Tracks, and a preview

Especially on some of my older tracks, I would have problems clicking my fingernails against the pick-guard when I strum. In most cases it's minor, and I've left it in, since there doesn't seem to be any good way to filter it out. But a pair of multiple clicks in the intro to "Programmer's Alphabet" have been bothering me for a couple of weeks now.

On the other hand, the prospect of recording a new intro, then trying to match levels and eq with a track that's been in the system and messed with Gods-know-how for a couple of years, was totally daunting. Not going to happen. On the gripping hand, I used to have a lot of trouble keeping the number of beats in the instrumental breaks between verses consistent, and I realized this morning that I could take advantage of that: there were a couple of breaks that were long enough to cover the clicks in the intro.

So by leaving in the first chord of the original intro, and fading in to the first verse, I was able to splice it in pretty well. I think I might be able to notice something odd if I listened to it repeatedly and didn't go violently mad first, but it's no more than a couple of milliseconds off.

I lucked out on this one -- there aren't many, if any, other tracks where I could have pulled off this particular hack. Fortunately it was the worst of them by far. I think the only other one with noticable clicks in the intro is "Cicero", and it's not as bad. Good thing, because I don't think I could fix that one.

( limited-time poofheading preview )

As if an actual emergency wasn't bad enough...

... imagine having to use this Hello Kitty Emergency Gadget to survive it!

(from engadget)

( the horror! )

Tracks and tweaks

Tweaks to "High Barratry" and "Guilty Pleasures" to bring up the vocals a little. Also discovered that on "Guilty Pleasures" I'd had the drum panned right on top of my vocals. Oops!