Startbymakingupa setofempty
tracks,ensuringthatyourdesired
inputisroutedtoeachone.Playthrough
thesectionyouwanttooverduband
recordonetake.Mutethetrackyou’vejust
recorded– asyoudon’twanttohearit yet- andmoveontothenextblanktrack.
EachDAWhasitsownapproachto
this,butcommontomostisthe
requirementtoworkona cycledsection
ofthetrack.First,setuplooppointsand
selecta tracktorecord.Remember,with
thistechniqueyouonlyneedtosetupone
track,whichsavestime.1
1
Repeatthisprocessuntilyouhave
enoughtakes,thenlistenbacktothem
oneata time.Asyoudoso,divideeach
takeintosectionstoseparatethebitsyou
thinkaregoodenough.Colourcoding
themcanbehelpfulandalsoindicatesthe
sectionsyoudon’thavecoveredyet.Hitrecordandcycleroundthesame
section,capturinga fewtakes.Here
we’reusingLogicProX,withwhichyou
canwatchthetakesstackuponeafterthe
otherwitheachcycle.Eachtakeis
numberedandthemostrecenttakeisat
thetopofthelist.2
2
Move sections to a new track to create
your compiled master. This takes trial
and error as some sections will work
better together than others. If you don’t
have all the sections needed, return to
step 1 and record more takes. When happy,
tidy up the joins and apply crossfades.When you have enough takes, stop
recording and listen back to each one.
Then, in Logic Pro X, you simply select – or
‘swipe’ – the sections you want to hear. As
you do this, the master track at the top
reflects the contiguous sections you’ve
chosen. Finally, we export to a new track.3
3
> Stepbystep
15.Comping:theuniversalmethod
Step by step
- Comping: the cycle method
Although it’s nice to think we can capture an
awesome performance in one take, recorded
music is, of course, subjected to extensive
repeat listening. This reveals imperfections that
we’d probably ignore or simply not notice in a
one-off live performance, and puts us under
pressure to capture the best performance
possible, without any sloppy timing or tuning.
We’ve already looked at how to deal with a
handful of multitrack takes – now let’s step
things up a level and look at some more
intensive overdubbing and comping options.
Once again, there’s a particular universal
method that will work in any DAW. Here, the key
is to set up lots of identical tracks, moving from
one to the next as you record successive takes.
With this technique, there’s no attempt to punch
in on existing tracks. You simply overdub a
bunch of takes and then go back over them,
cutting out the sections you want and compiling
them on a new track.
The second, more DAW-specific method
typically works by recording in cycle mode. You
can either work on sections of the song or the
whole thing, but either way, what you’ll end up
with is your overdub takes as virtual tracks or
layers on a single DAW track. These can then be
viewed together with a master track at the top.
By highlighting the sections you want to hear,
you create the compiled take.
Every DAW has its own name for this (Swipe
Comping in Logic Pro X), and it’s certainly much
quicker than the universal method given above.
What’s more, until you render the final edit, it’s
usually possible for you to go back and make
changes. With the comp sorted, you can then do
any further editing, which includes timing and
tuning tweaks.Comping
make music now / the fast guide to recording
34 / COMPUTER MUSIC / July 2019