Methods to back up/future proof daw projects

thecolourbox

Hi all,

So I've not been very organised when recording stuff in the past, I've just done it in whatever version of cubase I had at the time and then after the inevitable reinstalls of the software and changes of laptop etc audio files get lost, plugins can no longer be found so I lose the settings etc, and when I try to repeat certain effects I can't remember what I've done.

So had a little think about it and have come up with what I think I need to do to get organised going forwards, and hopefully will be able to "back fill" as much as possible from there though I know some songs I've done are completely kaput. Wondered if this list was sensible, OTT, or if I'd missed anything else? How do you guys do it?

1. Start Word doc which lists all plugin settings (instruments and effects) and any notes on that. Change it as and when I update anything. Include stuff like mix and panning and stuff where I've double tracked. 
2. Export all recorded audio files individually as Wav files somewhere other than the project folder, without effects but also after they've been applied. My cubase doesn't allow me to batch export all tracks in different files so I'll have to do this manually one at a time. I've lost quite a few recorded parts when I've had to reinstall the software or move folders around.
3. Export a midi track regularly for the vst instrument parts so they can be reused elsewhere if required. Probably export audio files of the final versions also
4. Compose list of all plugins and what they do as I've loads that I don't know what they actually are for (got loads of free ones that I just grabbed because they were free but would be good to know what they are all for haha).
5. Spend some time creating some basic project templates and preset templates for things I use often (voice, guitars, piano etc) based on my list in #1 so I don't have to fiddle around for ages just trying to lay out basic demos etc

Might be overthinking this but it's caused me some frustration losing all my stuff for a number of songs I've recorded before. 

Also a question regarding exporting individual tracks as audio though - I tend to use some compression or limiting on the output, presumably that would not be useful when doing them individually because it'll only compress the individual tracks not the song as a whole. So for that, do I just remove the output effects for exporting, make a note of the output effects and settings, then can recombine afterwards on a new project using only those files as and when I need to revisit it?

Thanks all

octatonic

I come up against this all the time, because I am frequently working in different DAW's for a single project.
I regularly bounce out tracks with processing in place and processing bypassed so I can always go back to the processed version and the dry version.

Tempo and time signature mapping-  I do this in a text document in the root of the folder.

My main advice is to come up with a naming convention and stick to it.

I don't bother noting down plugin settings or even the ones used.

JohnS37

Yeah, great plan, and I have thought of doing the same thing many times.  Somehow though I have never got around to it.  Maybe now is the time . . .
One thing that bugs me to add to the list is the settings on Instruments I have recorded, which would come in useful when I come back to a half-finished song weeks or months later.  For example, I use a guitar synth often to get brass, or harmonica, or Hammond organ, but there are dozens of versions of each one, and unless I have written it down somewhere I will never remember which version it was.
So yes, if you can summon the discipline, go for it.  Also, as someone else said, a simple text file is all you need.  Doesn’t matter if it gets huge, because the text is searchable.

thecolourbox

Thanks chaps, I know it sounds a bit OCD but thought that's all the problems I've encountered so far solved by doing those, albeit with severe time taking to be do it haha

Re the plug in settings Oct, that's possibly because you know what you're doing do can recreate stuff easier. I haven't a clue what I'm doing so generally just try all manner of random combinations until it sounds less crap, so that's difficult to do the same thing once let alone twice

Danny1969

If you consolidate all tracks from zero start to length of session and print any VSI's,  as well as keeping the original midi tracks your pretty safe. Once that's done you can open the session in anything. If there's anything audio track wise  that totally depends on a particular plugin then you need to print that too.
Make sure you name your regions as well as track name and put text file with BPM, comments and alt takes in playlist if applicable. 

octatonic

thecolourbox said:

Thanks chaps, I know it sounds a bit OCD but thought that's all the problems I've encountered so far solved by doing those, albeit with severe time taking to be do it haha

Re the plug in settings Oct, that's possibly because you know what you're doing do can recreate stuff easier. I haven't a clue what I'm doing so generally just try all manner of random combinations until it sounds less crap, so that's difficult to do the same thing once let alone twice

Partly that but also It is a conscious choice to be open to newness when I revisit previously created audio.

What I mean is I don't want to be recreating the same stuff all the time and I try to look at each time I go to the studio as a way of reinventing my method, creating something different or even just approaching the same material with fresh ears and seeing what I can do with it.

I have a bounce out of whatever I was doing previously both wet and dry- the next time I use that source material is a new opportunity to do something new.

thecolourbox

octatonic said:

thecolourbox said:

Thanks chaps, I know it sounds a bit OCD but thought that's all the problems I've encountered so far solved by doing those, albeit with severe time taking to be do it haha

Re the plug in settings Oct, that's possibly because you know what you're doing do can recreate stuff easier. I haven't a clue what I'm doing so generally just try all manner of random combinations until it sounds less crap, so that's difficult to do the same thing once let alone twice

Partly that but also It is a conscious choice to be open to newness when I revisit previously created audio.

What I mean is I don't want to be recreating the same stuff all the time and I try to look at each time I go to the studio as a way of reinventing my method, creating something different or even just approaching the same material with fresh ears and seeing what I can do with it.

I have a bounce out of whatever I was doing previously both wet and dry- the next time I use that source material is a new opportunity to do something new.

Ha yes that's because you have your artistic integrity, I'm usually satisfied if I can get the software working and the export sounds the same afterwards as it does in the software...

Keefy

octatonic said:

thecolourbox said:

Thanks chaps, I know it sounds a bit OCD but thought that's all the problems I've encountered so far solved by doing those, albeit with severe time taking to be do it haha

Re the plug in settings Oct, that's possibly because you know what you're doing do can recreate stuff easier. I haven't a clue what I'm doing so generally just try all manner of random combinations until it sounds less crap, so that's difficult to do the same thing once let alone twice

Partly that but also It is a conscious choice to be open to newness when I revisit previously created audio.

What I mean is I don't want to be recreating the same stuff all the time and I try to look at each time I go to the studio as a way of reinventing my method, creating something different or even just approaching the same material with fresh ears and seeing what I can do with it.

I have a bounce out of whatever I was doing previously both wet and dry- the next time I use that source material is a new opportunity to do something new.

I recently saw an R&B/pop producer on YouTube saying he never works from templates in his DAW because he doesn’t want to be limited by what he’s done before.

I used to write down settings but now I never bother, each recording is its own thing. If I was changing setup in the middle of working on a project then yes I would want to take steps to preserve what I’d done so far, otherwise I wouldn’t bother.

Having said that, I still have tracks that I recorded with a friend onto a Roland VS840 over 20 years ago. I transferred the stems when I got an Akai DPS16, then again when I moved to Reaper. Will I ever finish them?

thecolourbox

I suppose that depends how many effects you use, I think I use quite a lot to hide my voice and playing so it's quite hard doing that from scratch every time. I'd be happy with consistent sounds. Nobody hears it but me so it's not like I need to appeal to anybody!

andy_k

I try and use a folder structure for projects, folder name includes date of creation.
I don't document settings within a project, but try to leave a project with full audio stems intact.
There is a continuous problem of copying and backing up of these projects for archive, I tend to have a clear out on my working PC every month or so, I try and have at least 2 copies available at all times-one on the PC, one on an SSD external.
I have sorted out these backed up folders by year, and previous years are in turn copied to a further drive for archive, these older years are taken off my current drives.
As I look back on older projects, there will be a few blips when opening from external drives, as Reaper is looking for the original path to the audio, but it is usually easy to point to the right place, but if I am planning on doing any work on it, I prefer to move the folder back to my working machine and create a new version of the project-with the current date. At least this means my updated project will be saved with my more recent workflow incorporated. 
I have a copy of Protools licensed to let me attempt to open my older stuff done in PT, if I don't have full audio stems intact, and I have Logic for the same reason, I first became aware of the problem of having older versions of projects when I upgraded Logic 9 to Logic pro X, which would have to convert older versions, since I have been using Reaper I have been working towards projects that are always built up, and saved, with audio stems.
I don't do this for a living, but I think I could manage commercial projects pretty safely using my approach, it would be definately easier to get things finished that way, stuff would be committed to disc and handed over, with only an archived copy being needed.
The more you do, the more you have to drag behind you.

Keefy

thecolourbox said:

I suppose that depends how many effects you use, I think I use quite a lot to hide my voice and playing so it's quite hard doing that from scratch every time. I'd be happy with consistent sounds. Nobody hears it but me so it's not like I need to appeal to anybody!

Good point, I don’t use that many in-the-box effects.