Mixdown tips for VF08 (VF80)?

[psongman]

Hi, have spent the last 2 weeks recording on my VF08. The machine is fairly easy to use, but I want to really master it before moving on to a 16 tracker. I hope you can respond to some of these inquiries. I recorded on the basic open 6 tracks, then bounced them to tracks 7/8. Now, you can play them all back and it sounds much phatter that way, although just 7/8, sound sweet now. Does anybody out there mix in this manner using 7/8 mixdwn track along with the other six? I see where you have to do manual fade ins and outs, but that isn't that hard. I was spoiled using Cool Edit Pro though as you could splice and dice easily and go in and soften attacks and areas between choruses and bridges etc. If anybody has any neat mixdown tips for my unit would be appreciated. Actually, I am assuming you might be able to use any given for most basic 8 track digital recorders. Anyway, thanks for listening, hope to hear a report or 2. Psongman

 

[billisa]

Don't quote me, but I think the Scene Memory function may enable you to have settings change automatically during mixdown. Maybe not, but others can confirm whether or not this is true.

Using 1-6, plus 7/8 does sound "phatter" though you really have to watch levels... Try this... Move 7/8 to a pair of virtual tracks. Then mixdown 1-6 again to 7/8. Move that 7/8 to 1-2, erase 3-6, move the original 7/8 that you moved to virtual tracks to 3-4. Then mixdown 1-2-3-4 to 7/8. Then Master...

Make sure if you have any sections with background noise, but no music, that you erase them, because the background noise can start to build up. A noisy guitar pickup won't be noticed on just one track, but several tracks of this will have a cumulative effect.

 

[psongman]

Thanks Billisa, will try something like that, although it might sound too fat phat, with your method. In the car driving today, it hit me, mix down the whole 6 tracks but lighten up on the guitar tracks and send them to virtual, along with the 7/8 mixdown, then trade tracks bringing basic mixdown to 1/2, bring in guitar tracks on 3/4 and blend with mixdown, leaving 5 and 6 for vocals then either add some keys on 7/8 them send to mixdown deck or like you said rebounce to 7/8 and master. See, exchanging ideas like this gives you inspiration with all the perspiration, though I can see that this would be a piece of cake with 16 tracks, but from what I am learning, you don't get 16 there either...hmm, amazing what you figure out. Keep the input flow going, thanks, Psongman

 

[billisa]

...though I can see that this would be a piece of cake with 16 tracks, but from what I am learning, you don't get 16 there either...hmm, amazing what you figure out. Keep the input flow going, thanks, Psongman

If you're referring to the VF160, you do get 16 independent tracks, plus a stereo master track. 8 tracks can be recorded at once as is, or with a simple ADAT interface 16 can be done at once.

 

[jfrog]

if you're just recording 6 tracks, there's no need to bounce the tracks to 7&8. That leaves each track separate so that you can tweek the faders during mastering. (I master to an external cd burner thru the s/pdif outputs)

If you use the "scene map" feature, the playback can switch between scenes as the song plays - adjusting fader positions, pan, effects, etc. (See my separate 12/10 post for problems associated with scene map & bounce mode, though)

jr