Running Order (version 1) – 050613
Sponsored by “T10”.
So I was messing around this afternoon, with a view to establishing a running order for the album.
There are 14 tracks up for consideration. I reckon I have the first 6 tracks pretty well sorted in their respective locations (WEDNESDAY/THE LONG MARCH/JOFUS IN THE GARDEN/PARALLELS/BALCONY/143). I’m not saying that the album is trying to tell a story as such, but these first six tracks are somewhat based on real events and there is a chronology attached to them which is reflected in the proposed running order (d’ye follow?).
The last track is going to be DRIVING THE DEVIL BACK TO HELL, and my problem now is to slot the remaining tracks into place. Lyrically, they do not have to be in any particular order, so the question is to discover which tracks work best in relation to each other from a musical perspective. I like to think of album tracks in terms of “threes”, and I have categorised the various tracks tempo-wise as “slow”, “moderate” and “fast”, with a view to varying the pacing of the album from start to finish. Trouble is, it’s difficult to render 14 tracks in terms of “threes”.
I won’t be able to finalise this task until I have mixed/mastered all the tracks, so that I can hear them in the finished state, together with the relevant sound effects. My plan is that all tracks will be “standalone” (i.e., without “transitions”) for online streaming purposes, but I will put together a single mix of the entire album with “transitions” as a bonus track on Bandcamp.
But all that’s a bit away yet…
Regards,
djp
Up On The Hill/The Moral Guardians Make A Housecall – 280513
Sponsored by “Last Played 2012”.
Busy day today…
…HILL
Started work on editing the main vocal parts and completed editing the backing vocal parts in CE5. More work to do over the next few days.
…GUARDIANS
Mixed/mastered two versions of this track in CE5 and AA3. The album version has a sound effect I recorded myself on my Samsung smartphone, while the single version does not have this effect. Only difference between.
There’s a lot going on in the track, so I had to do quite a bit of work adjusting volume levels for the various elements within the vocal, Les Paul and Tele parts. Got there in the end and it sounds great now.
Another one in the metaphorical can, as it were…
Back to the editing trail tomorrow.
Regards,
djp
The Long March – 270513
Sponsored by “Last Played 2011”.
Finally finished-off (I think) the editing for the main vocal parts in CE5.
I may (or may not) add another bit of sound effects to the start of the track. Not crucial that I do.
That being the case, the track is effectively ready for mixing/mastering.
More work tomorrow.
Regards,
djp
The Long March – 170513
Sponsored by “Added 2010”.
Did some preliminary editing of the vocal parts in CE5. Also added one of my Sound Effects Library files. I need to do some more sound effects. And a bit of synth.
I hope to get some more editing done tomorrow, but I’m off on a road trip to the UK on Sunday and won’t be back for a few days. So I may not get to do any more edits on this for some days. Such is the way of the world, but it’s all in a good cause!
Regards,
djp
The Moral Guardians Make A Housecall – 160513
Sponsored by “90s Music”.
Programmed a MIDI VST soft synth part in CE5, using the Roland Juno-D/Phonic Firefly/FM8 (Brassesque). Not sure if I’ll stick with that tone, but the “music” is fine.
Also inserted one of my Samsung sound effect files into the relevant project file. Not sure if I’ll use that particular file in the final mix. We’ll see. Plenty of time yet (ya think…?).
The song is effectively ready for mixing/mastering, with only a few tweak-ettes required.
More editing tomorrow.
Regards,
djp
The Moral Guardians Make A Housecall – 150513
Sponsored by “80s Music”.
Edited all the vocal parts in CE5. Some further tightening-up required, but I’ll save that for the day of the mix. Unless I change my mind in the meantime.
Also recorded some sound effects on my Samsung smartphone (about all it’s good for…).
I think I need a bit of synth towards the end of the song. Will have a go at that tomorrow.
Regards,
djp
God’s Punchbag – 060513
Sponsored by “Y album (temporary)”.
More constructive day today. Programmed up two MIDI synth parts in CE5 using the Roland Juno-D/Phonic Firefly/HALion One (Ascending Sweep)/Minimogue VA (Rising).
I also added one my Sound Effect Library SFX.
Some editing is required to the vocal parts, but not too much. Might be able to manage that tomorrow.
Regards,
djp
Driving The Devil Back To Hell – 240413
Sponsored by “Daytrotter Sessions”.
Mixed/mastered in CE5/AA3.
Had some fun and games doing an emergency edit on the MIDI drum cymbal parts, which were pointing at the wrong notes, for whatever reason. Sorted it eventually.
Also had some fun with the “mob” sound FX at the start of the track. It wasn’t quite long enough for the intro, so I had to stretch it in CE5 and then add a delay with a lot of feedback to get it to the right length. Vaguely psychedelic.
Once the mix was done, I had a go at cutting out 16 bars that may, or may not, be superfluous. The right idea, perhaps, but rather than editing the master WAV, I’d really have to edit the multi, which is do-able, but a tad time-consuming. Not sure if it’s worth it really. I’ll live with the mix for a while and see what I think.
In the meantime, more mixing/mastering tomorrow!
Regards,
djp
Own Best Customer – 220413
Sponsored by “0-9 name (temporary)”.
Finally got back on the editing trail and sorted out the main vocal parts in CE5. I also tweaked one of the MIDI synth parts (Kore Player/Sweet Girl) and added one of my Sound Effects Library files. I may also move one of the Strat parts. We’ll see…
The track is ready to mix/master. More editing tomorrow (hopefully).
Regards,
djp
Down From The Mountain – 150413
Sponsored by “T10”.
Mixed/mastered in CE5/AA3.
All came together very nicely and quickly with the minimum of tweaking. And the sound effect I downloaded from the Sound Effects Library yesterday (mountain-y wind sounds) worked a charm with just a little bit of editing.
I tried to record the wind yesterday on my Samsung smartphone (it was rather stormy here) but all I got was a lot of wind boom and far too much traffic sounds for what I wanted. So although I had to pay for the professional sound effect, it was well worth it.
Another big sounding track. Very pleased with the results!
That’s me done for the week. Roadtrip starting tomorrow. Back at the weekend.
Regards,
djp
Sound affects…
Sponsored by “Recently Played”.
Popped over to my happy hunting ground of yore, the Sound Effects Library to snag some juicy and appropriate FX for a few of the tracks.
Found seven decent ones that I can edit to suit. That should be fun!
I hope to mix/master another track tomorrow before heading off on a road trip on Tuesday.
See youze at the weekend…
Regards,
djp
Hellhole 