Hello All.
Trying to understand mixing. Let's suppose, in my first song I have my tracks panned, leveled, automated, EQ'd, added effects etc. I have them grouped and sent through busses, which are sent to the master. I'm "happy" with how everything sounds. Anything else I need to do before bouncing? To get it to "2-channel stereo" as mentioned here:
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_mixing_(recorded_music)
 
http://tweakheadz.com/mixing_in_the_sequencer.htm
("one two track stereo wave file???)
 
When I've panned two mono tracks, one left one right, and bounced them into a single track, did it just become stereo?
 
 
Much thanks in advance.

are you using an old 4 track or something?...lol
the answer to your question is yes.

if what you are asking is can you have a one track stereo file?
than the answer is yes.
but respectively everything does need to be placed in the spectrum,as long as your bus is stereo.

a little confusing on this and i may have misinterpted the question here.
so if you'd like to add on a little more id be happy to answer.

Hi there Antonio

I think you're maybe confusing 'bouncing to stereo' with 'mixdown'/'export audio'.

'Bouncing' tracks is, generally speaking, a throwback to the earliest multi-track (tape) recording decks. It was used to 'combine' two or more tracks to free up space for further recording. For example, if you were working with a four-track recorder and used three of the tracks to record bass, guitar and drums, you could, once you were happy with the mix, bounce the three tracks to the free track (or even to another recorder). In this example, your rhythm section would now only occupy one track, leaving the other three free to overdub vocals and solos etc.

The 'Mixdown' of a completed project may well have been the final bounce to create a single stereo track ready for mastering or copying to an LP master.
 
Incidentally, you can perform both of these actions in SONAR.
 
However, if you are trying to end up with a mixed-down .wav file of your project outside of SONAR, you can use any of the various the 'Export' options. Once you're happy with the mix of your project, select File > Export Audio and select the options you require for the new audio file you will create. For example, if you wanted the resultant audio file to eventually be burned to CD, you might select a Stereo Wave of the Entire Mix at 44,100Hz/16bit (the current standard for CD audio).
 
The beauty of exporting your mix in this way is that it isn't a 'destructive' process - in other words, none of your original project is altered in any way. This means you can go back and edit your project at any time, and even export the same project as different file types.
 
 

Man, thank you. 
Chucke, that's more or less the gist of my question. Just trying to understand what is my end goal here, besides obviously making the song sound better, balanced etc. For some reason in a few of the articles I've read it seems as there was an actual process that I had to do. Well, as Steve explained it is. I am being confusing because this is my first dig at mixing, and actually have only been recording/editing my stuff for about a year... In Sonar btw! I just want to see the entire process in bird's eye view and then focus on individual steps. Also thanks for the tip about the busses being stereo. I will double check that they are.

Steve, thanks. Easy to understand when compared to analog. I do, in fact want to export/mixdown. But combining tracks is also something I'd be interested in. I imagine there are some benefits to doing this? Is it less taxing on the pc? Will it sound better?
But back to my original question, yeah I thought there was some process where I would "convert project to 2-channel stereo" and continue editing from there. I see that this is just the final process when ready to export. Do you know what does the article above mean "How do we mix all these different sources into one two track stereo wave file?" Won't it be just one track when I export Entire Mix to Stereo Wav as you suggest? Does he just mean L/R? Like I said just trying to understand if there are any other processes besides leveling, panning, adding effects that is part of the mix process. 

UglyTruth

 "How do we mix all these different sources into one two track stereo wave file?" Won't it be just one track when I export Entire Mix to Stereo Wav as you suggest? Does he just mean L/R?

 

Yes.
Perhaps if he had said one two channel stereo wave file, it would be less confusing.
Your stereo wave file will be just one track, but it contains unique information for the left and right channels.

When I've panned two mono tracks, one left one right, and bounced them into a single track, did it just become stereo?
Yes.
Stereo is an illusion. Your brain interprets the sound from the left and right sides (or channels) and forms a stereo image.
When you panned the mono tracks, you created a difference in what is heard in the left and right channels.
When you bounced them to a single track, this difference was preserved, and the track contains the necessary information for your brain to hear the stereo image.
Hope that makes sense.

trust me uglytruth,
your probably never going to have to bounce down anything here in sonar unless your using a very old computer that has little to no ram or hard drive space.

anymore questions feel free to ask buddy.

chuckebaby

 
your probably never going to have to bounce down anything here in sonar unless your using a very old computer that has little to no ram or hard drive space.

This ^^^^^^^
 
Leaving your project in its 'raw' (internally) un-bounced state means you retain the greatest flexibility should you wish to remix it in future, or even add more parts.
 
As Charlie says, the only reason you'd bounce various tracks together in SONAR would be if your computer was seriously underpowered. And if that was the reason for bouncing, you'd then delete off the individual tracks you'd bounced together to free up processing power. However, once you've done this and saved your project there's really no going back - you're stuck with the sub-mix of the bounced parts.
 
By way of example, imagine you have recorded a drum kit onto eight separate tracks (say a microphone each for the Kick; Snare; Hi-Hat; Tom 1; Tom 2; Tom 3, 2 Overheads). Once you're happy with the balance of your drums, you'd bounce the eight tracks to a new stereo track and delete off the source tracks. Now you're basically stuck with the sound of the kit - if you later decide you want to change the level of the snare for some reason, there's no simple 'fader-slide' fix which you could have accomplished easily if you still had your individual tracks.
 
If your computer is up to the task of handling a lot of tracks, there really is no need to bounce individual tracks at all.
 
However, if what you're trying to accomplish is being able to add 'global' effects to a group of instruments, what you might want to investigate is the Bussing and Send (i.e 'Routing') system in SONAR, which allows you to send the outputs of multiple tracks to a common bus (basically another channel strip) and add plug-ins there.
 
 
 
 

SteveStrummerUK

chuckebaby

 
your probably never going to have to bounce down anything here in sonar unless your using a very old computer that has little to no ram or hard drive space.

This ^^^^^^^
 
Leaving your project in its 'raw' (internally) un-bounced state means you retain the greatest flexibility should you wish to remix it in future, or even add more parts.
 
As Charlie says, the only reason you'd bounce various tracks together in SONAR would be if your computer was seriously underpowered. And if that was the reason for bouncing, you'd then delete off the individual tracks you'd bounced together to free up processing power. However, once you've done this and saved your project there's really no going back - you're stuck with the sub-mix of the bounced parts.
 
By way of example, imagine you have recorded a drum kit onto eight separate tracks (say a microphone each for the Kick; Snare; Hi-Hat; Tom 1; Tom 2; Tom 3, 2 Overheads). Once you're happy with the balance of your drums, you'd bounce the eight tracks to a new stereo track and delete off the source tracks. Now you're basically stuck with the sound of the kit - if you later decide you want to change the level of the snare for some reason, there's no simple 'fader-slide' fix which you could have accomplished easily if you still had your individual tracks.
 
If your computer is up to the task of handling a lot of tracks, there really is no need to bounce individual tracks at all.
 
However, if what you're trying to accomplish is being able to add 'global' effects to a group of instruments, what you might want to investigate is the Bussing and Send (i.e 'Routing') system in SONAR, which allows you to send the outputs of multiple tracks to a common bus (basically another channel strip) and add plug-ins there.
 
 
 
 

could'nt have said it better myself steve.
both of your posts have been text book 101.
simply auesome.

A weight has been lifted, now off to understanding EQ...

Here's a link that is helpful for learning EQ:

http://www.har-bal.com/pr...mation/frequency-chart