The Stages Of Multitrack Recording - Alesis Studio 24 Reference Manual

Introduction
T
HE STAGES OF MULTITRACK RECORDING
Most multitrack recording is a three-stage process. Instead of recording an entire
musical group in a single take of a live performance, recordings are usually made a
part at a time and built up in layers. Recording one or two instruments at a time
makes it easier to fix mistakes of an incorrectly played part. The signal flow may
seem complex, but it's easy to understand the functions of the Studio 24 once you
understand the basic signal flows of each stage: tracking, overdubbing, and
mixdown.
Recording/Tracking
When recording the first tracks, which define the tempo and basic structure of the
song, signal flows in one direction: from the sources through the mixer to the
recorder. Monitoring the playback from the multitrack isn't necessary, although you
may need to provide a headphone mix, which can come either from the sources or
through the multitrack (because at this stage, they're the same thing).
Monitoring/Overdubbing
In order to properly record a performance, the engineer, the producer, and all of the
players must be able to hear what's going on. Traditionally, the engineer listens to
speakers in the control room (where the mixer is). This is called monitoring. In the
studio, the musicians listen to a cue mix in headphones while overdubbing.
Adjustments to monitor or cue mixes should not affect the mix going to the recorder,
so that recording levels remain set at the optimum, regardless of what the monitor
mix needs to be.
During overdubbing, it's easy to get confused, since there may be three or more
separate mixes happening at the same time. As long as you keep them separate in
your mind, and keep track of what's going where, the Studio 24 will let you get
almost any sound mix you want.
Mixdown
In the final stage of multitrack recording, you take all the parts that were separated
so they could be perfected, and recombine them so an audience can hear them.
Mixdown is the "reverse flow": now the multitrack is the source (sometimes
supplemented by MIDI-controlled "virtual tracks") and a 2-track stereo recorder is
the destination. During this stage, the tracks are blended together, tonally enhanced
with EQ and effects, positioned in the stereo field with the PAN controls, and finally
recorded onto a mixdown tape deck (such as a DAT machine, 2-Track reel-to-reel or
cassette recorder, or 2 tracks of an ADAT). During mixdown, the engineer must hear
the exact same mix the recorder is receiving. For this purpose, the Control Room
section of the Studio 24 provides an external 2 TRACK input for listening to the
output of the mixdown tape deck.
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