Recording with only a few Inputs.

[Middleman3]

Hey everybody.

I'm in a position, with the equipment at my disposal, where I have two 12-track mixers to record a song with all instruments in one run, however I only have 2 track inputs so I'd have to mix a group of instruments together forever.

So, this obviously leads to minimal overall flexibility with the individual tracks after recording. This is the place to post any tips or ideas on how one would go about recording multiple inputs into one or two tracks to get the most elbow room to work with once everything's recorded and done. Im really trying to get my drumset to sound good in the end. How would you do it?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Pahtcub]

I would record a stereo mix, have the band rehearse portions of the song and record then listen back and tweak mixer settings, then record again over and over until I was happy with the mix, that's pretty much all you can do with a two tracks.

 

[miroslav]

...how one would go about recording multiple inputs into one or two tracks to get the most elbow room to work with once everything's recorded and done.

Mmmmmm....it's all going to come down to detailed pre-production planning and the commitment.
There's no SOP one could apply to any session, as each will have it's own demands based on song, arrangement, players...etc.

If you really want plenty of control after you track...you need to break away from the sub-mix approach.
Record individual pairs to a scratch track and click...and then mix it later instead of during tracking.

Otherwise, get the best live mix you can after careful pre-produciton, and just record in stereo and take what you get.
If you don't like the result...repeate until you do, but that can get pretty tedious.
Mixing 12-24 sources down to a stereo pair, and then thinking about how to individually manipulate sounds....mmmm...ain't gonna happen. Once they are mix together...it would be like trying to remove individual ingredients from a cooked stew.

 

[grimtraveller]

Mixing 12-24 sources down to a stereo pair, and then thinking about how to individually manipulate sounds....mmmm...ain't gonna happen. Once they are mix together...it would be like trying to remove individual ingredients from a cooked stew.

A cooking tip; if you put too much salt in your stew, stick a potato in. It'll absorb the salt and remove the saltiness.


As for the actual question, I'd do what Pahtcub suggested.

 

[miroslav]

A cooking tip; if you put too much salt in your stew, stick a potato in. It'll absorb the salt and remove the saltiness.

What if the stew already has potatoes in it...?

Stew without potatoes is soup.