[A Capella SATB Choir] - Cartoon Medley Cover

[mcatalao]

Hi folks,

This time i bring you a project from a friend, but produced by me.

The thing is a revival of cartoon music from the 80's and 90's, all vocals.

All stuff recorded, mixed and mastered in Reason.

Some technicalities and project break down:

Mics
Audio Technica AT4047MP
Studio Projects C3

PreAmps
TLAudio Ivory 5052
Maudio Octane (only for A/D conversion)

This project started with an old version, all males recorded in my friends house, the mixed and mastered in reason. However he wasn't very happy with it, and he came in to re-record a lot of the vocals, and included a female vocal.

So we used the old project as a guide track and started by recording the female vocal, and all female choirs, and then the same for each other vocal. We had a total of 5 recording sessions, 2 for the female, and 1 for each male vocal.
After this we also selected 2 tracks for the previous version (the previous version was in a higher tone, so we used thes tracks lower in the mix due to some artifacts that the process introduces).

Editing this was quite nasty, because a lot of passages were not synced correctly and it was impossible to quantize the project. So most of the work editing was getting stuff to gel and don't have too much consonants starting in different timmings.

All the tuning of the vocals was done with Reason's pitch editor. In stuff that needs more tuning work i usually prefer melodyne, but this group was better and we only had to use pitch editor here and there. That being said, being a nagging producer for the singers had it's merits. Stuff was way better than the original both acoustically and tuning.

After editing, color coding and so on, all the vocals have a similar chain (selig de-esser, curve for leveling), eq and compressor from Reason's mixer.
The mastering chain was an MP5 into Softube Tape, into Ozone 9.

Fun stuff, i don't think I've seen many SATB/Acapella stuff done with Reason over here!

Cheers,
MC

[integerpoet]

The timbres and balance are pretty great!

I know how difficult this kind of timing work can be. Just getting it beyond "disaster" quality feels endless and getting it as tight you'd like might actually be endless. But, despite the issues which you already know about, they don't ruin this. You could even say for this kind of music it adds to the charm.

By the way, here are some projects I did during pandemic lockdowns, audio all in Reason…

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... N0GspXmxXW

For these, the additional challenges were: terrible laptop mics, terrible room acoustics, low-flying planes…

[mcatalao]

By the way, here are some projects I did during pandemic lockdowns, audio all in Reason…

(...)

Nice work. Such great singing! Love the video editing too!

We did some pandemic stuff, but not only cell phone mics are really bad as managing room acoustics is REALLYYYYYY HARD!

This is a good example of that:

[mcatalao]

You know, something that would help working on timmings, would be a simmilar view on Pitch Edit as we have on midi, where you can see multiple tracks at the same time.

[selig]

You know, something that would help working on timmings, would be a simmilar view on Pitch Edit as we have on midi, where you can see multiple tracks at the same time.

Great work on those a cappella productions, they can be super tricky!

As for seeing other tracks when editing:
Non-modal editing would solve this for all tracks - there is no need to be in an exclusive edit mode IMO.
In a related note, having the level automation (all automation for that matter) viewed over the waveform or note data would also help seeing relationships.

Been enjoying workin in LUNA lately with what I consider to be just about ever feature 'missing' from Reason as far as my workflow is concerned.

[FrankJaeger]

This was very interesting. It must've been really difficult to pull off.
Now, I instantly recognized The Lion King song but am I mistaken in thinking I heard a theme from Dragon Ball as well? My apologies but there is a language burier thing going on so I'm not sure.

[integerpoet]

You know, something that would help working on timmings, would be a simmilar view on Pitch Edit as we have on midi, where you can see multiple tracks at the same time.

You might want to check out some of the products of this developer: <https://www.synchroarts.com/>. I demo'd one of their products during one of the lockdowns, but at the time it seemed better suited to ADR than choirs. (It seemed like it would work pretty well for ADR.) My understanding is that since then they've improved and expanded these tools to be more applicable to this sort of project. I would definitely give their latest version a look if we find ourselves doing these virtual choir videos again.

[integerpoet]

language burier

I see what you did there!

[FrankJaeger]

language burier

I see what you did there!

LOL.. I meant to put barrier. That was an honest mistake

[integerpoet]

I see what you did there!

LOL.. I meant to put barrier. That was an honest mistake

Pro tip: when an honest mistake happens to look like a genius joke, just own it!

[mcatalao]

This was very interesting. It must've been really difficult to pull off.
Now, I instantly recognized The Lion King song but am I mistaken in thinking I heard a theme from Dragon Ball as well? My apologies but there is a language burier thing going on so I'm not sure.

Thanks!

Yeah you did listen to the lion King. And dragon Ball (i think it's from the first series).

[mcatalao]

You know, something that would help working on timmings, would be a simmilar view on Pitch Edit as we have on midi, where you can see multiple tracks at the same time.

You might want to check out some of the products of this developer: <https://www.synchroarts.com/>. I demo'd one of their products during one of the lockdowns, but at the time it seemed better suited to ADR than choirs. (It seemed like it would work pretty well for ADR.) My understanding is that since then they've improved and expanded these tools to be more applicable to this sort of project. I would definitely give their latest version a look if we find ourselves doing these virtual choir videos again.

Thanks. I will check it out!

I was also considering getting Melodyne studio.
I'd take care of tuning and sync'ing really fast there, then pull it to Reason for mixing. But the update is so expensive that i can't justify it for now...

[mcatalao]

You know, something that would help working on timmings, would be a simmilar view on Pitch Edit as we have on midi, where you can see multiple tracks at the same time.

Great work on those a cappella productions, they can be super tricky!

As for seeing other tracks when editing:
Non-modal editing would solve this for all tracks - there is no need to be in an exclusive edit mode IMO.
In a related note, having the level automation (all automation for that matter) viewed over the waveform or note data would also help seeing relationships.

Been enjoying workin in LUNA lately with what I consider to be just about ever feature 'missing' from Reason as far as my workflow is concerned.

Thank's Giles!

TBH, I've done that with Cubase, thinking i could go on to a more mature DAW, but the transition has been everything but smooth, so most of what i've been doing is Reason, and cubase has been getting more and more dust.
What's keeping me from changing is how easy it is to create something from scratch with reason compared to cubase. And i have my gear working so well with Reason - and Cubase remote is not as direct to workout as Steinberg makes it... So it's a rather steep learning curve when all I want to do is arrive to the studio and make music without losing time learning cubase again, or be frustrated because my surface doesn't work as i want.

I think i have to check out Luna but i don't have a UA device for a long time. Again, since music has been my second thing for a long time i can't justify such an investment right now... as a matter of fact I am going to start playing on a new project and i just bought a new ewi solo... Music stuff is not cheap, but i really needed this one!!!

[selig]

Great work on those a cappella productions, they can be super tricky!

As for seeing other tracks when editing:
Non-modal editing would solve this for all tracks - there is no need to be in an exclusive edit mode IMO.
In a related note, having the level automation (all automation for that matter) viewed over the waveform or note data would also help seeing relationships.

Been enjoying workin in LUNA lately with what I consider to be just about ever feature 'missing' from Reason as far as my workflow is concerned.

Thank's Giles!

TBH, I've done that with Cubase, thinking i could go on to a more mature DAW, but the transition has been everything but smooth, so most of what i've been doing is Reason, and cubase has been getting more and more dust.
What's keeping me from changing is how easy it is to create something from scratch with reason compared to cubase. And i have my gear working so well with Reason - and Cubase remote is not as direct to workout as Steinberg makes it... So it's a rather steep learning curve when all I want to do is arrive to the studio and make music without losing time learning cubase again, or be frustrated because my surface doesn't work as i want.

I think i have to check out Luna but i don't have a UA device for a long time. Again, since music has been my second thing for a long time i can't justify such an investment right now... as a matter of fact I am going to start playing on a new project and i just bought a new ewi solo... Music stuff is not cheap, but i really needed this one!!!

Reason is still the first place I go to get ideas started, but LUNA is now where I go to finish them!

[integerpoet]

I was also considering getting Melodyne studio.
I'd take care of tuning and sync'ing really fast there, then pull it to Reason for mixing. But the update is so expensive that i can't justify it for now...

I didn't know Melodyne had sync capabilities. I'll try to remember that if the task comes up again.

[mcatalao]

I was also considering getting Melodyne studio.
I'd take care of tuning and sync'ing really fast there, then pull it to Reason for mixing. But the update is so expensive that i can't justify it for now...

I didn't know Melodyne had sync capabilities. I'll try to remember that if the task comes up again.

Well it allows you to load the whole lot of waves together and you edit them in paralel. If you have the studio version. Editor has DNA but it won't work multitrack.

[mcatalao]

Reason is still the first place I go to get ideas started, but LUNA is now where I go to finish them!

Yep, I understand that.
But I can see myself sequencing and recording in cubase but I still prefer to mix In reason because I have tbh surfaces working as I want. I also have to invest a little bit on Relearning Cubase remote. But so many stuff I do is so quick in reason I'm just thinking I killed 300 bucks for nothing in this process because stuff is so treamlined I reason compared to using Cubase + RRP. I recently upgraded my studio pc too, the old one had already 8 years. One of the things I needed for performance issues is now gone because this I5 12600k is a killer machine. So maybe one of this days we can get auto punch in and folders and I don't have to think about Cubase anymore...

[aeox]

My ears are perking up, don't understand the language but I still enjoy it. I imagine your production brought out the best of it!

Thanks for sharing

[selig]

Reason is still the first place I go to get ideas started, but LUNA is now where I go to finish them!

Yep, I understand that.
But I can see myself sequencing and recording in cubase but I still prefer to mix In reason because I have tbh surfaces working as I want. I also have to invest a little bit on Relearning Cubase remote. But so many stuff I do is so quick in reason I'm just thinking I killed 300 bucks for nothing in this process because stuff is so treamlined I reason compared to using Cubase + RRP. I recently upgraded my studio pc too, the old one had already 8 years. One of the things I needed for performance issues is now gone because this I5 12600k is a killer machine. So maybe one of this days we can get auto punch in and folders and I don't have to think about Cubase anymore...

Speaking of auto punch - there’s a workflow I used in Pro Tools that I’m very happy to have back in LUNA, and it involves pre-post roll. Typically you use this when punching in, but I’ve always used it full time. Typically I have 1-2 bars pre roll and 999 bars post roll. This allows me to make a selection and hit play and hear the transition into and out of the selection automatically. With reason I have to make a selection then hit rewind then hit play then make the selection again to do any edits. SO much smoother workflow all around.
I’ll have to make a list, but I must have near 100 (obvious exaggeration) of these types of workflow improvements I’m already using in LUNA.
To be fair, there are things I miss from Reason like the inspector (big one) and flexible routing (which I can get from RRP). I don’t think I actually ever wanted a REPLACEMENT for Reason like other DAWs, and LUNA is (for me) the perfect COMPLEMENT to Reason.

[mcatalao]

Giles,

Freaking auto punch in with pre-roll is super effective for audio and midi!
Plus retrospective recording. I really need to get my head on Cubase remote and begon with it - worst case scenario, sell my BCF2000's and BCR2000 and buy something newer with better integration with cubase and at least with 16 chann.

BTW, today i used cubase for score printing. I like to have the stuff I'm playing live in scores for the first rehearsals. I'm not a great reader, but it helps to remind the lines.
Another thing reason doesn't have and probably never will...

[mcatalao]

My ears are perking up, don't understand the language but I still enjoy it. I imagine your production brought out the best of it!

Thanks for sharing

Glad you liked it Aeox! We've been derailing this thread a bit with reason ranting but glad you liked the production!

[strangers]

Couldn't understand any of it but still enjoyed listening all the way through. Like other mentioned, the song from Lion King was all that I could recognize. Even though it sounds like you had your work cut out getting things to sync up, you did a great job. The end result sounds great and something to be proud of.

[mcatalao]

Couldn't understand any of it but still enjoyed listening all the way through. Like other mentioned, the song from Lion King was all that I could recognize. Even though it sounds like you had your work cut out getting things to sync up, you did a great job. The end result sounds great and something to be proud of.

Hey strangers,

Glad you liked it!!!