New recording V Old.

jiff41

I was just wondering: Back in the day, when we recorded a song/track/album, when we finished, we got the Master tape (2 inch tape?). What happens these days with it all being digital? Do you get a folder with all the tracks in Wavs? 

thecolourbox

I think so yeah - hopefully nicely named and organised if it's a proper place  

Stuckfast

It's a good idea to negotiate this with the studio before you start. Obviously they should give you a stereo file of the master recording, but if you want stems or multitracks to take away, that can involve quite a bit of prep work.

octatonic

I charge extra for stems but I usually provide multitracks to people if they want them.

Musicwolf

octatonic said:

I charge extra for stems but I usually provide multitracks to people if they want them.

Worth pointing out that a lot of people misuse the word 'stems' when they really mean 'tracks'.  Stems are sub groups and, as such, usually require additional prep - hence @octatonic 's additional charge.

octatonic

Musicwolf said:

octatonic said:

I charge extra for stems but I usually provide multitracks to people if they want them.

Worth pointing out that a lot of people misuse the word 'stems' when they really mean 'tracks'.  Stems are sub groups and, as such, usually require additional prep - hence @octatonic 's additional charge.

Yes, making stems takes time.
Multitracks are much quicker to provide.

I don't especially like using stems, I'll usually argue against it.

Musicwolf

If you do want to take tracks away you also need to consider whether you want 'dry' tracks or 'print' the effects.  Same goes for edits, comps etc.

As @Stuckfast said, best to discuss with the Engineer before the session.

octatonic

Musicwolf said:

If you do want to take tracks away you also need to consider whether you want 'dry' tracks or 'print' the effects.  Same goes for edits, comps etc.

As @Stuckfast said, best to discuss with the Engineer before the session.

The problem with stems is this- I use hardware bus compression, EQ and saturation.

They go on at the start of the mix.
What I use changes from project to project but typically I will use either an SSL Bus compress or an API 2500 or a Crane Song STC8 into an EQ (MAAG EQ4M, some Pultecs, Massive Passive) and then usually an Overstayer MAS on the back end, sometimes Oxford inflator and often the UA ATR102 plugin to finish.

The way they all mesh the track together only works when everything is playing.
If I solo and print, for example, the drums, then the bass, then the guitars, then the vocals, then the keys, then the FX- I have to choose to put it through the master bus treatment or not.

If I don't then whoever reconstitutes the mix has to have all of those devices set exactly the same to make the mix cohesive.

If I do then the processing sounds very different because things in solo.
It doesn't work- the mix falls apart.

The only reason I can see for using stems is when the mastering engineer (or another mix engineer) has monitoring and hardware effects, or a room, that is an order of magnitude better than what I have, which they probably won't.
Or if they are SO much better at this than me, at which point, why am I even involved?
I would just prefer to be allowed to mix it the way it sounds good to me.

If I was a mastering engineer getting shitty mixes from people who don't know what they were doing I'd probably feel differently.

jiff41

So it should be easy enough to put the dry tracks on a USB stick to keep?

andy_k

'back in the day' you only got to keep the 2 inch 'master' tape, if you had bought it.
Otherwise, you probably got a mix on a 2 track quarter inch tape, or maybe even a cassette copy of said mix.
If you were 'lucky' enough to be recording in a studio, the label kept everything.
Someone like Kate Bush, or Peter Gabriel probably had access to everything after the songs were mixed, it is very different these days.
A mixer, will have access to the raw audio, and a mastering engineer will have access to the tracks he wants-usually stems these days, but often just a stereo, un mastered mix, provided by the mixing engineer, or some combination of everything-depends on the service provided.
An artist, if he is paying for the service, these days, should be able to ask for a copy of the 'project', at least, but I bet that isn't common.
Whether that 'project' file is any use to him afterwards very much depends on how it has been processed, and whichever software / hardware has been used.
The Project folder would usually include a copy of all the audio that has been used, and any bounces or stems that are produced.
Obviously, if the sounds have been produced, or affected by them running through hardware that isn't present, it wouldn't sound correct, the same as if it wasn't played back through the same speakers.
Many variables, but there will be a project file / folder, that needs to be preserved / backed up somehow, and if I had paid for it, I would expect to have a copy myself.

octatonic

jiff41 said:

So it should be easy enough to put the dry tracks on a USB stick to keep?

Don't put them on a USB stick alone- put them on cloud storage.

Danny1969

You generally want the audio files consolidated. So they all start and end at the same time regardless of whether there's only a small snatch of audio in the middle. That way you can load them into any DAW and everything will be lined up without worry about time stamp etc. 
If you don't get them consolidated then things are trickier, you might have the whole project folder but not something that can open the project. My studio used Protools HD for some sessions  and you couldn't open the session with anything else. So is customers wanted to have a go at home I just selected all tracks, then consolidated them and exported them into a folder which could be given to them. Care had to be taken though to make sure all the alt takes in the playlist were done too. 

andy_k

Danny1969 said:

You generally want the audio files consolidated. So they all start and end at the same time regardless of whether there's only a small snatch of audio in the middle. That way you can load them into any DAW and everything will be lined up without worry about time stamp etc. 
If you don't get them consolidated then things are trickier, you might have the whole project folder but not something that can open the project. My studio used Protools HD for some sessions  and you couldn't open the session with anything else. So is customers wanted to have a go at home I just selected all tracks, then consolidated them and exported them into a folder which could be given to them. Care had to be taken though to make sure all the alt takes in the playlist were done too. 

This is good advice in general, as part of completing a project, and for archive.
I lost a fair few projects when I gave up my PT subscription.
It took far more time to recreate the track from the source audio than it would have taken to consolidate the parts.
I still find myself slipping into the bad habits though, usually realise when it is taking a long time to load up a session.
Must try harder.

Macca_25387

For me the stems belong to the artist. I export all the raw stems stick em jn a folder and send them off with the Master or Pre Master. That also negates not being able to load older sessions up as plugins/ software have become obsolete etc. 

jiff41

Many thanks for all the info, guys!