Can I record a fresh vocal in a GarageBand project after sharing the master track?

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Level 1

133 points

Can I record a fresh vocal in a GarageBand project after sharing the master track?

Hello to all! I have made a project in GB using a music track on one track and recording my voice on another. After I'd done with recording I clicked on add track and selected Master track, and it appeared. After adding compressor effects I clicked upon share and got the output.

Now my question/s are these:

Can I delete or mute the vocal track and add another track to the existing project? [I had done this vocal in Hindi and intend to sing an English version of the song].

If this can be done, how can I delete the compressor effects and other changes I had made. Can this be done or need I to create a fresh project?

FYI, I have very little knowledge of what I am doing in GarageBand and I may not be also knowing what I am asking!

Regards and take care.

Dr. Somanna

iMac, OS X Yosemite (10.10.1), garage band, FCPX:10.2, iPhone 5,

Posted on May 9, 2015 10:57 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

léonie

Level 10

194,647 points

May 10, 2015 2:42 AM in response to somanna

I recommend to make a copy of the finished project before you proceed. You can simply duplicate it in the finder.

Can I delete or mute the vocal track and add another track to the existing project?

You can add more tracks to any finished projects. Just open the "Tracks" menu and click "New Track". Select a template for an Audio Track - with the microphone icon.
To delete the old vocal track select it and use "Tracks > Delete Track". Or mute the track by clicking the speaker icon in the track header.

If this can be done, how can I delete the compressor effects and other changes I had made. Can this be done or need I to create a fresh project?
The compressor settings can be removed in the Smart Controls for the track you added them to. I prefer to add these settings to the individual tracks and not to the Master Track. Select the track (your vocal track or the Master track) and click the Smart Controls button.

The effects in the Smart Controls panel will depend on the particular patch you selected for your vocal track. For example for "narration Vocals" it will look like this:

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Answer 2

somanna Author

Level 1

133 points

May 10, 2015 2:42 AM in response to léonie

Thanks for lioness-speed reply!

Actually I know next to nothing of audio. The song I sang was done badly [no problem with the mike or the system, just this: my voice was not good at that time!]. I then 'tried out' improving the voice in GB. I had pressed the 'i' symbol at the left of the control pane and I saw that I could add some plug-ins. I tweaked about with Amp Designer and when I found that one particular setting seemed good, I shared the project. When I brought in the file into FCPX, I realised that I had pulled in both the music track and my vocal into the shared file. I had never prepared a 'master' and barely know what it means! I guess that because I had opened a Master track that this happened. I usually do not add this 'master track' but just sing my vocal and take the good parts of it [selecting from different takes, cutting out the breath sounds] and then select only the vocal track and share it. I then bring in both the music track and the vocal file into my FCPX project. I have learnt to do some basic sweetening of my voice by using the compressor and echo effects in FCPX. I do not have anything to do with the music tracks as they are done in a professional studio by qualified personnel.

I need to say, that GB had made a good end product of my 'not so good singing'! I am really happy that I could 'stumble upon' these features in GB that were hitherto unknown to me. I need to say that since I have posted the OP I have also learnt how to remove the plug-in effects I had placed.

Regards and have a great day!

Dr. Somanna

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Answer 3

léonie

Level 10

194,647 points

May 10, 2015 4:08 AM in response to somanna

You're welcome! Enjoy your music! 🙂

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Answer 4

somanna Author

Level 1

133 points

May 10, 2015 7:47 PM in response to léonie

Hello again Leonie!

In your reply you had stated you add your effects to individual track and not to the master track. I need some clarification. To get this done, do I need to select the vocal track and add the effects and plug-ins etc? After doing this, in my case where I have already prepared the master track, when I select only that particular track and share, the whole lot [all the tracks, music track and vocal] is getting exported. Is there any way of deleting the master track for this project?

Please bear with my questions!

Regards and take care.

Dr. Somanna

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Answer 5

somanna Author

Level 1

133 points

May 10, 2015 7:54 PM in response to léonie

And Leonie! Can you suggest some good no-nonsense tutorial which a new comer to this field can read or watch and get an inkling of what the terms of scale, pitch, attack, release, gain, equaliser, ambience, echo, reverberation [parameters in a compressor] etc. mean and how they are to be used to get out better audio? Much to learn, not much time to live!

Regards and take care.

Dr. Somanna

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Answer 6

léonie

Level 10

194,647 points

May 10, 2015 9:42 PM in response to somanna

I don't know any tutorial, but if you want a comprehensive introduction to the new GarageBand, have a look at Edgar Rothermich's book:

Edgar's "GarageBand 10.0 How it Works" explains it very well with many screenshots. You can buy it as iBook from the Book store, as PDF, or as printed book from Amazon, Only, this version of the manual has been written for GarageBand 10.0.2, Some features have changed slightly since then.

http://www.dingdingmusic.com/DingDing/Manuals.html

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Answer 7

somanna Author

Level 1

133 points

May 11, 2015 5:58 AM in response to léonie

Hello again Leonie! Thanks for this further help. This book is not available at the Amazon store here in India. I have requested my niece who is currently on a vacation in the U.S. to get a hard copy for me.

Regards and take care.

Dr. Somanna

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Answer 8

somanna Author

Level 1

133 points

May 22, 2015 7:17 PM in response to léonie

Hello again Leonie!

Am facing this problem in getting hold of the referred book:

The PDF download of the book accepts only PayPal. Though I signed up for the same, I am not able to procure the book, for at the end of the purchase process I am shown this type of pop up: Sorry we are unable to process this transaction at this time; Try again later! I guess I have to wait another 2-3 days before my account becomes operable! But, I just do not know why my purchase attempts are unsuccessful!

A printed copy of the book casts 3-4 times more than the soft copy and has to be imported...a waiting period of 2-3 weeks being needed for the shipping.

Trying to purchase through the iBook store is met with this info: this book is currently unavailable in India.

I am keen to have the soft copy of the book because its active links help in better and easy comprehension.

I write all this to you with the hope that, as a senior contributor, you might help out in this matter and somehow make this 'valuable book' available for purchase through the iTunes, India!

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