how do artist record very lengthy song help

[zayzay92]

i notice when i record sometimes when i record it takes along time and etc i might mess up or get winded and i find my self speeding up to complete and i was wondering how do most artist record audio and whats the secret and  i record with mixcraft 4.5

[zayzay92]

sry ppl thought this was post but help me if u read

[stainless]

ZayZay92

welcome to HRS

If I understand your question correctly-  a song whether short or long is often a click track is used to maintain the tempo so it doesn't speed up and slow down. There are many who have great difficulty working with a click track (metronome) ... even some drummers.  The click is just a temporary tool which is muted/removed from the session (and often once the drum tracks are done, but it can be brought back in if needed. The use of a click track has several uses which many overlook:

It's not uncommon for bands (even established ones) to have a song vary in tempo from start to finish, or a break, rest may not be slightly longer/shorter/quicker than the actual tempo.  When it's being played with everyone in the same room, eye contact and body language is often enough of a "clue" for everyone to follow.  When it's multi-tracked, or a single track is redone later, this "clue" no longer exists and the player has to anticipate the minor hiccups... which can sometimes be a very frustrating situation- for everyone involved- so a click eliminates the quessing

With the increased use of Midi, starting with a click track establishes a tempo grid which additional midi parts can be 'snapped-to" (aligned, quantized... etc) which makes life much easier

and IMHO the consistent tempo makes punch in's easier

Unlike early click, any number of planned tempo changes can be put into a session, so the argument that a click takes the "feeling" out of the song I think is more of an excuse by those who have trouble playing to one

so now my question is... did i understand your question correctly?  LOL

[zayzay92]

you kinda lost me lol but iwas refering to  like lets say i was doing a a song half way down the page i said red instead of ted or just kept messing up because the songs really long or etc how would i keep going from a point b4 i messed up without making it sound like i edit music or etc  i need to find this out because rap is really easy to get tongue tied

[RawDepth]

With most recording software, you can correct mistakes by recording a new short piece over top of the mistake without re-recording the entire track. Then during playback, the new part gets played instead of the mistake. This is commonly known as doing a "punch-in" however, Mixcraft 4.5 does not have this feature built in.

I found this on the Acoustica website...

Mixcraft doesn't have a punch-in / punch-out feature, but here's how you can achieve the same effect:

1) Cut out the unwanted section of sound.
2) Arm another track and click Record.
3) When recording reaches the appropriate spot, play the replacement riff.
4) Stop recording.
5) Trim the new recording (if necessary) and then use the up arrow to move it into place on the original track.

Remember in Mixcraft, you can always have an extra track to work with. Not all the sounds have to stay on the same track.

Hope this helps.

[stainless]

with all "punch-in/over-dub) it's very important to have the same settings/conditions as the original take, otherwise the tone/level will be different, which in some cases is quite noticeable

so make it a habit to note what mic, what pre-amp, what level, etc, were used for each track!

It'll save you a lot of time!

[zayzay92]

 i was also wondering if you could guys help me on 1 more thing how to do get those double vocals like those faint background vocals without it over crowding the song and making it seem jumbled and amateur

[stainless]

typically- the main vocal is panned "straight up the middle" whereas the backing vocals are panned out- to one side or the other... but generally not "hard panned" meaning all the way left or right

much of the clarity comes from not having other tracks occupying the same sonic space- stringed instruments in the middle frequencies would be the ones that compete the most with the voice (piano/guitar/string synth pads, etc), so you'd not want them panned the same, and you might need to do some EQ 'skulpting" (narrow cuts or boosts)- and slightly compressing or limiting the backing vocals may help them maintain their "place"

if another singer, you would record in the same manner as the lead vocal-

If you're wanting to use the lead vocal track as a double track- simply duplicate the track, make the sonic adjustments /placement- reverb can be used to make a track sound like it's farther "in the back"... but like compression, it can be overdone rather easily-  If you have a harmonizer/vocalizer, this could be applied to the doubled track-  and you can always make multiple duplicate tracks and treat each differently

the "crowding" is often a result of getting too many tracks in a song (just because you may have unlimited track count, doesn't mean you need to try and use them all up... plus too much processing (plug-ins) can add to the muddied/cluttered sound- a common mis-step by people just getting into recording

[zayzay92]

man you guys are helpful i mean i love this site now lol  but i have another question i said to hell with mixcraft and got fl studio8 xxl edition how the hell do i use it as a multtrack how to play the beat and record vocals with it without mixing into one file i mean farg this program is confusing with no guide through it lol so any info you have would be big help

[RawDepth]

I never used it. Didn't you get a manual? You can always search for "how to" videos on youtube.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

[stainless]

I'm not familiar with ths either, but what little i know about it is it works similar to other recording software... and like most I would think it should have some form of "Help" function-- I believe there is a forum at the FL site, as well as user group forums elsewhere, and maybe links to tutorials

If you'll be wanting to make CD's or MP3's, you'll have to mix the multitracks down to singel MP3 or .Wav for each tune

and... should this be a cracked piece of software (which might have no documentation and disabled help functions (as many connect to the manufacturer's website...) ... well, you're on your own

[zayzay92]

lol yah i dont get manuals  i use cracks but yeah thinks for answering i'll figure something out thxs