fade in fade out quit fading about

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dobro

dobro

Well-known member
Okay, there's a fade-in at the beginning of a song and a fade-out at the end.

Question: what do you reckon for the length of each? One second? Two?

Question: should the fade-in start from silence or from somewhere between silence and full volume?
 
Dobro...

Isn't that a bit like asking how long a piece of string is?? It's totally dependent on the song, context, and effect you're going for...........

:D

Bruce
 
Now, don't string me along here. Lotsa songs have a more or less standard beginning from total silence to full on volume. How long is it? Do some songs start at full volume, or do all songs start from silence and come up to full volume? What do *you* do with the beginnings of songs?

And given that I don't want to fade out slowly on a track, how long is it from the end of the last note to complete silence on the track?

You and that damn string... Is your string long enough for a cat's cradle?
 
Paul.... I'm not trying to "string" (geddit?!? :)) you along at all! On the other hand, I don't think I can answer your question - I've only ever faded-in on a song if it requires it, and the fade-in time would always vary - depending on what I'm fading in from.... same with fade-outs! I've never heard of a "standard"... even the fade tapers (logarithmic, linear) you use will vary depending on the program material.

If you're asking about slowly "ramping-up" the volume to produce some sort of dynamic contrast, again, I don't think there's a standard - it's all "feel" baby!

:D

Bruce
 
As Joemeek said, whatever sounds good"

It does not matter if it is 2 seconds or 200 seconds, as long as it sounds good.
 
Yo DO-bro de Stringo:]

You don't want to get strung out on this one. Sometimes I let the drums fade out a song; it's an easy way to end because I don't have to have an extra hand to reach over and shut everything off at once.

So, if I have 8 or 9 bars of drums left over, all other tracks are done or faded except the drums, well, man, you can choose your own slide downhill to go out. Like Bruce said, depends on the tune and what effect you want to affect the listener.

As for fading into a song, haven't been there yet but it sounds like an effect for a tv commercial or some looney tune or a political speech.

Didn't mean to weave a blanket from a string.

Green Hornet
 
I don't think dobro is talking about audible/mucical fades, I think he means actually turning the track on and off.

If that's right dobro, there isn't a standard. I use a DAW and at the head of the song I use a fade of probably just a couple of dozen samples (just enough so there is no chance of there being an audible pop) but it is at full level as the first note hits. At the end it is a bit harder to tell when the last sustain/reverb of the music has gone so I use a fade that doesn't affect the sutain or if it does, it sounds natural. When you've multitracked a lot of acoustic material, the noise floor can be quite high there so it's a compromise.

Hope this is what you meant.

Brenton
 
It sounds to me Dobro that you are asking the wrong question. A fade-in is a gradual ramping up in the volume of a song, whereas a fade-out is the opposite, a gradual ramping down in the volume of a song.

The key word here is "gradual".

Like the Hornetman, I have never used a fade-in. I have used lots of fade-outs and they are also used frequently on commercial CD's. The length of a fade-out is a subjective and artistic decision. Some songs have a quite lengthy fade-outs, while others are fairly brief.

I think what you really want to know is how much silence to put/leave in a song before it starts and after it ends. Many songs end abrubtly (with a final chord, or such) rather than a fade-out. In this case you would want a little bit of silence after the final chord ends. I myself tend to leave about a second or two of silence both at the beginning and end of a song. Remember that when you put them on a CD, there will typically also be another two seconds of silence between the tracks. The two seconds between tracks is pretty much a standard. I don't know if there is any standard for additional silence on the track itself. I use 1-2 seconds and it seems to work OK.

I guess if you wanted you could take a commercial CD and simply time it out. Clock the amount of time from the end of the sound on one track to the beginning of sound on the next track and deduct for the two second allowance between the tracks. Whatever's left, divide by two and that's what you'd add to the beginning and end of each track.
 
Who put the 'doh' in dobro? Brenton and Dachay read my mind - I was using the wrong terminology. I didn't intend to ask about fades at all, but the amount of silence before the first samples. I've got it now, thanks, you answered my clumsy question. So yeah, Dachay, you're right, fade-ins are really unusual, and I'll be using only one on this album. I'll be using a variety of fade-outs though, from very fast to a few seconds. Sorry for the confusion, Bruce. :D
 
Hey DoBRO:

What you putting into that toothpaste you use to clean teeth?

Gordon's Gin would be nice but you're too far away for my business.

Green Hornet
 
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