Average number of track.

[melomood]

I've never counted. It never occurred to me to keep track of that. I just go by how Mr computer acts. If he starts into sputtering,some of those elements,that are not being tweaked anymore,get the freeze

[cryophonik]

Usually between 10-12 tracks per beat.

I used to use lots of instrumentation, but nobody is interested in buying complicated music.

To be fair, more tracks doesn’t necessarily mean the music is complicated, it just means that it takes as many mics and direct inputs as it needs to get the song recorded. It’s not uncommon to use 8-12 mics/tracks or more for recording live drums alone. A seemingly simple 3-chord butt rock song can easily use that, plus a track for each guitar (often layered and panned, using more tracks), a mic and D.I. for the bass, and several vocal mics for lead and harmonies, which are often double, triple, (or more)-tracked. Start throwing keys or other percussion into the equation and it adds up quickly. I’m not saying that it has to be done this way, but it often is, even for relatively simple songs.

[ON BEATS]

My music is real simple, it's just trap sounding beats made from synthesized computer noises , but I get your point regarding mics with real life recording sessions.

I haven't recorded live instruments for years now like twenty years

[rasmus_b]

I make melodic house and typically use 20-40 tracks. The best songs I make tend to have fewer tracks that work really well, so I usually strive for that.

[Propellerhands]

I make melodic house and typically use 20-40 tracks. The best songs I make tend to have fewer tracks that work really well, so I usually strive for that.

Same. Most downloaded and praised songs of mine have 2-4 tracks usually. But then again, those creations are very old too. Now I got better and go for at least 5 tracks per song (not including drums, which makes it 7 )

[BONES]

Same here, the simple songs always seem to work best.

[BertKoor]

Also, do you sometime put more than one audio file into a single track. For exemple, in track A you would have a snare from mesure 1 to 8 and a clap from 9 to 16. Or 2 different samples automatically means 2 different tracks.

Putting some different samples on one track only makes sense if you want the exact same processing for both: same fader level, same EQ, same compression, same reverb, same other effects... Or you want to automate this all when it switches from one sound to the other? Or worse: you don't pay attention to minute differences in required level, EQ, compression & effects each individual sound requires.

And: you can group stuff together. For instance: all percussion things have their own channel, but then all get routed to a group channel for convenience where they all get the same reverb and a single fader to set the volume for them all.

Your DAW is not a 16-track tape recorder or '90s MOD tracker. You can use a close to infinite track count.