Really, a lot. Not long after I cooked up a new version of mixing and mastering, I purchased the newest version of Melodyne. It is really great to be back on Melodyne. It is such a powerful tool for perfecting vocals. Recently I discovered that the timing macro works really well on rap vocals also. It's a great way to get the words to line up right on the beat, and now it's faster.
I have new songs, quite a few of them actually. They have been slow cooking. Getting just right. Some growth, so I just bought Amplitube 5 Max for the guitars. Already have GTR3, sounds decent. But, I always got the classic sounds from Amplitube, so it's back on the menu with more than before. Really love this Mesa Boogie amp I found. I had a classic Fender amp going too for a bit, looking for a smooth clean tone. It has a nice chime and harmonic sustain, but I find this Mesa Boogie amp fills out the mix more. It's my new favorite.
I have been practicing vocals — a lot. It's been a secret mission like I did with the piano. Part of that practice has been on the mic gettin' that delivery right. In that process I decided to bring my Rode NTK tube mic back out. It has a boomy bass and a smooth high range that I really enjoy. It sounds amazing on the new vocal FX in the new mix and master. It's old too, as old as the studio itself. It's one of the original pieces of equipment! Yes, it was in my apartment in the college days, where it all began in 2007. You already know I'm going to be making effective use of Melodyne on my vocals. I really am practicing so they sound that way in reality, but Melodyne makes the recording process better. No doubt.
I had the sense that I needed to have realistic strings, so I bought the EastWest Hollywood Scoring Essentials Bundle. I just installed one of the libraries last night, and it was sounding right already in one of my upcoming songs "Sometimes." I had very little time with it. I just swapped it in place of Reason strings and set it on some flavor of cello. It sounds really great already. When I make the official version I'll be putting the legato slides between some of the notes.
