deciding which tracks to keep

  • Thread starter Thread starter dobro
  • Start date Start date
What is a "trusted conrad"? I gotta get me one.
Seriously, I have had the same choices and it seems to me that sooner or later it boils down to you have to get it mixed and move on, so somehow it gets done. Dont ask me how, but it does, and you just have to have no regrets with your final mix regardless; store the tracks and move on. Maybe come back to it after a couple of other tunes with a fresh outlook?
 
I still think the involvement of a priest means it should be in mastering, so there
 
If it involves a priest, it must involve young boys, which means it would fit right in down in the Cave! :D Sorry, I misshipped this thread! ;)

Ed
 
Deciding which tracks to keep and which tracks not to keep is the first step of mixing, and has nothing to do with songwriting.

Sonusman...bad man.
 
Songwriting Forum Moderator needs to move this thread.......
 
So, is this Sonusman not seeing that track selection/deletion is a necessary step of mixing, or is this Sonusman making his point yet again about the need for more involved moderation of all the forums? Or is he just bitter about the Alesis picks thread I started?

So many questions, so few answers.

But although he, as co-moderator of the mixing forum, has the power to shift a thread *out* of that forum, I'd bet you a beer in the eye that he doesn't have the power to then retrieve said thread or shift it anywhere else either

Story of my fucking life. Banished to somewhere I don't belong. Think I'll write a song. It'll probably get transferred from the mp3 clinic to the mic forum, too. :D
 
So what's the best mic under $50? I want to sound like Kid Rock.:D
 
Hey; get this thread out of the songwriting forum, this is where the intellignet people hang out, LOL.
 
Hey, dude, cut Ed some slack. I mean, he's an engineer, right? How's he supposed to know the difference between track selection and songwriting? How do you throw a reverb unit across that? :D
 
I know that you are half way pitching me some shit, and half way inquiring for real why I made the decision to move this here. I will try to explain.

First, I AM a songwriter, producer, musician, etc.....Hell, I posted one of my halfbaked ideas in the Clinic not that long ago. While I am not a balls to the walls songwriter/performer anymore, and spend more time on engineering, I go back QUITE a ways in songwriting. So, please, before I whip out a bunch of songwriting whoopass all over you, don't suggest that I don't KNOW the distinction between songwriting/arrangement issues, and actual mixing issues! ;)

You original question suggested that you had all these "parts" tracked, and that they were different approaches to PERFORMANCE of the parts. Your question pertained to deciding which "version" of the part to keep. Frankly, to me, this has far more to do with songwriting/arranging issues than anything about actually mixing. Yes, there COULD be significant issues concerning HOW to mix these parts within the song, if they are quite different (how they fill the sonic space, etc....) but how can you be advised about how to mix them in when you, the songwrite/producer/arranger HAVEN'T even figured out which part to keep?

To illustrate further, let's say that I tracked two different guitar solo's for a song. Have them both there on the tape (hard drive, etc....). One if very sparce with a lot of space. Very simple melodic structure. The other solo though is very busy and complex. Deciding which to keep is the mixing engineers decision? Not on the projects I have worked on in the past. The producer usually decides that, and he decides that based upon how the part fits the SONG! Once the producer decides which part to keep, it is then up to me to make that part fit in the mix.

So, I felt your question had far more songwriting/arrangement pertinence than mixing pertinence, thus, moved it here, where all these "intelligent" people could help you in deciding....:)

So, now that you know where I stand, I will add my two cents worth to your question! :D

I DON'T have an answer!!! :D :) ;)

I DO know that when deciding on whether to keep a part or not, I consider the "mood" of the song. If the part is busy, I ask myself "Does a busy part right here help the arrangement?". If it is a sparce part, I ask myself "Does this part say something significant in the song and carry this part?". But only the songwriting and/or producer can really say.

Producing/songwriting/arranging are all seperate, yet, closely related "arts" in music. There are arrangers that cannot write a song to save their ass. There are songwriters that cannot arrange worth a shit! Many "pop" music releases enjoy all three of the above "artists" to make a song fly. Somebody writes the basic song. An arranger is brought in who really makes the arrangment and instrumentation very strong. Then a producer drags the best sound/performances that is possible with the gear and performers. The Producer is usually the ultimate voice in ALL the above issues. He is the guy that has the "hunch" on what will keep people listening to a song and what won't, although he may or maynot be very skilled in contributing to any aspect of the production of the final product. But he is the guy that usually knows WHERE to find the right talent for every crucial part, and can HEAR when that person has stumbled upon greatness in their craft.

So, maybe this is more of a "producing" question. Maybe we need a "Producing" forum! LOL.....

But, I feel this question works better in the songwriting forum, and this is where I moved it. Only moderators of a forum can move stuff out of their forum, so I cannot move this anywhere else. If you have a big enough issue with this thread being here, please feel free to contact this forums moderator and suggest a move to anywhere you choose EXCEPT back to the Mixing/Mastering forum...;)

Ed
 
It belongs in mixing. Or maybe recording techniques. But Ed is seeking to streamline his forum just like Dobro is seeking to streamline his song.

Dobro, you should try importing those discarded tracks into another song;)
 
Moving this thread was dumb

Sure, there's some question as to where it might really belong, but its not black/white.

When people post their MP3's in the mixing/mastering forum as I see quite often, please by all means bust their ass to the MP3 clinic, but this kind of gray area judgement call stuff just comes off as a power trip.
 
So where can I find a mixer that has a "songwriting whoopass" channel insert?
 
Back
Top