FCA Boots/Tropes and Memes - 200515

Sponsored by "Music (random)".

FCA BOOTS

Did 4 different mixes in CE5 and mastered in AA3. I think I'll go with the fourth mix, but I have an idea for an edit which might be interesting - we'll see. It'll be based on the fourth mix anyway, so it'll only take a few minutes to try it out.

Had to do an emergency edit of the Ric bass parts and programme a new synth part - the latter may not be necessary.

TROPES AND MEMES

Did one mix in CE5 and mastered in AA3. A simpler task, even though that track is more complex than FCA. Such is life.

I'm starting to run out of time here, so I'm going to do a blitz of mixing/mastering over the next few weeks. Some distractions along the way of course - a.k.a. shtuff.

More tomorrow.

Regards,


djp

Accents/Helicopter Shots Of The City - 040115

Sponsored by "Last Played 2015".

Well, that was enjoyable! My roadtrip was postponed until the afternoon, which gave me a few hours to play around with.

ACCENTS

Solved the problem with the trailing decay. It was caused by putting the HALion Synstrings part through a long pre-fader reverb. Tracking the part (and the reverb) to audio in CE5, using the Phonic Firefly/Behringer Xenyx 1202 solved that problem and I can edit the audio to end exactly where I want it.

The track is now ready to mix/master.

HELICOPTER...

Had great fun "dubbing-up" the MIDI drum parts. Much trial and error was required, but I got there in the end. I realised that I need to set up a separate set of FX for each drum part, as sharing FX  between parts didn't work out for me. I wonder is there a limit to the number of FX channels I can have in CE5? Guess I'll find out tomorrow...;-)

Regards,


djp

FCA Boots - 020115

Sponsored by "Last Played 2012" and "Last Played 2013".

Programmed/edited a number of MIDI VST plugin parts in CE5 using the Roland Juno-D/Phonic Firefly/HALion One/ JP Analogue Stringpad. Not sure if I'm going to use all the parts, but I'll certainly use most of them.

I also took the opportunity to tweak some of the Ric bass parts and the MIDI drum parts. All is well now.

The track is bloody awesome as it is, but there's more to do on it at a later stage.

Check in later on when I will give an overview of the project status. Could be mildly interesting...;-).

Regards,


djp

My Troubles Are As Nothing Compared To Yours - 121214

Sponsored by "Ian Dury".

Edited the Ric and Godman 12-string parts in CE5. That came together rather easily, with the bare minimum (comparatively speaking) of tweaking.

Having much time to spare, I programmed  and edited a variety of MIDI VST plugins via the Roland Juno-D/Phonic Firefly/HALion One/Brass Fanfare/Mixed Percussion/Nanotron/Kore Player Sky Kit. Not too sure about the brass parts - they're a bit tricky to blend in easily with the...er...analogue timing of the 12-string and bass parts. Let's see...

Must do some more working on editing the drum parts. A job for next week, methinks...

Regards,


djp

Helicopter Shots Of The City - 281014

Sponsored by "The Boomtown Rats".

Programmed a strings-y MIDI part in CE5, using the Yamaha DX100/Phonic Firefly/HALion One SynStrings. Edited in CE5.

The track is now ready for the next stage. Time to move on.

More work tomorrow...

Regards,


djp

Accents - 251014

Sponsored by "Bob Dylan".

Busy day today. Programmed a variety of MIDI parts in CE5 using the Yamaha DX100/Phonic Firefly/HALion One Vintage Kit and SynStrings/Prologue Trill Pad. I also edited the various vocal parts in CE5, to fit in better with the MIDI parts I'd programmed.

The track sounds really good now. I'm at the point of either adding more elements to it or leaving it be. My preference is for the former, so that I can have scope for dubbing things up. I'll have a go at this next week.

Another one nearly done...

Regards,


djp

Me & The Fly - 121014

Sponsored by "Band Of Heathens".

New track - programmed 3 MIDI beat parts in CE5 using the Yamaha DX100/Phonic Firefly/HALion One Tekno Kit. Edited in CE5.

Hope to track Ric/Squier Strat parts for this over the next few days. Quick and nasty. This track (if it ever gets finished) is a candidate for the lead single from the album.

More work tomorrow.

Regards,


djp

Helicopter Shots Of The City - 290814

Sponsored by "Jason Mundok".

Edited the various MIDI drum parts in CE5. I substituted a number of parts in Kore Player Sky Kit for HALion One parts with which I was not entirely satisfied.

That is all...

Regards,


djp

Helicopter Shots Of The City - 280814

Sponsored by "January 2014" and "Japan/David Sylvian/Mick Karn".

Programmed a variety of MIDI drum parts in CE5, using the Roland Juno-D/Phonic Firefly/HALion One Jazzy Kit/Kore Player Sky Kit.

I hear a nice Wobble-esque bass line behind this. But that won't be for a while.

Two road trips over the weekend. Only one of them will be enjoyable...:-(.

Ah, me.

Regards,


djp

I Choose Indecision - 220814

Sponsored by "Hawkwind etc."

Eventful morning today. Had to rise at 2.30 a.m. to drive my younger daughter to Dublin Airport to catch an early morning flight to Sweden, where she will be studying for the next few months. Back home around 8.30, determined to make myself busy for the morning, even though I was feeling knackered.

In spite of my fatigue, I did some significant work on ...INDECISION. I finished programming and editing the drum parts in CE5, and then I programmed two addition synth parts using the Yamaha DX100/Phonic Firefly/HALion One New Wave Synth/Minimogue VA Simsynth 3. The Minimogue part is arpeggiated, but for some reason that I cannot fathom, the pattern for the arpeggio changes towards the end of the track without my intervention. I've tried to program it a number of times but the same thing keeps happening. Maybe my VST plugins are haunted...;-). I'll stick with what I have, because the track is coming together very nicely.

Now I'm starting to flag, so I reckon it's the leaba for the afternoon. It'll probably turn out to be a nice afternoon, too. Bastid...

Regards,


djp

I Can Explain...Everything/I Choose Indecision - 190814

Sponsored by "The Grateful Dead".

...EVERYTHING

Repeated yesterday's experience with the Loop Loft loops - different set today - DanceGate - and made up a fairly random beatbox drum part in CE5. Then programmed a number of VST plugin parts using the Yamaha DX100/Phonic Firefly/Sophia_1_1 2y2les/ Gargoyle Intereference (not my spelling...). I was checking out another plugin, when I decided it was good enough to use in a separate track, so that lead to...

...INDECISION

Programmed a trance-y part using Predator Dance. I was attempting to programme drum parts using HALion One T8AnalogKit, but I kinda ran out of steam, so I decided to leave at that for the day.

More work tomorrow (hopefully)...

Regards,


djp

Iye - 06 & 070714

Sponsored by "Cousin Silas" and "David Bowie".

I had two sessions with this track during the week, but due to technical problems with the internet I wasn't able to blog about them at the tine. Communication problems are sorted now (apparently...), so watch me catch up with meself big-time stylee...

060714

Programmed some MIDI drum parts in CE5 using the Roland Juno-D/Phonic Firefly/HALion One StereoGM/Kore Player Sky Kit. Some interesting Latin percussion stuff going on...

070714

Edited the MIDI drum parts in CE5. Also programmed/edited some melodic MIDI parts in CE5 using the Yamaha DX100/Phonic Firefly/Kore Player Morning Sun/FM8/Minimogue VA Big Drift. Tracked these parts in audio via the Behringer Xenyx 1202 mixer.

Track sounds mighty now. More work required in the future.

Regards,


djp

This Is Going To Take, Like, Forever - 090614

Sponsored by "Alvin Lee".

As mentioned the other day, I decided to have a bit of fun today. I took a few rough mixes of the backing track of TROPES..., reversed them and then inserted them into a new project file in CE5.

Then I edited a few short clips from the backing tracks and "repeated" them throughout the track. Each track was treated differently using VST plugin effects.

I toyed with importing the Strat parts that I am unlikely to use for TROPES... Suffice it to say, I'm unlikely to use them here either...;-).

I also got the mad notion to programme in an MIDI softsynth part (HALion One Sample & Hold Pad), purely because when messing around with that tone, the s&h synced with the tempo of the project file (no sync control on the synth, so I presume this would happen regardless of the tempo). For dub purposes, I tracked that part to audio using the Phonic Firefly and the Behringer Xenyx 1202. The net effect of this new part is to shed the polyrhythmic nature of the TROPES...backing track. It's much more "four-to-the-floor" now. No harm.

I have an idea for a nice Wobblesque bass part which I'll have a pop at tomorrow. And I hear massed choirs of moi in there too.

Regards,


djp

I Am A Shadow Of Your Former Self/Iye - 260514

Sponsored by "40s Music".

I was going to do the devil and all today. But the real world intervened, so I had to make do with what I did, which is what I did...

...SHADOW...

Played the track for the first time in months - I'd forgotten what it sounded like, to be honest - and decided that it needed a stringsy synth part, so I programmed up a part in CE5, using the Yamaha DX100/Phonic Firefly/HALion One SynStrings. There was a lot of trial and error before I finally decided on the voice to use. I then decided to track it to audio using the Behringer Xenyx 1202. Audio cleanup in AA3 and inserted into the relevant project file in CE5.

I have an idea for an extra element to the track, but I won't share that with you for now. Enigmatic...

IYE

I decided to start a new track, but only got as far as programming up a rough beats track in CE5. Ran out of enthusiasm (for today), but I will come back to it. Pwomiss...

Regards,


djp

You'll Never Miss Your Mother Till The Well Runs Dry - 110514

Sponsored by "Jah Wobble".

After my spell "out forrin" last week, I finally got a change to get back in the saddle today.

Programmed various MIDI drum parts in CE5, using the Roland Juno-D/Phonic Firefly/Kore Player Sky Kit/HALion One Jazzy Kit. All edited and everything.

More programming tomorrow.

Regards,


djp

Is Everybody Happy Yet? - 290414

Sponsored by "Grizzly Bear".

Programmed and edited various MIDI drum parts in CE5, using the Roland Juno-D/Phonic Firefly/Kore Player Sky Kit/HALion One Jazzy Kit.

Still haven't had the Juno-D serviced yet. Will do so in due course. In the meantime I found a workaround that will allow me to program the drum parts on it OK. Not sure if I'm happy with all the tones I've chosen, but that can be remedied in due course.

That's it for now. Real life kicks in this afternoon...;-).

Regards,


djp

Mare Nostrum - 020414

Sponsored by "Deep Purple".

New song today.

Are you ready for a long story? Good, pull up a sheep and sit down...

You will be aware that I generally track audio on my Tascam 2488. Turns out I actually have two of 'em - one is permanently set-up in the Gulag, while the other one (the Gulag Mobile) is used when I record outside the studio (as in vocals, which are recorded in a walk-in wardrobe). I bought the second one secondhand several years ago with a view to working on a particular project which never materialised (but that's another story). It was in storage for several years, and it was only when I moved into the new gaff that I decided to take it out of the box and, like, see if it actually worked. It did.

A while back, I decided to clear out the second one in preparation for some recording. I discovered that the previous owner had left a lot of recorded material on the machine - band rehearsals for a metal band. Most of it wasn't to my taste, but I was very impressed with the drumming - pretty good time-keeping and quite "busy". The drums were recorded over several tracks of audio and while possibly not the best recordings you'll have ever heard (rather "hot" and no separation between the tracks), I decided to save all the drum tracks with a view to potentially using them some day in the future...

...and today was that "some day".

I took one set of drum tracks (over 6-channels) and imported them into a new project file in CE5. I couldn't be bothered trying to work out what the tempo was (which would possibly have changed throughout the track anyway), so today's task was to play keyboards (always a challenge anyway) by ear.

I programmed a variety of MIDI VST plugins in CE5, using the Yamaha DX100/Phonic Firefly/HALion One Dreamy Spheres/4Front Rhode/Kore Player Holographic Lights. I edited most of the tracks "by ear", as I have no strict reference points to go by in terms of bars and beats. Worked out way better than I expected.

The track has a huge post-punk sound, with the live drum parts adding a wonderful dynamic dimension. The track is going to end up sounding like classic Simple Minds with John Bonham on the traps. You'll be impressed. Got the vibe of a single about it.

I must do some more synth editing, and then track guitar/bass parts. It'll be much easier to play the axes by ear than synths. I have form in this regard...

Get Band email for free at ReverbNation.com

Regards,


djp

Gomorrah - 180314

Sponsored by "Classical Music".

Programmed up a variety of MIDI drum and percussion parts in CE5 using the Roland Juno-D/Phonic Firefly/HALion One Jazzy Kit & Mixed Percussion/Kore Player Sky Kit.

A lot  of editing to be done here, but I won't be around for much of the next week or so. Off to Lisbon on a business trip - lucky moi. The editing will have to wait until I return. In the meantime, I'll have a go at tracking some bass parts tomorrow. It's been a while...;-).

Regards,


djp

You Have My Heart Scalded - 050314

Sponsored by "Bob Mould".

This session started out badly, as my ancient old PC started acting up for a while. But after several reboots and a few tactical decisions on my part, it finally started to behave itself and earn its corn. As it were...

Programmed and edited number of VST plugin parts in CE5, using the Roland Juno-D/Phonic Firefly/HALion One JP Analogue Stringpad and Brite Clav. I now have a pretty firm idea of where the track is going, so I shall leave it for a while and move on to something else next week.

Regards,


djp

You Have My Heart Scalded - 030314

Sponsored by "Bob Dylan".

Programmed various MIDI drum parts in CE5 using the Roland Juno-D/Phonic Firefly/HALion One Jazzy Kit & Percussion/Kore Player Sky Kit. Was going to have a go at editing them, but I got sidetracked, so that's a job for tomorrow.

Til tomorrow, then...;-).

Regards,


djp