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Subject:Punching in a corrected part?
Posted by: spinweb
Date:5/10/2004 10:51:00 AM

I wind up with too many tracks in my projects, as I seem to always have to create a new track to fix a bad part in a prior take. The "SAM"S Teach yourself AACID 3.0 in 24 hours (yeah, right! ) book on page 377 talks about punch in recording, but it's in a Vegas chapter. Another reference to punching in parts is in an Sonic Forge chapter. What's with that? I tried the instructions and wind up with a NEW TRACK, not one with the old part overwritten.

Could something so fundamental to recording music not be included in ACID?

:(

Rick

Subject:RE: Punching in a corrected part?
Reply by: Iacobus
Date:5/10/2004 10:57:24 AM

ACID is not a multitracker in the truest sense, so any future "punch in" recordings will be on another track, not added to an existing track as they would in Vegas (which is a multitracker).

HTH,
Iacobus
-------
RodelWorks - Original Music for the Unafraid
mD's ACIDplanet Page
Guitars 4 Kids

Subject:RE: Punching in a corrected part?
Reply by: Chienworks
Date:5/10/2004 12:51:17 PM

If it helps undertanding at all, keep in mind that in ACID each track may contain one and only one file. If you punch in after the fact you are recording into a new file and therefore ACID can't include it on the same track. The concept of takes doesn't exist in ACID.

Subject:RE: Punching in a corrected part?
Reply by: spinweb
Date:5/10/2004 12:59:41 PM

Bummer. So what else is the reason to have Vegas as a product? You
can bring video into ACID 4, right?

Subject:RE: Punching in a corrected part?
Reply by: MikeDee
Date:5/10/2004 3:05:07 PM

Personally, I would prefer to keep things as simple as possible, as follows:

1. Perform your "punch-in(s)" to the new track(s).
2. Group the original track(s) and the new "punch-in" track(s) together.
3. Edit the original track(s) to remove the unwanted material that will be replaced by the new "punch-in" track(s).

However, if you have performed a great number of punch-ins, resulting in a great number of additional tracks, and are looking to reduce "track clutter" (thus, for "cosmetic" reasons), here's something you can do as a "workaround" (for want of a better word). You probably will want to wait until you have completed punching in on all necessary tracks.

1. Perform your "punch-in(s)" to the new track(s).
2. Edit the original track(s) to remove the unwanted material that will be replaced by the new "punch-in" track(s).
3. Solo the original track(s) and the new "punch-in" track(s), and render them to a new .wav file. Render from the very beginning of the program material Measure 1, Beat 1). Otherwise, note the beginning measure and beat of the tracks to be rendered.
4. Add this new .wav file to the project as a "one-shot," either at the very beginning of the program material (Measure 1, Beat 1) or at the beginning measure and beat of the rendered tracks (in reference to Step 3).
5. Remove the original track(s) and the "punch-in" track(s) from the project. Otherwise, move them to the bottom of all the tracks and mute them.

As long as the specific tracks were rendered properly and the new .wav file was inserted [painted] in the correct place in its new track, the .wav file should playback in time with no issues.

Hope this [actually] helps. :)

Mike E. Dee

Subject:RE: Punching in a corrected part?
Reply by: Iacobus
Date:5/10/2004 4:40:56 PM

If it helps any, you can always bounce down by soloing the tracks, setting the Loop Region over the area you'd like to bounce and then use CTRL+M on your keyboard. You can then decide what you want to do with your original tracks from there.

Vegas compliments ACID and vice versa. In the same token, Sound Forge compliments both with its digital audio editing features.

Yes, ACID handles one video track such as AVI, QuickTime and MPEG (the MPEG plug-in requires a separate purchase). Note that only one media file is allowed on the video track; as I've said, ACID is not a multitracker in the truest sense.

HTH,
Iacobus
-------
RodelWorks - Original Music for the Unafraid
mD's ACIDplanet Page
Guitars 4 Kids

Subject:RE: Punching in a corrected part?
Reply by: spinweb
Date:5/11/2004 1:10:43 PM

Thanks. That would seem to be a good way to deal with the clutter problem.

One Question. How is the quality of a WAV file, vs. the original tracks? Do
I lose anything in the process?

-Rick

Subject:RE: Punching in a corrected part?
Reply by: MikeDee
Date:5/11/2004 2:10:05 PM

As long as you are rendering at a minimum of 16-bit/44.1KHz and your tracks' + effects' [if any] + outputs' levels are set properly, thus avoiding noise and/or distortion, you should not lose anything.

The .wav file will be CD quality at a minimum. In fact, your final mix will be in .wav format [unless you're finalizing to MP3 or other compressed format, of course ;) ].

Mike

Subject:RE: Punching in a corrected part?
Reply by: coolout
Date:5/12/2004 1:07:04 AM

This is how I record my vocals...

I wait on doing the arrangement of the backing track and just run all my parts straight through for about 5 or 6 minutes. This eliminates the pressure of getting the part right at the right moment. If I flub a line while recording the vocals I’ll just stop for a moment and repeat the entire phrase, then I just drag the parts together. Sometimes I’ll record two or three different passes on the same track and using markers switch between them and choose which lines sound the best or if all of them sound good I’ll just duplicate the track and just stack the different takes into one.

I think this approach eliminates the need for punching in and makes the vocalist less pressured. It probably wouldn't work with any other application because of acid's superior editing and general handling of audio.

Subject:RE: Punching in a corrected part?
Reply by: MikeDee
Date:5/12/2004 11:12:00 AM

I'm in agreement with compositing; in fact, I've never done a "digital punch-in" in my life. I let the vocalist sing straight through...mistakes and all. Of course, if the track is complete trash, I'll overwrite it...but usually it never gets that far...I will have stopped and started over well before then. :)

After about five or six straight-through takes (some, beginning to end, others, specific sections [e.g., verse, chorus, bridge]), I have plenty o' good stuff with which to work. Since I have enough tracks, I can wait until I'm ready to mix, then comp the vocals. In essence, I never actually "comp" the vocals into one "final" track; I simply zap the regions I don't need and leave the "bits and pieces" on their respective [separate] tracks. This allows me more flexibility in case I change my mind about an edit I've made (which was non-destructive in the first place).

As I stroll down Memory Lane: The last time I did a punch-in was on my Fostex Model 80 (8-channel reel-to-reel -- ¼" format)...'twas also the last time I spliced with a razor blade. :)

With today's digital editing power (and since I never owned super-high-end analog recording gear), I'd never go back...let it remain a fond memory.

Enjoy!

Mike E. Dee

Subject:RE: Punching in a corrected part?
Reply by: coolout
Date:5/12/2004 4:06:09 PM

punch-ins are like...so 80's

well maybe early 90's

Subject:RE: Punching in a corrected part?
Reply by: MikeDee
Date:5/13/2004 8:55:33 AM

LOL!

Like...so 20th Century. ;)

Regards,

The Dee

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