Workflow suggestions: Recording multiple takes

When recording a part, I like to do it 50 times and then pick the best one.

My workflow is really inefficient... I hit record on my DAW, run over to the mic & sing, run back to the DAW to hit stop (and ctrl-z as needed ), move the clip to an archived track, then record again, run back to the mic, etc. At the end of the session--if I haven't tripped over a cord & ripped my entire rig out of the wall--I have an archived track with 50 clips to be reviewed.

Is there an easier way to do it? Maybe something automated or looping? I remember a while back someone described a technique where he stays in his vocal booth the whole time and loops the recording, but I can't remember how/where he moved the old takes.

And in general, do a lot of people record this way? Or did yall graduate from the Sinatra school of 1st take recording?

My method is to play it 50 times and only pretend to have recorded it but not actually do so. Then I go watch Mythbusters. Next morning, I get up half an hour earlier than usual, come in and typically nail it on the first or second take.

It's actually an old school methodology. They used to call it "rehearsal".

I'm with you Bit.
I'll record many takes only for listening as part of my rehearsal.
When the red light's on for the keeper, I'm going for one take. I have most always recorded the guitar with the effects, "the sound" as I want while I'm playing. Recording like that makes it very hard to make undetectable edits (at least for me) so "one take" is a must.

I recently tried using track layers for the first time and didn't really care for it because the individual track layers become very small and difficult to work with when comping later on.

Unless I discover a better way, I will continue to create a new track for each take.  For vocals (for example) I probably do a maximum of 6 takes on average.

I know this is no help to the OP, but this is my method.

Here's what I do (when working with a good singer):

* Record the first take, basically as practice making sure the levels are good, etc. Mute the track.
*Enable track layers, record a second track, mute it.
* Repeat as needed (I like at least 3 takes)

Then when mixing I'll pick the best overall take. Hopefully it will not have any issues, but if it does, try to find a different take where that part was better. Split the clips before and after that section - unmuting the part on the good take and muting the others. 
 
I don't archive the other clips, just mute them...

 

For vocals or lead instruments I usually record 3 full passes that span the entire song.  After each pass I select the clip and hit Q to mute it.  After I have 3 I do a comp choosing the best parts from each.  If there are still bad spots I slice them out and have the artist punch them.

First.... move the mic and other equipment closer to the DAW. I have everything within about 4 to 5 feet. I can set and watch the computer and record right there ...all within easy reach.... no running, no tripping. My keyboard is 6 feet but my stool is half way between the DAW and the keyboard.

As for the number of takes..... here's my work flow.

I rehearse the part until I can play it without mistakes. This might be two or three times or twenty or more depending on the part.  Then and only then will I attempt a recording of the track. If I mess up, I click the clip and delete it..... then I have another go at it, until I get it right. On longer parts, or complex parts I will divide the part into several takes..... doing one at a time.... that's the beauty of punch in/out. 

I use the delete and record again method since I don't want all that audio hanging around clogging up my hard drive.

But to me, the most important part of the performance is the emotion you capture, and that's something rehearsal can't help you with (in fact if you practice an emotion too much, it'll become stale & contrived).

I agree to some extent, but I also know that when you have a part rehearsed, and know it well, you are now FREE to allow the emotions to be expressed without having to think about the accuracy of the right notes.  I find that when I really know a song or a part, I can "get into it" much easier. Let it wail on......

+1 Edentowers
I loop record to one track with layers switched on and 'Store takes on a single track' set on the Record options. Each recorded take will be automatically muted as you record the next one.
Reviewing the layers is easy with the layer's exclusive solo feature.
Then I create a second track for the composite and select, ctrl-shift-drag the bits I want from the layer track to the comp track.

I wonder if we can bind CTRL-Z, then R, into one key press...

uncleswede

I loop record to one track with layers switched on and 'Store takes on a single track' set on the Record options. Each recorded take will be automatically muted as you record the next one.

THAT is the trick I had forgotten! I was just about to ask how one did that... forgot about the quasi-hidden options<G>!

Thanks!

As an aside...

I fully appreciate the ability to record several takes without having to put down the guitar, but most of the time I tend to rehearse away from the microphones and try to nail it on the first take.

It does not happen every time, but that's my goal.

One of the traps I try to avoid is using all the capabilities of a modern DAW just because they are there. I avoid using tools like AudioSnap and VVocal or Autotune to fix mistakes. My rule of thumb is that I don't make edits I would not have made with a razor blade or spot erase - and I was the king of spot-erasing<G>!

That's not to suggest that these tools are not cool - they are! Nor do I think they should never be used. Sometimes a take really is good enough to rescue from some silly mistake.

I think I've mentioned it before, but I have this 8 track master from the late 1980s that just represents EVERYTHING that can go wrong during a session. It's bad! Really horrible.

Over the years I've used different tools to clean it up, and the tools have reached the point where they can create a very credible performance from these tracks. I have not dragged them out since the advent of AudioSnap, and perhaps I should, but even "fixing" the timing manually in Sonar or Audition made such a remarkable difference I'm pretty sure the original players would never recognize it.

Extending that a bit, the common practice with tape was to do a few takes, and depending on track count and the number of tracks available on the tape you might have to discard some takes in order to record another, so the number was quite limiting. Alternately you just recorded over the previous take if you were really low on empty tracks.

The computer made that whole concept disappear. That's good for a lot of reasons, but it can lead to a loss of that sense of urgency that sometimes helps create the killer take.

A friend and I were discussing live vs studio engineering at lunch earlier this week. Neither of us wants to lug gear, or deal with all the surprises that went along with working in a live setting, but both of us enjoyed it because there were no do-overs.

That's a large part of the reason I continue to play in pit bands. There are so many elements that have to come together, and you are but one part of the final product, and you have to get it right because the rest of the folks are depending on you to do so. I love that feeling!

wst3

Extending that a bit, the common practice with tape was to do a few takes, and depending on track count and the number of tracks available on the tape you might have to discard some takes in order to record another, so the number was quite limiting. Alternately you just recorded over the previous take if you were really low on empty tracks.

The computer made that whole concept disappear. That's good for a lot of reasons, but it can lead to a loss of that sense of urgency that sometimes helps create the killer take.

That's a really interesting point. How soon we forget how it was done in the days of tape. I've only used tape once (24 track), and there was no such thing as saving old takes at all. Either you keep it, you ditch it, or you punch in. But there was no A/B'ing old takes to choose which was best, since each instrument only got 1 track.

And there was definitely that sense of urgency you mentioned. You've also got the rest of the band getting bored/irritated, as well as (I don't know if this was true...) the mixing engineer saying if you keep re-recording the part you might stretch the tape, so it's best to do it in one shot. We hit a lot of spooky notes, argued a lot if it was 'good enough' but eventually knocked out a pretty good album in just a few days.

Today music is different, though. Am I imagining things, or are we suddenly expected to be perfect? Or maybe digital recording exposes our flubs, so we're now inclined to be perfectionists? In any case, like Mully said, too many choices can spoil the broth ...especially when, after hearing too many takes, our own ears are no longer objective.

I may have to re-think my '50-take' philosophy. Tell you the truth, it's usually one of the first 10 that I end up keeping anyway.

Techniques... thanks for the great tips, gang. I'm going to experiment with some of your methods. Edentowers, I had no clue about that new track option. That's exactly what I need. And Sluggo, I agree they need to combine Ctrl-Z and R into one keystroke. Actually for me it's Spacebar (stop), Ctrl-Z (undo), R (Record). I've actually gotten really quick at hitting those with one hand

Btw Hack, have you considered doing Ctrl-Z instead of highlighting the clip & deleting? It may save you those 12 seconds and you only need 1 hand to do it, so you don't need to put down your flugelhorn.

Haha mine too. And my spacebar is kinda loose, I guess from hitting it so hard in frustration