Frost* Forum Collab Song - the tech thread (TTT!)

[E.S.]

Oh, btw.. does that epiano come from a Triton, by any chance?

[Pedro]

Yep. I was going to use one from Omnisphere but it had a crazy stereo auto-pan thing going on (which I could have killed but the Triton one felt warmer.

BTW the sync problem you spotted appeared to happen when I converted from WAV to mp3 in Audacity.
I just put up a fresh, better-synced assembly (with a slightly dialled-back Theremin). Thanks for pointing it out.

[E.S.]

I want Omnisphere too! Maybe it's time to get it. Beautiful thingy.

That's strange indeed. I've never encountered that problem before. But then again, I've never tried Audacity.

[Pedro]

LOL I'm not ruling out pilot error...I do some of my most obscure bodging while asleep at the mouse.  

[gr8gonzo]

It's sounding good, guys. I was going to suggest bringing the theramin down a bit. Good call. Where to go from here? Keep it mellow a bit longer or transition to something heavier in 7/8? Hmmm.

[gr8gonzo]

I don't want people to not touch it

(har!)

I like the idea of revisiting the start of piece (the end of Mtown thing), but do variations. Sort of like Marillion's "Marbles" is in 4 parts (har!) spread over the album.

[Pedro]

Album? Cool, wasn't expecting it to get long but, hey, why not?
The Frost*wind?

[rogerg]

The Frost*wind?

don't break it!

[El_Mayonnaise]

@El_Mayo: I can easily do a drum-less version.
Would you like a click-track?
Or you could just put the other bits together.

As long as everythings in place already, a click track shouldn't really be needed too much. Problems may arise if the time signatures start changing all over the place though so if it gets to that then yes click track would be nice  

I'd love to get some of the more synthy sounds out of my yamaha dtxpress and korg micro x so if theres any call for it I'll be all over it like a rash  :twisted:

[El_Mayonnaise]

Uploaded some extended drums to Pedro's bit and even possibly the start of a second verse. I tried to get E.S.'s contribution involved but it was just too fiddly for me so someone with the knowhow and ability can arrange it all.

Hopefully we can move onto some rock maximum rock with this next verse/section.

[Bokkie]

great initiative RWA!
I think this is the most fastest growing thread i ever seen!

[Pedro]

Hi,
Interesting to hear some other ideas - keep 'em coming.
I don't really know what to expect as a next step but, loosely comparing this experience with what apparently happened for The Whirlwind, I guess we need a whole bunch of bits (demos) and ideas on the table so that maybe a structure emerges(?).

In response to the call for something a little more "rocky", I've just put up another "doodle" that still contains the same "theme" as Verse #1 but the aim was to try to lay down a seed bed for soloists to widdle into...(erm, har?).
It nips along at 150bpm so a little less sedate(d) than the chilled-out intro etc.

This link should take you to it :- //http://www.box.net/shared/0gta3g0qq3

So, inside there is :-
1) the end of the electric piano intro again (just there to give a context - doesn't have to be)
2) a preposterous floor tom lead-in
3) 8 bars of "scene-setting" over which there could be a Mitchell-like "rinse" (hey, axe-men, this means you!)
4) 15 bars of rhythm guitar(ish), bass and drums banging out (rather badly) the backing for same melody as verse 1.
5) The last 8 bars is a random sequence that doesn't really go anywhere deliberate and is a bit generic really. :?

It's not meant to be "good" and I guess it really could be more "Frost*ie" but it's just a WIP idea for maybe the closing or penultimate section of the piece(?)....or maybe the cutting room floor!

If no-one does anything with it that's not a problem - it's just out there in case it's of interest...or in case Fadius P. Shredworthy is waiting for a chance to join in.

[gr8gonzo]

Firstly, you did a great job with it and I have much respect for you and your work. I'm just not sold on those chords being the basis for a significant portion of the song. It's almost too straight forward, I think. I love opening with the end of Mtown, but it feels a little too basic to make much use of it beyond the beginning. Like you said, though, best to put everything out there and see what works. It could very well be that that section works perfectly.

[Pedro]

No worries, either way.

I guess we are really just brainstorming (or drizzling) and so everything is just a post-it note on the whiteboard right now.
Putting up a clip doesn't mean any more than that....does it?

Which is an interesting and important point on the process really.

Together, we could probably put up a different idea every few days for the foreseeable. Some might inspire others to add layers, some won't.

How do we decide the structure of the piece and what's "in" and what's "out"?

My worry would be that someone invests time in trying to add layers to a part (har!) that's not going to be "in". I'm deffo posting stuff on the basis that it is disposable, I hope everyone else understands that.

How do we move forward without a roadmap?

How can people tell which bits are worth spending their own time on yet?

@Ron: any clues?

[RWA]

No worries, either way.

I guess we are really just brainstorming (or drizzling) and so everything is just a post-it note on the whiteboard right now.
Putting up a clip doesn't mean any more than that....does it? Which is an interesting and important point on the process really.

Yes, that's the idea. Of course it's impossible for everything to fit but I'll do my best.

How do we decide the structure of the piece and what's "in" and what's "out"? My worry would be that someone invests time in trying to add layers to a part (har!) that's not going to be "in". I'm deffo posting stuff on the basis that it is disposable, I hope everyone else understands that.

First of all: writing is erasing! One can put lots of hours into something to find out it either doesn't work or your collaborators/band mates don't like it. It's a substantiation part of the game. I delete parts all the time that end up being unsuitable or just to much.

Second: I'm more then willing to act as a producer but that doesn't mean I'm the dictator. If someone uploads a better part then it most probably will be used. But someone DOES need to be the producer. Working with 1 collaborator can be hard enough as it is; working with 7 (and counting) is disaster if no one takes the lead.

But... this means everyone has to accept my role in this.

Third: I think we should start handing out tasks later in the game. Like if you need a drum part for you part, decide who you want it to do and assign it to that person (after checking first obviously). Then everyone should respect that decision for the time being. That way you'll prevent 3 drummers working on the same part.

I think a dedicated web.doc over at box.net will be perfect for that. I'll set something up for that but anyone can access and edit it. We'll use it as a time table/ agenda/ checklist. I've all ready started using that with my mate Maarten on the TFK song and it works very well.

How do we move forward without a roadmap?
How can people tell which bits are worth spending their own time on yet?

@Ron: any clues?

I guess the roadmap wil be "the song so far" that I'll be updating on a regular basis. Tomorrow I'll download all the content so far to see what we've got and set up a first version. I'll then (try) do decide what stays and what not.

I'll try to do an overall update like this once a week or so.

But remember the song is still very early stage. We have a section but it's far to early to say where this section will go. It might end up being the intro but it might as well be section 4 or so. Which is the nice thing and also a huge benefit of writing a prog epic; you can shamelessly glue parts together as long as the transition makes sense. And if you reprise a section the illusion is complete!  :mrgreen:

I might not even play anything on this project but act as a producer only. We'll see. But for now: upload anything that you thing is worth it. It might just end up in the FFCS!