Wow am I old...I still prefer boxes where you can make notes and draw little pictures. Also, the 3 songs on one sheet thing is a drag for the way I work.

I *never* label the deck returns on a console, that way I'm forced to memorize where everything is coming up. I work from the track sheet exclusively, only labeling "split patches", "cross patches" and "effect returns".

I'd end up having to fold the sheet in thirds and have it look like a 'take away' menu from a Chinese Restaurant by the time I got done with it.

On a positive note...I loved the "V-C-V-C" time notations spots on the bottom...that was cool. Though since my kid got into the 'Beatles One' CD...I'm remembering that damn near every Beatles "Hit" started with a chorus and not a verse...

The VCVCVC thing is cool when you're doing a whole bunch of songs for a band, and they need to do a punch after the second chorus. Since we charge by the song, instead of by the hour, we wind up doing 3 to 16 songs per band and we typically juggle about 3 to 5 bands a week. That would be a lotta track sheets to keep track of, so 3 songs per page works best for us. Getum in, getum out!!!

Boxes, I vote for boxes. And one song per track sheet.

But I can understand why you like that better. It's just that I like boxes, that's all.

Mixerman

Originally posted by Mixerman:
Boxes, I vote for boxes. And one song per track sheet.

But I can understand why you like that better. It's just that I like boxes, that's all.
MixermanMy problem is that I could never stay inside the lines when coloring, so I've always hated boxes.

Hi everybody!

This is my first post here and I love the forum! :)

I'm kinda' partial to boxes. For me it's a visual thing, I just like to see it that way I guess.

The sheets I use for my place have one song with boxes on the front and lines for Artist, Title, Start & End Times. On the back I use a list like format for cue's (C's & V's) and any other gear or tracking info that wouldn't fit in the boxes on the front. Again... it's just the way I like to see it.

Thanks to all the Moderators & Members for the time and experience they share to make this place happen! :D

Tim L

Just curious: what do you use to document
matters of arrangement? Especially any
arrangement decisions made during a rough
mix or during pre-production planning;
track sheets don't seem to be a very
good vehicle for this sort of information.
Or do you just not bother to write that
stuff down? Since I haven't really done
this before, the closest I'm come is doing
a bit of "production analysis" where I
listen to a commercially recorded song and
write down everything I hear happening; in
that case, I use columns for each sound
(instrument or instrument group) and write
notes along rows (song sections) where things
change (at least where things start and
stop, plus any aspect of it that might
change). This seems like a good visual
representation to use. I imagine that once
you've done this stuff for a few decades,
you probably don't need to bother to write
it down.

Originally posted by Keith W Blackwell:
Just curious: what do you use to document
matters of arrangement?

I like to chart the song out on a seperate sheet of paper like a graph.

Across the top I write the form out, Intro, Verse, Chorus, Breakdown, whatever. Down the side I right out the instrumentation. Then I just draw a line from where the instrument or vocal part starts to where it stops.I like to add the start & end tape times next to these also.

This gives me a basic visual of how the song is laid out.

I keep track of mix suggestions on a seperate sheet and keep everything, track sheet, song graph, etc. in a notebook or a folder. If the project is on a reel, all that stuff goes in the tape box.

What's everybody else doin'

Tim L

I've kept track sheets, with large boxes for years, until a couple of years ago we tried using a templet on the computer. The computer is right beside the console, It's a large splite screen, one side has room for what's on the tract and the other side has general information. It's all saved and when we need a file just click. It's very simple to use and I don't have to keep up with the tract sheet's, we back up are hard drive every couple of weeks so as not to lose anything. Is anyone else doing this? I haven't run into any problems yet, But it is on a computer so it's just a matter of time.

I have been recording since the 70's and was taught by an award winning engineer/producer how to engineer and he used simple track sheets and a lot of memory...lol. I guess it rubbed off on me, as I used mostly memory and a few notes on specifics if it went against the 'usual' way of doing things. Some things were 'standard procedure' and anything that was odd to that was tracked or written down on a track sheet. I keep a notebook that I have to thumb thru to find specific songs, etc., but most things are standard procedure. I have a photographic memory, so I can 'recall' eq settings, etc. by the position of the knobs, and when I need to, I will write down 'clock positions' on analog style adjusters, etc. Now that I have gone from analog tape to the digital arena for a few years now as a norm, I still use my notebooks, but I also make my own spreadsheets, complete with boxes, to keep track of somethings that used to be standards and the other stuff, as well as keeping a notebook for parameters i.e. synth settings, plugin settings, etc., that aren't able to preset correctly or that I am trying variants on, and some that can be preset for the sake of experimentation now and later. But I do understand needing the visual boxes in the spreadsheet track sheets. But my track sheets have a lot more 'boxes' for a lot more info that some people may not think is necessary, such as second oscillator settings that can actually be saved in the machine or plugin. I came up using Arp, Moog, etc, synths, so you had to memorize EVERYTHING, and it felt natural to do so. Then it stayed with me when digital synths hit like the Korg Poly 61, etc, which let you preset most everything, yet I kept a visual and notes on that as well and it came in handy for experimentation. The same with engineering. I really think it is all a matter of your preference, as I have seen all sorts of methods of 'remembrance' in the studio, and it all worked well most of the time.

Old post. I remember when he posted this. I wonder if Harvey Gerst is still alive and well. So much has happened in the last few years.