November Composition Challenge

[Nicko]

17 hours ago, Nail Soup said:

I’m about to buy a new PC for my home music recording….. what spec will you go for? Laptop or desktop?

If you don’t mind me asking of course!

I'm some way off deciding, but almost certainly a desktop as I don't need portability and you get a better spec for less money with a PC.  Current PC is an i5 so I'll probably go with something better than that and 8GB min.

[Nicko]

16 hours ago, Doctor J said:

I built a PC a good few years ago with an i7 processor, 16gb of RAM running Windows 10. I don't connect it to the internet so I don't need to have anything on it other than my music software. No startup apps, no other crapp and Windows 10 is quite efficient if you want it to be. If you McAfee is the culprit, disconnect it from the internet and disable McAfee for as along as you need to finish your music, it might get you through for now.

I think that's the way to go.  I'm not confident about building one myself but could have one built with a minimum of software installed.  I think I'll need internet for on line updates of Amplitube, and query whether Cubase needs the net for license verification when you start the program?  I also upload via Soundcloud although I could work around that using a memory stick and my chromebook.

[Dad3353]

26 minutes ago, Nicko said:

I think that's the way to go...

 

I use my PC for everything (composition and recording, but also 3D modelling and 3D printing, and more...). I have a refurbished HP8200 (low profile, so limited in choice of video card; I use an NVidia GT710...), an i5 with 12Gb of memory, with Windows 10 Pro for an OS. It does all I ask of it, and is not under-speced. A 120 Gb SSD 'C'-drive helped; next time I'd use a bigger SSD, as I have to manage what goes onto the 'C' drive. I have several USB disks hanging off it, and two NAS drives, just because of the storage needs (I throw little away...). The PC cost about 250€ or so. There are several suppliers of refurbished PC's of the sort. I'm not afraid of the Internet; my PC is always connected, but I've cut off the Windows Updates, as they walked over my drivers. Windows Defender is my Anti-virus, and works well. S'been a very long time since I had any infection at all. I do not 'surf' scabrous sites, of course. Hope this helps.

Edited November 19, 2021 by Dad3353

[lowdown]

2 hours ago, Nicko said:

I think that's the way to go.  I'm not confident about building one myself but could have one built with a minimum of software installed.  I think I'll need internet for on line updates of Amplitube, and query whether Cubase needs the net for license verification when you start the program?  I also upload via Soundcloud although I could work around that using a memory stick and my chromebook.

 

 If you are using Pro or Artist, no internet needed on start up, or when running. That's what the USB Dongle is for. If you are using Elements, that is just a soft-eLicenser and runs off the serial number when first installed.

Although, all change soon with anything Steinberg related. The USB Dongle is being ditched at the front end of next year in favour of a serial number.

 

https://www.steinberg.net/licensing/

[NickD]

My contribution to the November 2021 Basschat Composition Challenge, inspired by the picture chosen by the previous winner, Upside Downer.

 

I got halfway down a droney, chilled, ambient road, then I woke up with with this popping round in my head... the chorus at least... the song wanted something other than what I had planned for it. Based on the picture, I had the idea of a shift tasked with resetting the universe after the day is done, and from here I got the notion that there are folks that do that in a practical, non-celestial way... The truck drivers, shelf stackers, train engineers, office cleaners, etc... so this is for them.

 

Knocked together in Cubase Elephants, Jake 5 and Strat through the Helix, Everything else is from the bundled VSTs.

 

 

[Nail Soup]

Inspiration

Initially tried to do some thing free-form and moony sounding, but scrapped it and wrote something song-based on the acoustic with moon based lyrics. But even that ended up sounding completely different when transferred to electric guitar etc.

 

 

Tech: all the usual: Daw: Studio One , Drums: Red Zep programmed via piano roll, Bass: Vantage, Guitar: Squier Tele, Vox :Shure SM58

 

 

[Nicko]

Here it is.  Not quite as I expected.

 

We've all been there.  A night out, moon shining, date looking great, and you spoil the romance by doing exactly the wrong thing.  I don't know how you'd describe the genre - maybe indie pop.  Unusually for me this is a proper song, with a verse, chorus and middle eight, although it's pretty simple musically.

 

Recorded in Cubase, Fender Telecaster and Fender Precision via Amplitube.  Drums are MT Power drum loops with a little additional programming.  Vox are, unfortunately by me.

[upside downer]

Here's my entry for November. It's a slow, mellowish instrumental with lots of chiming guitar to try and get that twinkly, night sky, relaxing feeling while everyone else is doing the heavy lifting to put things in order.

 

A Looperman sample for drums, Epiphone guitar with lots of echo effects, home-made cigar box guitar, violin bass and a tiny smidge of keys. Recorded using NCH Wavepad and Audacity.

 

 

 

[Doctor J]

I left this uncomfortably late to finish, but here we go.

 

The technical stuff. The usual, Yamaha kit, Thomann mics, Behringer preamp. I picked up a Stingray a couple of weeks ago and wanted to use it for something. It is strung with flats and that lead me in a disco-ish direction. Guitars were the Tokai 335 and a Bacchus Duke P90. Bass and guitars into an Avid Eleven and everything got mushed together in Protools. My good lady is Italian and takes great entertainment in my poor Ronnie Drew impression so I wheeled it out again.

 

The song: I kept looking at the picture... van... moon... van ... moon... and then it came to me... Mooned Ants! The next level of pest control using lunar gravity to discombobulate pesky ant infestations. Call Morrisson's today!

 

 

[skankdelvar]

 

Levon Helm and Garth Hudson are living in my head.

Lyrics ↓
 

Spoiler

Devil’s Moon

Bad feeling on the street tonight.  There’s something in the air.
Ground Zero: two guys get into a bar-room fight and all the trouble spreads out from there
 

Weatherman says it’s just a lunar eclipse. Heh, I know that ain't true.
Only one thing turns the night sky blood red and that's a devil moon
 

It's a devil's moon - It's a devil's moon
Devil's coming and he's coming real soon
It's a devil's moon
 

Everybody trying to get out of town- there ain't nowhere to go
Every street’s been locked down tight- All of the bridges are closed
Troopers manning road blocks out on the interstate
All the off-duty cops are on call
Bodies pilin' up at the City Morgue. They say the Chief’s lost all control
 

It's a devil's moon - It's a devil's moon
Devil's coming and he's coming real soon
It's a devil's moon

Free fire zone down at the Savings and Loan.  Rich kids riot at the mall
Pipe Bomb gone off outside a precinct house. A mob stormed City Hall

There’s a mile long train of gasoline tank cars been hi-jacked at the rail yard
Mayor puts in a call to the State Governor says:
‘Bob, you gotta send in the National Guard’
 

It's a devil's moon - It's a devil's moon
Devil's coming and he's coming real soon
It's a devil's moon

 

Edited November 24, 2021 by skankdelvar
Corrected lyrics

[Nicko]

14 hours ago, Doctor J said:

I left this uncomfortably late to finish, but here we go.

It was worth waiting for!

[lurksalot]

......aaand off we go