With a time limit on how much I can work the piece, I really had to compromise on what I did with it. This would have been a lot easier with a basic rock band two guitars, bass, and drums set up, where I could just pan each instrument and EQ them roughly to create some sonic space and leave it at that, maybe fade out the ending if I didn't have a proper ending worked out.
But this was way too esoteric and the 'creation' of it lies as much in how you mix it as the notes themselves - panning so instruments move around the sonic field, and getting levels right with the melody at the end and the echoey bit I did (a separate instrument played to echo the last notes of each lick).
My ready, fire, aim mentality on this project is already catching up with me! Phew! I've never been so pressured when mixing. Partly because I'm a plank and realised that working on my laptop meant doing this rough mix using my crappy built in laptop speakers and some headphones. So, if you're listening on a top studio audio system, well, I'm sure they sound really great. With something else playing through them. Sorry!
Right, on to the music. It sounds like a cheap imitation of some Vangelis when drunk. I was also thinking a bit about Jeff Beck's Jeff album, specifically the tune Plan B (a fave of mine). Here's some Vangelis on the ubiquitous.
Gear used:
* M-Audio Axiom 61 Keyboard Controller to input MIDI commands.
* Logic Pro 9 for everything else (on my MacBook Pro - the version before that one).
*Headphones - Skullcandy Hesh and Sennheiser HD25
The Mix:
Nothing fancy in the mix - just some roughly automated panning, a fade ending, and stereo imaging (which I hope worked) on the synth pad that runs through the piece. Stereo imaging gives it a wider sound. I wanted that synth to be my space, with the other sounds moving around within it. Again, time prevented fancy work there - I just duplicated, added some delay to one channel and and panned one hard left and the other hard right. No real time to fine tune on EQ, adding subtle reverbs, etc. I had to choose between keeping the instruments static in the panning, or trying to fine tune the sounds. I chose the former. Thought it more important to the piece that they moved around the space. I also wussed a bit and thought real fine tuning on EQ, etc., could take well over 30 minutes.
The sounds (from Logic - all presets, no tweaks as yet):
* That synth pad running throughout the piece came from the EXS24 using the Crackle_Trance Morf ModW preset. The first piece in my composition, and it really dictated everything else. It sounds like the audio from some avant garde AV art installation you find in places like the Tate Art Gallery. Now I know where they get it from, heh heh.
* 'Bassline' - not a bass at all, but the ES2 on Swelling from the Synth Lead section. The Axiom is semi-weighted, so I could easily play it in softly to keep the attack low. The synths often have very different sounds depending on how much velocity you use in playing (only works if you have a velocity sensitive keyboard though).
* Drums/Percussive Sounds - built up on several quick takes using three kits: Hip Hop Heavy kit for the kick, Classic Hip Hop Remix kit for the hi hats and a dry hi tom heard from the start of the track (totally missed using the gated low tom for extra variation, but hey), and the Hip Hop 90s Kit for anything drum introduced after bar four.*
* The fizzling synth sound effect from bars 8-16 is the EXS24 on the Emission preset.
* The oscillating sound from bar 16 onwards is EXs24 again, this time on Fat Jupi LFO 8.
*End melody is the EXS24 in Bellsphere Basic mode, and the 'echoes' of it are the same instrument in Metallic Reeds. Again, I've gone real soft on the velocity here, difficult to play, I had to tweak one of the notes in the editor later (see below for that).
*The faded outro - back to the Fat Jupi LFO 8 on a single sustained note which I then added an automated fade to. This reminds me of Justin Timberlake's Cry Me A River, produced by Timbaland (and frankly an awesomely executed production). Gonna have to take another listen to that track to hear if Timbo used the preset, too....
The Tips:
So, if there's a sound you like in there, now you know where to look. If you want to know how to tweak velocity in Logic use the hyper editor on the track you want to tweak, and for automaton, just hit the letter "a" and the automation for each track appears. The default setting is for volume automation, but if you double click the volume button on the track you want, it lets you control automation for panning, as well as for various parameters for the AU instrument and plug ins you're using.
The Audio Flash:
And there you have it, a minute and a half of spacey music in a DAW I'm new to. I didn't get to mix it, as I overran my hour quite a bit just trying to get al the tracks to bounce properly so I could mix them. Gah, was that tedious and frustrating. Logic really dropped the ball on that one, I much prefer Nuendo's setup for converting MIDI to audio (I may do an explan of the differences between each at some point, if there's interest - Nuendo and Cubase should have the same processes). You can listen here (I hope) -
Conclusions:
I've already surmised that this is highly unlikely to be a daily diary. It feels like an athlete pushing weights - you don't want to do consecutive days on the same drill. Besides, I want my posts to give full details of the sounds used, so if I aim to post a piece every other day it means I can make sure the posts have all the necessary info and aren't pooped out with errors. So, check back in 48 hours for the next instalment! I might go for using the real instrument samples and trying to make it sound as close to a real band as possible. Or I might not. Who knows? Audio Flasher certainly doesn't. That's the beauty of it.**
Right, I'm off to play this on a proper system and then cringe like hell from the mixing. This is officially Audio Flasher's first Audio Flash. Sweet. Thanks for checking in!
*How did you figure out I used the Hip Hop template for this one? Heh Heh, I might try out the Rock template next. Although this submission doesn't sound at all hip hop. All plug-ins where whatever the instrument preset came with (dunno if Logic tweaks these based on the template you pick yet, I should check that).
** I'll post on days I'm not submitting an audio flash, too. Whenever I come across interesting kit, or useful tips, or just have something of interest to say. I might even explain the ethos of audio flashing. Once I figure out what that is (thinking a trip to the pub is required for the philosophical endeavour). Trying to stay on point, though.
***By the way - does anyone know how to make the boxnet links have nice pretty pictures on them? I'd like to do that, if it's possible. Thanks!
Hi AF
ReplyDeleteGreat first attempt, especially with your self-imposed time limit. Lot of space and no overkill, pity there isn't more X in there. ;o)
musicalbodger
Thanks MB!
ReplyDelete