New synth challenge -- the performance drone recording!

[Martin Walker]

You're so structured Ben

Martin

[Ben Asaro]

You're so structured Ben

Martin

LOL that's about the nicest way to put it!

[Ben Asaro]

JAM UPDATE 16. Today was my back-to-work jam (not the saddest return to work day bc I'm only working 2 days and then off on holiday, phase 2 lol) and the jam felt pretty good tonight!

There's a performance starting to trickle in by playing both sides of the Subharmonicon at the same time.

There are still a few perfomative issues I want to work out but things are slowly moving along. The first issue is to see if I can figure out how to get a seamless bass drone. Maybe it can be done by overlapping the overdub? Not sure, but that's next on my list. After that, it's trying to sort out what I'm doing with the Lyra-8.

It's getting there, though!

[Ben Asaro]

JAM UPDATE 17. A little experimentation solved the ‘loop interrupt’ equation!

How to record a seamless drone on the RC-5: With the loop in Overdub mode, fade in the drone layer and record it past the point where you started. Then fade out the drone, which will seamlessly dovetail into the previous layer. (I suppose this will work for any kind of layer, actually). And, voila! Seamless drone!

This does create it’s own issues, however; namely, a sense of motion. But I have a couple of ideas on that front, too!

More experimentation!

[Ben Asaro]

JAM UPDATE 18. Today was a good day! Recorded the 16th jam today and I feel like this piece is finally starting to move towards the goal post.

The 'big news' is that I figured out how I want to introduce the Lyra-8! That only took a month lol =P

The latest version of the piece is a lot more polyphonic than I thought I would be able to get using these two instruments. The rhythmic loop now starts off the whole thing which allows me to fade in the L8 and SubH together to create a massive chord. Then it plays away whilst I improvise on the SubH using another 4 oscillators.

All in all, today's jam was 14 uninterrupted minutes of music that didn't suck!

I think that this will be a solid basis for the first movement, Sun. Now to start working on the second movement!!

[Folderol]

That's a lot of minutes

[Ben Asaro]

That's a lot of minutes

IT IS!

[Ben Asaro]

JAM UPDATE 19. Yesterday was very interesting. I recorded three jams, and all of them were pretty 'meh'. And I think I know the problem areas:

1. In recent jams I have gotten away from panning the layers and have been keeping everything centered with stereo delays. I think that may be a mistake.

2. I have begun playing the piece wherein VCO 1 is a series of chord tone drones and VCO 2 is improvised over top. That works great, but I think I need to bring back simple sequencer melodies from VCO 1 as well; this will go hand in hand with point no. 1.

3. I have to STOP RUSHING. All 3 jams yesterday were totally improvised but all ended at almost the exact same length. Comparing yesterday's aborted efforts compared to the last jam I liked ... there is a definite rushing that has been going on.

[Ben Asaro]

JAM UPDATE 20. Moved a few things around yesteday to better facilitate the workflow I want. This basically involved getting the RV-500 off of the pedal board and next to the Subharmonicon so I could pan layers. That worked well, but it was still missing something ....

So I tried something else. I removed the Rane parametric EQ and put an old Behringer 2-channel compressor into the signal chain. How old? So old it says Made In Germany on the back panel. The compressor definitely gave everything a much darker sound so I adjusted the EQ on the SSL a bit to compensate.

I then made a couple of tweaks to the note choice in Subharmonicon's sequencers.

The jam I recorded was 19 minutes long and much closer to what I am going for. The overdubs weren't perfect, but now that the RV-500 is up where I can get my hands on it it's much easier to manage.

Another day, another attempt!

In the meanwhile, I reached out to a couple of recording studios that look like they might be a good match for the music I am recording.

[Ben Asaro]

Whew, new year! And time to dust this composition off!

I think I may have found a studio to record the piece in: Vinegar Hill Studios in downtown Brooklyn. The plan is to record and mix to tape there.

I also feel very good about the first movement overall, so whilst I will continue to play through it, it's time to start working on the second, darker movement of the piece.

[Arpangel]

Whew, new year! And time to dust this composition off!

I think I may have found a studio to record the piece in: Vinegar Hill Studios in downtown Brooklyn. The plan is to record and mix to tape there.

I also feel very good about the first movement overall, so whilst I will continue to play through it, it's time to start working on the second, darker movement of the piece.

That’s a lovely studio, in a very interesting area, I’d like to record there.
Lovely piano too, that Steinway.
I’m itching to go to Grant Avenue, in Canada, but the sheer pain of travelling and testing makes it totally unacceptable, but I’ll make it one day.
Have a good session.

PS.

Don’t know what your experiences are, but always book more time than you think you’re going to need, and budget for that, the last thing you need is to worry about studio time, you don’t want to feel rushed.

[Ben Asaro]

Yup, it's a 5 hour booking for a 30 minute performance. If I can't get it out right in that amount of time, then it's not meant to be!

It's just across town from where I live, I actually am in that area quite often for work!

[Arpangel]

Yup, it's a 5 hour booking for a 30 minute performance. If I can't get it out right in that amount of time, then it's not meant to be!

It's just across town from where I live, I actually am in that area quite often for work!

Five hours for thirty minutes
Is this the 60’s or something, they did whole albums in a morning, but I was into prog, so that’s a totally alien concept.
You do realise thirty minutes is an album man, albums should take at least three months, or more, three weeks to warm up, get inspired, and take advantage of the pool, spa, and catering, another two months for tracking, and probably another six months for mixing, and you’re using analogue, that’s another two months waiting for spare parts.
"But seriously" five hours is a bit short, I’d allow for a few unexpected events, maybe just book an eight hour session, at least.

[Ben Asaro]

LOL

I think I'll be just fine.

[Arpangel]

LOL

I think I'll be just fine.

I’d like to hear the results of all this Ben, very interesting.

[Ben Asaro]

Me, too! Hoping I can get into the studio in February, pandemic-willing...

[Ben Asaro]

The drone piece is done, and completely by accident!

Whilst working on the performance piece, I fell across a keeper. Happy with this so I'm going to put a fork in this one and call it done and start working on the next project.

Will have something to share soon-ish, I have to mix it down, get it mastered, album art, etc.

[Martin Walker]