Pre Recorded Tracks

A

ajenkz

New member
I'm using a lot of beats on my project, and the problem with them is that, 1 most of them are already mixed and only come as 1 track, and 2, most are in an mp3 format. I've talked to a few of the producers who are going to send me each track individually and in .wav format, but most wont and I would still really like to use these tracks.

Is it going to be possible to get a good mix out of a premixed instrumental track, especially in mp3 format? They sound fine now (they are mp3 like I said and at a 44khz sampling rate), but i'm not sure if this will cause problems during the mastering process and im not sure how well the vocals will sit with the tracks. Any tips for this?
 
The problem with MP3 tracks is, you will eventually have to re-encode them as MP3 (if you post them on the internet). That's a double-loss in quality. Some instruments (electric guitar, vocals, etc.) can withstand that kind of loss pretty well, while other instruments (especially acoustic guitar) won't. And will sound like crap.

Depending on the backing track, it's usually pretty easy to get a good mix even if you're just working with a single stereo track, as opposed to single .wav files of each track.

I've recorded guitar over some backing tracks and I was able to mix them in there pretty easily. But it really depends on the backing track and what you're trying to put in it.

If you're just recording vocals over a backing track it shouldn't be too much of a problem.
 
Thanks that was exactly what I was looking for. All im adding to them are vocal tracks, so that should work out pretty well, and I can deal with the loss of quality over the internet, I just wasn't sure if it would mess with the quality of what actually goes on the CD. So even though the instrumental is all on one track, will everything still be panned as it originally was?
 
As far as panning in the backing track, that shouldn't change at all. Just import the track into your software as a stereo track. Then record the vocals over it.

When you're done, export as WAV and burn to a CD. You don't have to worry about a loss of quality there. The backing track will sound the same as it did in the MP3.

But if you take that rendered WAV and convert that to MP3, then you might notice some quality differences. Maybe you won't, it depends on what kind of instruments are in the backing track and how well it was recorded.
 
if its a mono track then anything panned will show on both sides of the spectrum. i am curious as to why these producers wont sent to you on a track by track basis...if you are paying for them then they should.
 
Well these are R&B beats that have already been created, and most of the companies the producers of the tracks work under have a policy of sending them in mp3 format only, as one file. For instance, I have personally contacted several of the people i'm interested in using beats from, and they are willing to change them to better suit my writing and they will send me each individual track, which might be not be needed after what danny.guitar said as long as I can get them in stereo. What I use to record vocals is a Tascam DP01 though, which im pretty sure takes only mono into it? Not sure. But for some producers, they have policies that some are only sold in mp3, and some have different options for different prices, but all of the tracks im interested in are only available as mp3 for whatever reasons.
 
Unless you can get your supplier to send you "dry" tracks, what you get will already have some combination of effects in the mix. The tough part is to get your vocal to match, or get close to, the effects that are in the music. It will take a bit of experimenting with different reverbs, and harmonics, and stereo field models to get your vocal to match the music. Be prepared to spend a lot of time with your recording gear.
 
Those folk seem crazy.
You'd think they'd want their stuff to go out as best quality & CHARGE for it.
A single MP3 file can be stereo.
I've worked with some great MP3 encoded stereo drum tracks (from RAMI - excellent recorder & ace drummer). The MP3 were mix downs of the drums in stereo and at a high quality. I converted them to wave to work with.
There's a lot lost in an MP3 though - up to 90%.
 
I think its more of the contract with the companies that keeps them from being able to sell them as anything else. Some sites only offer them as mp3, but if you contact some of the sellers they are willing to sell them straight to you instead of going through the company, but thats against policy so most wont do it.

I got my first track in mp3 and i'm going to mess with it tonight. The sound quality is extremely high because most beats are used with programs like Propellerhead Reason 3.0 which doesn't utilize real instruments unless its through samples, so it should'nt be too much of a problem.
 
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