scratch track
Temporary guide audio
A scratch track is a rough preliminary recording made as a temporary guide during production.
Musicians often record a scratch vocal or scratch guitar to establish timing and feel before capturing the final performance.
The term comes from the idea that these tracks will be scratched out—replaced—in the finished work: We'll lay down a scratch track today and re-record it properly next week.
- demoShort trial presentation
- demo recordingPreliminary musical submission
- roughUneven in surface
- rough mixUnfinished audio arrangement
- guideLeader or instruction book
guide vocal · placeholder · reference · recording · vocals · studio · studio session · overdub · mixdown · temp · first pass · layering · multitrack · take · session · booth · headphones · click
scratch trackmaster
Authority or controller
final mix · master recording · final cut · gold master · keeper
scratch, track, scratched, scratching, scratches, scratcher, scratchy, tracked, tracking