SOMA - Private Forum Technical Difficulties

[ani]

SOMA Team Players, the private forum is DOWN until further notification......... As soon as I have the problem resolved, I will notify you guys... I don't know if I will be able to recover the content, but..... let's take things up here for the time being. Sorry for the inconvenience.

[Brakka]

Right off, I should say that I'm not a web expert.

 

I'm on this though, trying to figure out what the problem is. I have a message in to a support board that has been helpful for me in the past.

 

I tried copying a php page from my forum to Anifa's, but that didn't fix it. Our two forums may be slightly different, I can't remember exactly what changes I made to mine.

 

The good news is that the content should all still be there. Even if we have to re-install the whole forum, we should be able to save the posts. At least that's how I understand it.

 

So...

 

....I have to work tonight, but I'll check in when I get back (late) and try some more troubleshooting tomorrow (Wed). In the meantime, if there are things your team needs to discuss privately, I set up an emergency SOMA forum at my place. Go join up if you need to. Let me know you're there (in the open mic forum) and I'll give you access to the brakka.com SOMA forum.

[ani]

Thanks Brakka,

 

You are a sweetheart, and in my book, an official SOMA team player.... you've been with us from the start

[ani]

Note:

 

All active SOMA members, please check your personal email messages.

[DanS]

Gotcha, members check your emails.

AITR is schweeet!

[ani]

Dan,

 

Thanks for moving so quickly on this...

 

Got the mp3 of AITR4 Wharp.... really like the harp and as you said it's sweet. However, in trying to sing along with the track, the harp leads me off pitch VERY DRASTICALLY SO in the area where we were having problems with crowded vocals.

 

That is an extremely critical area to have more open as it demands concentration to stay on pitch with the other instruments involved already and having the variation in melody through the first line of the second part of the verse. Specifically, "How do you put the pieces all together?" With the harp down-scaling right through there, there is NO solid note to come in on and it completely blows the concentration to have SO MUCH there.

 

It might sound good on a recording, but if this piece were to be performed live, it would be extremely difficult... if not virtually impossible for a vocalist to stay on track. I'm completely lost by the time I hit " pieces all together " There is an extreme clash for concentration and the vibe is lost throughout the four measures in that section trying to catch anything solid enough to land on.

 

Same place on the second set of verses.

 

"How do you find the words to say the right thing?"

 

The harp needs to be altered some throughout that area. As Bob did with the flute section in HATM, perhaps yourself, Bob, or Brett can mellow the harp. Bob did an EXCELLENT job on the HATM, perhaps he wouldn't mind taking a look at it. The down scaling is nice throughout other parts, but this section needs to be more stablized.

 

Also during the second lead of verses, you came in instantly with the harp... again distracting. During the first verse, 1st and 2nd measure of vocals were without the harp which made for a smooth entry. If you can do the same on the second set of verses as was done at the beginning where the 1st vocals start, that would provide a more solid foundation.

 

Not trying to be hard to please, but this is an extremely melodic vocal and requires a solid foundation in tracks to stay on pitch with all of it's variation; without calculating, I believe right off hand the vocal range covers more than an octave span and where I come out of the chorus on the low end of the scale, I need to enter back in at the high end for the 2nd verse; the harp takes the lead and leaves me no room for re-entering. I hope all this is making sense to you. If not, perhaps Bob can help translate... he's good at "Airplane" and steering the inexperienced pilot in for a safe landing. (Not YOU in your expertise, but "ME" in my lack of proper use of terminology )

 

 

It's mainly during the specific lines mentioned... I think the rest of it will be great.

 

I have sang with multi-voice choirs for years with numerous voice sections and have never experienced this type difficulty. Before you start putting a lot of effort into a complete mixdown, can you please take a look at these areas?

 

Thanks.... PS......... I love you guys...

 

Considering that we have all been working on this project without any of us having ALL THE PARTS together.... this is coming along fantastic.

 

I'm in total awe with EVERYONE'S contribution. If this all pulls together as is has been so far... WOW!!!

[ani]

Also Dan,

 

Let me know when it's safe to move the individual .wav files out of the FTP to clear up space... I'm well over the limit right now; we need to leave some room for the rest of the month.

[20to20]

Ani,

 

2 things regarding the harp conflict...

 

You've recorded your vocal already,

so perhaps Dan can adjust the harp track

so it won't cause any problems with the vox...

 

If that doesn't work, maybe Frank can

re-record his harp part while working

with a ruff mix that includes your vocal...

 

Bob

[MixterRader]

hi all

just checking in

Dan, did you hear the latest files from me?

If all is well, please wipe them

 

Brett

[ani]

Bob,

 

If that doesn't work, maybe Frank can

re-record his harp part while working

with a ruff mix that includes your vocal...

Do you think that Frank is feeling up to the chore with his meds and all?

 

What if we try the harp on merely the 3rd and 4th measures on each of the 2 sections of the verse throughout the duration of the song by and through editing to see how it sounds; so to save Frank the efforts as I know that he doesn't have a lot of extra energy right now.

 

Can this be accomplished easy enough through the editing process?

 

Also, whereas the harp is NOT present in the first chorus as it is in the 2nd chorus throughout the 1st and 2nd measures... to pull the harp up into the 1st chorus would bring the harp back into play; whereas the other parts would be eleminated in areas of conflict. I liked the subtle play of the harp throughout the 2nd chorus and it doesn't interfere with the vocals in any way. I "DO" like the high note on the harp in the last measure of the 1st chorus if there's any way of adding the harp in on the first 2 measures without dropping that masterpiece of a note at the tail end of the 1st chorus. There's just something about that moment that sends chills... in a good way.

 

Every one of you guys have made incredible contributions to this song! As said before, it's an honor guys; truly an honor to be a part of something so special.

[ani]

Brett

 

Did you by any chance listen to that sorry ended short piece I put up with (snicker...hehehehehe) "ME" trying to play the guitar??? Is that even worth my making an effort to complete it????

 

I've got the words pretty well written now... but????? Is that HICK sounding or WHAT???

[Brakka]

Hey

 

I got back from work and spent some time trying to figure the forum thing out, but my brain is tired. Plus I fed my brain a beer and now it says it won't do anything unless I give it another one. Don't worry, I never give it more than three a night. Really.

 

I have the next couple of days off, and I'll get things figured out by then. We can do a reinstall and keep the content, but that's a last resort.

 

It looks like you guys are doing okay over here at CollabCorner, in the meantime.

[ani]

Thanks a billion Brakka,

 

I've been trying to pull Hasweb.com all day long today on the web and their site continues to come up as server not found. I can access my cpanel, but not hasweb.com I noticed this at the time my forum went down because I was going to call tech support. Why don't you see if you can access hasweb.com through your connection.

 

I'm wondering if they may not have went under and we are just relishing the php while it lasts.... Jeff the Weasel has at least one site with them if not more. Perhaps Hasweb has more than one platform and one is down... I don't know. If for any reason Hasweb has gone under, it might be a concern for the forums and sites hosted there.

 

Geezzzzzzzzzzz, I just tried to access the other site and it's down.....

[ani]

With the official site being offline as well, and being on a secure Windows based server, I telephoned my Hosting company early this morning. They said that the ISP that provided service to the entire area of Coral Springs, Florida went down and there is a service ticket in place. Their ISP provider is Bell South, located in Coral Springs.

 

I'm wondering now if this was not the problem also with the Hasweb forum. Perhaps with me being in Kansas City, I am connected to Hasweb through a different network location. The tech from HostDepot could not tell me how wide spread the problem was, but assured me that the situation was definitely being looked into with hopes of an expeditious resolve.

 

Guys, hopefully the FTP won't be down for very long; but apparently this is affecting quite a few sites.

 

Really sorry for the inconvenience, as we are smoking on this right now.

[Wrave]

Frank here. It isn't a problem to redo the harp. It would be helpful if I had the mix plus vocals (didn't have that when I layed down the previous harp track) so if Dan has one of those mp3s at the FTP site I'll grab it and redo the harp.

[Brakka]

Hey Anifa-

 

You might find this useful:

 

phpBB User\'s Guide

 

Hasweb seems to be up, at least for me. They do have a number of different servers, I think 5 or 6- I know that I'm on "Jet4." My forum is still up.

 

I'm pretty sure this is a software error. There is a phpBB support forum that I'm browsing, but they get like a hundred support requests a day and now they have strict rules about how to ask for support. I need to figure a few things out before getting back there to ask questions.

 

I'm still on it though.

[ani]

Originally posted by Wrave On:

Frank here. It isn't a problem to redo the harp. It would be helpful if I had the mix plus vocals (didn't have that when I layed down the previous harp track) so if Dan has one of those mp3s at the FTP site I'll grab it and redo the harp.

Frank,

 

I uploaded an mp3 mix of the vocal that I used as a solo track wav. It only includes Brett's guitar and Dan's keys, without Bob's ambience or Brett's drum sections... The file name is aitr_vox_mix.mp3

 

When you rework the harp, the things mentioned prior are pretty critical areas to look at. The down-scaling is actually a bit out of tune with the way the vocals finalized, which is where I'm stumbling all over myself. I think that perhaps a very subtle harmonic tone would work nicely without a lot of movement through the melodic vocals in the first measure of the 2nd section of each verse ... Also, if you can do the 1st section of the second verse as you did on the 1st verse; that would be perfect. AM I MAKING SENSE???

 

Considering that fact that neither you or I were working with tracks with each other's part; I'm surprised we hit as close as what we did. I know that I worked with the mix of Brett's guitar and Dan's keys as the guide... I believe you did also.

 

Brakka,

 

I agree with you that the forum technical difficulty is more than likely has something to do with my browsing... still not sure what I could have done to create such a mess.

[DanS]

Chill kids.

Here's what I'm going to do.

I'm going to get a rough mix of everything on MP3, and post it.

I think the harp is fine, and I have muted it in the areas where it is discordant with what the rest of the band is doing.

I am going to do a rough mix without any harp (and any other instruments that are distracting)for Ani, and post it either as an MP3 or wav, whichever you prefer. Ani has to have 1 more go at the vocal cuz there are a few spots where she's flat, and I'm not an Autotune person.

 

I am going to try a run at the bvox tonight, so we'll see how that goes. Again, as per an earlier email, don't look for this until the end of the week

[ani]

Dan,

 

It is imperative that the areas that I mentioned are left more open for vocals to flow fluently. The VOICE is an instrument also, so when determining whether or not the harp blends with the other instruments, please do consider the need for being able to sing to what's there. Unlike physically held or keyed instruments that have established fingering positions to determine what notes to come in on; voice needs a substantial foundation provided in the musical arrangement to stay on pitch.

 

I prefer that the harp not be pulled down so that I can sing... then have it added back in.... as it would not be something that would be feasible to achieve in live performance; not that we'll be hitting the stage in the near future... but we do need to keep it practical. I think the down scaling of the harp in the areas mentioned would be extremely difficult to try to follow as a vocalist in a live performance.... even the most experienced vocalist with perfect pitch would struggle with that much competition in melodic variations.

 

The original take of the guitar and vocal in itself was beautiful. I loved the piano and effects that you added; the ambience, effects, and flute tones that Bob added, and the drums that Brett added. I love most of the harp that Frank has done, but in the areas mentioned it's TOO MUCH... there is quite a bit of room for the harp where it does not conflict with vocal performance, but if you get TOO MUCH orchestration involved, you over-produce the song. When a song is over waxed, it loses it's luster.

 

I have listened several times to both the raw vox and also the vox mix with the guitar and

piano to determine where you mention my going flat in places. While listening to the raw vox it sounds like I have gone TERRIBLY flat in EXACTLY the beginning note of the places I mentioned above. (If, indeed, these are the two areas you speak of... "How do you" entry words on each of the two verses mentioned) ....But if you listen to the vox in conjunction with the guitar and piano, you will notice that I am harmonizing with Bretts' chording on the guitar; the note was intentionally flat at that point to bring about a subtle contrast.

 

I'll redo the vox over and over again if necessary, but I'd like for Bob and/or Brett to take a listen to this and see if they are in agreement that the vox needs to be redone. Perhaps they might have an entirely different outlook and we can all come to a compromise. Also, don't listen to the vox raw, listen to it with the tracks that it was written with and re-evaluate for yourself if you still think it's flat... harmonizing with the guitar.

 

I was already open to the idea of doing a 2nd take of the vox anyway, as while at Bob's studio we did two takes on each set of the vox; both lead and bgvox. Bob blended the additional tracks to enhance the fullness of the vox. If we're redoing the vox over and over again, it might mean having to wait for every-other-weekend visits with kids to Dad's.... or Wednesday nights on occassion. My studio is in my living room where kids present and recording don't mix.

 

Also, Dan, although you have been given the opportunity to do the mixing on this song, Bob and Brett are both expert engineers capable of stepping in if the load becomes burdensome in conjunction with personal or professional demands. Don't feel that you "have" to mix the entire song because it was offered your direction; we all realize that you've been away from the family for a while and now that you're back home... they need you too. Believe me, I've not failed to call upon others for helping when needed... Bob and Wrave both have been jewels to ask advice about recording questions or FTP... Brakka is a sweetheart too in helping me out with the forum.

 

Another option might be this, if you could use an assistant and Bob or Brett neither have much time; perhaps Flyscots or one of the other Team managers might wish to help with this as a part of their Fantasy League Project contributions, since some teams are struggling with a lack of participation from team players.

 

Have you downloaded Bretts' extra .wav tracks yet??? We need that space cleared out so to allow for more. I'll clear them out tonight if I haven't heard, and store them on my hard drive... in case you missed getting them.

[DanS]

I've got Brett's tracks, delete away.

[DanS]

Ani, it seems like you're in some rush to get this tune finished. Remember, there's no deadline on this one.

 

Bob asked me if I'd like to mix this tune, and I do. If someone else wants to have a kick at the can afterwards, no problem, but I am going to have the first kick.

 

There is nothing written in stone that says we can't do a fully orchestrated version, and a version with guitar and vox only. Easily done.

 

As to your concerns with Wrave's harp lines interfering with your vocal in a live performance...

I think you're getting a little ahead of the situation.

 

Trust me a little, I'll make it work.

[ani]

Ani, it seems like you're in some rush to get this tune finished. Remember, there's no deadline on this one.

OF COURSE I AM DAMMIT.... I wanna hear it in it's completion.... So I'm a little anxious; I can't hear the WHOLE THANG like you get get to... http://musicbizbuzz.net/smilies/tongue.gif so I'm not hearing what you are....

 

I do realize that there were no deadlines set in stone, although Bob had mentioned that he would like a deadline so to prioritize his time accordingly.

 

Bob asked me if I'd like to mix this tune, and I do. If someone else wants to have a kick at the can afterwards, no problem, but I am going to have the first kick.

Not trying to crowd you on your space... just trying to open the doors if you're feeling pressured..... Now, I can't imagine anyone trying to pressure you ...... Moi Little ole me MY BAD!!!

 

There is nothing written in stone that says we can't do a fully orchestrated version, and a version with guitar and vox only. Easily done.

Okay.... I can live with that

All of their performances are live voice over supplied music tracks.... Maybe I might decide to join in with them on occasion and perform some of our stuff for the men in suits.

 

Trust me a little, I'll make it work.

I know you will... you haven't let me down yet.

 

Did you listen to that flat part again, and do you still need a correction? If so, can you tell me the exact spots of concern to you?

[DanS]

Originally posted by Ani:

 

I do realize that there were no deadlines set in stone, although Bob had mentioned that he would like a deadline so to prioritize his time accordingly.

 

Bob has done his parts. He's out of the responsibility loop.

 

Did you listen to that flat part again, and do you still need a correction? If so, can you tell me the exact spots of concern to you?[/QB]

The notes you go flat on are not where you and the guitar track together. They tend to happen where you go a little low in your range. I'm not really into listing each instance, because it could easily happen somewhere else on another take. My point was not to coach the performance, just to inform you that I didn't feel like the last performance was a keeper. Let me get the rough mix up, and everyone can decide whether I drink too much while mixing.

[ani]

Edited.......... until I have some time to think things through.

[20to20]

Ani,

 

As I said in a previous thread, I'm completely

confident in Dan's qualifications as a mixer...

 

I've heard a couple of CDs from him,

and they sound great...

 

And I, for one, was not aware of all

of the FTP overage penalty issues...

 

It seems that, in the future, the mixer should

delete the wav files as soon as they are d/l'd...

 

I think that you and Dan should try to work out

the vocal track particulars - perhaps by private emails...

 

I really think that this song can support all of

the various vocal and instrumental tracks that

we have discussed, and still retain its delicate

nature (i.e. in the verses)...

 

And, as Dan said, there's no reason why he can't

do two mixes; one that is simple, and one that is full...

 

Different people have different personalities

(and different work methods), but can produce

great results when given a chance...

 

Peace and Love,

 

Bob

[DanS]

AITR5 is now up on the FTP.

 

The backing vocals are a little rough, you shouldn't sing when you're in a bad mood.

There's room for another harmony on top of what's there if someone else wants to give it a go, or replace what I'm doing entirely, I'm easy.

 

Have a listen.

[ani]

Dan,

 

Thank you for concentrating on the areas that were bothering me... and sorry for being a grouch!!! You did a very nice job on mixing, it sounds GREAT!!!

 

You can ask anyone that knows me that had contact with me last week.... I was being a total beotch!

 

Had a lot of pressing issues going on... a lot of stress on the day job as described in the "unsettling dreams" thread. Not the dream itself, but the part written as to why the dream... still concerns.... but I'm in a better mindset now than last week.

 

That.... and KIDS having issues and attitudes about school!!! ...AND DEALING WITH EX HUSBAND B.S.

 

My apologies also go out to Bob and anyone else that read that hot-topped post that I deleted.

[Wrave]

Just listened to AITR5. I think I can do a lower male vox and would like to try that. If I've got time I'll work on it over the next few days.

 

Ani, did you forward that error I received to Brakka regarding the forum? Just curious, it might be helpful to him.

[ani]

No, but I will. I've been getting different error messages as he updates. He's looking at pulling out the old forum, while attempting to save old messages, and then upgrading to the newer platform that is being offered. I'll be reading up on the php today trhough the link Brakka supplied me.

 

I'm very experienced with FrontPage, and other Microsoft applications, but php was entirely new to me at the time I took out the forum; it's a bit intimidating right now, to say the least.

[Brakka]

Hey, sorry I haven't checked in here recently...

 

The guy from our web hosting service that's been helping me with this is out of town for a few days, so we're on hold.

 

The error message did change after I installed the updated forum. In fact, the link you guys used before won't be the forum anymore- the update had all of the files in a folder called "phpBB2," so that's what the forum is called now. www.musicbizbuzz.com/phpBB2.

 

But it's not there yet. I need the web guy's help with a couple of things to set it up. He said he'll be back on the 19th, and I have the 19th-21st off this week. I'll give him a day to settle and then gently redirect him to the support thread where he's been helping me.

 

>> is there any info you guys need from the original forum?

 

I can go into the database for the original forum and get some posts- if you guys need to review notes, or get urls, passwords, whatever. It will take a while, but if it's important to the project I'll do it.

 

Just give me as much info as possible about the post needed. Date, thread, poster, some of the text, etc.