Recording more than 4 tracks

[foozlemymoose]

I have 5 or 6 instruments i would like to record together, and I was wondering if I could record 4 of the instruments on a four-track recorder, and then record the other couple of instruments seperately? Or would I need a 6 or 8-track recorder?

[hrwmusic]

Originally Posted by foozlemymoose

I have 5 or 6 instruments i would like to record together, and I was wondering if I could record 4 of the instruments on a four-track recorder, and then record the other couple of instruments seperately? Or would I need a 6 or 8-track recorder?

well, im alittle confused of what you mean. but if you want to mic 4 instruments, and then put them together into one track-then yes. but what im saying is if you put them on your computer to mix (like i do), then you could put them there, and then record the other 1 or 2 tracks and colaborate them that way.

[Mark7]

What you're suggesting (don't contradict me) is recording four instruments on a 4 track and 2 more on a 2 track. Which means that you'd have to sync them both up somehow.

Buy an 8 track.

[A Reel Person]

a) Record all 6 instruments simultaneously and mix it live to 4-tracks. There will obviously be some doubling up of the parts onto tracks, (packing-the-tracks method).

b) Record 4 instruments to 4-tracks. Mix it down to stereo, dub it to your 'puter & make a cd of the mix. Then rerecord the 4-track stereo mix from cd back into your 4-track onto two fresh tracks of tape. Use the remaining two tracks for the other two instruments, (track-bounce method).

c) Buy an 8-track recorder that records 8-tracks simultaneously, (cash-out method).

[Dani Pace]

I've recorded some stuff on a 4 track (bass and drum parts) then transfered them to pc and added tracks from there, it works fairly well and is a lot easier than moving the drums or the pc.

[foozlemymoose]

Ok, I kind of figured I'd need an 8 track. I just wanted to make sure though, before spending money on one, if it could be easily done on a 4 track.

Thanks a lot for your help,
Jack

[Mark7]

Don't forget to keep the original four tracks on a seperate tape so you can redo the whole thing if you don't like how it turns out.