Great work!

Tim

Nice music, Texrat. I PMed you (as you saw) and thought I'd carry on here (as you suggested).

I'm thinking there are a few things that you should iron out along the way. Please don't take any of these as anything but possibilities - I don't want to mess up anyone's playground, but I've been working with audio for about 2 decades and thought I might be able to share a few thoughts:

Placing different sources around the stereo mix will greatly improve the balance. As you probably know, vocals, kick drum, bass usually go straight down the middle, then spread the others out. The things placed down the middle can be differentiated by frequency (kick drum & voice don't tend to overlap), or you can push certain elements further away in the mix with a bit of reverb (use with moderation). Keep anything that merits attention in the foreground, meaning little/no reverb. Unless you want to buck the trend...

Vocals tend to be presented dry & close these days, with very little ambience (except for the overall mix, which is added later). This also makes them MUCH easier to edit as you build the mix. I'd definitely avoid using the "ducker", which causes the instruments to pump up/down in volume depending on whether the voice is present or not. Duckers are great for adding dialogue over background music (think radio DJ speaking over the intro), because they create two streams of sound, voice & music. I suspect you want a single stream here.

If you want to add a bit of character to the voice without the "smearing" of reverb, you can 1) add some pre-delay to the reverb (keeps the attacks nice and clean), or 2) use a different effect, like distortion. It doesn't have to be prominent, just a little hint to add some sparkle.

With any of the effects, think of them as layers of polish. Add just a bit at a time instead of using lots all at once. The final result should be more cohesive that way.

Cakewalk's vocal tools are good, but a bit limiting. I'm using Celemony Melodyne Studio plus a few plugins that might help (mostly Audioease Speakerphone and some Bias Peak Pro XT stuff). If you send me the clean vocal track (and maybe an instrumental mix as a guide) I'd be happy to adjust the timing, pitch, vibrato, phrasing, etc.

I'm painting the living room/dining room/hall this week, and would love to have an excuse for a break. Don't worry, it's low VOC paint, so I should still be thinking clearly.

Thanks for the advice. Actually 90% of what you're suggesting is in the mix, but maybe there's an issue in the mastering. I also did add a hint of distortion to the vox but the pre-delay idea is new to me; I'll try it.

I'm not side-chaining (ducking) the vocals although I am using a Send for the effects, down to the master. Makes it easier to manage. But I'm still learning in that area and so far this song is the closest I've got to being happy with my own vocals...lol. My voice is nowhere near what it used to be, thanks to an old pneumonia attack and constant allergies.

Once I recut the few parts I'm unhappy with I'll gladly shoot you a mix down of clean vocals. Being unemployed for several months I can't justify buyijng melodyne although I'd love to.

Anyway, thanks! I'll gladly credit you on the album. And if you do any singing or playing yourself, I'm still looking for collaborators!

not quite. they'll use flash as the primary format for those who browse blipt.tv, but each version of the video remains accessible to the end user via a little drop down menu right below the playback area.

so i can choose to watch mp4 or theora rather than flash. also as an author i can embed/link any of the available files and simply ignore the flash version.


back on topic:

it's incredible to read through your posts here. is this still english? i don't understand a word

Damn, you sound more... southern and manly? than previously imagined

Nice work, Tex! Suprisingly, I really like the song

As a musician, though, I hate that freakin' Band in a Box generated music

I would prefer real musicians myself, but it's just not an option, sadly.

Anyway, thanks!

Well... you mentioned Shreveport... Where might you be located right now, my friend? Real musicians might be an option if you're up for dealing with their egos

I'm close to Dallas. I do know some real musicians but getting things together has been a chore. So I start with BiaB and if possible will gladly replace canned licks with the real thing.

The Shreveport ref was an actual incident although I changed it a bit (and will alter one word when I recut). I bet on an exacta, and the horse I liked had 1/20 odds. The other had 4/1 odds he was so heavily favored.

Well, all the way around the track the #2 horse led by several lengths. I was screaming I was so delirious-- it was gonna be a $2000 plus payout.

Then in the last few sceconds that damn #1 horse shot ahead by a nose. It was like he did it just to spite me.

I did pick up some winnings, but a mere fraction of what it could have been...

The Dallas ref is sorta true. Years ago I went out with this one rich girl from there (I lived in Fort Worth) and then lost her contact info. Ah well... we married men can't sweat that old stuff!

Well, I'm sorry to hear that #2 didn't quite pull through, that would've been a nice story

And, I'll write that down as a life lesson: never lose a rich woman's number...

And, I can't tell you how nice it is to see another southerner around here! There's just something about these damed yankees and Europeans...

I'm actually from San Diego (although my ancestors settled Texas). Still southern!

People constantly question my accent. I had a Texas mother, Canadian father, born in CA, raised in Texas... hell even I don't know who or what I am!