Roland VS-CDRII User Manual download pdf (Page 26)

In a perfect multitrack recording environment, each instrument or vocal is

recorded onto a separate track, so that it can be given its own particular EQ,

effects, panning and volume. Most of this processing is done during the

mixdown, when the goal is to blend all of these instruments together in order

to create a stereo master recording that sounds exactly the way you want it to.

However, for most recording engineers, there is no perfect multitrack

recording environment. Although 64- and even 128-track recording

environments do exist, they can usually only be found in large professional

studios at upwards of $400 per hour. Therefore, most of us work on recording

systems that have a limited number of tracks available. However, this does

not mean that we can’t produce lush, multi-layered recordings that sound

professional, it just means we have to plan ahead. The process of creating a

track plan for each instrument and vocal is sometimes referred to as track

management. If you don’t do this ahead of time, you may find yourself out of

tracks and options for finishing your song.

Bouncing Tracks

One of your most useful tools will be a process called “bouncing tracks.”

Bouncing tracks is essentially the process of doing mini-mixdowns during the

recording process (for more detailed information, see page 22). For example,

let’s say you have recorded your drums onto individual tracks, using up eight

tracks of your sixteen-track recorder. You can “bounce” these eight tracks

down to one stereo pair, freeing up six tracks. However, you must be careful

when bouncing tracks because, if you record over your original tracks, you

lose your option to individually mix these tracks during the main mixdown.

Of course, bouncing tracks works much better on digital recorders than it does

on analog recorders, because digital bounces do not lose sound quality. Also,

some digital recorders allow you to record new tracks without erasing the

previous tracks. This concept is sometimes referred to as “virtual tracking” and

it affords you the luxury of bouncing tracks without losing control of the

independent tracks (for more detailed information, see page 23). If you are

using an analog recording system, you should be aware that each bounce loses

some audio quality. Generally, more than two or three bounces for any given

track renders the track too noisy to be very useful.

Stacking Tracks

Another useful trick is to place more than one instrument on a particular

track, sometimes known as “stacking tracks.” For example, let’s say you have

a piano solo during the intro of your song, and a guitar solo during the fade-

out. In this case, you can record them both onto the same track because they

do not overlap.

25The Basics of Modern Recording

Track Management

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Roland VS-CDRII User Manual Page 26