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When Tracks Got Missed


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Often times either in practice or live performances, I'll do a multitrack recording either to be able to mix down a live performance for video, or when writing songs in rehearsal, be able to send a mixed down version to the band to remember the ideas we captured and work on parts for the next practice. For instance, if the guitar player was just noodling where the solo was going to go as a place holder, I can drop that out so that he has tracks to play along with in order to properly write the solo.

 

Well things don't always go as planned. As an example, after the drums had been moved out and back in, I didn't realize until I got home with the wav files that the drums hadn't been mic'd back up. Actually, I think the kick and snare were, but that was it. Luckily, the bass player and guitar player had their mics hot and were not singing. So I caught some room mix of the drums from opposite sides of the kick. While the guitars were fairly hot in the vocal mics, I was able to get enough of the kit (mainly needing to add toms, cymbals, HH) that I ended up with an OK mix, usable at least, though it made it impossible to isolate out some of the parts that needed to come down.

 

I've done similar things after live shows where they didn't mic the cymbals or hat and I've used mic channels with a High-Pass filter to pick up some of the sizzle from the cymbals. Other times, I've taken a single channel, duplicated, then chopped each one up best I could to isolate different things and used different EQ and panning on each to try to bring out the appropriate parts.

 

Some things just can't be fixed - like somebody running direct turns up their volume after sound check and you get digital clipping in places.

 

Anyway - I wonder if others could share any kind of clever tips and tricks when you run into these types of situations.

Dan

 

Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth.

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You had me at "personalized multitrack recording of rehearsals." That's a killer idea right there. We used to just put up a pair of room mics in case our nightly improv jam turned into a song (which it sometimes did -- magic!).

 

My worst recording snafu came after finishing tracking on a really tricky song. I'd spent a day on it, fighting my way through a couple solid takes, only to delete the first verse and chorus of ALL OF THEM by mistake. I spent an hour with a variety of file recovery tools, hindered not just a little by a full-on flop sweat attack. Finally I succumbed to the obvious conclusion: acceptance that I'd had a day of solid practice on some difficult parts, and I'd just need to track the @@$* thing again. Which I did, in one or two more takes. Live and learn.

RecordingHacks.com | MicParts.com | RoswellProAudio.com

 

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For years I recorded live events at a mid-sized State University - both university groups and visiting artists. The material was all over the map - orchestras, rock/jazz bands, soloists, instrumentalists, vocalists, dance groups, choirs, musicals - you name it. A challenge on any given day. Performers always seem to throw something at you! Move a mic, change a setting, raise their cymbals, re-arrange an entire stage set-up after rehearsal (had it happen!).

 

One thing I got into the habit of doing is throwing up a pair of mics into a dedicated 2-track to capture what the audience was hearing in the room. There were a couple of times when in was the only thing salvageable and saved my butt!

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Sometimes I have forgotten to turn on my clip-on wireless sax mic, and recovered by getting the sound of my sax picked up from my vocal mic, which was perhaps 2-3 feet from my sax. This was not even a mediocre capture. To minimize the disruption from having to turn up the volume so high for the track containing my vocal mic, I copied it to a separate track, and erased all the times except to when I was playing a sax lick. I also used fade in/out before and after such passage so as to avoid hearing the background noise start and stop suddenly.
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Room mics are a good idea. I usually capture a board mix, but that doesn't solve my problem is something wasn't mic'd up in the first place.

Dan

 

Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth.

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