How do studios extract source Tracks to be Mixed and Mastered?

[MoonCrazy]

Parden the naive question....
I record using Cakewalk HomeStudio 2004. When I send them off to get mixed and mastered, how do I send them? Does the studio need to have Cakewalk software in order for them to work with individual tracks? That is, can I send in a Cakewalk Project file or do I have to save each track as a .wav file for them to work with it?
I guess what I am asking is how does a studio extract source tracks to work with them indicidually?

Sorry, I just dont know enough about what happens when I put my recording into an engineers hands and how they go about extracting and working with the source tracks.
Thanks for anyone who can get me a clue!.

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

Unless the studio you deal with has the exact same s/w setup and can support handling your project files directly, you'll mostly have to save them as WAVs so that the studio can import them into their own systems.

 

[MoonCrazy]

Thanks, BlueBear!

So I would save my guitar Track for the song as a .wav and the drum track as a .wav and the bass track as a .wav, etc etc. and send them as a collection of .wavs for the song? and the studio would re-assemble them?

Thanks again

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

Yes... you also want them saved as whole tracks (not just segments) so that when the studio imports them there's no issue about lining all the tracks up with each other.

 

[MoonCrazy]

Yes... you also want them saved as whole tracks (not just segments) so that when the studio imports them there's no issue about lining all the tracks up with each other.

Thats exactly what had me confused, how they would know where it goes if it was just a clip. Got It , save as a whole track. Thanks a bunch!

One more thing, does it matter if I have saved them as stereo? That is if I have applied any panning, should I re-set panning to the center before I save the track as a .wav prior to sending it in or does it matter?

Thanks for the great response and TGIF!

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

Stereo/mono wouldn't matter, unless you inadvertently save a stereo file as a mono track (meaning you lose the "stereo-ness" inherent in the track)....

 

[Massive Master]

If you're sending tracks out to be mixed, I would advise ALSO sending a "rough mix" (just a standard interleaved stereo PCM, WAV, AIFF...) of a mix that YOU did that has the relative levels somewhere in the ballpark of where YOU think they should be.

It only comes up several times a year here, but I get tracks to mix from bands here and there - Usually with no reference of what they're looking for. If they hired me to produce, then pooh on them because I don't care about their reference.

I'M JOKING - But seriously, if you have an idea of the levels - Maybe you like the guitars a little louder or vocals a little louder or what not. If you give the mixing engineer a hint of what YOUR "vision" is, it could save a lot of communication error and time.

John Scrip - www.massivemastering.com

 

[MoonCrazy]

Thanks, MM

Thats great advice since I definately would want the mixing engineer to at least approximate my reference and go from there, taking in the suggestions of the 2nd set of ears.

 

[regebro]

Do people really do this? Just record stuff and then send them away to people and say "please mix this" without being there?

Thats.....insane!

 

[Massive Master]

It happens - Again, with me, only several times a year -

I have a line on my site that says that it's probably NOT the least expensive way to go...

And yeah, when the roughs are ready, I normally send an MP3 file of "snippets" to the label/client/what-have-you so they know what direction I'm going in.

Personally, I wouldn't really want to work that way myself either. But, I guess we're not "everybody" - If they want to send it (along with a hefty deposit of course...), I'll mix it.

John -

 

[MoonCrazy]

I should clarify that 'send' was probably a poor choice of words. I was really talking about what I needed to bring with me into the studio to have it mixed and in what format.
I wasnt saying that I would literally send it in and say 'let me know how it comes out'.
I would want to be there for the mixing part of course.
I just didnt want to walk into a studio and say here's my CD-r with all my songs on it only to be told I needed to have each track in the song as a separate .wav file so they could import them into their systems.
lol....so no, I wasn't planning on the mix-by-mail program

 

[mixmkr]

there used to be a time in recording history...maybe still exists with the "fabricated stars of today"... But, they would record their tracks, and then have nothing to do with the music past that point.. left up to a producer and/or a record company to finish the mix, song sequence, etc...all that ying yang.

 

[Massive Master]

MoonCrazy -

Instead of spending the cash in another studio, why don't you invest in (whatever would help you most) and do the mixes yourself?

If you can get some good mixes in, you can just send the finals out to be mastered, AND gain more mixing experience at the same time.

Of course, it's just a thought... I have no idea what your gear situation is. It just seems like this could be a cool opportunity for a little DIY action...

John -

 

[MoonCrazy]

Ya' know, the funnest part I have in doing these songs has been mixing them. Playing and writing are my passsions, but mixing is where I really enjoy the fruits of the recording Ive done.
As far as gear, Im just mixing directly in the console view in Cakewalk in headphones until I get good monitors which will be next month.
I have a decent sounding room and am working on improving it.
WHat kind of mixing hardware/software would you reccommend investing in if I was to DIY?

 

[Massive Master]

Well, I'm not insanely familiar with most 'home' (for lack of a better term) software, but can't you just mix in Cakewalk?

If not, I might suggest a freebie that I've been hearing about a lot lately...

http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/index.php

It's full-function FREEware. Couple this up with several freeware VST plugs, and it should give you some fairly serious mixing recording AND mixing power.

Good call on the monitors - Get the best sounding ones you can afford - All the gear in the universe is useless if you can't hear what you're doing.

John -

 

[Sonic Misfit]

Do people really do this? Just record stuff and then send them away to people and say "please mix this" without being there?

Thats.....insane!

Not insane. Because of the technology that we have today, I can work on projects where the keyboard player is in New York, the singer is in Los Angles, and the drummer is in Europe. Thanks to being able to move files on broadband connections, the virtual studio is almost there.

Obviously, the mixdowns are distributed to the players and everyone joins a conference call to discuss likes/dislikes. When time is of the essence, such as for commercial recording or industry soundtracks, you are going to see everyone moving to this sort of technique.