Sonar Studio X2, A&H Zed R16 and mixdown routing questions
I'm brand new at this digital recording game, but fairly proud of my progress over the course of the last month and a half. The last time I did multi-track recording, we were still using reel-to-reel tape machines, so please help to free my mindset from these ancient ways!
OK - like the title suggests, I've got this wonderful mixer from Allen and Heath - the Zed 16R, which receives rave reviews for its pre-amps and EQ section. I'm doing a fairly simple project, the result of which will be a demo CD of cover tunes to represent myself and my female singing partner. I've recorded 7 songs, the most complex of which features 5 tracks - acoustic guitar, lead vox, backing vox, tambourine, and shakers.
Now I'm ready to mix each of these songs down to its final stereo mix. Once I've done that, I'd like to (I'm guessing) import all these stereo mixes into a project such that I may use slip-editing and fade-ins/outs to segue them all together, producing one final stereo mix of the seven songs running one into another.
I thought I had a fairly good idea of how to go about this, but the routing between the Zed and the 'Ins' and 'Outs' of the tracks in Sonar have my head spinning and try as I might, I just can't seem to hit upon the right combination of settings to make it happen.
First task (question) - now that I have completed the actual recording, how do I get a completed stereo mix? I understand that one usually sets up all the automation and selects the tracks, then performs an 'Export'. What I'd like to do, is mix down my tracks utilizing the EQ on the Zed. I recorded the tracks 'flat', and they sound pretty darn good, but I'd love to be able to tweak the sound a bit with the EQ on my mixer. To accomplish this, my mind instantly goes back in time to doing a mixdown 'on the fly' - the tape machine is running and I 'play' my multitrack, adjusting the EQ and sending that to the stereo master.
I could go into great detail as to the various things I've tried, but I'd love to hear the suggested method from those who know way more than I do (which accounts for most of the membership here, I'm sure!)
Thanks so much!