Well Documented and Archived

By Roger Nichols

Back in the days of analog tape and no automation you could mix an average of two or three songs per day. If you wanted to change something in the mix, you had to gather all of the session documentation that was either kept in the tape box, or in a folder that went with the tape box. The documentation included outboard gear settings, and maybe even some Polaroid pictures of the console documenting EQ settings, pans, sends, and level markings on pieces of tape next to the faders. But, you were basically starting over.

After automation computers came along to help, you could mix an average of two or three songs per week. Instead of speeding things up, automation allowed you to get more detailed with your mixes, which took more time. There were still notes that went with the session to document the outboard gear settings and patch points, but a Total Recall floppy disk would allow you to set the console pretty close when you wanted to re-mix a song.

The key here is documentation. There was a track sheet for each song. The track sheet showed which instruments were on which tracks, labeled master vocal tracks, time code rates, tempo, musician names, microphones used, outboard gear settings, and many other parameters useful in dealing with recording and mixing of the song.

When you needed to go back and work on a song that was recorded years earlier it was pretty simple. You located the master multi-track tape, placed it on the tape machine, performed a playback alignment, read the notes, figured out which instrument was coming up on which console fader, and pressed play. It did not matter if there were new machines in the studios, because they would always play back everything that had ever been recorded in that format. New 24-track analog machines played back old 24-track analog tapes, and new 48-track digital machines played back old 48-track digital tapes. Well, that was then and this is now.

DAW

Along came the  Digital Audio Workstations. As track counts rose so did the amount of recording. You must fill all available tracks! It’s the law! Now the recording process can become more complicated, and the mixes can take even longer.

Have you noticed that the documentation has all but disappeared? “I don’t need documentation, it is all automatic. I just open the session and everything comes back exactly the way it was.” This is true, but only if you open your session on your computer in your studio before you have done any upgrades to your computer, software or plug-ins.

If you just change I/O configurations you can be up the creek without a paddle. What if you want to send the session to someone else to work on? What if the record company wants to remix your CD for some new 12.1 format? What if you want to recycle that extra song into a new album? What if you become really famous and the record company wants to release all of the alternate takes?

Documentation

Documentation was automatic in the good old days. Nobody documents Pro Tools, Nuendo, Digital Performer, Logic, CuBase, or any other DAW session. Which plug-ins do I need to open the session? Which software version, which computer platform, how much memory, how fast of a CPU, which audio interfaces, which MIDI interface, do I need any outboard compressors EQ or reverbs, and do I need to sync up video? Is this a slave session or the master? Have all of the slave sessions been imported into the master? There are vocal tracks and tuned vocal tracks but none are marked as the master? Did the vocal get tuned and then they decided not to use it?

There is a Master Sax Solo, a Master Guitar Solo, and a Master Trumpet Solo all in the same 16 bars that are mutually exclusive. Nobody labeled which one to use in the mix! The session says it was recorded at 44.1kHz but it sounds slow and flat. Was it clocked at 48kHz by mistake? When I open the session I see that there was a hardware insert on one of the tracks. What device was it? This is just the tip of the iceberg. How are we going to be able and go back to some of these sessions in a couple of years?

If you really want to be able to play back a session you must bounce all of the tracks to an audio file that starts at the beginning of the session and continues all the way to the end. If you used some plug-in that was an integral part of the sound, then you should print the track with the plug-in. If you can’t decide, print one with the plug-in and one without the plug-in. With this method it does not matter which DAW you are using. They will all perform this task. The resulting files can then be imported into any DAW and all files lined up to the same start time.

Did I say document what you do? Include a comprehensive read me file with all of the information you can find about everything. There has never been a complaint about too much documentation.

Dead-End Upgrade Path

Here is an example of what can happen with hardware. Let’s say that you want to upgrade to one of those new dual 1.4Gigahertz G4 Mac computers with the 4x DVD-R burner and FW-800 connections. Sounds good, but the new computers will not support OS-9, only OS-X. This means that you have to upgrade Pro Tools to version 6. So far so good.

After purchasing your new gear you realize that none of your old version 5x plug-ins will work in version 6. You have to go out and buy an upgrade to all of the plug-ins that you purchased over the last 5 years, but you have to do it all at once so you can open your session. What do you do for the plug-ins that are no longer supported? What about the company that went out of business or won’t be offering a new plug-in version for PT 6? What if you use Soft Sample Cell in your session? There will be no Soft Sample Cell for PT 6.

This same example applies no matter which DAW software or which computer platform you use. The only way around this is to keep your old computer and your old software and your old plug-ins installed on the original hard disk with the authorizations left intact. This is about as likely as you fitting into your high school band uniform or your wife fitting into her prom dress.

Let’s say you keep the SCSI hard disk that has your entire project including all of the plug-ins and authorizations. Even SCSI hard disks are on the way out. Fire Wire 800 and Fiber Channel are the latest technology. Ten years ago I had some custom software and hardware that only ran on a Mac IIci with a SCSI drive. The program relied on some hardware handshaking that was changed after that model Mac. I kept the computer and SCSI disk in case I ever needed to run that program again. Just recently I needed to do something with that old software. I fired up the computer but the disk did not spin up. I knew I did everything right. I kept the computer in the right environment, I never banged it around, and I even said nice things to it whenever I was in that part of my storage room. It turns out that that exact model of SCSI hard drive had a problem with the grease used on the rotating spindle. After the disk sits dormant for a couple of years the grease hardens and the drive will not spin. Oh, and the manufacturer sold out to another company and that model is no longer repairable. So, it doesn’t even matter if you do all of the right things.

I tried installing a new SCSI drive, but early Macs would only accept Apple branded drives. The Apple formatting software program would not format the new drive. Since the Mac was stuck at System 7, I could not find an old version of a formatting program to use under System 7. I guess I didn’t think of everything when I decided to mothball the computer for future resurrection.

Conclusion

Bottom line? Make sure you think about the future of your project. Always document everything. Always spend the extra time to archive the project into a format that can be imported into a future system. You can keep the original session also, but make sure you have a choice. Every hour you spend now will save 10 or even 100 hours later. I found out the hard way.