newbie Q regarding copy/paste

[Fragle]

ok, first things first, this isn't about *real* recording sessions, more like scratch tracks for new original songs.
as things are often changed around during the writing process, i often end up re-recording the same riff in another position, which is rather inconvenient imho.
i was thinking that maybe i should just record 4 tracks of the verse riff, 4 of the chorus etc and copy/paste them into their respective positions, which leads me right to the question:
how do i properly align the pasted section so that it is in time with the drum track/click track? what should i look for when shifting the track forward/backward? i mean, it's pretty obvious when actually recording the riff in the first place, as you're recording to the drum track, but so far i've always pasted the section into the rough area where it should go, and then did the small adjustments on the time scale by ear until it sounded right. but then again, it's kinda difficult to tell at times if you're perfectly in time, or *slightly* off.

btw, one might say that recording 4 tracks just for demo purposes is just overkill anyways. well, i thinki of it as a rehearsal for the actual studio recording, where it's all about tracking the parts as accurate as possible as quickly as possible

 

[Amadeus79]

Hey Fragle

Which sequencer do you use? You should use the "grid" function to make sure that your guitar parts are in time with the drums. In some sequencers, like Cubase, you can choose to make the grid "magnetic" so the parts stick to the grid easier.

 

[Fragle]

right now i'm using audacity which is just some (rather low end) freeware stuff. it's fine for recording some stuff, but doesn't have all the editing options you have in cubase or even pro tools - obviously
i'll eventually update to cubase, though.

 

[Amadeus79]

What OS do you have? On the Digidesign site you can download a free version of Pro Tools if you have Windows 98SE, Windows ME, Mac OS 8,6 or Mac OS 9.

 

[cobhc]

yeah, but i'm guessing the free version of PT is like the free version of m-powered PT in that you can't save or export.

 

[Amadeus79]

I`m pretty sure I`ve seen a free demo from Steinberg (SX1?) somewhere too.

 

[Fragle]

i'm using win XP

 

[cobhc]

check this out

http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=237723

 

[Fragle]

Hey Fragle

Which sequencer do you use? You should use the "grid" function to make sure that your guitar parts are in time with the drums. In some sequencers, like Cubase, you can choose to make the grid "magnetic" so the parts stick to the grid easier.

ok, i think i know what you're talking about. but how do i know the exact position where i should place the parts? iirc you have to select a certain point in the audio file, but if you zoom in close enough things go by so fast that you hardly have the time to select the proper position.

 

[Amadeus79]

http://www.steinberg.net/35_1.html

This is a picture of the editor window in Cubase. As you can see it has blue vertical lines which represents the bars and beats in the song, e.g. at the eight bar there is a chorus. This makes it very easy to "know where you are" in the project and gives a nice overview.

 

[Fragle]

http://www.steinberg.net/35_1.html

This is a picture of the editor window in Cubase. As you can see it has blue vertical lines which represents the bars and beats in the song, e.g. at the eight bar there is a chorus. This makes it very easy to "know where you are" in the project and gives a nice overview.

doesn't that require cubase to be exactly tuned in to the song's bpm? iirc you can only specify the bpm by using the internal beat finder, which ain't as accurate as just typing in 200 for example. i always ended up with stuff like 202.55 when using the beat finder, which is fine for only a few beats, but ends up way wrong after 1 minute or so

 

[JeffTD]

doesn't that require cubase to be exactly tuned in to the song's bpm? iirc you can only specify the bpm by using the internal beat finder, which ain't as accurate as just typing in 200 for example. i always ended up with stuff like 202.55 when using the beat finder, which is fine for only a few beats, but ends up way wrong after 1 minute or so

You can type in exactly what bpm you want . Hit ctrl+T in cubase or nuendo.

 

[Fragle]

ok i think i just got owned thank you

btw, is there a way to mix the 4 rhythm guitar tracks to only one stereo track? because otherwise it kinda adds up to a massive amount of guitar tracks per song. plus i guess it's way easier to copy/paste stuff if it's only one track rather than 4.
in case you can't do this, is it possible to copy and paste all 4 tracks at once? i know you can select more than one track at a time, but i don't know how to shift/edit/copy etc them at the same time.

btw, the forum is goddamn slow right now

 

[Torniojaws]

ok i think i just got owned thank you

btw, is there a way to mix the 4 rhythm guitar tracks to only one stereo track? because otherwise it kinda adds up to a massive amount of guitar tracks per song. plus i guess it's way easier to copy/paste stuff if it's only one track rather than 4.

Make a Folder track and move the tracks there It allows you to copypaste entire instrumentations with a single blop. Be it 16 separate drumtracks or 4 guitar tracks.

I personally make five folder tracks per song:

Drums
Guitars
Bass
FX & Synth
Vocals

 

[Kenneth R.]

I do much the same myself, and note that you can also do this with midi-sequenced tracks. It's very effective for putting together a rough idea of a song.

 

[Fragle]

yep, definitely. i found it's much easier especially for the drummer to send a rough song idea plus a basic drum track (sure, no fills and technical difficulties here, i suck at drumming ) per mail before bringing that idea into rehearsal, because then he already knows what it should sound like or at least what you think it should sound like often the final product will be nothing like the original, but then again, this way you have at least a starting point.
there's nothing worse than bringing a few riffs into rehearsal and trying to tell the drummer what the part should sound like in a band context