The Home Of Booker J Wood

Waves Multirack - LIVE and Ampless?

2012-01-06T10:29:00.001+01:00

(Originally posted on the Six String Bliss Forum)

Playing a show without Amps? Purely with Laptops? Hmmmmm..... interesting !

(Note the fake stacks behind the guitarist!!!)

Well, not like THAT !!! Haha ....

You know? Instead of carrying around huge, heavy amplifiers for everybody, why not let everybody connect to a Laptop?
Ok, to be fair, Larry has talked to me about this a few days ago ... so I had time to think about it some (for those knowing me, that means mega-reasearch, software tests, recordings, reading manuals, reading reviews and online tests, making scetches, .... LOL)

It's not a 'new' topic really. A few years ago PT himself also pondered if he could use GuitarRig in a LIVE session. This came just after a new version came out and they really advertised the 'LIVE' capabilities. The idea of ...

Guitar ---> Interface/Controller ---> Laptop ---> PA
(well, actually from Interface OUT to PA/mixer/console)

Guitarists have however shrugged away from 'using a laptop as their rig' for a long time. Besides all the bla-bla about 'having a real tube amp behind you blowing your wig into the crowd', the biggest 'concern' has been the 'reliablity' of a Laptop on stage. (I'm not even gonna go into the 'quality' of amp sims aspect)

"What if it hangs up in the middle of a set?"

A valid concern, but as the years have passed on ... a GOOD laptop can be as stable (considering you dont mess it up with tons of other software crap or dodgy OS installations) as a rock these days. Look at those DJ's and dance-music bands ..... going onto the stage with a TABLE full of PC's, Laptops, controllers ...... seems to work for them, right? And as our good buddy Gavin will tell you, theres shitload that can go wrong in an 'classic' enviroment these days too. I wonder how many mid-sized gigs there are these days that DONT have some PC, Laptop-thing in the sound setup? Some people even have dual Laptops setup as a hot-standby. Just in case.
There is this bar/grill around the corner .... looks like a mini HardRock Cafe inside .... that regularily has small bands or one-man artists stand in the corner play some tunes while people are eating. There's one guy that has used a Guitar-interface-pedal-Laptop-setup for years now and I've spoken to him many times. His MAIN advice: DONT use that laptop for your general internet browing, email stuff. JUST audio. Purely for gigs! Set it up decently, make image backups and dont mess with it ... then you have no problems really!

What are we talking about here?

Note! Please remember, that I'm the WORST to ask when it comes to LIVE performances. Unfortunately, I never have, and probably never will, played infront of people, or on a stage infront of a crowd ...... I'm merely looking at the technical aspect from MY point of view

Let's say we have this :

Guitar 1 : Electric guitar, with a few pedals behind it .... delay, chorus, fuzz ... into an Amp

Guitar 2 : A Guitar with a stereo output. One line going to a acoustic amp, the other to a normal amp

Bass : going into his own 15" Bass amp

Vocals : fed into some vocal processor (reverb, compressor)

(lets not worry about the drummer now, he can carry his own crap !! LOL)

NOW think about all the amps, cables, pedals, adapters, powercables, stands! A shitload to carry around and set up every time.

What if we could have an interface that takes multiple inputs (and has a lot of outputs too)
What if we could feed ALL 3 guitars and the vocals into that interface ONLY
What if the interface is connected to a laptop that handles the FX and signal processing
What if the interface sends these outputs (either sum or individually) to a small console and from there to the PA?
What if we had a MIDI foot controller, that not only can call up a setup for the whole gig, but also lets us change the setup per song ... or even within PARTS of a song?
What if it even lets us control any plug-in for a guitar (like a virtual delay pedal) in real time? Or switch the vocal 'echo' off at some stage. In real time?

I know what you're thinking! (My fav Magnum phrase )

"PT had ONE guitar going into the laptop that was running ONE instance of GuitarRig and he could control anything in that rig FOR HIMSELF. Fine, but Multiple instruments? At the same tme? Each with their own fx chain / rigs setup ... AND CHANGABLE through one foot controller? Surely that isn't doable or would take one MONSTER PC, right?"

DOABLE!

What this requires is a virtual 'rack' system. Just imagine, you have something running that :

lets you set up a 'rack' for each input and feeds to its own output
lets you setup up an effect chain inside EACH rack. Like a rack for Guitar 1 .... having an amp sim in there with some virtual stomp boxes, and another rack with effects for the singer. Two seperate racks for each of the stereo inputs ... again, having their own fx chain / amp sim etc
lets you not only lets you save the WHOLE setup with the racks .... as a 'gig session', but that also lets you quickly call up variations of the racks .... like certain sounds for certain songs, or even parts of songs. Taking a 'snapshot' of the setup so to speak.
lets you set up a foot controller that lets you navigate between the racks AND between the individual plugs-ins inside a fx chain in any of the racks.
lets you CONTROL any of those plugins .... switching ON/OFF a distortion pedal, Wah .... or ping-pong of a delay pedal- lets you have it 'crash controlled' at all times. So if the software SHOULD stop/crash etc, when you call it up again it'll open in an instant EXACTLY where it ... and YOU were before the crash

Sounds nice, hey?

Without you KNOWING it, I have JUST not only given you an idea, but at the same time, have explained to you exactly how Waves Multirack works!! HAH !!! How's THAT for a hidden crash-course? ;-)

Have a look a the pictures and you'll recognize all aspects I mentioned above.

(click on the images to get a bigger view)

The catches?

Ok, obviously I havent tested it with SO many instruments as my interface CAN only handle 2 inputs at the same time. THAT I have tried though. Guitar and mic ... each in their own rack with their own plugins. But from the tons of videos I've seen so far .... it works!

And, of course, the more proccesing you put in there, the more power and RAM you need .... but we are talking about Larrys Super-duper i7 Laptop as a reference and THAT should handle it easily.

Next 'catch' ..... this is Waves and due to the integration of the racks, the plugs and controlls, you can ONLY use it in a Waves enviroment. So no third-party VST plugins, no GuitarRig, no Amplitube. BUT ... Waves probably has the best and high-end plugins in the professional world, and it has GTR3 an awesome amp sim (developed with Paul Reed Smith) .... and as we know, presets and sounds in these amp sims are what YOU make of them. So if you're not TOO hung up about THAT specific preset in GR5 .... you'll get GREAT sounds out of GTR3!!!

And here we are at the next 'catch' .... COST! Obviously! Waves Multirack is software. You can buy it on its own for around $250.- which isnt too bad at all ..... but that will give you the racks, a superb Waves H-Delay plugin and the IR-L Reverb (both found in most pro studios) plugin. Nice! But what about the rest? Well, you'll have to look through Waves plugins and/or bundles to find out what plugs wotj with this and how you can get them. Its an investment. Remember that you can use ALL these plugins in your Recording enviroment too !!! And they rock, but you'll have to buy some .... I guess.

Compatibility chart:
http://www.waveslive.com/pdf/multirack-products.pdf

For LOTS more infos, pictures, interviews, tech details etc look under ...

http://www.waveslive.com/html/multirack.aspx
http://www.waveslive.com/html/multirack-native-quick-start.aspx

Pheewwwww .... LONG post. And I dunno how practical this all is ON a stage, but my aim here was to show you a 'view' into that kin of scenario and the possibilities todays stuff offers you

PLEASE remember !! Even this solution/option will bring along its own problems any annoyances. My aim wasnt to 'sell the idea' .... just to show that it IS possible .... where a few years ago, it would've been one major pain ! :-)

J

Merry Christmas 2011 ... and a lesson in life !

2011-12-23T15:19:00.001+01:00

Wheeeeee. It's Christmas 2011 !!!! I hope you ALL have a great one filled with love and joy ..... if you're lucky .... some presents too (even if you HAVE to get them yourself ;-) )

As I bought myself the Explorer just before my birthday (2 weeks ago), that sorta covers Christmas as well :-) But even before that, I'm not gassing for guitars as such so much anymore as I think the ones I have now, more than cover any of my needs. Software wise, there's always some I'd LIKE to have/try out but I also have to admit that I dont really NEED anything. A new audio interface will come as soon as I have a GOOD excuse not replace this old one. M-Audio interfaces dont seem to break easily, so maybe this one will still hold up quite a while longer. A new audio PC? Check. I still have my controllers and my studio monitors and I am very happy with them. No need for any replacement or upgrading. My 24" wide screen is great and a bigger one only makes sense if it has a bigger resulotion than my current 1920x1080. And those are still too pricey. I can wait.

So? Am I happy? Hmmm ... not really. Why not? I know I SHOULD be! And in terms of health, job and family, I CERTAINLY am. But in terms of 'music making'? Meh! So, what's the problem?

Well, with all these toys, guitars, hardware devices etc. I have successfully removed ANY excuse to finally DO something with it. Even 'lessons' dont interest me too much. I'm still going through my 'Total Rock Guitar' book and its certainly helping a lot and I'm learning new techniques, licks, tunes etc. But I know at the end of it, I'll be standing infront of the 'Same ole Situation' (to quote Mötley Crüe ;-) )

It all boils down to ONE thing. I HAVE to do / write / record / think of / make up / cheat / whatever my OWN songs !!!! EVERYTHING points to that, yet I really dunno what to do or where to start. Am I even talented in that way? I've got TONS of books and stuff where it says "Anybody can write a song" Yeah RIGHT! VERY freakin funny !!!

Can every person 'write' his own songs? Maybe not. So who says I can? But I really WANT to!! To me, thats been the aim of playing guitar ALL along. Some people are happy jamming with friends in a pub, some like to build guitars, modify them, modify pedals and build their own amplifiers. To me, my whole aim to play guitar is to ... ~~get the girls~~ (that never worked back then either !! LOL) ... ehh ... to write, record and have my OWN creations! Anything else makes me feel like I'm on route to something else and that 'This isn't it'!!
Is it because I'm on my own? Look at my fav (Rock) composers. Keith and Mick, Steven and Joe, Angus and Malcolm, James and Lars, John and Paul. Is it the combination that makes the difference? Then again there are just as many that write on their own. Can I?

ONE big mistake, I actually made myself!!! For YEARS, I thought one has only 'written a song' when you have THIS infront of you:

That's it. THERE you have a song. Anything less than a full score of music isn't a song, right? WRONG ! Thats what I thought, and typically me, I tried to look for the steps or some kind of formular to get there. I only found CONFUSION! No wonder! I was (again) doing it all wrong.

So what is one to do? No matter HOW many people on YouTube or other documentaries tell you that "There is no formular" and "Sometimes a songs 'just comes along'" and "sometimes I have a melody, other times a riff or a drum loop...." YOU DONT BELIEVE THEM! How can I follow a 'crash course' on songwriting when they say THAT? Maybe my brain has been switched to 'Logical Thinking Mode' too long. And where I'm glad to be able to think logically MOST of the time, HERE .... it's totally useless!! You sit and hum a tune and a song comes along? Pffff..... I wish! I either fall asleep or think about how to solve the next LOGICAL software problem I have at work. See?

AM I DOOMED ?

DONT answer that just yet :-P ;-) In SO many other things or situations I can be creative as hell. Coming up with some weird and wild 'ideas'. Just ask my collegues! NO sign of 'Logical thinking' there at all! So it CANT be that. The problem must be my 'approach' and 'definition' as to what a song is and how to go about getting to that point (wherever that may be).
A spark of light came very recently when some guys on the Six String Bliss Forum where discussing some music theory and Bill posted this little 'chart':

Have a look at it. Its a nice little chart talking about some commonly used chord progressions, the Roman numeral system, The Circle Of Fifth's etc. ALL things I know very well and know my way around. I can substitude chords to make other progressions. I know about the keys, the notes in it, how to look for fitting other keys etc etc. Picking a nice progression that could be a verse ... and something that 'fits' that could be a chorus etc. So what? Big deal. I do that all the time.

Then, right below where it describes all that, comes a sentence that SHOOK MY WORLD. A sentence that BOWLED ME OVER and totally FLOORED me. After stringing together some verse-like chords and maybe some for a chorus it says ....

"Voila! You just wrote your first song and it sounds awesome, just play it on the guitar (...) and write some lyrics from the heart, congratulations you've got your first hit. "

WHAT? That was IT ????? THAT is a song already? A progression or two? In a verse and maybe a chorus and some simple lyrics and .......... HEY! WAIT A MINUTE! Did'nt I JUST describe that I've been doing that all along? Arent THOSE the things I ALWAYS do, more or less, at home and stop because I think I should START writing a song now? Where in fact I have PASSED that stage long ago? I was looking for the 'start' of a song while I was already smack in the middle of it !!!
I was too busy looking for a 'overall picture' of a song, trying to see the song 'as a whole' in my head ... before building it up. And I missed the little LEGO pieces I already held in my hands. Foolish bastard !! :-P

Ok, ok! I KNOW a 'song' that can be recorded, played and maybe put on a record isn't done by just 'strumming some chords in some order' and humming some rubbish. Then the song isn't FINISHED but it sure as hell has already taken shape and could become a full song. A few chords in a basic song structure, some beat below your butt and a little melody on top. THATS a song!

I can do that! Can't I? Eventhough I LOVE my Explorer, I think this is the best Christmas present I've given myself in a LONG time. Nothing 'material', but a 'new way of looking at a problem and seeing that the solution was there all along'. I'm going to apply that from now on and maybe, just maybe, I'll eventually get to that point. A couple of songs of my own.

Isn't THAT a lesson we can apply to our every day? Sit down and re-think? Stop trying to go through the wall head first! Maybe sit down and remember that you have a ladder in the shed ;-)

We spend WAY too much time defending our OWN (or that of others) definitions of something, that are maybe not 100% correct in the first place (in this case, my idea of what a song is) Maybe we should try to shut up more and realize that 'our point of view' is a result of our charachter, our surrounding, our 'likes', our upbringing, our stubbornness and the stuff we chose to read. We are easily fooled!

"The day you think you are an expert, is the day you stop listening and learning."

- The Book Of Jan

Think about it ;-)

A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to ALL of you out there !!!!

Reaper. What's the catch?

2011-12-02T12:13:00.001+01:00

Cockos Reaper. 5 Mb. $60.- That can't be much then, can it? And IF it is so good .....

What's the catch?

Well, the 'catch' really is 'added content' ! But is that really a 'catch'? With most of the other, bigger, more expensive DAW's ...... you have 'monsters' that have the experience of MANY years, and are VERY good (!!) but that also got very BLOATED (because of the ever ongoing competition) They include things like an audio editor, notation, included virtual instruments, drum loops, high-end effects, other loop libraries, and and and ......... Reaper says

"That might be cool, but lets make a DAW that is as 'powerfull' as those ones but stripped of all the fuzz around it ..... "

For the people who only want THAT! Many out there dont want/need the 'extras' ..... and if they do, they can add 3rd party ones as they wish. If you want loads of added samples, loops, instruments, look at some of the other great packages!!
The 'big boys' all have 'entry level' or 'scaled-down' versions of their products, but those came around AFTER their flagships .... and due to the sale and experiences of those audio engines, they now CAN bring out those smaller versions. And it funded BY the sales of the big ones.

The biggest omissions are the notation tool ... and the internal audio editor. In Reaper you can't double click an audio clip and actually 'edit' the wav. But many people dont ever really do that anyway. We can cut up a clip, resize, loop, copy and paste, glue them together ...... or re-record if it sucked in the first place. If you DO want to use an audio editor ..... you CAN use the one of your choice like Sound Forge or Wavelab .... and actually TIE that into Reaper. This way, if you want to edit the audio in Reaper, Reaper will open up that clip IN your editor ..... where you can do whatever you want, and when you save it and close the editor .... you are back in Reaper and the clip is changed. No need to first export .... look for the editor, make changes, save, import into Reaper again etc ....... Easy as pie ;-)
These ommisions are a big factor as to why Reaper is so small and why its so cheap! (Plus the fact that the others have huge companies ... so who KNOWS what else you are actually financing when buying a DAW for $700 ? )

Another 'thing' that confuses people coming from many other DAWs ..... is the way MIDI and Virtual Instruments are handled. In most other DAWs .... you have audio tracks, midi tracks and even instrument tracks (a combination of the other two). And if you have a Synth or any VSTi .... you need to put it on a 'Instrument Rack'. Then you have to start routing your signal ....... your MIDI drum must be routed to the Instrument rack (watch those channels etc). The you need another audio track to actually receive the audio from that again ....... bla bla bla
Why? Because thats a direct simulation of how things work outside in the analog world and ...... this gives you a HUGE amount of flexibility for routing, grouping, inserts, aux etc etc

BUT .... can't it be done easier (maybe with a little less flexibility)?

Yes! In Reaper you have tracks. Period! Thats it! And it doesnt care a flying shit is you want to use it for audio, midi, as a 'group channel', 'aux' ..... whatever. It's a track and it handles everything the same way (to you anyway). Choose a (audio) input and hit RECORD ... and it'll record what comes in (guitar, microphone, ... ). What can be more straightforward than that? It IS that 'tape machine' isn't it?
Every track has 'FX' slots. Which are basically 'inserts'. Slots you can load with 'effects'. So ...... pop a reverb plug-in in one of those slots, and the signal (ALL of the signal) goes THROUGH that effect (which you can twiddle with as you want) and out on the other side where it goes to your master chanel and stereo output. GuitarRig, Amplitude, TH2, ReValver ..... are ALL effects. And handled in EXACTLY the same way.

If you put a MIDI clip on a tracks it'll play that. What? Can't hear anything? Of course you can't. It's MIDI commands! No audio! We need an 'synth/instrument/tool' to PLAY (and come up with some sort of audio by itself) those MIDI notes! So ..... we'll pop a VSTi (a virtual INSTRUMENT) on a MIDI track (in one of the FX slots) ..... and it will follow the MIDI commands and do as it's told. Nothing more, nothing less. It will use its OWN audio library (or sound generator as in the case of synths) to supply you (or rather the track) the audio. The signal (now audio due to your amazing VSTi) will come out and be send to the master channel (default) JUST as the other audio track.

And thats it. Doesn't that cover 90% of our needs? Reaper has a big user community and forum, and most of what they put INTO Reaper, is what is requested by the people out there. Also HOW it is used. This results in a DAW ... as the people want it to be like. Thats why there are so many updates .... its because it has a continuous inetraction with the users. If a serious bug is found, you can be SURE there'll be a new version out in DAYS!!! And these 'updates' are always the complete thing ..... and with a 5MB footprint for the WHOLE ting, its heaps smaller than a 'update-only' from many other tools.

And due to the well thought-out configuration and settings, you can just install a new version OVER your current one. No need to first un-install the old one. It'll keep ALL your settings ...... except if it's a MAJOR update v3-v4 ........ where you migth have to adjust 1-2 thigns again due to some fundamental changes in the program.

That's Reaper. It's internal 64bit floating point audio processing etc make sure you have exactly the same quality (or better!!!) audio processing as the big DAW's.

So what if it doesn't include a notation tool ?

J

PS. THAT is basically how I would explain and show Reaper to a person that is looking at it for the first time

My new Epiphone 1984 Explorer

2011-11-19T14:19:00.001+01:00

Haven't posted it here yet .... and all I can say is that I'm REALLY loving it. I was a bit weary about those people that said 'EMGs are only for Metal' ........ not so at all. Ok, eventhough I'm currently having great fun revisiting ALL my amp sims and trying out all those 'high gain' presets I previously didn't have use for ....... it certainly makes for some AWESOME crunchy and clean sounds too!!!

So .. yes, I've focussed SO long on getting superb sounds for my Les Pauls ..... and in EVERY amp sim there were tons of presets that just sounded horrible with the LP. But now ... differernt guitar, and especially ..... EMG pickups. First I tried the usual amps I always used .... and certainly wasn't very happy ..... then I tried out the 'others' ..... and got goosebumps :-) Takes a while sifting through all the possibilities, but I'm loving it. Plays GREAT .... feels AWESOME and sounds STUNNING ;D ;) 8-)

So ... as this is supposed to be a nod to Metallica's James Hetfield's 1984 Explorer ..... please welcome ...... 'James' !

Oh, and best I found for this guitar .... Peavey, Randall, Brunetti, Diezel and Engl amps :-)
Rudolf Schenker already called and wanted me to come over and jam ;D ;)

J

Just released ... our 'Guilty Pleasures' Album !!

2011-11-19T13:46:00.001+01:00

YAY!!! It's finally here !!

Our 8th (!!!!) Six String Bliss Album, named 'Guilty Pleasures' was again presented in a superb 'Album Episode by Alicia and Clint Searcy!!! Their moderation and the quality of the submissions made this yet another GREAT show to listen to.

If you haven't done so yet ....... you can listen to the Episode. The link is at the bottom of this article.

Then, you can download he Album as a whole FOR FREE !! ... onto your PC and get the cover art (VERY well done by Bill Reid) and read the liner notes as well .... where the artists give some more detail about their tracks. Remember ... this is 100% FREE and you are welcome share the album with friends and family if you want to (and we all know you DO ;-) )

Listen to the Album Episode

Download the Album

Enjoy!!! Oh and EVERYBODY (Yes, even YOU Mom! LOL) can log onto the Six String Bliss Forum and give some feedback on the Album. You know we ALL would LOVE to hear some feedback on our little fun albums ;-)

Here's the link to the Forum thread ...
http://sixstringbliss.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=3130&page=1
Hope to 'read' from you all soon :-)

J

Banging one out - The Final

2011-10-18T11:23:00.002+02:00

HAH! Done! Where was I last? Ok, Thursday. I knew I didn't have much time on Friday and the weekend, so I used Friday to set up a vocal track, route it to another track ('bus') where the effects would lie. Microphone setup, stand all in place, levels checked etc etc. Saturday was a bit hectic, and it being my Anniversary .... the evening was spend eating out, so no 'time' (and for the sake of peace) no studio work ;-)

Sunday. After a few .... ehh .... ok, a LOT of takes (and I'm JUST talking the first verse here) ..... it VERY quickly became clear that THIS wasn't gonna happen. Yes! I KNOW people keep telling me 'my voice isn't bad' .... maybe for talking (although that German-South African accent can't be overheard) ..... but I just can't keep key. It drives me insane. I REALLY envy the people that can pick up a guitar, strum some chords and sing a simple tune. My wife immediately gives me a 'worrying look' and my daughter normally keels over laughing. WHAT GREAT SUPPORT !!! LOL :-) :-)
Tried to sing 'normal voice' ... lower, higher ... nope. Ok, but whats the big deal? Many people can't sing right? I don't HAVE to, do I ? (And my family will thank me for it). Ther is no realy desire, money time to even THINK about lessons as such. I tired .... I can't sing. Finito! The ONLY problem is ..... if one like making music ... and can't sing ... one would normally form a band together with some people, one of whom CAN sing. But what does one do when that isn't really an option. Play mindless chord progression and rhythm part all the time? Boooooooriing !!!!
As I posted on FB, I think ..... on Sunday. I saved the session with all those takes. Switched everything off, poured myself a glass of Jameson's Whiskey with Ginger Ale, grabbed my 'cuddle blanket' and sulked infront of the TV for the remainder of Sunday evening!!! LOL

Then came Monday. I carried a cold through the whole weekend, and got most of it under control, but decided to stay at home on Monday to avoid the cold outside. So there I was. What to do? I HAD to come up with something ....... bailing out on this project was NOT an option! Not only do I alwys try to keep to my commitments .... but Alicia would have f#*%/&$ killed me !!! Hah !! ;-)

The answer came via another Six String Bliss Album, "The British Are Coming". I did 'Stripped' in a Rammstein-like, dark voice effect, type of thing. And .... even if it DOES seem like "Oh no ... not again one of those 'Cookie Monster' vocals ..... that was the only thing I could think of. THANKS to my track sheets ..... HAH! I KNEW they would come in handy!!! ..... I could look up as to what effects I used on which tracks etc etc ...... by just looking on the sheet. I didn't have to re-opne some project that has been archived and wouldn't open completely because I don't have all the used plug-ins installed at this time.

The one I used is one of a set of plug-ins from the UHBIK collection. Some funky Phasers, Flangers, Granular pitch shifters etc. This one above is real cool for mangling vocals etc. So I used it again .... together with some other 'general' vocal strips.

The result isn't pretty. But I decided, keeping with my initial intention of 'Banging one out' ..... I didn't want to start NOW with high-end tools or production. So, after 'raping' those vocals ....... I just tweaked the 'overall' a bit and send it off! Gone. That's it.

It's by far not my best ..... but it's an interesting one. Also, the whole AIM here was to see IF it was/is possible to do a track in a 'few hours/days'. It IS! I would just say it depends if you are the 'sit down, strum and sing' type .... or if you are like me. In case you are like me and CAN'T just grab a acoustic and sing into a mic ..... then it's vital to do some 'planning'. A little planning doesn't take long and it saves you time down the road. If you use your PC / DAW and lots of amp sims and plug-ins to do your music, then it's doable.

I'm not gonna spell out every step I did, most of that was aparent in the previous posts. Basically ..

Get all scores, tabs, that you can. Watch all the YouTube video you can find
Organize everything in your MIDI Editor till the song is 99,9% as you want to 'do' it
Do the drums and other MIDI tracks that require VSTi's first.
Print out the Bass core and use a VSTi for the Bass MIDI track. Record your own bass to that. You will then be left with a basic backing track with drums, bass and maybe pianos and/or synths.
Printout the guitar scores and identify the sections and learn the main parts.
Record each track, playing in the parts (intro, verse, chorus, bridge) if you can't record it in 'one-go'
Set up a track for vocals also record the parts. You might want some reverb etc on the vocals to make it sound better to you when you record. A second vocal track might be handy to get those transitions not be so abrupt. Or ... try crossfades.
If needed another track for backing vocals
When all tracks are in and you have a rough idea about the mix ('rough mixing' occurs all the time) ...... go to each track and tweak as needed. Compression, some EQ ..... don't overdo it and keep looking at the overal 'mix' all the time
When all tracks are 'tweaked' and the mix sounds good. Render to MP3 and play for a day or two on various media. Make notes about changes and things you migth want different.
Do the changes and audition more mixes ... till you find one that you are happy with.
Run the stereo mix (remember to leave a little headroom) though some 'Mastering' tools to give it that extra 'gloss'. This shouldn't 'alter' the sound .... just give it that little sparkle that will make it stand out.

That in a nutshell :-P It's just a 'sample rundown' it doesn't HAVE to be done like that :-)

Thanx for all the support, and don't be too harsh when you hear the tune on Six String Bliss soon ;-) :-)

J

Banging one out - Thursday

2011-10-14T09:09:00.005+02:00

Cutting Tape! Haha ........ funny to think back in the 80's we actually did that :-) Long gone those days ....... or not? ;-)

Thursday came and went. I can tell you, I learn from EVERY project I do, and this one is no exception. Why? Well ..... the idea behind 'Banging one out' is to do a tune .....a SIMPLE tune .... in a very short space of time. Not so much as in 1-2 full days in aone go, but more ...... as us 'day-job, family-dads' ......... over a few days but with little pieces of time every now and then. This kills you, because as we all know from our day-jobs, it takes a while to 'get back into' things, and JUST as you are having fun ......... time is up and you gotta do something else.
Thats why on THIS project I wanted to hightlight how I think one can still do things in 'limited time' (a better phrase, I guess) ..... if you plan things a bit.

There are the people who can sit down, think for 3 seconds and then lay down an awesome track. I HATE ALL OF YOU !! :-P ;-) Haha. Don't worry .... Not really, I'm just jealous. :-) I wasn't born with this (musical) talent .... so I gotta WORK to get something down. And to help me USE the small amount of time I have when I'm actually infront of my desk ...... I try to get everything sorted out .... in my head or on paper ..... before that, so I can practically sit down, call up the project, plug in, tune up, check the levels, mark the section and RECORD!
So when people laugh at my 'score sheets, 'track sheets', notes etc ..... its actually only my AID to get prepared. And on THIS project I wanted to see/test if it actually pays off. It does ... for me anyway!

Beginning of the week I laid down a timeframe when I wanted to do what. I have to admit, that was VERY optimistic. If one had the WHOLE day at home .... yes, then it IS doable. But if you can only spend 1-2 hours after work ..... after 6PM ...... and done't even have a seperate room of your own to 'hide away from and do things in private' ..... then it's damn difficult.

But I wasn't far off really. The only mistake I made is to put ONE day aside for guitars. Remembering that 'day' actually means 1-2 hours at home in my living room with family behind me ...... that was stupid. Of cause ALL this is set on MY song. If you have a huge track with multiple instruments, lots of guitars etc ....... then this won't work. I have two guitars tracks which are very similar. I thought it might be better to split it up in two days. The first day to get in the basics! Verses. Chorus. Intro. Those kind of things. The 'meat' of the guitar parts. And ONLY do that. Try to get GOOD recordings and don't worry too much about 'the other parts' on that day.
So yesterday 'Guitar Day 2' .... I did the bridge, the outro, the little lead variation in one section. A little slide-in here and a better fade there. It's still a VERY basic track .... and not what some guitarists refer to as 'candy'. That might still come later. The second day I used for the 'little extras' and 'variations' on the two normal guitar tracks. Done! Hard to say what it'll all sound like in the end, cause one really only can tell when all the tracks .... so INCLUDING the vocals .... are in and it's mixed properly. I've given Larry (Ashbrookmusic) a short little 'sneak peek', so he can tell you what it sounds like so far ;-)

Anything special about yesterdays sessions? Well .... if I can give you guys one tip ..... "Get to know your editing tools in your DAW" Once you get to know them and realize what you CAN do, it's a treat!!! Reaper's editing of cause doesn't come close to the 'real audio editing' as in Pro Tools. There you actually can edit the WAVEFORM of your clip .....awesome. Here in Reaper they make do without an internal Audio Editor. You can link any other external TO your DAW .... so double-clicking on a audio clip would open tha inside say .... WaveLab, but I found good 'cuttings skills' gets you a LONG way. I had a to with Dave MacLeod about this once and he sees it the same. See this as the Engineers a few years had to work with tape. Split things up, paste and glue sections together etc. This is how you can work here too .... BUT with so many advantages. You can SEE the waveform, you can cut a piece out, copy it .... and replace any part of the clip.
To do this .... use your zoom tool and REALLY zoom into the section you're working with. I mean Zoom in DEEEP ! Also switch off you 'snap to grid' funtion. Then you can cut pieces out ('split') and put things together ('glue') as you want to. So if there is this one riff and you JUST can't get that last note right ..... even after trying 200 times and wasting 3 hours ........ play the part up TO that not and stop ..... then have it play, listen and ONLY hit that one note. With your 'editing skills' you can go in SO fine to join these two together, move it in the exact right place ....... nobody will know !!! And you saved yourself a LOT of time ! :-)
And if you think that is 'cheating' ...... then you're being naive! I collect bands 'Making Of' DVD's .... bands like Metallica, ACDC, Aerosmith, Foo Fighters ........ thats how it's done in many a pro studio as well. Besides ...... lets be honest, it'S the result that counts. HOW you got there .... who cares? ;-)

So, where are we with our schedule? Thanx to Alicia, we have some extra days. NOT A LOT ... so don't think you guys can relax now, GET CRACKING!! This is your chance !!!

I think I'm going to see if I can get things done acording to this ...

Monday - PreProd & Drums
Tuesday - Bass
Wednesday - Guitars (main parts)
Thursday - Guitars (extras)
Friday - Vocals (prepare, learn, set up the track .... get a first take?)
Saturday - Vocals (LOTS of more takes of the main parts, I'm guessing :-P)
Sunday - Vocals (more takes and backup vocals) + first rough Mixes
Early next week - listen to rough mixes a LOT, making notes
...

We'll see how it goes.

Side Note : And then I see that Steve Benford has send his in and says "It's pretty sweet" ...... now, for those of you that don't know him, that like as if Mutt Lange would say "It's a hit" ................ geez :-P ;-) I'm trying VERY hard not to think about how 'stupid' my tune may/will sound next to Steve's ;-) ....... Oh well, too late now ;-)

Banging one out - Wednesday (Evening)

2011-10-12T21:02:00.001+02:00

Wednesday eveing and I've played in a large part of the guitar tracks. All of it? No ... I got home a little late and the family was all around the whole time, so I had to do all the recording with headphones. So ... before I get into trouble here, I decided to call it a night. :-)

Also, as I have one or two more days, I decided to not rush this too much. Basically only the bridge and the outro still have to be recorded. I've doubled the tracks and panned them ..... put on diff amp sounds ... and I THINK it sounds about right ;-) The guitar sound of course can still change a bit should I find a better sound. I made a little clip for myself to listen to tomorrow through the day.... NO YOU CAN'T HAVE IT !! LOL , but so far so good I think.

The drums CERTAINLY need a lot more punch, as I can now hear them getting slightly lost. But I'll try to do that later. The basic drum sound seems cool.

I also tweaked the bass a bit to give it some more 'oomph' :-)

Actually 'vocals' were sheduled for tomorrow, but I'll finish up the guitars then. The weekend might be good for vocals ;-)

J

Banging one out - Wednesday (Day)

2011-10-12T14:10:00.000+02:00

Wednesday! Already?? LOL ....... well, sometimes things come up that will mess your shedule around, and then things happen that give you extra time ;-) Alicia Searcy, our very own Bliss Army General has graciously extended the deadline by a week ...... IF ...... there are at least 3 people really needing it (and boy, you better send something in then!!) Hah!!! I already did .... if you haven't ..... PLEASE EMAIL ALICIA NOW !! ;-) This is THE chance to still that that last thing done and send in!!!

As for me. I hope you all read the 'Evening' post yesterday. Drums done. Bass done! Be it VERY raw and simple ... I think it sound real good. Definitely on the right track. Today is more difficult. Two guitar tracks. More parts and more variations in there. But ... still doable ... I HOPE ! :-P

As you can see on the picture above, this time I fitted the score of each of the two guitar tracks on a large A3 (dunno what that is in the US) sized page. This I like to do because one gets a nice overview of the whole tracks. I mark and draw lines between the song sections and then check for patterns, variations etc.
This page is also used to a) lean and b) record the tracks. If it's nice and big ... one can actually follow the score and record so you always know where you are in the song.

Like I said, two tracks. I HAVE some idea for the sound as well, but I'll not be too picky yet as I'll use a amp sim .... probably Guitar Rig 5 ..... on this, so I can always change/tweak the sound later. The chords? Hmm.... will have to get some practice runs in first. The tune isn't fast .... but the chords need to be played very tightly. The second track is much the same except for ...... do I hear a slide in there? Oh man !!!! :-P

Ok, that's where I'm at now. Will see how it goes tonight. At least I now know that there is a CHANCE I'll still have a bit of exra time, should something need to be overdubbed etc.

:-)

Banging one out - Tuesday (Evening)

2011-10-11T19:22:00.001+02:00

Long day and tired, BUT I got down to it. The time I spend carefully studying the bass sheet sure paid off. I sat down, put the sheet next to me .... mixed the drums and MIDI bass louder and put on the metronome. Selected the Verse and then just recorded while I ran through it a few times. It was easy enough .... but I needed it SPOTON .... so I played in a few takes .... some of which can be seen on the left here.

But, I took my time. It wasn't much to play in, so I knew I could really keep on trying to get some good takes. Verse, Chorus and Bridge .... then I noticed that the Outro is slightly different too ..... but that was quickly done as well.

THEN, I muted the MIDI Bass and just let the drums, metronome and my track play ... CAREFULLY watching the waveform. I noticed that I was JUST a little touch too early all the time. Just that fraction. No problem, switch off the 'snap' and 'nudge' it (that is ... move it slightly) to the right. Listen .... some more .... listen again ..... till it sounds 'life like'! Not too early and not like some robotic 'perfect' bass.

What do you think of this ?

'Healthy' blobs too, don't you think? Oh, and you can also see that it's still got some 'spikes'. That is cause it's played in 'clean' and what you see there is the waveform of the 'clean' recording. No processing! Also, I didn't use the Amp Sim at all. I tried to record with one first, but I found that hearing that CLEAN sound of JUST the bass, made it easier. This will of course get some 'treatment' (EQ, compression) later on ...... but as a 'basic bass track' I'm really liking it.

Played JUST the drums and the bass through a few times ... LOUD (enough to get 'The Frown') ..... and yeap, this is cool. Always remembering that this time I'm saving much of the 'tone tweaking' till I have all the tracks in.
Ok, 19h19 ..... meaning it's time to wind down. I spend about an hour and a half on this bass track tonight. Not too bad.

Tomorrow is gonna be a crunch ... Guitars! Both? Oh man ... we'll have to see. This means I'll have to start printing out both track on paper and go through that. The guitars aren't that difficult either, but it'S VERY tight playing and the RIGHT sound is vital.

Wish me luck :-)

Banging one out - Tuesday (Day)

2011-10-11T13:01:00.003+02:00

Well, work is doing what it's supposed to do ..... keep you away from all the fun stuff :-P Seeing that I have got my tracks in my DAW etc .... there isn't much I can do here anyway. BUT ..... I took along my printed Bass lead sheet/score to get familiar with it before I record the bass this evening. This way I can get all the 'thinking' out of the way already ...

What I noticed is that the bass lines are very simple. I shouldn't really have much problem playing it. Also, I identified 3 seperate 'patterns' in the track. The verse has it's little run, the chorus is very similar and then there is a different variation for the bridge. Doable!

The song structure is as follows ...

Intro
Verse I
Chorus I
Verse II
Chorus II
Bridge
Verse III
Chorus III
Outro

The bass doesn't start from the beginning but comes in only at Chorus I. I know many like playing in a track 'in-one-go' ... and this is certainly easy enough to do it ..... but I'll start off concentrating on playing in a verse, a chorus and then the bridge and see if I can re-use those parts in the song. I think it's OK for a track that is NOT that prominent in a song to do that. Vocals or Lead Guitar ...... is trickier, because people pick up on that quickly and it sounds 'boring'.

According to the chords, tabs etc ... all the guitars are tuned ½ step down. So I tuned my Bass accordingly last night already. My Fender Squier 70's Vint. Mod. Jazz Bass is awesome! GREAT tone, plays nicely and stays in tune forever. VERY happy with it!

What sound? What Amp Sim? I dunno yet. At the moment I'm still thinking it should be a nice deep, but clean bass tone. I mostly prefer those. But luckily, I can change all that later. The priotity is to play in a decent and solid track.

Ok, anything else I gotta think about before this evening? Hmmm..... don't think so. I have a Bass VSTi on the bass MIDI track .... that I'll play against. The best is to create a new track, put some (temporary) bass amp sim ..... like Studio Devils Virtual Bass Amp Pro .... on the track. Then arm and switch monitor ON so I can hear myself. Then I need to play some to check the levels. Not too soft, but as I always call it .... it should make a nice roundish, healthy-looking wave 'blob' on the track. Nowhere near touching the top.

Then, propbably I'll set the recording to 'Record mode: Time selected auto punch' and then just select the verse. I put my 'play head' a bar or two BEFORE this selection and then just hit RECORD. This way it'll ONLY record during that 'verse' part. I guess it'll take a few takes ...... but we'll see how it goes. I'll report back after that is all done (hopefully) :-)

Side Note : I just realized that Saturday is my Anniversary. And that means going out with my girls for a meal. Ok ..... a little MORE pressure to finish the track won't make a difference anymore, will it? ;-) LOL

J

Banging one out - Monday

2011-10-10T19:39:00.000+02:00

Ok, luckily I quickly found some tabs, lyrics and chord sheets for the tune. I loaded the original mp3 and all my files onto m USB stick and took it along to work. Then, instead of going to lunch (too fat anyway) I started working on the GuitarPro (MIDI) file.

First I printed out the lyrics and played through the song and the GP file 2-3 times to make sure the structure is the same. On the printed out lyric sheet I marked the song sections as they are in GP as well. Both the structures AND what bars it corresponds to. Some more 'notes' about where some special effects come in etc. Ok, lyric sheet done.

I like to start off at home doing the rhythm section first. So, next to the drums (which will be done via some VSTi) I will have to record the bass first. So, I need a printout of the whole bass score. I do that because I'll put markers on there use it for learning the parts and also as a lead-sheet WHILE recording.
So .... bass score printed and 'worked over' with color markers, red pens etc etc .....
Bass sheets done. That's as far as I got at work ......... :-P

The plan :

Monday -> Preproduction : Print-outs, MIDI demo track and basic drums
Tuesday -> Bass
Wednesday -> Guitars
Thursday -> Vocals (ouch)
Friday -> finish up recording and a few Mixes
Saturday -> Mixing, Mastering & Send-off

At home! 6PM. After grabbing something to eat I started working at it. First I ran the original through a 'beat detection' tool ... to make sure I get about the same tempo. Looks like 75 bpm is the right one. Why important? I'm gonna load the original INTO my DAW ..... for quick A/B reference. It won#t be 100% 1:1 ... because it'l a band that played it in live with a drummer, but for a referernce, it'll do.

Ok, Reaper open and loaded my MIDI into it. This takes over the time signature, tempo and all the tracks. Good! I'll only use the drums from the MIDI .... the rest will only serve as 'guide tracks'. Drums, bass, 2 guitar tracks .... and then there should be a vocal track .... for which I do't have anything ..... but thats ok, I'll have to do it in 'my' version anyway. So this won't have many tracks. I'm gonna try to make this as 'basic' as possible.
In Reaper, I first got rid of all the 'bad MIDI commands' on each track ..... and quickly tried a couple of drum VSTi's ..... good to have a few ;-) "Cakewalk's Sessiondrummer 3" seems to work well.
As I don't have much time to screw around, I'm gonna focus on getting the tracks IN first .... and worry about the 'sound' later on.

I know what you're thinking ... This is NUTS !! ..... Yes it is !! LOL

Ok, so I have the 'basic' drums ..... they sound 'right' ..... will get 'tweaked' in mixing.
Next I put a Bass VSTi (Bornemark's Broomstick Bass ... my FAV Bass VSTi) on the Bass MIDI and a Electric Piano VSTi on the two guitar tracks ..... just to get to hear 'something'.

So, I have my 4 tracks 'playing' (via VSTi's) .... that's my 'DEMO' then .... with the drums sounding quite good so far. Monday done! Won't work on the DAW more tonight, rather I'll park on the couch with my Bass lead sheet and study that and decide how I'll record it tomorrow !!!

Till then !

Banging one out - Intro

2011-10-10T19:01:00.000+02:00

Right. It's just before 7PM on Monday night the 10th of October. On Saturday the 15th, it's the deadline for submissions for Six String Bliss' next Album, working title "Guilty Pleasures". Thats 5 days !!!!!

I wasn't gonna submit this time so I didn't worry about looking for something that 'fits'. Then, last night .... I got a tune that would be VERY cool.But, it's too late now, right? Right! Too late .....

Unless ........

Whats the chance I can 'bang one out' from NOW till then? Well, SOME people ... *coughClintcoughJacko* ... might have no problem with it. Clint has SO much talent he has to wear a hat, and Jacko is just CRAZY (and has talent too!). Some people can sit down, plug into an amp, sing into some mic while strumming along ... done! And more than that .... it'll sound AWESOME! Me ..... oh nooooo ...... the day talent was given out, I played hookie :-P

But, this tune WOULD be cool. It's TOTALLY different from what people normally hear from me ..... but is it doable? I work all day and only have the evenings .... and even THOSE are often taken up by family life. Still ...... it's a challenge. So, I dunno if it WILL make it, I dunno if I'll even come CLOSE ....... but I'm willing to try. And you ALL can watch :-) I'm not gonna say WHICH song it is ..... that will remain a secret till it's done ..... or ...... maybe you'll NEVER know ;-)

So I'm gonna post a summery each day to say WHAT I did and how far I got .......

I hope you enjoy the ride ;-)

J

GuitarRig 5 - Control Room Pro

2011-10-09T14:48:00.001+02:00

Just a short one today (Hah ... yeah right :-P)

Native Instruments brought out Guitar Rig 5 recently and there are many Magazines with reviews etc, so I'm sure you don't need some nobody writing about it, do you? ;-) But I can confirm that the new amps ... the "VAN51" and the "HOT SOLO +" (it doesn't take much to guess which amps are modelled here !!) .... DO really sound VERY good ... maybe the best yet!! Certainly worth the upgrade if you are using GR4 !!!

Another new component is the 'Control Room Pro' Huh? Yeah, I know what you are thinking. "Isn't there something like that in there already?" Well, yes, you are right. Let's backtrack a little .... to make it easier ....

When you select an Amp in GR, you get a 'Matched Cabinet' component with it. This is a modelled (we'll get back to this later) speaker cabinet component that will represent the 'most common and used' speaker for THAT amp. So, when you select a AC BOX ... you will the get typical speaker and cabinet with it. Very good !!

Then they added the 'Control Room' that you can use instead of your 'Matched Cabinet'. Here you choose a speaker cabinet again ..... this time from a nice selection or IR models like 'Vintage 4x12 Bright' ..... but now you have a selection of 8 microphones to add to the cabinet. You can't really specify the location of the mic (cone, cap, etc) but you can use any mixture of these 8 microphones with a a little mixer on your cabinet.

Side note : Modelled ? IR? What the ..... Don't worry! There's TONS of technical explainations of this on the web. Mostly VERY technical, just see it this way ..... (this is VERY basic, but enough for now) ...... A 'Modelled' speaker (or amp) is when they look at the wiring, meters etc and model it according to the wiring, frequencies, how that changes when you play etc etc. IR (Impulse Response) is where they actually 'record' the response (as an audio wav) when certain 'impulses' are pushed through the amp. With this, you get all the air, the warms, the sizzling and breathing the amp makes as well. 'Modelling' is a little like "This is what it SHOULD sound like" and IR is like "This is what it DID sound like". More life-like because it's actual recordings of the amp responses. This is what the famous AxeFX and ElevenRack have done for a long time ... and why they are so damn good. Because you actually GET the sound the amp makes. Many Amp sims let you load these "IR files" to use as cabinets ..... or they supply their own, which normally come from some high-end production studio. These things are just plain awesome!!! The cabinets (IR files) you can choose in the Control Room Pro component in GR5, come from the RedWirez company in New York! They are world famous for their box simulations and especially their version of the Royer Labs R-121 (RIB 121) microphone is said to be amazingly life-like!!

(Excuse the VERY basic and maybe not 100% correct explaination, but you get the general idea ;-) )

Back to GR5 ..... the new Control Room Pro goes one step further. Now you dont have one cabinet and 8 microphones, but a full mixing panel of 8 panels of cabinets, microphones and placings. This means you can now set up up to 8 of these cabinets and mics and mix them all together.

Look at the screens above. I used a Fender amp and a distortion pedal infront of it. On the left I set up a AC Vox cabinet and panned it hard left, then on position 2 .... I set up a '2x12 Twang' setup and panned it hard right. You can select 'mixer' and adjust the pannign and volume of each. Notice that I never change any of the pedal or amp settings.

You can hear the difference here ... (ignore the playing please :-P )

Audio clip of 'Matched Cabinet' and 'Control Room Pro' set up.
It starts off with the 'matched' and then goes to the 2-cab set-up.

So, with a few clicks, you can set up a dream variation of REAL good IR cabinets to you amp. What a pleasure :-) Give it a try ......

Any comments? ;-)

J

Overlooked gems! GTR Solo

2011-10-06T15:12:00.002+02:00

A friend of mine, mainly a DJ, recently bought a new audio interface (i.e. external soundcard for recording) and I was there while he unpacked everything and helped him install everything. All went smoothly and he was keen to get going. He then embarked on a mission to find a decent Guitar Amp Simulation software that he could buy. Obviously the awesome Amplitube, Guitar Rig, ReValver etc came to his mind immediately. He didn't want to buy the 'big flagships' though, but wanted something 'to get started with'. Sure, IK Multimedia's Custom Shop for Amplitube, lets you download a FREE version of Amplitube (already packed with LOTS of amps and effects) and then download the amps and effects you want from the shop. Guitar Rig is similar. You get the FREE player and can buy 'Products' to it .... like Rammfire.
While he was rambling about the pros and cons of each .... I noticed that he didn't even LOOK at the included pile of CD's and software that came with it. I asked him "Hey, did you have a look through here?" And he said 'no' ..... because (quote) "They only give you demos or rubbish stuff that isn't worth using!"
Hmm.... now I have buddies that have foudn a LOT of use for the supplied samples, effects, etc ....... do they always give you rubbish? Should you just chuck the pile to the side and not even have a look?

NO !

After a quick look, 'eagle-eyed' me immediately spotted a disk labelled Waves GTR Solo (licenced) My buddy was kinda startled when I burst out a shout of joy and STILL looked puzzled when I held up the disk. "GTR Solo? Whats that?" After I held a short lecture about 'shopping around' and 'first doing some research before going out and buying amp sims' ...... he agreed to let me show him first.

So what IS Waves GTR Solo? Well, Waves is the leading developer of audio plugins for mixing, mastering, post production and live sound, with plug-ins for Pro Tools, Cubase, Logic and other DAWs. Have a look HERE and go though those bundles .... very very cool, and also not cheap. Pro stuff all the way! So one day Paul Reed Smith (Yes, THAT Paul Reed Smith of PRS Guitars) got together with the guys from Waves to develop a Guitar Amp Sim software. The result is GTR3. GTR Solo is just a scaled down, version for the smaller budget.
If you want to see Paul excited as a little boy (much like us in a Guitar shop, for that matter) ... and a video of how they made GTR ...... have a look at "The Making Of GTR3" ... VERY cool and VERY funny !!!! :-)

So lets have a look (and listen later on) at GTR Solo ....

It can run as a DAW plug-in or as a standalone application. I'll go through the stand-alone one for this demo. When you first start the stand-alone version it'll ask you to specify your audio settings. Nothing complicated. And then you'll be presented with this screen.
Quite neat really and you see the Amp immediately. We'll get to the amp just now. First ... there are two big knobs at the bottom called 'Input' and 'Output'. You use these to dial in your signal. You want it loud but not clipping. The last of those little LED's will turn red if you go over. This is what you should always keep an eye on. The best Amp Sim is useless if you don't watch your inpput (and putput) signals. Above that on the left you can specify syncing, a bpm and also have a tap button to adjust the tempo. This is handy for some effects.
On the far right you have buttons that let you mute your signal, bypass the WHOLE Amp Sim, just the Amp or even just the stomp boxes (effect pedals). This is cool if you are not interested in the amp or the effects in your DAW.
In the bars at the top, you can LOAD and SAVE presets, jump to the next one etc etc
Below the amp you have your main component buttons, that let to look at the pedalboard, the amp (this view), a tuner and the list of presets for quick access.

Amps :

On the amp, you'll find the usual amp dials like bass, mids and treble. As well as drop-down selections for 'Amp Type', 'Cabinet' and 'Microphone'. Basically, the amps are divided into 4 categories, each having a different color ... and in these categories you have different 'flavours'. Modelled after well known and REAL amps. And they are damn realistic !!!

Clean
- Clean Based on a 1959 tweed Fender® Bassman®.
- Sweet Based on a 1968 Gibson® Skylark
Drive
- Edgy Based on a 1980 Vox® AC-30 TB-2
- Drive Based on a 1964 blackface Fender® Super Reverb®
- Overdrive Based on a 1980 Marshall® JMP
High Gain
- Crunch Based on a custom Garcia™ from Paul Reed Smith’s personal collection
- Shredder Based on a Marshall® JMP1 preamp
- PRS Scorch Based on a boutique amplifier from Paul Reed Smith’s
personal collection
- PRS Crush Based on a modified 50W Marshall® MK2
Bass
- SolidState Based on a Hartke® 3500

Having a close look at THAT spread ... that should really cover MOST of our needs!!

Stomp :

If you switch to the 'STOMP' page, you have a 4 effect pedalboard. I'm not gonna name ALL the effects available, but rest assured, you'll soon recognize after which they were modelled ;-) Thes 4 effects can be moved with the mouse and changed vrey easily. Notice the 'AMP' thing in there. This 'panel' is supposed to represent the amplifier itself. This lets you spedify which effects are infront of the amp in your chain, and which after behind it. You can move the 'amp panel' as you want to any positions. It's not part of the 4 'slots' so you have free.
This being the 'scaled down version' it doesn't let you use more than 4 (unless you want to put multiple instances of this on a track) ...... and you also can't set up a 'dual rig chain'. The big brother 'GTR3' lets you do all that. You get something like 13 effects ranging from distortion, flangers, EQ to EQ and Wah pedals. Oh, did I mention that ALL these are FULLY MIDI assignable?? That's right! With a MIDI controller, or even better .... a MIDI FOOT controller, you can controll ALL these as you would a real stomp box !!!

Tuner :

A nice integrated tuner is a must with all amp sims, and also this one doesn't dissapoint. It's clear, precise and easy to use. A handy feature is the 'Mode' list (pic right above) which lets you specify a desired tuning making it easier for you to quickly tune your guitar to that tuning.

Preset :

The 'Preset' page lists your presets. You can save them into different named files and load them at will. You can open your your own 'preset file' and save your own presets there. The factory presets can be copied (right-click) and pasted to your page and used as starting points for your own modifications.

The supplied presets are (as most other amp sims) only an 'idea' of what can be done. But I found quite a few that are usuable rigth away.

So, thats GTR Solo for you in a nutshell. It's a really, really cool amp sim to use. Certainly usable for your own recordings. You can buy this for $49 as well ..... or, if you're lucky, you migth find it included in some other packages. The point of all this though was ..... that don't dismiss someting like this ... JUST because you've never heard of it or because you might THINK that little 'scaled down' amp sims like this can't be any good. You might be missing out on a VERY cool amp sim ;-)

And if you REALLY want to hear a bad audio demo .... LOL

HERE you go !! ;-)

AUDIO

Read more about Waves GTR Solo ... and their other products here ...
http://www.wavesgtr.com/html/product_gtr_solo.html

PLEASE leave some comments !!! :-)

Update:

My friend Dave gave me an idea to record a piece with one amp and just use the volume control on the guitar to see how the Amp handles the transition between clean and crunch. I used the 'Chicago Blues' preset as in the demo above. I think it sounds quite good and shows what these amps can do !!

AUDIO

New Audio Interfaces

2011-09-15T11:05:00.003+02:00

My friend Dave put the question to me (to write or talk about on some 'show' ;-) ) about getting a new audio interface. I started looking around, as I'll also be in the market for one in the forseeable future ...... and found LOTS !!

My first audio interface! STILL popular today!!! (the new MK II is slightly better)

The one I'm using now. Discontinued for ages, but still going strong !!! Build-in effects and drum machine !

Times sure have changed in the last 10 years. Back then one didn't have many options, and if you were a 'normal working man with house, car and family' .... one sure couldn't afford anything great. That has changed. The quality and ease of Homerecording has gotten SO big, that there is a HUGE new market just covering that topic. Near-field monitors, audio interfaces, MIDI controllers, pedals, effect-units, microphones ..... all in 'our' price ranges. And GOOD too!! Certainly doable to get a real good recording done right in your room. Maybe not as good as a multi-million dollar recording studio (and it'll never be) .... but for us hobbyists .... awesome!

With all this market expansion .... it also means a WIDE range of products that we need to look at when we want something. An audio interface, to me personally, is one of THE most important devices in your little studio. This is the the one piece you would rather NOT save on. It pays to look around, maybe save up some and get a decent one. After all ..... ALL your recording will go through here, either the signals, or the output to the monitors. Cheap (or lets rather say, 'lesser-quality') is gonna annoy you VERY soon!

So what are we looking at / for?

Obviously taste and needs are different. Let's not talk about 'Pro' or people that want to record a whole band (incl. multiple drum mics) at the same time. In general, whats the most common for us 'home recording artists' ? Here's what I'm looking for .....

Capable of at least 24-bit/44,1 kHz (the higher the better)
At least sumultaneous 2-in and 2-out (maybe even 4)
USB or Firewire powered
On / Off switch
preferable both inputs with Phantom power AND Intrument (Hi-Z)
small / portable
robust
gain dials and indicators
headphone jack
BIG monitor volume knob
good quality ASIO drivers
work on PC and Mac (poor Linux users still are neglected!)

Let's talk about USB vs Firewire quickly (and shortly). There's TONS of heated arguments and discussions about this. So what should you get? Whom are you gonna believe? Basically ... for OUR purposes ... it's actually fairly easy. If you record 1 or 2 devices max .... SIMULTANEOUSLY .... like guitar and vocals mic, then you're not gonna feel any difference between USB (2.0 or higher) or Firewire. They'll both handle 2 inputs beautifully. BUT ...... should you want more inputs at the same time, I'd go for Firewire. The reason for this is the different way USB and Firewire 'handle' the individual inputs. USB 'bundles' them and Firewire treats each signal seperately. That makes it a little more expensive. So .... it's easy to check if you really need that.

The rest on my list is self-explanatory. I like having a Power switch, indicators and I HATE little dials. Thats ok for gain dials etc etc .... but if I use my interface in general with my monitors attached, I'll be regulating that volume a LOT, so a GOOD (monitor) volume dial is a big plus !!!
Obvisouly good ASIO drivers are a must!! Make sure it's a well-known company with LOTS of experience in audio devices. Check for updated drivers for YOUR operating system etc.
So ... there are SOOOOO many out there, obvisouly one can't look at all of them, and no 100% garantees anyway cause I didn't test each and also everybody uses them differently and has different priorities .....
There are also devices like ElevenRack, AXEFX, Line6 POD's and POD HD's ..... ZOOM ...... but let's keep to 'small and simple. Remember that there are even cheaper ones .... but most have less inputs, USB 1.1 connections or some cuts.

BUT ..... going through a LOT (about 35) of the latest ones ...... and keeping within the 'frame' of around €200 or less ...... and those points listed above (or as close as possible) here's the ones I find interessting and could see myself using :

(You'll have to google the names to see your local prices and more detailed specs)

M-Audio Fast Track Pro

Probably the oldest of the ones listed here, but I've got lots of years of experience with M-Audio and their products have never let me down. My buddy Martin also got this one (after some idiot suggested it ;-) ) .... and he's very happy with it. Work on PC and Mac, good drivers, good sound, USB powered. Still a favourite of mine

Mackie Onyx Blackjack

Here's a new one from Mackie who are known for their quality hardware devices. The tests I read were all great. No complaints at all. It doesn't feature a lot of fancy lighting, but it's supposed to be VERY robust and the preamps are said to be world class!!! The Cirrus Logic converters are excellent too.

Steinberg CI2

If you are a Cubase user, you might want to look at this one. Especially made for the use with Cubase, it has a few extras that will be very useful in that DAW. Other than that, the specs are all there and I guess the quality shouldn't dissapoint either. Two mic preamps, one High-Z instrument input etc etc. The design isn't bad either as that big knob makes it easy to use.

Native Instruments Komplete 6

This is another cool one. Makers of those wonderful things like Guitar Rig etc .... have added this one to their line-up. GREAT specs! 24-Bit/96 kHz , 2 x Mic/Line/Instrument (XLR Combo) 48V Phantom Power ... lots of ligths and a HUGE monitor knob !! Slightly over the €200 .... but well worth it. And if you are somebody that uses Amp sims like Guitar Rig ..... you can be sure this will suit you fine!!!! In my Top 3, I would say!!

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2

Focusrite has awesome interfaces. Their 'Saffire' range (Firewire) is still very popular and especially the 'Saffire Pro 24 DSP' is a great one to get. Lately they annoounced this 'Scarlett' range though .... you get the 18i6, and the 8i6 ..... VERY cool, but this new one, called the Scarlett 2i2 I find amazing. It covers nearly ALL those points above. Great quality preamps, phantom power, USB powered, indicators .... and look at that monitor knob!!! I LIKE this one, a LOT :-) Said to be out soon ... and a VERY good price too! For ME .... this would be my pick at the moment!

That was just MY 'shortlist' at the moment. I hope it helps. There are SO many more .... just browse around, page through Recording and Guitar Magazines and (this time) looks at the ads ;-) And don't forget the awesome ones with Firewire if that is your option. There are great names to check out ... MOTU, Edirol, PreSonus, Focusrite, AVID (the Pro Tools MBoxes), Roland, Tascam, ESI, ....... and more. All great names with great devices !!!

PLEASE lemme know if this was any help by leaving a comment or two ;-) Thanx !!

J

Dressing Betty

2011-09-02T10:23:00.000+02:00

Autumn is here! Well ... sort of
There we are again! Autumn! Well, 'officially' Autumn only starts here around the 23rd of September ...... which might still be 'acceptable, but according to THAT, Winter only starts on the 22nd of December! Pfff...... so freakin what .... 'A Happy (unofficial) Autumn, Everybody! (and to those lucky people down south .... yeah, have a goos Spring' ... if you really MUST!!! LOL ;-) )

Dressing Black Betty
My new PC (purposely build for studio and audio recordings) ..... called 'Black Betty' because the overall color of the case AND the insides .... has been running relatively smooth. It's on 32-bit Win7 Home Premium ..... and MOST changes and installations have been going smoothly. I did several tests on a parallel 64-bit partition .... and I must say that I'm not that impressed. Sure, it 'works' ..... and if you only use 1-2 programs, and they are 64-bit versions, AND have decent new 64-drivers, AND .... bla bla bla ... you might be lucky to sail smoothly, but I have SO many little add-ons, hardware controllers etc .... that a) already seem to not like Win7 too much or b) go total haywire when on a 64-bit system.
Don't get me wrong !!! YES! It's fast (I even borrowed 16GB RAM for the 64-bit tests ....) but I want to switch on my PC ... have it up ASAP .... have it run 'relatively quiet' (we'll get to that just now) ....and concentrate on the music. I don't want to 'fiddle' all the time. I'm a Software Developer ...... I have enough of THAT at work. I does seem that I'm better off not making TOO big a jump. So .... 64-bit WILL come .... eventually.
So, a fast new CPU, more RAM .... do I notice it? Well, if you're browing the Net, writing emails etc etc .... obviously you're not gonna 'feel' diddley-squat !! Hahaha ..... But a few days ago I opened Reaper and PACKED it with my most high-end, resource hungry, expensive plug-ins and watched the 'Performance Meter' (due to working so long on a 'slow' PC .... I have the habit of having it open a lot) .....and the CPU didn't even twitch above 5% !!!! YES!!! So ..... for MY personal aims and wants ..... that's exactly what I was aiming for ....so the 'upgrade' is a success !!! :-)

Where it isn't 'gone' .... the noise level has dropped TREMENDOUSLY!!! If I stick my head under the table, I can just hear the slight hum of the CPU fan. Sitting on the couch watching TV next to it (arms length away) .... I don't notice it. What a pleasure. The power supply is dead quiet and I can HUGELY recommend those!!! I could go even better on the (already) quieter CPU fan .... but at the moment I'm happy. The disks are cool too. Like all the new ones, they are fairly quiert and only occasionally a little hum can be heard. But remember, I'm not a 'open microphone recording'-guy .... so it has no effect on my stuff. The ONLY thing thats NOISY AS HELL ... is the DVD drive obviously, but ok ..... it's not used ALL the time. Just remember to take out any disks when you're done with it ;-)

BUT ... with every good thing, there HAS to be a 'catch' don't there? Yeap ..... re-installing ALL those nice little plug-ins, add-ons, software tools, libraries, players, browsers, mail softwares, drivers, security stuff .... IS A BITCH !!! Boy, it takes FOREVER!!! And I've decided to be VERY strict on myself and NOT install all the shit I had on previously, but only the really needed stuff. And only the high-end audio tools. Still ..... every now and then : "Oh damn ... I haven't installed that yet!!!"

All running! Let's get busy! Ehh...... with? I'm listening to a LOT of new music at the moment ..... and feel as if I'm heading the right direction in writing more of my own material ...... but it's slow. DEAD slow!!! There is this 'mental block' still that still doesn't want to move. I KNOW I'm probably thinking WAY too complicated and should just close my eyes, feel .... and DO. So I'm hoping that something will come of this ...soon!

We'll see ;-)

NAPCD (New Audio PC Day)

2011-08-13T17:32:00.002+02:00


The old PC

That's right ...... New Audio PC Day !!!!

Over the last few months I've been collecting, researching, reading through forums, asking in audio shops etc etc ...... with the aim of finally putting together my next audio PC.

'Old Red' has served me VERY well ... considering it ran (and is still running) for nearly 6 years ... practically unchanged ... and you all KNOW what all was done and achieved with this old workhorse. That's a LONG time in IT terms!!!
The specs of 'Old Red' could be considered 'laughable' in todays terms .....

AMD Athlon 64 XP 3200+
ASUS A8V Motherboard
2GB RAM
128 MB NVIDIA GeForce FX5200 (air cooled)
2x 160GB Harddrives (IDE)
Terratec Aureo 7.1 Space (not really used due to external audio interface)
Running Win XP SP 3

So, why a new PC? Basically .....

The CPU power really wasn't enough for the usage of some high-end VST's and VSTI's anymore
2GB RAM isnt enough really, but upping to 4 didn't make much sense as the CPU was too slow
It was NOISY as hell!!! (remember, my PC is standing in the living room!)
Running XP wasnt a problem but eventhough it was as set up new every now and then, somehow the drivers and upgrades didn't install properly anymore. Too old.

And hey ..... one has to think about the next 5 years too!

So what was I looking for? Well, that basically went hand-in-hand with my PRIMARY requirements :

Enough power for the next 5 years audio projects (on my scale)
Able to run the software and plugins I have and need
Able to connect my external devices (BCF2000, FCB1010, M-Audio Ozone8, M-Audio BlackBox Audio Interface, ...)

So OBVIOUSLY right away the questions came up ..... Win or Mac? (iMac / Powerbook / MacMini) and 32bit or 64bit? CAREFULLY considering all the pros and cons ... and the requirements / wishes I have ...... I decided to first to with a 32bit Win7 setup ... with enough 'freedom' to go 64bit at some stage. Why not Mac? Ohhh ...... tough decision. I'd LOVE a Mac, really don't have anyting against them, but in the end the software that I have, the cost and especially the external hardware and availability of drivers ... made me decide to go 32-bit Win7 (for now).

Heiko, my neighbour (electrician by trade) is a hardware monster! You should see his basement. The NASA don't have anything on him!! HAH! Anyway .... I talked to him and gave him my list of specs and components that I wanted. He ordered, put together and tested everything. Everything up to Win 7 itself. That's my area and I'll handle the installation of all that.

So what were the specs? I don't have the full list now, but basically here it is :

Presenting .... BLACK BETTY !

The inside of the new PC

Intel i5 2500K 3300Mhz

4GB RAM

Gigabyte H67M Motherboard

2x 500GB SATA Harddrives

Some fan-less craphic card

430W BeQuiet Powersupply

The CPU fan in the picture is still the boxed one and will be replaced with someting better/quieter. But let me tell you. I switched it on and heard ....... NOTHING!! What a pleasure. A slight whining from the CPU fan (and the case was open) but in general? Pffff..... That powersupply is awesome!!! What a difference!! WIN so far !! The casing, cables, fans, placing of the powersupply ...... all that was thought about.

Can one get/do better? Ohhh, of course you can!!! Sure one can stick in a Intel i7 CPU and a monster botherboard. What about SSD drives? Sure! But obviously I had a budget too .... and what you see THERE came to ONLY €530.- !!! Not bad for a super audio PC. Among other audio users and homerecording artists, that Intel i5 2500K is supposed to be a BLAST!!!

Up and running already? NOOOOOO. Still LOTS of things to do. As I said, the CPU fan will be swapped ... and I still gotta get Win 7 (most prob Home Premium). Then I have to continue collecting all the software, drivers and shit onto a USB drive to I have it all available when I make the switch. That could take some time. Then I just HOPE I get online quickly enough .... so if I need anything else, I can get it.

So, there you go ... a sneak peak of 'Black Betty' ..... more infos and pics sure to come !!! :-)

J

The Presonus Faderport

2011-08-12T19:48:00.001+02:00

Working in a DAW ... that is, a digital audio workstation ... or ... that "software thing you can record stuff with and that has all those tons of confusing buttons, knobs and slider thingys" ;-) ..... is ten times better when you have a nice controller. I have had my Behringer BCF2000 for ages now and absolutely LOVE the thing. Eight motorized (!!!!!) faders and all. And they aren't too expensive either. Most use it in a 'Mackie Emulation Mode' ... and that means it's automatically set up so you have solo and mute buttons, rotary dials for panning .... and Stop, Play and Record buttons. I never understood why there aren't more on the market. These CAN'T be expensive to make and people WILL buy them.

But what if you are short on space but still want that 'fader feeling' ? Well ..... how about THIS ?

Presenting the PreSonus Faderport!! This little MIDI controller from mixer and controller experts, Presonus is connected to your PC via USB and works with just about EVERY DAW!! If you are using Presonus StudioOne .... it even recognizes it immidiately without the need for any drivers!

But hang on .... ONE FADER ???? How can one work with that? Well, it's quite easy actually. It actually represents the current selected mixer channel that you are on at any given time. You can select another track ... or ... move forward or back on the Faderport directly. There is even a 'output' button that lets you jump to the master channel immediately. Further you have a dial for the panning, buttons for Mute, Solo and Rec (arming the track, I am guessing). Besides that, you can switch to a Read, Write and Touch mode ... with are handy for automation envelopes like volume etc.
And then you have direct access to transport functions, such as Stop, Play and Record. No more moving a mouse, aiming and clicking :-)
The fader is a 100mm motorized fader !! (this ALONE is the coolest thing about it) and moves very smoothly indeed. If you have it on 'Read' and let the DAW play ..... it'll move !!! Whoowheee ;-)

And if the ONE fader bothers you ..... you can always make 'groups' in your DAW ... which lets you move all the grouped tracks together with this one fader!!!

It sells for €149.- here which is not bad at all if you're short in space and don't need to have 8 faders underneath your hands at a time. The transport buttons to let you play, stop, record and undo by a touch of a button already make this a VERY useful little controller. I played around with it in the shop .... but it wasn't plugged in ... so I couldn't test the 'motorized fader' .... but apart from that, a cool thing !!!!

Check it out HERE :-)

J

Album check !

2011-08-12T09:18:00.001+02:00

Here's some new (and some not so) albums that I really like at the moment ...

Suzi Quatro - In The Spotlight
"Queen Bee of the Riot Grrrls. The Gaia of Punk Rockettes. We all wanted to be just like her!" - Alicia Searcy
Amazon link

Head Cat - Walk The Walk
This one features Motorhead's Lemmy and the guys of The Stray Cats. Good time Rock n Roll / Rockabilly
Amazon link

The Pretty Reckless - Light Me Up
First album of 18 (!!!!!) year old actress, singer, model .... Taylor Momsen and her band.
Amazon link

Messing around with the evil sister!

2011-08-11T20:48:00.019+02:00

Do I need a new guitar? YES!! Why? ....... ehh ....... 'CAUSE !! :-P

No, actually I have sold several of my guitars and am down to my two magnificent Les Pauls (Epiphone Joe Perry Boneyard and the Epiphone '59 Limited Edition Les Paul) .... my Epiphone 'Dot' Semi-Acoustic and my very cool Fender Squire Vint. Mod. Jazz Bass. That's it. And I'm VERY happy with them!

Sometimes I would like to play some higher gain stuff for the heavier pieces and when my UK buddies Dave, Martin and Steve where over here last October ... I actually REALLY played an Explorer-style guitar for the first time. It was some graphic design ESP LTD. And I loved it !!!! Since then I've been trying to play every 'Explorer' shaped guitar I could find ....... and out of the blue, I stumbled onto the Epiphone Explorer EX 1984 Reissue !!! Basically a copy of the one James Hetfield of Metallica plays often!! BEAUTIFULL !!! And a good price too .... around €450.- here. it comes in white and in black and features the exact shape and two EMG pickups.

Ok, there is a catch, isn't there?

There sure is. It's a bloody US Sam Ash exclusive !!! One shop here imported a few ..... and they sold like cake!!! And they have no idea if more will make it across the big pond!!! AAAAARRGGHHHHHH !!!
So I looked at alternatives too ..... ESP, LTD (also the new 'Snakebite') , Gibson, Jackson .... but I kinda like the Epiphone best. Another option would be to have one made. Steve Benford will make you a guitar that'll stand 10 feet above anything else you'll ever play. But .... manufacturing (although his prices are a DREAM), shipping, custom (this is NOT cheap in Germany) ...... will put the expense out of my range. Unfortunately.

So this afternoon in the office, I get a email from my big music/guitar shop saying they gor new ones in. And JUST before I was gonna shout out my joy .... I read 'black only' !!! DAMN!!! Still, I packed up right there and took the tube to the shop to at least PLAY on of these .... because remember .... I have never actually PLAYED one of these yet.

Walking in the shop and up the stairs to the guitars ... I already spot 'her' right away. Shiny black. Black hardware. EMG's. THE EVIL SISTER !!!!

Took a while to REALLY look at her. The shiny surface is bad for fingerprints and I had to use my shirt to at least get rid of the worst. Other than that, NICE! I'm not as picky as some with little detail, but I couldn't really see any flaws. The neck looked good, the frets were clean and had no rough edges etc.

In this shop, you can sit down at the railings at any of the couple of bar stools and plug into a POD (mostly Pocket POD's and some v2 and even a X3). This is what makes this shop SO cool .... TONS of guitars, and you can just take them down (bar some VERY high priced ones), plug in and play. Trust me .... I have spend SEVERAL hours already doing just that ;-)

So, I sit on a comfy DEAN bar stool, put on the little headphones and plugged into a Pocket POD. First of all, I set the thing to 'Tuner' to tune the guitar .... but apart from the lower E, which was tuned down ..... the rest was in tune. Volume, tone and pickup selector ....... and then look for a nice crunchy preset.

Amazing what even these little Pocket PODS can do (maybe I should get one). And so for the next hour ... or so (!!!!) I played, and played and played. Heavy presets, seveal crunchy ones ...... and also a whole bunch of clean and reverb ones. I've read some many times that "This guitar sounds shit on clean sounds" ..... but I certainly don't agree. I had some VERY lush tones there !!!

Conclusion:
I LOVE this guitar. I sure have reservations about the shiny black finish, as I REALLY like the white one ..... and only a St. Pauli sticker on the black body might make it cool ..... but as for 'feel', playability and even 'sound' ..... AWESOME!!! Oh and afterwards I picked up all the other 'Explorers' in the shop again just to compare .... ESP, LTD and several Gibsons ..... and HONESTLY ..... there wasn't one that really 'felt' better. There was ONE that I thought "Geez, this is HORRIBLE! What a weird thick neck" ........ only to realize a little later that this was a 7-string !!!!! DOH !!!!! Hahahahahaha

So .... I guess I'll just keep my feet still a little more. The next thing is to get the new audio PC ...... which will take some time to set everyting up, install etc etc. Who knows ... maybe the black will still grow on me ;-)

J

Anybody out there?

2011-08-11T14:44:00.002+02:00

Geez, no posts since March ???? What hapened? Oh well .... a simple matter of busy, laziness, fed-upness .... bla bla bla. But, I'm still here :-)

So, what's been happening? Last time I posted I was in Cape Town just before the Sixstring Bliss Album, The British Are Coming came out. THAT turned out to be one awesome album! Did I say 'one'? Well .... as a matter of fact, it turned into THREE (!!!!) albums!!! How 'bout that? FILLED to the rim with great recordings ... and also some of mine! Hah! ;-)

If you're up for a good time, listen to the Album EPISODES http://www.sixstringbliss.com/?cat=7
Or download the ALBUMS for free ...
http://www.sixstringbliss.com/?page_id=720

What else? Oh yeah ..... the new topic has been voted for and it's "Guilty Pleasures". Basically tunes that you are embarrased (or SHOULD be ) about really liking ;-) So .... everybody thats keen on taking part, hop on over to the Forum and find out all the details.

Around the time I spend a few days in London in July, David Fenske on the Forum started a 'little' collaboration project ..... getting people together to do a cover of Pink Floyd's 'Hey You'. What started out as a small 'project' ... ended up in 9-collaborator Masterpiece !!!!

I played drums, the rhythm guitar and mixed and produced this. A huge job working with so many people, but it was great. The guys (and Alicia ;-) ) really provided me with great tracks and parts and I think the end-result turned out quite cool :-)
You can listen to it here.
http://soundcloud.com/bookerjwood/comfortably-dumb-hey-you

or read the reviews here :
http://sixstringbliss.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=jman&action=display&thread=3037&page=1

Feel free to comment about what you think of it !!!!

So, there you go ... that was 'TBAC', school holidays, our London trip and 'Hey You' ...... the last weeks, months. What's next?

Well, 'Hey You' was quite some work and I decided to concentrate on my own stuff for the next months or so, probably till end of the year. Maybe I can churn out 1-2 tracks of my own till then.
Also ...... the time has come to get a new Audio PC together, so I'll be posting quite a bit about that in the next weeks/months.

Otherwise .... PLEEEEEASE leave some comments, suggestions, questions etc here so I know that ...

a) There is SOMEBODY reading this
b) It is of SOME value and purpose
c) Eventhough I AM already talking to myself ..... I don't have to comment my own blog posting ... just YET ;-) :-P :-D

J

Day 82 - Back to Life ... LOUD !

2011-03-23T09:27:00.007+01:00

I'm sorry if the last post was slightly 'down' and sounded somewhat depressed ('Slightly'? LOL) ..... but in hindsight (that is "looking at it with one's ass" :-P ) ... I CAN say it wasn't as bad as it sounded. Mainly just tired after a long year, just before holiday etc etc. Not that I'm much/any/somewhat/ .... ehh ... 'wiser' now, but things are looking much better again. What happned?

Well, first off,have a look at the pic on the left. WHAT a way to relax and get things sorted in one's head again, right? Two weeks back home in Cape Town, South Africa isn't NEARLY enough ...... but thats all I can do due to Kim's school holidays. But we make use of every minute really. I knew I wasn't gonna be having a guitar there this time around, so I covered myself with plenty of music related magazines and books. Mainly I got some (quite) expensive Mixing and Mastering Magazines ....... which are always a great source of ideas and tricks. The only problem is that it makes you WANT to lay your hands on some broad ..... ehh ..... BOARD (as in 'mixing console') !! LOL ;-)

Further I got two books by Jake Brown. "In The Studio with Motorhead" and "Rick Rubin - In The Studio". Awesome really! For a Guitarist and 'Recording Nerd' like me (did I just say that?) ..... perfect. The 'Motorhead' book basically goes through every single Album and tells about how THAT Album was done, the happenings around it, plenty of technical details and comments by the band member, producers etc etc.
The 'Rick Rubin' book is about the 'Über'-Producer Rick Rubin ....... chronologically telling about his work with other bands since the late 70's .... and his general style of producing, his way-of-life, outlook etc. Very, very interesting ...... well, IF you like that sort of thing, of course ;-)

Obviously, I did a lot of thinking about my music, the upcoming Six String Bliss Album, "The British Are Coming" ..... and what I want to do for that. Again .... as MOST people will be able to relate to ..... the time is running out. How IS that? One has a over 4 month period to get something down ...... and 3-4 weeks before the deadline ....... panic takes over!!! LOL .... I guess it's called 'Life'. That and everything that goes with it. Family, Jobs, Computers crashing ....... and the worst of all ...... TIME! Time to sit ALONE .... in ones 'Studio' and actually DO something. VERY rare that !!! I think thats the 'price' one has to pay for having music as a 'hobby'. It gets 'shoved' to the background when more important things are going on. But it has to be like that too. It keeps it from getting boring ... OR it being a stressfull thing because you have to make a living of it. So ..... just as in the Tom Hanks / Meg Ryan 1998 movie 'You've Got Mail'. (One of my fav movies, btw!!) Remember how they just WAIT till the partner leaves the house? They would peek through the window, making sure he's gone and then RUN to the PC to go 'online'. Sometimes I kinda feel like that as well. I'll have everything set up .... and just as soon as the wife gets into that car, the volume goes up!!!! Hahaha. Come, on ...... be honest! We ALL do that, don't we? ;-) I must just figure out a way to be warned about her coming back still ;-)

As for the tracks for the Album, I already send in a remasterd version of an old tune I did in 2007, and a collaboration is in already as well. I did that on purpose to lessen the pressure of sending 'something' half-finished in on the 11th hour. I have 2-3 tunes I COULD do .... realistically, I'm hoping for the ONE to materialize. The hitch is .... it has vocals!!!!! *screams of horror* And I CAN'T sing. But I figured SO many out there can't sing either, yet they still manage somehow. That, and the fact that there are SO many fancy 'toys' out there to 'treat' ones voice ...... I told myself that I just HAVE to try this .... at least ONCE! It won't be pretty ...... but what the heck, right? I did a rough 'test' and send it to my buddy Martin ....... and he said it wasn't half bad at all!!! HUH? I thought it was HORRIBLE ...... but hearing one's voice is always somethign to get used to. So that encouraged me quite a bit to carry on on that idea. Now it's just getting to actually record a LOT more takes. IF I get the track anywhere near the way I'm hoping .... it should be a good one ;-)

Last night at least I was able to play a bit at .....well .... a 'slightly higher volume' :-P ...... so I just enjoyed myself. Just jamming around, no plan, no worries ......

Just a little .... LOUD .... 'evening jam' ;-) <--- Press to Play

Well, that's it for now. I got a WHOLE bunch of Magazines to still go through. I was thinking maybe I should post a 'General Overview' ..... about things I read in there, new stuff, interesting articles etc. Basically a "What's new in the April Mags" - kind a thing. Anybody interested?

J

Day 62 - None the wiser

2011-03-03T11:45:00.001+01:00

This is my last day. I'm leaving!

Ok, Ok! Sounds very dramatically but it's not really. I just meant it's my last day before 2 weeks leave and we're leaving for Cape Town tomorrow. BUT ..... still ...... why can't get rid of this feeling that 'something has ended' and 'I'm waiting for the next thing to start' What? What's this 'thing'? I dunno. Am I just tired after long months of work? Midlife crisis? (Can't be. I'm only ...ehh ... oh shit!) ;-) or is it just 'time' yet again for a normal 're-adjustment' ? Kinda like a New Years resolution .... except ...... well, on day 62 of the year. But this has been coming for a while now.
Reading Six String Bliss Host, Pipes' blog this morning made me think. He was telling how his life is like waves. Makes a lot of sense. Mine is a little like 'Chapters'. With quite clear beginnings and ending periods. Not to BORE you with my personal life .... let's keep this on a 'musical' level.

I've been part of this community for nearly 5 years now. A hell of a long time in Internet terms. But it's been fun. I wouldn't have stayed this long if it wasn't. Being able to (try) make music and link up with 'friends' all over the world that share the same interest is very cool. I've met LOTS of people online, some even for real !!! Some I'll never get to meet. There's been laughter, fights (Pipes still doesn't speak to me really ;-) ) , deaths, births, ...... and we all shared in this. Most are even around the same age, have families, day (non Music related) jobs. We all KNOW what it feels like to loose a job. Having to pay bills. Hard times at the office etc. And what makes US a community is that among THAT ..... we all love to have music, and in particular, the Guitar as our own little refuge. Our 'thing' to turn to sometimes. Somebody once said ........ "That guitar is like that blond barlady that understands you more than anybody in the world" :-)
I'm SO thankfull for all the friends I made and people I met through this. Really!!

But after all this time, and haven seen many people slowly (or abruptly) 'dissapear' into their world again ...... I get the feeling that maybe it's time to do something similar. Maybe spend less time being the 'Mr. Big, obnoxious, smart-ass, that thinks he knows everyting'. All over on Forums (2450 posts in just under 5 years!!!), Facebook, Blogs, bla bla bla ...... even I'M sick of me!!! And the 2-3 people (at the most) that REALLY know me will be able to tell you .... this is SO far from the 'real' me it's just not funny! I LOVE music. Always have. I've only started to 'make' music late in life ..... and I'm really no good at it, but as I see music to be a 'personal' thing .... and because I don't (thankfully) have to make a living with it ...... it's ok to suck at it!!! LOL
Now I'm busy working on my last tune for Six String Bliss. Even if I don't get to finish it before the deadline, at least I'll be represented on 1-2 other tracks. But maybe that'll be 'it' from me for a while at least.I'm not 'gone' or anything. And I guess (hope) I'll still get to make some tracks with my friends out there. It'll just be ....less.

Bottom line, I think I approached it from the wrong side. I made something and wanted it to sound good to other people. It was more a thing of 'Wait till you hear THIS' ...... and way too little of 'This is me. My soul is in this. I made this and I'm proud of it, even if it's not even very good. And even if nobody ever hears it'.

Yes! That's it! I think I'm starting to get an idea where I wanna go!!! (See, even writing a blog that only 10 people ever read helps sometimes ;-) ) So don't count me out just yet .......

Maybe 'Day 62' made me wiser afterall ;-)

Get ya Wah-Wah out !

2011-02-20T23:45:00.001+01:00

I think no effect/pedal is as recognizable as the famous Wah pedal!!! Who doesn't get goosebumps listening to Hendrix or SRV on Voodoo Chile? And there are TONS of other examples out there. Sometimes not as blatant, but it does remain one of THE essential effect pedals in a guitarists arsenal. I have a real old (and it looks the part) Dunlop Crybaby that my buddy Clint Searcy send me a long time ago. I have to admit that I'm not good at it ..... but it's murder fun!!! But ..... what if I didn't have a real Wah pedal ..... would I have to live without? Well ...... no !!

As most of you know, I have a Behringer FCB1010 Midi Foot Controller hooked up permanently to my system. I've written numerous posts about how cool it is to use that to control your DAW. But hang on .... there are TWO expression pedals on it too. Can I use those? If yes, HOW? And ...... I see some 'Wah' component in just about every amp sim out there. Guitar Rig, TH2, Vandal, Amplitube, ........ they all have one (Amplitube 3 even has 4 (!!!) I think). Can I use my midi foot controller's expression as a Wah?

Oh, you BETCHA !!!

Let's see how this is done in Reaper and using one of Guitar Rig 4's Wah components. If you start up Guitar Rig (or any other amp sim, for that matter) in Stand-alone mode, you have to go to the settings, set up Reaper so it recognises the controller, then right-click on any parameter, choose 'Learn' ....... and step on the wanted switch or pedal. That's it. You can nou play and use the controller as specified.

Things are a little different when using a amp sim inside a DAW as a plug-in. The assignment of a controller switch/pedal HAS to go via your DAW. Luckily, this is easily done in Reaper. I assume you have your controller all set-up in Reaper. Create a track and load Guitar Rig in the FX slot.

Call up your favorite preset and drag a Wah component right to the top of the rack from the 'Filters' category on the left. I like using the 'REAL WAH' in GR as it really sounds great and is cool to use. When you have it in your rack, right-click on the slider on the component itself. You'll see the 'Learn' option that you used when in Stand-alone mode. We don't need it now ...... but take note of the last entry in the list. "Host Automation ID : 40". This basically means, you'll find exactly THIS parameter in Reaper as ID 40. We'll get to that in a minute. Close the GR plug.in for now.

On the track, click on the 'env' button to call up the envelopes. WTF?!?! ....... Haha, don't panic. I know you were used to the 4-5 ones that were there normally, you'll NOW see a HUGE list of .... 'stuff'. Whats all this? Well, if you look closely, you'll see that a whole new section was added for Guitar Rig. A bunch of named parameters, and a whole bunch with only numbers. The named parameters are ALL the parameters of your current rig that you have in GR at this moment. The others are 'free to use' parameters.
So, look for the 'Real Wah Pedal' parameter .... it'll be the 40th one ...... Oops! 40? Ring a bell? ;-)
When you found it, check the box next to it, next to 'arm' and next to 'visible' ...... and now click on the little 'learn' button. You'll now be presented with a little dialog box waiting for YOUR input. So .... step on the expression pedal of your foot controller now!! You'll see a Midi channel and CC number appear in the little field.

Close up that 'env' screen now, and you'll notice a new 'envelope lane' has appeared below your track. Make sure the enveloped is armed, and then right-click the 'env' button of the track and select 'WRITE'. This will activate the envelope to respond to your movement of the pedal. Try it out. Stepping on the pedal should move the 'wah-envelope' up and down now. Great, isn't it ?

Press RECORD and play some, and using the expression pedal as you would use a Wah. You should now hear a REAL funky Wah pedal. And when you look at the screen, you'll see the effects on the screen. A thousand little 'nodes' for every movement of the pedal.

When you are done having fun. STOP and look at all these 'nodes'. You'll realize that there really isn't the need for THAT exact amount of 'nodes' on the envelope. Right-click on any of the nodes on the envelope and select 'Reduce number of points'. You'll get a little dialog box most probably telling you that you have something like 1000 points. Slide the slider down and look how the envelope becomes less and less 'smooth'. Try and find a low number that still represents your pedal movement. I could slide mine down from over a 1000 to as low as 187.

There you have it!!!! PLAY your track now and see (and HEAR) the envelope move!!!!

The nice thing is, you can even edit the 'nodes' if you wanted to. Oh, and remember ...... this method works with EVERY component parameter that has a slider, pedal or dial. You can use Whammy pedals, Volume pedals, any dial on regular compnents etc. This means, you can now control parameters with your foot ..... that you can't do with REAL pedals !!!

Oh, and to give you a little audio demo, here you go !!! ;-)

Wah Audio Demo

Do you REALLY still need a reason to get a midi foot controller with expression pedals? ;-) ;-) I think not !!

Book Review : Home Recording for Beginners by Geoffrey Francis

2011-02-11T12:08:00.001+01:00

There's a ton of 'Home Recording for Beginners' books out there. Some are good ... and some miss the boat completely by overwhelming the beginner with technical details. I still LOVE reading these books. Why? Because there's ALWAYS something you can learn and didn't know. Even some basics. Every now and then I read something about a 'fairly well versed topic' and I go ... "Oh, THAT'S how it works!".

Now I have stumbled upon a REALLY good book!!! It's called ...ehh.... 'Home Recording for Beginners' by Geoffrey Francis. It came out in 2009 and the thing that caught my eye immediately is the big 'Reaper' logo on the front cover. This seems (to me) the first real GOOD book for beginners, using Reaper as a environment! NICE !!!

So how is this book set up and what is so good about it? Well, it starts off with 'The Myths of Home recording' and what you will need and ..... what you DON'T need!!! It explains is very basic drawings how recordings on a PC are done. Then there are some 'Installation Guidelines', an overview of recording software and a short 'shopping list' of the basic equipment needed and also the cost involved (WAY less than most think).
The book then goes into a 'Getting started in 30 Days' mode .... surprising, as it didn't seem like one of those typical 'Build your own Nuclear Plant in 21 Days'- kind of book :-P Quickly paging through it, it isn't either .... the 'days' are actually just chapters of topics that one would go through in a sensible order anyway.

Day 1 starts off with the typical 'Audio & MIDI' explanation, Project Stages etc. Day 2 handles the soundcard in Windows. Here is becomes apparent that the book isn't too concerned about Mac users. But it doesn't matter much, because 90% of the book applies to home recording AFTER you have everything set up. So Mac users will also benefit from this. Day 3 then starts a VERY good intro of setting up Reaper itself. Days 4-5 then go into Project handling and the first recording in Reaper. Just QUICKLY reading through it taught me 1-2 new shortcuts I didn't know about.
It then continues going through all aspects of recording with Reaper without EVER going overboard with technical details. And still it's VERY complete in its facts and explanations. Chapter 2 ends up at Day 30 discussing and showing Audio CD and MP3 rendering.

Up to THIS point, the book is already worth its $25.- but it goes on ....... explaining the terms 'sample rate' and 'bit depth', audio formats, impedance, audio drivers, MIDI and 'How to set up your Studio'. The last Chapter (5) gives advice about the next steps, the learning path, future purchases etc.

It's not a thick book. It's paperbag and around 240 pages, but each filled with everything the beginner needs.

If you're starting out with Reaper and want to try your hand on recording your own material, I can DEFINITELY recommend this book !!!! I'm

Collaborating on a Song across the Internet. (one way of doing it .....)

2011-02-10T11:30:00.012+01:00

Not too long ago, if you wanted to be a 'musician' and actually make music with other people, you had to actually get together, in their garage, studio, hobby room, schoolyard etc. But what about those people that COULDN’T just go and meet others? What about people in remote places? What about people in wheelchairs? What about people that can't leave home because they have to look after family members?

Say what you may about the evils of the Internet, but at least today we can use it to collaborate on piece of music ...... with somebody on the other side of the globe. Today, one has email, chats, messengers, shared webspace etc to ones disposal. Make no mistake ...... it's not easy, because here we need one thing that the human race is not too good at … clear communication :-)

But how does a good collaboration work? I guess there are tons of ways, and one has to find the one that works best for all parties concerned. I’ve been part of the Six String Bliss Guitar podcast community for nearly 5 years now. And over that period we’ve all made a lot of music and collaborated in various ways. One leans a lot, and things that you thought were easy … all of a sudden become a problem. So I think it’s a constant learning thing, AND one has to remember that where one way of working might work for two people, it might not work for somebody else.

My friend Larry (over in Florida) and I …. have done some songs over the last year or so, and I think we have developed to a nice, simple, yet effective way of collaborating on a track across the Internet. I thought it might be a good idea to lay this out to you guys out there and find out how YOU do things different or how ‘our’ way has helped you in your collaborations.

Contribute vs Collaborate

“Hey, I was thinking of trying my hand on xxx. You want to contribute some bass?” That’s usually a typical way things get started. Somebody has an idea and is looking for somebody to contribute. Contribute? Collaborate? Hang on …. What’s the difference?

Collaborate /kəˈlæbəreɪt/
: to work together with someone in order to produce something

Contribute /kənˈtrɪbjuːt/

: to provide one of the things that help make something.

These two terms might sound similar, but when working on a musical piece, they can have very important differences. If you want to avoid getting into a massive fight and loosing the whole fun aspect ….. take note of this! A good ‘working together’ is VITAL for the success of any project!

To me, a collaboration means that both parties are involved in the forming of the song. One might be chosen to do the mixing and another to so some important work on it ….. but both will listen and exchange ideas on ALL aspects of the song.

A ‘contribution’ is when somebody has a song in his head and wants to do it a certain way. For this he may need some tracks from you and will tell you exactly what he wants the part to play and sound like. You however agree that HE has the control over the song itself. This might even mean that he’ll chop up your part in bits and mash it up into something else. Be CLEAR about this BEFORE the time. If you are dead set that you take will be used ‘as is’ …. then it has to be cleared before the time! Also be clear that the final mix might not necessarily be to your liking.

Another important thing to remember right at the beginning … Know your ‘place’ in this project and be careful with your ‘flood of suggestions and ideas’. It’s the quickest way to scare people off when they come with a rough ‘idea’ and you just take over and steamroll them with files, projects, already-thought-out arrangements etc. DON’T DO IT ! ….. the chances are good they’ll NEVER ask you again !! It was THEIR idea ….. so, if you are interested (and be sure to say openly if you’re NOT!) ….. let them know that you are and wait for information and requests. If your input is requested, they will tell you so!

So, let’s summarize :

Sort out the extend of your collaboration/contribution right from the start
Sort out the extend to how the parts may be used
Sort out the involvement in final mixes
Sort out the extend of distribution/posting of the final product

Once all that is cleared, one can get into creating the actual song. What are the main steps here ?

Remember, that there is no ONE ‘correct’ way, this is just how WE do it !!!

Song choice and rough ‘Who does what?’
Arrangements / Demo track
Choice of DAWs and sharing methodology
Tracking, Rough mixes and Overdubs
Mixing / Mastering
Housekeeping

Song choice and rough ‘Who does what?’

Mostly we’ve agreed on a song and also in general who wants to do what. Now, this isn’t cast in stone!! At ANY point somebody might have an idea or maybe just come up with a better take. It’s important to leave the egos outside. Whatever is good for the overall SONG is important!

We would also assign a person who will be the ‘Producer’ … although ‘Engineer’ might sometimes be more fitting. He’s the person who will have the final say in what takes will be used, the structure of the session. Mostly this is also the guy that will mix the session …. And therefore it’s only convenient that he already sets everything up the way he wants to. Keeping in mind that we mostly do ‘collaborations’ (see above for definition) ….. we always try to be flexible and open to the others suggestions, complaints etc. Get a BIG piece of paper saying “THIS IS FUN” and stick it up against the wall above your screen. The MAIN point here is to have FUN !

Arrangements / Demo track

I like to start off with a lot of research. I’m no drummer or keyboarder, whether I ‘do’ a song or not largely depends on the amount and quality of material I can find about it. I’m a big fan of starting out with a good MIDI file in GuitarPro, which is an excellent MIDI / Guitar Tab Editor. I will hunt and search all over the web for any kind of GP file I can find. But not only that! I will look for sheet paper, other simple MIDI files, chord sheets, songbooks, etc. ANYTHING I can find about this song. As anybody can submit or upload his version of a song onto the Internet, there is a LOT of rubbish out there. Notes and tabs that are TOTALLY wrong and just plain badly put together. Also, remember that a song can be played in different ways, different keys etc. That is why I try and collect everything I can find, and will try and put all that together into ONE decent GP/MIDI file. It doesn’t have to be 100% true to the original, it just has to be a decent song as we would like to play it. Having a decent (MIDI) drum track is one of the most important things to me at this stage, as this will dictate the 'beat' and tempo of the song. I will use this as the base for my drum VSTi's as well.

When I have the correct ‘notes’ …. I will play this MIDI file over and over and make changes to the arrangement. My aim is to end up with a GOOD MIDI file of the song. The sound obviously is NOT important here (as MIDI files themselves have no audio anyway), just the notes, the basic instruments and the arrangement. This MIDI file is basically my ‘demo’. They are small and I can send these to any collaborators and ask whether this arrangement is the one we will use as our base track. I’d be very hesitant to change the arrangement later, although it CAN be done and doesn’t need to be much of a hassle. But it would be optimal if that is decided on early and stuck to.
Only once I'm 100% happy with the MIDI file/arrangement, will I export that out of GuitarPro and import the individual midi tracks into my DAW- Some will serve as base tracks for VSTi's (like the drums, synth, strings, piano, ...) and some will only serve as guide/scratch tracks (with some temporary synth) and will dissapear or be muted later on when I have recorded those instruments myself or received full audio tracks from somebody else.

Choice of DAWs and sharing methodology

We found DropBox.com a VERY handy place to upload and share your files. It’s a free online service that enables you to easily share files or folders with any invitees. Basically you crate a dropbox online and invite other people to it. That’s not new, but with a little piece of software on your PC (optional), it will create the SAME folders on YOUR disk and make sure the files are in sync. So, you could just pop a new file into the folder ON YOUR DISK and the dropbox software will sync.

For each project, we open a new folder, and in there we would place all our sessions. Each session gets its own little sub-folder where all it’s files are contained. We also use this to share documents, mixes, etc. A dropbox in combination with a free email like Google Mail …… makes it very easy and FREE to share and communicate!! Without this … you’ll have a hard time working together on a song.

Now, it’s not 100% a MUST that you use the same DAW, but it does make things SO much easier! Especially in the early stages, Larry could be doing something over a period of 2-3 days and he will make that WHOLE SESSION available to me. So, instead of me trying to figure out what the hell he’s been up to again (and he DOES come up with some crazy but wonderful ideas ;-) ) …. and having to ‘copy’ that into my session, I will just grab this whole project. At THAT point THAT session will be the ‘up-to-date’ and ‘current’ one. I might add to this again and change some things and then again make THAT session available to him. But watch out ! ! !

Use version numbers! Every time you update the session with something, up the version number so everybody KNOWS when there is a new session.
It might also be a good idea to make notes about that session and what it contains …. Very handy if you want to go back at some stage.

Communicate! Use emails and WRITE what you have done and what version you just uploaded.
Use an Instant Messenger, like ‘Google Talk’ or MSN to communicate LIVE. It’s VERY handy to just quickly find out what the other person is busy with.

Try NOT to work on the dropbox session DIRECTLY. If both do that, there is a chance you might ‘overwrite’ each others last changes. Rather, grab and copy the latest version to another location, work on that one …. and update the dropbox session when you are done.
Make sure ALL your audio tracks used in the project are included!!! The next person will get a ‘Missing File’ notification, if you used some audio clip that is NOT in the project directory
Don’t use any plug-ins or virtual instruments unless you KNOW for certain that the other person has these as well. If you need a plug-in like an Amp Sim to do your guitar track ….. record it and render the processed track to audio and delete the original, unprocessed, FX-containing track.
Only share ‘whole projects’ in the VERY early stages. When all main tracks are there, the Producer will have the central session and only add/replace tracks to the project. The other person can still upload his whole session if he wants to, or just share the individual tracks.
You should have started with the SAME session, so all time signatures, tempo changes, markers and song structures should be clearly marked and stuck to! THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. You will NEED these references like bars and markers in order to communicate where certain clips go, fades should start etc.

From here on, we will have a ‘central’ session and will only add tracks TO it. The earlier this stage is reached, the better.

Tracking, Rough mixes and Overdubs

Once the ‘basic session’ is in place, we start/continue tracking. Maybe some scratch tracks need to be replaced, maybe one needs an additional 6 tracks for some background guitars. Most often we would get the rhythm section down first. Drums, bass, rhythm guitars, lead guitars, additional guitars and ‘fills’, vocals and then the solo if we have one. Sometimes we would have the solo before you have the vocals, but be careful not to distract the singer with too much lead playing or a distracting solo. You can mix that down in the mix or mute it for the vocalist during his/her recording.

I would do continuous ‘rough mixes’ at short intervals, Larry can hear what it sounds like and what parts work and which don’t. They are called ‘rough mixes’, because the actual ‘Mixing Process’ hasn’t begun yet. You CAN pre-mix during tracking ……. often this is quite a good idea to already have things at the right levels and panning. This makes tracking easier …. And in the end you have way less work to do.

We track the INDIVIDUAL tracks sounding as we want them to sound. Some people like to record totally ‘dry’ and add all sounds and effects later though. Whatever works for you! At this stage I’m not too worried about overall compression, EQ etc yet. At this point my aim is to have clear, good sounding recordings of each instrument, that are at good loud levels, but don’t clip !

This stage of tracking, making rough mixes, overdubbing (I use this term when we ‘overwrite’ some part of an already existing track ….. not 100% correct, but it works for me ! LOL) … will continue till everybody is happy that all parts are there.

Mixing / Mastering

Once we have ALL tracks in place, already sounding good with levels and panning roughly set, the actual ‘Mixing’ stage begins. I would now concentrate in grouping and bussing tracks, putting one some reverb, delays, going through each track and adding compression and EQ where needed. Any automation (dynamic change in volume levels) that might still need to be done, I’ll do here.

As I am mixing in a DAW, I use included effects or plug-ins to do the EQ etc. As my PC is WAY too old, I have to be careful with the resources and using high-end plug-ins takes a little planning and using things like ‘freezing tracks’ (basically just temporarily bouncing them) and disabling the FX all the time …… just so my poor old system doesn’t grind to a stand-still.

This is important especially when using mastering effects on my Master track.

I’m using the term ‘Mastering’ VERY loosely here, because it’s not classic Mastering in the sense, as we only do ONE track here, but I would use Mastering effects on the Master Channel right in the end to add that little sparkle, give it that last push, some stereo enhancements, compression and limiting. The final result should be loud, clear, sparkly and with enough dynamics left. I don’t like to totally brickwall the song …….. I’d rather have it that slight touch softer, but with LIFE in it J

REAL Pro mastering is a whole different thing that requires a lot of training, knowledge and good equipment ;-)

Once I have a good sounding final mix (in MY ears anyway) …. I’ll upload it to the dropbox for the people to hear. There might still be adjustments, requiring additional mixes, but if we’ve done everyting well up to THIS point, there shouldn’t be the need of more than 2-3 final mixes!

Housekeeping

When everybody is happy, it’s important to STOP! You can ALWAYS fiddle more and more …. But at some stage you should just can it.

So. Done finished. Forget about the tune and go on to do new stuff, right?

Oh no .. not for me anyways. I find it VERY important to close off a project decently. This means I’ll make final renders of the song (.wav and a 320kbit/s mp3) and properly name the files as well. I’ll add the MP3 tags to the file and sort out the whole project directory. Things that are double or REALLY not used, I delete, but mostly I will just put everything in sub folders.

A project like this, with all it’s mixes (the ones that are worth keeping), all the audio from all the session (that are worth keeping) etc …… can EASILY take up a couple of gigabytes !!!! So, I burn that to 1-2 DVD’s and label them accordingly. Maybe I’ll make some additional notes as to what was used, what version of the DAW etc. This way I can always go back to the DVD and see how and what I did on this particular song.

That’s it. A LONG posting, but I hope I could bring some insight as to the process we use to work on songs together. As I said. Nothing is cast in stone, and things are slightly different from song to song and also from person to person. It’s important to always keep the FUN aspect in focus. This is all meant to be fun …. and in order to have fun, try and enjoy yourself, don’t be an asshole and try be open to suggestions, wishes and constructive criticism !!!!

Good luck with YOUR songs and collaborations. I’d be interested to hear if all this ‘bla bla’ has helped you in ANY way!!!! Also, let’s hear how YOU do things different !!!

Cheers !!

Me on the "Pro Tools 9 - Elevate Your Sound Tour"

2011-01-25T11:24:00.005+01:00

So yesterday I attended the AVID "Pro Tools 9 - Elevate Your Sound Tour" and I thought I'd give you guys a run-down of the evening.

For those of you that don't know, 'Pro Tools' is the recording software/system used my most professional studios, artists etc. out there. It has a long history and is continuously improving it to keep up with the competition .... Logic, Cubase, Sonar ..... Which one is the 'best'? I believe there is no such thing. ALL these DAW's (Digital Audio Workstations) have their pros and cons, their markets, their special features etc. So it's up to YOU to see which suits you, your music, your needs .... and of course ..... your budget the best!

The event was supposed to start at 4:30 PM at the 'Media Bunker' here in Hamburg. My UK friends Martin, Steve and Dave ..... will know the place. It's a MASSIVE old World War 2 bunker, that was build SO solid that they can't tear it down. So instead, they converted it into a 'Media Bunker'. It now houses the most modern Recording Studios, TV Stations, Radio Stations, Music Shops, the SAE Institute, Hamburg School Of Music and various other things in there. Also some Night Clubs, like the 'Übel & Gefährlich' (The Nasty and Dangerous) are located in there. This Tour was spread over various floors. The main presentation was in the night club and the workshops were done in the SAE classrooms two floors down. In the backrooms of the night club, various partner firms (Melodyne, Sonnox plugins, UAD, Softube etc) set up their products ..... and there was also this one room where Avid had MOST of their products set up and ready to be tried out. All very access friendly.

Due to some terror act in Moscow, the flights were delayed and the event could only start an hour late ...... which wasn't really a hassle as there was SO much to look at and to try out. I spend MOST of the time, playing on a ElevenRack .... that was AWESOME !!

The main presentations were done in this night club, 'Übel & Gefährlich' which was a great idea, as the back of the stage was converted into two MASSIVE screens to show the workstation of the presenter, in front on the stage there were the guys actually playing and recording as in a little 'studio' .... WITH all the gear like the ElevenRack used for the guitars. The BEST however was that they fed everything through the PA system of the club, which ... as you can imagine ..... being in a Media Bunker and used by SAE, the music shop, the studios below and 'Hamburg School Of Music' .... is absolutely state-of-the-art. Oh ....ehhh.... and LOUD !!!! :-P

Oh, and on the side of the club there is this LONG bar ..... where you could get up to 2 free drinks, which I thought was a very cool idea. There was also food sold etc.

Oh, an important fact ...... there were around 200-300 people there, MOST of which do NOT use Pro Tools at this stage. This is Germany. Here Cubase is King! By FAR !!! So most of the people can to see because they wanted to 'compare'. The age was widespread ..... although I THINK there were more 'over 40's' there than people in their 20's. A lot of 'hobby producers', 'home recording artists', students and obviously quite a few Professionals too!!

The Agenda for the evening :

Pro Tools 9 - Overview and New Features
Creating a Song straight in Pro Tools 9

Then one had to choose between :

Workshop : Pro Tools 9 for converts
or
Producing Rammstein - Jacob Hellner (Rammstein, Clawfinger, Covenant)
Workshop : Mixing in Pro Tools 9
or
Hardware meets Software – High-end Mixing - Michael Ilbert (Pink, Beatsteaks, Tocotronic, Mando Diao, Herbert Grönemeyer ...)

OBVIOUSLY, I chose the 'Rammstein session' and the presentation by Michael Ilbert ........ as I didn't really worry too much about 'how to USE Pro Tools' at this stage, as the chance is VERY slim that I'll get to use it anytime soon anyway.

The 'Overview and New features' was very interesting. Obviously a 'sales pitch' but they DID make it very nice and showed what this new version can do and what changed from previous versions of Pro Tools. Main points were ....

There won't be any 'LE' or 'M-Powered' version anymore. Just 'Pro Tools 9'. Depending on what extra hardware you have, or extention toolkit you have installed, the functions will be available to you.
Pro Tools 9 has upped the specs on version 8 in terms of max. tracks, LOTS of new features and performance enhancements
You DON'T have to use a Avid/Digidesign audio interface anymore. Works with any Core Audio / ASIO Interface that you might already have.

Then there was the 'Creating a Song straight in Pro Tools 9' presentation which I really enjoyed. One guy, Bassel el Hallak (Session-Guitarist - Backstreet Boys, N'Sync, Tom Jones, INXS, Vanessa Amorosi, Weather Girls), sat on the stage with guitar and bass .... plugged into the ElevenRack, and the other guy, Lars Kischkel (Producer, Avid) was behind a desk and a keyboard ...... with his two screens projected to the back of the stage. They then set about creating a song from scratch having only some vocal lines from some woman (absent). This was exactly what I like to see and what I came for. Using mainly Pro Tools included instruments, and playing the keyboard, guitar and bass parts in right there .... it was great to see how they put together this 'dance track' with beats, loops, recordings etc. And also how they used Pro Tools 9 to do changes to those recordings. On-the-fly. The quick pre-mixing, the effects used and the settings in the EQ. Little tips and tricks. Any 'idea' (ok, I guess not EVERYTHING was as 'spontaneous' as it seemed ;-) ) .... was talked about, tried out and implemented. I learned a LOT from that. The song itself TOTALLY SUCKED!!! Hahahahahaha .... I would've done 90% different, but that's only normal :-) Everybody would have done 'their' song different :-) :-). All in all ... the interaction between the musician, the 'producer/engineer', how they used Pro Tools while recording ....... VERY cool indeed.

After a break, the 'Producing Rammstein' presentation was held. I was VERY surprised to see that MOST people left to go to the 'Pro Tools for converts' workshops, but then again, as most were Cubase users .... this maybe made sense. Or was it that Rammstein's Producer Jacob Hellner is swedish and the presentation was done in English? ??? ;-) No matter. This was great. He cam there with a FULL, complete recording session from one of Rammsteins songs off their latest Album. The song, Rammlied, is a 'typical' Rammstein song, with Till Lindemann's awesome, dark, 'R'-rolling, scary yet poetic, Old-German singing .... and the rest featuring HEAVY guitars, orchestral pieces, choirs etc etc etc. Jacob first played the song through (remember .... club .... PA system ..... LOUD). Geez ..... stunning! Then he showed each part of the session, the vocals, the drums, the guitars, bass, additional tracks and talked about HOW they were recorded, WHY in such a way etc. Throughout, obviously showing the features of Pro Tools 9 ..... as it helped him doing this MAMOTH task. I don't know how MANY tracks there were in that session ....... a LOT. He soloed various parts, played it with EQ ... without .... so everybody could hear what the initial raw recordings sounded like, how they sounded after being treated and how they sounded in the mix. Fascinating stuff. He also talked about the guys individually, their preferences, how THEY do things, how they do their DEMOS at home etc etc.

The thought of asking him for a job didn't cross my mind ... AT ALL !!! *coughbullshitcough* ;-) :-)

'Hardware meets Software – High-end Mixing by Michael Ilbert' was on after a short break again, and I was getting quite tired by now. Still it was a great presentation. He showed us how he was approached with a song, pre-mixed from some band, and how he changed this 'rather awful' mix to a high class mix. It was mind-boggling how much you can go in detail on CAN go ... and how sometimes one doesn't have to and a little 'adjustment' makes a HUGE difference. Some really fancy mixing techniques were shown here and I hope I can remember SOME of them. I was quite glad to realize that the things HE didn't like, I didn't either. And the way I THOUGHT it should sound like .... was VERY close to the sound he ended up with!!! It was just 'How the F### do you GET there?' - part .... that is the hard. Which frequency to adjust, what to compress, where, how and WHEN. But I guess that comes with training, and a lot of practice and experience ........

That was it for me then, as I still had to get all the way home. Working day today.

Conclusion?

Well, Pro Tools 9 IS awesome. It IS and I guess will always be 'a little different' ..... but so be it. it takes a while to REALLY get to know all the ins and outs and how to really use it to its full potential, but I guess ..... it's no different with any other DAW. Things I took from this event were ....

I DESPERATELY need a new PC!!! Working efficiently means you have to be able to have quite a few effects etc open at the same time. The speed, memory needed and resources to be able to use plugins wherever, whenever ......... my PC would DIE just seeing that! Then again, I've had my 'very simple and basic' PC for over 5 years. Thats unheard of actually in this field. It works WELL with my little sessions where I might have 8 tracks and SOME plugins, but THATS already pushing it.
Time to start saving for an upgrade .....
Eventhough I LOVED everything ProTools could do ... I also realized that MOST of the functions are doable in other DAW's (be it different). So UNLESS somebody just happens to GIVE me around €600.- ...... I won't be rushing out to get Pro Tools 9. I wouldn't MIND ...... but I just can't afford that!
ElevenRack is GREAT. AxeFX might have the slight edge ... 'sound wise' .... but ER is more than just an Guitar Effect Processor, it's 3 things in one and in terms of flexibility, the interaction with the DAW (PT9), features and ease of use ........ nothing comes close to it. Just MY oppinion! Still, at €850.- (incl Pro Tools 8 LE) .... nope, can't afford that either :-P

So, where Avid might not have made me go out and buy pro Tools 9 and/or an ElevenRack ..... I found new respect for Pro Tools. It's something I would LIKE to work with one day .....

The great evening will also excuse the one 'sales man' who knew had half his facts wrong ;-) Ok, maybe I shouldn't have enjoyed exposing him and asking him all these 'questions' so much ..... but hey, he should have done his homework, right? ;-)

Multichannel Drums with Reaper in 6 steps !

2011-01-08T13:59:00.003+01:00

I think it's no rare occurance that us guitarists sit with out hands in our hair (if we still have some ;-) ) and wonder how the #%&§$ we can get some drum track going. I think I've spend quite a few blog posts about 'Drums in xxx' etc. So by now you should at least KNOW the options ......

To me, unless you have a buddy that plays drums OR have a kit there yourself .... the best is using a "multi-microphone drum sampler". I don't like to call them 'drum synths' because the we are talking software instruments that are using REAL drum samples. THAT is the important thing about these.

How do they actually MAKE these?

Well, these companies spend months and months in big professional studios with various krum kits and they will carefully record tons and tons of single drum hits. With tons of differernt microphones, in different positions, different kit pieces ....... recording hits in various velocities and ... and ... and ....... Basically, a monster-job!!! After that, these are all carefully assembled into 'libraries' and mapped to standard keyboard layouts (drum maps). This means .... if you have a simple MIDI keyboard attached .... you can hit that C2 key and you will get a kick drum. Hit it hard ... it will sound loud, hit the key softly and it'll play softer. The whole kit is laid out across a keyboard. MOST will adhere to a 'general' drum map ... some don't and you will have to find a matching drum map.

So, what does that mean to US? It means we can create a simple (midi) track in our DAW ..... assign the MIDI keyboard as an input ....... place a 'drum sampler' on it as an 'insert' (just like any other plug-in) ...... and when we hit the keys, we'll actually be PLAYING real drum samples!!! If you already HAVE a MIDI track .... even better ..... just press PLAY and your DAW will send each of those MIDI notes TO that drum sampler ..... which will play the right drum piece. So if you have all the software and a decent MIDI drum track ..... this isn't even a 5 minute job to get a basic drum track down !! As we are guitarists .... FINE, because we don't REALLY wanna spend more time on drums than needed.

Let's get back to our initial aim here .......

What good software drum sampelrs are out there? Which is the best and which should I get? What are the difference between them?

Well, as with all other software and music technology ..... there are tons out there these days. The biggest names really are fxPansion .... which make the excellent BFD sampler and Toontrack, responsible for EZDrummer and Superior 2.0 ! There is a LOT of work that goes into making these tools ..... so the 'libraries' can get HUGE! I'm talking several DVD's here!! Do all of us really NEED all these differernt kits? Well .... no. Thats why both fxPansion and Toontrack have split their products into two 'markets'. The BIG BOY ..... that has EVERYTHING .... and then the scaled down version that only has a few kits.

So, fxPansion has a big, complete, all-inclusive drum sampler ........ BFD 2.0 and a scaled down version (perfectly suitable for MOST of us) ....... BFD Eco
Toontrack has Superior 2.0 as its big boy ...... and the very popular EZDrummer as it's basic and scaled down version.

Let me just add that BOTH companies also offer expansion kits for their products. So you don't JUST have a Pop/Rock Kit .... but you can additionally buy a Jazz kit, a Metal kit, a Vintage kit etc etc. These expansions can normally be used by BOTH the big and the small products ....... it's just the tweaking, mixing and mic possibilities that differ. Mostly, in the flagship products you can tweak and mix just about everything .......... on the 'budget package', you'll only get the basics.

Mixing? Huh? Lets go back to a 'classic' real drum setup in a studio. There they will have a kist set up with literally tons of microphones on each kit piece. EACH microphone will be fed to a fader on the engineers desk. So he will have a fader for the kick drum, a couple for the snares, hihats, toms, there will be some overhead mics and even room icrophones. The engineer can therefore control each with his fader.
In our software tools .... they make it easier on you ..... each drum tool will have a little (or massive) mixing setup where you can do the same ON the plug-in itself. The plug-in will be on ONE track though ...... where you can regulate the overall volume.

Ok, now we are getting somewhere......

So, does that mean .... if I have EZDrummer, I'm stuck with the 'miserable' internal mixer?

NO! All of these products also offer the possibilities to route each drum kit piece to a seperate track in your DAW. So, this means ..... just liek the anaolog guy ..... you will have a track for the kick drum, snares, toms etc. Now you can adjust, tweak and use effects and compressors as YOU want. Ok, this means you'll have to tweal a little more .... but YOU have full control now.

How can we do THIS with EZDrummer ?

Easy ...... in just a few steps I'm gonna show you in Reaper how to get a midi track play through EZDrummer routed to individual, mutlichannel tracks !! Just follow the steps and try it yourself !!

Here goes .....

Step 1 : The MIDI track

Create a midi track in you DAW and put some midi drum track on it. It's good to insert a midi drum track FIRST, as it will take all tempo changes, time/signatures etc

Step 2 : 'Cleaning' the MIDI track

Midi tracks normally have a lot of 'MIDI Commands' for selecting midi kits, naming, volume changes, velocities, pitch shifts etc. Normally we want to get rid of ALL of that, as all those things we'll do in our DAW on the track itself and NOT inside the midi track.
Look for an "Event List" in your DAW (in Reaper, double click on the MIDI track and press "Alt 3"
In the list .... try to remove everything thats not of type 'Note'.

Step 3 : Adding the Drum Sampler

Add the drum sampler as you would normally do. Wait for it to load completely and don't close it just yet.

Step 4 : Creating the output tracks

In Reaper, right-click on the plug-in you just added and select "Build multichannel routing for output of selected FX ..."

You will now see a whole bunch of extra tracks being created in your DAW. EZDrummer will show you a little dialog box, informing you how it routed the plugi-in. Good practice to make a note or screenshot of that !! !!!!

Step 5 : Set EZDrummers routing to 'multichannel'

Open EZDrummer, switch to the internal Mixer and right-click on the black 'Trk1' below the kick drum. A little list will open and you want to select 'Multichannel'.

You will now see that EZDrummer has set the output to different track. Make a note of that again.Have a look at the pic below. It tells you that it routed 'Kick' to Trk1 (which is the first new track NOT track 1 ..... as that is the original MIDID track).
Also note that it routed ALL Toms to 'Trk 5' and that there is no 'Trk 8'.

Step 6 : Rename Tracks

Although maybe not ABSOLUTELY needed, rather do this not to get confused. We should rename our new tracks in our DAW now according to the output of EZDrummer.

Look at the picture as I've named them. That last track, EZ8 ... you can delete as it's not needed. This is because THIS kit didn't need another track. Rememeber that if you have another kit in EZDrummr that uses many more pieces, you'll also get more channels in EZDrummer !!

OK. DONE !!! What do we have now? We have a 'MIDI host track' that has the MIDI notes and EZDrummer on it. EZDrummer is however routed to send it's kit pieces to tracks 2 - 7 !!

Press PLAY now and you should SEE (on the indicators) that the tracks are played. Play around with the 'mute' and 'solo' to hear single drum pieves on their own etc. Remember that track 6 and 7 (Overhead and Room) pci up every other piece as well. Try muting those and listen !!!

Extra Tip : Create a Drum Folder Track
Having all these drum tracks is nice, but it also takes a lot of space. If you want, you can put all these in a 'Folder Track' ... so you have all the drum tracks neatly in one folder that you can collapse. Do this by creating another track, placing it ABOVE the MIDI track ... and then pressing on the folder icon (next to the IO icon) on the track. All the tracks below it will now be grouped into this folder track !

See if that works for you!!! :-)

If there are any questions or things I've done wrong ..... PLEASE don't hesitate to ask or mention it. I'd appreciate SOME feedback ;-)

J

What's up for 2011?

2010-12-29T10:41:00.002+01:00

No matter HOW much people say "Oh, I don't make New Years resolutions" ....... they're lying!!! The clever ones just shut up about them ;-) This way you can make your own little plans ..... and if they don't all fall in place ..... nobody can laugh at you. Ok, realizing that this is gonna put me in the 'not so clever fraction' ........ what do I want of 2011?

Well, obviously the family holiday at my Mom's place in Cape Town, South Africa in March .... is the next BIG thing to look forward to. And YES ..... I will again TRY and 'stop eating' till then ;-) ...... not that it's gonna make much of a 'visual' dent ..... but if one just feels a little better, it's already a start. To be able to spend 2 weeks (only due to school holidays) in Cape Town at +30Deg C. ..... while it's a freezing and snow-covered -5 Deg. C is pure heaven!!! Relaxing next to my Mom's pool, shopping, going to the beach and a LOT of braais (that's South Afrcan BBQ) with my brother (staying next to my Mom) ....... Ahhhhhh. Gonna be great !! :-)

As everything is getting more expensive, and the government has already said that medial aid, unemployment, taxes etc etc etc ..... are ALL going up ....... and we haven't had a raise in salary for .... dunno ... 5-6 years? ... this means you have to tighten the belt even tighter, skip on something else in 2011 and try not to make any big purchases. Not that we do that anyway. I take public transport to and from work, we live close to the schools, so Kim can walk, we have one small car which Astrid uses and we don't care too much about 'having the latest, greatest technology toys'. A simple TV .... no iPhones and even as an IT Professional ..... my PC at home is over 5 years old and NOTHING fancy. Who needs more than that? The most important is me having my girls, that we're all healthy and can still pay all our bills!

Ok, then WHY do I have 6 Guitars? Pffff...... LOW BLOW !!! Hahahaha ..... but in all honesty, too many, I know! But on the other hand, thats my hobby and these arent THAT expensive ones anyway. A person into his cycling can EASILY spend WAY more than me on a new bike etc.
For 2011, music is the only thing I REALLY want to make plans for. The last 2 years I said I wanted to 'do some originals'. I kinda achieved that with my two collaborative tracks on the Sixstring Bliss Halloween Album 'Scales Of Horror', 'Bliss Stomp' and 'Lorum Ipsum' and 'Love Trap' on 'What the Fuzz'.
But I want to build on that. Apart for MAYBE contributing something for the 7th Bliss Album ......... this year I want to put down some simple rock tunes. Simple, nothing too spectacular. I want to write the music AND lyrics for it. WHO might sing them one day, isn't important at this stage. Just have some simple tunes in the way and style that I like ....... thats my aim for 2011.
Gear purchases ..... hmm.... not really. I got great Guitars, theres always some I'd LIKE to have ..... but no big priotity. I bought a new 24" wide screen from my neighbour ....... and that helps a LOT with sequencing work. Other than that, I have enough 'toys' and 'tools' ....... now I must start USING them creativly ;-)

We'll see how far I get with that. YOU'LL sure hear/read about it HERE :-)

J

Boutique Amp Sims of 2010

2010-12-29T09:31:00.003+01:00

After trying and failing to do a 'good' audio review ...... and after listening to Jims (and other)s great posting of 'jams' .... I rather decided to make some clips and post some screenshots. So THERE :P ;)

What do I mean with that? Well, in terms of amp sims 'plug-ins' we all know the BIG names ... Guitar Rig, Amplitube .... but just as is the case with REAL Amplifiers ...... there are SO many on the market. And sometimes (often ? ?) ..... you'll find a 'lesser known' boutique amp maker that has EXACTLY the amp you are looking for. The amp, the service .... and taking THAT into consideration, even the price! Not everybody CAN or even wants to have a Marshall full stack in his living room. Often ... YOUR amp is smaller, yet lets your hair stand up on your amps every time you crank it up. A good example is Pipes' Satellite Amp. After lusting for so many Marshalls, Fenders or Mesa Boogies ..... he found THAT Amp in a Satellite Amp !! And he's LOVING it because it sounds just right to his ears!!! Great stuff!! THAT'S what it should be like ;D

With amp sims, it's much the same. Eventhough the 'ulimate' might still be an AxeFX, ElevenRack, POD X3 or other (which, to be honest are ALSO amp sims in a dedicated, high-end 'wrapping') .... because of their build and quality parts .... those are all totally awesome! But also costly.

With plug-in amp sims ... you are reliant on the PC or Mac under it for power, which obviously isn't the best option ..... but does this mean that these amp sims sound crap? Well, if you think that 'everything digital' sounds crap .... then don't read on! This 'world' obviously isn't for you. Note that I didn't (or ever will) say that amp sims sound 'as good as' .... it's a trade-of .... but a very cost-friendly, comfortable, useful and great sounding alternative.

So what do we have. Yeap .... the 'big' names ... Guitar Rig4 ... Amplitube3 ..... Line6's POD Farm Platinum ...... all great and PACKED with amps, pedals, effects and features. If you're looking for CONTENT, you can't do better than those. Not to mention that they have been around for some years and thus have improved their sound engines so much by now, that even pros are using them in the studios.... for recording parts, demos etc etc. If you think (or believe peopel saying) that 'amp sims' are not used by 'serious musicians' ... you are GRAVELY mistaken !! ;)

Basically I believe that NONE of the general amp sims sound 'bad' ....... firstly it's a matter of taste, and secondly .... and more importantly .... it's what YOU DO with them. Presets are notorious for being bad .... but they are there ONLY to give you an IDEA. The rest is up to you. Look at it this way ...... even I can dial in a €3000 Mesa Boogie Mark V so bad that it 'sounds crap' ......

But what about the 'other' amp sims out there? Lets call them the 'Boutique' amp sims. GREAT sounding tools that might not have all those amps or features ... or the big company with big bucks for marketing behind them. Does THIS make them 'less good' ? ? ? Hell no !!! You might JUST find EXACTLY the tone for your Guitar in one of these, as some are going more for quality than quantity. And most of them don't cost an arm and a leg either!!!

I'm just gonna list some, and post a short audio clips. NOTHING fancy ... and because this is ME ...... crunchy ;)

You might not like ANY of the clips, which is fine by me ..... but you will have to see that there are 'options' and 'alternatives' out there. My sole purpose is just to provide YOU with some additional 'names' to explore IF you are in the market for an amp sim. So, in THAT thought ..... enjoy :)

NOTE! A Focusrite Midnight Compressor was used to push some of the tracks ...... further than that, there is NOTHING else on the tracks. JUST the Amp sim with the preset mentioned !

Kuassa Amplification - Kuassa Cream

http://www.kuassa.com/products/amplifikation-creme

Cool Mid Amp

Modern Mid Amp

Softube Metal Amp Room

http://www.softube.se/metal_amp_room.php

Crunch

Crunch Classic

Peavey ReValver HP Edition

http://www.peavey.com/products/revalver/index.cfm

6505+ Lead

Classic 30 - Mrs Brown

Studio Devil Virtual Guitar Amp II

http://www.studiodevil.com/products/

British Crunch

Studio Devil Combo

Magix Vandal

http://www.vandalamps.com/en/#

Brit 800 Solo

Fat Recto

Softube Vintage Amp Room

http://softube.se/vintage_amp_room.php

White Power Amp

Overloud TH2

http://www.overloud.com/th2.php?idarg=99

Randall Lynch Box - 30V AC

Randall T2 - Diode Fun

Brunetti - Kitteh Crunch

Nomad Factory - Rock Amp Legends

http://www.nomadfactory.com/products/ral/index.html

Basic Combo Lead Delay

That's it. 8-) Hope you like.

To be fair, one has to say it's most probably POSSIBLE to get the same/similar sound out of any of the sims ..... this is no straight comparrison. It's just a QUICK choice of some presets or sounds that I kinda like for the music I play.

Please leave me some feedback ;)

J

Recording the LIVE output of your DAW!

2010-12-20T19:51:00.003+01:00

During all this time in exile .... there was this ONE thing I was just BURNING to tell you guys about !!! You're gonna love this.....

Maybe some of you already know about this 'feature' ..... but I still wanted to highlight it because it's TOTALLY awesome !!

When you open a DAW and tweak anything on your plugins, effects etc .... you will only hear the last/current setting when you bounce ....... unless you use automation, right?

Wouldn't it be cool if you could somehow record EVERYTHING you do in Reaper ....

EVEN IF REAPER ISN'T 'RECORDING' ???

A practical example : How would you 'review' a lot of presets, or even drum grooves ..... by just flicking through them?
The answer is a VERY nifty little feature in Reaper often overlooked called "Save live output to disk (bounce)"

What does this do ?
Well, you basically 'switch it on' .... and it will record EVERYTHING you hear in Reaper to disk. No matter if you pressed play or record or are just monitoring your input. Your microphone, Guitar .... hits on the keyboard .... EVERYTHING !!!

How do I do this?
Look under File / Save Live output to disk (bounce)

Once you selected that, you get a little dialog box where you can set it up.

Thats all !! If you have the settings like me above .... DON'T forget to 'switch off' again ..... because it's just gonna keep on recording ;-)

Try it out ..... switch the setting on .... then just add a track, put GuitarRig or anything like that on the track ... play around, going through some presets ....... and then 'switch it off' .... and listen to the resulting file !!!!

MEGA handy feature this ;)

I'll be doing a review very shortly using this feature, so stay tuned !! ;-)

J

British Rock through the ages. Well ... SOME of it anyway :-)

2010-12-14T15:56:00.003+01:00

As it is always the case, WAY too soon after a Sixstring Bliss Community Album, the discussions come up ... "What are going to do next??" From very early on, a 'British' theme seemed to be on the cards. "British Invasion" or something similar. In the end a poll was held where people could vote for their favourite topic. And THATS where the discussions started. "What exactly IS the British Invasion?", "Does Led Zeppelin count?", "Does Billy Idol's 'White Wedding' qualify as a British single .... because Billy is English?", "With a topic like 'Anything British' (which won, btw) ..... does Van Halen's cover of The Kinks 'You really got me' count?"

I'm a NUT about Music/Rock History and do MOST of my reading in that area .... and so for ME some of these questions have easy answers, but one has to remember that, eventhough we have the Internet these days, and the world is SMALL with iTunes, MTV (well, ok .. skip that one) ........ music STILL is released to 'markets'. So it's still very common that where a band might be HUGE in one country for MANY years, people in another country .... or even on another continent, might have missed that artist ... or even that whole musical 'scene' completely !!! Listen to an excellent Guitar podcast like "Sixstring Bliss" ...... and they will often talk about many artists, bands, which people in the UK and elsewhere have never HEARD of! Bad? Oh no !!!! On the contrary ...... a PERFECT way to get to KNOW new bands, experience new artists and discover classic Albums that you have missed!!!

Born in Hamburg, Germany and grown up in Cape Town, South Africa (ex British colony) ..... I've always been VERY close to British music, but many people (especially in the US) may not have had that much exposure. So I figured, I'd give a ROUGH rundown of British music through the years as the music scene in Britain has moved through so many, well definable genres, periods and styles ......... and IF anybody is still 'lost' in their choice of a 'British tune' to do for the next Sixstring Bliss Album ..... maybe this will help them identify a genre/period to investigate further. It's by NO means complete or even 100% correct ...... just MY rough layout of it !!!

The early 50's Rock n Roll years
Elvis was King. No matter what Elizabeth II says! Eventhough she'd been Queen of the British Empire since 1953. Music in Britain before that was in very much a stale 'post-war' rut ...... and due to radio and the presence of American soldiers in Europe at that time, people in Britain soaked up the artists that were making a wave over there. Bill Haley, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Buddy Holly ....... and of course this led to British artists copying those artists and maybe not becoming THAT big, but having quite a career for themselves. Artists like Tommy Steele, Billy Fury, Johhny Kidd and maybe the biggest of them all ..... Cliff Richard! His 'backing' band (also being successful as an instrumental band on their own) .... The Shadows .... should be noted, as these guys influenced big guitarists like Mark Knopfler, Eric Clapton, Tommy Iommi, ....

The early 60's beat music and blues bands
Things were picking up pace and where people like Cliff Richard etc were still 'clones' of their American counterparts, the early 60's saw the rise of bands and artists that were hugely influences by the US artists, but formed their own style and gave it a real 'British' touch. The Beatles need no introduction, and eventhough their first songs in the Cavern and in Hamburg were largely American hits ... they soon began writing their own stuff and together with other 'beat bands' began a real new 'genre'. Bands that sprung up where Manfred Mann, The Kinks, The Dave Clark Five, The Troggs, The Who, The Searchers ...... and of course, The Rolling Stones. Although it must be noted that the music in Britain split into two very distinct 'groups'. The beat bands and the blues bands. Blues? But aint that an American thing? Well .... yes, but in the early 60's ..... there were many people in the US 'annoyed' with these 'Rock n Roll rebels', seeing it as a 'a bad thing for society' (strange how THAT statement will come up every now and then in musical history ;-) :-) especially those embracing 'race music' and tried with all their might to get rid of it and rather 'push' artists to the front that more presented the 'clean cut American boys'. The guys over in the UK however, JUST having discovered and latched on to the music from America where SO hungry for more and wanted to know where it all came from. They actually became real EXPERTS in their knowledge of Blues from the 30's, 40's and 50's. R&B artists etc. And these artists all of a sudden found themselves playing infront of BIG audiences in the UK, where nobody wanted to see them in the States. As a result of this 'blues hunger' in the UK ...... many bands formed as PURE (and by that I mean, these gyus were near fanatical about the 'pureness') blues bands. Just wanting to play blues from Chicago, Muddy Waters etc. Bands like The Yardbirds, The Rolling Stones, The Bluesbreakers, Fleetwood Mac, and Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated ....... where making Blues and R&B VERY fashionable again. So much so .... that some Americans thought of this as 'British music' and failed to see that it actually came out of their own backyards!! Some American artists, like Jimi Hendrix first had to go over to the UK to 'become famous' before they got any interesst in the States.

The British Invasion
In December 1963 and early 1964, songs like 'I want to hold your hand' by The Beatles were starting to be played on the air in the US ..... and this sparking 'Beatlemania' and the subsequent FLOOD of British artists and bands flying over to the US to be presented on TV, on air and to big audiences!!! It was a storm!!! Over the course of the next 2 years, up until 1966 ...... numerous UK bands and artists had HUGE success on both sides of the Atlantic. Bands like The Animals, Manfred Mann, Petula Clark, Freddie and the Dreamers, Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Herman's Hermits, The Rolling Stones, The Troggs, and Donovan and many more are all associated with the British Invasion. It must be noted that during this time, these bands had chart topping hits on BOTH sides of the Atlantic. The 'British Invasion' was basically over by 1966 .... as a global, homogeneous version of 'Rock' started to take over.

Psychedelic Rock
By 1967, also known as 'The Summer of Love' ..... flower-power was in full swing, and the 'hippie culture', not to mention the first big experimentation with drugs like LSD etc .... had a huge influence on the music scene. As the musical focus shifted to places like San Fransisco and districts like Haight-Ashbury, a lot of bands started there. But also in the UK, bands were forming that were very important and surely made a permanent mark in music. The Small Faces, Traffic, Cream, Pink Floyd .........

70's Progressive Rock
By the 70's, things got really interesting. Firstly, many of the remains of Psychedelic Rock and some Blues Rock bands moved into an 'artistic' realm. Even pulling in Classic and Jazz elements into Rock. Albums got long, the songs got long, the hair stayed long. Many songs had phantasy, mystical and magical topics. Album cover art was VERY important those days as well, which lines up with the whole 'artistic' element. This is often referred to as 'Progressive Rock' .... and many, many bands did classic albums that are still highly regarded to this day. Some of the most important bands in this field were Genesis, ELO, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, ..........

Glam Rock
Next to the Prog Rock scene, in it's 'Post-Hippie' void ....something developed that was characterised by outrageous clothes, makeup, hairstyles, and platform-soled boots. The flamboyant lyrics, costumes, and visual styles were accompanied by a real heavy, guitar driven groove that was created to get Rock back to a 2-and-a-half or 3 minute song length. Many people were tired of these 16 Minute songs and endless solos. These two elements, the visual and the radio friendliness, and also the careless fun aspect, made it HIGHLY popular and very compatible with teen Magazines .... and TV, which was now getting to be more and more important to music. Although relatively short-lived and also mainly confined to the UK and Europe ....... these bands an artists made a permanent impression in music history and loads of those songs are still popular today. Bands and artists include ..... David Bowie, Marc Bolan and T-Rex, Gary Glitter, Slade, The Sweet, Mott The Hoople, Roxy Music. Glam Rock lasted till the mid 70's when elements split into British Punk on the one side and New Wave on the other.

Heavy Metal
While many in the US were still in a shock realizing that the 60's didn't work, there were bands in England ..... especially those in industrial cities live Liverppol, Manchester, Sheffield and especially Birmingham, of which many were STILL bearing the scars of World War II ...... that did not relate to this 'Love & Peace for all'- dream at all!!! For these people, the days were grim in 'The Black Country' (England often so called to to the smoke and smogg from the factories at that time). Needless to say, bands made 'differernt' music. Somber, dark and depressing music. A bunch of 'Horror-fans' that decided to call their band 'Black Sabbath' after a well known horror movie. Their Guitarist, Tommy Iommi, had an accident on the last day of his work in a metal foundry, which took off the top of his fingers of his fretting hand. In an effort to keep on playing, he made plastic caps for his fingers (from melted bottle tops), covered by leather and he started to detune his Guitar to be able to bend the strings easier without it hurting too much. THIS, thought by many, was the BIRTH of 'real' Heavy Metal and the 'sound' that has stayed with us till today. Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin were all bands that contributed to this new 'Heavy Metal' music, each one with a slight differnent edge to it.

Punk and New Wave
As mentioned, after the Glam scene ..... many factors (most social and political) resulted in bands looking for music that mirrored their troubles. Punk, mainly started in the US in 1974-6 spearheaded by bands like The Ramones, was exactly what the UK guys were looking for and latched onto it ..... maybe even giving 'Punk' its new and somewhat ugly face. They were creating fast, hard-edged music, typically with short songs, stripped-down instrumentation, and often political, anti-establishment lyrics. The UK Punk scene was born. Eventhough, much was there to shock and rebel against the establishment ..... resulting in some bands that could hardly play 3 notes ...... there were bands that made some real good Albums and are stil influencing bands to this days in their music, attitude and vibe. The Clash, Sex Pistols, ......

On the other side, some bands took the 'glam' aspect, and toned it down. Still having some 'Punk' elements, but not as anti-establishment as the Sex Pistols. These bands where The Police, The Pretenders, The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees,...

The 80's
New Wave moved into "New Romanticism" bringing with it's outrageous costumes, colors, make-up and mixing it up with the now popular electronic and computer elements available to musicians. Many artists like David Bowie and Roxy Music could continue in the 80's to produce VERY successful Albums. This 'visual aspect' also made it perfect for TV and especially MTV ...... now being a major player in spreading music to the masses all over the world. Boy George, Spandau Ballet, Level 42, Wham, Duran Duran, Adam and the Ants, Dire Straits, The Eurythmics, Def Leppard etc ..... all became SO popular, some call this 'The Second British Invasion' as many acts also stormed the US markets. Different than the 'first' British Invasion though ...... during THIS time, the US had their own full share of 80's bands that were just as popular.

NWOBHM
'New Wave Of British Heavy Metal' ..... is a what the 'Heavy Metal' moulded into by the 80's shedding the old 'Blues' aspects of bands like Led Zeppelin and concentrated on 100%, undiluted metal. Spearheaded by Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and the early Def Leppard. Heavy Metal was kept alive and well. VERY well, in fact !!! Songs were characterized by a fast upbeat tempo, power chords, fast guitar solos and melodic, soaring vocals, with lyrical themes often drawing inspiration from mythology and fantasy fiction. Other bands like Motorhead and Girschool, Saxon also had great success during this time.

Britpop
The "neon 80's" drew to a close and some bands evolved into 'Indie rock bands' ...... but a clear new scene emerged in the early 90's commonly referred to as 'Britpop'. Bands like Oasis, Blur and Pulp were the biggest names around then. Later, bands like Coldplay, The Verve, Radiohead. Many of these bands made great Albums and are still around today in various formations. From 'Britpop' ...... the scene today, mainly referred to as 'Alternative Rock' produced bands like The Kooks, Kaiser Chiefs, Muse, Razorlight .............

Well, thats quite a mouthfull, aint it? ;-) Just remember that this is a VERY compact overview, by FAR not complete and only MY quick thoughts on it. But I think .... it might help the odd person finding some British music to do for the next Sixstring Bliss Album ;-) *hint hint* :-)

PLEASE leave comments, as I would love to hear if this 'load of rubbish' was of SOME use :)

J

Using a Reason 'Rack' in Reaper

2010-11-23T12:10:00.001+01:00

Propellerheads Reason is one of the best 'All containing Midi Recording Enviroment' suites out there! I'm not gonna go into WHAT Reason is .... you can do that by yourself. Have a look, you won't be sorry. If you're Midi/Synth/Keyboard Whizz .... it's a 'must see'. It's just awesome and used by many pros in studios around the world.

Anywhoooo .... how can it help us Guitarists? Well, you can use Reason as a stand-alone tool .... with its mixers, samplers, drum machines, effects and mastering devices ....... OR ....... and this is such a cool thing, you can connect Reason TO your DAW via ReWire and use its 'rack devices' to actually PLAY those midi tracks in your DAW!!! You just gotta look at Reason as an external rack with a bunch of devices which we can use INSIDE our DAW.

Confused? Don't worry ..... we'll get there in a sec

All this is already common practice in Logic, Cubase, Sonar, Ableton LIVE etc ..... but I found the documentation to do this in Reaper a little 'confusing' ;-) . There's lots on the Internet. Some good, some very confusing .... so I'm gonna attempt to make it as easy and logical ....and especially as QUICK as possible ;-)

So, in short, how are we gonna do this ? The basic idea is nothing more than creating and setting up a Reason 'Host' track. Then we'll route our midi track TO that Reason track. And then we'll create another audio track to receive the audio FROM Reason. That's it! Let's do it .......

(Click on the pics to get a bigger version)

Creating the tracks :
On the pic on the left here you can see my original 3 midi tracks (yelllow).
Create a Reason 'Host track' ... as I did here (red)
Then create an audio track for each midi track that you wanna feed through to Reason. You can see my 'audio' tracks on the left (green).
You can put them in 'Folder tracks' if you want to to keep them together.

Setting up the Reason 'host track' (Part 1):
Click on the I/O button of the Reason host track and set you Track Channels to 32. Strictly speaking, would only need 6 here (2 for each device) ..... but trust me, I've had times where I sat half an hour not knowing why things don't work ... JUST because this wasn't set !!! So, these are basically the amout of audio channels that you will have available out of Reason.

Adding Reason as a Slave and loading devices :
Time to add 'Reason' to the FX of the Reason Host track. You'll find Reason under the 'ReWire' category' ... and after adding it, Reason should start in a few seconds. If things crash at THIS stage, there might be something wrong with some installation, version etc. Not much you can do in Reaper. You should be able to just create a track, add Reason from the ReWite tab .... and Reason should open (in Slave mode) without a hassle. What I do to aid this, is that I have Reason setup so it opens up with NO (or empty) session.

If things look good, you can now throw in the rack devices you need. In THIS case, I've used a Combinator for the Piano and Drums and a NN-XT for the Bass. You can download this 'rack' at the bottom.

When you press TAB, it turns the rack around (together with the ULTRA cool animation of swinging wires !!!!).

What you're gonna do here is actually PULL (click and drag) the connectors from the OUTPUT of each device (stereo), to two 'channels' on top in the 'Hardware Device'. This will give you SOME indication of the POWER of Reason and the tons of diff routing you CAN do, but we won't get into that here.
Remember to rename your devices (Piano, Bass, Drums) and which Hardware chennels you used for which device.
Now go back to Reaper .... DON'T CLOSE Reason !!! Just move to the Reaper Window !!!!

Setting up the Reason 'host track' (Part 2):
Ok, back to the FX of the Reason 'host track'. On the 'MIDI Send To ReWire' tab, change the destination for the first three channels. (Pic on the left). These are the Midi channels going TO Reason.

On the 'Audio From ReWire', set up 6 channels (this is where the 32 available channels from above come in) as you see in the picture on the left. We have 2 channels for each device (stereo) ...... so 1&2 (also called Mix L and Mix R) for the Piano, 3&4 for the Bass and 5&6 for the Drums.

Routing your MIDI tracks :
Ok, the last thing we still have to do is actually ROUTE our midi and audio tracks. So, click on the I/O of the Piano MIDI track and select 'ADD NEW SEND'.
Choose 'REASON Host' from the options.
You have now created a 'send' for this track.
There, as you can see on the picture, JUST change the midi channel to 1 ..... which in this case it should already be at.
Create these 'sends' for the mid Bass and midi Drum tracks, setting the Bass to '2' and the Drum track to '3'

Routing your Audio tracks :
Now, on the audio tracks, we need the corresponding 'Receives'.
Click on the I/O of the Piano audio track and select 'ADD NEW RECEIVE', again choosing 'Reason Host' from that small list.
Do this for each audio track, but here you will change the 'Audio channel' (red circle) on each. Piano will have 1&2, Bass will have 3&4 and Drums will have 5&6.

And that's it. If you did everything right, pressing PLAY now ..... will cause the midi notes to be send to the Reason 'host track' .... and from there to Reason itself via the 3 MIDI channels .....
The Reason devices will play according, sending their audio via Reason's 'Hardware Device' to the 6 audio channels.
The Reason 'host track' on it's part knows to which tracks it must send this audio.

Cleck on the I/O of the Reason 'host track' now .... and you'll see that all of a sudden, all those routing that you did on the midi and audio tracks ..... show up here as well. Of course they do ... because you specified 'Reason host track' on each send and receive.

Although a little confusing, if you look closely at this host track .... you'll see that on the right (-Receives-) it gets all three midi channels ..... and on the left (-Sends-) it send the audio to all 6 audio channels.

You download my Reaper session and my Reason rack that I used in this tutorial to help you out if you get stuck ...

Download:
Reaper Project File
Reason Rack File

Ok, I KNOW this looks a little confusing at first, but just give it a try. Once you've hooked it up 3-4 times .... it becomes quite easy and logical. As I've mentioned before ...... to ME at least one must just grasp the idea of ..

Summary :

Using an audio track for each midi track
Using Reason 'host track' and setting up the parameters
A midi channel for each midi track going TO Reason
Hooking up each device in Reason to audio channels
Each audio channel going back to the 'host track'
Routing the midi and audio tracks using 'sends' and 'receives'

I hope you get it going and that this was of SOME help at least. I'll really be happy if you yould let me know how you found this 'Tut' ..... and if there are any questions or 'clarifications' .... please ask! I'll TRY and answer :-)

J

Propellerhead Reason with Reaper .... Anybody?

2010-11-16T14:13:00.001+01:00

With other words ...... "The quickest and most simple way to use a Reason rack as your instruments for your midi tracks in Reaper" well, MY way of doing it, that is ;-)

Just wondering how many, if any, would actually be interested in reading about this? Lemme know by leaving a comment.

J

Why didn't I think of THAT ? (a.k.a. "Samples revisited")

2010-11-10T10:14:00.009+01:00

See this? THIS is what started it all for me .... in a way.

Since (very) early childhood, I've had a great love for music. Having very young parents, in the late 60's and living in Hamburg sure helped! When I was born, Hendrix had his first big Albums out etc. and in the early 70's a LOT of classic music was around. So I just grew up with it. Mostly listening to it. Never really any intention to making music of my own. My parents couldn't play any instruments either .... so it just never 'came up'. As as kid I always dreamt of becoming a vocalist, but I could never sing a single note, so that idea was buried early on.

In the 80's I stumbled on another 'interest' when I started playing around with Home Computer (no 'PC's back then yet!!). So .... I guess, it was inevitable that these two 'interests' would meet up in my life at some stage. 'Making music' was basically "grabbing a Guitar, sitting next to a synth or piano and playing yourself". 'Recording' ..... was something for Pros .... at least when you're a kid. The only thing doable was to take a cassette recorder with a little microphone and taping yourself and your friends. Thats it!

But things were changing. In the 90's technology became cheaper and PC's were getting affordable, and in the end 90's - early 2000 it was so common that anybody could buy a cheap software package, use the included Sequencer and either play on a Midi keyboard ..... or ....... use some of the TONS of included samples and 'construct' your own club track by just picking beats, bass lines, synth gooves and putting them in order. A half-way decent Techno track in minutes!!! Anybody could do this. It just needed some creative thinking and you could come up with some catchy song. I still remember my brother Rolf and myself ... sitting infront of my PC here in Hamburg .... doing exactly that! Must have been around the year 2002 or something!!

But, is this really making music? Hmmmm....... good question!

Techno and all that Rave stuff was never something I could listen to much, so I quickly lost interest in building these kinda songs. What about Rock? Blues? Metal? I wanted to do THAT!!! Eventually some of these "Soundpool CD's" came with loops of other genres as well .... but it always sounded very 'stiff' and it was hard making a tune that had some variation in the drums, bass etc.
Soon after, the recording of Guitar became a reality for 'home users' when the first USB Audio Interfaces (external soundcard suited better for recording) came on the market. That, and the new way you could do Drums and Bass on a DAW (recording tool) by using midi and "Virtual Instruments", .... soon enabled me to make simple tunes in the genres I wanted to. All my sample and loop CD's started getting dusty and eventually dissapeared in the basement. No need for them anymore. Not for ME at least. Well, ... thats what I thought ...........

I LIKE making music .... but I'm REALLY no good. The only thing that saves me is the occasional 'creative brain fart' !! Hah! ;-) So, I can do some nice covers, but there is always the struggle to do something of my own. Write an original song? Pfff..... I wish! Disaster!! And now and again, while busy with checking out yet another 'Recording tool', (THIS has become one of my passions) I would sift through the gigabytes of included samples and mess around with them. In no time I would come up with a simple tune that actually sounds quite good. BUT .... I actually never played a damn thing!! I immediately think "THIS IS CHEATING" and normally delete everyting again (BIG MISTAKE). I could never post something like this and tell everybody "Hey! I made this!" Because I didn't MAKE it ........ I just 'glued it together' ...... but didn't PLAY ....and ....... Oh, you know what I mean, don't you? No? Never mind !! :-P ;-)
Where I easily can see myself in using a drum sample or a synth loop (which I do) ........ I couldn't even listen to Guitar samples or Bass loops. I would get annoyed .... because, here I am ... HARDLY able to play 'Happy Birthday' ...... and here I have FREE samples and loops ...... of AWESOME Guitar licks and riffs ....... FREE!! For everybody! To use at will !!!! A real ego cruncher!!! ;-)

Let's sidetrack for e a minute here. I LOVE these DVD'S of bands showing them working in a studio WRITING an Album!! I prefer watching THAT to watching a concert!! I would watch these 100 times ... over and over. Carefully taking in every little detail. How are they writing songs? Who does what? When do they record? How? Do they come in with 'ideas'? How did they make them? Did they bring along a lot of 'tapes'? Do they work while all are present in the same room? Where are the Amps? Whats the Engineer and Producer doing and WHY? THAT would be a dream job for me! Maybe in my next live !! ;-)
Most of the greatest Rock songs were done as a result of one guy playing something .... the next guy adding something to it, a third starting to hum a melody etc etc ..... and all that from guys coming in with their 'riff tapes' (scraps of clips and ideas they did and thought of at home)......

But what does THAT have to do with my rambling about samples and loops above ???????

AND THEN SUDDENLY IT DAWNED ON ME !!!!

(.... and immediately I was starting to KICK myself for having 'missed' this SOOOO obvious aspect for YEARS!! GEEZ!!!!)

All these short clips and ideas I made all the time, using all these samples and loops (even the Guitar ones) ..... and threw away again, because them not being 'MY' work .... were never MEANT to be 'full songs' ... but my own version of those 'riff tapes' musicians make!!! They are IDEAS! A 'starting' point. The drum loop in such a clip may not be exactly right, and lacking of variation and boring ..... and the Guitars being TOO fuzzy or not playing the exact right riff .......but the IDEA is there! There is 'something' there already. A little 'seed' of something that COULD become my OWN song. The idea is there, open for things like .... "What if I do the drum THIS way?" and "What if I play the riff like THIS and not like that on the clip?". Take those ideas and EXTEND on them. See where it takes me !

Here is such a clip I made yesterday. Have a listen !!

Jam20101109_01

Not bad, I guess ....... and yet, I never played a damn note on that. But yet ... I identify with it because I took detached, unrelated audio clips ... and assembled them into 'something' ..... something that I like!
My friend Larry said "What? These are only samples? But it sounds like YOU?!?!" Exactly my point. I put it togeher as I thought it would sound good. It's already got 'my' handwriting' on it in a way. All thats left to do is ..... to take this idea and see if I can turn it into something of my own ...... but using MY means. Playing and recording it myself!

So, bottom line. I think I have to adjust my way of thinking in terms of these clips and tunes maybe up out of samples and loops. I must stop seeing them as 'done' or 'finished' tunes ..... and start seeing them PURELY as ideas for my own recordings!!! Will it work? I dunno ...... I never know! Who cares? At least it's another source of inspiration. I must keep making SHORT things like these ...... save them in a sensible way. So I can always come back to them and listen to them easily. This may not work for everybody ..... but maybe this is MY way ;-)
And maybe some of these 'ideas' don't evolve into a 'Booker J Wood Original' today ...... or tomorrow ........... but maybe one day! ;-)

J

New Album out !!!!

2010-10-26T14:12:00.004+02:00

I wanted to wait till the Album is ready for download before I write anything about this but .....

IT'S FINALLY HERE !!!!

The Six String Bliss 'Album Episode' .... Episode 210 ..... has just aired and the Album is available as a FREE download for everybody as of RIGHT NOW !!!!

Album? Six String Bliss? Trans ... ehhh ... WHAT? !! Hah !!! Well, for those of you that are NEW (and you would have to be) .... here is my attempt at the shortest possible 'explanation' of what I'm talking about.....

Three guys from the USA, Pipes, PT and Pappy, have a weekly Guitar-orientated Podcast (i.e. something like an Internet Radio Show) called 'Six String Bliss'. You can download this 'show' onto your iPod via iTunes, your Mp3 Player or onto your PC and listen to it whenever you want to!! They have been doing this for nearly 5 years now, and attached TO this 'show' is a little forum .... that has grown to a VERY solid community of friends that all share the same interest that is Guitars. Along the line, this community decided to have some fun and 'make their own CD's' ..... by choosing a topic/theme/idea and letting anybody that wants to, record a song around this. The aim being FUN and not SKILL! It's to encourage even beginners to throw something together and let others hear it. No flaming! No egos! And no personal attacks etc are allowed! Nobody makes ANY money from this, and all downloads are completely free for everybody. When an Album is done, a whole Episode is dedicated to it, and the hosts go through ALL the submissions and comment on each one. Bottom line, LOADS of fun, hillarious tracks and some awesome contributions.

The 6th (!!!!) Album has just been completed .... and the theme THIS time was 'Trans Genred' ....... which just basically means "Recording a song in another style or genre that originally recorded." So ... BENDING a song into a different genre. The funny cover ..... is a word-play with 'Trans GENDERED' ...... just incase you didn't get the joke ;-) :-)

For this Album, a record numer of contributions by a record number of people, from a record number of countries (get the idea? ) was submitted!!!! And they are ALL awesome ..... in all their divercity!!!

So, do yourself a favour ..... and listen to the Episode ..... and then download the Album along with covers art and liner notes!!!! So far I've taken part in ALL Albums and also designed many of the Album covers ...... because it's a great place to be with a whole bunch of VERY nice people !!!!

Here are some shortcuts ....

Head over to the Forum and take part in the discussions around music, guitars, recording etc.

NO SKILLS REQUIRED !!! :-P ;-) :-)

We'd LOVE to see you there !!! :-)

Come over and play !!!

2010-10-26T09:51:00.008+02:00

Two weeks ago I actually had a dream come true! Pappy, a co-host of Six String Bliss, told us about a friend of his called Jim Rotramel. He's a real cool musican and has this totally awesome Rockabilly band called 'Skinny Jim and the Number 9 Blacktops'. I heard the odd clip and really liked what they were doing. Some days later, another forum-buddy Dave MacLeod ..... informed me that Skinny Jim will be playing in Hamburg, mid October and that I should go see them. 'Fine', I thought .... but I kinda thought it would be boring going all alone ..... so I sort of 'mentioned' (brainwashed, begged, pleaded, schemed ;-) ) ...... it to the UK guys to come over and join me for 3 days of 'Guitar shop hunting' and the Skinny Jim gig. Airflight tickets across the canal aren't so expensive anymore. I wasn't REALLY thinking ANYBODY would consider it, to be honest !!

Needless to say, I was THRILLED when Dave, his son Calum, Steve and Martin all decided to come over on the 12th and stay till the 14th. (the gig was on the 13th October). I picked them up at the Airport, and accompanied them to their Hotels .... which wer right ON Hamburg's (in)famous Reeperbahn :-) :-) )

So, we spend the nearly 3 days running around, checking out Hamburg's best music and Guitar shops. THAT was great! FINALLY I had somebody .... well ... now I had 4 (!!!!) ..... people who were JUST as enthusiastic about Guitars as me!!! The guys LOVED the fact that here, in the shops I took them to ..... you can just take down ANY Guitar (did anybody actually SEE sales people?) .... sit down and just PLAY!!! Inm some you could sit down and plug into one of multiple PocketPODs ... assembled on a railing. Others, there were Amplifiers standing with cables .... just waiting for you to plug in. In many other shops, you MAY look at the Guitar .... from a distance ........ MAYBE :-P ;-)

Here is a Virtual Tour of the biggest shop we spend a LOT of time in ;-)
http://www.finestviews.de/vr_tours/just_music/

On Wednesday, we all got to the Skinny Jim gig .... and that was awesome!!! It was a small club by the harbour, and a smallish crowd ..... but the vibe was enough for a Stadium!!! We met the guys from the band before AND afterwards, had a few drinks (ehh.... I lost count) together, touched and awed Jim's "Gretsch White Falcon" Guitar and talked about EVERYTHING!!!! 'Skinny Jim and the Number 9 Blacktops' ...... not only a ROCKING cool Rockabilly band, but an awesome bunch of REALLY REALLY nice guys too!!! So, real and down-to-earth!!!!

Calum took the picture, but thats 'The Bliss Boys' ..... Steve, Me, Dave and Martin

The last day we spend time at Beatlemania. A SUPERB Beatles, 5-floor-high exhibition right next to 'Beatles Plain' in Hamburg. The city of Hamburg is VERY proud of their 'Beatles / Reeperbahn / Star Club' history .... so you get to see a HUGE amount of old, original, never-seen-before pictures and props of those days. it was my first time in the exhibition as well ... so for all of us, seeing that and the 'hallowed ground' of where the Star Club used to be ..... was a pilgrimage of some sort. Fascinating !!!

Lots and lots of pictures where taken. Take your time and look through ALL of them. Some really amazing stuff !!! Pictures from ....

Dave
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/damacleod/Hamburg2010#

Martin
http://s839.photobucket.com/albums/zz320/Stav_98/Hamburg%202010%20-%20Bliss%20Tour/

Steve
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/steevc/SixStringBlissWorldTourHitsHamburg#

....and myself
http://picasaweb.google.com/jan.buchholz/SixStringBlissHamburgTour2010#

Skinny Jim and the Number 9 Blacktops
http://www.skinnyjimrocks.com/

Beatlemania
http://www.beatlemania-hamburg.com/english/index.html

.... and especially for my friend Alicia Searcy, who is a HUGE Beatles fan ...... a REAL interessting site to check out!!
http://www.hillmanweb.com/BEATLES/hamburg1.html

Finally, I want to thank Dave, Calum, Steve and Martin ... again ... for SUCH a nice time I had having them over here. For me it was more than 'just' a gig and some Guitar shops ..... it was finally meeting friends and loving the fact that these guys are SUCH a cool bunch!!! I'm truly lucky !!!! ;-) Thanx guys !!!

We MUST do something similar down the line again ;-)

" I don't drink beer at all. Just bring me a Long Island Ice Tea. Ehhhh.... rather make that TWO! "

Bad Company. Bad History?

2010-10-25T22:56:00.003+02:00

While we're all doing nothing waiting for the release of 'Trans Genred', here is something to read

Remember when Van Halen 'edited' out Michael Anthony on their old Albums and put in Wolfie? (Only to undo that after massive fan protests?)

I was kinda reminded of that today. After the Bliss turned me onto 2 very cool movies (Anvil and that new Rush one). In the 'Rush' one there was a lot of mention about Bad Company etc.

But BEFORE I even saw that Rush movie, I had this one song on constant rotation on my player ...... "Bad Company - No Smoke Without A Fire" ..... exactly MY kinda music. I LOVE that kinda stuff.
Not having known much about Rush or Bad Company ....... seems on this side of the pond, they had some great hits, mainly 70's but not much more ..... this all seemed to be MY chance to learn more about these two bands, especially Bad Company.

I did it MY preferred way .... I FIRST listen to the Albums ... and THEN find out more about the Band, their history, fights etc etc ...... this way I think I'm more 'open' and unbiased to the music alone!

So, I start listening ..... the debut. Oh yes .... a classic! I've heard that Album and songs many times. Typical 70's sound too. The albums after that .... yeah ....'ok'. All 'nice' ... but it don't REALLY move me. I was waiting for songs and sounds like 'No Smoke...'
Around the 5th and 6th Album ... I REALLY don't like the songs much anymore. Lots of keyboards and just not what I prefer. So I thought this is going downhill fast !

THEN .... all of a sudden come two Albums which just blow me away! Instantly! 'Dangerous Age', 'Holy Water' ...... and even 'Here Comes Trouble'. Great tracks. Typical ... I'm guess at that stage ..... 80's stadium Rock. AOR maybe .... but rocking wit hthe odd typical 80's ballad in between.

After that .... the albums fade again ...... no matter, I found some that I LOVE!

So ....... I THEN go and read up. Wikipedia and a couple of other Band Bio Pages. The coming and going of Paul Rodgers .... and learning the fact, that those Albums I like so much .... had a different singer, Brian Howe ... and a producer I actually know about a lot, Terry Thomas !!! Ahhhh .... no wonder!

All interesting and stuff, so I go to the Official 'Bad Company' site and read up there.............

WTF ? ? ?

Apparently Paul Rodgers is back in the fold ....... and I dunno if THAT is the reason but, if you read through the Bio .... which is quite long .. 6 years (!!!!) is summed up with this simple sentence ..

"Over a six -year span from 1986 to 1992, this version of the band released four albums including Fame and Fortune, Dangerous Age, the platinum selling Holy Water and Here Comes Trouble."

....and if you look under Discography, there is a massive gap where these Album were made. NO MENTION ABOUT THEM AT ALL !!! Basically the whole "Brian Howe era (1986–1994)" is totally wiped. If they were SO bad ... ok, maybe I'd understand, but those 'missing' Albums were all Gold and Platinum. Of their best selling records. PLUS ... it's the stuff many people remember, because of their constant play on MTV in the early 80's !!

http://www.badcompany.com/discs.html

All in all ... what do I care? I FOUND those Albums, and love them. I find it a pity though, because HAD I gone to THEIR site first, looked at the Albums and listened to only THOSE ... I would've missed out on Albums I'm loving!!

Bands 'having a problem' with some of their history. Pity ......

Paulette, my love !

2010-09-11T14:20:00.002+02:00

My new Les Paul. THE one I wanted for SO long. Limited Edition to 1959 specs!!!! This article is a little late, and I posted about it on the SSB Forum already ..... but I feel she only DESERVES to be mentioned here as well :-)

Well, the Epiphone Les Paul Standard 1959 FIT (as it's officially known) ...... is a limited run of ONLY 1959 builds. I got number 1263 (and certificate to prove it) ......... and they have one in that big shop here in Hamburg, and I've played it TONS of times and LOVED it. But never could I manage buying one, but I was lucky ......... and I got her for an absolute bargain for a 'as new', 5 month old 1959 Epi !!!

When I actually GOT the bid, I suddenly realized .... "Oh, oh ... how the hell am I gonna pass on THIS info to the wife?" LOL ...... she was around and knew that I was watching it ...... but she wasn't expecting me to actually BID on it. It probably means that I'll have to sell the 'Sttandard' ..... which I'm a little sad about because eventhough the quality is not even close to the 1959 .... she IS fun to play and looks awesome. Who knows ..... maybe I can find a way to keep her ;-) ;-)

Here are all my Les Pauls. The last few years, I've really felt good playing a Les Paul. The feel of it, the sound and the playing. Also suited more to what/how I can play, I think. I'm no 'Gibson/Epiphone' man though ....... as I said, I've played the Epi 1959 in the shop MANY times, and then always try out a Gibson (which stand about 3 meters away) ...... and except ONE (costing a small fortune) ..... none actually felt better! So, at this stage of my abilities .... I'm VERY happy with a high-end Epiphone Les Paul.
Epiphone should start putting me on their site (remember, I got the Epi Dot as well !!!)

And a picture of all the 'Epiphones' ...

From left to right ...

Epiphone "Joe Perry Boneyard" Les Paul Standard

Epiphone ES-335 Dot

Epiphone 1959 Les Paul Standard

Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Top

Ok, the vitals of Paulette ...

Body Material Mahogany
Top Material Carved Hard Maple Cap with AAA Flame Maple Veneer
Neck Material Mahogany
Neck Shape 1950's Rounded "D" profile
Neck Joint "Deep-Set" Glued-In
Truss Rod Adjustable
Scale Length 24.75"
Fingerboard Rosewood with pearloid "Trapezoid" inlays
Neck Pickup Gibson USA Burstbucker 2
Bridge Pickup Gibson USA Burstbucker 3
Controls Bridge Volume, Neck Volume, Bridge Tone w/Mallory-150 capacitors, Neck Tone w/Mallory-150 capacitors, Switchcraft 3-way toggle
Binding Body and Fingerboard
Fingerboard Radius 14"
Frets 22; medium-jumbo
Bridge LockTone tune-o-matic/stopbar
Nut Width 1-11/16"
Hardware Nickel
Machine Heads Vintage Style, 14:1 ratio with "tulip" buttons
Color Faded Iced Tea (FIT)
Includes Hard Case, Certificate of Authenticity
Warranty Epiphone Limited Lifetime

Lately I've been busy at work and not being able to play her much yet ........ but you'll all hear her soon enough ;-)

Midi controller ..... I can't hear you !!

2010-09-11T13:30:00.001+02:00

A MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) Controller is a great thing. But what exactly IS it? And how does it work? And ..... oh shit .... What do you mean it has to be set up (mostly) before I can use it ??? MIDI is a big topic, and I can't explain everything about it because ..... well, because I don't KNOW everything about it. To me, MIDI has two 'sides' ...... one is the MIDI 'Notes' that you can have in a MIDI file (which have talked about before) and the other side is the ability to use MIDI 'Commands' (Instructions) to 'tell' an instrument or DAW what to do.

In the previous article I wrote about using my FCB1010 to control your DAW. Sometimes a controller has to be set up first to SEND the right MIDI commands to the Editor though. For this you would use a special MIDI Editor for this device. In this Editor .... you then define WHAT command should be send when you press each pedal. With Expression Pedals, you also have to define the 'range' (0-127) etc.

I wanted to show you how I have to set up MY FCB1010.

As in most editors ... you would first make sure you have a connection to the controller by setting up the MIDI Input and Output (1.). The you can LOAD the current setting from the controller itself by receiving the (2.) 'SysEx' (System Extention??). Any changes you make in this Editor need to be saved onto the controller again by 'Transmitting the SysEx'.
Further, it's quite straight forward. You actually click on the editor 'Bank UP' or 'Bank DOWN' (7.) to get to a bank .... and then press 'Switch 1'. Now you set what values (4.) you want the controller to send when THIS switch (in this case the first pedal) is stepped on. You COULD also choose not to send CC commands but 'Notes' (5.) ..... some DAW's prefer that.
Once done with 'Pedal Switch1' ... you would press on 'Pedal Switch 2' .... and define the value there. You do this for as many switches you have or want to set up. You would then also write all these settings back to the controller as I said. It's also a good idea to 'Save' (3.) this Editor setting so you can share it or call it up later. This way you can also 'reading in' setting from somebody else and write those onto your controller.

But not all is rosy! Sometimes these Editors are not very user friendly, the Manuals are poor and the software is old and often doesn't run on newer Operating Systems. I feel Companies neglect this part of the industry. Also that fact that there are only 2-3 decent MIDI Foot Controllers on the market .... that are affordable is a shame. I think MANY people would buy these if they were (a) More affordable, (b) had a user-friendly editor to set it up and (c) Have full Company backing and support for new drivres, manuals, updates etc.
Come on Behringer, Roland and all you others out there !!!!

So, hang in there ..... it might be fiddly and frustrating at times ..... but once you get it going, it's gonna SAVE you a LOT of time recording etc !!!!
And it's GREAT fun ;-)

Till next time

J

Reaper Foot Control in 10 Minutes !!!!

2010-09-07T20:54:00.001+02:00

Hey all!! I haven't written anything for some time ..... but recently my buddy Martin bought a Behringer FCB1010 Midi Foot Controller. I have the same and LOVE it. I use it MAINLY to controll my DAW (mostly Reaper) during recording. There is NOTHING so annoying as having to take your hands off the Guitar to press. 'Stop', 'Play' or 'Record'. Not to mention to delete the last recording and start again. So ...... I set up my midi foot controller to do just that. Now, you can do a whole lot more than that with this controller. You can actually controll basically ANYTHING on the screen. Even the pedals in Amplitube, GuitarRig etc. and many many more nice things. But here I wanted to show you the FASTEST possible way to get a midi foot controller working in Reaper ....

So here goes .....

Many midi controllers have midi jacks only and use midi cables. What I did is get one of those Midi2USB cables. So my controller is actually plugged into my PC via USB. The included drivers make sure your DAW 'sees' the controller as a device. So thats what you gotta do first. Get the cable, install the drivers etc. Then .... switch on the controller BEFORE you start Reaper.

Then go to Preferences / Audio / MIDI Devices ..... and you should see the new controller in the list. Mine is called "MIDI Port 1". Next to that, make sure you set the Mode to 'Enabled + Control'.

Press OK to get out of there.

Now we get to one of the NICE 'Advance' features of Reaper. The "Action List" !!! Go to the Menu and choose Actions / Show action list.
What you will see then is a BIG list of ALL 'actions' you can control in Reaper. Every button, every switch and every menu item is in here ..... and can be 'controlled'.

Scroll down to where you see 'Transport'. You will see an entry called 'Transport: Stop' ..... which is the 'action' to stop the playing in Reaper. On the left you will see 'MediaKbdStop' ..... which is the normal keyboard 'Stop' command. Mostly the spacebar.

At the bottom on the left you can see that you can ADD another command to this action. Press 'Add' and a little extra window will open that will now wait for YOU to press a certain key on the midi controller. Try it !!

When you press a key on the controller, this Midi Command (CC --> Control Command) number will be assigned to this action as well !!

See it? That's all there is to it. Now try and find the other 'Transport actions' that you want and assign foot switches to them ...... you can see mine in the picture below !!!!

Wait! I know what you're asking !! "What about 'Undo' ..... Thats not in the Transport section!!". Right you are!!! But remember that I said even every MENU ITEM is in the list? Look for 'Edit' and 'Undo' .... thats your 'Delete what I just recorded'-function right there at your ......ehh........ toes ;-)

How's that? Easy, aint it ? :-) Give it a try ...... this also works with dials on actions where you change something like the volume ..... so get that old midi keyboard out again. All of a sudden you have GREAT usage for that ;-) .......... ok, try not to STEP on that too hard !! LOL

PLEASE let me know if this is of any help!!! Any and all comments are GREATLY appreciated :-) ..... and if there is something you want me to cover, just ask !!!

Till next time

J

Automate it, baby !!

2010-07-01T20:18:00.007+02:00

My friend Larry has this track he wants to do a 'voice-over' on. For that to work, one has to adjust the volume of one track at several places. Does one need a degree to do this? Hell, no ;-) ........Automation is actually very easy. That's what it's called ... 'Automation'. Where does that term come from? I dunno .... I'm guessing .... because we want to have the DAW move the faders ....ehh.... 'Automatically? ;-) Who knows?
The nice thing about a DAW is that you can nearly automate ANY paramater, control, dial or setting you have on there. Not just of the track itself (Volume, Panning) ...... but also of (nearly) all plug-ins you might have ON a track. You would also follow exactly the same steps if you wanted to change the tempo of the whole song. All you need to do then is automate the 'tempo' paramater on the 'Master track'. But ...... let's start small. We have two tracks .... a piece of music and below it, the voice-over. What we want to do is automate the volume of the music, so that it goes down when there is talk, and come back up again when there is no talking.

So let's do exactly that. As Larry is using Reaper ..... I'll show it on there.

Terminology:

Ok, first some terminology. The 'line' representing the volume (or any other paramater we would want to automate) is called an Envelope. A track can thus have a lot of 'automation envelopes' each one automating another parameter. Ok?
Next, the places where the volume changes is caled a 'Point' or a 'Node'. So, you would have your volume envelope and place several points on it, which you can then drag and move wherever you want to. You can move a point on its own or select two or more (Ctrl-click) .... and then move all of them in one go.

Let's get going:

In Reaper, if you work with envelopes ..... it's best to have some space to work, so get rif of the 'Mixer' by pressing Alt-D. Then increase the vertical size (little + and - on the right scrollbar) of the tracks so you can see what you are doing.

Select the top track and press on the ENV icon of the track (top arrow). This will open a little dialog where you must select 'Volume'. You can then close that little dialog again.

You will now see that a NEW 'Volume Envelope' - lane has been created (arrow bottom left), showing the actual wave-form faded in the back. You CAN choose to do all this on the track itself ...... but this is easer on the eyes :-) You can also see the actual 'volume envelope-line' on this 'envelope-lane' (arrow bottom right)
Go on by Shift-clicking on this envelop and you'll be creating point each time. You can select each point and move it around. You can turn 'snap to grid' OFF (icon in toolbar or by pressing Alt-S) .... so you can move the points freely. As I said earlier .... try Control-clicking two or more points .... and then dragging the line between them. You'll see that all those points move together.

If you hold the mouse cursor on a point, it'll even show you the exact volume level of that point in dB !!
Thats basically all there is to it. Play around with it .... Alt-click removes a point ....... moving them etc.
But wait ...... the points and lines all seem WAY too straight and abrupt. Can't we soften-up the changes a bit? Sure we can. Select some points by right-clicking them ..... and you can select 'set Point Shape' ...... try 'Bezier' !!!! And add some more point and you'll be able to make and curve you can imagine !!

When you play the song now ...... the volume will be adjusted according to the envelope. If you actually want to SEE the fader move .... and let's be honest ...... that is the COOLEST thing ...... then just change that ENV icon on the track by right-cling it and selecting 'READ'. Where 'TRIM/READ' will also change the volume when the song is playing, only READ will actually MOVE the fader for you to see it.

You can get rid of this envelope-lane by right-clicking the envelope and toggling 'Show Envelope in Lane'

There are several more aspects to automation. Especially when recording or when using a midi controller with motorized faders ...... ok, now THAT is even cooler ;-) ...... but the purpose here was just to get a quick overview of it. We might cover the rest at another stage.

I DO hope it made sense :-) Please leave a comment and tell me what you think !!

J

PS. I made this video about a year ago .... ;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzjntcBx7wQ

VST: Part 2 - VST, RTAS, AU ...... ?

2010-06-18T12:27:00.001+02:00

Right! Now that we know where VST plug-ins come from and basically know what they are, it's important to mention that VST plug-ins are not the only 'format' plug-ins out there. Different Operating systems/platforms, different companies ..... have brought out quick a couple. The most important though are VST, RTAS and AU.
RTAS (Real-Time Audiosuite) is the plug-in format designed by Digidesign (say that 10 time fast :-P ) .... for their Pro Tools LE and Pro Tools M-Powered systems.
Audio Units (AU) is Apples own plug-in architecture for the Mac OS X.

Most providers of plug-ins and 'Virtual Instruments' today will provide their product on VST, RTAS as well as AU in one box though in order to satisfy the broadest possible public out there. VST's are the most common to be found out there though mainly due to the Windows market share.

So, as we said .... after you've installed your plug-in ....... it should be in some 'common VST plug-in folder' on your PC. All DAW's that I know of .... will let you add that folder if it hasn't found it by itself. From there on it's quite easy today ..... as ALL the best known DAW's have become VERY user-friendly and if you've used any ONE of them a few times ..... the chance is that you'll have little problem finding your way around the next one. "OK! OK! I know what you're thinking!!!" (little tribute to Magnum P.I. there ;-) ....... "That's easy for HIM to say" :-) But ..... it's true. Years ago ..... there were only a few big recording studios around ....... and the few Analog (!!!) recording/mixing desks out there were VERY expensive. But they were all very similar. As the years went on ... we got more Analog desks ...... Digital desks ...... and then Software Mixers. Yet, the 'style' and looked remained much the same. The early software DAW's obviously tried to bring that onto a PC platform ...... and today they ARE the 'big boys' in the business. Pro Tools .... THE standard in big, professional studios around the world ...... Cubase ....... Logic ........and some more. Even the relatively new ....yet superb and powerful DAW, Reaper ..... actually doesn't look that much different than Pro Tools. The discussion here isn't about DAW's ...... so you gotta find the DAW that you like the most and that fits your needs/pocket.

What they all (or most) have in common is the way plug-ins are handled. You include a plug-in into the signal path of your DAW ... and the signal will be altered. Altered? Always? No ...... this is where we have to talk about 'Processors' and 'Effects'. Consider a distortions effect. You want ALL of the signal to be distorted (altered) don't you? Also with an EQ ..... it makes little sense to have only a part of the signal filter out a frequency. So, actually we should call plug-ins that CHANGE a signal, like disortion, EQ .....'Processors' .... because they process the whole signal. Sometimes ... you want to 'add' something to the signal though. But be in charge of how MUCH. Like Reverb, Chorus etc .... these are what 'purists' call 'Effects'. BUT ...... let's get serious ..... NOBODY is gonna shoot you if you happen to talk about using a 'EQ effect plug-in' :-) :-) ....... it's just good to KNOW the difference, as this is also important HOW you use them in a mixer.

First of all .... let me make clear that there are NO rules! There are some "you shouldn't" and "normally this is how it's done" ..... that plus the fact that I actually know diddley squat about all this ....... don't take MY word as anything CLOSE to authorative :-) :-) .....

Inserts and Sends:
How can we keep this short? Well, I'll try .....
Your audio track will most probably have two places where you can place a plug-in. Insert/FX ..... and Send/Aux (the naming could differ slightly). It's actually quite easy. ALL of the signal will go through a plug-in when it's on an 'Insert' ....... and when a plug-in is on a 'Send' ...... you normally have some sort of Dry/Wet dial or control ... to regulate how MUCH of the signal you want to send to the plugin. If it's at a 50/50 dry/wet setting, that means half the normal, uneffected signal goes further to the output ....... and the other 'half' first goes to the plug-in, gets 'treated' there ..... and THEN goes to the output. Some plug-ins have a wet/dry dial themselves ........ so you can play around and see what works best for you.

There! 'Inserts' and 'Sends' explained. LOL .... :-P ..... yeah well .... not REALLY ...... but I think that should make it a little clearer :-)
So ... try it out ..... click on the 'FX' (normally a 'Insert') of your audio track ..... select a 'Fuzz' effect, let it play in loop while you are fiddling with the dials on the plug-in! You'll find some amazing and wacky sounds!!!
Then place a Chorus on a 'Send' ...... and mess around with the dials .... both on the mixer channel AND on the plug-in itself.

Oh, and remember! Some plug-ins you would put on an audio track ... and some are better suited to be on a Master track.

Some good ones to have:
If you have Pro Tools, Cubase or Sonar ..... you'll be lucky enough to have some world-class plug-ins included. In 'cheaper' DAW's like Reaper ...... to keep the cost down ....... you'll only find some basic ones. So, obviously you can BUY some ..... but are there any GOOD free ones out there? There sure are !!
Just search 'FREE VST' on Google ... and you'll be flooded with free plug-ins, I'll provide (and update) some more links that I and some friends have found recently that you can try out.

Remember though! Anybody can make VST's ..... that means there is NO guarantee on how good they are. So .. be careful WHERE you download from, if they are really FREE and not infected with virusses etc. Always make a Virus scan first !!!

Right ... there are LOTS .... but try these ones first ....

Kjaerhus Audio

These ones are excellent!!! Hunt around on the Internet ... for them. Kjaerhus Audio makes superb, high end plug-ins ... so it's awesome that they provide these 'simple' ones for free. Highly recommended !!! The Reverb and Chorus .... I use them a LOT!

http://www.brothersoft.com/publisher/kjaerhus-audio.html

Blue Cat Audio

Another company that makes superb commercial plug-ins. This is a while bundle of very good and free ones!!!!
These ones are also available for just about ANY platform and format you can imagine!!!

http://www.bluecataudio.com/Products/Bundle_FreewarePack/

Sonalksis - FreeG

Especially for DAW's that don't have such nice metering .... like Ablteton LIVE .... THIS is a must-have!! Use it to increase the control and flexibility of the signal flow in the insert chain of the host.

http://free-plugin-list.com/plugin.php?id=220

BootEQ MK II

My Sixstring Bliss-buddy PT found this one, if I remember correctly!!! SUPERB !!!! You can switch 'Tube' on .... add some 'drive' ..... great sounding too !!

http://www.kvraudio.com/get/3680.html

Leftover Lasagne (GREAT name!!) PushTec 5+ 1A

How about a FREE version of a VERY famous Tube Compressor? Yeap .... you got it!!!!

http://sites.google.com/site/leftoverlasagne/

So ..... I HOPE I could help out with what VST's are .... how they work, how to use them and finding good and free ones on the Internet. Let me know in the comments if I left out anything or made a huge boo-boo .... (always very possible ;-) ) .........
Oh and if you have any links to good free VST's ......put them in a comment to so we all can have a look :-)

:-)

VST: Part 1 - History

2010-06-16T10:50:00.011+02:00

"Virtual Studio Technology". Wow ! The pure sound of that sends shivers down one's 'non-technical' spine. What IS this 'plug-in talk' all these music-geeks RAVE about .... and that 'purists' scoff at? Do I need it? What does it do? Can it make me coffee in the morning?

Without going into TOO much of a history lesson .... I still think we should go back and see where this comes from.

There was this little company in the mid 50's that would later become 'Commodore International' that started up in Toronto by two Polish guys that were making and repairing typewriters. This company was responsible of later putting the Commodore 64 on the market in 1982. These where the times when 'Home Computers' were becoming cheap(er) and affordable to the masses. 'PC' as we know them today were still a long way off, primitive and aimed at the business market. The C64 was a MASSIVE hit. (I got mine in December 1983!!!) Not only was it easy to use, small, affordable, was able to handle color ...... but ...... it actually had a very advanced sound ship for it's time! And software started to appear that would utilize this superb feature. Let's remember that the music possibilities, compared to today were still 'primitive' ..... but it was a start.

In 1984, two German programmers, Karl Steinberg and Manfred Rürup living in Hamburg, Germany ..... (huh? :-P ) ..... developed the first MIDI sequencer called Steinberg Pro 16 for the C64 as well as for Apple's IIe/II+ computers. Over the next two years, the next version, Pro24 came out for the Atari ST and Amiga computers. These alone covered the big majority of the now VERY busy and popular Home Computer market. The start of 16-bit technology !
In 1987 Steinberg releases Pro24 III (picture left) which featured that up to 4 tracks of simultaneous recording was possibly. Remember ... we are talking MIDI ONLY here still!! NO Audio recording !!!

In 1989 Pro24, now called Cubase (or initially Cubit) emerges complete with score editing, Arrange Window, groove quantizing, macro sound editing .... making it the most complete and innovative sequencer in the world at that time. In 1991 'Audio' finally makes it's appearance in Cubase Audio ..... and for the first time it's possible to work with midi and audio in ONE sequencer! With this ...... the need to not only edit the audio itself .... buit to 'alter' the sound came quickly.

Just as a Hardware Mixing desk has it's EQ knobs ...... Cubase saw the need to 'tweak' an audio track in the same way. Thinking ahead ..... they realized that 'hardcoding' a EQ in Cubase would be foolish, as that was only ONE effect of many needed. Some sort of 'technology' or was needed to write little software programs that that one could use ..... at will. Basically a 'plug-in' that one could place ON the audio track, that would result in the signal first being 'altered' ..... before being send to the output. They came up with just such a 'framework' and called it 'Virtual Studio Technology' or VST for short. The REAL genius was that they made this 'framework' available to anybody!! THIS meant ..... that any person or company could use this framework to build his/her own plug-ins, affecting the signal in any possible way before passing it on again.

Steinberg released Cubase VST in 1997 and people jumped to the possibilities this provided. Only a year later, in 1998 ..... Steinberg had a problem. The way a PC handled audio was WAY too slow for Cubase. The signal comes in from an input and is routed to an audio track. If there is an Audio (VST) plugin on that track, the signal has to be altered by that plugin and then send out again. Soundcards were mainly 'Multimedia Gaming Cards' then and .... the drivers weren't fast enough to handle audio recording + monitoring fast enough ... resulting in massive latency.
So ... Steinberg ....was forced to develop his own Audio handling protocol. They did just that and called it ... Audio Stream Input/Output ..... or ASIO for short. Yet ANOTHER strike of genius was that they ALSO freely offered this driver protocol to all Soundcard Manufacturers! As Cubase was very popular ..... Soundcard Manufacturers were very keen on including ASIO drivers for their soundcards as this ensured more sales.

Cubase evolved more and more ....Cubase v5.1 is currently available ... is still one of THE most used, most advanced and popular DAW's out there. VST's as well as VST Instruments (VSTi's) .....(basically Software versions of Synths and other instruments) .... are supported by most DAW's out there.

So, thanks to Steinberg .... there are TONS of free, shareware and commercial VST plug-ins available to us today. As well as excellent VST Instruments out there that we can use in our DAW of choice.Your PC will/should have one place where all these 'plugins' are located ....... they are normally little .dll's ...... in a folder. Your DAW will allow you (normally via a 'FX' button) to select anyone of these and place it ONTOP of an audio track and the signal will be altered accordingly.

Next up will be a) finding some free VST plug-ins on the Internet and b) the basic way one would use them in most DAW's.

Requests?

2010-06-14T16:25:00.002+02:00

Any requests? (in terms of Homerecording) Questions? Or suggestions? Not that I know ANYTHING ..... but I'm always willing to 'try and find out' and show how I've done it.

Lemme know! Articles, screenshots, small vids ..... just leave a comment!

J

Reaper : Quick Guitar Loop Recording

2010-06-13T19:04:00.001+02:00

Ok, so you have a little drum loop on the track. Let's loop that and record Guitar WHILE the loop is playing over and over again.
Most DAW's record in a 'non-destructive' way, which means even if you record a piece of audio .... in our case Guitar.... and record OVER it again ..... that first recording isn't lost. It's just muted and placed 'below' the new recording. As far as I know .... you can record over and over a piece ..... till your system resources tell you it's had enough :-P
Why do this? It's often a good idea to have a loop play over and over and you just 'jam' to it. To try out some riffs, see what fits and what doesn't work at all. Or .... if you have problems nailing that difficult take. It's annoying to me to copy & paste the drum loop a thousand times and simply record onto a new track after each other ...... although some migth prefer this method.

So what we are gonna do now is to take a drum loop .... 'mark' that region to play as a loop and then record Guitar on another track. Because it'll record each 'take' of Guitar over the last 'take' ..... we'll end up with lots of 'layers' on that single Guitar track. Let's see what that looks like .....

Place a drum loop on a track and copy & paste it a few times .... like to fill up 4 bars. Then select and drag the time-line over those whole 4 bars till you see that this whole region is selected ...

On a track below that, load up your favourite Amp sim .... or set up your Guitar as you would normally. Then, don't forget to switch ON 'Loop Playing' .

This will result to play the area that you 'selected' over and over again. But it ALSO means, if you press RECORD now, it'll record ...... and at the end of the area, it'll jump back to the beginning of the selected area and continue recording.
Arm, the Guitar track, press RECORD and start playing. You'll notice it'll record your playing ...... and then it'll jump back to the beginning of the area and keep on recording. You will not see your previous take(s) till you stop. Do this a FEW times ...... 5-6 times over and over and then press STOP.

When you press SPACEBAR (or STOP) it'll stop recording and all of a sudden it'll show you all the takes you recorded. Pull the track wider a bit .... so you can easily see all takes. The last one will be highlighted, and if you press PLAY now, it'll play THAT take along the drum loop .... over and over. The COOL thing is .... even while it's playing, you can click on any other take, thereby selecting that 'take' and it'll play that one. This way you can let the loop part play and audition each 'take' .... deciding which one you like best. You can delete the whole lot and redo it ..... or even just continue and it'll add the new takes to the ones already recorded. My tip is not to have TOO many takes at a time .... makes things a little messy. But 8-12 takes ..... nice !!

If you've had enough, you can easily get rid of the unwanted takes by pressing 'Alt-Shift-T' and you'll throw away all the ones except the selected (highlighted) one, leaving you with just one recording. Because you recorded this as a loop, you can even copy and paste this 'loop' you just created wherever you want to. Pressing Escape (ESC) you'll 'un-select' the selected area. Remember to switch 'looping' OFF ....... and there you have it. A nice take recorded using the 'Loop Recording' Method :-)

Try it! It's VERY handy to get that difficult take down without having to rewind and press record all the time :-)

Reaper & Drum Loop Crashcourse

2010-06-13T17:15:00.008+02:00

Ask some Computer whizz how to do something and most probably he'll give a short laugh, take over your keyboard, type some cryptic commands at a lighning speed and then say ... "There! Easy!" And you'll sit there ..... feeling dumb, confused, embarrased ..... and with a BIG urge to stand up and punch his lights out!

I guess it's the same in any field. And sometimes when I read about sombody having problem with some simple recording .... I have to GUARD myself, doing the same thing. NOT that I call myself a 'whizz' .... not at all. In fact .... I'm all self-taught, maybe having many things 'wrong' ...... but the 'pro' is that I can and like to SHOW people how I do it. 'Sharing' the fascination and pure LOVE of fiddling with these toys and getting something out in the other end. Sure ... I'm an Amateur! But .... I'm having fun :-) Most things are NOT difficult, all you need is to find somebody to tell/show you how to do it in a non-technical way !!!

Once one has a Recording tool installed and all drivers in place and configured (which is a mamoth part of its own) ...... one can plug in one's Guitar, switch monitoring ON (so you can HEAR what you're playing) and rock out. Ehh ..... right. But what then? The biggest 'missing link' in the beginning are those drums !!!! Do I need a real drummer? Do I have to play on a keyboard and program drums myself? Do I have to 'draw' in midi notes representing various drum hits on various drum pieces? Well .... yes .... and no! Where all those are WAYS musicians use to get drums on their tracks ....... those are not easy and will take some learing. So is there NO easy way to get drums on a track. "I just want some drums to play against!"

Yes, there is. Welcome to Drum Loops !

What are drum loops? Well, mostly it's collections of REAL recorded drum grooves that you can use for your music royalty free (meaning, you can use them without having to pay anything). These come in tons of different 'styles' (Rock, HipHop) and speed (in BPM). So ....... you actually don't have to do more than set your DAW to the same bpm .... and plonk or drag one of these loops onto an audio track. That's it! These loops are made up in such a way that you can just copy & paste them after one another .... to fill up the whole track. If you press PLAY now .... your DAW should happily play the loops after each other, giving you a nice drum track. Don't believe me? Let's do it then ....

Finding Drum Loops
You can buy CD'S and DVD's filled with these Drum loops, or buy them on the Internet. But ... luckily .... there are also MANY free ones out there! Have a look at some of these sites ...

http://free-loops.com/free-loops.php
http://www.freeloops.com/

Here's a site that lists some more sites .... just follow the 'links'
http://www.delamar.de/free-samples/free-samples-ueber-10-000-free-drum-loops-drum-kits-und-drum-samples-6600/

Go to a site, and listen to some of those loops. On most you can listen to the loop before downloading it.
I chose one called 'Fast Drum Loop' .... but you can take any one that you like. Click on it, and download the loop somewhere on your PC. Best is to start a new folder for these kinda loops .... so you always know where you put them.

Using them in Reaper
We're gonna do this with Reaper .... so start that, and create a Audio track. Then press Alt-D to show the 'Docker' and press Ctrl-Alt-X to bring up the Media Explorer. Your screen should look something like this now....

In the Media Explorer, find the place where you downloaded the drum loop to. By clicking on it, you can even hear it play. By switching 'Tempo Match ON' ..... it'll play the loop at the speed your DAW is set to at this stage. The little number next to it ... shows you how much the loop it sped up from it's original speed. In MY case, my DAW is set to 113 bpm and the loop shows up as ... x1.002 ..... means it's VERY close to the original speed. I can live with that :-)
Just drag that loop from the Media Explorer to your Audio track. Select the track and press PLAY. It should now play that loop on the track. You may now copy & paste it a few times after each other if you want to.

Sure it's one monotonous loop playing again and again. Hardly ideal for a song structure. But that wasn't our aim here. Try out more loops. Play around with the speed. You can cut up the loop by stopping where you want to 'cut' it and press 'S' (for split).

There you go. Easy! Opps ... I said it :-P

Next I'll take it from here and show you how to 'Loop Record' some Guitar. GREAT fun !!!

Making Music is EASY .... well .....

2010-06-05T19:03:00.004+02:00

How's THAT for a provocative statement? LOL.... When you read that, a musician would gringe .... a beginner won't agree with you ..... and some might realize that it all depends on what is meant by 'Music'. And I didn't even say anything about 'good music' either. So, what do I mean? Here's what I mean ....

I love DAW's (Digital Audio Workstations) .... or lets just call them 'Recording Tools'. All kinds! I dunno why .... I've always wanted to know ALL of them. Not entirely (that would take ages and serious training) .... but just in general HOW they tick, how to do the basics etc. Right from the freeware/open source tool ..... up to the 'big bosy' like Pro Tools, Logic, Cubase ... and everything in-between. So you buy, beg, borrow and steal them, try out demos, educational versions etc etc. I've always wanted to know how to record, how to mix and make the music sound good and 'professional'. ANY music. Music to me is an art! If somebody expresses his feelings in a certain way and is happy about HOW it sounds .... who are WE to say it's bad music? It might not be our 'taste' ..... but history should have taight us that everything is relative. People also told Picasso his paintings are 'bad' cause they don't adhere to some 'rules' ..... Pffffff..... I'm sorry, but I spit on those kinda man-made rules !!!

The 'fans' of a particular DAW are VERY royal and often don't like ANY bad word to be said about their 'baby'. Fair enough. I've gotten into DEEP water many times when I said 'something' about a certain DAW. And that when I ALWAYS mention that it's just MY unqualified and humble opinion! Still ..... trust me. Those people can get NASTY !!
But ... one gets to grow a thick ~~stomach~~ skin ;-) And I think I have a fairly good overview over most of them. And yet ... by NO means am I some sort of expert or reference. Some of course I can't REALLY judge, either due to their cost or platform. Like Logic (only on MACs) .... or Pro Tools HD (THE standard in professional studios ...... that will cost you the price of a small car!) But from reading EVERY Recording orientated Magazine etc ...... I think I can tell if they re 'good' or not. Besides .... most have 'Limited Editions these days.
To get things straight ..... NONE of the 'standard' and well known DAW'S out there suck! They are ALL good. In fact ...... these days, those things are bloody marvelous! So, eventhough I personally might prefer one to the other ... I would NEVER say that DAW is crap!

Coming back to the 'making music is easy' part ...... when I make music, I skip between several DAW's (mostly Reaper, Cubase and Ableton LIVE) ... because they all have their pros and cons, and some cater or focus on a specific function or music or 'style of making music'. In the previous article I told you about how trying something different can sometimes surpize you and get those creative juices flowing.
Yesterday, I had the chance of playing with yet another great DAW. One that looks VERY close to Apples Garageband and is specifically geared for people either starting out or people that don't want a steep learning curve and just need the basic functions yet all the power to do it nicely. Where Reaper might be one of the best 'values for little money' you can get ....... there is one DAW that is SO cool and easy to use it's nearly embarrasing. I'm talking about Acoustica's Mixcraft 5.

I've used a previous version of Mixcraft and already liked it then, so I was quite excited trying this one out again. Basically, it's a straight DAW. VERY friendly looking, easy on the eyes. Everyting is where you would expect it to be and the menus are clear and make sense. I'm no walking manual and this article isn't a tutorial, so I'm not gonna go into the 'Basics Of Recording' ..... you open this DAW ... FIRST go to preferences and correctly setup up your Audio Device (ASIO preferred) ..... open a new Project ..... create a new audio track .... hit 'arm' (and Monitor ON so you can hear anything ..... press RECORD .... and start playing! Got it? Good :-P
That's not where the 'easy' comes in though ....... the 'easy' comes in when you open the Library tab at the bottom. What you find there are samples and loops of just about ANYTHING you can think of. Blues Guitar, Hip Hop Acid Synth loops, Metal bass lines and ... and .... and A treasure chest of fun things. How do you use these? Pfff....... if you got THIS far ( I mean booting your PC, going online, opening a browser and reading a blog) ... you've done things 10x more difficult as the thing thats gonna follow ...

Select 'Song Kit' from the Category combobox. The look for 'Surf Rock' and click on that. You will now see a whole bunch of audio clips and loops for several instruments .... all in the style of 'Surf Rock' and labled to indicate where it COULD go in a song structure. All you do NOW is ..... select ANY 'part' ... like 'Drum Kit 1' ... and pull it up to the arranger. It will automatically create a new track if you place it on the empty space. If you drag it on a existing track, it'll import the audio there.
You can now grab the end of this clip and pull it to the right .... which will copy the clip again and again to where you want to. The choose some more clips. A variety on the same tzrack ... some different instruments. You can audition (listen to) each clip before choosing. No rules. Just have fun. Mix and match.

In 60 seconds...... I just made this now ...... Surf Rock Demo
Ok, nothing to get excited about .... but I think you get what I'm getting at. Click on the top picture to see what I did.

Great! Right? So where is the problem? Well, if this is all you wanna do ... fine! But if I want to make music, I want to be PROUD of it. I want it to come from 'the heart'. Sure, it doesn't mean you have to do everythng yourself ....... but THIS isn't gonna make you happy for long. You will want things 'slightly' different .... you will want YOUR bass guitar in there. You will want YOUR Guitar in there playing YOUR riffs. Sure ..... use some as 'candy' or as a basic foundation. Not everybody has drums at home ..... so use this to make up a nice drum track. But try to make music for yourself! Yet ... for somebody thats a little 'scared' and doesn't know WHERE to start .... THIS is an excellent introduction!!!!

So, there you have it. Making music IS easy these days. Making GOOD music is also easy these days. But ... making your OWN music, takes a while. That's what it's all about, and where this excellent DAW for only U$D 70.- can get you started VERY nicely ..... try to make music that makes YOU happy or expresses YOUR feelings! That's what it's all about.

Do check out Acoustics's Mixcraft 5. It's simply an AMAZING DAW to get started with. There is NO excuse anymore ;-)

The Making Of ......'Industrial Fuzz'

2010-06-03T20:01:00.004+02:00

Ok, I thought I'd share on HOW this one was done ... and WHY it actually came about totally different than my usual tunes ...

The Making Of ......'Industrial Fuzz'

aka ...... "What can happen when you have a creative day and you decide to do EVERYTHING different"

I was visiting at a friends place that is a professional DJ. He also creates and mixes his own club tracks. We often talk about 'song creation' etc and how awesome it is that there are SO many different ways of doing it .... no wrongs and no rights. No rules.

He primaliy works with loops and sample CD's and uses Ableton's LIVE to create his own music. Now, the thing with Ableton LIVE is .... that you can switch your DAW to two differnent 'layouts' ... an 'Arrangement View' ....... the one we all know, where you have all your tracks below each other, and the time indicator moves from left to right when you hit play .....

.... and a 'Session View'

This 'Session View' is structured 'Top-Down'. You can see the 'columns' as 'tracks' ........ with lots of 'slots' going down. In each 'slot' you can put an audio clip ...... mostly a drum loop, bass loop .... or any other loop.

You can 'select' a whole 'line' across .... called a 'scene' ..... and THIS will play all the loops found across this 'line' ..... over and over again. It will only play another 'scene' when the DJ selects it. And it DOESN'T have to be the one following it. This way ..... the DJ can decide in real-time WHAT to play, depending on his mood or the mood and vibe of the crowd.

I can post a screenshot if this is too confusing.

Now HOW does this relate to 'Industrial Fuzz' ?? Well, DJ's normally select loops from tons of sample CD's .... but you don't HAVE to. One can also select the 'slot' and play some keyboard or synth piece in there ...... or a bassline .... and this will automatically be handled as a 'loop'. And this works for Guitars too !!!

So, I started hunting around old boxes in the basement, looking for my old sample CD's. Then I created my 'scenes' ...... each time imagining ..... "Ok, what do I want for an intro? Just a drum loops playing or that AND a bassline?" ..... and then on the next scene "Ok, now some synth should start." .......

For the Guitars I just took a nice setting on my "Sansamp GT2 pedal" ....... put on some mean Fuzz (the same I used for 'Love Trap' ..... the BBE Free Fuzz VST plugin turned up to 'way-over-the-top' ....... and just recorded big chords. If you listen closely ..... it's not much more than that ......big chords in a certain progression.

To spice it up .... I added another Funky little Guitar lick ....... and some more FX loops from the CD.

That all being in place ..... I played these different 'scenes' over and over ..... trying to figure out .... which should follow which .....in what order they should be played .....to get a 'Rock Songs' structure ...... as a typical 'Club song' is structured quite different. Once I had my 'order' ..... I just had to hit record and play the scenes in this specific order. Voila!

That's how I came up with this backing. I was aiming for a Rammstein (pronounced 'Rum - 'stine') feel, which I think I got too.

I posted it and thought .... "Ok, let the people have a laugh"..... and wasn't actually seriously thinking ANYBODY would use it for anything. Alicia and Alfie however .... IMMEDIATELY said they would like to try some vocals.

Alfie quickly send me the backin with his vocals ontop of it ...... THAT blew me away. I asked him to send me the vocals 'separately' ...... in order for me to mix it properly.

The result .... you can hear here. Alfie belting it out ....and to MY mind ..... making an interesting 'backing track' ..... into a awesome song!!! Thanx Alfie :-) More work is coming your way ;-)

So .... I know this was a little long for 'comments' ..... but I figured you might be interested how sometimes trying something TOTALLY new ...... can surprize you BIG TIME !!

Here's the song : http://janbuchholz.com/audio/bjw/final/Industrial_Fuzz.mp3

LIVE once more

2010-06-03T11:04:00.001+02:00

Sixstring Bliss Episode 189 is OUT !! Whoohoo !!! And this time it's a 'LIVE' Episode! Huh? Right. While the guys were recording, questions were posted and answered on the air ..... and we even had callers call in and be on the show LIVE! THAT was a blast!!! Dave, Alfie, Alicia ..... what a hoot! I just love the spontaneity (big word - had to look that up) when people call in live. And the guys were on a roll! Sometimes a few 'pauses' caused mainly due to delay etc ...... but great fun. PT had to call from a cell phone from the parking lot of his Hotel .... so I guess he lost out a little. But it was great hearing Pipes at his best again!!

Check it out !! and download Episode 189 HERE

Oh, and it's ALWAYS a big honor to have ones song played on the air! Last month, Sixstring Bliss had it's biggest month yet with way over 10 000 downloads!!! Actually, now that I'm thinking of it .... shit .... is it too late to withdraw my song? LOL If the download rate goes down DRASTICALLY, it's MY fault ;-) ..... Hah! But seriously, this tune I tried something totally different, and when I even got Alfie to sing on it ..... this 'simple instrumental' got turned into a REAL cool song. Thanks Alfie! You are one bad ass singer!!!

You can listen to my track as played on the show HERE ..... and PLEASE gimme some feedback ;-) You can use the 'comment' link below this posting.

Hmmm ..... what to work on next?

"What The Fuzz" available NOW !!!!

2010-05-21T13:38:00.007+02:00

It's finally here!!! That's right. Sixstring Bliss has just released Episode 187, which is the Official 'Fuzz Album Episode'.

As you all know, 'Sixstring Bliss' is longest running Guitar-orientated Podcast (Internet Show) with a real cool community behind it. Everybody is free to join up and enjoy our chats, jokes, discussions around Guitar, Music and other everyday happenings in a Guitarists life. You don't play Guitar? No matter ... you're welcome anyway :-)

So, just out of pure fun, we often grab a 'theme' and write, record music around this theme and make that available as a FREE downloadable Album! This time (by now the 5th Community Album!!!) ...... we decided to make an Album full of tracks where a 'Fuzz' effect is included. What's this 'Fuzz' thing? Well, it's nothing more than a 'special effect' of a over-the-top, hairy, buzzing distortion. You might not know about it ..... but you HAVE heard it probably a thousand times in all kinds of music.

What normally happens is that the hosts of Sixstring Bliss play and discuss EVERY submitted tune and soon after release the Album which ALL are free to download. This years "What the Fuzz" Episode (Episode 187) is special in many ways. Most of all ..... this year it's recorded live in Tennessee by Clint and Alicia Searcy as well as host, PT !!!! Why is this so special? Well ..... unless you're been on the Moon the last month, you must have seen that big parts of Tennessee were totally flooded by rains! Many people lost their lives and even more lost all or parts of their homes ...... INCLUDING THE SEARCYS (That's what THEIR living room looked like on the picture!!) And there they sit..... among make-shift furniture, rubble, in a house with no floors or doors (the house was 2 feet under water!!), having to sleep in a Camper till the house is rebuild ..... and MERELY moderate one of the maybe BEST Episodes yet!!!! How's THAT ??? These guys are amazing and I have the deepest love and respect for them!!!! Among all this chaos and financial burden (No, insurance does NOT pay) .... these two take time out to give US a great show! WOW !!! The rest of the community therefore decided that we are going to put a BIG FAT DONATION BUTTON underneath the Album download, and all those donations go directly to them, helping them to rebuild their home. You wanted to REALLY help? Here's your chance!

Anyway, back to the Album. Quite frankly, I laughed my ass off on the train to work this morning listening!!! What a hoot!! The comments by all three are a blast!!! I'm not gonna comment on the songs here, head over to the Forum for that !!! But I WILL say, that the overall quality of the tracks is superb!!! Remember! There are NO professional musicians there! All have other day-jobs. They play, record and do this ..... just because they love it!!! As I said ..... the download link for the Album will follow soon .... so stay tuned, I'll update this post as soon as I have an official link!!! Download the Episode and enjoy !!! Oh, and PLEASE leave a comment .... here or even better, on the Forum. The people would LOVE some feedback !! You can also become a fan on Facebook!!!!

Here are the download links ....

Podcast Show:

"What The Fuzz" Episode (Episode 187)

Album:

"What The Fuzz" - Sixstring Bliss New !!

If you want to help out the Searcys NOW with a donation .... follow this link on the Musical Instrument Makers Forum or do so by pressing the 'Donations' button on the Sixstring Bliss site.

I will !

Sixstring Bliss to release new "What The Fuzz" Album

2010-05-20T12:18:00.000+02:00

Six String Bliss Announces the Release of “What The Fuzz?”. Worldwide Launch – Thursday, May 20th, 2010

Six String Bliss, the longest-running guitar-centric Podcast on the Internet announces the release of What The Fuzz, a collaborative effort by members of their listening community. The theme of this album is the Fuzz Effect; it was not a requirement to use Fuzz specifically on guitar, but each track submitted contains the prominent use of Fuzz.

What The Fuzz will feature 10 songs performed by an international community of artists, with submissions coming from 5 countries. Each of these submissions is the work of members of the Six String Bliss listening community. This is the fifth such project produced by Six String Bliss, the first being 2007’s A Blissful Christmas, which was followed up in fall 2008 with Stay Tuned (a collection of TV Themes), last spring with Big Screen Bliss (a collection of songs featured prominently in movies), and in fall 2009 with Scales of Horror (all original, Halloween Themed songs).

According to Alicia Searcy, co-host of the What The Fuzz Episode and regular contributor to the show: “Six String Bliss’ “What the Fuzz” project is a testament to the amazing talent of its contributors. Each song really shines, and each artist has put his/her uniquely “fuzzy” stamp on their piece. Yet again Six String Bliss has raised the bar by delivering a wide range of music that is certain to be engaging and entertaining to listen to.”

All guitarists are welcome to join in the fun of the Six String Bliss Forum. Projects like this will continue to thrive so long as there is an active community to make these happen. So please come by, introduce yourself, and join in the next project!

Podcast Episode 187 which will feature What The Fuzz will be up on the RSS Feed (http://sixstringbliss.libsyn.com/rss) and on iTunes at 11:00PM (CDT) Thursday, May 20th, with the show notes added to the website soon thereafter at www.sixstringbliss.com. As always, there will be a direct download link from the main website which will include the Album itself, as well as front and back cover art and liner notes. These albums are available to the general public for free – you just have to go and get them!

About Six String Bliss

Six String Bliss is the longest-running guitar-centric Podcast on the Internet. Co-hosted by guitarists PT, Pipes, and Pappy, the weekly show caters to players of all ages and abilities, and features segments including Email of the Week, Guitarist of the Week, Guitar News and general discussion of all things relating to the guitar. Interviews have featured internationally renowned guitarists as well as luthiers, store owners, and manufacturers of pickups, effects, and recording software. In addition, each episode concludes with a listener-submitted “Outro” track; all listeners are encouraged to send in their recordings for use on the show. The website includes an active, international and welcoming forum.

Source: Press Release

WTF Journal : Entry 10 (The Final)

2010-05-02T13:18:00.004+02:00

Sunday 2nd May (Morning)
SHIPPED !!!! Yes, I finally made it. Last night at just after 11PM I shipped my track, named 'Love Trap' over to Sixstring Bliss !!!
And what a last few hours it was!

I spend two afternoons singing in some kina vocals, and tried out just about every effect combination under the sun to make it sound 'OK'. Result? CRAP! LOL ..... No shit! Ok, one IS very critical about one's voice and hearing that on a recording, but TRUST ME ....... it was NOT pretty :-P So, I was so fed up ... I threw away the the whole track.
The problem .... now I was left with a simple backing track. Not bad .... but boring! What to do? In an last-ditched (and totally unfair) effort .... I asked my buddy Stelios to TRY and just improvise some kinda Lead track over it while I went out for Dinner with my girls. This was at 18h00 !!!! I came back about two hours later and Stelios tried all he could .... but due to the key (Eb) , and the weird song itself ..... we were still left with nothing. (Thanx again Stelio, for giving it a go :-) )

Hmm...... what now? Abandon, and sheepishly mail Alicia that I'm not gonna send ANYTHING? Nah .... there HAD to be 'something' that I could do. So, I sat down ..... tuned my Guitar one more time (½ a step down) .... let the backing play and just pressed RECORD and played .... anything!
And it just flowed! Ok, it's NOTHING compared to a Lead track by a Stelios or any of my other friends ....... but ...... I think, under the circumstances, and it haven been played totally off-the-cuff, it's not TOO bad. Yes, some off-notes and ....whooooo..... those bends (ouch), but so what, or rather ... 'What the fuzz?' Right? Right!
Some arranging, leveling .... and plenty effects on it .... and finally some Mastering to lift and brighten the whole thing up ..... and off it went per email !!!! *PHEW* So, among the many effects used on the whole track, the 'Fuzz' effects in there are a Fender Fuzz Wah from Amplitube 3 and a BBE Free Fuzz VST.

Mission acomplished. Hook it off and on to the next ....

What did I LEARN from all this?

Forget about vocals. It's just not my thing. I got a soft-spoken, light and thin voice ..... no effects on earth are gonna turn THAT into anything. Period.
Don't do things too late. Some people CAN do this and actually thrive in this like my buddy Jacko, but what if you THEN have a bust PC? Or something in your family happens that takes away the 'recording time'? Then there is no time for a 'Plan B'.
I don't like deadlines to be TOO far away either ..... one is all excited about it .... puts it all off 'because there is SO much time' ..... and all of a sudden you find yourself with WAY too little time.
Keep things simple. If you're a talented musician (which I'm NOT) ... ok, do your thing, but in my case ..... KISS. "Keep it simple, stupid". I like and listen to simple, catchy, groovy Rock songs. SO thats what I should stick to as well ......... focus on good playing, clean and high quality recordings and a solid and catchy song structure. That's most of the song right there!
Keep a journal of your progress. Eventhough not many people actually READ this .... it kinda keeps you on your toes, others can comment and support you on days you feel like throwing everything in the corner. Again .... comments from your friends are VITAL !
Have fun and do it for the right reasons. And don't worry too much about 'Is it good enough?' ... NOBODY cares!!! An effort, no matter how wonky it may be .... is better than nothing. Most of us are doing this as a hobby and the stuff we produce is NOT gonna impress the music world. But thats NOT why we are doing it, remember? We're doing it .... cause it's fun! Because it's great to actually 'create' something of your own. Because you DO feel proud when your buddies compliment you on your track and even play it on a podcast!!! I mean HOW FREAKIN' COOL IS THAT? .This makes you want to do better next time!

When is the "What The Fuzz" - Episode gonna be aired and the Album ready to be downloaded?

I'm not sure yet, but it obviously will posted EVERYWHERE when this happens. My guess is in about 2 weeks from now. Stay tuned!!!

Anyway, there you have it. I want to thank EVERYBODY that supported and commented on these 'WTF Journal' entires. You really made the difference. Maybe I'll do it again for the next 'Project' ....... which JUST might be in the air already ;-) ;-) I'm already excited !!! :-)

See ya all and thanx again !!

J

WTF Journal : Entry 9

2010-04-29T08:50:00.002+02:00

Thursday 29th April (After work)
OOPS !!! Worked on the track a bit after getting home from work, mainly starting to try out some 'Fuzz effects' on the Guitar tracks ...... when after a 'reboot' I suddenly got THIS (left) screen!!!!

HUH??

Rebooted ... several times, same story. The disk was running and in the startup it was recognized. Hmmm ..... my UK buddy Martin (good thing I recently bought the little Acer Aspire One Netbook!!) .... suggested I check and try some stuff ...... which eventually lead me having a closer look inside the BIOS. On second glance .....or was it 3rd? 4th? ...... I eventually saw that the 'Boot Order' was wrong !!!!

HUH?? (again)

How did THAT happen? Never mind ..... corrected that, rebooted and ...... YAY!!!! *phew* .... talk about crapping in your pants in dispair! This at a time where I can NOT waste time with re-installing Windows etc. I have backups and always make an Image of my System Disk .... so I wasn't too hassled about 'loosing' anything. I was just hoping it wasn't Hardware .... cause then all those nice Images mean nothing. AND ..... the biggest reason ......WHO'D believe SUCH a story a few days before a deadline? Nobody! Right? :-P

So, looks like that all running again ..... as for the track. I tried out several effects and sound on the Guitar. Some didn't work as I hoped they would ...... but I think I ended up with an acceptable sound .... WITH Fuzz ;-) Still some work to do on it .... mainly a simple vocal track (?!?) ...... and with a little luck, I'll get it done. It's 'different' from my 'usual' stuff ...... not one of my best, but ...... WTF? Right? ;-)

WTF Journal : Entry 8

2010-04-27T09:53:00.001+02:00

Tuesday 27th April (Morning. At work)
Yesterday I nearly fell into the WORST trap on CAN get into when doing a song with a murder deadline looming ........ That's right! I listened to new music! How is that a bad thing? Well, you listen to new music, get new ideas, start thinking about doing a different tune etc. NOT GOOD! Stay focused! Concentrate! Think of the work at hand and finish it!

The pic left is me on the train this morning. Listening to a rough (VERY rough) mix of my tune so far. Over and over and over and over again ...... making notes about things I need/want to change (boy, there are some OFF notes that make my toes curl .... ouch!!!), little scraps of text, title ideas etc. I have learned this "taking a rough mix and listening to it dozen of times on your MP3 Player / iPod" to be a VERY good idea. Firstly, you get to hear what it sounds like NOW.You get to hear what it sounds like in lower quality MP3 format. You get to hear what it sounds like on headphones .... maybe even not too good headphones. And you get a 'feel' for the song ....... listening where it wants to go. (Mine wants to go to the waste basket, but that's beside the point :P ) ........

I have to use this time to sort out the 'non-DAW' stuff ..... I just HAVE to .....

WTF Journal : Entry 7

2010-04-25T19:00:00.001+02:00

Sunday 25th April (evening):
There we go!!! The picture will tell you all the basics are in the can (bar vocals). YAY !!! All played in dry (that means no effects or Amp sims used) ..... and whether that'll all work out when I want to put on stuff later ...... well, let's hope so!

On the picture you can see Drums, Bass and 3 Guitar tracks. The original midi tracks are hidden (there's a neat little extention for this, for all you Reaper users) ...... so all I have there are the actual audio tracks.

I guess much more I won't be able to do today ...... or I'll get into 'domestic trouble' ;-) :-P ...... but there's enough to do the next day or two on and from work .... see if I can write some lyrics ......

SO!!! All you Blissers out there!! If I can get THIS far in 2-3 days, I sure HOPE you guys are finishing up your tracks fro the Album. All except Jacko .... he'll start on Thursday ;-) ;-)

WTF Journal : Entry 6

2010-04-25T16:05:00.002+02:00

Sunday 25th April (afternoon):
Damn. Time's running out. How am I gonna do stuff in the week when I get home late? F#&% knows! :-P

At least I got the Rhythm Guitar (Guitar 1) track done. Now it's on to the second Guitar that has some Lead elements and some riffs for the chorus. I'll do the riffs first. Still all recorded dry with no effects whatsoever. Was a good idea, I think. This way I got all options open in terms of effects etc.

Here's a good tip doing tracks like this.... Take the midi track (like the Lead Guitar) and put a simple Electric Piano VSTi (or any other simple Synth) on it and record to that. Much easier and helps you stay in time !!!

Vocals? Pfff.... haha. We'll see ;-)

WTF Journal : Entry 5

2010-04-24T15:05:00.000+02:00

Saturday 24th April (15h00):
Ok, Drums and Bass done! The Jazz Bass sounds AMAZING dry like that. I can see now why so many record direct into the mixing desk. Again, very impressed with this Fender Squier Vint. Mod. Jazz Bass !!! What a great Bass Guitar!!
I changed some parts of the drum kit. But I think it's cool now. My fingers are ITCHING for some compressors, plugins etc !! LOL ..... but I'm gonna FORCE myself to wait. Also NO automation at this point. It's no use until the other tracks are done. First get in ALL tracks recorded and THEN mix and tweak. This is a new one for me :-P

WTF Journal : Entry 4

2010-04-24T12:30:00.004+02:00

Saturday 24th April (morning):
Spend the morning detuning my Bass. ½ step down. Took a while but sounds good. Then I tried going through a few of the parts (dry) ..... shit, some are not as easy as I would like. No matter ... will get them down.

On the top pic you can see the midi Bass track (with a BAss VSTi) and below that me playing in the parts.
Bottom pic .... YES! My trusty old Behringer FCB1010 Midi foot controller. So I can just press Record, Undo, Rewind, Record, ..... and leave my hands on the Guitar all the time :-)

I dunno how much I'll be able to do today .... as there's some stuff to do around the house and I have to help Kimberly with her music homework (Recorder) ......... my aim though ...... at least get all or most of the Bass played in and listen a few more times to the Drums just to finish that up.
I've decided to play everything in DRY first .... and worry about effects, plugins, amps and fuzz later. First priority ... clear, on-time, good level recordings.

(Click on picture to get a bigger view)

WTF Journal : Entry 3

2010-04-23T20:34:00.004+02:00

Friday 23rd April (evening):
Ok, transfered the exported midi into Reaper. The Drum track (normally General Midi) I re-mapped for EZDrummer and Addictive Drums. But at first I tried a 'simple-but-great-sounding' solution by using BlueJay Drums from SoniVox. Nice!!! But, not happy with that .... so I tried the Nashville kit from EZDrummer. Better! Maybe I'll still try out XLN Audio's Addictive Drums, but at this stage .... this sounds quite cool already so I'll stick with EZDrummer for now.

I got rid of all midi commands on the midi Bass track and put a SI Bass Guitar VSTi from Cakewalk on it. This track will function as a 'scratch-track' for me to record against with my real Bass Guitar. So at least I have audible Drums and Bass (although still midi) at this stage already. Looking good ....

Enough for today !

WTF Journal : Entry 2

2010-04-23T18:44:00.005+02:00

Friday 23rd April :
At work we got these nice big printers, so I often like to make big A3 printouts ..... take them with me and work on them on my way from work (on the train!!!) and at home on weekends.
At this stage (as seen on pic) I'm on the couch ... mainly learning the Bass parts and making additional markings and notes on the sheets on the printouts.

I'll practice the Bass parts some more ... and maybe this evening, I'll start getting my DAW lined up with the Drum track (midi). Hmmmm.... Cubase or Reaper ... ehhh......or Sonar 8.5 or Ableton Live? or ProTools 7.4 ..... LOL What do you guys think? ;-)

WTF Journal : Entry 1

2010-04-23T18:29:00.001+02:00

Wednesday 21 April:
After listening to several Albums on my MP3 player ...... I like to dig out those NON-famous Albums and listen to the tracks inbetween the hits ...... I found this one cool song. Complicated, long (over 6 minutes) .... LOTS of fancy Lead Guitar in it ....... normally the song I would NOT do ....because I suck ;-) ...... yet, this time, I thought ..."Hey, what if I only use PARTS? And not only that, cut the song to csomething totally different and DOABLE?"
Listened to the song ... again ... again ..... again ... and then looked around for all the Songsheets, Scores and Midi files I could find. Collection time....

Thursday 22 April:
As seen on the picture, I spend time cutting, pasting, glueing, drawing etc in the Midi Editor GuitarPro
to lay out the song. I threw away all the stuff I didn't want and re-arranged the whole song the way I want it. Lots of changes, listenign .... and I ended up with something like 03:30 worth of music. That'll do.

What the Fuzz? In 10 Days????

2010-04-23T18:15:00.001+02:00

Aka ... "How do you put yourself under pressure? Wait till 10 days before a deadline and THEN keep a Journal of your misable attempt to do magic" :-) :-) :-)

Hi all !!!
As most of you SHOULD know ..... the deadline for the contributions for the 5th Sixstring Bliss Album, called "What The Fuzz?" is LOOMING!!!! Actually I wasn't planning on contributing as I've decided to take some time off and concentrate on some original material. BUT .... those fingers are itching! But 10 Days left? And what's more ..... I have NO idea what song do do. All I knew is that I DIDN'T want to do a straight cover again. Hmmm......
So yesterday I decided to put myself under MORE pressure (I know, idiot!!! :-D) ........ and thought it should be cool to TRY and get something done my May 1st. But not only that .... keep a Journal as I go along. Nothing technical ...... just snapshots of WHAT I'm doing at a certain time. These snapshot could be several in a day (If I'm lucky to get time) ... or one every now and then.

If all fails ... and I DON'T get to finish ... well, tough shit and that'll teach me to wait so long to make a descision ;-) Then I won't be contributing to the Album.

See what you think and PLEASE comment your thoughts!!! This blog-thing sure sucks if NOBODY reads anthing or doesn't comment. So please write .... ANYTHING :-P

So .... here we go. Like I said ... 10 days left ONLY! And that was YESTERDAY ..... ouch !!!

One hot Lady !

2010-02-20T22:33:00.000+01:00

Yup! I finally got her! My very own Honey Burst Les Paul! Aint she a beaut? Of couse she is! A brand new (build May 2009) Epiphone Les Paul Standard.
Not sure if I'll call her "No.2" (as in my second Les Paul / reference to Jimmy Page's famous No.2) ..... or "Billie" .... as in "Billie Perry", seeing that I have a Joe Perry Les Paul as well ;-)

Why ANOTHER Les Paul? Well, as my other one is a Joe Perry Signature, it would be stupid messing with the specs. I wanted a good looking Les Paul .... for a good price, that I can upgrade to my liking. And as I LOVE that Vintage-looking honey, faded , plain top look ..... this is something similar. Beautiful finish, nice flamed top.
The thing though ..... she weighs a TON!! LOL .... but as I don't stand on any stages, that's quite OK for me. She checks in at a whopping 4,7 kg (10.38 pounds) ! The 'Joe Perry' is a whole kg less at 3,7 Kg. I have no idea where this weight comes from ..... most probably ....all over. The neck is chunckier ..... actualy the whole Guitar 'feels' thicker. But so what? NICE !

So ... what's planned for this nice Guitar? Here are some 'ideas' ........ nothing more, just 'ideas'

Graph Tech bridge
Bone or Graph Tech nut
Gibson or Schaller Vintage tuners
Other pickups ..... Seymour Duncan SH-1 59's? Pearly Gates? Alnico Pro II?
some other truss rod cover ..... what about "Booker J Wood Custom" ? :-P

Anyway ....... we'll see. Busy time ahead, with an operation coming up, then some weeks home down in Cape Town for some vacation ...... more work ..... and then maybe have something done for the next Sixstring Bliss Album!!!! This time the topic is "Fuzz". I hope I think of something !! ;-)

Abbey Road plug-ins

2010-02-13T12:55:00.000+01:00

Been playing with the Abbey Road plug-ins a bit. If you're set on using only high quality, realistic, Hardware-emulating plugins ....... then this is worth a check. ESPECIALLY if you're a Beatles of '60's UK sound' fan !!

"The plug-ins provide faithful software emulations of vintage hardware from Abbey Road Studios. The original hardware, used on many famous recordings, was custom-built by EMI for Abbey Road Studios and was never commercially available...."

"The TG12412 is a four-band, semi-parametric EQ with selectable frequencies and curve shapes on each band. The Shape control provides the shelving and variable bell curves from the original module. The TG12414 provides a presence section and low- and high-pass filters. The presence section is the same as the presence EQ on the legendary TG12345 mixing console"

Here's a little riff repeated 4 times ... with theTG12412 off and on alternately ... AUDIO

Any comments ?

Sixstring Bliss Episode 171 available NOW !!!!

2010-02-09T15:18:00.000+01:00

Pipes and PT in a local recording studio, reviewing a cool Satellite Neutron Amp. Plus loads more ...........

Get it !! Oh, and be sure to become a fan on their Facebook Page !!!

Sixstring Bliss - Episode 171