Quote:

Hi Carlos,
Wow! Great playing, thanks! Yes, please share information on styles/synths/guitar/effects used, that is very helpful.



Thanks Peter and everyone! your comments make me feel proud because all of you in the forum are inspiration of my little contribution.

Now I will try to share here song making and technical details in my usual foreign screwed up wording style (don´t hate me)
I hope this bring informative help at least...

For "Spanish Victoria": Band in a Box 2009.5, Real Band. MIDI style and Real Drums.
This song is based in a well knowed chord progression used in jazz and rock (remember James Bond 007 main old theme?), I found it in "Chantala", a Band in a Box demo for karma.sty new age smooth jazz, tempo 75 song. I used it as start point for my song, not Real Tracks, only MIDI style and Real Drums.

For "Look of Love": (Burt Bacharach) Band in a Box 2009.5, Real Band, Real Tracks slow bossa style (bass, drums) and MIDI bossa style E. Piano. Based in Diana Krall version.

Spanish Victoria making/recording:

BIAB
1- After some tries with other styles over the same chords I chose Fernando LA Pop Jazz sty and a faster tempo of 114 bpm
2- I start to create my own melody over the new tempo, style and chords, bridges and vamps added
3- My own Intro added, transitions and vamp chord progressions for the rest of the song. New melody still in construction.
4- I change MIDI drums to FusionFunkTerryClark Real Drums style
5- Finally I create a hybrid style blending Fernando and Catalina (nice couple) LA Pop Jazz MIDI styles.
6- I use Steinberg Hypersonic II in BIAB and RB for MIDI style instrumentation.
7- finally I exported BIAB song and individual converted audio files to Real Band.

Real Band
1- BIAB song file and converted audio files imported in RB. Tracks converted are: e.Piano,bass,string, guitar and RealDrums track.
2- once in Real Band I modified the initial structure and form of song; intro,verse, vamp, solos, etc.
3- NOTE: I used variation no.6 "Cycling" for FusionFunkTerryClarke RD in Band in a Box RealDrums Picker dialog, which generate a more changing RD track by combining all variations available for that drum style. This random variations not always linking right to form and dynamic of the song. However you get plenty of choices, sorta of extended loops "collection" to manipulate, cut, copy and paste in Real Band or third DAW for create a new re-ordered drum track that match better to song structure.
4- After my new re-mounted/ordered Real Drums track is ready I exported it to Cubase for more elaborate crossfades, transitions and volume curves edition. Export back to Real Band again.
5- Next: guitar recording, basically two tracks: chords and lead/solos.
6- time to fix volumes and normalize (when necessary only!) EQ, mixing, record fader moves for leveling, panning.
7- Ready! rendering to final stereo wav track 24/44.1 file.


Stuff used in both songs project:
- Virtual instruments: Steinberg Hypersonic II for MIDI tracks
- RealBand bundled plugins: compressor, enhancer and Parametric EQ, EasyQ vst (free) Robin Schmidt's Music Engineering Tools. As VST plugings in Real Band
- Reverb: Overloud BReverb as VST plugin in Real Band.
- Guitar procs: LINE6 PODxt via USB/ASIO to Real Band, add efx and amp: Overloud TH1 1.1.3 vst.as VST plugins in Real Band
- Guitar: Godin xtSA, pickup: neck (humbucker Godin/Seymor Duncan GHN1) strings: Ernie Ball 0.10, guitar cable: Fender California, pick: 3mm. Jim Dunlop Big Stubby
- My wife "rico" coffe and ethernal encouragement.....essential!!

Gabriel Arellano,
Nucleox Music