OCD People Unite!

[jwarv]

For all you neatniks out there. How do you keep track of your tracks? When I go to rename a wav file it gets lost in a sea of fellow files. I find that after several (and I do mean several) takes that I've lost control of where the best takes end up. Or after punching in very short sections. Never mind recording in extra lanes many times over. I do use the sound/audio tab to locate the file name, but it's still a matter of sifting through the jungle of files.

In any case, I like a neat, organized song folder at the end of the day with just the final takes that are in the song. Plus it keeps my HD from being loaded with useless junk. Out of curiosity, what do you do to keep things neat and organized?

For those of you who think this is a silly topic, feel free to move on. We fellow OC people understand each other.

[chibear]

You can use submixes as folders are used in other DAWs for organization.

[Mark Bliss]

I'm no neatnik, But I can relate to WANTING to be more organized.
Its a good question as it can be a serious difficulty.

My efforts at this are ever evolving, but the first thing for me is as you say- naming everything with a purpose.
My current system is a naming convention that begins with a description I can decipher, say "Ac Guit" "Ld Guit" "3rd Kazoo" etc. You get the idea.
Next its a letter designation if there are multiple parts or sections for that instrument.
Lastly if there are multiple takes I use a number to keep track.

So I end up with something like "Ac Guit A3" or similar.

Next, (and many will object to this)..... I tend more and more to NOT save so much stuff. I pick a take or version and commit to it, and generally purge the unused. Yep.
And I am not big on recording take after take. If a few wont capture a usable recording, somebody (often me) needs to go work on the part and try again later. Maybe that's just me.
But I have found if I save all my takes and every little effort I end up with a bunch of extra stuff I will never sort through again. So once I have chosen parts, edited and gotten to the stage of rough mix, the extra stuff gets purged. The only exception is if its a particularly "special" project, then I might create a backup folder with everything I wish to archive, and duplicate just what I need to a "working folder"

I also admit that most of my projects are just not that large track count and file wise as to become as big a problem as say Chibear's orchestrations. A typical project for me might be for example in the 20 tracks range, and given that, the above naming and purging usually creates a manageable folder.

[jwarv]

Chibear, I'm not sure what you mean exactly. Can you elaborate?

Mark, I like the lettering system. I might try that. PS- Cool tunes on Soundcloud.

Thanks guys.
Jason

[chibear]

Chibear, I'm not sure what you mean exactly. Can you elaborate?

I'll have to speak orchestrally. I put each instrument family into a titled submix, so off the bat with everything closed you will see 4 submixes on the Mixcraft UI: Woodwinds, Brass, Strings, and Percussion. If any keyboards are used, those tracks exist outside as each keyboard is usually panned differently and have a different ER.

Open the Brass submix, for instance, and you will see either tracks or submixes for horns, trumpets, trombones, and tuba depending on the vsti and whether I'm blending libraries.

So everything has its place and the whole project can be visually expanded or collapsed as needed.

[jwarv]

Oh I see. I think we might be talking apples vs oranges here. You're talking about the DAW itself.

What I'm talking about is the folder where all audio for a particular project ends up. It can be quite the storehouse of unnecessary flotsam taking up vital space. (Much like my attic.) And if one needs to seek out a particular take it can be a tedious task and time better suited for making music.

But I do appreciate the ability of Mixcraft UI to organize the tracks via sub-mixes. Yes, indeed.

[aj113]

I think you solved your own problem:

...In any case, I like a neat, organized song folder at the end of the day with just the final takes that are in the song...

Make a folder inside the song folder and render to that one instead of the main song folder.

As you say, it can get difficult to find files in the main folder after a while. I add a 'date modified' tab to the folder and click on that so that the files are sorted by date. Normally I want something recent, so the file I want is almost always at the top of the file list.

[aj113]

...if one needs to seek out a particular take it can be a tedious task and time better suited for making music...

I'm assuming that you are trying to restore a take that you have deleted from the project? In this case I use the backup folder. Again, if I sort the backup projects by date I can normally get to the one with the required take within a few attempts of opening projects.

Assuming you save your project often of course....

I have programmed myself to save whenever I am about to do something 'big' like delete a track. In fact I just save all the time, come to think of it...

[jwarv]

I add a 'date modified' tab to the folder and click on that so that the files are sorted by date. Normally I want something recent, so the file I want is almost always at the top of the file list.

Right. I do tend to use the date and even time signature if it's something I just recorded. If it's days later, forget it. But I will try that sorting method. Thanks!

[jwarv]

Hey, it just occurred to me. Mixcraft 8 has the stem feature. Isn't that basically what I'm aiming for? I must explore.