Editing multitrack recording of jams: What's your strategy?

The Lounge General Discussion
#1

Hi guys,

I’ve been recording multitrack waves of dawless improvised jams (12 mono tracks, 2 stereo tracks for FX) in the hope to edit some of them into “proper” tracks (in a DAW)

Obviously, not all the jams are worth editing, and the vast majority of them need to be shortened, with bad parts edited out.

(I’m not referring to mastering or anything at this stage - this will come later - but just focus on content, i.e. what should stay, what should go, what parts should be combined together or dissociated, etc.)

I had definitely underestimated the amount of work it requires, even on jams I’m pretty satisfied with, and I’m faced with two diametrically opposed approaches:

a) Focusing on good parts, erasing the rest, and building upon these parts. However, it’s not so easy as it seems to just cut and paste things together. I often loose the spontaneity of the jam, which is important to me.

OR

b) Focusing on removing the bad parts (out of tune, rhythmically out, etc.) and keeping the natural progression of the jam to the extent possible.

What’s your take on this?

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#2

definitely B — that’s how jam magick works.
as for me, i sometimes intentionally keep some minor, but noticeable screw-ups.

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#3

Yeah, def. option B. What I like to do is multi track the performance and then listen to it on my way to work (outside of my studio setting) and the parts that don’t fit, are too short, or too long will stick out like a sore thumb. Make notes, come back to it and make the appropriate edits.

Also, if something doesn’t work, you can always just reload whatever the project is and re-record specific parts. I did this with a jam where I hated the instrument I used for the bassline. I just reloaded the project, edited the instrument to work better and re recorded just that one track to fit in better with the composition. Also re-recording that 1 track freed up my hands to do some live knob tweaks on that bassline as it was being tracked.

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#4

Echoing everyone else in saying you should strive for B but keep your ears open to hear if the “bad” parts are all bad, or if you are just not using it in the right context. Sometimes something you think is bad is just way too complex, all over the place, etc. and just needs to have a small snippit of it looped, or brought into a different kind of track to really bring out the feel of the recording. I usually like to record everything I do, even when its just a random 32 bar noodle that goes nowhere and save it to a folder I call “free pile.” The folder is kind of like my own construction kit library, so if I ever have a nice drum beat going but am blocked on what to add melodically, I can go back to a sound I thought was really bad at the time and recontextualize it into something amazing.

Even turning the wrong knob that totally kills vibe you had in the original track can bring out oodles of funk when looking at it as not a mistake, but a weird transition or crazy bridge. Happy little accidents, etc…

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#5

Thanks guys for all these suggestions!

#6

Funny, listening to my jams on the way to work is also something I do a lot :slight_smile:
As for reloading the project, well, I just keep the waves, never any sequence or project or anything. But I guess I should try to sync my Elektrons with Live to create new parts in the DAW when something’s missing. Thx for the tip!

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#7

I’m stealing the “free pile” tip from you, good idea!
I don’t usually like using samples as a general rule, but I’ve been considering getting a polyend tracker to try a new approach. If I do, this “free pile” could be good fodder for the tracker :slight_smile:

#8

The process I use is first to actively re-listen and take notes about what I want to change and prioritize them into a to do list. Then as I set about carrying out the check list, countless additional adjustments become necessary and some of the things I initially wanted to change become irrelevant. After the first phase of edits I will just sit on the session for a while and come back to it with fresh ears and continue to iterate making fewer and fewer changes. Eventually I am ready to share.

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#9

Very valuable advice here again. I hadn’t thought of prioritizing planned edits.
Fresh ear is also so important!

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#10

…pick the cherrys, kill ur darlings…

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#11

Rotovate your horses, reverse all your courses?

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#12

If it helps, don’t think of them as “samples” but rather “tracks-in-waiting.” :wink:

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#13

trimming down a 20 minute jam to a tight 5 is a rush on par with throwing out an old lovers shirt.

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#14

B.
edit out the crap bits, don’t add anything.

Otherwise you inevitably end up in micro-edting DAW hell.

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#15

Yeah, that was my experience so far