The River Song

Is that Philharmonik invented by our very own HR Miroslav or just name coincidental? Where do you get/buy that from? I'm going to look it up. The only strings sounds I have sound super synthesized and the hold is weird...either too long or too short and whenever I use them they sound, well, like ass, quite frankly.

So when you say pre amp plugged into your soundcard, I assume you're talking about an external USB soundcard? I don't have any pre amps, and having had a quick look, preamps in this case are something physical you plug into your USB soundcard? I need to read up about pre amps. I got no idea what they really are meant to do, but if it's cheap and cheerful and gets a good sound like this, I'll be all over them. :)
 
fritsthegirl said:
Is that Philharmonik invented by our very own HR Miroslav or just name coincidental?
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That I don't know.

fritsthegirl said:
Where do you get/buy that from? I'm going to look it up. The only strings sounds I have sound super synthesized and the hold is weird...either too long or too short and whenever I use them they sound, well, like ass, quite frankly.
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You can get it on Amazon or direct from their website. There's a demo version on the website as well. Definitely worth a try to see how you like it.

IK MULTIMEDIA PHILHARMONIK Computer music classical: Amazon.co.uk: Musical Instruments

IK Multimedia | Miroslav Philharmonik

I think I got it off eBay but I have an account with them so can download updates and whatnot direct from them.

fritsthegirl said:
So when you say pre amp plugged into your soundcard, I assume you're talking about an external USB soundcard? I don't have any pre amps, and having had a quick look, preamps in this case are something physical you plug into your USB soundcard? I need to read up about pre amps. I got no idea what they really are meant to do, but if it's cheap and cheerful and gets a good sound like this, I'll be all over them. :)
Click to expand...

No, no USB here. My soundcard is a PCI card in my tower. It's an old, semi pro, starter kit, type thing. I've had it for around 12 years. I basically have 2 channels, Left and Right. Then I have two Preamps, each going into a channel on the soundcard. A USB all in one thing would do all that without the need for the 3 different parts and just connect to a USB port, like what you have probably.

You do have Preamps, they're built in to whatever USB unit you use. External Preamps are good if you have reason for them. I got my first one because I didn't know any better at the time and already had a half decent soundcard. (A friend had the VTB1 and I liked what he did so.....) I've had a Tascam US800 USB unit before which was good for recording drums (which is what I got it for) but I never used it for anything else, so I sold it.

I only got the Alesis MicTube Solo because it came free with the MXL990 when I got it off eBay, but it turned out to be a pretty good Preamp. It can be noisy but I know how to avoid noise after years of practice. I'm just about to get myself another VTB1 as a spare for the future. I have a spare Soundcard stashed away.

Hope that makes sense. I've had a few drinks and not slept for 50 odds hours :laughings:
 
I bought this with a bundle, Moog and a couple of others. Just be careful if you are running 64 bit DAW, you will need a bridge and lots of time to download the library.
 
DM60 said:
I bought this with a bundle, Moog and a couple of others. Just be careful if you are running 64 bit DAW, you will need a bridge and lots of time to download the library.
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Never thought of that. Reaper has it's own 32bit Bridge so I never needed to. :cursing: Silly little bridge screens!

:thumbs up:
 
Dude! Frickin awesome song and very clean PRO recording ....Is it ok to share with friends ie facebook ? Damn I dig it!
 
This is a such a touching song. I think it sounds very well produced. Almost perfect.

I am hearing a couple things that, at least in how it is translating in my mix space, could be slightly adjusted. There is a tiny bit of mid range honkiness in the vocals, likely somewhere between 400Hz - 500Hz. I think a pretty narrow dip of maybe 1.5dB - 2dB somewhere in between there would make a positive difference. The vocals sound very clear in around the 1kHz range, I think. You are lucky! This is a great place to have a natural focus. It is so strong in that area that I am a little torn about whether or not it could use a tiny cut there, but that is not a certainty. Might be worth experimenting with.

The cello and violin are very tastefully done and add a really nice element to this song. Perfect for the overall vibe.

Personally, I wouldn't add any percussion. I don't think the piece needs it. I think it is perfect as it is.

I think there is room for the bottom end (if you don't add percussion) to be embiggened a little, with some simultaneous tightening so it doesn't get away - if you are so inclined, that is. Either a HP with a couple dB resonant shelf at 60Hz (or an HP there and a separate narrow band boost of a couple db around 70Hz) and then a narrow cut of a couple around 100Hz would give the bottom a little more weight and power without lifting it up out of the mix.

It sounds very good as it is. The subtle tweaks I am suggesting here would make it come across a little sweeter in my space, but it may not translate to yours.

Anyway, I really like the piece. It is very engaging.
 
More prominent strings make the song much sweeter and fills the space well.
Good job me thinks.
 
TAE said:
Dude! Frickin awesome song and very clean PRO recording ....Is it ok to share with friends ie facebook ? Damn I dig it!
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Thanks TAE. Glad you like it. I've stuck it on SoundCloud for you, feel free to share it. :thumbs up:



kindafishy said:
This is a such a touching song. I think it sounds very well produced. Almost perfect.

I am hearing a couple things that, at least in how it is translating in my mix space, could be slightly adjusted. There is a tiny bit of mid range honkiness in the vocals, likely somewhere between 400Hz - 500Hz. I think a pretty narrow dip of maybe 1.5dB - 2dB somewhere in between there would make a positive difference. The vocals sound very clear in around the 1kHz range, I think. You are lucky! This is a great place to have a natural focus. It is so strong in that area that I am a little torn about whether or not it could use a tiny cut there, but that is not a certainty. Might be worth experimenting with.

The cello and violin are very tastefully done and add a really nice element to this song. Perfect for the overall vibe.

Personally, I wouldn't add any percussion. I don't think the piece needs it. I think it is perfect as it is.

I think there is room for the bottom end (if you don't add percussion) to be embiggened a little, with some simultaneous tightening so it doesn't get away - if you are so inclined, that is. Either a HP with a couple dB resonant shelf at 60Hz (or an HP there and a separate narrow band boost of a couple db around 70Hz) and then a narrow cut of a couple around 100Hz would give the bottom a little more weight and power without lifting it up out of the mix.

It sounds very good as it is. The subtle tweaks I am suggesting here would make it come across a little sweeter in my space, but it may not translate to yours.

Anyway, I really like the piece. It is very engaging.
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Wow, thanks for that. It's great to get so much info on how it translates in another persons space. I will definitely have a look into the tweaks you mention.

Thanks for the positivity mate :thumbs up:

rayc said:
More prominent strings make the song much sweeter and fills the space well.
Good job me thinks.
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Cheers Ray. I think so too.

Thanks for coming back for a listen. :thumbs up:
 
The third one's way better than the first. I'm not surprised people are asking about what you used for strings - the string part's great. Is it true that Miroslav Philharmonik is only 32-bit?

The bass on version 3 is way better than version 1, but it could be better still. I said this on another thread, and I don't know if you read it but I'll say it here too: good DI + distortion plugin gets bass heard and sounding good. I've experimented with miking bass at the same time I DI it, but usually I chuck the miked track in the mix. I'll keep miking it though, cuz I think if I just find the right mic for it, it'll shine eventually. Get the prime sound right, and then layers and plugins after that to bring out nuance and flavor.

Lovely song. Do another one soon.
 
Excellent, Mr Clean. I wish I had access to string VSTs like that for my stuff, they sound sweet. The more spacious mix is a winner and your friend's vocals are great. So nice to hear an English accent vocal that doesn't sound like fecking Steeleye Span or summat. :D

I'm one of those people that fancies some high percussion - not to keep a beat, that would sound crass with this song, but just something to add a bit of sparkle to the highs, somehow. I don't really know what I mean, the song sounds great as it is. :)
 
dobro said:
The third one's way better than the first. I'm not surprised people are asking about what you used for strings - the string part's great. Is it true that Miroslav Philharmonik is only 32-bit?

The bass on version 3 is way better than version 1, but it could be better still. I said this on another thread, and I don't know if you read it but I'll say it here too: good DI + distortion plugin gets bass heard and sounding good. I've experimented with miking bass at the same time I DI it, but usually I chuck the miked track in the mix. I'll keep miking it though, cuz I think if I just find the right mic for it, it'll shine eventually. Get the prime sound right, and then layers and plugins after that to bring out nuance and flavor.

Lovely song. Do another one soon.
Click to expand...

Thanks dobro

Miroslav Philharmonik is 32bit only but I use Reaper with 32Bit bridge and they work just fine. A lot of my stuff is 32bit running on a 64Bit machine.

I do need to do a bit more work on the bass to help it shine through a touch more. This bass is DI'd with Ampeg SFX Suite on it. It just needs a bit of tickling to get it perfect. I'll be revisiting the track in a couple of days to finish it. Just giving my ear a rest from it so I can have a fresh perspective.

I have another one I'm working on that I shall be posting shortly.

Cheers :thumbs up:

Supercreep said:
I listened to this song and had a good cry.

The doubled vocals and "yeah yeah yeah" stuff dilute the emotional impact slightly.
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Haha, cheers. :thumbs up:

I thought the same with the vocals at the end at first but they have grown on me since I started working on the song. The ending is something I need to discuss with the guy when I see him next and see if there's anything he wants to change/add, etc, so chances are the end will be different in the final version.

Glad you enjoyed it. :thumbs up:

Bubba po said:
Excellent, Mr Clean. I wish I had access to string VSTs like that for my stuff, they sound sweet. The more spacious mix is a winner and your friend's vocals are great. So nice to hear an English accent vocal that doesn't sound like fecking Steeleye Span or summat. :D

I'm one of those people that fancies some high percussion - not to keep a beat, that would sound crass with this song, but just something to add a bit of sparkle to the highs, somehow. I don't really know what I mean, the song sounds great as it is. :)
Click to expand...

Cheers Bubba. Like yourself, I'm a big fan of a good English accent shining through for a vocal. He does have a great voice, at 56 years old and always has had. I've listened to his stuff from the 70's to the presents and he's always had it.

the idea of percussion is still on the table at the minute. As I said above, I'll be back to this track after a few days with a clear head and see what we feel is the best to add/subtract etc. This is still, basically, my rough ideas for the track so changes are still yet very likely.

Glad you enjoyed it, cheers :thumbs up:
 
You've done a great job here MrClean, the latest mix sounds great and well done on arranging the vst strings without sounding cheesy. And six minutes too, but didn't drag.

I don't feel it needs percussion really - you'd change the dynamic of the song too much imo and I don't think it needs it.

I got no mix comments, other than developing that vocal response idea at the end a bit further but I enjoyed the listen (reminded me of Shack a bit if you're familiar with them - Shack )
 
I too enjoyed it ... I like the timbre of your voice and boy, does your accent come through. :)

Did it run slightly long for me? It did. I know there's nothing you can do about that ... for it is what it is ... and the story must be told.

Still, I wouldn't really change must about it. It's a very nice piece.
 
robgreen said:
You've done a great job here MrClean, the latest mix sounds great and well done on arranging the vst strings without sounding cheesy. And six minutes too, but didn't drag.

I don't feel it needs percussion really - you'd change the dynamic of the song too much imo and I don't think it needs it.

I got no mix comments, other than developing that vocal response idea at the end a bit further but I enjoyed the listen (reminded me of Shack a bit if you're familiar with them - Shack )
Click to expand...

Cheers Rob. I think I've got to the point with it where I'm quite happy now. Tim, whose song it is, is happy with it. Just a few minor tweaks here and there on the mix before mastering probably but I think this one os done.

:thumbs up:

K-dub said:
I too enjoyed it ... I like the timbre of your voice and boy, does your accent come through. :)

Did it run slightly long for me? It did. I know there's nothing you can do about that ... for it is what it is ... and the story must be told.

Still, I wouldn't really change must about it. It's a very nice piece.
Click to expand...

Cheers K

I know what you mean, it is a bit long. All of his songs seem to be. I've been editing out chorus's here and there in other songs to shorten them up a bit but they are what they are and needs must.

Thanks for having a listen. Glad you enjoyed it :thumbs up:
 
I like it. You have a very smooth blend of everything here. Very pleasant to listen to. You could get more separation like has been suggested but I like the well blended sound you have now.
 
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