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Gidday from Ottawa. I hope all you good ears will give it a listen.  Here is a new composition called "Rox In His Head", about a girl named Roxanne whom one of my sons once knew. Since I like to play with words, this song title was a natural and the pun was immediate and then I had to write the song – in fairness to the young lady (who is not in the picture) she was really very nice.  Collaborating with me is MarioD from Buffalo on Rhythm Electric, Lead Guitar and Steel Drums - a great job, captured the fun and gave it some drive. The tune is Jimmy Buffet feel just under four minutes but it goes fast. Comments please on the production – lyric clarity, instrumentation, mix/balance, ending – the usual drill and anything else pertinent. http://web.ncf.ca/ifraser/RoxInHisHeadMix2.mp3 Thanks for taking the time to do this.
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The piano and steel drum parts are too much alike at the intro. One or the other. Might put something smooth in there isntead of piano, such as an organ patch or other Pad to iron that out. The Pedal Steel that shows up later works as great Pad, might put that at the Intro as well.
Good songwriting, application of Auto-Tune or the like on the vox would be a good thing here.
Maybe have to put the AutoTune on the lead guitar track also (grin).
Good song, although the "margaritaville" aspect of the backing tracks may be a bit too much, this demo needs more work in the presentation dept. but that is how we learn how to do this stuff, may be a good thing to put this one to bed for awhile and go on to other things with an eye towards returning to this one in future -- but don't let it languish away.
--Mac
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Love the puns!  The intro reminded me of Ry Cooder. The vocal sounds 'separate' from the backing. I'd bring it down in the mix a lot - I know the words are most important so the vocal therefore needs to be clearly heard, but I think you could still bring it way down and get a 'same room' feel to the vocal and the mix. 'Cos the backing is good, especially the guitar licks when they come in. John
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Ian, The lyric is outrageous! Nicely presented, too. I like the way you and Mario have mixed the calypso and country sounds. There's also something "new wave" about the vibe, but I can't put my finger on it. Cool song
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 Mac: The Autotune comment on the voice took me a bit by surprise – now I know I’m a songwriter first and a singer second – but I didn’t think I was that off . Just now I ran GSnap-GJ (fits my budget – free) on the voice at 90% and there were a couple of a spots that could use some attention – but I always worry about artifacts that I can’t hear but better ears can if I go to say 95% . Could you cite the major trouble spots – if you say "all of it", I’m gonna shoot myself! NOT! About the instrumentation – I was hoping for this type of comment to help me sort out my own thoughts on which elements work best and how often to use an obvious hook like the steel drums riff. Thanks for the ideas. John: Vocal levels – You’re right –I put them so that the lyrics were front and centre. But this is where I get into trouble with my high frequency hearing loss – when I pull ‘em down I’m never sure if the average listener can make them out. Is there a basic rule I could follow? I try to keep competing frequencies away from the voice. Did you notice if the verb used on the voice was close to that of the instrumentation? Oren: Thanks – I had fun writing it. I like the country and calypso mix. I’m still trying to figure out the balance of each – don’t want to overuse either one, and don’t want either to be “old hat” by song’s end. Don’t want the “kitchen sink” feel.
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G-Snap should be able to find the major spots okay.
Try it at a higher level and then try it backed off a little at a time until you reach the happy point where those artifacts are low but the vox is okay.
Try it over the entire vox that way just to see how it sounds. I'm not familiar with G-Snap, but it should work.
When all parts are in tune with each other, the playback of them all together should sound a bit fuller or louder, that's one clue you can listen for. This is because the slightly out of tune things will cause a "beat" frequency where they occur and that robs power from the overall amplitude of what is in tune vs what is not. In tune supports, out of tune subtracts. In a basic sense, you have to LISTEN for this, it cannot be told from staring at VU meters and the like (unless the thing is WAY out of tune, which this one is not).
--Mac
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Very nice play on words. Nice song. Thanks for sharing! My Music at Myspace My Music at Reverbnation
My TunesPsalm 57:7 My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.
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Hey Ian, Your song is very clever and really skilfully put together. Congrats  I was just reading through your and mac's interchange regarding autotuning vocals. Thanks for finding GSnap I have been having a play around with it and it's really helped my voice home in on pitch. For your reference, I have found the following settings really useful. - Min freq = 80 Hz
- Max freq = 800 Hz
- Gate = -50 dB
- Fixed Mode
- Select Scale = chromatic
- Threshhold = 25 cents (to look at those notes that are "nearly" there but not quite; 100 cents is a semitone and is too much)
- Amount = 97%
- Attack = 5 ms
- Release = 50 ms
- Pitch Bend = 0 cents
- Vibrato = 0 cents (Vibrato speed is irrrelevant with 0 vibrato)
- Calibrate = 440 Hz (since I'm tuned in with BIAB)
Regards, Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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Cool writing Ian, you can really pen them man!
Later,
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Thanks Graham - good to hear from you. Question - if it isn't a state secret, where exactly in the Highlands are you located - nosy eh?
Ian
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Robert, Noel, Danny: I appreciate the feedback - now if I could only refine the production aspects before I hit my dotage I'd be a happy man. Songwriting has been my "life therapist" since high school. Noel - thank you for sending those GSNAP co-ordinates. I've been playing with this software for several years. It's interesting to note that you have found the Threshold at 25% - have you had artifacts beyond that 25%? I've always kept it at 100% not realizing what the control actually did. Can't wait to try this out when I get back. Any other discoveries, please put me on the mailing list.
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Quote:
Thanks Graham - good to hear from you. Question - if it isn't a state secret, where exactly in the Highlands are you located - nosy eh?
Ian
Ian, It's Inverness. I'll be nosy too, are you the same Ian Fraser that's listening to All Scottish on Thursdays on MFR ?
Good crack eh ? The guys that do the programme are great friends of mine as is Andy Mack From Bluewater Radio in Ontario
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Great lyrics - love the Jimmy Buffet style.
Follow some of the comments on the mix and you'll have a good one.
The Powderman
Learning something new everyday
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Graham . . . what's an MFR? Something Radio (duh). Satellite? On-line?
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Ian;
I really liked it. You are a very creative songwriter. Your play on words were really refreshing, instead of simple rhyming the first and third verses.
Gene
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Quote:
Ian;
I really liked it. You are a very creative songwriter. Your play on words were really refreshing, instead of simple rhyming the first and third verses.
Gene
yeah, what gene said.
i liked the jimmy buffet steel drums and mario's guitar too. thanks for sharing.
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 Powderman, Gene, Don - took Mac's advice and stepped away from production to reassess the "style" of "Rox In His Head". I love doing lyrics - peer support is great - glad to hear from you. When I did the mix that started this thread I realized that the song had a JBuffet feel, and Mario sealed the deal with the steel drum tracks and he provided good rhythm and lead tracks. I added RTPedal and Midi piano solo from BIAB. So when I did the mix I threw in the kitchen sink with modifications. Now I'm trying to decide which elements will go. The steel drums provide a recognizable hook but I don't want to overdue it - I like Pedal Steel too - so the piano may be out. Any ideas? Cheers
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