Editing sessions

This page lists the editing sessions carried out on VPO tracks, up to the end of That's odd. It does not explain how to edit synthesised music. 

These are sessions re-editing and re-orchestrating previously recorded work (latest first). This may be anything from minor alterations to the vocal track to adding more instruments. Re-recording sessions will be listed under recording sessions and may also include editing/orchestration. After That's odd, records of editing sessions were still kept, but only as part of the masters themselves. The dates on which edits were done were included in the project pages listing the tracks.

13/2/12 - Time passing backwards. Minor vocal edits to synchronise main and backing vocals better. Catholic shame. Minor vocal edits to soften some consonant sounds. Killing time. Very fiddly vocal edit which involved matching two cut vocal takes exactly together - sort of a digital equivalent of a tape splice. Intimations of mortality. Minor vocal edit to soften a consonant sound near the beginning. Ghosts. Minor vocal edits to synchronise main and backing vocals better. Slight alteration to cello part before the last verse to make it flow more smoothly. Say goodbye. I was supposed to be looking for a vocal glitch in this one. I didn't find it, although I did fix a different glitch that I hadn't noticed. Baldalay. Altered the mix to make the backing vocal louded. Softened one consonant sound in the main vocal. Angel. Shortened the end slightly. And that's the end of round four of edits. (There was a further bout of frantic editing that same day as I remember it, that I described at the time as round five, and a handful more tweaks between bouncing the MP3s and burning the disks.)
12/2/12 - Lifetime. Vocal edits. Yes, this is the beginning of round four.
11/2/12 - Say goodbye.  Vocal edit. The sailor. Minor vocal edit. Farewell. Minor vocal edit. Death. Minor remixing and effects changes. This was the end of round three of editing.
10/2/12 - Climate changes. Some remixing. Minor vocal edit. Catholic shame. Mix alterations. Ghosts. Some string and piano edits towards the end.
7/2/12 - Memories are gold. Minor vocal edit. Time passing backwards. Vocal edits. Some remixing.
6/2/12 - Life. Mix changes. Some percussion changes. Lifetime. Vocal edits.
4/2/12 - Death. Alterations to the outro.
2/2/12 - Baldalay. Minor vocal edit near the end. Angel. Reduced stereo out level 2dB, though not sure if that will be effective, might have to do it on the master instead.
31/1/12 - Say goodbye. Flex edit in one small section of vocal near the end.
30/1/12 - Ghosts. Vocal edits.
28/1/12 - Ghosts. Vocal edits/effects changes.
26/1/12 - Intimations of mortality. Backing vocal effects changes. Some remixing.
25/1/12 - Catholic shame. Vocal effects and mix changes. Time out. Remixed slightly. Killing time. Some changes to the whistle at the end.
24/1/12 - I guess I changed (my mind). Vocal effects and mix changes.
23/1/12 - The hell of it. Alterations to a guitar part near the end. Follow the crowd. Vocal effects and mix changes. Time passing backwards. Vocal effects and mix changes.
21/1/12 - Sin at speed. Vocal effects changes. Vocal remixing. The hell of it. Almost removed some backing I wasn't happy with it and replaced it with another vocals track with effects.
20/1/12 - Lifetime. Vocal effects changes. Vocal remixing.
19/1/12 - Now. Vocal effects changes. Some remixing.
16/1/12 - Climate changes. Altered ends of the first two verses which weren't resolving properly. Altered drum EQ, compression and mix. Corrected what seem to have been inadvertent changes to the choir part.
15/1/12 - Life. Edits arising from first niggle list, in particular speeding up the opening and remixing to avoid the trumpets overwhelming the rest of it.
5/1/12 - Time out. Effects changes and a surprisingly long struggle remixing it.
4/1/12 - Death. Added final section by mangling the earlier section.
3/1/12 - Follow the crowd. Alterations to the last section to make parts of it more consistent.
1/1/12 - Life. Some orchestration alterations to remove jarring notes.
31/12/11 - Steam. Added volume automation for strings. Changed piano effects.  Remixed slightly.
30/12/11 - Now. Added distortion to guitars and mandolin. Changed vocal effects. Remixed.
19/12/11 - Baldalay. Two hours of vocal edits to alter the vocal rhythm in the middle 8 without re-recording it. This was a lot of fiddling but I believe I have pulled it off.
11/12/11 - Lifetime. Minor remixing. Farewell. Vocal edits. Minor remixing.
10/12/11 - Lifetime. Extensive vocal edits.
8/12/11 - Time passing backwards. Vocal edits and effects changes. Minor remixing.
4/12/11 - Ghosts. Added choir. Still not quite sure of that change. I might not have the mix right yet, but it definitely lacked something without it.
29/11/11 - Ghosts. Some subtle remixing and effects changes.
28/11/11 - Ghosts. Extensive vocal edits.
26/11/11 - Killing time. Vocal edits. Replaced clavichord with harpsichord.
22/11/11 - Angel. Changed lead instrument from guitar to choir and changed effects.
20/11/11 - Intimations of mortality. Very minor vocal edits. A fair amount of remixing. Say goodbye. Very minor vocal edits. Minor remixing.
19/11/11 - Climate changes. Further struggle with the vocal after hearing problems with it when playing it from the MP4 player in the car. The sailor. Changed noise reduction setting on vocals after hearing what sounded like microphone hiss.
17/11/11 - I guess I changed (my mind). Minor vocal edits.
14/11/11 - The sailor. Effects changes. Added viola.
7-8/11/11 - The sailor. Extensive and I might add very tedious and time consuming vocal edits.
7/11/11 - Sin at speed. Minor vocal edits. Effects changes. Mix changes.
6/11/11 - Catholic shame. Vocal edits. Effects changes. Mix changes.
5/11/11 - Old. Backing vocal edits. Minor mix changes.
4/11/11 - Old. Extensive vocal edits. Minor effects changes.
1/11/11 - Memories are gold. Some effects changes. Some mix alterations. Completed bass part.
31/10/11 - Memories are gold. Started adding bass part. Extensive vocal edits.
30/10/11 - Climate changes. Vocal edits, mix alterations, percussion changes.
26/8/11 - I guess I changed (my mind). Somewhat premature edit to avoid guitar clash with Steam.

13/3/11 - What isn't going on - effects edits at the very end of the vocal. And that should be it for Abstracts.
11/3/11- Farewell words, What isn't going on, Do you? - all vocal edits, remastered. The tune - added automation to stop long fade-out. Remastered.
7/3/11 - The tune. Alterations to the last two or three notes. Remastered. Do you? - vocal timing alterations towards the end. Remastered. Eastern mist. This sounded a bit loud, despite being normalised, so I had another go at pulling the output gain down a bit. Your own way. Removed strange squeak from the end of the guitar part. I still don't know why it was there, but I have got rid of it. That's the end of round 3 of the editing.
6/3/11 - Don't blame me - alterations to yet another guitar. Remastered. Bittersweet. Removed lots of clicks and clunks from the vocal. I'm not entirely sure how they got there, although some at least of them could have been side effects of flex editing. Remastered. The bass place. Filtered out some noise in a prerecorded drum loop. I'm not sure it should have been there, but it isn't any more. Remastered. What isn't going on. Vocal effects edits. Remastered.
5/3/11 - Idly wonder - alterations to guitar, in particular softening the front edge of the sound to make it less heavily plucked. Remastered. Farewell words. Vocal edits. This took a bit of doing but it sounds OK now. Remastered.
2(?)/3/11 - I was just thinking - alterations to guitar including amp settings. Some flute and other alterations. Remastered. That was the end of round two of editing.
1/3/11 - Your own way. Added more choir. Added clarinet part. Remastered.
28/2/11 - Do you? I went back to editing this and found lots more clunks in the vocal. After a long struggle I believe I've got this there or thereabouts. This is another where the vocal isn't going to be perfect, but hopefully it's sufficient. It's sure taken an awful lot of work.
27/2/11 - Eastern mist. Changes to effects on the choir, and slight mix alterations. The other parts weren't affected. Getting together. Drums remixed. Filled in rather odd gaps in the orchestration around a minute and a half in. Altered strings on the last note. Cedric - shutup. Changed EQ on percussion. The other parts weren't affected. Do you? After a longish struggle, removed two annoying clunks from the vocal.
26/2/11 - Get down to the doctor. More vocal edits. I don't think I can get it perfect; this is as good as it will go. Added vocal effects. Remixed. Remastered. This leaves five more tracks still to do in the second round of editing.
23/2/11 - Trying. Effects changes. Slight mix changes. Slight changes to text part. Remastered. Buzz me. This sounded too loud, and sure enough there was a compressor on the output with a +5.5 gain on it. Altered some of the trumpet part as it didn't sound right on the on-beat; also took it down in the mix. Remastered. Get down to the doctor. Remixed. Changed vocal effects.
22/2/11 - The bass place. I thought this was a bit loud, and sure enough there was a compressor on the output with +3 gain on it (tut). Set it to bypass, increased individual track gains until the overall level looked about right, remastered. What isn't going on. Vocal edits/effects changes. Remixed. Remastered. The tune. Slight vocal edit. Remixed. Remastered. Do you? vocal edits and EQ changes. Remastered.
21/2/11 - The colour red. Amended strings at the end. Changed some effects. Remastered.
20/2/11 - Farewell words. What you might call manual de-essing. Slight adjustments to compressor settings, mix and EQ. It does sound better though possibly still a bit essey. Remastered. Don't blame me. Slight vocal edits. Remixed. Remastered. Bittersweet. In the end fairly extensive vocal edits, also remixed. The colour red. Added to trumpet and string parts. Slight alterations to mix. In case you're wondering, this sudden surge of activity is on account of just having been notified that the UK Songwriting Contest will be open for entries on 1 March.
19/211 - Just noodling. Remixed some more to pick out different elements of it. Remastered. Synthetic lines. Retimed drum parts as although they were apparently set correctly they sounded a tiny fraction slow. Remastered.
18/2/11 - Just noodling. Remixed to pick out melody more clearly.
15/2/11 - Idly wonder. Added to piano part. Modified guitar part. Remixed. Remastered.
13/2/11 - Idly wonder. Starting on niggle list.
9/2/11 - I was just thinking. Some effects changes. Some remixing. Removed irritating inconsistency in piano part in the middle. Remastered. This completes the first round of editing.
8/2/11 - Your own way. Added choir. Remixed. Long struggle with vocal finally got all the clicks out and I believe it's now OK. Remastered.
7/2/11 - Cedric... shutup. Some effects changes. This has had problems due to everything being so, erm, loud. After some wrestling it all seems to squash in at the moment, albeit with the main output turned down a long way. [Later remastered.]
5/2/11 - Getting together. Changed one instrument part. Changed a lot of effects including introducing a lot of distortion.
2/2/11 - Eastern mist. Some effects edits. Remastered.
30/1/11 - Get down (to the doctor). Another long, horrid struggle with the vocal. This is now much, much closer, although there is still a part of it that doesn't quite sound right. Remastered.
29/1/11 - Get down (to the doctor). Horrid struggle with the vocal for reasons that I don't really understand. Parts of the vocal kept being missed for some peculiar reason, possibly delays accessing files(?). I hope I'm closer though the timing still sounds a little off in places and it might need a flex edit.
27/1/11 - Buzz me. Strings. Remastered.
23/1/11 - Buzz me. Expanded trumpet part.
18/1/11 - Trying. Guitar effects. Remixed. Remastered.
17/1/11 - Trying. Added guitar part.
15/1/11 - Trying. Completed drum part. This will still need something else. Not sure what yet.
13/1/11 - Trying - this is a key one as it didn't sound right when I did it to start with and I even considered dropping it. Started adding a drum part.
12/1/11 - Do you? - minor vocal edit, remix, remastered.
9/1/11 - Do you? - more vocal edits, especially timing. Some effects changes. Could still do with a remix.
6/1/11 - Do you? - vocal edits. This is involving redoing the vocal completely (although not re-recording). I'm not sure quite why there are so many vocal issues with this one, but it will take a while to sort it all out. I have a new vocal track but it now needs timing edits. It might possibly need flex edits. This will take a while.
3/1/11 - Sweeping up. Effects amendments, added a little delay to the lead synth. Remastered.
2/1/11 - What isn't going on. I spent some time making alterations to the vocal. I also did a lot of remixing which was very tricky. Remastered. The tune. Vocal edits. effects. Piano effects. Some remixing. I remastered it, but I had an uncomfortable feeling that it still wasn't quite right, ironically where it says that even this bit here isn't very pleasing to the ear and so forth. Later I had another go at this using flex editing, and remastered it again. I think it's better, but I'm still not sure if it's right.
31/12/10 - The bass place. Extended bass part, spent quite a long time working on it. Altered effects slightly. Remixed. Remastered.
28/12/10 - The colour red. Long struggle mixing this. Added a bass. Also added an overall reverb setting, which I don't normally do. Remastered.
23/12/10 - Bittersweet. Vocal effects, some other effects. Remastered.
22/12/10 - Don't blame me. Vocal effects, some vocal edits, some remixing. Remastered.
19/12/10 - Synthetic lines. Worked on effects. Remixed slightly. Remastered. Farewell words. Vocal edits. This one is now sounding done.
18/12/10 - Just noodling. Completed fourth guitar. Remixed a little. Remastered.
14/12/10 - Just noodling. Added drums. Started adding fourth guitar. Spent a long time on effects on both.
13/12/10 - Just noodling. Added 2nd guitar.
12/12/10 - Asia - I wasn't sure what to do with this, but I thought of something. I added a santoor, apparently some kind of exotic string thing, not that it matters much. I spent quite a long time playing around with effects until I finally hit on a distortion effect which together with a long reverb was perfect. Then spent quite a long time more orchestrating that right through. I tinkered with the flute effects for a while including adding a mild echo. Remastered.
7/12/10 - Idly wonder - Completed trumpet part. Added guitar part with tape echo. Amended balance settings. This is now sounding much better.
6/12/10 - Idly wonder - spent a long time finding the right sort of trumpet sound, then started adding a trumpet part. This is starting to sound better.
16/11/10 - Idly wonder - modified some of the piano by making the notes longer. Enhanced piano reverb. Added an experimental forest though may take it out again. Haven't remastered.
15/11/10 - Do you? - somewhat early as I haven't really started editing on this CD yet, but I just felt it wasn't right. Pulled the vocal out into its own track, did some traditional editing and a bit of flex editing. Changed the loop key from A to C and changed some of the loops. Sounded much better, remastered. Eastern mist - again, I knew it wasn't right. Pulled the choir forward slightly to bring it into step with the rest of it. Simplified the percussion line. Definitely sounded better. Remastered.

27/2/10 - one final determined effort - Peaceful surf and people and Small waves faint people. Still wasn't happy with the latter as it sounded too shrieky. Changed the sitar for something more tonal (an oboe) and changed the EQ. Removed three odd notes from the former. I also seem to recall changing one bar on something though I can't now remember what. And that was it for Beach sounds, all done... that as they say is a wrap.
26/2/10 - almost all the tracks on Beach sounds that have orchestration on them. I didn't touch Waves splashing steadily as that's one of the best ones on the thing and it would be sacrilege to monkey with it. I spent a long time on Small waves faint people working on the effects.
25/2/10 - Peaceful surf & people. Modified effects. Remastered. I spent quite a long time on this. I was trying to improve the sound quality. People Seagulls and Waves motor boats. Altered mix slightly, remastered, again trying to improve the sound quality.
24/2/10 - Waves motor boats. Changed piccolo to glass. Changed mix slightly. Remastered. [The gap from the previous session was due to work learning Logic Express on the Mac.]
7/2/10 - Waves motor boats. Added piccolo. Remastered.
6/2/10 - Small waves faint people. Completed. Remastered.
4/2/10 - Small waves faint people. Still adding sitar. Altered effects.
30/1/10 - Small waves faint people. This is the only one that didn't sound right on the initial version. Adding sitar. May also have to add strings, not sure. Initially it sounded too jerky.
20/1/10 - People seagulls. Completed piano part, then changed it to a guitar and changed effects. Remastered.
17/1/10 - People seagulls. Adding piano part. May not stay a piano.

24/9/09 - Reasonable. Effects changes. Remixed, remastered, reuploaded.
21/9/09 - A little chat. Minor vocal edits. Remastered, reuploaded. Fort William. Remastered and reuploaded due to an error the day before. That should be it, the music now appears to be complete.
20/9/09 - A little chat. I didn't like the guitar sound drifting around on the wind, there was too much getting lost, so I changed it to a polysynth and toned down the phaser. Remixed, remastered, reuploaded. Saltcoats in my mind. This didn't sound as if it was gelling well enough. Changed reverb settings on guitar. Remixed. Remastered. Reuploaded.
18/9/09 - Fort William. Added flute. [Remastered and re-uploaded 20/9/09.]
17/9/09 - A little chat. Added sitar. Remixed, remastered, reuploaded.
16/9/09 - A little chat. Effects (largely redone), vocal edits including manual pitch correction (which is the first time I've done that). Unfortunately for technical reasons most of the original effects were lost when some plugins were rescanned and I had to redo them. It now sounds very different, probably better actually.
14/9/09 - Rocking chair blues. Changed guitar to a banjo, altered effects, added strings, remastered, reuploaded.
13/9/09 - Rocking chair blues. Added muted guitar part with very reverby effect, although that reverb plugin turned out to be faulty and had to be deactivated. Altered parts of the vocal guide, although I haven't re-recorded it. This was due to queasy doubts about whether it was too close to Rocking chair in Hawaii by George Harrison.
10/9/09 - Rocking chair blues. Remastered to remove beep on previous version. Reuploaded.
9/9/09 - Rocking chair blues. Cleaned up original vocal recording, then reimported and re-edited it. Pitch correction using VisualVox. Remastered, will be reuploaded.
7/9/09 - Gasworks Terrace. Added guitar. Effects. Remastered. Reuploaded.
6/9/09 - One more drink. Vocal edits. Added sitar. Effects. Remastered. Reuploaded.
25/8/09 - Reasonable. Guitar part completed. Some of the effects may be a bit over the top. Remastered, reuploaded.
24/8/09 - Reasonable. Strings effects. Started adding guitar part.
23/8/09 - Some other rainbow. Backing vocal edits. Remastered. Reuploaded.
21-22/8/09 - Some other rainbow. Added fantasia part. Backing vocal edits. Remastered.
19/8/09 - Gatwick airport. Adding string part. [Later completed and uploaded.]
17/8/09 - The shoes blues. Altered organ effects. Remastered. Reuploaded.
16/8/09 - The shoes blues. Added church organ in verses 3 and 4.
13/8/09 - The easy to assemble furniture flat pack blues. Minor vocal edits and effects changes, remastered, will be reuploaded.
12/8/09 - The easy to assemble furniture flat pack blues. Completed string part, it now sounds complete.
10/8/09 - The easy to assemble furniture flat pack blues. Vocal effects including Visual Vox vocal pitch correction. Vocal edits. Started adding strings part.
9/8/09 - Noddledirk (oh yeah wow far out). Trumpets changed to guitar. Effects altered again. Remixed. Remastered. Reuploaded. Later edited effects again as guitar didn't sound right. (Reuploaded 10/8/09.)
8/8/09 - Noddledirk (oh yeah wow far out). Effects altered. Remixed.
7/8/09 - A guide to the city. Special effects altered. Remixed. Remastered. Reuploaded.
6/8/09 - A guide to the city. Vocal edits including Visual Vox pitch correction. Slight remixing.
4/8/09 - Cool clear water. Completed music box part (while I was waiting for the gas man actually). Altered effects. Remixed slightly. Remastered. Reuploaded.
3/8/09 - Cool clear water. Altered piano effects. Started adding music box part.
1/8/09 - Saltcoats in my mind. Completed guitar part. Uploaded. One note may need altering.
31/7/09 - Saltcoats in my mind. Still working on guitar part. Altered mix slightly.
30/7/09 - Saltcoats in my mind. Adding guitar part (unfinished).
24/7/09 - A little chat. Effects alterations. Remixed. Remastered. Will be reuploaded.
15/7/09 - A little chat. VisualVox pitch correction on vocal. Bass effects. Remix.
13/7/09 - Fine. Minor vocal edits. Guitar edits. [Later remastered and re-uploaded, 14/7/09.]
12/7/09 - Fine. Vocal edits. I still wasn't happy with the re-recorded vocal so I'm trying mixing and matching from two different vocals.
11/7/09 - The theme theme. Changed effects on vocal and percussion. Remixed. Remastered, will be reuploaded. Arctic wind. Yet more work on envelopes. Remastered, will be reuploaded.
9/7/09 - Arctic wind. More work on envelopes. Long fight to get rid of a click. Remastered, will be reuploaded.
7/7/09 - Arctic wind. Added new choir part and more envelopes. Remastered, reuploaded.
5/7/09 - Arctic wind.  Added volume envelopes. Remixed slightly.

24/11/08 - Creation. Vocal & effects edits, mainly in the first 11 seconds. Reuploaded.
23/11/08 - JFDI. Vocal edits. Some trumpet edits. Reuploaded. Too late. Vocal edits, vocal effects. Reuploaded. Going. Vocal edits. Reuploaded. God (did you do it right). Vocal edits.
26/10/08 - JFDI. Short session editing vocal.
20/10/08 - Think of something else. Extensive though minor vocal edits. [uploaded the following day]
18/10/08 - You thought, I thought. Vocal edits. Reuploaded. Table polishing for dogs. Minor vocal edits, reuploaded.
16/10/08 - Tragic. Vocal edits, reuploaded.
15/10/08 - Tragic. Vocal edits, remix, reuploaded.
14/10/08 - Tragic. Guitar and piano edits, some vocal edits, minor mix alteration.
13/10/08 - I wish. Extensive vocal edits. Reuploaded.
12/10/08 - Only me. Minor remix. File converted with Shuang. Reuploaded. Toleration. Vocal edits. Reuploaded.
11/10/08 - Only me. Vocal 2 pitch correction, long struggle with file conversion.
10/10/08 - Only me. Vocal edits, vocal 1 pitch correction (VisualVox).
9/10/08 - Cough up. Yang Qin edits. Slight vocal edit. Reuploaded. Only me. Vocal edits.
6/10/08 - Basic basic. Vocal effects and edits. Remixed. Reuploaded.
5/10/08 - Creation. Vocal edits. Reuploaded.
3/10/08 - God (did you do it right). Vocal effects including VoiceTweaker. Reuploaded.
2/10/08 - The end of creation. Special effects. Remixed. Some piano alterations. Reuploaded.
23/9/08 - God (did you do it right). VisualVox pitch correction.
22/9/08 - Going. VisualVox pitch correction. Vocal effects alterations. Remixed. Reuploaded.
21/9/08 - Too late. Added trumpet. Changed vocal effects. Reuploaded.
18/9/08 - Me and you. VisualVox pitch correction. Effects changes. Remixed, remastered, reuploaded.
17/9/08 - JFDI. Vocal edits including pitch correction (VisualVox). Remixed, remastered, reuploaded.
15/9/08 - Table polishing for dogs. Another long struggle with the vocals. Remixed, remastered, reuploaded.
14/9/08 - Table polishing for dogs. Further wrestling with vocals.
11/9/08 - Table polishing for dogs. Vocal edits including vocal pitch correction (VisualVox).
8/9/08 - Think of something else. Literally hours of work on this especially percussion and the troublesome outro.
7/9/08 - Think of something else. Added trombone. Remixed, re-uploaded. Outro still needs fixing.
6/9/08 - Tragic. Altered effects, slight alterations to orchestration, remixed, re-uploaded. Think of something else. Vocal pitch correction (VisualVox). Percussion alterations. Re-mastered and uploaded.
31/8/08 - You thought, I thought. Corrected vocal pitch with VisualVox. Piano replaced with Ice Rain, pizzicato strings added. Re-mastered & re-uploaded. Creation. Vocal pitches corrected with VisualVox, vocal effects changed, re-mastered, re-uploaded. Tragic. Vocal edits including VisualVox.
19/8/08 - Toleration. Added sitar. Removed bass drum from percussion track. Further vocal edits. Re-uploaded.
18/8/08 - Toleration. Vocal edits, re-uploaded. Still not entirely happy.
17/8/08 - Only me. Changed bass guitar to accoustic bass. Altered trumpet and clarinet. Remixed and re-uploaded. I wish. Vocal edits. Re-uploaded.
15/8/08 - Only me. Added bass guitar. Re-uploaded. Still not entirely convinced it sounds right.
14/8/08 - Cough up. Added Yin Qang which got a lot easier when I realised I was writing a bassline. Re-uploaded.
13/8/08 - Cough up. Vocal edits.
12/8/08 - Basic BASIC. Vocal edits. Re-uploaded.
11/8/08 - Organic Jack. Added harpsichord part, and yes that is flavour of the month at the moment. Vocal edits. Re-uploaded.
10/8/08 - Creation. Harpsichord part completed. Removed effects from Harpsichord. Remixed, remastered, re-uploaded.
9/8/08 - Creation. Vocal edits. Started harpsichord part.

15/12/07 - Fifteen hundred quid. Minor mix alteration due to a glitch (at about 1 minute 29 seconds) spotted by Oona while reviewing the provisional version of the CD..
22/11/07 - Goodbye tomorrow. Vocal edits. Mainly this was one phrase that had a hissing in the background due to the microphone having recorded the sound of the laptop cooling fan. I got round this by using Audacity to strip the noise out of the recording. The provisional version of Mustn't grumble was burned immediately after this session.
20/11/07 - Goodbye tomorrow. Vocal edits & remix.
18/11/07 - My absent mind. Remix.
17/11/07 - Doom is nigh. Another hour or so remixing this as version two after deciding I wasn't happy with the bass in the previous version. Now sounding better. Let's all have a party. Minor vocal edits, minor remixing.
12/11/07 - Doom is nigh. Long struggle with this. Some vocal edits. A lot of remixing. After something approaching two hours I had a version of it I was happy with, although I had to compress the vocal hugely to avoid the output tripping out.
11/11/07 - Footsteps in the hall. I'll just take the echo off in the outro, I thought. Just take a minute. Ha ha ha. Noticed various minor glitches in the vocal track doing it, and a long round of vocal edits followed. Had to be compressed using Cakewalk compressor as Classic Compressor caused clicks (which it sometimes does when applied to an audio track as opposed to being added as an effect).
8/11/07 - Cheerful news/We've got lots of money/Fifteen hundred quid - minor orchestration and vocal edits. Not a sales call - still not happy as frequency range was unbalanced. Added second bassline. Boosted bass frequencies on two instrument tracks. Remixed. Then it sounded right.
7/11/07 - (I hate) that bloody tree. Minor remix, minor vocal edits.
4/11/07 - Not a sales call. Very minor vocal edits. Added percussion. Modified bassline and trumpet. Minor remixing. Sounds much better. Now and Zen - remix/remaster with quieter backing. Doom is nigh. Another determined attempt to get the bassline louder and bring the whole backing up as it was sounding too quiet. I may now have gone too far the other way. We'll talk to you - belated completion of adding sound effects. One of them may now be too loud.
1/11/07 - Not a sales call. Longish go at this as the bassline sounded like a washing machine. Minor vocal edits. Now sounds better though could probably stand some percussion.
23/10/07 - Footsteps in the hall. Yet more remixing, followed by re-recording (that is, remastering). Finally it sounds right.
21/10/07 - Footsteps in the hall. Yet another go at this. Oona liked the first version, but after a time I felt it sounded dull. I therefore tried making it more elabourate by adding more instruments and effects, but when I heard it like that, I felt I'd overdone it. There were too many echoes bouncing around, it just sounded a confused din. So it was back to the drawing board. I took the echoes off again but left other effects on, rewrote part of it, and then remixed. [Not yet re-recorded.]
20/10/07 - Doom is nigh. Did some vocal edits, though it really needs a vocal re-record [which I intend doing tomorrow]. Some work on effects as a result of which it will now need a remix.
18/10/07 - Now and Zen - more vocal edits. We've got lots of money (and you haven't) - remixing and vocal edits.
16/10/07 - remixing and vocal edits on early tracks. This includes compensating for wobbles in my voice with clip gain envelopes with the opposite shape to make them sound as if my voice was more even than it really was. Reverb settings altered for bell chimes in Cheerful news. Started remixing We've got lots of money (and you haven't).
15/10/07 - Now and Zen/(I hate) that bloody tree. Remixing as vocal was too quiet on test disk. Vocal edits on (I hate) that bloody tree.
14/10/07 - vocal edits on several early tracks
13/10/07 - My absent mind. Long go at this. It took me some time to understand the mechanics of how this had to fit together. I did a lot of work on the string chords. It's now either right or very close.
11/10/07 - Gas board lament. Altered piano effect and mixing. Minor vocal edits. My absent mind. Some effects though reluctant to change too much as I don't want to spoil it. Minor vocal edits.
9/10/07 - Gas board lament. Effects.
8/10/07 - Now and Zen/(I hate) that bloody tree/Cheerful news. Remixing to fix over-loud backing following effects changes. Yet more vocal editing on (I hate) that bloody tree.
7/10/07 - (I hate) that bloody tree. Mainly further editing to vocal which I wasn't happy with. This song has now caused almost as much trouble as the tree. Small alterations to two sections of backing - the high section, which still sounds as if it needs further changes, and the guitar chords going into the last chorus, which now sound right. Be nice to spiders. Effects. 120 bricks. Effects, some vocal editing.
6/10/07 - Now and Zen. Preparatory to re-recording vocal. Altered some effects and some of vocal guide in chorus. Thought about adding an extra instrument but as left the beginnings of a harp track were muted.
4/10/07 - Footsteps in the hall. Still wasn't happy so had another noodle including lining up flute and trumpet parts better. Took volume of both down in mix. We'll talk to you. Altered trumpet part. Added effects.
1/10/07 - Footsteps in the hall. Added trumpet part. Some vocal editing. Slight nagging doubt that backing may now sound too cluttered - will have to hear it a bit to decide about this. It's certainly complex, but then it was too simplistic before.
30/9/07 - [before lunch] I hate Christmas. Added special effects and vocal compressor. Though I say it myself it now sounds amazing, completely transformed. [After lunch] Not a sales call. Spent about two and a half hours doing major excavations on this one. Put in a new instrument part, added to the organ part, moved some sections between parts, added effects, edited vocal. Sounds better. Backing may be slightly too loud. Still thinking about middle 8. [Evening] Footsteps in the hall. Added effects and more flute. Sounds better but not sure if flute is now too loud. May add another instrument later.
29/9/07 - Let's all have a party. Playing around with effects. Some vocal editing. Sounds better.
26/9/07 - Fifteen hundred quid. Short session. After some wrestling with effects and timing especially on the guitar, this one is now sounding right though haven't re-recorded from the sound card yet. [I did this later.]
25/9/07 - Fifteen hundred quid. Long go at this. It is sounding better, but still not totally convinced about the guitar and the last verse.
18/9/07 - We've got lots of money (and you haven't). Removed vocal chorus effect. Added bass and jazz guitar. Added echo effect on chorus vocal. End result much, much better.
15/9/07 - Cheerful news. Work on effects. Ready for re-recording vocal. [Note - chorus timing was still too awkward to deliver so further editing took place during the recording session 16/9/07.]
14/9/07 - Cheerful news. Short session. Now have the vocal guide so it sounds OK against the click track. Vocal will need re-recording though may edit it to fit the guide purely to have an idea how it should sound.
13/9/07 - Cheerful news. This had a lot of timing issues. Started a version 2. The timing sounds much better as far as I've got, but it will need the vocal re-recording to the new timings.
9/9/07 - Now and Zen. Alterations to backing. (I hate) that bloody tree. Significant alterations to both backing and vocal.