Hi, all! Just a day or two after I turned over this final production of this song to Noel, I started getting very sick with a bad cold, and lost my "clear" hearing. I have finally recovered, so I am able to start listening to some of the fine work showcased here...

First of all, thanks so much for all the very kind words I have read here about our song. I want to pay tribute to Noel for his outstanding efforts on this song. Noel is truly one of the kindest, most positive people on this forum (or anywhere, for that matter!) I just love the lyrics that he wrote in this song. It is very rare that a song lyric can successfully stand on its own, without the music bed underneath it. But this does. The symbolism, and analogies used in this poem are so strong and positive. This could be read to a child, as well as sung to the child. Noel, I am honored to have been able to play a part in bringing this into musical light!

In answer to a couple of the questions...

Rayc - You have such a good ear! You hear things that most don't, you must have very sensitive ears. (That's a good thing!) Regarding the "quality" of the windup for the music box in the intro, both the windup AND the music box were intentionally placed in the song as lo-fi sounds, to fit the "scenery" of the song. A music box by nature is a lo-fi instrument, and I wanted to give the feeling, as if you are standing by a cradle, winding up a music box to play for a sleepy child. So this is intentional. Also, it's a matter of taste, and anyone is completely free to have a different opinion. So thank you for giving such an astute observation. I do truly appreciate your input!

Floyd - You asked how I got the "sound" of Noel's voice to sit in the mix, so here goes...
First, Noel has a very nice voice to work with. That's important! He sent me a "dry" recording of his vocals, and his recording was well done with very nice levels for me to start with.
I have a Universal Audio Apollo Twin preamp, with 2 processers, as well as a UA AUD-2 Octo Satellite with 8 processors. So I have a total of 10 processors to help manage the load on (only the UAD) plugins. Don't worry, I could get approximately the same sound with a much leaner system, with a little work. I just have this equipment, so I use it. smile

Here's what I did with them...
There are 14 plugins on Noel's vocals. Please don't let that scare anyone. I have access to a lot of really good plugins and I am comfortable with how to use them, so I use them. The key is, I use each plugin very subtly, and sparingly. I only use plugins that work with the sound I am looking for, so in this case, I ended up with the 14 that I used. I'm really only interested in the "cumulative" results. I'm not really "married" to any one plugin.

So here are the plugins I used...
1. UA Antares Auto Tune - VERY lightly used! Probably not even enough to make much differencew.
2. UA Manley VOXBOX - an extremely well done plugin emulation of the renowned Manley Voxbox vocal channel strip. Tube-based sound with Elop compressor, Tube Pre, Passive Pultec style EQ, Elop De-esser/Limiter run through Tube Circuit Line Amplifier. This plugin does add some good analog character. Again, I use it sparingly - tune in the eq I'm looking for with a tad of compression, and overall "tube" sound.
3. UA Precision De-Esser - This is the "primary" de-sser I use. Again used sparingly to keep as natural a sound as possible while losing some of the harsh sounds.
4. Waves MannyM Reverb - This is one of Waves' reverbs that has some nice hall/room/plate/ambience options, along with some eq capabilities, and compression as well. I use enough reverb to make it noticeable when you turn it off, more than noticeable when you turn it on. (I used a little more on Noel's voice, to help some of the natural "piercing" of his nice tenor voice to be tamed into the mix.
5. IK Multimedia TR Satx - just a tad of saturation (I used one of the tape settings) to help the voice dominate, while fitting into the mix. Again, subtle use.
6. Waves CLA Vocals - This is a Waves vox channel strip that I have been using for years. I'm just comfortable with it, and used to it. Has a nice top and low end eq adjustment, with a nice compressor - This is where use compression to really bring "up" the "sound" I am looking for. Again, I am not looking for a noticeable "compressed" sound, as much as I am looking for the "feeling" that I am after in vocals. Then, this channel has some nice tight reverb sound and a decent slap.
7. Ableton Convolution Reverb - This is a nice room convolution reverb that I found, and liked how it sounded on Noel's voice. Just enough to sweeten it up.
8. UA bx-Refinement - This is another saturation plugin that really focuses on taking some of the harshness out of a sound. It also has a nice Presence adjustment to add back the upper highs that might be taken out in the process.
9. Waves Aphex Vintage Exciter - Very sparingly used to bring in some of the "character" of this legendary aural exciter.
10. UA Oxford Inflator - Sparingly used to "thicken" up the vocal sound. This plugin increases loudness without sacrificing dynamic range.
11. Waves Vocal Rider - Again, sparingly used to help "keep" the vocals on top.
12. Proximity - I came across this plugin years ago. I have used it a lot. It just does something to the sound that I like. Don't have enough time or room to explain here. It is a free plugin, you can find online if anyone is interested (I'm not at all involved in it!) I think it is Tokyo Dawn Records Proximity. I've never had any problems with it. Use at your own risk smile
13. Waves Saphira - This is another "saturation" type plugin, but gives a lot more controls as to Body and Edge, as well as some eq and tape emulation settings. Very powerful plugin - Sparingly used!
14 FiDef - This is the secret sauce, and my newest toy! I really love this plugin! I stumbled across this process a few years ago, but it was never available as a plugin until recently. This is a new process that adds noise to a sound, to emulate a more true analog sound. It's almost subliminal, but yet it makes a noticeable difference to the sound. There are only 4 settings to it (Default, Upper Mid Air, Warm and Pushed, and High End Spread). I used the Warm and Pushed setting for Noel's voice. It just really makes his voice come alive in the mix.

Well, there you have it! I am sorry if I went into too much detail. I figure those with "short attention spans" have stopped reading far before now. And those of you still reading may appreciate what little I have to contribute. If you can use anything I have shared, fine. If not, that's fine too! The main thing is, if it sounds good, it is good!

Thanks so much!

Steve

Steve Young
Music
"In order to compose, all you need to do is remember a tune that nobody else has thought of." - Robert Schumann