I wonder if anyone can point me to any link etc regarding techniques for mixing down a sequence into a single stereo track.
I have about 10 tracks of instruments (no drums or vocals) in the sequence and they are all finalised however, apart from bouncing the sequence down to one stereo track I wonder if there is a better way of doing it perhaps by using busses or some other method ?
Simply bouncing all the sequence to one track just doesn't seem adequate but I'm not aware of any other method ....I wonder how the professionals go about it ? I would be very grateful for any advise ..

I guess an answer to that would require an understanding of what you a planning on doing with the tracks.
 
Is the composition complete or are you going to be adding drums and vocal?
 
If it is a work in progress and you plan on adding drums and vocals then one option may be to route the instrumentation to a stereo buss while you flush-out your drum and vocal tracks.
 
If it is a completed composition and you like the way the mix sounds, you may want to export it as a stereo mix and let a mastering engineer work with the stereo mix from there.
 
If it is an instrumental but a mix in progress, then exploring different routing scenarios might be what you are looking for … the order in which you use things like compression, eq, reverb, etc. and where you apply it (track vs. buss) may make a difference.

Thanks for your help.

The sequence is finished, it's instrumental with no vocals or drums nor anything to add.

So as you say "you may want to export it as a stereo mix" ...I have been bouncing down to one track then exporting ....should I simply export to stereo mix without the need to bounce down ?
Also, what is the best type of file to export too?
Lastly I have been reading up about mastering ...is it the case that the mastering engineer works with the single stereo track and not the whole sequence mix ?
Grateful for any tips ...

A Mastering engineer will normally only want to work with the stereo file - ask him what format he wants it in.
 
There is no need to bounce down before exporting.

I tend to work on my tracks from the very beginning, with the end in mind.
 
You must have some sort of idea what you want the finished song to sound like or you will be spinning your wheels for a long time.  I'm not saying things can't change or evolve as you work, because they can and  do, but you need a goal of some sort.
 
In other words.... as you are working on recording the tracks and getting the project together, as soon as you can reasonably do so,  start using the volume envelopes, EQ and other fx in the tracks.  You want to work towards having the project sound like you want it to sound when it's finished. 
 
I tend to start with bass, drums, and rhythm of some sort..... then I build from there in the recording process.
 
As you work, it should  be sounding more and more like the song in your mind sounds. At the end...when you rewind it to the beginning and press play and listen, it should be complete and exactly like you want it to be. At that point, all you should need to do is export it as a finished wave completely mixed. I use the WHAT YOU HEAR preset for export. Not all the Sonar DAW's have that preset as I understand it.... so if yours doesn't, find one that does export the tracks to a stereo wave that sounds exactly like the playback. Yeah, whether it's called mix, export or bounce.... the main thing is that it sounds like the playback.

componentrare123

Simply bouncing all the sequence to one track just doesn't seem adequate but I'm not aware of any other method ....I wonder how the professionals go about it ? I would be very grateful for any advise ..

Well , there's part of your answer right there . If you don't like what you are hearing ...Your not done yet .
 
A big part of my workflow is to export a mix to a stereo track regardless of what point I may think I may be at in a song and listen to the song as it is represented in the exported stereo file   ...
 
 
I feel this is very important because I want to live with it for a while and listen to the stereo file as if I was listening to somebody else's  music ..not my own ....
 
 
Lets assume everything is the way I want it to be ..the playing is good , the mix sounds good , the tune has the correct dynamics and is conveying my intended emotional message ...
The only thing lacking may be the volume and a little bit of punch because I mixed it to top out at - 6 db In SONAR
 
Since I think I'm happy with this export after going through all the modifications I went through then I will do one of a few things
I may import it into an audio editor w the intention of experimenting around and bringing the levels up and adding a pseudo mastering phase or I may re import  the file back into SONAR and use one of the mixing templates as a starting off point to dial my song in so I can get it as close to be finished as possible over here on my end  ...
 
I don't know if that helps you in any way ,but hey I tried .
 
 
Kenny
 
 
 
 

Many thanks for advice and tips , I've got some helpful stuff already and am ready to do things differently.

I'm beginning to realise how little I know about final mixes and mastering but I guess it will all become clearer with practice like everything else.

If you want to try and do your own mastering there are 2 opposing schools of thought, both of which are well supported.
 

1. Do your mastering on the exported track within it's own project
2. Do your mastering within the project file, mix into it right from the start so you know exactly what it's going to sound like

Learning to mix & master are probably the 2 hardest things you're going to do in your career, so start by doing a LOT of reading and experimentation. Don't expect to run before you can walk. Some of the techniques you'll develop are deep and powerful and it will take YEARS to fully develop your skills.
But don't let this put you off. There are loads of helpful & experienced right here on the Sonar forum.
 
Just remember, there's no such thing as a dumb question, only dumb answers.