Topic: what is your workflow like with your recordings?

[ozarkbilly]

Before now, the only thing I ever did to my shows was track them in CD Wave and then convert to FLAC in Traders Little Helper.  Now I've downloaded Audacity because I've got a pretty decent recording that needs some normalization due to some wild level fluctuations early on in the show (first 20 seconds of first song is way too quiet, then I kicked up CA ST-9000 preamp from +10db to +30 db, then near the end of second song I backed the input down a bit on my R-09.  I tracked the show and then converted it to FLAC only to find that FLAC isn't compatible with Audacity.  So what steps do you typically take with your shows?

[tgakidis]

It really depends on the source(s) and final product for me.  I almost always run 4 channels of mics (24/48) and often an R-09 for SBD patches (24/48).

Typical 4 channel source: 
Sony Pro Vegas 8.0 - Mixing sources, volume adjustments, markers, render as 24/48 or 16/44.1 wave file >
Sony Soundforge 9.0 - Fades, makers > regions, extract wave tracks >
Flac Frontend - Convert waves to flac & create ffp file

Typical 2 Channel Source:
Sony Soundforge 9.0 - Volume adjustments, Fades, Markers/Region Tracking, Bit Convertion, Sample rate, Extract Wave Tracks >
Flac Frontend - Convert waves to flac & create ffp file

[bhadella]

I run 2 channel 24/48 with a goal of a 16/44 and 24/48 ending fileset.  My path is:

1.  Create 2 folders. One with naming convention of  bbyyyy-mm-dd.flacf16 and another bbyyyy-mm-dd.flacf24

2.  Open raw 24/48  in Wavelab 5.  Join together multiple files if needed.  Apply fades and add gain/eq if needed.  Save 24/48 copy of file in .flacf24 folder.  Convert sample rate and dither via  MBIT+ Dither.  Save 16/44 file in .flacf16 file.   Repeat process for additional sets of recordings.

3.  Open 16/44 file in CD Wave.  Track out seperate tracks and create cue file.  Save cue file in .flacf16 file.  Save tracked out 16/44 wave files in CD Wave to .flacf16 in wave format.  Open 24/48 file and then open cue file from .flacf16.   Save tracked out 24/48 waves to .flacf24 in wave format.

4.  Open FLAC frontend and create flac files and fingerprint for contents of .flacf24.   Repeat for .flacf16 folder.

[Gordon]

I run 2 channel 24/48 with a goal of a 16/44 and 24/48 ending fileset.  My path is:

1.  Create 2 folders. One with naming convention of  bbyyyy-mm-dd.flacf16 and another bbyyyy-mm-dd.flacf24

2.  Open raw 24/48  in Wavelab 5.  Join together multiple files if needed.  Apply fades and add gain/eq if needed.  Save 24/48 copy of file in .flacf24 folder.  Convert sample rate and dither via  MBIT+ Dither.  Save 16/44 file in .flacf16 file.   Repeat process for additional sets of recordings.

3.  Open 16/44 file in CD Wave.  Track out seperate tracks and create cue file.  Save cue file in .flacf16 file.  Save tracked out 16/44 wave files in CD Wave to .flacf16 in wave format.  Open 24/48 file and then open cue file from .flacf16.   Save tracked out 24/48 waves to .flacf24 in wave format.

4.  Open FLAC frontend and create flac files and fingerprint for contents of .flacf24.   Repeat for .flacf16 folder.

close to what I do.  you should try a batch process in wavelab.  I track the 24/48 in cd wave and then run a batch process so it'll resample, dither the tracked version leaving you with a 16/44 version skipping a few steps.   


oh and I now use traders little helper to flac.  you can flac, test/verify, and create ffp in one easy step.

[RobertNC]

My workflow is a little tedious because I am on the last leg of my old laptop, and it does not handle large files very well, so I do a lot of work on individual files them join them as a last step.

1)  Create a main folder with 3 subfolders - Masters, Edits, Tracks.

2)  Transfer 24/96 masters from SD722 to Masters folder, and rename each to band abbreviation plus date, plus number/letter.  Example 
gm2008-08-09_1A.wav, gm2008-08-09_1B.wav would be the two raw master files for Set 1.

3)  Open each file in CEP and do a gain analysis on each, jotting down notes.  Look at the final numbers and pick a final gain based on the numbers from each file that puts me near -1dB overall without any files clipping.

4)  Apply gain to a single file at a time, with 5 second fade-ins and 5 second fade-outs on the files that represent the start and end of each set.  Dither and resample to 16/44.1.  Save each individual edit in the edits folder.  I also create a "work file" saved in final edits that contains exact details of all post work I did.

5)  Open each edited file and join them into a single file per set - dithering and downsampling does not affect seamless joins so I wait until I have the smaller 16/44.1 files to join.  Save the final joined edits for each set and delete each individual edit file.

6)  Track each set using CDWave, save cuesheets to edits folder, tracks to tracks folder.

7)  Encode tracks to FLAC16 using FLACFRontend and delete track wav files. 

  Create info and ffp files and save them in tracks folder.

9)  Create MD5 sum checks for each of the three folders and save them in folders.

10)  Burn two sets of archive discs for the works, and verify that the archive discs all pass MD5 checksums then store.

11)  If seeding to a BT site, move the tracks to an appropriately named folder, else if uploading to archive, I just use the existing tracks folder.

Sometime soon I will get a new computer that has the memory and CPU power and a newer audio software platform that can handle large files, and simplify my workflow by joining each set in 24/96.  Until then, although a little tedious, the workflow I am using gets it done.

[rowjimmytour]

R4(4 x 24/44.1wav>USB>HD
Set up parent folder w/ bandname/date
Inside folder set up 3 folders: bandname/date/flac24, bandname/date/flac16, wav
(Matrix) Vegas open 4 x wav tracks>Master Volume peak @ -1dB to -3dB>Merge files>save band name/date/matrix24bit
Sound Forge>open matrix>Normalize to 0dB>Dither to 16 bit>Save band name/date/matrix16bit
CD Wav>open 24 bit matrix wav>track>save cue in parent file>save in flac 24
CD Wav>New>OPen 16 bit matrix wav>open cue>save in wav
Create text file:
Date/Band:
Venue/coverage:
Source: Beyerdynamics MC930's DIN 25' 8'(L)DFCFOB 9'(H))>SegueDogStars>R4(T-mod)
Lineage: R4>USB>CDWAV>CDR>Flac
Taped By: Jim Tourville
Transferred By: Jim Tourville

Set:
Disc 1:
01.
02.
03.
04.
05.
06.
07.
08.
09.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.

Set cont. :
Disc 2:
01.
02.
03.
04.
05.
Open Traders little helper>open 24 bit wav>encode wav to flac>save/delete wav in flac 24
open 16 bit wav in wav file>encode wav to flac>save in flac 16
Burn 16 bit CDRs to test sound on Home stereo, car, and boombox
Burn Date disc w/ master wav (4 x wav), flac 24, flac 16, cue sheet, text
If all sounds good and LMA friendly band upload to LMA

[SmokinJoe]

If it needs tweaks...
- edit via audacity in 24 bit realm.  While I'm in there, I might as well level and fade to perfection. Save as xxx2008-xxx-cleaned24bit.wav
- if 24 bit, convert to 16 bit/44.  I use ssrc, most windows people use something else.  Use the best tool available!! this is a critical step.
- split into 16 bit tracks.  I use "shntool split".  Most windows people use CDwav.  Important to get the Sector Boundary's correct.
- run "shntool len" to make sure everything is clean.
- flac the wav files using "flac".  TLH works fine.
- copy these 16bit flac files to my H120.  Go listen to it, and make sure it's right.  Avoid the urge to upload before really listening.
- upload
- burn backup DVDs of everything... raw file, intermediate files,flac files

If it happens to be perfect (about 25% of the time for me) skip step 1.

[run_run_run]

make a folder and text file
Do a little listening with the raw files in audacity
Track, Fade play with levels if needed in audacity
Xact fix SBEs
Xact FLAC
Xact fingerprint
Listen sometimes
Upload

[su6oxone]

I typically do the following:

R-09 to PC: save as "master" wav file
SoundForge: fade in and out, normalize to -0.2dB, dither to 16bit, save as "master-edit" wav file
CD Wave: tracking, save cuesheet and split into individual wav files
Google: for song titles by searching for lyrics or from band forums
Flac Frontend: convert individual wav files to flac
MD5 Summer: get md5 checksums of flac files
Flac Frontend: get flac fingerprint (for non-LMA)
utorrent: treate torrent (for non-LMA)
Audiograbber: encode to mp3 (for car audio use)
Backup master/wav/flac: onto DVD-R and two external HDD

Takes about two hours these days and I almost always do it immediately after coming home. 

[grtphl]

i) 24/48 raw files go in bbyyyy-mm-dd.flac16
ii) If there are multiple files, they are merged unless I changed any part of the rig during set break
iii) Open in Sony SF 9.0, peak normalize to -1.0 dB, fade in/out, dither/resample to 16/44.1, create 'markers' for tracking
iv) Export *.wav tracks from regions defined by the markers
v) Open files in TLHelper, mark fix SBEs, create *.ffp, and encode to *.flac using level 8 compression
vi) Finalize *.txt file and folder, upload to archive.org and/or seed using uTorrent

[willndmb]

i don't really "edit" anything
what i recorded is what you get
the only exception is poss some amplifying
otherwise its resample and dither >
tracked >
shn/flac/cd

[easy jim]

Initial transfer and raw back-up:
1) transfer raw files to laptop from recorder (R-4 Pro), into 'raw' file folder labelled to indicate basic source info: i.e., ae2008-09-08.akg460ck1_SBD.r-4_raw.24-44
2) create a .md5 checksum of the raw .wav files and a text file for the recording with detailed source info., etc.
3) transfer copy of 'raw' file folder to external HD and burn a data DVD 'hardcopy'

Editing:
1) import .wav file(s) into DAW program (Digital Performer) for editing
2) performing any mixing/editing (generally only peak normalize if 2 track ambient), and set track markers while listening through complete show
3) create fades, and bounce final mix (all in 24 bit realm)
4) split tracks in bounced file and resample/dither as necessary to create a 16bit/44.1KHz file set
5) export full resolution 24bit files and 16/44.1 files as .aiff files (Mac user)

Compiling/archiving:
1) create .flac files from .aiff mix files using xACT (using fix SBE for 16/44.1 files)
2) rename files to LMA/etree standards and create a .ffp and .md5 for each .flac file set
3) create a text file for each file set
4) burn a data DVD set of all the Digital Performer project files (so I can reload the project if necessary without re-creating everything)
5) burn a data DVD set of the .flac16 and .flac24 file sets
6) transfer copies of the .flac16 and .flac24 file folders to external HD
7) burn an audio CD set for listening in the car and/or extras for handouts

[boojum]

I bring the recorder home, xfer the files to the computer and open up my editor (SAM 10.1) and spilt the files into separate tracks.  Live performances I can either leave the between music chatter in or not.  If it is not too long I do, at the end.  I like the music to start pretty quickly at the beginning of the track unless there is some interesting intro.

The last editing act is to normalize to 95 - 98%.  Then I resample and dither down to 16/44.1.  I use foobar2000 to label the tracks and to convert to FLAC 8.  The post to TTD.

If it is for CD release for a group who has asked me to record them, editing and mastering is a lot more critical.  It will involve a mix and match of a few performances, using the best tracks of the performance.  If it is really critical I will mail intermediate copes to the director for approval until we are both happy with the results.  Then I burn a master copy for the fellow who burns the copies and printsa the album covers.

I mostly record at 24/48.  Anything I release is 16/44.1.

Cheers

[jacobmyers]

1. Dump PMD660 recordings to HDD via CF > USB 2.0 adapter into folder named by date and venue.
2. Create subfolders with LMA naming standard -- [band][date].aud.flac16
3. Open raw 16/44 WAV in Audacity 1.3.4; edit/fade head and tail, normalize to -0.2dB, create label track.
4. "Export Multiple" from Audacity, split according to label track, compressed to FLAC 8; save into folders from #2.
 4a. Track name metadata is written by Audacity (from the label track) but the remaining fields are left blank.
 4b. Start writing LMA-standard textfile while files are being exported.
5. Check track splits and edit metadata with Media Monkey Gold (can edit metadata of multiple files simultaneously).
6. Generate FFP with TLH. Paste checksums into textfile (from #4b).
7. Upload to LMA using FileZilla; use textfile to copy/paste data into the archive's fields (which overwrites my metadata on the LMA copy).
8. Double check entries and check the folder in at LMA. Enjoy sharing!
9. Delete WAV files, back-up FLAC to external USB HDD. Burn DVD/CD if necessary or "important".

That's about it. Far simpler than doing analog transfers of MiniDisc!