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Back In Their Day (Soundcloud link)
c. 2017 Bob Buford

We used Villain.sty for this song, one of the many cool styles in the XPAK3 Americana Category. The sound is very modal and reminiscent of a dark Appalachian dirge. There are hints of some of the songs from the Eagles "Desperado" album.

I almost always write a story before I begin a song, but in this case I let the style dictate what I finally decided to write. I was tempted to add some acoustic lead to it, but the style was so nice as-is I decided to just leave it alone. The only style change was to add a Bluegrass Soloist Fiddle RealTrack for some balance to the Resonator Guitar, which we showcased as the lead instrument in the final mix.

Harmonies courtesy of the TC Helicon VL3X. Amazing piece of gear. Check out the PGM hardware page for more info. Also, in the following forum thread I posted some helpful hints for recording and performing with BIAB and the TC Helicon VL3X:

Using BIAB with the TC Helicon VL3X

Hope you enjoy what we did here.
~Rob


****** Song Summary *************
Style is _VILLAIN.STY (Villain Resonator Southern Rock)
Category: Americana
Title: Back In Their Day
File: Villain.SGU
Key=Bm , Tempo 85, Length (m:s)=4:02
8 bar intro, 76 bar chorus, from bar 9 to bar 84.
Repeat x1 chorus
No Melody
No Soloist track.
Song is saved with Volume, Pan, Reverb, Chorus, Bank0,

RealTracks in style: 1418:Bass, Electric, SouthernRock Ev16 085
RealTracks in style: 1765:Guitar, High-Strung Acoustic, Fingerpicking Pop16ths Ev16 085
RealTracks in style: 799:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm SouthernSnappyClean Ev 090 (B:8ths)
RealTracks in style: 2645:Guitar, Resonator, Rhythm Folk8thsRandy Ev 085
RealTracks in song: ~596:Fiddle, Soloist Bluegrass Doc Ev 100
RealDrums in style: RockSouthernEv^3-a:Snare, HiHat , b:Snare, Ride

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Back In Their Day
Bob Buford C 2017

Verse
A shy, lonely girly from the nice part of town
She'd never known love in her life
A poor boy who slept in a tent on the ground
He longed for a home and a wife

She saw him one day near the lake south of town
He fished while they talked of their plight
And after a few days of sneaking around
They ran away one summer night

Chorus
I've waited for you all of my life, sweetheart
I've seen you each night in my dreams
Maybe it's time for those dreams to come true
And love's not as far as it seems

Oh my sweet darlin', please stay here with me
We'll build us a life of our own
Your father would not let our happiness be
He's plans for you now that you're grown

Verse
Her folks back in town were at panic next day
Her Pa vowed that boy would be killed
But while he was reading her goodbye note
There were married near south Masonville

Chorus
Oh my sweet darlin' I'm yours and you're mine
We've started a life of our own
Your family's disowned you, but they'll see in time
We're free now, so we can move on.

Now I'm not claiming that all that's true
I wasn't there so I can't say
But Grandma told me, now I'm telling you
That's how it happened...back in their day

Rob, really really nice entry. You are blessed with those smooth vocal chords. This will be tough competition for rest of us. But I got one more trick up my sleeve...

Thanks, Dan. Me and my smooth vocal cords appreciate it. I had a lot of problems with my voice earlier this year. Ended up going to the doc and found out I had silent reflux. It was making my voice very edgy and I'd lost several notes in the top of my range. Two months of meds have cleared up the problem so I'm hoping for 100% come back eventually.

BTW, I've got a few more tricks up my sleeve for this little competition also, so... bring it on!

Later 'tater,
Rob

Hold it, are you telling me there is a pill to sound that good?

Only in Colorado, my friend.

BTW...my work with the VL3X has yielded yet another way to connect it to your DAW for recording (and playback) that's much better than the USB Audio feature we discussed in the other post. Simple, effective, and fabulous sounding stereo harmonies still with the ability to read the key and chords of the BIAB audio without the need for MIDI input. Cool stuff.

B

Great song Bob. Good luck on the contest!!

Hi there, David
Thanks for listening,

Bob

Bob,

I think about you all the time and here is why.

Last year I think it was you posted some stuff on the beginners forum or recording and mixing forum on all the right settings and basic panning and volume sets for different instruments on a board.

I dialed those into a Sonar template and called it the "Bob Buford Board."

So, whenever I want to mix fast but good--your name comes up.

You are a star in my house man.



The Bob Buford Board

Hey, David

"...tis sweet to be remembered."

Well now that's kinda cool. I'm honored.
My similar template is named "Redneck Reaper"
You know...it's that "Buford" thing.

Later 'tater,
BB

I love this track. I reckon it's a winner. Also, you're a timely reminder to getting a move on with the VL3 Ext. Fabulous song, great vocals and good recording etc. at least to my ears.

Thanks. Pleased you enjoyed it. As for the VL3X I feel like I've only scratched the surface. That thing is so wide and deep, it's got a learning curve a mile high. But it gives you so many ideas for songs it's scary.

Thanks for listening,
B

Great writing, arrangement and vocal. Solid

Thanks,Mac. Pleased you enjoyed it.

When you get going on the VL3 feel free to contact me if you have any setup questions. I think I have the recording setup down now after playing with it nearly every day for a month. It seems really intimidating because of all the hookup options and the thousands (literally)of presets. But, actually once you dig into it you find you don't need to know it inside and out to get some good results. Kinda like BIAB. I can't save you a lot of time if you want help. Let me know.

Later 'tater
Bob

Thanks Mitch,

Pleased you like what we did here. More to come like this. I'm working on it.

Thanks for listening,
Bob