I was going to PM RayC about this so as not to clutter things up but i think it is a legit question the others may or may not benefit from.
rayc wrote: ↑Mon Feb 13, 2017 6:40 am
I save each tweak to a project under a modified name so that I can move back or forward if things don't sound good after a few listens.
I do this at work with AutoCAD. And for some reason i have never thought to do this with my music and there are time i really wish i had!! We make data shortcuts at work for all out of point clouds and large volumes of data and sort of "data link" it to our working drawing files.
I am going to go ahead and assume you do something similar with your big audio files? You wouldn't be making copies of all the .wav media files each time you save a new revision of the project file? How do you have the file structure set up to allow you to do this with out chewing up large chunks of your hard drive?
I don't do this because I (almost always) only ever have one mix and I keep working on it. There are times when I wish I had done this but only occasionally. There's always UNDO if I stuff something up. I've done it very occasionally.
The project file is merely a set of instructions about how to deploy various assets on your computer - audio files, MIDI files, VSTs etc., so you can save as many versions as you like without needing to duplicate any of the assets UNTIL you start adding new tracks etc, which will just generate a single new audio file used in version B but not version A, etc.
Put it all in the one folder - project files are quite small - so long as you understand how you're doing your versioning, if that's the way you want to work, go for it.
WhiskeyJack wrote: ↑Mon Feb 20, 2017 6:06 pm
I was going to PM RayC about this so as not to clutter things up but i think it is a legit question the others may or may not benefit from.
rayc wrote: ↑Mon Feb 13, 2017 6:40 am
I save each tweak to a project under a modified name so that I can move back or forward if things don't sound good after a few listens.
I do this at work with AutoCAD. And for some reason i have never thought to do this with my music and there are time i really wish i had!! We make data shortcuts at work for all out of point clouds and large volumes of data and sort of "data link" it to our working drawing files.
I am going to go ahead and assume you do something similar with your big audio files? You wouldn't be making copies of all the .wav media files each time you save a new revision of the project file? How do you have the file structure set up to allow you to do this with out chewing up large chunks of your hard drive?
I'm really curious.
I don't worry about it, personally. Often I keep the original wavs in a sub-folder of the folder I keep my project and project files in. I save my project renders to that sub-folder too. But when I make a decision about stuff within my project I rarely worry about going back, or making wrong decisions, or keeping my options open. I suppose I'm confident that I won't lose something that can't be recaptured. Often, I go one step further. If I comp tracks, or patch tracks or do any editing of that sort, I glue the wav and empty the folder of any files that aren't being used by the project. I suppose I'm not the tentative type - I like to keep everything tidy and manageable and I'm usually confident in the decisions I make. Again when I render a new version, I often just overwrite the previous one. I'm usually happy that the new version is an improvement and I'm not interested in keeping historical and inferior versions.
If I've entirely missed the point of your post and just gone off on one, please forgive me.
I don't worry about it, personally. Often I keep the original wavs in a sub-folder of the folder I keep my project and project files in. I save my project renders to that sub-folder too. But when I make a decision about stuff within my project I rarely worry about going back, or making wrong decisions, or keeping my options open. I suppose I'm confident that I won't lose something that can't be recaptured. Often, I go one step further. If I comp tracks, or patch tracks or do any editing of that sort, I glue the wav and empty the folder of any files that aren't being used by the project. I suppose I'm not the tentative type - I like to keep everything tidy and manageable and I'm usually confident in the decisions I make. Again when I render a new version, I often just overwrite the previous one. I'm usually happy that the new version is an improvement and I'm not interested in keeping historical and inferior versions.
If I've entirely missed the point of your post and just gone off on one, please forgive me.
This is me exactly. I keep one version and just save as I go. I don't look back and delete anything not being used.
Greg_L wrote: ↑Mon Feb 20, 2017 7:24 pmThis is me exactly. I keep one version and just save as I go. I don't look back and delete anything not being used.
Exactly, me too. I don't save old versions of anything, I don't keep templates, I don't have more than one copy of anything I do, I don't write anything down. I make changes, commit to them and move on. My windshield is way bigger than my rearview mirror for a reason.
Bubba wrote: ↑Mon Feb 20, 2017 8:11 pm
I think too many options and an unwillingness to commit to a decision is a real barrier to creativity.
I agree somewhat. I think if you're the type that likes to use the mix for creative purposes, then options are a good thing. But when it stops you from just committing to something, then yeah, it's a problem! I adopted the "live with it" mentality a while back and to me my mixes have never been better.
I'll usually use two or three "projects" for one song so I can record say 10 tracks/comp in one place and not have a million tracks in one single project. Then I toss the whole "side" project once I have what I need. Sonar has a nice clean up function which nukes all the files not being used anymore for the main project, but you have to make sure you've bounced every thing or you have all sorts of 'mystery clips' in your audio folder.
People want something for nothing, they want it right now. Either they can't tell quality or don't care but feel it is important that everyone agrees with them.