The Linear Canvas

Whenever I pick up an acoustic guitar, I end up playing something by Led Zeppelin. I have all of Led Zeppelin’s albums and I have several videos and music books. I guess I’m a fan.

I hadn’t recorded anything new for awhile. I was just busy doing videos and things. I hadn’t played Thank You for quite awhile either and started playing it in the the last few weeks. I decided to go ahead and record a cover of it. I haven’t heard the original in months, so I did the arrangement from memory, which I think was faulty. But as they say on American Idol, I think I made it my own, for better or worse.

It only took me about forty-eight hours to finish this project. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to play a certain part here or there, but after a little practice, everything went pretty smoothly.

Thank You

[audio:http://www.linearcanvas.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Thank You 20111025_1618mcd.mp3]

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Thank You was written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. I didn’t use any rhythm boxes or a click track to make this recording. I just recorded all the tracks using my own built in tempo. I didn’t even use a count in. I just knew when the other tracks were starting. I do that on occasion. Sometimes because I have all this electronic stuff around, it makes me feel better when I minimize its use and just go with my instincts. I think the tempo varies in places, but I meant it to.

The guitar is my Takamine G series acoustic. The bass is my Rickenbacker 4001. The drums are Session Drummer 3 and a Roland Octapad. The organ is from the Dimension Pro plug-in using a Roland MIDI slave keyboard.  I recorded and processed it with Cakewalk Sonar 8.5 Producer and Sony Sound Forge 9.

I bought an Apple TV network device a few months ago. There are many of these network appliances out there that act as an interface between your television, the internet, and your home computer. They will play music and video usually from any network source they are connected to. Looking at the other network devices available made me realize some of them had more content providers available on them than the Apple TV, and there is always that exclusive Apple country club tax involved when buying an Apple product. But still I knew I had to have the Apple device and the under $100 I paid for the latest version Apple TV seemed almost like a bargain.

Most new TV’s and nearly everything else anymore, contain some kind of web app for anything from Netflix to Pandora. My 2006 Hitachi plasma TV doesn’t include any internet connectivity. But you’ll never get me to replace my plasma for lack of network apps. There’s no need for that currently anyway, as my Apple TV adds that same connectivity, within the Apple world, which is both good and bad.

I purchased the Apple TV for a couple of reasons, but the reason I bought the Apple instead of another network device, was my reliance already on iTunes for my music. I bought a 20GB iPod in 2004 and have been using Apple music products when I could ever since. I also have an iPhone. But I still use a PC. I am too deeply invested in PC software to change to a Mac now. But I have a lot of reverence for any product with the Apple name on it. My next computer could be an Apple, now that they have some PC compatibility.

The Past

I had been using a Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) audio device on my network, so this wasn’t a stretch by any means to convert to the Apple TV. That Netgear MP101 device was actually able to read an iTunes folder on a computer to play my iTunes music only.

I use a program called GoodSync to duplicate my iTunes folder on the music server from my computer. I could manually update the files, but that would be too tedious. The Netgear device didn’t care that iTunes was not actually installed on the server, as long as the folders were arranged as when it is present. This way I didn’t have to have my personal computer on to play music. I could just use any old computer on the network to serve my iTunes folders to my stereo upstairs. That was easy enough.

This Netgear music player did a very good job of serving music around the S/PDIF digital audio network I have constructed around the house. I was converting the analog output of the Netgear into optical S/PDIF. Now I split and amplify the Apple TV‘s optical audio output to connect to my system. I then split and amplify the optical signals again to make four outputs, finally converting each optical S/PDIF to 75Ω coaxial S/PDIF. I feel comfortable running each RG6 digital audio cable around forty feet to any digital audio device that supports coaxial S/PDIF. Any further than that and the signal loss could be a problem.

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I made a mistake when I started recording my newest music video. I feared I would have to start from scratch re-mixing the video tracks for sure. I was just not sure how far backwards I would have to go in the project to fix what I had spent two weeks doing, to get this far.

I had been using Pinnacle Studio for video editing and I had done a music video on it previously. But that video was not near as involved as this one was becoming. Pinnacle was not up to the task as it would only allow two video tracks to be used at once. That really turns into one track if you are doing a chroma-key (green screen) video. One becomes the track for the background and then you are left with only one track for your video. That was just not good enough.

I tried several other video editing software titles. Many are available as 30 day trials. That may be something you should keep in mind the next time you have the need for video software but not the money or desire to purchase any. Some of these programs offered unlimited video and audio tracks. The one I decided was best and wanted to purchase was Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum HD. Vegas comes in a Pro version that retails for around $600 as well. It does unlimited tracks for that price. And it should. The Movie Studio version is retailed at around $129. I found it online for $79. It will only allow ten video and ten audio tracks itself. That is obviously not unlimited, but it is manageable. Besides, it is the easiest to learn, at least for me as it somewhat mimics the multi-track audio program I already use. I also own Sony Sound Forge Pro, which also shares some of its interface, control methods, and appearances.

The mistake I made was not setting up the program’s project preferences to widescreen (16:9). My digital camcorder is not high definition, but it will record in 16:9 aspect ratio. It is capable of standard aspect ratio (4:3) as well. It was two weeks before I even noticed the black letterbox lines at the top and bottom of the video I was editing. Once I did notice them, I knew that I had a problem.

(see Movie Studio screenshot below)

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I just posted my recorded versions of One of the Boys, and Ready for Love. Both songs were from the Mott the Hoople album All the Young Dudes. I didn’t realize they were both on the same album. After I realized they were, I wondered if I would be re-recording the whole record. I was only half not serious. I got to looking in iTunes for the contents of the album and I remembered that I had also recorded Sweet Jane. It is a Lou Reed song that Mott the Hoople had on that album also. I do a hybrid of the Lou Reed “Rock and Roll Animal” version and the Mott version. But I hear more Mott than Lou in it.

I just did a re-mix of that Sweet Jane recording, so here it is. I don’t see me recording anything else from the album. Not even Jerkin’ Crocus.

Sweet Jane

[audio:http://www.linearcanvas.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Sweet Jane 20110807_1637mcd.mp3]

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Sweet Jane was written by Lou Reed. The guitar is my Fender Stratocaster electric. The bass is my Rickenbacker 4001. The drums are Session Drummer 3 and a Roland Octapad. I originally recorded the song on my Fostex VF-16 digital multi-track recorder and then processed it with Cakewalk Sonar 8.5 Producer and Sony Sound Forge 9.

Recently I did a re-mix  on another Mott the Hoople song I recorded (One of the Boys). It made me start thinking about this song, Ready for Love. The song was written by guitarist Mick Ralphs and was originally recorded on Mott’s All The Young Dude’s  album. When Mick left Mott to form Bad Company, he took this song with him and it was recorded for Bad Company’s first album as well.

I have always felt I do a bit of a cross between the two versions. Probably a little louder than either one though. I also do an After Lights ending like was originally recorded by Mott. Not note for note, but the same feeling, I think.

Ready for Love

[audio:http://www.linearcanvas.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Ready for Love 20110502_1530mcd.mp3]

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When I started to look for it, I couldn’t find any of the original recorded tracks anywhere. I looked on all my old hard drives. I checked both the computer drives and the drives for my digital recorder. They were no where to be found. The mistake I was making was that the original mix sounded so good, I assumed that I was dealing with digital files. What I found was that the recording was probably one of the last I did on my analog Yamaha four track cassette around 1999. By then I had acquired a Sony MD recorder. It wasn’t much of a digital audio recorder, but it did work. I replaced my dbx cassette deck as the sub-mixing deck with it. It made a big difference. But I only used it like that a few times as I bought a digital multi-track just a little while later.

The guitar is a Fender Stratocaster electric. The bass is a Rickenbacker 4001. The drums are Ludwig’s. I originally recorded the song on my Yamaha MT100II. I transferred it to my Fostex VF-16 multi track recorder and then processed it with Cakewalk Sonar 8.5 Producer and Sony Sound Forge 9.

I was thinking about Mott the Hoople the other day after I was discussing Bad Company. Lead guitarist Mick Ralphs, left Mott the Hoople and formed Bad Company in the mid 1970’s. Some say it was because Ian Hunter couldn’t sing as well as Paul Rodgers. I heard it was because Ian wouldn’t or couldn’t sing Can’t Get Enough which was Bad Company’s first hit. Hunter was the main guy in Mott anyway and Mick needed some elbow room. It was a real Spinal Tap situation (when Nigel quit) for awhile. Ian was really mad that he left. I have a Mott the Hoople music book that was put out about that time and fails to mention Ralphs, except in a couple of song credits. It almost seemed like Ian was trying to scrub Mick from Mott the Hoople history. I also read at the time, there were some bad feelings. It must have been resolved because I have heard live concerts they did together much later. Ian also made a pretty good living after Mick left. So that probably didn’t hurt either.

One of the Boys

[audio:http://www.linearcanvas.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/One of the Boys 20110710_1613mcd.mp3]

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As a big Mott the Hoople fan, I was very disappointed. Mick Ralphs was replaced by guitarist Ariel Bender who had gone by Luther Grosvenor, his real name, in the band Spooky Tooth previously. I wasn’t very excited about Mick leaving at all. The last Mott the Hoople guitarist was Mick Ronson. Ronson was famous as the guitar player from David Bowie’s Spiders From Mars.  I saw Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson together in 1979 after the official Mott the Hoople split up. The rest of the band made some albums as just “Mott”, then came back as The British Lions.

I also thought about the recording I made of One of the Boys. It was always one of my favorites from Mott the Hoople’s All The Young Dudes album. It’s a very basic power rocker and it is fun to play. The song was co-written by Ralphs and Hunter. I had recorded it a few years back. I was still recording on my Fostex 16 track at the time. I had some issues with that mix and wanted to take the time to re-mix it someday. The original mix just had a lot of things wrong with it and needed some work including a better stereo image.

I also have recorded Ready For Love, a song recorded by both Mott the Hoople and Bad Company. I may re-mix it too.

One of the Boys was written by Ian Hunter and Mick Ralphs. I sing and play all the instruments on this track. I am playing a Fender Stratocaster electric guitar, Rickenbacker 4001 bass guitar and Ludwig drums. It was recorded on a Fostex VF-16 digital multi-track. It was processed with Cakewalk Sonar v8.5 Producer and Sony Sound Forge v9.

After my mom passed away I heard this song in my head constantly. I recorded it and then made this video using a green screen. I’ll probably do one of my originals green screen next time.

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Around the time my mother passed away last month, I was listening to a lot of Patty Griffin. Her song Rain was the one I listened to the most because I felt a connection to its sadness. I said I was going to record it.
This is a little undone. It’s the scratch vocal and you can hear a rhythm track in the background. Actually I kind of like it that way. I may do some more on this song, but I liked its simplicity. Just one vocal and one acoustic guitar, plus a little reverb in glorious monaural.

Rain

[audio:http://www.linearcanvas.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Rain 20110702_0941mcd.mp3]

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This song was written by Patty Griffin. I sang, and played my Takamine acoustic guitar. I processed it with Cakewalk Sonar 8.5 Producer and Sony Sound Forge 9.

I actually wrote most of Bridge To Cross years ago. I knew it was about losing someone, I just didn’t know who. When I was sitting by my mother’s bed in the nursing home last year after her first major stroke, I realized it was about her. I guess I hoped I wouldn’t have to finish it. Especially so soon. My mother, Conney JoAnn (Kelly) Fisher,  passed away June 2, leaving a large void in my life. I know time will help to ease my pain, but I will never be the same without her.

Bridge To Cross

[audio:http://www.linearcanvas.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Bridge to Cross 20110611_1220mcd.mp3]

I played acoustic guitar using my Takamine G-series jumbo. I played electric guitar on my Fender Stratocaster. The bass was my Rickenbacker 4001. I recorded the keyboard part using a Roland MIDI slave keyboard and the TruePianos plug-in. I also played tambourine on this track.

The guitar parts are slightly flat in pitch compared to the keyboards, but not by much. I tried to fix it, but I really couldn’t find an acceptable way to do it without re-recording the whole song. I may re-record this song someday, but I was really surprised at how well it turned out. The analog tracks were originally recorded on my Yamaha MT-100 II 4 track cassette recorder using  dbx noise reduction. The newer digital tracks were recorded using Cakewalk Sonar and my PreSonus Firebox interface.

I wrote the song and sang all the vocals. I processed it with Cakewalk Sonar 8.5 Producer and Sony Sound Forge 9.

I had a couple of inspirations for The Speed of Life. One was a song by another artist that I liked a lot and the other was the death of an acquaintance in an auto accident.

I only hesitate to call Tom a friend because I didn’t know him that well. I rather enjoyed talking to him as I felt we were usually on the same page. He was a no bull kind of guy. I liked that about him. He was killed in the accident along with three members of his family recently.

Immediately it made me think about a lot of things. But specifically it made me think about how most people take their time and life for granted and don’t appreciate every moment they have. Always wishing their lives away. Never content in the moment and always in a rush to get somewhere.

I hope when I’m older that I feel I appreciated each moment I had in my life, as best I could.

Making the right decisions and being deliberate in your actions helps to assure yourself and others safety. Being in a hurry or not paying attention can get someone hurt.

“The Speed of Life”

[audio:http://www.linearcanvas.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/The Speed of Life 20110514_1648mcd.mp3]

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I recorded this song in 24 bit at 96 kHz resolution. That was a just a bit of overkill and the next recording I will go back to 24 bit / 48 kHz. The file size alone is a good reason. It is about 5 times bigger than a 16 bit CD quality file.

I wrote the music and lyrics. I performed all the musical and vocal parts.  I used a Shure SM-58 microphone to record all the vocals. I played my Fender Stratocaster electric guitar on the recording using my Line 6 Pod 2.0 as a direct box. I played bass guitar on my Rickenbacker 4001. The drums are MIDI patches with fills and accents played on a Roland Octapad using Session Drummer 3. I also played keyboards with a Roland MIDI slave using True Piano and Dimension Pro. I played the tambourine as well.

I recorded, mixed, and mastered this song on my desktop computer using a PreSonus Firebox audio interface, with Cakewalk Sonar v8.5 Producer and Sony Sound Forge v9 software.