The Steel Guitar Forum

for $3 !

After reading a thread on a guitar forum regarding https://www.karaoke-version.com/ I decided , heck lets spend $3 and see what happens.

So I went and grabbed Peaceful Easy Feeling, which is a song we play all the time and I change it up, all the time, add something a bit different or maybe totally different. I practice this song and play around the changes near everyday. Its an excellent song to play around redundant chord positions.

So whats the deal for $3. ?

Well you purchase the CUSTOM TRACK and download it to our PC , which is ALL instruments in a single file...or not ! LOL

We go back into the MY FILES section of our account, and there it is. Its laid out in separate tracks. In the MY FILES mixer we can SOLO each individual instrument and download just that track. Do that for each separate instrument, It takes like 1 minute for each. Apparently we can do this forever, or as many times as we like, as we paid for the FULL file. and its on our account. For $3 !


We also have the option of selecting just a few tracks in a single download if thats all we desire. ONE Stereo download. I opted for ALL tracks singularly as an experiment . Each track downloaded separately. So we end up with multiple tracks in the PC download folder.

I put all the tracks on a USB stick and then dropped them into a DAW Session, I happen to use Pro Tools. Now we have ALL the tracks present and available to do whatever we desire IN THE DAW.

So because I enjoy the challenge or rather or I like to dabble... here is what I did this morning.

A couple of screen shots of the Website where we select tracks and download them , a DAW Session and of course I picked up my recently restored 1988-52/ RI and ran a track, its direct thru the SANS AMP embedded sims in Pro Tools. This is typically a B Bender song for me but the 52 serves it well !

YES you can select or NOT select any instruments for a download . If you only want rhythm Guitars , Bass, drums and vocals etc... and only want to play STEEL over the entire track, then go for it !

For my purpose which is primarily practice, this is a pretty darn good deal for $3

THE MUSIC TRACK --- The 52 is the only electric on the track. I only ran it thru the end of the solo where it ends abruptly ! The original track has 2 electric guitar tracks which I didn't bother with.

I dare say its very similar to BAND IN A BOX, if you want it to be except its already done !

MUSIC TRACK >>>

https://youtu.be/2SrhRy4VqV8

This is a great resource Tony, which I too use from time to time... Its great being able to download the individual tracks and remix to taste. iReal is also a great resource which Wally Moyers told me about. Not nearly as elaborate with only 3-4 instruments, but these too can be downloaded individually and remixed to taste, and then loop a given area for practice.

THX Dale !! Didn't know about iREAL

Yes…have been using this track site for several years…it’s a dandy and very reasonably priced. Appreciate the tip on iREAL Dale…Carl

thx Carl, I'll check out iReal but the truth is I'm just fooling around here, burning daylight ! . If I need or want a track I'll typically just build it starting with BIAB with maybe a track or two, mostly a simple drum track. But that process, which includes completing the track in the DAW may take a few hours.

The $3 download is quite interesting and it ain't to shabby ! Plus it took maybe 10 min to get what I wanted into the DAW.

Anyway, stay well

tp

Tony,
Thats a good find, plus lots of choices. I ran through one just to see what it could do.

Ron

Ron Hogan wrote:Tony,
Thats a good find, plus lots of choices. I ran through one just to see what it could do.

Ron

Hey Ron, I didn't actually find it, someone else pointed me to it.

I spent a few minutes this morning just searching various songs , there's some very nice tracks available for us to woodshed over .

best

tp

I've used it for a few songs and recommend it.

I prefer to download the individual tracks into my DAW and do some modifications from there.

For years, I've downloaded free midi's of the songs I need for backing tracks. I use Reaper and load the file(s) in. I take the tracks I want, do any modifications I want and run them through softsynths. Once I've got everything the way I like, effects, mixed and mastered, I make either a wav. or mp3.

Now, when I compare all of the above with $3 ...... I think I'll be re-thinking the process for any new backing tracks.

In the past few years I've started loading the files on my smartphone and cable it of bluetooth it to the amp.

Brad Richard wrote:For years, I've downloaded free midi's of the songs I need for backing tracks.

Brad, do you mind sharing links to some of the websites you download free MIDI song files from? I'm finding free MIDI song files are much harder to find than they use to be.

Tony, I've had an account with https://www.karaoke-version.com/for a long time. They provide a pretty high quality product. Thanks for reminding me of the site.

I just learned that ALL of the files from this site are variable meter, not exact, they are approx and "move slightly" during the song. If we take a few tracks and place them in our DAW, they don't line up entirely on the grid , should we want to edit or make changes.

Now this is not any big deal if we desire to use the downloaded tracks exactly as is. BUT if we want to edit or make changes, or perhaps add a few bars here and there, it may be a BIG deal.

While many prominent DAWS have the ability to change time, modify time, calculate beats , stretch and adjust, those options are primarily intended for individual tracks. Time stretching and then locking to the grid will require some homework .

The workaround will require digging deeper into the DAW for the editing or copy/cut/paste options. This is only relevant should we want to change , edit or copy/past sections of the downloaded tracks.

I say this as I am working with one of the tracks and want to add a a 2nd solo to the song, which means copy and paste. The a early part of the track is approx. 92 BPM, the later part is closer to 93 BPM. On its own its not a big deal, but when we paste a 92 BPM segment into a 93 BPM segment , the beats don't line up. So some overall track editing is required to get the entire track to be a constant BPM. Variable to FIXED.

Just a heads-up.

Tony, you're right about most (all?) of the karaoke-version tracks having a slightly variable tempo. One of things that I really like about using Ableton Live is that you actually CAN stretch a whole set of tracks and "snap" them to a true tempo grid as a single unit. There's obviously a higher learning curve to a tool like Ableton, but I use this particular feature extensively for the very purpose you mention when I download these tracks.

Once I've "ironed" the tracks to a static tempo, I can do all kinds of editing or arranging, record my own parts, etc.

I'm not sure how many Ableton Live users are following this post, but here's the video I watched to learn how to do it:

https://youtu.be/nt04rURUJJM

Brian Spratt wrote:Tony, you're right about most (all?) of the karaoke-version tracks having a slightly variable tempo. One of things that I really like about using Ableton Live is that you actually CAN stretch a whole set of tracks and "snap" them to a true tempo grid as a single unit. There's obviously a higher learning curve to a tool like Ableton, but I use this particular feature extensively for the very purpose you mention when I download these tracks.

Once I've "ironed" the tracks to a static tempo, I can do all kinds of editing or arranging, record my own parts, etc.

I'm not sure how many Ableton Live users are following this post, but here's the video I watched to learn how to do it:

https://youtu.be/nt04rURUJJM

Thx Brian, yes you can do this in Pro Tools as well, there are a few different ways to do it. Stretch and SNAP to Grid, Elastic Audio, Beat Detective etc... but you can FEEL the stretch in the timing. When you stretch something that was 92 BPM variable at the beginning of the track, and it is now on GRID at 92.5 or maybe even 93 BPM later in the track, its ever so slightly "different". If we are using just a DRUM track then it would be fine, but guitars strumming on BEAT or maybe a Bass line , it very well may be slightly noticeable

I believe there was a legitimate motive behind using a variable METER.


I've managed to copy and paste a few sections without stretching , (slip mode) while it takes time, it's acceptable.

Dale I think we are on the same page here. This Karaoke song site , once you pay the $3, allows for downloading the song in a complete song file or in separate instrument track files. Each file can also have a "count off" which is required if the tracks are going to end up in a DAW Session. They will line up perfectly. Another nice feature is the KEY, it allows for changing the key before the downloads. Its a nice site for putting together a practice or even a performance track . For that purpose its pretty darn fast, but we have to follow the specific arrangement.

post edited ... see below

Tony, thanks for sharing your process in detail. I'm always interested in other DAWs and how people manage their workflow. If you want to get an idea of the results you can get from Ableton (none of the "that sounds stretched" effect is a strength of that tool), I'd be happy to "iron out" a full set of tracks and share them back with you. I don't want to pirate anything, but if you already own one of these that I have, I don't think there would be anything wrong with me sharing my treated version with you if you already bought it:

Misery and Gin
Close Up The Honky Tonks
Working Man Blues
I Think I'll Just Stay Here And Drink
The Bottle Let Me Down
He Stopped Loving Her Today
I've Got A Tiger By The Tail
Swinging Doors
Together Again

Brian, sure send them along I would like to hear what you have done ! Posting is not an issue.

I just revisited Pro Tools Elastic Audio and the issue I am referring to is called "WARP". Supposedly we can set WARP markers within Elastic Audio which smooths AUDIO, which is what Ableton Live does, using WARP markers for a segment or the entire track.

Who Knew ! Thx for the heads up, I never even heard of WARP markers before this ! But then again I've only used Elastic Audio on tracks that were already aligned to the GRID .

So I guess today I'll go back and fool with Pro Tools Elastic Audio and Warp markers. Apparently this is not so UNCOMMOIN for studios that IMPORT tracks or songs ( from whoever or wherever) for editing and further production where the GRID doesn't line up. The more I think about it, this would be a mandatory tool for any premium DAW, to be able to align ANY tracks , variable or fixed meter, without affecting the music.

BIG thx for chiming in !


tp

Tony, I don't know if this applies, and because its WAY above my pay grade I'm not sure if this would be useful. But Melodyne has Tempo Mapping abilities. I haven't dug deep enough into it with PreSonus, but is available there. I have a YouTube video Tab, among my 50+ other open tabs, to learn about it but as yet have not.

Thx Dale yes I am aware. Pro Tools has multiple mapping avenues, Elastic Audio has features I didn't even know existed. I've been watching some video's and fooling with them this morning. EA has several modes and allows "conforming to tempo " Its kinda wild, the AVERAGE VARIABLE Tempo is defined when you highlight the entire track and view the EA properties. Now you can conform the entire track to that average, which becomes a fixed meter. Who knew ! Well, someone knew, just not me !

Over the next few days I'm gonna readdress these Karaoke tracks, cut and paste a few sections AFTER using Elastic Audio and see what happens.

I do believe the best way for ME, for what I want to do, will be to mix a final 2 track with all the instruments I want, then run THAT 2 track mix thru Elastic Audio for a fixed meter, then cut and paste as needed, now that everything is on the grid.

Big thx to Brian for chiming in with what he has been doing and sharing his process.

New day, new brain use !

Tony, I sent you an email with a link to a full set of mp3 files for Swinging Doors. Let me know if for some reason you don't get it.

You'll find all the tracks from karaoke-version ironed out in-sync to exactly 121 bpm, and I don't believe you'll find any unwanted artifacts hinting that its been stretched. Just for fun, I also took Merle Haggard's studio cut of this track, and extracted only the isolated vocal and I ironed it out to exactly 121 bpm as well. This way you can hear the real-deal Hag singing along with all the tracks you're mixing and working with.

Hope you find it useful!

Hi Brian yes thx ! I listened to a few last night they sound really good. Remember though, the only reason I brought all this up was to remind everyone,. or anyone, that they download from the karaoke site as variable meter and if we want to cut and paste sections, which was my goa, to add bars for extended solos, variable meter was an issue.

I'm going to run your tracks into the DAW (PT's) and copy/cut/ paste a section or two .

IF you read what I wrote above, Pro Tools also has several options to convert variable to fixed meter which I have done to one MIXED 2 TRACK. I added an entire 2nd solo segment for Tele and Steel. That track , Ashes of Love, is now ready for me to do whatever it is I am gonna do!

I'm in a very busy week, prepping for a Steel show this weekend and completing major projects at home so I am putting it off another week or so.

I appreciate your posts as it kicked me into another gear, meaning I studied and am now familiar with Pro Tools Elastic Audio to get me to where I want to go.


Thx for your tracks and I'll let you know when I finally get around to Ashes Of Love, in a week or two...

Jim - Sorry for the delay in replying. I completely missed your post. I haven't done much recording in the past couple of years and it is amazing how much it's changed. I can't find any of the sites I've used in the past so I guess I'm not much help. Sorry.
Brad

Brad Richard wrote:Jim - Sorry for the delay in replying. I completely missed your post. I haven't done much recording in the past couple of years and it is amazing how much it's changed. I can't find any of the sites I've used in the past so I guess I'm not much help. Sorry.
Brad

There use to be a lot of free MIDI sites but the copyright lawyers was able to convince all the popular ones to cease and desist. Having said that, like you I've collected a lot of MIDI files over the years and some are good but the majority are not.

If a really good MIDI file is available and I want the song, I don't mind paying a reasonable fee.

I've been using this for years. I'm sure you know that you can customize your tracks before and after you load them.