lowdown

You'll need to keep that plate nice and clean...You don't want the letter 'B' covered in mud and sh*te.

The excellent, free 'TAL Vocoder', has just been updated: https://tal-software.com/products/tal-vocoder A review: https://synthanatomy.com/2023/04/tal-vocoder-3-0-free-vocoder-plugin-with-new-features-and-ui.html?fbclid=IwAR1SuLyOFWIXjhHgZygIFiCDBG0945DbTMBzC6_PqNs1wNuRAOqZELvdQYk

A great theatre, but one specific memory of the place sticks out for me. During the get in for the JC Superstar soundcheck, 9/11 was just breaking on the news...

From what I remember, it goes something like this: 1.2.3. You put your left arm in Your left arm out In, out, in, out You shake it all about You do the hokey cokey And you turn around That's what it's all about Woah-oh, the hokey cokey Woah-oh, the hokey cokey Woah-oh, the hokey cokey Knees bent, arms stretched Ra, ra, ra

I was just about to suggest that. In my full version of Kontakt 7, there are some decent Organ patches in the supplied library. You can use a sustain pedal as well. The Komplete Kontrol freebie library has some selected patches from the full library, and like you say, The Jazz Organ is one of them:

What about five variations of a cool Bass Line over one chord?

I know the thread is about cosmic shi*e covers...but regarding Robbie Williams (and in my opinion), vocally he's not on the level of Bobby Darin (or George Benson for that matter), but he recorded a very decent cover of this great tune...An excellent band as well:

I'm not sure about Rod Stewart's real reasons for the Song Book albums. To me, he just sounded like a Rock singer badly hacking away at standards and cashing in. Probably like you say, maybe a lack of original material. Who knows... But, Robbie Williams was a Sinatra lover, so a Big Band album was probably on the cards. I read an article some years back where he said it had always been something he wanted to do when he was older, with more experience behind him, and his voice was more mature. As it happens, I think he made a very good job of it.

When you say 'Plugin' are you talking about a VST'i ? If so, there is a page over on VI Control with links to quite a few threads. It's worth having a look at what's available out there. Quite a few options with varying prices. 1) https://vi-control.net/community/threads/folk-instruments-banjo-fiddle-mando-steel-what-do-you-like.132458/ 2) https://vi-control.net/community/search/1884076/?q=Pedal+steel&o=relevance My oldest has The Impact Soundworks Pedal Steel VST'i, so I use that if I need one. The only trouble...it's $179. Although, he got it in one of the seasonal sales. This runs in the Kontakt free player. https://impactsoundworks.com/product/pedal-steel/ There is also the 'Wavelore Pedal Steel'. But again at $99, probably more than you want to spend. Certainly a good 'un, but does require the Kontakt full version. https://www.wavelore.com/products.php?product=WLPS

Dave Grusin: Not Enough Time... https://www.pbs.org/video/dave-grusin-not-enough-time-3jnyac/?fbclid=IwAR0ZwY2o6t1erZuCdlDq0rYbyGA8zVItTW_AdBFWe5Afbnr2M7LZjlKCozU

I didn't know him, but that's very sad to read... R.I.P Nigel.

Another late 70's Herbie track...

The Disco Shads:

100% this and, the most professional thing to do.

Do you set light to them before you Shear them?

I've been in there many times over the years. Signed and shared on Social Media...👍

I think I would wake up screaming if I had seen the notes Ab and Eb written in a tune that was in the key of 'E'....* 😁

- And a Drummer called Bernard Lupe. Staying alive: The band's drummer Dennis Bryon left the recording sessions early due to the death of his mother, and the group first looked for a replacement. The shortage of qualified drummers in the area prompted the group to try a drum machine, but it did not offer satisfactory results. After listening to the drum track of the already-recorded "Night Fever", the group and producer Albhy Galuten took two bars from that track, rerecorded them as a recurrent loop on a separate tape (creating the song's constant rhythm), and proceeded with sessions for "Stayin' Alive". The group jokingly listed the drummer as "Bernard Lupe" (a takeoff on session drummer Bernard Purdie). Lupe became a highly sought-after drummer—until it was discovered that he did not exist. Albhy Galuten talks about the recording of "Stayin' Alive": Barry and I listened carefully to find a bar that felt really good. Everyone knows that it's more about feel than accuracy in drum tracks. We chose a bar that felt so good that we ended up using that same loop on 'Stayin' Alive,' and 'More Than a Woman,' and then again on Barbra Streisand's song 'Woman in Love.' To make the loop, we copied the drums onto one-quarter-inch tape. Karl spliced the tape and jury rigged it so that it was going over a mic stand and around a plastic reel. At first, we were doing it just as a temporary measure. As we started to lay tracks down to it, we found that it felt really great-very insistent but not machinelike. It had a human feel. By the time we had overdubbed all the parts to the songs and Dennis came back, there was no way we could get rid of the loop.

Yes, the Loopback test is usually a good idea.

You can adjust delay compensation on both Audio recordings or Midi track rendering these days. Usually on a track by track basis. And both on a '+' or '-' basis: I don't use Ableton, but in Nuendo, there is a slider for adjusting Compensation on each track. This is also great for Sample libraries where you want to offset start times for long notes, legato times, Orchestral crescendo start times, attack times or short notes etc... I'm not saying it's the answer to the OP's problem, but it might be worth investigating via the link I left above.

Yes, it might be worth the OP looking into Delay Compensation. I don't use Ableton so can't offer solid advice. https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/209072409-Delay-Compensation-FAQ

Yes, four notes....Although, I think it is in 5 flats (Bb Minor), making the pickup note on the intro an 'A' natural. From then onwards, it's a four bar phrase with the 'A' natural at the end of the four bar phrase. I think that's right?

Apart from their obvious massive hit Disco track... there were at least two more: