How to make seamless transitions between takes

[Dan Shipway]

Hey all, I have been recording parts to my song (actually pretty daunting to try and come up with something so big and now I built up some hype ) the tracks seem good but they sound like just that, a bunch of tracks. Just wondering if there is any tips to smooth the transitions between them.

 

[Ed Seith]

So, when you refer to “Tracks,” are you meaning the individual instrument tracks (correct) or the different parts of the song (intro, verse, chorus, etc).
I would think you mean tracks, but the way you describe the issue, it makes me think you mean parts.
If you mean tracks, a mild compressor and/or slight reverb on the master buss can help with cohesion. It could also be your levels are an issue, or your panning is not intuitively done. Hard to say without hearing.

 

[Dan Shipway]

Sorry for the confusion Ed, think I confused myself there, I did mean the sections of the song, it’s because at the moment there is only a single track for each section. If it’s fine with you can I send over my tracks (due to 3rd party software being unreliable it will have to be on discord). I would love another mind to have a look and see what could be possible

 

[Calvin Phillips]

You could just layer that part with multiple tracks of the same riff.

 

[Dan Shipway]

That’s my go to at the minute, fade it in while notes ring out, may have to rerecord the intro but hey, shit happens.

 

[Calvin Phillips]

I think you find layers in all parts. A7x breakdowns show clean parts with 5 or 6 tracks of the same sound sample. Just left speaker right.. center. Maybe another 3 with reverb added? I’ve done that. Taken the lead distortion part and layer it with the same riff but clean and reverb. Youd never hear the clean part but you hear the reverb in the background.

 

[Ed Seith]

Sure, Dan. But I have to insist on correct terminology – based on the definitions above, are we talking sections/parts or tracks?

 

[Filip Tomiša]

try using crossfade

 

[Filip Tomiša]

You’re on Reaper right? Here’s a tutorial on how to do it:

 

[Dan Shipway]

I will definitely look at that Filip!
Hey Ed, it’s really a mixture of both the sections and tracks but mainly tracks.
At the moment the only way I am creating some sort of transition between the different parts is where one track starts and one finishes but it’s not always smooth.
I will try some ideas such as compression and cross fading to try and get a fine tuned transition.

 

[Filip Tomiša]

Yeah crossfade should help you solve that problem

 

[Ed Seith]

Agreed. If you’re recording the guitar for the verse separately from the guitar from the chorus, then yeah, you need some overlap to blend.