The Tascam 85 16B analogue tape recorder can record 16 tracks of audio on 1 inch (2.54cm) tape.

Multitrack recording ('multitracking' or just 'tracking' for short) is a method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources to create a cohesive whole. This is the most common method of recording popular music. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (980x726, 255 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Multitrack recording Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (980x726, 255 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Multitrack recording Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner... Methods and media for sound recording are varied and have undergone significant changes between the first time sound was actually recorded for later playback until now. ... In general, a tape recorder, tape deck, cassette deck or tape machine is any device that records and plays back, fluctuating signal by moving a strip of magnetic tape across a tape head. ... Popular music is music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more of the mass media. ...

Multitracking can be achieved with analogue, tape based, equipment (from simple cassette based 4/8 trackers to 2" reel to reel 24 track machines), digital equipment that relies on tape storage of recorded digital data (such as ADAT 8 track machines) and hard disk based systems, often employing a computer and multitrack audio recording software. Multitrack recording devices vary in their specifications, such as the number of simultaneous tracks available for recording at any one time; in the case of tape based systems this is limited by, among other factors, the physical size of the tape employed. For computer based systems the trend is towards unlimited numbers of record/playback tracks, although issues such as memory and CPU available will in fact limit this from machine to machine. It has to be noted that on computer based systems, the number of simultaneously available recording tracks is limited by the sound card discrete analogue or digital inputs.

When recording, audio engineers can select which track (or tracks) on the device will be used for each instrument. An Audio Engineer is a person recording, editing, manipulating, mixing and mastering sound by technical means. ...

At any given point on the tape, any of the tracks on the recording device can be recording or playing back, so that an artist is able to record onto track 2 and, simultaneously, listen to track 1, allowing him to sing or to play an accompaniment to the performance already recorded on track 1. He might then record on track 3 while listening to track 2. All three performances can then be played back in perfect synchrony, as if they had originally been played and recorded together. This can be repeated until all of the available tracks have been used, or in fact, reused. See "Punching in". Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ...

When recording is completed, the many tracks are "mixed down" through a mixing console to a two-track stereo recorder in a format which can then be duplicated and distributed. Most of the records, CDs and cassettes commercially available in a music store are recordings that were originally recorded on multiple tracks, and then mixed down to stereo. These stereo mixes can in turn be recorded onto two tracks of a four-track recorder, allowing additional sound to be layered on the remaining tracks. BBC Local Radio Mark III radio mixing desk In professional audio, a mixing console, mixing desk (Brit. ...

Flexibility

During multitracking, multiple musical instruments (and vocals) can be recorded, either one at a time or simultaneously, onto individual tracks, so that the sounds thus recorded can be accessed, processed and manipulated individually to produce the desired results. For example, after recording some parts of a song, an artist might listen to only the guitar part, by 'muting' all the tracks except the one on which the guitar was recorded. If he then wanted to listen to the vocals in isolation, he would do so by muting all the tracks apart from the vocals track. If he wanted to listen to the entire song, he could do so by unmuting all the tracks. If he did not like the guitar part, or found a mistake in it, and wanted to replace it, he could do so by re-recording only the guitar part, rather than re-recording the entire song. This kind of editing freedom is one of the biggest benefits of multitracking.

If all the voices and instruments in a recording are individually recorded on distinct tracks, then the artist is able to retain complete control over the final sculpting of the song, during the mixdown (re-recording to two stereo tracks for mass consumption) phase.

For example, if an artist wanted to apply one effect to a synthesizer part, a different effect to a guitar part, a 'chorused reverb' effect to the lead vocals, and different effects to all the drums and percussion instruments, he could not do so if they had all been originally recorded together onto the same track. However, if they had been recorded onto separate tracks, then the artist could blend and alter all of the instrument's sounds with complete freedom.

Multitrack recording allows a single musician to record multiple parts, allowing duos (such as Ween) and trios (such as Cream) to produce a larger sound, larger groups to double parts or add different instruments, and also a solo performer to create an ensemble sound, playing different parts. Paul McCartney, Todd Rundgren, Trent Reznor, Lenny Kravitz and Prince are among the performers to produce albums in this way, as their own "band". Even a musician who plays no instruments can create a marketable record, as with a cappella artist Bobby McFerrin, who performed all of the parts in his recordings (from 1980 to 2000) vocally. Ween is an alternative rock group formed in 1984 in New Hope, Pennsylvania when Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo met in a junior high school typing class. ... Cream was a 1960s British supergroup which featured guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist Jack Bruce, and drummer Ginger Baker. ... Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942, Liverpool) is an English singer and songwriter. ... Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948 in Upper Darby, a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. ... Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American musician, singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. ... Leonard Albert Lenny Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American rock singer, songwriter, producer, and guitarist whose retro-style amalgam of rock, pop, funk, and even techno is inspired by such music icons as Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon. ... This article is becoming very long. ... A cappella music is vocal music or singing without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. ... Bobby McFerrin Bobby McFerrin (born New York City, March 11, 1950) is a jazz-influenced a cappella vocal performer and conductor. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... This article is about the year 2000. ...

Multitracking a song also leaves open the possibilities of remixes by future artists, such as DJs. If the song was not available in a multitrack format recording, the job of the remixing artist could be very difficult, or impossible, because once the voices have been recorded together during the mixdown phase, they are inseparable. Theoretically, one could use frequency selective filters for this, but in reality this has not been done to any great degree of success, possibly because of the multi-harmonic (having many frequencies) nature of many musical instruments. A remix is an alternative version of a song, different from the original version. ... DJ or dj may stand for Disc jockey, dinner jacket The DeadJournal website, or Djibouti. ...

History

There were earlier precedents (such as TEARZ's 1941 song, "Sheik of Araby"), but the person credited with the invention of magnetic audio tape multitracking was guitarist, composer and inventor Les Paul, who also contributed to the famous Gibson Les Paul model electric guitar for Gibson Guitar Corporation in the early 1950s. For the guitar, see Gibson Les Paul. ... For the jazz guitarist, see Les Paul The Gibson Les Paul signature model is among the most recognized solid-body electric guitar designs. ... This article is about the American musical instrument manufacturer. ...

Paul had been experimenting with overdubbing in the late 1940s and in 1947, Capitol Records released a record featuring Paul playing eight different parts on electric guitar. These recordings were made with wax disks; Paul would record a track onto a disk, then record himself playing another part with the first. Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... Capitol Records is a major United States-based record label, owned by EMI. // The Capitol Records company was founded by the songwriter Johnny Mercer in 1942, with the financial help of movie producer Buddy DeSylva and the business acumen of Glenn Wallichs, (1910-1971) (owner of Music City, at the...

Paul's invention of multitrack recording was made possible by a gift from his friend Bing Crosby -- an Ampex Model 200, the world's first commercially-produced reel-to-reel tape recorder. These machines were based on modified German Magnetophon recorders which had been acquired by audio engineer Jack Mullin while he was serving in the U.S. Army Signal Corps in the closing days of World War II. Mullin had studied and modified the recorders, hoping to sell the system to the Hollywood movie studios as a new means of recording movie soundtracks. Harry Lillis Bing Crosby (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer and actor whose career lasted from 1926 until his death in 1977. ... A Sony TC-630 reel-to-reel recorder, once a common household object. ... Magnetophon was the brand or model name of the pioneering reel-to-reel tape recorder developed by engineers of the German electronics company AEG in the 1930s, based on the magnetic recording experiments of Valdemar Poulsen. ... John T. Jack Mullin (1913–1999) was an American pioneer in the field of electronic audio and video recording using magnetic tape. ... ...

After hearing a demonstration of Mullin's tape recorders in June 1947, Crosby became a major backer of the new technology — he hired Mullin as his chief engineer and immediately invested US$50,000 in the electronics firm Ampex so that the company could develop a commercial version of Mullin's machines. Crosby became the first performer in the world to pre-record radio broadcasts and master his commercial music recordings on tape. Ampex is based in Redwood City, California. ...

In 1948 Crosby gave Paul one of the first production units of the new Ampex Model 200 reel-to-reel tape recorder. Within hours, Paul had the idea of modifying the machine by the addition of extra recording and playback heads which could allow him to simultaneously record a new track whilst monitoring the playback of previously recorded tracks. A Sony TC-630 reel-to-reel recorder, once a common household object. ...

Paul's multitrack experiments progressed rapidly and in 1953 he commissioned Ampex to build the world's first eight-track tape recorder, at his own expense. (This is not to be confused with an 8-track cartridge machine, an offshoot of the four-track recorder, introduced in 1965, which played in stereo.) Ampex is based in Redwood City, California. ... An 8-track cartridge The 8-track cartridge is a magnetic tape technology for audio storage, popular from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ...

Ampex released the first commercial multitrack recorders in 1955, naming the process "Sel-Sync" (Selective Synchronous Recording). Coinciding the advent of full frequency range recording (FFRR), stereo and the high-fidelity microgroove vinyl LP format, multitrack recorders soon became indispensable to vocalists like Crosby and Nat "King" Cole. 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) is a solar observation mission which was launched on 26 October 2006 at 00:52 GMT.[1] Two identical spacecraft were launched into orbits that cause them to (respectively) pull further ahead and fall gradually behind the earth. ... The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour (1967) as a 33 â…“ LP vinyl record A gramophone record (also phonograph record, or simply record) is an analogue sound recording medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed modulated spiral groove starting near the periphery and ending near the center of the disc. ... Nat King Cole in The Blue Gardenia (1953) Nat King Cole (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965) was a hugely popular American singer and jazz musician. ...

The earliest multitrack recorders were analog magnetic tape machines with two or three tracks. Elvis Presley was first recorded on multitrack during 1957, as RCA's engineers were testing their new machines. Buddy Holly's last studio session in 1958 employed three-track, resulting in his only stereo releases not to include overdubs. The new three-track system allowed the lead vocal to be recorded on a dedicated track, while the remaining two tracks could be used to record the backing tracks in full stereo, and this system was also used extensively by producer Phil Spector in the early Sixties for his famous "Wall of Sound" recordings. Elvis Aron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), often known simply as Elvis and also called The King of Rock n Roll or simply The King, was an American singer, musician and actor. ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... RCAs logo as seen today on many products. ... Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), better known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and a pioneer of Rock and Roll. ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Harvey Phillip Spector (born December 26, 1940) is an American record producer of the 1960s and 1970s. ... Wall of Sound is a phrase used to describe the effect created by the music production techniques of record producer Phil Spector. ...

In 1958, Atlantic Records led the world, becoming the first record company to install an eight-track recorder in its recording studio, installed by engineer Tom Dowd. However, recorders with four or more tracks were restricted mainly to American recording studios until the mid-to-late Sixties, mainly due to import restrictions and the high cost of the technology. In England, pioneering independent producer Joe Meek produced all of his innovative early Sixties recordings using monophonic recorders. EMI house producer George Martin was considered an innovator for his use of two-track as a means to making better mono records, carefully balancing vocals and instruments; Abbey Road Studios did not install a four-track recorder until around 1963, and all The Beatles recordings prior to their first world hit single I Want To Hold Your Hand (1963) were made on two-track machines. Atlantic Records (Atlantic Recording Corporation) is an American record label that operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music Group. ... Tom Dowd (October 20, 1925 - October 27, 2002) was a famous and influential American recording engineer and producer who died from emphysema. ... Joe Meek Joe Meek (born Robert George Meek; April 5, 1929 in Newent, Gloucestershire, England—February 3, 1967) was a pioneering British record producer and songwriter acknowledged as one of the worlds first and most imaginative independent producers. ... The EMI Group is a music company comprising the major record label, EMI Music, based in Brook Green in London, England, and EMI Music Publishing, based on Charing Cross Road, London. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The legendary recording studio Abbey Road Studios, created in November of 1931 by EMI in London, England is best known as the legendary recording studio used by the rock artists: The Beatles, Cliff Richard, Pink Floyd and The Shadows. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... I Want to Hold Your Hand is the name of the hit 1963 Beatles song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney that led the British Invasion of the United States music charts. ...

Other western countries also lagged well behind the USA -- in Australia, the largest local recording label, Festival Records did not install a four-track recorder until late 1966; the first eight track recorders did not appear there until the late Sixties; Australia's first sixteen track recorder was installed at Armstrong's Studios in Melbourne in 1971; Festival installed Australia's first 24-track recorder at its Sydney studio in 1974. Festival Records was an Australian music recording and publishing company which was founded in Sydney in 1952 and operated until 2005. ... Melbournes Yarra River is a popular area for walking, jogging, cycling, rowing and for relaxing on the banks with a picnic Melbourne (pronounced either or [1]) is the second most populous city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 3. ...

The artistic potential of the multitrack recorder came to the attention of the public in the 1960s, when artists such as The Beatles and The Beach Boys began to multitrack extensively, and from then on virtually all popular music was recorded in this manner. The technology developed very rapidly during these years. At the start of their careers, the Beatles and Beach Boys each recorded live to mono, two-track (the Beatles), or three-track (the Beach Boys); by 1965 they used multitracking to create pop music of unprecendented complexity. The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... The Beach Boys are one of the most important and influential pop music bands in rock and pop music history. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ...

The Beach Boys' acclaimed 1966 LP Pet Sounds relied on multitrack recorders for its innovative production. Brian Wilson pretaped all the instrumental backing tracks with a large ensemble, recording the performances live, direct to a four-track recorder. These four-track backing tapes were then 'dubbed down' to one track of an eight-track tape. Six of the remaining seven tracks were then used to individually record the vocals of each member of The Beach Boys, and the eighth track was reserved for any final 'sweetening' overdubs of instruments or voices. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Pet Sounds 40th Anniversary CD+DVD (Limited Edition Fuzzy Package). ... Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942, in Hawthorne, California) is an American pop musician, best known as the lead songwriter, bassist, and sometimes lead-singer of the former American rock band The Beach Boys (of which he is also a founding member and the main producer, composer, and arranger). ...

Because the Beatles did not gain access to eight-track recorders until later on, their groundbreaking Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band LP (1967) was created using pairs of four-track machines; the group also used vari-speed (also called pitch shift) to achieve unique sounds, and they were the first group in the world to use an important offshoot of multitrack recording, the Automatic Double Tracking (ADT) system invented by Abbey Road staff engineer Kem Townshend in 1966. The Beatles used eight-track to record portions of Magical Mystery Tour, the "White Album", and later Abbey Road. It was during the White Album sessions of 1968 that EMI's Abbey Road Studios finally had eight-track recorders installed, and up until then, the group had to go elsewhere to record with eight-tracks. Sgt. ... A variable speed pitch control (or vari-speed) is a control on an audio device such as a turntable, reel-to-reel, tape deck or CD player that allows the operator to deviate from a standard speed (such as 33⅓ or 45 rpm in the case of a turntable). ... Pitch shift is a sound recording technique, in which the normal pitch or tone of a sound is altered (shifted), for effect or for other purposes. ... Automatic double tracking (ADT) was an electronic system designed to augment the sound of voices and instruments during the recording process. ... Magical Mystery Tour is an album by British rock band The Beatles, first released in late November 1967. ... The self-titled double album The Beatles, released by the Beatles in 1968 at the height of their popularity, is often hailed as one of the major accomplishments in popular music. ... Abbey Road is the eleventh official album released by The Beatles. ... The self-titled double album The Beatles, released by the Beatles in 1968 at the height of their popularity, is often hailed as one of the major accomplishments in popular music. ... The legendary recording studio Abbey Road Studios, created in November of 1931 by EMI in London, England is best known as the legendary recording studio used by the rock artists: The Beatles, Cliff Richard, Pink Floyd and The Shadows. ...

Other artists began experimenting with multitrack's possibilities also, with The Music Machine (of "Talk Talk" fame) recording on a custom-built ten-track setup, and Pink Floyd collaborating with former Beatles recording engineer Norman "Hurricane" Smith, who produced their first albums. 1968's "Crimson And Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells was among the first sixteen-track recordings to be released (mixed to stereo and mono); another was Frank Zappa's 1969 album Hot Rats. (A 1987 remastering of the opening track, "Peaches En Regalia", became the first compact disc single, years later.) Throughout the 1970s Queen experimented with multi tracking extensively most prominently on their albums Queen II and A Night at the Opera. The Music Machine (1965 - 1969) was an American garage rock and psychedelic (sometimes referred to as garage punk) band from the late 1960s, headed by singer-songwriter Sean Bonniwell and based in Los Angeles. ... Pink Floyd are an English rock band that earned recognition for their psychedelic rock music, and as they evolved, became widely known as pioneers of progressive rock music. ... Audio engineering is the branch of engineering dealing with the production of sound through mechanical means. ... Norman Smith is a musician and record producer. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... Crimson and Clover is a song by Tommy James and the Shondells, written by Tommy James and Peter Lucia. ... Tommy James (born Thomas Jackson on April 29, 1947 in Dayton, Ohio) is an American pop-rock musician and singer. ... Frank Vincent Zappa[1] (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, guitarist, singer, film director, and satirist. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... Hot Rats is an album by Frank Zappa. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Remaster (and its derivations, frequently found in the phrases digitally remastered or digital remastering) is a word and concept ushered into the mass consciousness via the digital age, although it had existed before then. ... Queen are an English rock band formed by Brian May, Freddie Mercury, and Roger Taylor in London, England in 1970 from the remains of Smile, with John Deacon completing the lineup the following year. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A Night at the Opera is a rock album by English band Queen originally released in 1975. ...

During the 1970s, sixteen, twenty-four, and thirty-two tracks became common, with recording tape reaching two and three inches (5.08cm - 7.62cm) wide. By contrast, the advent of the compact audio cassette (in 1963) ultimately led to affordable, portable four-track machines such as the Tascam Portastudio which debuted in 1979. Cassette-based machines could not provide the same audio quality as reel-to-reel machines, but served as a useful tool for professional and semi-pro musicians in making song demos. Bruce Springsteen's 1982 album Nebraska was made this way, with Springsteen choosing the album's earlier demo versions over the later studio recordings. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... Typical 60-minute Compact Cassette. ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... TASCAM is credited as the company that invented the affordable home recording studio. ... The TASCAM Portastudio is a type of cassette recorder which records four or eight tracks of audio on a CrO2 audio cassette. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... A Sony TC-630 reel-to-reel recorder, once a common household object. ... A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. ... Bruce Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Nebraska is a heartland rock album by Bruce Springsteen, released in 1982 (see 1982 in music). ...

The familiar tape cassette was designed to accommodate four channels of audio -- in a commercially recorded cassette these four tracks would normally constitute the stereo channels (each consisting of two tracks) for both 'sides' of the cassette -- in a four-track cassette recorder all four tracks of a cassette are utilized together, often with the tape running at twice the normal speed for increased fidelity. A separate signal can be recorded on to each of four tracks. (As such, the four-track machine does not utilise the two separate sides of the cassette in the conventional sense; if the cassette is inserted the other way round, all four tracks play in reverse.) As with professional machines, two or more tracks can be bounced down to one. When recording is complete, the volume level of each track is optimized, effects are added where desired, each track is separately 'panned' to the desired point in the stereo field and the resulting stereo signal is mixed down to a separate stereo machine (such as a conventional cassette recorder).

The Alesis HD24 stand-alone multitrack hard disk recorder

Today, multitrack recorders can be analog or digital, and are available with many more tracks. Analog multitracks can have up to 24 tracks on a tape two inches wide which is the widest analog tape available. Protoype machines using 3" tape for 32 tracks never went into production, though Otari made a 32 track 2" MX-80. Digital multitracks can have an almost unlimited number of simultaneous tracks and can record to and play back from a number of media and formats including digital tape, hard disk, and optical disk. The lower cost has made it easier to find multitrack recording technology outside a typical recording studio. For example, Apple Computer's GarageBand is included in all of the company's new computers, and is used by amateurs as a cost-efficient way to downmix music and podcasts. Image File history File linksMetadata Alesis-HD24. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Alesis-HD24. ... Apple Computer, Inc. ... This article is about the software application. ... Look up amateur in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An orange square with waves was introduced by Mozilla Firefox to indicate that an RSS feed is present on a webpage. ...

Starting around 1995, another revolution in multitracking began, with the arrival of cheap digital multitrack recorders, which recorded sound to a computer hard drive, a digital tape format (such as ADAT), or in some cases Minidiscs. The prices of these machines steadily dropped over time. Meanwhile, the power of the personal computer increased, so that today, an average home computer is sufficiently powerful to serve as a complete multitrack recorder, using inexpensive hardware and software (under US $1000.00). This is a far cry from the days when multitrack recorders cost thousands of dollars and few people could afford them. 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This is an article about the digital recording format. ... // Overview The MiniDisc logo A MiniDisc (MD) is a disc-based data storage device intended for storage of digitized audio. ...

Some of the leading providers of multitrackers are Tascam (hard drive or cassette based), Alesis (ADAT digital tape based), Roland (hard drive based), Fostex (hard drive based) and Yamaha (hard drive based). TASCAM is credited as the company that invented the affordable home recording studio. ... Alesis is a manufacturer of electronic musical instruments based in Cumberland, Rhode Island. ... Roland Corporation TYO: 7944 is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment and software. ... Fostex is a Japanese manufacturer of loudspeakers and professional audio equipment. ... The Yamaha Corporation (ヤマハ株式会社; TYO: 7951 ) is a Japanese company with a large number of product areas. ...

Using a personal computer as a multitrack recording device

Today, a sufficiently dedicated and talented artist can literally produce a million selling album in his own bedroom, using only his personal computer as a professional tracking machine. This has been done by many artists already, such as Mylo and Daniel Bedingfield. In order to use a personal computer as a multitracking device, a minimum of three items are required: Mylo, real name Myles MacInnes (born 1978 on Isle of Skye), is a Scottish electronic musician. ... Daniel John Bedingfield (born December 3, 1979) is a UK-based pop singer songwriter. ...

1. A personal computer which has a sound card
2. Multitrack recording software installed and running on the computer (suitable software is available at low prices or even free, in the case of Free and Open Source Software)
3. At least one or more recording sources such as a musical instrument like a guitar or a synthesizer, a good microphone to record the vocals of a singer and/or any other sources of sound to be recorded.

This is all that is needed to set up a multitracking studio at home capable of producing high quality recordings. The standard sound card in a personal computer can be used to capture sounds. This is done simply by attaching either a microphone to the microphone input jack if a vocal track is to be recorded, or by attaching a stereo cable from the electronic device (such as a synthesizer or a guitar amplifier) to the line input of the sound card. Computers with appropriate software and hardware can record multiple audio tracks at once. This audio interface hardware sends audio signals to the computer and may inteface with the computer via a PCI card, USB or firewire connections. A sound card is a computer expansion card that can input and output sound under control of computer programs. ... Free and Open Source Software, also F/OSS or FOSS, is software which is liberally licensed to grant the right of users to study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A synthesizer (or synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument designed to produce electronically generated sound, using techniques such as additive, subtractive, FM, physical modelling synthesis, or phase distortion. ... A sound card is a computer expansion card that can input and output sound under control of computer programs. ... // The word microphone (Greek mikros small and phone voice or sound) originally referred to a mechanical hearing aid for small sounds. ... A synthesizer (or synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument designed to produce electronically generated sound, using techniques such as additive, subtractive, FM, physical modelling synthesis, or phase distortion. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Generally, an amplifier is any device that uses a small amount of energy to control a larger amount of energy. ...

The instruments and singers' voices are recorded onto individual files on the computer's hard drive, which function as tracks as per traditional multitracking.

Effects such as reverb, chorus, delays can be applied by the computer software. When the musicians are happy with the sound, the multiple tracks are mixed down onto two clean tracks, again within the multitracking software. Finally, the final stereo recording can be burned to a CD, which can then be copied and distributed. When sound is produced in an enclosed space multiple reflections build up and blend together creating reverberation or reverb. ... Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of movies, video games, music, or other media. ... Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of movies, video games, music, or other media. ...

The Digidesign 192 i/o. An audio interface for the ProTools computer-based hard disk recording system.

Leading multitracking software for a personal computer includes: ProTools from Digidesign, SONAR from Cakewalk, Cubase from Steinberg, and Logic Pro from Apple. ProTools is regarded as the king of multitracking software, and is a standard in most recording studios worldwide. Image File history File linksMetadata 192-io. ... Image File history File linksMetadata 192-io. ... Categories: Stub | Audio editors | Musical software ... Digidesign is a digital audio company. ... ÊCakewalk is a company based in Boston, Massachusetts that develops music [[interchange of projects between SONAR and other competing recording/editing software (e. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Steinberg is a German musical equipment and software company. ... Logic Pro is a MIDI sequencer and Digital Audio Workstation software application that runs on the Mac OS X platform. ... Apple Computer, Inc. ...

Audacity and Ardour are popular open source programs for multi-track recording. Jokosher (open source as well) is quite new, but seems to gain popularity among Linux users. This article refers to the software product. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Open source refers to projects that are open to the public and which draw on other projects that are freely available to the general public. ... Jokosher is a free, non-linear multi-track audio editor, the source code of which is released under the GNU GPL. It is being developed in Python, using GStreamer as an audio back-end, for the Linux operating system; although future versions may have ports to other operating systems. ... Open source refers to projects that are open to the public and which draw on other projects that are freely available to the general public. ...

Order of recording

In most modern popular songs, drums and percussion instruments are the first instruments to be recorded. There are various reasons for this. The drums are usually the rhythm leaders; it is much easier for musicians recording later tracks to keep to the common beat of the drums. A drummer would find it very difficult to play along with a backing track recorded without percussion, due to the likely variations in the musicians' tempo. Furthermore, in order to accurately keep to a pre-established rhythm, a drummer would need the sound of the other instruments to be very loud to compete with his drum kit; apart from the possibility of the drum microphones picking up the sound of the other instruments from the drummer's headphones, prolonged exposure to such volume might very well damage his/her hearing. Also, it allows the drums to be recorded for a few seconds, then looped. For other kinds of drums, see drum (disambiguation). ... A percussion instrument can be any object which produces a sound by being struck with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration. ...

Also, though the drums might eventually be mixed down to a couple of tracks, each individual drum and percussion instrument might be initially recorded to its own individual track. The drums and percussion combined can occupy the largest number of tracks utilized in a recording. This is done so that each percussion instrument may be processed individually for maximum effect. A common percussion effect is the slow back and forth panning of a percussive instrument's sound in the stereo field from the left to the right channel in a song. Equalization (or EQ) is often used on individual drums, to bring out each one's characteristic sound. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Equalization filter. ...

The last tracks to be recorded are usually the vocals (though a temporary vocal track might be recorded early on either as a reference or to guide subsequent musicians). One reason for this is that singers will often temper their vocal expression in accordance with the accompaniment and vice versa.

Concert music

For Classical and Jazz recordings (particularly instrumentals) where multitracking is chosen as the recording method (as opposed to direct to stereo, for example), a different arrangement is used; all tracks are recorded simultaneously. Sound barriers are often placed between different groups within the orchestra, e.g. pianists, violinists, percussionists, etc. When barriers are used these groups listen to each other via headphones. In-ear headphones Headphones (also known as earphones, stereophones, headsets, or the slang term cans) is a transducer that receives an electrical signal from a media player or receiver and uses speakers placed in close proximity to the ears (hence the name earphone) to convert the signal into audible sound...

See also

• Digital audio workstation
• Remix
• Reverb
• Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI)
• Module file
• Various sound effects including chorus, compression, delays, flanger, phaser etc.
• Tracker

A Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) is a system designed to record, edit and play back digital audio. ... A remix is an alternative version of a song, different from the original version. ... When sound is produced in an enclosed space multiple reflections build up and blend together creating reverberation or reverb. ... Note names and MIDI note numbers MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is an industry-standard electronic communications protocol that enables electronic musical instruments, computers and other equipment to communicate, control and synchronize with each other in real time. ... If this is not the type of module you are looking for, see Module // Modules Module files (MODs) are a class of file formats used to represent music on a computer. ... Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of movies, video games, music, or other media. ... ModPlug Tracker in Fast Tracker 2 color mode Tracker is the generic term for a class of software music sequencers which, in their purest form, allow the user to arrange sound samples stepwise on a timeline across several monophonic channels. ...

External links

• Mix magazine
• Agent 49, a song with 5 layers recorded by one man on a digital multitrack recorder