So I was cleaning out my laptop case, tossing all the travel detritus that accumulates in there: little salt 'n pepper packets, napkins, stolen airplane earbuds (why do I save those useless things, anyway?), old travel itineraries and boarding passes.
On the back of one of the boarding passes I'd scribbled the line "
it feels like I've spent half my life in this tube but we're only half way to Tokyo!". It was from 2008 (I don't clean my laptop case often enough!). Back then the flight from Seattle to Tokyo was a 12-hour marathon (it only takes 10 hours nowadays, so I guess they've found a shortcut), an excruciating journey for someone cursed with a low boredom threshold. I had watched a movie, eaten a meal and taken a nap, woke up and checked the little seatback GPS display to find that we were still over frickin' Alaska!
Well, it seemed like that line should be a song lyric, so I went through my many half-finished projects and found one that fit the lyric, composed some more lines and the result was this song called "Halfway to Tokyo". It's not a big production and it's a little raw, but my 8-year-old granddaughter thinks it's pretty good and sings along with it, so there ya go.
Soundcloud link:
http://soundcloud.com/bitflipper/halfway-to-tokyo Soundclick link:
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=743669 This is the first mix and I reckon it's not done yet, so I'm open to suggestions.
For those who care about such things, here are some technical notes. This song was a testbed for a number of techniques that were either new to me or that I'd never really been successful with before.
This marks my first use of FabFilter Saturn, which is used on both the lead vocal and on bass. What a great plugin! It can be as subtle or dramatic as you want. I used Saturn's modulation features as a transient shaper, using an envelope follower to modulate both the output gain control and low-frequency band's Drive parameter.
I've long complained that Omnisphere is only good for fluffy pads, but I set out to prove myself wrong and built my own lead patch specifically for this song. It's the reed-ish sounding lead voice in the second instrumental verse. I'd originally intended for a saxophone there. I'm gonna get my money's worth out of that expensive synthesizer yet!
This is also a rare instance of me singing the lead vocal from start to finish in one take. I was so proud of myself for making it all the way through on the first try that I kept it as-is, even though I'd flubbed some of the lyrics. I'm going to try to do this more often, as it results in a smoother continuity that's hard to get when you're comping bits and pieces. The sharp-eared listener will probably detect some flat notes - that's my no pitch correction policy. I did V-V some of the highest notes on the high harmony, which had stretched my range to the limit.
Distortion on the drums (Superior Drummer stock kit) is D16's Redoptor, still my favorite for drums, although I'll be trying out Saturn next time. Distortion is on a separate bus, with only snare and toms routed to it, and automated so it's not constant throughout the song. I usually start with the "Honky Tonk" preset and tailor it from there.
The snare is also layered with a Kontakt library I made from a favorite patch on my Yamaha MO8 called "Wood", consisting of wood claps. It's a favorite technique of mine that gives the snare some extra snap, and extra width if I pan the wood hits a little off-center. Other percussion includes the TTS-1's tambourine and a free Kontakt library called Raw Steel.
Vocal effects consist of the Sonitus Delay and ValhallaRoom, preceded by an instance of the Sonitus Compressor, sidechained off the lead vocal so that the delay/reverb is ducked. The result is a big echo that doesn't get in the way, as the ducking makes 90% of the vocal completely dry.
FabFilter Pro-C is on the master bus, not so much for compression as for stereo width. I'm running it in Mid-Side mode with the side component turned all the way down in the sidechain filter. This causes the middle to be slightly compressed (2:1 w/ 2db makeup) while the side component is not. This results in brighter transients at the outer edges and enhances width perception. I've been experimenting with this technique for a long time but this is the first time I'd succeeded in dialing it in to my satisfaction.
I should also note that this is the first song I've mastered in my new studio and I'm not yet in my comfort zone in this space. Even though the room has fewer acoustical problems than the old one, I was familiar enough with the old space to mentally compensate for its dishonesty. In the new room I've been relying on my trusty ATH-M50's as a sanity check but that only gets you so far. So I'll be interested to hear your impressions of how it sounds over your own monitors and headphones. Bass light/heavy? Screechy? Mid-rangy? Let me know. ("Sucks" is a valid opinion but doesn't help me much.)