Kristal Tutorial Part 2

As a follow up to the original Kristal Tutorial found here http://www.homemadehitshow.com/Kristal/KristalTutorial.htm

John Bowen has created a follow up that you can find here

http://www.homemadehitshow.com/Kristal2.htm

The Giant Free Plugin Database

http://www.gersic.com/plugins/index.php?daCat=-3

Musicovery

A pretty interesting idea:

http://www.musicovery.com/index.php?ct=us

Pitch Correction Observation

On a forum I read this interesting comment.

Basically the poster is saying that in order for pitch correction to work properly you should record the original track without any compression, reverb, chorus or doubling otherwise the pitch correction software cannot correctly detect and hence correct the pitch. With reverb for example it may correct the reverb part differently than the original part.

The advice is to record dry (monitor with effects if you have that option) and then add your effects later.

Not sure if it's accurate but it's definitely interesting.

A wide range of free plugin's

Came across a very interesting site. A whole range of free plugins, including a pitch correction and reverse delay. A couple of synths also.

http://www.gvst.co.uk/index.htm

Sandy West of the Runaways Dies

Sandy West, drummer for the influential 70s band The Runaways, has died after a long battle with lung cancer. She left an indelible mark on rock music as a founding member of The Runaways, which featured fellow rockers Joan Jett, Lita Ford and Cherie Currie, and as a leading inspiration for a number of notable musicians, both male and female. Many young musicians can trace their inspiration directly to the first time they heard "Cherry Bomb." She will be remembered by more than one generation of fans as a strong part of their musical landscape. But Sandy's impact was felt far outside of the music industry as a loyal friend, loving confidante and strong defender of those she loved most. Her strength as a player, passion as a person, and dedication as a friend will be remembered always by friends, fans and fellow musicians alike.

http://therunaways.com/

Windows Vista Installation

Soundclick Paid Services: How They Work, Do They Work

If anyone wants screen shots of VIP pages and the like then let me know but they are not that exciting.

http://www.soundclick.com

$9.95 for VIP

The main things this get you

• No ads on your page
• Customizable home page for song (in addition to the standard one)
• Deep Linking (see below)
• 50% discount on paid promotions (see below)
• Larger file size uploads (MP3 above 128)
• Extra points with song plays for chart position

I signed up for VIP 10/1/06, just after the release of my latest song

My last song on 9/9 registered 110 plays in the first 5 days

This one registered around 200. At the end of 5 days my song was 122 on the main Pop chart.

On 10/6 I paid $15 for a single day as the “featured” song on the pop charts page.

That single day I got 126 song plays and moved up to #12 on the main charts. Now that I’m featured on page 1 of the main charts I start to get more residual plays. Getting 400 plays on the next 3 days.

10/10 I Did the deep linking experiment, the song auto plays and counts as a play when you access HMHS website or that thread in 2090. This gave me an extra 200 plays over the next 4 days.

Since then I’ve got about 40 plays per day which is 25 or so better than normal, probably still a residual effect and from being high in the Pop-General chart. The song got as high as #4 on the pop general chart, sank down to 20 but has bounced back to #4 yesterday, not sure why.

Net result ($15 + $9.95 per month) got me 650 plays in a couple of weeks, instead of the 200 or so I usually get. For example “Fake Love” which is my “hit” got 550 plays over a month.

FYI: Manzana and my cover of Wake Me Up When September Ends has had at least one play a day for almost 12 months and currently shows 2,800 plays.

VIP stats are not that interesting. You get almost nothing worth having in my opinion. Even the Hot/Flop votes only show up for the most recent day. All you really get is an idea of where your listeners come from web wise and location wise.

Is it worth it ? Who know, it’s fun to know that 150 people heard your song in a day and that I got 40 or so downloads but for $15 I’m not so sure. The $9.95 per month with deep linking and customizable home page is a decent value that I think might be worth it for some. (plus no ads of course)

The Impossible Jam

Elvis, Jimmy Page, Stevie Wonder, Keith Moom, Sheryl Crow ??, Noel Gallagher !!!