Does anyone still use punch-in recording?

[RobN]

What with PT's ability for playlists and easy comping I can't honestly imagine wanting to punch record anymore. I can still remember punching in on ADAT when I first started thinking "Geez! I hope I don't screw up and punch in/out too early/late". That was kinda a thing back in the day, though. If a client saw the engineer flawlessly punch in and out manually, they were definitely impressed. Do you ever find yourself using it?

[bigbubbaj]

I still use punch in recording sometimes (but on a duplicate of the the offending track!).

[lemix]

Robert,
Still ?
In the tracking and over dubbing stages, where I use PT just like a tape recorder it's a must have !!
What do you do when your artist/talent goes : " sorry BOB, could we pick it up from..... "
Quick Punch is THE ticket.

happy tooling,

[jeremyroberts]

Rob,

Say the following line:

"Session workflow is 100% about capturing the artist/performer and 0% about the recording technology."

Repeat that 20 million times.

We DO NOT tell our star singers to modify how they are performing to get them on tape...

Punchins are useful for many reasons:

1. it gives everyone a sense of continuity and feel for a specific track.
2. experienced singers have no issues matching a previous take and continuing
3. experienced engineers can punch just about anywhere. (and quickpunch makes it almost idiotproof)

It's all about session flow. NEVER make the talent wait for the machine.

>>If a client saw the engineer flawlessly punch in and out manually, they were definitely impressed

I don't know where you are located, but in my part of the world (New York City), there is nothing impressive about a skilled engineer... everyone who's working is at least "good". It is EXPECTED that an engineer can do a tight in/out. Crossing the street doesn't get you noticed, when everyone around you is also skilled.

My mentor has boxes of platinum records in storage (and a bunch of Grammy's - one for producer of the year)... the thing he stressed OVER and OVER is that our job is to serve the session and preserve the flow of creativity -- we are simply there to help get it on tape --- it's not about us.

That's not to say that some types of recording are producer driven -- but knowing you have a vocal as it's going down can be a great thing... yes, we accumulate many takes and comp - but going for complete "tracks" -- (that is tracks vs. takes) keeps everyone (talent included) on the same page. We all know what we have as we're doing it.

I hope I don't sound preachy... I don't mean to be.

[RobN]

We DO NOT tell our star singers to modify how they are performing to get them on tape...

Amen to that!

I don't know where you are located, but in my part of the world (New York City), there is nothing impressive about a skilled engineer... everyone who's working is at least "good". It is EXPECTED that an engineer can do a tight in/out.

Agreed. I was asking as one who has been out of the biz since those good ol' ADAT days. Now, with the "home studio's are killing our business" thing settling down, I am glad to see that engineers are still being respected for thier skills. That was what I was getting at. Only artists who were engineer wannabes really ever noticed this. I know because I was one once upon a time.

-- but knowing you have a vocal as it's going down can be a great thing... yes, we accumulate many takes and comp - but going for complete "tracks" -- (that is tracks vs. takes) keeps everyone (talent included) on the same page. We all know what we have as we're doing it.

It's a magical thing to get that perfect take (unless you work with magical talent, then it becomes expected in a way). I'd like to think I am on the same line here.

we are simply there to help get it on tape

This has to be the essence of an audio engineer in one sentence. I like it.
Thanks for answering. I hope that more engineers record like this and not overproduce things with too many comps. Comps are great. Comps are very cool. One great take is magic.

[jeremyroberts]

>>I hope that more engineers record like this and not overproduce things with too many comps. Comps are great. Comps are very cool. One great take is magic

Rob,

Please don't misunderstand me... part of the skill of punching in is not asking the performer to do a complete take -- but assembling a TRACK that's contiguous -- that is, a TRACk that sounds like it was a performance, even if you punched in every word. Sort of like a comp as you go...

Sometimes the performer will not be able to, nor is it musically useful to go for complete TAKES. But a TRACK should play from beginning to end. For this, punch like crazy if you have to.

[RobN]

Completely understood. Like I said; one take is magic. You've got almost as much chance getting struck by lightning that getting it in one take. I can see myself using both punches and comps fairly regularly.

[Chris Cavell]

Sure, we could do a bunch of crappy one-takes and comp them together...

OR, you could use that punch in the same way we used it in the past, to get a handful of OKAY takes from which you comp a GREAT take. I don't see how the process has been changed whatsoever as a result of pro tools capabilities regarding playlists and comping...