That's good to know and likely answers other questions I'm sure will pop up, but not really what I was getting at. :)

When I was first learning Acid Pro I inserted a basic groove and just played what came to the top of my head just to have something to tinker with. After I finshed with all the editing I could do with what I had, it Turned out to be an ok song idea. That was quite a few years ago.

Recently, I found the raw drum track I made for that song and decided to splice it up to rearrange it. After getting the drum track laid out the way I wanted it ended up over 8 minutes long! LOL

Not a big deal on the time, but playing 3 different guitar parts plus a bass part it gets so repetative that it drives me nuts for small mistakes that sticks out like thunder to me. So I end up deleting the entire track and starting over with it.

I know there's bound to be easier ways to do it in Sonar, but not sure of the best method or how to do it. With Acid it was simply a matter of slicing, copying and pasting with a little tweaking to get it right.

Bflat5


That's good to know and likely answers other questions I'm sure will pop up, but not really what I was getting at. :)

When I was first learning Acid Pro I inserted a basic groove and just played what came to the top of my head just to have something to tinker with. After I finshed with all the editing I could do with what I had, it Turned out to be an ok song idea. That was quite a few years ago.

Recently, I found the raw drum track I made for that song and decided to splice it up to rearrange it. After getting the drum track laid out the way I wanted it ended up over 8 minutes long! LOL

Not a big deal on the time, but playing 3 different guitar parts plus a bass part it gets so repetative that it drives me nuts for small mistakes that sticks out like thunder to me. So I end up deleting the entire track and starting over with it.

I know there's bound to be easier ways to do it in Sonar, but not sure of the best method or how to do it. With Acid it was simply a matter of slicing, copying and pasting with a little tweaking to get it right.

You have several options to solve this problem.

Cut + paste is one of them, punching in on a small section to correct the errant notes is another.

This is all explained in great detail in the manual, and also in Scott Garrigus's Sonar POWER X2 book

I guess it depends on a few things.... 

Do you have the skill to record a complete track start to finish and have it flawless?  

I often will record a complete track and then go back through it looking for the mistakes. When I find them, I simply split the track before and after the mistake. I generally set the snap to grid to a specific resolution.... this keeps the splits on a certain beat resolution to make other copy/paste functions easier..... but that is not really necessary. 

I highlight the new clip with the mistake and set the punch in/out to that clip. Then I delete the bad clip and record through that part as many times as I need to in order to get it perfect. 

Other times I will start with recording shorter clips and work through the track in that manner. I mostly do this on twin leads where I need to figure out the primary part that will work and fit in the allotted space, and them also to figure out the harmony lead to match. Since this is meticulous work, it takes time and goes clip by clip. 

Once you learn the split/copy/paste function it becomes second nature. 

"So, I'm wondering how do you guys record?"





My M.O.


i typically use the DAW just like a tape recorder.

i'm going for captured performances, and rarely use it as an 'arrangement' tool.


i work out arrangements the old fashioned way, on paper, or thru practice, or by doing demos.

sometimes i use live drums, sometimes i program them in Superior Drummer...
but typically the drums are recorded first, and completely arranged in advance.

then i multitrack (overdub) the parts, track by track.
usually, guitars, both rhythm and solo, are recorded from beginning to end. 
Bass, is usually a single long performance, from beginning to end.
i'm not as adept at keys, so i'll do those performances usually a verse, chorus or bridge at the time, punching in on the same continuous track typically, but sometimes going to a 2nd or 3rd track, if i want them to overlap while mixing.

Vocals, are sometimes inspired, and i'll forego punching in to fix mistakes, for getting a vibe instead....and just go for a complete take.

but more times than not, i will punch in vocals line by line..... and then do the same thing for every harmony.



now sometimes i write, and am not sure of arrangement.. usually during the 'demo' phase....
so i will set up the metronome, and have it play a simple kick drum and snare drum, looped endlessly, and i'll record over that, and setting the snap controls for entire measures at a time, i'll cut and paste sections and move them around, in time, and 'invent' new arrangements, all the while knowing i'll go back later and write a proper drum part for the new arrangement.

maybe, i'll mix down a quick version of the final chopped up arrangement, live with it for a while, then start from scratch on a new file, with the whole thing realized in full from the beginning.