Recording More than one song in a session = All the songs in the same project file?

[iceyflame]

Hey guys I was just wondering when you are recording a full album, or just any more than 1 songs, and you'll be tracking all the drums at once, then all the guitars etc. Do you put all the songs in one project file? Or keep each song as a seperate file?

It seems like putting them all in one would be a good idea if your system is powerful enough because all the tracks on the album will have the same levels. Thats part of the job of a mastering engineer anyway, so it seems smart to have that done at the mixing stage.

So do you guys do all of the tracks from the same session in one project or each song in a different project?

Chris

 

[Elton Bear]

I do them all separately, and mix in-the-box, so I can save all the settings as presets and transfer them between project files...

 

[mixsit]

I do them all separately, and mix in-the-box, so I can save all the settings as presets and transfer them between project files...

Right, once you have a good working layout template (custom to the band or project perhaps) it's easy to bring up each song project. And for house keeping and backup- each song's track data files and project file should go to their own sub folder.
This is a safety issue too. If you loose (corrupt) that 'one big' project file...
Plus it can take forever to load.

Forgot one;
When you string songs out, what happens when say, a track eq for one song is different from what you set for the next one?

 

[89gtsleeper]

I always prefer to start new projects, because it can help to keep the sound "fresh"... You have to use your ears as your guides for what sounds best for that song, rather than just a generalized setting for an entire range of songs...

 

[pikingrin]

Right, once you have a good working layout template (custom to the band or project perhaps) it's easy to bring up each song project. And for house keeping and backup- each song's track data files and project file should go to their own sub folder.
This is a safety issue too. If you loose (corrupt) that 'one big' project file...
Plus it can take forever to load.

Forgot one;
When you string songs out, what happens when say, a track eq for one song is different from what you set for the next one?

+1 for everything here, with the exception of the track eq theoretics. Automation could work that out (although it would be kind of a pain to go through all of you effects and settings).

The biggest concern, IMO, would be all the track info. If something happens to one song, eh, it would suck but it could be retracked and might be easier since you have an idea of how it was previously layed out. If something happened to the whole album (if it were in one project), you would be completely screwed - no lube - and have to start from scratch.

 

[danny.guitar]

Do you mix all the songs the same? If not, you're asking for a big pain in the ass...

 

[aidan_m]

I do them all separately, and mix in-the-box, so I can save all the settings as presets and transfer them between project files...

how do you save/apply presets in protools?

 

[Elton Bear]

I have no idea - I use Cubase and Logic

I would guess there's a button on your plugins for loading/saving presets - maybe somebody who knows ProTools better than me could help out?

 

[Ironklad Audio]

how do you save/apply presets in protools?

file-->import settings

then you have a million options of which settings you want to import from which session

and i will usually put each song into a separate project file, unless i'm cutting only a few songs live or something like that, where i know the instrumentation, levels, and other mix parameters will be the same across the board later on

 

[Robert D]

I organize it as Band/project/song. I usually like to track two consecutive takes of a song in the same file, often without even hitting pause. Then if one take is flawless I just delete the other, or if I need to comp any section they will be very close to the same sound. I use a project template only to the extent of number of tracks, aux's, and subs, track names (Bass, Piano, etc) and sometimes the verbs. I pretty much want to start each song mix from scratch to avoid being lazy and to give each song it's own sound.

 

[mixsit]

I organize it as Band/project/song. I usually like to track two consecutive takes of a song in the same file, often without even hitting pause. Then if one take is flawless I just delete the other, or if I need to comp any section they will be very close to the same sound.

Good point. During tracking it makes sense -and the perfect exception that I follow -and plumb forgot about.