multi-tracking questions

[Fragle]

i have 3 questions regarding multi-tracking

1st, what do you guys prefer, recording two (one left one right), or four (two left, two right) tracks of the same rhythm?

2nd, i've been doing quite a lot of home recording during the past few months, and i've noticed that it's a lot harder to achieve a really tight sound when recording only 2 tracks in contrast to 4. somehow recording 4 tracks fills out the small differences in timing (i'm talking really small here, of course you'll notice a really bad timing fukkup). basically, when i record 4 tracks, and have a tight sound, i might notice some slight synch issues when solo-ing 2 tracks. do you also notice this, and if so, what's the reason, i.e. am i right with my explanation (4 tracks fill out....)?

3rd, lets say you recorded 4 tracks of a rhythm, two left two right. now, if you want to add a harmony (a la melodic death metal), do you record another set of 4 tracks playing the harmony and lay them on top of the 4 basic tracks, creating 8 tracks in total, or do you stick to a total of 4 tracks and use only 2 tracks doing the basic rhythm and 2 doing the harmony?
(this sounds messed up lol...i hope you get the point)

thanks in advance

 

[KeithRT99]

it depends, i love a really thick sound, but that doesn't suit every song. Also it takes a very tight player to make those tracks match up. When you do only two tracks it doesn't have to be so meticulously recorded.

 

[Fragle]

"When you do only two tracks it doesn't have to be so meticulously recorded."
actually, my point is the exact opposite. imho you need to be really tight to get a good sound when recording only 2 tracks, as you can hear even the slightest mistake, those mistakes that can be covered up by recording two more tracks...imho

 

[cameltoe]

I usually record 3 tracks...left right and center....seems to work the best for me...

...check my post a few posts up...err down, called "test"...lemme know what ya think of the guitars.

 

[Hopkins-WitchfinderGeneral]

i wouldn't say tightness and mistakes were the same thing, you can be tight as a motherfucker 99% of the time and still miss a note or whatever. When you're recording 4 tracks of guitars, the out and out mistakes can get swallowed into the wall of guitars if they're minor enough, but if you aren't tight, 4 tracks is not going to work for you Anyway, don't be lazy, correct all mistakes with another take!

i have 3 questions regarding multi-tracking

1st, what do you guys prefer, recording two (one left one right), or four (two left, two right) tracks of the same rhythm?

It depends on the material and what sound you're going for like the other guy said. I vary wildly between those two methods depending on whether the first tracking is sounding heavy and clear enough or not. Two is always preferable if you wanna actually hear the picking action and all that tho.

2nd, i've been doing quite a lot of home recording during the past few months, and i've noticed that it's a lot harder to achieve a really tight sound when recording only 2 tracks in contrast to 4. somehow recording 4 tracks fills out the small differences in timing (i'm talking really small here, of course you'll notice a really bad timing fukkup). basically, when i record 4 tracks, and have a tight sound, i might notice some slight synch issues when solo-ing 2 tracks. do you also notice this, and if so, what's the reason, i.e. am i right with my explanation (4 tracks fill out....)?

see above

3rd, lets say you recorded 4 tracks of a rhythm, two left two right. now, if you want to add a harmony (a la melodic death metal), do you record another set of 4 tracks playing the harmony and lay them on top of the 4 basic tracks, creating 8 tracks in total, or do you stick to a total of 4 tracks and use only 2 tracks doing the basic rhythm and 2 doing the harmony?
(this sounds messed up lol...i hope you get the point)

thanks in advance

i'd personally record one side playing one part of the riff and one side playing the harmony, if you listen to a lot of Nordstrom/Goteborg type stuff, thats the way they often do it, try panning from side to side whilst listening to one riff and see it in effect. It probably effects clarity to stack a load of tracks so i never did it that way!

edit: np: In Flames - Gyroscope "Whoracle" |03:26|

 

[Carrier Flux]

in my experience adding more than 4 tracks can often lead to nasty frequency buildup. this might be a symptom of a deeper problem, but in any case as a result I record two tracks of the root melody, and two tracks of the harmony; and pan to taste. panning the identical harmony tracks hard right, and the identical root melody tracks hard left gives you more clarity, and panning one of each left and right gives you a more full sound. both are perfectly valid methods. in fact any method of tracking and panning that yields a result you LIKE is a valid method as far as I'm concerned!

and I've noticed that tracking 4 takes has given me surprisingly 'tight' sounding results. I know I'm not the tightest player out there, but oddly enough four tracks has never created a syncing issue greater than one I might get using two tracks.

 

[Hopkins-WitchfinderGeneral]

thats the point really, if it sounds good then its fine.

"By hook or by crook" if you will.

 

[Fragle]

thanks for the input so far!

"i wouldn't say tightness and mistakes were the same thing, you can be tight as a motherfucker 99% of the time and still miss a note or whatever. When you're recording 4 tracks of guitars, the out and out mistakes can get swallowed into the wall of guitars if they're minor enough, but if you aren't tight, 4 tracks is not going to work for you Anyway, don't be lazy, correct all mistakes with another take!"

that's exactly what i'm talking about. when recording only two tracks left/right, the (few) half hit notes really stand out, but they tend to get inaudible when recording 4 tracks. maybe my usage of the word synch issues was misleading.

basically, i'm only using a pod 2.0 direct into my pc, using audacity recording software. i don't want to do any pro-level recordings with this setup (of course...), in fact it's just guitars only. in most cases all i record is riffs and song structures i came up with, in order to remember them !
still, even for those riffing clips i'm always recording 4 guitars and up, as a practice for the pro studio sessions that my band will do in a few months. (side note: those guys already recorded 3 full length records in a pro studio, so they have quite some experience. i haven't. this is exactly why i'm practicing all this stuff, in order to be as quick and precise as possible, because chances are that otherwise i'd not record one single note on this upcoming record - except maybe for leads).

on the other hand, i'm very interested in the basics of recording, and that includes panning, multi tracking etc.

 

[Sinister Mephisto]

bad 4 > bad 2
okay 4 < Okay 2
good 4 > good 2

That's what I think at least for most of my metal stuff.