There’s definitely a lot to say about this track.
Work began many months ago, but that was put on a lengthy hiatus due to school. When I finally managed to finish the song, I had to wait a few extra weeks for the lyrics because りくりくりhad become busy with work. In the end, however, things turned out well and I am very pleased with his contribution.
Originally the track was supposed to be in sonata form, but by the time my writing had reached the development section I realized that the finished product was heading toward a seven- to eight-minute length. Yikes! As a result, the track was truncated to include only the introduction followed by ABA. If you’re familiar with textbook sonata form, you will recognize a transition section between A and B, as well as a closing section leading to the repeat of A. The second appearance of the transition has been changed into something that resembles a coda, finishing with a brief return of the introduction.
This is the first (and so far only) music project that I’ve created using Reaper. My first day with Reaper was frustrating, but by the end of the first week I was more comfortable with Reaper than I had ever been with FL Studio. Everything is quicker with Reaper, and I’m learning more shortcuts and workflow enhancements with every session. Going forward I will only be using FL Studio for its ZGameEditor Visualizer plugin.
Choosing to use Reaper also meant leaving FL Studio’s plugins behind. (Although some are available in VST versions.) At first I was going to stick to TDR’s free plugins and Reaper’s built-in plugins, but I then discovered the wonders of the SSL E-Channel strip. I absolutely love it! (TDR plugins are also used here and there.) If you don’t know what the SSL E-Channel is, this video gives a practical introduction to the real hardware. Officially-licensed simulations are available from Brainworx, Universal Audio, Waves, and SSL themselves. Unofficial versions are available from IK Multimedia, Acustica, and more. There’s even at least one free version kicking around.
Moving right along, this track contains the most detailed SynthV tuning that I’ve ever done, but only by a tiny amount. (To be honest, I always keep my tuning pretty simple.) The first difference in detail can be found at various moments were I drew pitches directly onto the piano roll. This was a last-minute change that happened only after I discovered the “Freehand (overlay)” option just a few days before uploading the video. It definitely helped to clean up some rapid notes here and there. The second difference was finding a way to use the breath function in a useful manner.
One final change happened 24 hours before uploading the video: I swapped out all the cabinet impulse responses. Prior to that I was using the IRs that came included with my amp sims, but something about them seemed kinda messy. After a bit of research I picked up some OwnHammer IRs, and they were worth every penny. Yay!
Now to resume work on my other in-progress SynthV projects...
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