Jonny M
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Multi-tracking an instrument. Best Practise..?
Hey guys. I have my lead vocal split over 4 tracks – I recorded with 2 different mics and then cloned each track. I did this so I had complete control over both the stereo imaging and for separate tonal control over the L&R. I’ve done the same thing with the acoustic guitar. I'm wondering what you guys do as far as the initial 'tweaking' of the recording when working like this (i.e the inital EQ or compression you might add to tidy the signal, not stuff like verb, which I'll send to a bus). Would I create a L&R submix for each instrument and apply the tweaking to these? it seems a little excessive tweaking every one of the 4 tracks for each of the 2 instruments - it would mean having a combined 8 tracks running, with a toal of 16 effects throughout the bins before we even get onto the Bass, drums, keyboard and an electric guitar. Oh, and then the verb buses… Jonny
post edited by Jonny M - 2006/08/03 15:28:59
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Dave King
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RE: Multi-tracking an instrument. Best Practise..?
2006/08/03 17:12:17
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I think you may be over-doing your track count. I believe most folks 'round here record individual mono tracks of each vocal or instrument and then mix from there. Too many tracks of the same source can get muddy fast.
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tunekicker
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RE: Multi-tracking an instrument. Best Practise..?
2006/08/03 22:43:17
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If I were you I would pick two tracks (one left, one right) and run with them. You could switch between tracks for the Verse and Chorus if you want a different tone, but with four tracks for both Lead Vox and AG, you're going to have a heck of a time carving out sonic space for everything by the time you add drums.
That being said, if you are using S4 or newer and you are going to do mostly the same treatment on these tracks, you could try putting all of the Lead Vox tracks in one track using track layers. This way you can use the track FX bus to effect all of them. Any individual effects can be used per-clip. Keep in mind this can only be done if you would use the same FX send levels for all of the tracks you consolidate.
My .02.
Peace,
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Greenbrain
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RE: Multi-tracking an instrument. Best Practise..?
2006/08/04 11:39:41
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ORIGINAL: tunekicker
If I were you I would pick two tracks (one left, one right) and run with them. You could switch between tracks for the Verse and Chorus if you want a different tone, but with four tracks for both Lead Vox and AG, you're going to have a heck of a time carving out sonic space for everything by the time you add drums.
I agree with this, keep things simple, there is no need to overly complicate your production.
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Jonny M
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RE: Multi-tracking an instrument. Best Practise..?
2006/08/04 20:27:25
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I didn't consider the sonic space! probably a silly idea in the first place since this song is meant to be quite haunting and mellow! Guess it's because my favourite groups have often talked about how many tracks they end up with in a song - one group commented that including overdubs and various amp/guitar combos, they had 32 tracks just for the guitars! Because of that I didn't think twice about the idea of two instruments spanning 8 tracks. Feel sorry for the producer/mix engineer though!
How would I go about track layers? I'm guessing it's not just 'drag and drop' as it doesn't factor in individual panning etc. And how does this differ from working from a sub-mix? I might look at this approach before I go to chop anything.
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Tangomann
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RE: Multi-tracking an instrument. Best Practise..?
2006/08/07 12:06:34
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Hi Jonny M,
I agree with Dave King. Keep it as simple as you can. You're also likely to run into phase problems if you layer your tracks like that. I would use only mono tracks and then pan them realistically along the soundstage. Sure, you may have one or two instruments at some point coming out of, say, the left and right at the same time, but use this sparingly or your music will sound like one big ball of confusion!
''The first casualty in a war is the Truth'' - Winston Churchill
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Jonny M
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RE: Multi-tracking an instrument. Best Practise..?
2006/08/07 13:47:49
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Okay, thanks. I started to understand what people were saying about the mess it would cause. I layered two acoustic tracks and two vocal tracks and already it was starting to sound full. Of course, at the moment I'm just tracking all the instruments and haven't started mixing or cleaning up the tracks, but I can feel where it's starting to go. Managed to pick up a heck of a lot of low end too, which is probably the main problem at the moment, so I'm going to be filtering like a loony shortly! I guess when I started on the project and referred to bands that have like 30+ tracks in a song, I didn't consider that they are recording in a 'perfect' sound/acoustic treated environment, with loads of very high-end equipment and guys at the helm who have been doing that sort of thing for more years that I've been alive! Live and learn though. I've not destroyed the song yet so it's a decent start.
post edited by Jonny M - 2006/08/07 14:01:36
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dmassey
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RE: Multi-tracking an instrument. Best Practise..?
2006/08/07 21:41:16
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Actually, there's a more important aspect of double- and triple-tracking: the performance. The doubled track should be as close to the original as possible. Unless you're looking for a "sloppy" effect, both tracks should be almost identical (the key word is "almost"). There will be enough variation in the two takes that you will achieve a fatter sound, but if the sibilance is off ("ss" and "ttt"), you will lose some impact and clarity. Trust me, it's better to do again and again until you get it right; fixing it later is not the best option.
As far as cloning, there is no point in cloning a track unless you are going to modify it in some fashion. I've been experimenting with cloning a vocal track, removing everything but the sibilance, squashing it, and then sending it to a reverb. Adding back to the original track gives an interesting "ghost-like" flavor. I'm not sure if I'll keep it, but it's fun to play with.
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