Handling BIG mixes
- Thread starter coreyb
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Pedro Teixeira
Member
oroinvictus
dangert billy
OS X Lion is 10.7.~, 10.6.~ is Snow Leopard. If you have the latest version of snow leopard-on you should be able to do it.
LeSedna
Mat or Mateo
I've got in the habit of passing through stages by saving the session to a new coded name after each one of them.
So -1 is recording only
I then edit every track and save to -2
Choose synth sounds, drum sounds and print and save to -3. I keep the midi files muted under a folder I close in my session, to save visual space and CPU power, with reaper its very easy. So later on if Im really really not happy anymore with a synth or drum sound I open the folder again, change something, print again, and replace the old version, and mute and hide again the midi files and their vstis.
By then I only have wav files and there is no vsti eating up my CPU.
Mix would be -4
So -1 is recording only
I then edit every track and save to -2
Choose synth sounds, drum sounds and print and save to -3. I keep the midi files muted under a folder I close in my session, to save visual space and CPU power, with reaper its very easy. So later on if Im really really not happy anymore with a synth or drum sound I open the folder again, change something, print again, and replace the old version, and mute and hide again the midi files and their vstis.
By then I only have wav files and there is no vsti eating up my CPU.
Mix would be -4
LeSedna
Mat or Mateo
yeah I'm pretty sure many people do something similar with their specific code. I haven't settled yet for a specific code myself (haven't used it on too many projects) but I always make it easy like adding "RECORD" "EDIT" "MIX" "MASTER" to the project name, and it also forces you to save at each step your project. If ever a catastraupha would occur (like deleting a wav file from your harddisk for some reason), you could always open one of the previous ones to find it again.
ShamStalin
Metal Head
POD Farm/Cab Impulses/Trigger VSTs <--- All that VSTs eats alot of CPU power, you should print them 1st...
AndrewB
That Darn Kid
Yeah, like Ermz said, drum samples, midi synths, and guitar sounds should be printed before you start mixing. Not only does it save CPU power, but it makes the mixing process go a lot easier, because you just have all the audio tracks in front of you, instead of midi tracks that can be changed or manipulated IN ADDITION to post processing.
Oh, and also, not to hijack the thread, but how are you guys getting up to 35 tracks or more? My sessions (not an experienced AE, though) are usually 9 or 10 drum tracks, 2 or 3 bass tracks, 2 or 4 distorted rhythm guitar tracks, and up to 2 lead guitar tracks. Most vocal tracks I've had to use are about 8, although usually I use around 4. That's 27, and that's the absolute max that I've used. What other tracks do you guys have?
Oh, and also, not to hijack the thread, but how are you guys getting up to 35 tracks or more? My sessions (not an experienced AE, though) are usually 9 or 10 drum tracks, 2 or 3 bass tracks, 2 or 4 distorted rhythm guitar tracks, and up to 2 lead guitar tracks. Most vocal tracks I've had to use are about 8, although usually I use around 4. That's 27, and that's the absolute max that I've used. What other tracks do you guys have?
Wisheraser
Member
synths, strings, ambient noise tracks, busses, fx busses, parallel tracks, etc. I've never had over 100 tracks in a session, but it's gotten close a few times.
Click on the freeze icon on the inspector window. Looks like a snow flake. You won't be able to edit after though. Or export the channel and click on import to project after using export mix.
El_Gato
I love this gain
Yep, actually it's one of the best DAWs for that matter.
Semi-on topic, I usually handle about 60 but I don't use many FX or synths. They're a lot more when tracking and I hope I can reduce that number in the future. I guess so many sends, busses... end up making the whole picture fuller but muddier and lacking of detail. Hard to get rid of that to me.
Semi-on topic, I usually handle about 60 but I don't use many FX or synths. They're a lot more when tracking and I hope I can reduce that number in the future. I guess so many sends, busses... end up making the whole picture fuller but muddier and lacking of detail. Hard to get rid of that to me.
xFkx
gain induction
The only thing I print is synth tracks, I don't believe that sample replecement plugins take a big toll od cpu power
Anyway, the struggle with limited cpu power has just led me to a form of discipline where I just don't throw plug-ins around carelessly. Lately I use only a single channelstrip on each track, and when it comes to bass or vocals I just add some additional compression.
Anyway, the struggle with limited cpu power has just led me to a form of discipline where I just don't throw plug-ins around carelessly. Lately I use only a single channelstrip on each track, and when it comes to bass or vocals I just add some additional compression.
thefalloftheheretic
Member
- Jun 14, 2009
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LeSedna
Mat or Mateo
Like said,
10 drum tracks, 3 bass tracks, 4 to 8 to even more distorted rythm tracks (like for example when you have complicated arrangements) when it's easier than just automating things. Then same for vocals, you might even have more than 2 lead tracks (for example in my EP I have some lead sounds that are not the same). Add on top of that clean guitars and maybe clean bass for the same parts if the normal bass tracks are heavily distorted. Then you add maybe a clic track if you wanna keep it somewhere, synths (can be a shitload), sounds, FX, drums parallel comp, reverb sends, same for delays or chorus or whatever. I didn't mention sample replacement of the snare, you might wanna keep 4 or 5 snare tracks although you can just render an augmented snare and commit to it.
Then if you consider the case where you're doing the whole production in a single session, and if the music is kinda complex, it's easy to go over 100 tracks !
AndrewB
That Darn Kid
Like a whole album in one session? What would the advantage be of doing all the songs on an album in one session as opposed to multiple sessions?
Uros
Sonic Incision
When you want to maintain balance and tonal colors throughout the whole album, in order to make all songs sound similar to each other. Personally, I don't like that approach, seems kinda cluttered to me.
AndrewB
That Darn Kid
I usually take a couple of days to mix one song, and then I export the song as a template, and mix the rest of the album using that. Makes everything go a lot quicker, because all of the starting blocks of the sound are in place already.
C_F_H_13
Protools Guru
I follow a similar method, especially since moving to Nuendo for mixing. I have a lot of standard plugin sets that rarely change for certain situations, so printing them ahead of time allows me to have a few advantages:
1-My "mixer" is greatly simplified. By the time All the processing is done, I go from 60-80 mixer faders, to about 16-20. How I do this is by for example, printing all the real kick and sample kick tracks together so instead of 3-8 tracks, I have 1.
2-It stops me from over tweaking things that don't need to be tweaked. Things like vocals (for me) rarely get tweaked. Like Ermz, I usually have an eq and maybe a comp for final touches, but the overall sound is already crafted.
3-It allows me to focus on being creative. Automation and FX are where I love to spend a lot of time, not making things fit. The faster I can get there the better.
The only area where I don't print as much any more is my snare and toms samples. Since switching to Nuendo, being able to run BFD/Superior live with no latency and full outputs has made tweaking sounds a lot better then in PT. I'm working on a mix right now with a lot of snare work and ghosting. I edit the midi track to be perfect, then I can change the snare sound a few times during mixing. Samples is the only area I'm never sure of till the mix has moved along a bit.
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