How many tracks do you use in your songs?

[aMUSEd]

1 or 2

[dirty oscillators]

1 or 2

how's it sound on your quadraphonic system?

[butter]

15-25 is typical for me. There's a lot of tracks that are well in excess of 40 if there's orchestral parts involved and even more if there's vocals on top. Past 50 I start mixing and just mix down threads to keep it more manageable to mix by the time I get to the full on mixing of the whole track. I love you non-destructive digital environment...

[cyanogen]

This is fascinating! Thanks for your replies!

[amorant]

10-18

[RockNice]

10-18

Yeah me too especially if I'm doing tracks for myself I try to keep it simple
Bass
Lead
drums
whatever accompanyment is needed like a
strange synth sound for Hip-hop
and maybe three or four voc tracks
straight software right now not tracking
at this moment.

[GHOST19]

It also depnds on what you call a track and what your host needs as tracks.

[jackson]

It also depnds on what you call a track and what your host needs as tracks.

Trackcount envy?

But yeah, I have single tracks with sometimes 5-10 different sounds in them, not just effects either. I'll sometimes throw a vox cut or synth stab on a currently unused track to put it through that track's effects. Fun

Wasn't one of Acid's early limitations that it could only have one sample per track or something?

[blortblort]

hard to say. probably between 1 and 50. These days, I'm leaning toward much less.
Since the advent of Live's rack systems, it's cut down on my track count as well, but still- due to the mechanics of Live's signal routing, it still takes at least 3 tracks if you want to sidechain one signal to another (whether it be for gating or compression)
A couple plugs I know of make sidechain gating a more elegant process, but there's still room for improvement in Live's signal routing (not complaining, mind you!)
If I were forced to give a track use etymology, these days typically:
0-3 lead type tracks
0-4 bass type tracks
0-2 pad/ambient tracks
0-way too many rhythm tracks
0-10 "utility/routing" tracks
I usually have at least 3 or 4 automations (unlinked clip envelopes, clip launch behaviors, etc. etc.) going on, but Live doesn't count those as "tracks" per se... however there's no way I've ever used 100 separate ones in any given piece. runagate- you're unquestionably a freak...btw I think I may have found my new sig:

Then again everything I make comes out sounding like playing a malarial platypus with a weed whacker.

[xoC]

usually, 80-150 tracks since i'm on dual core processor. don't be afraid, that's just because i'm making psychedelic trance.
so i have:
5 tracks for bass : 1 midi, 1 audio (for bounce the bass), 1 sidechain left group, 1 sidechain right group, and a last group for processing bass after sidechain.
1 for Kick
10-20 for rythmics (one track per "sample" with it's own eq : opHH track, clHH track, snare track, etc etc)
4-10 send busses : 2-3 differents reverbs, and a lot of differents delay (ping pong, long, short, pitched, etc...)
20-40 leads/pad audio tracks : because some leads have 3 tracks for delaying left, or right, or to double the track with same lead heavily pitchshifted up or down for wideness
30-more FX audio tracks : each type of FX has it's own track with own eq and processing, and because there are many many différents fx, there are many many différents audio tracks.
3-4 midi tracks : where i'm stocking all midi lines for leads / FX with all melodys. just keeping 1 of each and putting them all on thoses midi tracks.
4-10 group tracks : kick/bass, rythmics, low frequency leads, high frequency leads, FX, etc for group compression.
and 1 track with mastered pro track in the same style with awesome production, to compare my work with it in terms of clarity, etc.

and a lot automation tracks, but i don't count them as tracks.

I'm using a virus C for all leads and the majority of FX, so i don't have so much VST except battery/kontakt and sometimes Audio realism bassline for some crazy 303 sounds.

[metamorphosis]

I used about 40 instruments (not effect/group tracks) on my last orchestral piece.
Cheers-
m

[dark_virus]

My average is 18 to 22.

[johneboy]

i tend to dive into various genres, so depending on the track and type anywhere from 15 to 40.

[Bonteburg]

well I'm doing minimal/oldschool techno stuff and electro silliness on an underspecced 7 year old G4, so it's usually up to 8 for me, 10 if I'm feeling dirty...

But then I bounce down all the time so it's eventually 4 or so.

*shakes hands with aMUSEd*

Marco

[vurt]

1 for mono 2 for stereo.