Quote:

"Typically signature intros, solos and endings occur in parts of the song where there is no singing. Just raise the volume on the reference track and lower the volume on the rhythm tracks, and bingo."

Yes - here is the part that Pat is referring to that we didn't read carefully enough. My feeling was that in the parts where there are no singing, you're also adding parts of the original recording, and for these small snapshots in time, the exact replica of the original recording will blow away the rest of what you've created.

But - Patt sounds like he knows what he's doing, so I'm going to give it a try. I wish he could share one that he's done : )



The end result is much like a really good vocal redux... Except with REDUX, there is usually artifact evidence that vocals were removed. Using this approach, you just replace the whole part where there is singing, so The only audio artifact is where you bring the original forward... you just need to experiment non-destructively until it sounds OK

It has been my experience that for dynamics, most songs have a very SIMPLE backing while there is singing. That makes it easier to duplicate with the plain vanilla backing provided by real tracks. All the fancy stuff happens when there is no singing.


So, The only time YOUR part is in the forefront is when you are singing. The human mind tends to focus on one thing at a time. When there's no singing, they hear the original, and are pleased with what they hear. When you start singing, they hear your vocals, and the backing tracks you created become almost subliminal.

If you:

1) do a reasonable job with the ACW to get the project's tempo in synch with the original song, and
2) then MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE that the chords are correct before proceeding (even if you have to edit them.. this is key, probably the most important part of the procedure)
3) And do a reasonable job of matching real tracks to the instruments in the original song...

it won't matter if you get your part perfect. Just as a coat of spackle and paint hides imperfections in a painted surface, your vocals will overshadow the backing tracks. I've never heard a cover band do a perfect recreation of a song... but they get close, and it works.

This is not to say that all songs are equally easy to duplicate. The artists you mentioned will be more of a challenge than a 3 chord country song. But the complexity of the stuff you retain will immediately put your version a cut above the local band that's trying to PLAY the parts.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ey71h8ep047758h/AAC12jNM0Hz9Q8zsh5iDeqNHa?dl=0