Sailor55

Many, many thanks Lynn & freddy j. I'm delighted you found it entertaining. That is the song's only purpose. Entertainment. Sheila's Last Night Out is certainly not everyone's cup of tea. My wife, for example, thinks it's good poetry but it's embedded in the kind of music that drives her out of the room. (Fortunately, she supports me in most other efforts). These days I tend to be careful who I play it for. That's somewhat in opposition my one of my heroes, Frank Zappa, who never cared in the least whom he might offend. I tried getting several other vocalists to do this, but they just couldn't seem to get my drift. I suppose one tells their own story best.

I've been using Melodyne for many years now. I need it desperately because I'm quite a mediocre singer. However, I've produced some damned good singers and still found uses for Melodyne. It isn't all a matter of pitch. I use it extensively for word by word volume control. Yeah, I know there's vocal followers to do that automatically, but I don't like them. If a singer goes to a low note that's perfectly in pitch but lacks power, then that note only gets boosted. No guessing and hoping a plugin algorithm will fix it without wrecking anything else. A deep-dive analysis of one's own vocal is a wake up call for most of us. There's all manner of bugs in there you wish didn't exist. Do it over again and there will be a different set of glitches. Now, a few bugs are just part of the human signature. A lot of bugs gets starts to get irritating. I record my vocals line by line. I have no choice. When I sing a line I'll know if its worth looking deeper as soon as I finish. Usually I tell myself I can do better and blow away whatever I've done (all the while, worrying that I've never do it that well again). Ya gotta have faith I guess. When I really think I've nailed a line I'll analyze it with Melodyne. If it's close I won't fiddle with it. If there's only one or two little tweaks, I'll do them. Then I decide if I'll stay with what I have. Sometimes Melodyne tells me it's better to just try again. It's a good thing it's only me in the room. Anyone else would go nuts listening to me nitpick over and over. Often it isn't even the pitch, volume or vibrato. It's just a poor delivery. Nothing fixes that. Here's the deal, as I see it. No matter how well you think you sing on pitch you need to ramp up to a note. It takes a few milliseconds. The lower the note, the longer the ramp. That ramp up can be a real mess. The human voice is not a synth. It can't be at pitch instantly. Melodyne is only to happy to show you how long it takes you, personally, to do this. If you take too long to ramp, Melodyne will make a separate note out of the first bit then show the rest of the note an octave (or more) higher. Frustrating, but if the note sounds good anyway then its best to just leave it alone. Melodyne is a marvelous thing, but it's not very good at removing the 'smacks' and 'knocks' you are complaining about unless those are very separate entities or you can cleanly slice the note at the point where they occur, mute that part and still be left with a usable note. What I often do is edit out junk first, or fade in a phrase before I go to Melodyne. Melodyne does many great things but it's quite poor at fading notes in or out. So... all that may be of no specific help to yo,u but it might help your understanding of the situation. Cheers...

Many thanks Tom & Bjorn. Tom... once again, you've nailed a few issues. I've made and uploaded most of the changes you suggested: Vocal is down 1.5 dB. Bass is a little meatier throughout. The ripped off Hendrix riff doesn't start until after the first verse (it's also 1 dB lower throughout). The percussion fills (when the main drums break) are brought up. Horn reverb remains the same, though. All good stuff and I thank you. BTW, that Hendrix riff was purchased from Big Fish Audio. It was in a collection called 'Soul City'. I figured if they can sell it, I can use it. A weak rationale, I know, but these days everything seems to get spread everywhere. I never twigged that the character name 'Jimmy' was the same as the riff's creator 'Jimi'. Good call. I used that name became I liked this line: After all, it's only fair Jim gets a little trim For example, this wouldn't have worked: After all, it's only fair Bob gets a little trim The incident described actually happened (although a few embellishments were added). The real Jimmy will be up for his first parole hearing in 2024 . I've always felt a bit 'guilty' about using it as the subject of a song (it started life as a longer poem) but I spent 40 days in court while every minute detail was laid bare. The lyric was painstakingly composed to give as much information in the shortest time, yet still tell a cohesive story. Cheers...! - Dan

There was a court case. I was a juror. To say it effected me is an understatement. Warning: It ain't pretty. http://www.taggerband.com/Music/DBH/BabsAndSheila.html

Hi Michael. This is a great song and there's not much to criticize from my point of view. My loudness meter tells me the integrated LUFS of the song (when normalized to -1 db) is about -17 dB and that seems to be just about right for a piece in that style. (Myself, I shoot for -14 LUFS, but what the heck). I think the mastering service you used did a good job. The problems (if any) lie in the mix. The vocal is taking somewhat of a back seat to all the synths. It's a great lyric with heartfelt delivery but it's a bit buried with very slightly unclear diction. I'm not talking about big issues here. It's minor stuff but you shouldn't have to strain at all to hear a clean lyric in a quiet tune. The drums are also a bit low and lack some crispness. But still. It's excellent work and I'd listen to it just as it is, and so would a many others, I think. Thanks. - Dan

Love it! Was waiting for drums... then figured it out. No drums, and that's fine. Thunder & wind chimes actually do suffice. Beautiful chords, great vocals and, how can I say it, spooky feel. Well no, spooky is not the right word, but this piece transports me to an exotic place and I quite like it there. Thanks. - Dan

Glad you bumped this. It's killer. Like I've said before, I can't possibly do stuff like this but I really appreciate it. Love the drums.

Thanks Tom. You are right as rain! Those intro synth voices are now gone leaving a tidy three minutes which I think is just enough to make the point. I've always suspected I should do that but never had the... the what?... courage? Anyway, thanks for your appreciation and input.

Thanks everyone for the chance to bump this song. Many years ago, a young man (not me, of course) might waste his valuable time with Pictures of Lily. In my youth, it could have been Swank or Cavalier magazine. But we've come so far, haven't we? Now its possible to kill hours upon hours with animated strangers performing (for a fee, and in private) whatever suit's ones pleasure. The song's protagonist doesn't think that's such a bad thing. Nor does he know he's addicted. He respects the lady and would like to tell her so in person. Never gonna happen. - D Re Dryness: blame Steely Dan.

I though this tune was so odd it would probably slide off the ‘songs’ forum after a few days. Now that there are positive responses (for which I am humbled) I’m inclined to explain what I can. It’s partly for my own benefit because, admittedly, I’m not entirely certain what it’s about, but I know very well how it feels. Private Eddie himself is a universal stand-in for anyone who's faced war, whether 76 years ago in the mud of Belgium, 15 years ago in the oncology ward, or yesterday on the fentanyl laced streets of Vancouver. I lack the courage to face any brand of war. I stand in awe of those that have, or are in the process. I draw my strength from them vicariously. I knew several Eddies. All are now ghosts. One was a dyslexic childhood friend unjustly shunted into the role of dunce, who was anything but. With bottomless courage, he was my fearless protector in a world rife with bullies. Cancer took him early. He fought valiantly to the last day. I thanked him at his deathbed. (Now he’s waiting for me outside) Another Eddie was my father, who was in the Normandy invasion of June, 1944. Over the following year he fought across Europe returning home with a leg full of shrapnel and trunk full of psychological damage. Yet he held a job, raised a family and became an asset to his community until his death by suicide in 1982. He was a difficult man with whom I had many conflicts. As an adult I learned to forgive him. Finally, I realized it was I who needed forgiveness for failing to recognize a hero in my midst. The song was originally inspired after seeing what was once a very pretty young girl covered in scabs and soaking in methamphetamine on a down town street. I went home and wrote these words: Someone led your angel astray… I saw her spitting on the sidewalk… She had nothing to say… Those phrases were abandoned before the ‘Private Eddie’ theme evolved but the girl remains referenced as a disposable stray. I created a nylon guitar part then painstakingly transposed it to midi. By accident, I ran it through the ‘ooh’ voices in the TTS-1 synth. I liked the result so much I decide to let that introduce the song. The rest was put together a bit at a time and the lyric evolved during production. The vocal was sung eight years ago. I tried hard to improve upon it for the current remix but I simply could not. It’s not that it’s so great, only that I probably now lack the necessary pathos to do it justice. I thank you for listening. Eddie thanks you too. - Dan

This has happened to me exactly once in the latest version about a week ago. I was putting an instance of Guitar Rig 5 in an FX bin that was otherwise empty and... 'poof', the Cakewalk window closed and that was it. Fortunately, I didn't really lose anything either, but it was a bit of a shocker. I've logged a lot of hours on Cakewalk since then with no problems at all.

If you spent 9 years, I can certainly give you ten minutes and more. I listened twice. It's astounding to me that one person can recreate, or even embrace the daunting task of recreating, in a believable way, Genesis, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Yes, Jethro Tull and the other progressive rock bands I once listened to devoutly in my twenties. This is a remarkable achievement. I'm eternally grateful someone out there is paying homage to that stuff. Who is the audience in today's world? I'm not really sure. Old-timers like me, no doubt. Don't know about the young ones, but it would be great if they paid some heed.

Many Thanks amiller, Douglas and Tom. This tune was a long labor of love. I truly appreciate this feedback. Tom... you're quite right about the 'dryness'. I suppose it's from many years of Steely Dan's influence. However, yours this is the kind of perspective it's useful to have, and I certainly do take it seriously. I spent time worrying if that reverb-soaked wood block thing needs a break. Now I have some confirmation. It's part of a prepackaged Dimension Pro sequence that's hard to edit (the reverb is on the sample, I didn't add it), but I believe I'll make the effort to find a way to somewhat lessen it's relentlessness. It could be pulled out in appropriate places for sure. There are actually three separate drum sequences that sometimes overlay each other and sometimes not. I'll pay attention to the drums during the guitar solo. This is one of the few songs I've produced that doesn't use either real drums or 'Additive Drums 2' in more traditional ways. Yep, I agree, the saxes are probably dryer than they should be for a tune like this, so I think I'll deal with that too. Other info: The singer is not me, (I only wish). He's somebody who worked for StudioPros and went by the name of 'Dustin'. He may or may not still be available there. I sang the original guide vocal for him. I expect he understood the intent of the song immediately and probably slammed this vocal out of the park in one or two takes. (StudioPros probably doesn't take more than an hour to complete any track.) A friend did the lead guitar at the end. I pieced it together from several sweet bits. I played rhythm guitar and the piano intro. The drums were, as mentioned, Dimension Pro synths and likewise, the acoustic bass and the muted trumpet parts. The saxes were carefully chosen and edited solo samples from 'Greg Adams Big Band Brass' (a product of Big Fish Audio). I wanted the effect of a tenor and an alto trading lines. Man, it took a long time to get that down. Thanks again everyone and cheers... - Dan

Sort of speaks for itself, I guess... http://www.taggerband.com/Music/DBH/RedTide.html

This is quite a good mix in my opinion. The acoustic and electric guitars blend nicely and go to the right places. If I was producing a video of a canoe trip I'd definitely want to use it. Only one thing, I'd say. The 30-second synth part at 2:40 is a good refrain but maybe a different sounding synth here? Or maybe instead... just a thought... let the acoustic have a go out front for a bit. (I assume that section might represent the 'folding area' sign you ignored. In Canada, we call that a portage). You could make it 'big' sounding like the synth part but it would be a refrain from the dreamy electric stuff yet still be in keeping with the overall guitar feel. Of course, it's easy for me to come up with bright ideas then disappear into the night. But be assured, I'm aware of the work you put into this, and it shows nicely.

Brilliant, I'd say. I could never play that way but I like it a lot. On CD Baby it says "Stay" by Bats Brew is recommended to those who like Zeppelin, Kings X and Yes (not sure about Yes). I'd say this particular song might appeal to those who like the Allman Bros. and/or Lynyrd Skynyrd. Great work.

He's been gone 15 years, but still visits some nights. Breaks my heart, he does. http://www.taggerband.com/Music/DBH/PrivateEddieUnwinds.html This was produced entirely with two ancient synths (TTS-1 and Dimension Pro) plus a vocal track.... long intro, vocal starts at 1:04)

This has happened to me very occasionally in the past (even with SONAR). I found that closing and re-opening Cakewalk always worked to bring the Now time bar back. It would be a hassle if it happened often, but in the last six months or so it's only happened to me maybe twice.

I thank you one and all for the great feedback on this tune. It's very much appreciated 'Tell Her She's Okay' has passed through many iterations and several re-mixes. I didn't start out as a duet. It once had somewhat different lyrics and just the male part. It morphed into a duet when a great singer (Raquel) became available to me. The song is now mixed and mastered to an integrated loudness of -14 LUFS. It was much louder at one time (about -8 LUFS). When you looked at the final stereo mix in Cakewalk (SONAR at the time) it resembled the proverbial 'sausage' (i.e. squashed into a long rectangle with a taper at both ends). There are some who'd say 'who cares what it looks like', and I would agree. Ultimately, my ears were the final arbitrator. Now that streaming services normalize the power of their signals, highly 'peak-centric' music is suffering. Instead of being louder than other mixes they're now reduced to a common loudness. Any lack of dynamics then becomes quite apparent. The loudness wars seem to have come to an end. Believe me, I've found that as hard to accept as anyone else, but here's the thing: when I remixed this to a lower loudness I began to hear many subtleties that were never previously evident. An overall loud mix that still exhibits good dynamics is terribly hard (impossible?) to achieve. But once again let me say thanks to everyone for the positive vibe. A lot of work went in, but the bottom line is, the song was meant to be fun.

A pop song about a fellow with a laptop and far too much time on his hands... http://www.taggerband.com/Music/DBH/TellHerShesOkay.html

It took me a while to figure out a decent way to show the signal flow configuration of ProChannel. Here's a little drawing I came with that makes some sense. I think it shows what's really happening anyway.

The Cakewalk Signal flow diagram is quite useful and I've referred to it often. I keep a bookmark to it, and it's definitely worth the time to study. I have a small issue with it though. It's not clear how the ProChannel fits into the signal flow. I admit it's hard to show graphically, but I don't get how the three-way switch above and below the standard Fx bin accurately shows how Prochannel is configured. I know from the documentation text that Prochannel may be pre or post the FX bin, but I don't think the diagram makes that very clear. The diagram seems to suggest (sort of) that there is either the Fx bin or the Prochannel in the signal flow, but not both, and I know that's not the case.

Like a few others have said, it's not my 'genre' either, but, I believe in giving credit where credit is due. I thought the lyrics and vocals were great. That's not to say the rest wasn't extremely tight and focused, but in the world I come from, I'd tend to bring the vocals up rather than down. Or, more likely, leave the vocals alone bring the rest down some. Just a bit. Maybe I'm getting too old, but I had to strain to catch those lyrics and they're quite good. So is the singer. I'd go the opposite way to what you're suggesting. Still though, it's a great effort, (and that's coming from someone who's completely out to lunch when it comes to alternative rock).

Many thanks freddy & daryl, much appreciated. It was a lot of fun (and work) to build. I once rented a workspace in a depressed end of the city. This song tries to capture the mood on the street at the time. Cheers...

Just another dull grey afternoon on East Hastings Street... http://www.taggerband.com/Music/DBH/ABlueNoteDay.html This was built entirely in Cakewalk using legacy SONAR synths, Dimension Pro, True Pianos & SI-Bass and with the help of some Big Fish Audio samples.