6 stage limit

I wasn't aware of this. My fault!

I have started tracks with two instruments, typically one is very simple DAW drums to provide some context for a guitar, done separately with the hope that a real drummer will replace the drums. At this point that's 3 stages for 2 instruments and very limiting. This is NOT a moan at the sensible 6 stage limit.

I have two questions.

1) If I start with the drums/guitar as one, can I provide 2 separate high quality solo tracks with it so that I use up only one stage instead of two and others can discard the simple DAW drums?

2) Can I go back and REPLACE the first stage with a mix + 2 separate tracks?

Thanks for reading.

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If you aim for a replacement of a drumplugin by a drummer your single track added to the mix could be enough. But if you provide the singled HD-track in the same state as in the mixed track you can also subtrackt them from each other. To do that align both in a folder- bus or grouped track. On the track with the single HD-channel switch the phasebutton to phasereverse it. On the summed bus or folder only the other track remains. So you can have both tracks singled out. Don't forget to remove the clicks of the reversed track to keep them present in your result. ;) Two mono tracks of course could be hard panned into a stereo file. Especially in the last double mono case be carefull with delays and reverb as they will be mono to. Leave these FX out to be added when wanted in stereo again by the re-mixer when he or she adds their track.

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Thanks for the reply.

I wonder if the tracks can be successfully aligned and drums phase inverted and nulled a few stages later if for example the next tracks added were a bass, then a vocal before the real drums were added. I guess there is only one way to find out.

Thanks again.

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That all depends if the next stages added something on the (master-)track. Of course that becomes an irrelevant question if they added their single HD-tracks. ;)

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The 6 stage mixing can be restrictive at times, but if you need to go one more then simply attach a new mix after the 5th track, and mention in the text that you took track #123xx and added the bass track from #123xy and a new instrument. That way everybody knows what is going on. It's not ideal, but the best we can do with this

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