Raw Multi-track recording of RENT?

[manuallyfocused]

Hi all,

I have a student who has chosen as their end-of-year Stagecraft project a paper design of a sound system for the musical RENT, and they are interested in creating their own mix of some of the songs during the process. Does anyone happen to have a raw multi-track recording of a production they would be willing to share? Even just a few vocal tracks would be extremely helpful, as I think he plans to record some of the instruments on his own. I would love to give this student the opportunity to listen to raw recordings and mix levels and add effects on one of our audio consoles or our recording rig. Thank you!

 

[Aaron Becker]

While I'm sure the intent here is good, I highly doubt you're going to find someone willing to break any NDA or other agreement they have and give this up. Not to mention, that would be property of whoever owns the content, not the person who snagged an (illegal) recording of it. Best of luck, though.

 

[manuallyfocused]

Totally understand, and appreciate the point being made. To be clear, the intent is not to obtain a professional recording and push anyone into illegal activity. In my mind, the ideal scenario would be the raw recordings from another high school or college's production.

 

[Aaron Becker]

Totally understand, and appreciate the point being made. To be clear, the intent is not to obtain a professional recording and push anyone into illegal activity. In my mind, the ideal scenario would be the raw recordings from another high school or college's production.

That makes much more sense. My mind always jumps to "pro" content when think of big-name shows. Carry on and appolgies for my brisk response.

 

[manuallyfocused]

No worries! We're all in the business of protecting artists, so it's a totally understandable response (and I should have been more clear!)

 

[josh88]

No worries! We're all in the business of protecting artists, so it's a totally understandable response (and I should have been more clear!)

To be fair, even recording high school and college productions like that would be a breach of contract. You're going to have a hard time ever finding multitracks of any show like that. Too much effort needed to do it for too much risk.

 

[themuzicman]

I have a student who has chosen as their end-of-year Stagecraft project a paper design of a sound system for the musical RENT, and they are interested in creating their own mix of some of the songs during the process.

Others have answered the initial question at depth, but I would like to know what exactly the Multitracks would have to do with the design of a sound system. In my mind these things are very different!

 

[manuallyfocused]

Others have answered the initial question at depth, but I would like to know what exactly the Multitracks would have to do with the design of a sound system. In my mind these things are very different!

The idea was to take the student's initial impulse for the project (use his own instrumental skills to play parts of the show) and construct a larger project around it to allow him to explore a bit of sound design as well as sound engineering (and move the emphasis from musicianship to Stagecraft). The multitracks would fall firmly into the sound engineering portion. In my mind, the overall project would give a bit of insight into the job of sound designer on the system layout and specification side, and a bit on the job of the live and/or recording sound engineer in console setup, EQ, effects, and mixing.

It seems pretty clear that this shot in the dark isn't going to pan out, for the many reasons discussed above, so I'm moving forward on this student's project with more of an emphasis on the sound system design and equipment usage aspects of the project, and will keep the project idea for another day (perhaps when I have a student interested in using recordings from shows we've already done ourselves). I may still have him set up the console as though we were going to pipe tracks into it, just to give him that experience as well. I appreciate all the input, sound remains my weakest area so I continue to look for ways to sharpen my own skills while giving my students freedom to explore.

 

[Malabaristo]

If you're open to something other than Rent, there are places to find legal multi-track recordings that people share for exactly this kind of thing. https://behindthespeakers.com/300-free-multitracks/ is one example I've used before. I find it helpful as a training tool for mixing since we don't typically get much rehearsal time on events that have a live band.

 

[josh88]

If you're open to something other than Rent, there are places to find legal multi-track recordings that people share for exactly this kind of thing. https://behindthespeakers.com/300-free-multitracks/ is one example I've used before. I find it helpful as a training tool for mixing since we don't typically get much rehearsal time on events that have a live band.

Telefunken has some good ones (listed in your link)

Cambridge-MT is my other go to recommendation for multitracks, which is a pretty massive library these days.

The 'Mixing Secrets' Free Multitrack Download Library

www.cambridge-mt.com