Good call, Mike. I found this on Mudcat Cafe:
— Begin quote from ____
In the U.S., copyrights lasted for 75 years after publication, and one year’s worth of music was added to the public domain each year - until we reached 1923. Then there was a bill passed by the U.S. Congress (Sonny Bono was involved), and that bill extended copyrights up to a possible total of 120 years - but it’s hard to tell what is what. If it was published before 1923, you’re home free.
— End quote
scratch base track is uploaded. Larry can now download it and insert some “ticks” in the beginning.
if we need a temp bass track let me know
meter = 155bpm
3/4 time
I suggested 12 beats metro before the guitar starts for a reference for the take-off to the intro.
Bass walks through entire song
there is room for 2 full breaks after each chorus.
I tried to get it at 4 minutes but ended up with only 3:57…sorry
Just gave your track a listen. I’m glad you stuck in the scratch vocals, too. I’ll download it and set up the project as soon as my wife is off my mixing computer (I’m stuck on my laptop right now).
I set up the project and uploaded a mix with the count-in beats: http://www.kompoz.com/compose-collaborate/home.track.project?trackId=210195&projectId=33855
So, ozicaveman can start working on a bass line, and we need Ron or Jesse to lay down some rhythm guitar. Since we have ample room for breaks, we could have two guitar breaks if we want. What if we did something like:
[ul]dave - intro and one break (fiddle/banjo)
ron - guitar break
jesse - guitar break
ben - mandolin break[/ul]
Then, if it turns out Ben is too busy to join in, I could fill in on mandolin.
Jesse, if you sing the tenor parts, I’ll try the baritone.
I wouldn’t want to count out the dobro on this song. Think it could fit well (even if I do think if you have three picks on you should be playing banjo 
).
I’d rather keep the fiddle to the intro and outro and banjo (if it’s even needed) to strictly back-up if we have enough other instruments to fill the breaks.
It would also be nice to split the guitars I think so each split break contains a guitar and another instrument.
— Begin quote from "fiddlewood"
It would also be nice to split the guitars I think so each split break contains a guitar and another instrument.
— End quote
That’s how I was thinking, too. I think we need to show off our participant’s skills rather than stick to a standard way of thinking about the breaks. It was really smart to make each break a double break. I’ll be interested to see how it comes together.
I think dobro would fit nicely, too, especially if you’re giving the banjo a minor role. (To me, banjo and dobro seem to occupy much of the same sonic space.) If Ben wants to do the dobro, I can pick up the mandolin.
Please do not put driving, interesting, wonderful banjos in the same paragraph with
slidey, syruppy, whiney resonator guitars… 
And pleeeeease keep them out of my sonic space… 
Cool!
Been out, was back in Ohio visiting last week and am behind on “things”, however I will listen to the track today and get an idea of what all is going on. Split breaks are cool (glad I thought of it ) as our last break in Rider when we divided that up it sounded like bluegrass in a sense that we were each taking our turn in front of one mic. With the way our recordings come out (more of a live sound vs. studio) then split breaks are cool, plus split breaks give enough time to actually highlight a solo/break and create a musical idea.
I am going to give the rhythm guitar section a recording attempt and listen to it. The Taylor should sound good being recorded so I will try that, if she doesn’t sound good then maybe someone else can do their rhythm with their guitar (Ron) as if the Taylor does not work then I really have no guitars with my current mic that convey a good recorded sound.
Oldhat
Also wanted to mention that I am not much of a singer out of “F” so I may fight that a bit…especially tenor!
— Begin quote from "fiddlewood"
Please do not put driving, interesting, wonderful banjos in the same paragraph with slidey, syruppy, whiney resonator guitars…
— End quote
Wait! There’s a group of pickers that banjo players look down on? I’m gonna stop admitting to owning a dobro.
Jesse, why are you down to just the Taylor? And, I’m not trying to force the tenor part on you, but you did a good job with it last time.
Larry,
I am not down to just the Taylor, just thinking about recording it. I am sure I can make the others sound good but may take some work on my set-up. Any advice on how you guys have your set-up to get the sound you get? I mean are you in a big open airy room, in a closet, have blankets on the wall, have spittle running out of your mouth or what…are you recording wit the mic 4" from the guitar or 4 ft? I know I have a good mic however I am not getting that clean sound like you guys get…so help me out with a few ideas. When I record I get a “muddled” sound.
I took the day off so I have been playing the song/rhythm some and humming/singing to it, I think with some practice I can sing the tenor or at least some part.
Did we ever decide on the lead singer? Is it Dave? Or does someone else want to step in?
Oldhat
Hey Jesse,
To me, the big deal on recording sound is the mic placement. The room and environment are factors, but they are moot if you don’t get a good sound to the mic. I generally record at the twelfth fret and at the lower bout. The distance can be right up on the fret board to about 1 foot away (6 in. is probably normal), at the lower bout I position it a bit vertically lower and below the bridge. That one seems to work a bit better further away. I probably average about 10 inches. You do have to be careful to not pick up the sound hole, or it gets a bit “woofy.” I made up that word, but I think it describes the sound. Another factor is how the mic is pointing (at least with most mics). If it is perpendicular to the guitar, it gives a totally different sound than when placed at a significant angle.
I record in my living room : 14x18 x 9.5 acoustic tile ceiling, wood floor w/rug over most of middle, walls are textured (and a real ball to keep clean), normal furniture. This room soaks up a lot of sound and gives me a pretty dry track. If I take the rug out it is the best live picking room I’ve yet to ever play in - all the instruments can be heard easily and nothing gets drowned out.
guitar is about 1’ to 2’ from the internal mics, set at high (I use two mics and two channels) on my Tascam mini 8-track. Banjo usually gets one internal mic set at med at 2-3 feet. for Bass I use a Pro-35 clipped on to the f-hole and run straight into the track.
I try to get my signal just short of clipping (although sometimes it does).
most tracks I’ll just upload straight into Kompoz but the guitar I will record a master and then upload.
I guess I am doing the lead vocals as there have been no takers so far…
Thanks Mike! I will give different set-ups a try as I was recording before with the mic maybe 18"-2ft away and really perpendicular to the sound hole…as in if I moved my guitar towards the mic 2 ft the mic would go in the sound hole. Sounds like I am gonna have to crowd it a bit like I would have in the days of old on some of the singing mics. I believe your “woofy” sound is probably the same as my described “muddled” sound.
In other news, I have built some lines of a break over this song, you guys care if I “step on the throttle” and bring it up or would you like to keep that somber-some sound?
I should have said it before, but your results may vary The sound hole effect seems to be pretty universal though. Play around and see what works for you. In general, moving closer to the mic reduces the effect of the room. If you have a good sounding room, then being farther back can give a real good sound. My normal recording room is pretty dead, plus I have a quiet PC running, so that meant me getting up close and personal with the mics to minimize ambient noises.
Interesting info on mic placement. I only have a single input, so I can’t stereo mic, but I have been placing my mic pretty close to the sound hole (just beneath it). I think I’ll experiment with moving it up the neck a bit.
I don’t think our song will be so somber sounding once we get some instrumentation added. I think this song probably requires more attention to the melody than Rider did, but I got nothing against a bunch of eighth notes.
Sounds to me like you are both describing what I would cal “wolf notes”
this would be a great song to cross-pick a break on I think.
If using a single mic I normally place it at about the 15th fret and turned slightly toward the sound hole about 5-6 inches from the neck. I’ve also used 90 degrees to the sound hole so I am playing past the front of the mic and not into it (this is how I record most singing).
This song should not be somber…it should have a nice bounce to it sort of like a two-step but not quite as much I think. this would come mostly from the dynamics pushing the “one” and possibly some syncopation of emphasis, not necessarily from using wild licks in the attempt to give it more energy …just my opinion…
Yeah I’m not planning on playing a ton of 1/8 notes but more instead using some hammer-ons and slides to emphasize the melody/add in some syncopation…got my brain stuck now, for some reason a break that sounds like “Blue Eyes Cryin’ In the Rain” is coming out but a bit “grassed up”. Got Tony Rice and Clarence White in mind for this break, both love little chromatic runs down and like sliding triads.
And my fingers are sore…Larry I did lose the callouses on my fingers in not really playing for about 2 weeks… so they are on fire!
UPDATED LINK FOR THOSE FOLLOWING OR WANTING TO CONTRIBUTE - Is link to scratch rhythm:
http://www.kompoz.com/compose-collaborate/home.track.project?trackId=210195&projectId=33855
Ok I added a guitar “idea” to the files. This is just an “idea” and I did nto play it against the track but instead played it “in my head”. I figured I’d post it up in order for you guys to get a feel of where I was going on my break. It is rough but I really tried to follow the melody. I will re-work it over the track at some point but figured it might help you guys with your ideas of a break. If you guys don’t like where I have went with it then let me know and I will start all over, but if not objections then this will be my foundation for my break. Oh, it was recorded with the Taylor and she’s buzzing a bit when I capo 3…need a good capo! I will record the actual track once refined with a martin.
Here my first attempt on a break:
http://www.kompoz.com/compose-collaborate/home.track.project?trackId=210431&projectId=33855
I messaged ron and ozi to let them know we’ve got the ball rolling. Hopefully, they’ll jump in soon.
Jesse, I’m with you on the sore fingers. Mando tears up my fingers for some reason, even when I’ve got good callouses.
I mean my fingers are sore as hell…border line nerve damage…goes to show that a person can’t take 10 days or so off and just jump right back into it…I mean they hurt even when I type!
I re-done the break a bit /same idea but cleaned up. I would record it against the track but for some reason I am having technical difficulties with my headphones…I expect it was one of the kids as these headphones can be used on the Playstation 3 as wireless headphones and I am sure they snuck’ and got them so they could play late at night in order to be quiet so me or momma wouldn’t hear um’…hate to think I am gonna need to shell out another $125.00 for headphones! 
Well, the motherboard on my music computer gave out this morning and I had to order a replacement. That means I can’t do any mixing until it arrives, so take your time getting your tracks together, guys. ETA on the replacement is Monday (plus, add another day for me to get everything running properly).