Keeping track of your tracks?

[fuzzsniffvoyage]

I was wondering how some of you may keep track of what you do to your tracks? comp settings, mic's + placement, amp settings instrument used or what not. Do you use a spread sheet or just take notes?

I'm thinking about coming up with something to put in a note book to keep track of my tracks.

When I go back to some recordings I've done, I have no idea what the hell is going on.

Okay, I seen another thread where a guy is want a way to keep track of his inputs.

I want to keep some sort of log book.

 

[grimtraveller]

I was wondering how some of you may keep track of what you do to your tracks? comp settings, mic's + placement, amp settings instrument used or what not. Do you use a spread sheet or just take notes?

I never keep a record of any of my settings. It's generally obvious which instruments I've used as I'm pretty frugal {I don't have two of any instrument} and if I should use a VSTi, it's down to how I feel right there and then what sort of settings I'll use on the instrument in question.
What I do is keep a log book of the dates of each session and what was done on those sessions. On the DAW itself, I'll name each track that has something on it so that minimises mistakes. I've made them though, accidentally wiping tracks.
The reason I don't keep records of settings is because I like to approach each session fresh. Now, on a given day, I might do 7 songs with the drummer or the vocalist or put 4 electric guitars or mandolins down. In those cases all the settings for each song would be the same. But having the same initial tracking setting doesn't mean that the final sound is the same. It rarely is once I'm done.

I'm thinking about coming up with something to put in a note book to keep track of my tracks.
I want to keep some sort of log book.

Just go ahead and do it. You won't regret it.

When I go back to some recordings I've done, I have no idea what the hell is going on.

Of late, I've been transfering songs I recorded on an 8 track cassette portastudio between 1995 and 2003~ish to my DAW to mix properly so I can be done with them. There are some guys down in the analog only forum that won't use more than 4 tracks. It was never that way for me. I soon exhausted the notion of 4 track recording and even 8 tracks wasn't really enough. I did so much bouncing and track sharing, sometimes with 4 instruments on the same track but at different parts of a song. Transfering all that to my 12 track DAW has spread out the tracks somewhat because I can cut bits out and put them on their own track. But I still need to keep some sort of written record of what is where otherwise I'd have no clue of what was happening either.

 

[Track Rat]

In a word (or two), TRACK SHEETS.

 

[Chili]

Cubase and probably most other DAWs allow you to save the track settings. I will save it with a file name that describes what the track is for; like ChiliVox. I only ever record myself, so I just create a template for the whole session. The settings for all the tracks are loaded up at one time. Then I'll tweak as needed for the song.

I never write anything down or log it, 'cause then I'd have to read it...