... for remembering what the fuck you did on older recoardings?

I am just listening back to some stuff i recoarded several months ago, and i really like the way the drums sound, but goddamn, i do not know what the setup was, other than there were seven channels and i used a PZM for the room mic.

I have been having the worst kind of luck in losing data these last couple of years. So i have all of these random mixdowns that i no longer have the project files for.

I also have a bunch of projects (like the one i am listening to today) where the channels are labeled so vaguely as to be nearly useless for any purpose but mixing. Like "Overhead Right". Period. No mic type, no position information. Could be spaced overhead, could be XY, could be glyn johnsd, don't know. Could be a PG58, could be an LDC, don't know.

I have been trying to be better about it, but in the moment i tend to lean the other way, thinking to sort of maintain momentum and not get bogged down with 'paperwork'. Clearly i need to work on a better balance though.

So, what do you lads(and lass) do? How do you keep track of what your setup is from recoarding to recoarding? Do you take detailed notes, make little drawings? Have ludicrously detailed track labelings?

Or. Do you just do the same thing the same way most of the time? I think that part of my issue might be that, in that i hate repeating the same thing twice, so i alwaayyys change how *something* is done. So literally from day to day, the setup might very different, particularly with tracking drums.

So, how do you folks do it on your own shizz?

I keep a sheet of paper taped to every piece of gear I mic up, and I keep a sheet of paper taped to a table right next to my desk. For each project, I put down the song title, and what gear was used. Sometimes I'll draw out where I mic'ed something, as well.


If I dual mic something, I'll label the tracks according to which mic was recorded to that track. IE: RGtr - SM57 and RGtr-E609... or whatever the track contains. It takes a little more time and can be rather annoying, but once it's done, it's done. I also rename my files in this format: song name - track name.

I think I fall into the "keep doing the same thing" category.

I don't have a ton of mics, maybe like 6 that I record with, and I usually name the track with the guitar/amp/mic, but I have not been adding in placement, which would really help.

guitar are names by friendly names, they mostly have girl names, acoustics don't get names though, just 12 or 6 as I only have one 12 string and 1 steel string 6.

track would look like
lucy-6100-57
Mina-5150-57
12- nt1a
I do write out OH for overhead micing
etc...

But generally I mic stuff the same way. acoustics have been 57 by 14th fret, Oktava overhead, LDC rear of the body... if it works for me I usually leave it.

These, only the little drawings have been replaced with photographs unless there's nutso routing going on. Which is rarely.

Re: track labeling, I have a system I mostly stick to. Drums are drum (position if relevant)/mic/pre (if relevant), so on the Garda stuff it's "Kick In/D112/AMEK." Guitars and bass are mostly amp/mic (position if relevant, speaker if relevant)/pre (if relevant), vocals are mostly LVox or BVox/mic/pre/comp, synths are synth name/patch number/relevant information. Any retard could open up one of my sessions and know what's what. I bus almost everything and my routings are clearly labeled and easy to follow as well.

Re: notes- amp settings, preamp settings, compressor settings, mic pad/low cut settings, mic placement... if I feel it matters, I wrote it down. Hell, I could go back to my tracking notes on Graphite and tell you what gauge strings are on the bass.

This stuff's all variable given the circumstances, but I mostly try and stick with that system on any "real" recording. Demos, I'm a bit more halfassed, but I at least try to be clear with the track labeling if only to jog my memory.

A lot of it is committed to memory. It helps that I don't have much equipment to work with.

If all you have is a broken 57, a Behringer Metal Zone clone, a gramophone and a ukulele, shit's easy to remember.

I'll have you know that although my 57 is coated with mucous it is quite functional, and my MT-2 is the real thing.

I also have... one or two other devices... but.. um...

WHOA LOOK AT MY ASS~

Mucous = TOAN!

Also, considering the many uses for a 57 (weapon, hammer, microphone, etc.) has anyone tried using one as a ?

I shall get on this immediately. I found one in brand new condition in her room, that her dad had left there. And since then I've pointed them out whenever we encounter them. Perhaps it is time we take this to yet another level.

Her dad left a dildo in her room?

Better than leaving it in her.

You never know what happens when you leave those sorts of things laying around.

To Geoff: next time I'm in Toronto I will leave random 57s strewn about the city for you to encounter in unusual places.

Are you coming for the Killing Joke show?

Alas, I have to work the next day and can't take the day off, so no Killing Joke for me. Several friends of mine will be in attendance, but I am not among their number.

That reminds me: I'll need to bring a jar of two olive and roasted garlic salsa as well. I don't forget these important details.

Alas.