The Musical Scratch Off Ticket

[billroper]

Aunt Carol and Aunt Cathy came by today to visit and exchange Christmas presents. After running out to the Jewel to pick up additional components for dinner, I retreated to the basement studio and have now recorded scratch tracks for Behind the Mask, Illusions, We Can Change the World, and Out to the Stars. This leaves Wings and Dance By Starlight as the two remaining scratch tracks to record for this album.

The latter track is going to be a major PITB, as I switch from finger picking to strummed to finger picking in the course of the song and I'm trying to record scratch tracks for all of these songs using a pick when appropriate. While it's easy enough to drop the pick for the second transition, that first transition is going to be entertaining.

Yeah, entertaining. That's a good word for it. :)

Comments

[geekymary.livejournal.com]

I don't know anything about recording, just filming. Why do you need to do them in the same take? Can't you do them separately and edit them together? Or is that what a scratch track is - just one take?

[billroper]

In fact, doing them separately and editing them together is what I'll do for the final recording. It's just a bit complex to try to do it by myself in the studio for the scratch track. (Although I suppose I should get the footswitch hooked up properly...)

[msminlr.livejournal.com]

Are you willing to put an inside-out loop of masking tape somewhere on the upper surface of this guitar, to-where you can grab the pick off the bit of sticky surface when it is time for the first transition?

[billroper]

That might work out, but I'm starting to suspect I can just palm the pick for the finger picked part of the song, then shift it out of the palm for the strummed section. (As in, it worked ok in practice...)

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

There are "flatpicks" with a curl of plastic to go around the thumb. Could you use one of these as a flatpick for the strummed sections and a thumbpick for the fingerpicked sections?

[billroper]

I used to use one of those long ago when I was learning the Chet Atkins style finger picking, along with a couple of picks on my index and middle fingers. I haven't found any recently that I've been comfortable with, although I haven't looked really recently, so maybe I should check again.

Scratch Tracks

[sexybass.livejournal.com]

Congrats on the recording Bill and glad you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years.
Talked to Dave in the new year and he sent me mixing notes and more tracks (irish flute) to add to the DW CD. Think this will be the last stuff added and I am hoping we are on the home stretch as far as mixing. Just need to incoroporate Dave's changes and send him more mixes for his approval. Looks like a release at FKO is out though. Dave is coming to Confusion and will be great seeing him again.

Re: Scratch Tracks

[billroper]

Thanks!

Good luck on the mixing. Maybe a Duckon release?

And I'll see you at Confusion!

Duckon release

[sexybass.livejournal.com]

Yes Duckon would be a plan!!! The only thing holding things up would be the mechanical licences. We have obtained only one so far from Doug McArthur for Merlin.

Re: Duckon release

[billroper]

Don't you also already have one for the vampire song?

Anyway, if you have two computers, you can mix while Sue tracks down the mechanicals. :) (Helpful, aren't I?)

Re: Duckon release

[sexybass.livejournal.com]

We have some verbal agreements via email for Long Night but still need to send a cheque and contract to sign. We are also looking at sending out contracts for all participants on the CD, you and Gretchen included. The one person we are having extreme difficulty tracking down is Bob McQuillan for Woodland Dream and we are not even sure he wrote the song and he may have just wrote the music and not the lyrics. Did Dave ever record this on his solo tapes and if so do you have a contact? I found that Jim Post record it on one of his CD's which is no longer in print called "From Ship to Shore" I believe. Sue is working separately from me on licencing while I am mixing. Dave wants me to just send him one song at a time for listening to instead of all of them as it is too much for him so I will be sending him one soon and will probably hand it to him at Consfusion.
Isn't this stuff fun!! Not!!! The Stone Dragon's CD will be much easier!

Re: Duckon release

[billroper]

I don't think Dave recorded this on either of the tapes he did with us. However, it's on one of the old Wail Songs tapes (Harlequinade), so you might try asking Bob Laurent.

Re: Duckon release

[billroper]

Ok, there's a reference to this in a magazine, Fiddler, and there's contact info below. The reference is to "Ser, 3/4, p35(1996)", which should let them know where you're looking. :)

Fiddler Mag.
Fiddler Magazine
PO Box 101
North Sydney NS B2A 3M1
www.fiddle.com
info@fiddle.com

Bob's liner notes suggest that McQuillan wrote the tune and Dick Nevell wrote the lyrics.

And when I go after Dick Nevell in conjunction with this, I find that it's on his album, Snooze, from Andrea Records. That looks like a dead end though.

Brian Bowers recorded it here, so you might be able to get the info from him if you can find him. And there's contact info for him here.

So if he'll answer you, I think that's the win. :)