Comping tracks...how best to do it?

decrink wrote on 11/24/2001, 6:32 PM
There must be a better way...
I'm wondering how other people comp tracks in Vegas? I record multiple takes, duplicate a new track below, split events there and then bring them up to the track above. There is often difficulty seeing exactly where to put them in the upper track, the new split track covers the upper track. Also, jumping between takes doesn't seem all that efficient.

There must be a better way but I haven't quite figured out so...
I'm wondering what steps other people take to combine takes into one track.

Comments

SonyIMC wrote on 11/24/2001, 10:38 PM
Are you trying to copy events onto separate tracks? If so an easy way to do it is this:
1. select the event that you want to copy by clicking on it so its hightlighted
2. hold the CTRL key down and drag the selected track down. It will create a new track and a copy of the event.

If its an event with multiple takes you can repeat the process for as many takes as there are. Then select to show the one you want in each track from the take functions in the menu. The menu for the event can be accesed by right clicking on the event.
decrink wrote on 11/25/2001, 2:13 AM
Yes, I can do that, but then what is the best way people use to actually comp the track. Do you split parts and drag them up into the first track? Do crossfades on every one? Make the events smaller in the first track? I'm just interested to see how other people approach comping because it seems a bit tedious and maybe I could get better at it with some tips.
yirm wrote on 11/25/2001, 8:22 AM
What is comping?

-Jeremy
decrink wrote on 11/25/2001, 6:24 PM
Comping is combining the best parts of several tracks to create one 'comped' track. It works great with leads or vocals, if one phrase is bad, you take a better phrase from another track and put it in. I'm just really curious as to exactly HOW other users do this.
FadeToBlack wrote on 11/25/2001, 7:02 PM
DR wrote on 11/25/2001, 10:18 PM
We normally have the singer being recorded just do 3 to 4 takes ( individual tracks) and then pick and choose the best parts from all and this ends up as our comp track.
Makes it easier on the singer so he is not having to kill himself for that "drop in line he keeps missing" as he gets frustrated and the performance leans.
Sound familiar?
Takes as mentioned above are also another way of doing this.Just record full takes(3-4) and then call up each take and either pick and choose on the track they were recorded or drag from underneath each take to another track.3-4 tracks of wave unearthed.
;-)
Just my 1 cent.
Rhythmystik wrote on 11/26/2001, 1:19 AM
What do you mean when you say the new track covers the other one? What I do is assemble the final track onto a new, empty track by dragging the split events from other takes, each of which is on their own track. Nothing is covered up the way you describe. I also use Markers and leave Snap To Markers on, so I can easily align the events.

Foreverain4 wrote on 11/26/2001, 6:54 AM
i do multiple takes on the same track by simply highlighting the event and recording into it again. this doesnt erase your previous take, just automatically creates a new one. i then chop the event up into parts ( verse, chorus, etc.) and toggle through the takes by highlighting the verse/chorus and pressing "t" . then, if needed, i go into each smaller event and do the same thing if maybe one note is flat or such. and finally, crank up the autotune!!! :)
decrink wrote on 11/27/2001, 12:54 AM
Great folks! These ideas are helpful...I'd gotten in a habit of doing takes, duplicating the track and then splitting events from the lower track and dragging them into place above. I just kept doing it that way because I didn't have the wherewithal to give something else a try. I like the idea of a blank track and pasting to markers. Sometimes its the little ideas that help cure bad habits. Good advice... keep it coming!
Perhaps we should have a tricks and tips forum like I've seen on other product sites.
Cheesehole wrote on 11/27/2001, 3:23 AM
the easiest way to get a clip from one track to an adjacent one is to select it and hit the '8' on your number keypad, which is the up arrow, or '2' to move the event down a track. not the regular arrows, but the ones on your number key pad. no markers or snapping is required.

- ben (cheesehole)