Thanks Herb for the detailed info - I really appreciate everyone taking time to help me with this! Everything you said makes sense and this thread has me rethinking everything about my humble home studio.
I just create a new folder on the desktop, name it with the song title, and save all the files for that project in there. I also add sub folders as needed for things like stems or anything else. When the project is done and the dust has settled, I simply drag that folder to my D storage drive and into another folder which is named for the current year. That way, I can easily find what I want when I need to go back to it.
When you check out, it's kinda hard to post about it. If someone isn't staying in touch with you, it can be months or even years before someone thinks and says....hey, where did old so and so get off too? By then, you've been pushing up daisys for a few years.
Personally, I have used a Rode NT2A (around $400) that is plugged straight into my Scarlett 4i4 interface for the past however many years. Since the Focusrite line has had pretty decent audio preamps in them, and being a sort of tightwad, I haven't purchased any of the tube pre's on the market but if someone wanted to donate one to me, I wouldn't turn it down. Honestly, I've since found a few mics that are easily as good as the Rode, for much less. That said.... there were a few folks back in my old Cakewalk Forum days who were using some very cheap condenser mics that sounded really good. Those mics were in the $60 range each and for home studio use, were outstanding quality to cost. It's not necessary to spend a lot of money on gear to get a good sound. It's been said that if you took the average home recording enthusiast and put them behind the desk in a $5 million dollar state of the art studio, the results would still sound like a home studio production and conversely, giving a studio engineer a laptop and a condenser mic and a couple of plugins, you'd get a very professional sounding production. It's not always the gear. But take someone who knows what to do and how to do it and give them high quality gear and the results are nothing short of amazing. A couple of years back, I had the opportunity at a songwriters convention to compare a new company's products. It was Gauge-USA microphones. They had their (around $100) mic set up so you could A/B it with a mic that retailed for around $1000 and another one that was $299 at the time against a $4000 studio mic. It was impossible to hear the difference, at least it was to my ears. The point being, for what you are doing, you don't need a fancy high dollar mic and preamp to get good quality vocals. Good quality vocals come from the gain settings in your DAW and more importantly, from YOU as the singer using proper techniques when singing. Regarding the interface: Yes... Firewire is kind of outdated now. Always trying to find the right chipset in the computer that supported it was a job. I started with a firewire Saffire focusrite and it still works on the other computer. At the time it was the fastest thing out there but the times have changed. When I upgraded to W-10, I decided to go with the Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 USB and it's a great interface for my needs.
Hello, The current available locations are top-right and center. You will find this under Options | Preferences | Count-in/Metro. I will put a request into dev to see if they can add other location options. Thank you, Catherine
In 3/4, adding real tracks doesn't work because they play too fast. I haven't seen or figured out a way to do "cut time" in 3/4, if that would even work if it was possible to do. In 6/8 the styles are just plain "wrong".
I have had some success by running the RTs at half-time.
I've done this too occasionally with pretty good results
As an example of what can be done - here is my "Long Way Home" - it is clearly in 6/8 time. But I was able to work with 4/4 BIAB RTs and sych them up to get the groove. Check out the BIAB RT guitar soloist which comes in about 75% into the song until the ending. the RT Soloiost is Half time. https://soundcloud.com/dan-hoch-784636941/a-long-way-home-030526
For all styles and demo songs BIAB will default to the proper folder with the directory which you have installed BIAB on. All current songs which are opened will save by default to the save folder that they were opened from. After that all new songs you save will prompt for the directory you choose. So if you open a song stored on OneDrive it will default back to the OneDrive when you save. No changing that. But you can use Save-As instead of Save and place the song on a local drive. Or just transfer all the BIAB songs from OneDrive to a local folder and that will solve your problem for good. Pretty standard behavior, right?
Hi Floyd, Chay, Arri and John, Thank you very much for your kind comments. I had noticed the "wish" for a louder mandolin in the solo. I increased the volume before releasing the song, but that had no effect. Instead, the sound of the instrument seemed to change. And I didn't like that. The advantage of a softer mandolin, however, is that everyone is listening to it more intently now...
Originally Posted by floyd jane
Hans, A good write. Good vocal. Nice use of BIAB. Well mixed. This sounds good. fj
Hi Floyd, thanks for this. I have to admit that I also make use of sounds from Logic Pro once in a while.
Originally Posted by WaoBand
An excellent production, Hans.
Thank you, Chay!
Originally Posted by Brno
Thanks Hans. Nice feeling in your song. I also appreciate, that you sing with your own voice. As a mandolin player I would have given the mandolin solo more volume to separate it from the background.
Hi Arri, thanks for your comment. I always use my own voice, and sometimes a female singer helps me with the background vocals. I never use AI in that, no pitch correction or Melodyne. Just me, reverb and Delay for the effects. Oh, and a D-sser.
Originally Posted by John Walradt
Hans, it's rare to come across a philosophical song that is also enchanting and you've done it remarkably well. It's folky and pleasant, moves lightly like Simon and Garfunkel's "Cloudy." It's a keeper for sure! John
Hi John, that was a fun one! And the comparison was really 'wow'.
Hi Ron, As always, another lovely song with incredibly clever lyrics and sung beautifully too, including with your backing choir. My immediate question is, how did you come up with this idea? Was it after your president released those UFO files? I haven't heard anything about it since then, except for your lovely song! And I experienced the same thing as Dave. I was typing my message to you and then "Spot on the wall" followed, another lovely song. I say: very well done, chapeau (meaning 'praise' here). Hans
Hi Andrew, I saw your video about a week ago, but couldn't leave a comment then (I had to go somewhere, I almost forgot. So I was in a hurry...). I watched it again now and had to laugh at that video again. Very nicely made! I really liked the song too. A bit strange, but with very good choruses and really good harmonies! Honestly, I had mixed feelings about the lyrics; delivered cheerfully, but also a bit sad. Sorry that I forgot to give you a thumbs up earlier. But still, even though I was late, I was apparently the first to post a comment on your song on YouTube. How is that possible, with all those nice comments here? Hans
Hi Marty, I remember you playing the song for me a while ago, as a concept. After that, I thought you had never finished it. A beautiful song, which actually just meanders a bit, with that tabla and pipa (and of course the other instruments). I had already made a comment about it a few months ago, but you enjoy it every time. So I think it's great that you used those exotic instruments in it. That is the beautiful accent that makes it a sweet, sparkling song. Hans
Aurelius, A happy sounding song in these weary times, with a good vocal. Production wise there are some sudden breaks in the sound which sound like glitches but are abrupt stops on the instruments. There is one just after the intro and the second one is just going into the chorus. There is at least one more after that which is a cut in the drums. Other than that it’s silky smooth. Vic
Marty, Thank you very much for taking the time to listen and comment. I am really glad you like this tune. I am truly grateful to the vocalist and the pianist. I am always very encouraged by your kind words. Best regards. Shigeki Adachi
B.D., Thank you very much for taking the time to listen and comment. I am really glad you like this tune. I am always very encouraged by your kind words. Best regards. Shigeki Adachi
Chay, Thank you very much for taking the time to listen and comment. I am really glad you like this tune. I am truly grateful to the vocalist and the pianist. And I'm also very happy with your comments on the lyrics. I am always very encouraged by your kind words. Best regards. Shigeki Adachi
Bob, Thank you very much for taking the time to listen and comment. I am really glad you like this tune. I am always very encouraged by your kind words. Best regards. Shigeki Adachi
Rob(TuneMonger), Thank you very much for taking the time to listen and comment. I am really glad you like this tune. I am truly grateful to the vocalist and the pianist. And I'm also very happy with your comments on the lyrics. I am always very encouraged by your kind words. Best regards. Shigeki Adachi
Marty, Early April is cherry blossom season in Japan. There are rows of cherry trees in almost every town, and we enjoy this season every year. Watching your video, although it's different from cherry blossom viewing, I felt a deep connection to the same spirit. The country-style music fit the video perfectly, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching and listening to it. Best regards. Shigeki Adachi
Hello Folks, a simple video. Steve didn't think appearing playing & singing over this darkish tune was appropriate so It's a semi illustrative flick this time. Built from the ground up using BIAB and retaining the RealDrums and organ RealTrack. Thanks for the ears.
B.D, That's an incredible hard rock song. It's also full of protest spirit. From gentle love songs to hard protest songs, I'm amazed by the richness of your talent. And it's definitely a song that requires parental advice. As always, the video was fantastic. Enjoyed my listen and watch a lot. Best regards. Shigeki Adachi
Chay, I read your explanation before listening, and I was worried whether a gentle, nursery rhyme-like melody would work with rock music. However, after actually listening to it, my worries were unfounded. The gentle melody parts and the instrumental rock parts are wonderfully contrasted, and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it. Best regards. Shigeki Adachi
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