Usual track count for your songs?

[the_nihilist]

Just kinda curious as to what everyone here ends up with as a final track count.

Myself, I've found my older songs are around a dozen tracks at most; with mostly vst's laden with heavy effects providing everything. Lately, I've been experimenting with layering sounds, and going for a minimum of effects... I'm hoping to get 50-60 tracks per song now.

[Hink]

12-24 depending on "extras" Usual a stereo pair for Kicks, snare(s), Cymbals and hats, toms, bass, organ, synths, and fonts. (using vsampler I can pan, add fx and adjust every single instrument, I have five the five pair for bass and drums)...guitars between 4-8 pair, vox about the same...so it ususally works out to between 12 and 18 tracks, but then I split things up and such...but in a final mix I doubt I have ever been over 24...

[emdot_ambient]

Mine range from extremely minimal, like Jabberwocky which has 4 tracks of VSTi's and one vocal (well, it actually has an extra 2 or 3 vocals, but those are single word/phrase tracks to get some special FX going), or Epsilon In New Orleans Pale, which has only 5 M-Tron tracks (4 strings and 1 flute), up to Free For All, which has 15 VSTi tracks and over 160 audio clips arranged in God-knows-how many tracks.

But all this is really deceptive, as I often compose my songs in separate Cubase projects and then mix them down to auido and assemble the final track from various audio mix-downs. I'm more worried about accomplishing the final as easily as possible and it's often easiest to do that by breaking things into smaller chunks.

I am working on a song now that currently has 11 instances of Molder (a Minimoog SE instrument by Benedict). Ultimately I'll probably add another 1 to 4 tracks . . . but I don't usually layer VSTi's to do one part, though I have sometimes done that.

So . . . it all depends.

[red_giant]

Looks like i'm a lighweight!
Always use...
- Lead Vocal
- A single drum track recorded using a Glyn Johns technique
- Guitar
- Bass
Then add for flavour/filler...
- 1 vsti that sounds like a organ or an electric piano
- 1 or 2 backup vocals
- Maracas or tambourine
- any overdubed solos, but try to get solos during the initial live take.

[dystonia_ek]

As few as 2 (stereo l/r), as many as 80 or so... current work in progress has about 45.

[vurt]

same as dystonia,from the very minimal to the outright stupendous

[ouroboros]

I remember, I think, Sickle said he basically used about 1 track--er, no, I believe he said he renders everythin/plays live. I guess there could be a number of tracks rendered simultaneously.

Looks l;ike I'm in the 20-40 range. Of course, a lot of those tracks seem to be one shot samples/ fx, etc.

I have only perhaps 5 main instruments (drums=1) with differing arrangements (~6-8 each)

[Spe3D]

Depends a lot on the host – and how it does ‘tracks’ and your work flow within the host.

For me FL Studio = crazy number of tracks

Sonar = four for the same thing (sonar likes dual cpus, so I dread to think just how many tracks I could get and the result of that - when I get some more time, gonna try it out to the max )

Best regards,

Peter

[the_nihilist]

For me FL Studio = crazy number of tracks

FL doesn't count.

I mean, you can't make real music with FL.

[Spe3D]

For me FL Studio = crazy number of tracks

FL doesn't count.

I mean, you can't make real music with FL.

I made real music with it – (well I liked it anyway )

Best regards,

Peter

[grillo]

Actually for me fl helps keeping the track number down. For example i load many different drum samples each in its every drum sampler and route them all to few mixer tracks, like kick snare hat and percs, since i used to make music just with a samppler i'm used to set up panning and gain directly within it rather than at mixing stage so sometimes i find out i don't have to do very much to some tracks at mixing and i can group them together, so i don't usually get very much past those first 16 tracks in the mixer screen, and sometimes i use less : )

[kritikon]

I don't think I've ever got above 24 channels (usually including FX as well). It's a hang over from my mixing desk days - learnt to stick with what I had (although I could have used the in-line channels too if I really wanted). Learning on a desk is a good way of keeping thing manageable. So even though I could use loads more nowadays, if I wanted to, old habits die hard.


Not that I wouldn't have liked a 32-channel desk though, but I would never have got it downstairs through the cellar door

[respirator]

Usually no more than 100 counting group and fx tracks when in cubase. When in Energy XT I record live to 3-4 tracks (I like a little control when after-editing).

[BONES]

Generally somewhere between 8 and 12. 4x Drums, bass, rhythm, lead, vocal and maybe one or tw othings that come in/out here and there. Sik's stuff usually have about 8 bass synths that I have to cut down to two or three if there is to be any hope of hearing it all in the mix.
I usually get to a stage in a song where I go through and mute each channel and decide what I can get by without. Its a great exercise that almost always results in a much clearer mix.

[Hink]

For me FL Studio = crazy number of tracks

FL doesn't count.

I mean, you can't make real music with FL.

I know a guy who can make real music farting...














































btw never use his mics...