"A" minor -OR- "Who's-Sane?"

[SOUND DIAGNOSIS]

enjoyed the tune. Its got some layer things going on that I really liked. The bass did sound good man. You started sounding more like thinking like a bassist around 1:10. mix is pretty good, but I liked the positioning and eq you used for "traffic jam" a little better. That patch at the beginning sounds very similar to a patch a buddy of mine used on a midi-strat with a casio module.

Thanks for listening, Toki. Thinking like a bassist. Yup. Some of us home recordists wear MANY hats now, dont we? And we love it to death. Going to check out what goes on at 1:10 now, LOL. Are you referring to the fretless bass patch in the beginning? Thanks ----Lee

 

[SOUND DIAGNOSIS]

WOW....I like it......you know what this could use?.....huh?









huh?
















come on....you know what it needs don't you?


























saxophone.................just an idea.........

I JUST KNEW........that was coming at the bottom of my nightly scroll exercise. Go ahead, Jungle Jim-Bob....make my day. D/L my casserole and lay some horn on that vibe. I'll be around. ....Oh...and please......no hienahs or giraffes...hold the thunder. Regards, Lee

 

[SOUND DIAGNOSIS]

Hey, you really got the bass right now, IMO. Sounds great!

Chris

Yup, but I lowered the everthing about the bass except the excellent suggestion you initially offered in your first post...the beginning fretless bass solo. Tis a bit overwhelming that fretless bass. I think I am going to lower it down a few db's and also add a bit more middle. I think I hit it too hard in the "midsection" during mixing. I am going to do this tomorrow and put that sucker up again and see what happens to it. I am also going to drop the B3 organ in the beginning down a bit. I originally did, but CEP froze on me, and the recovery was....uh....less than complete, lets say.
Thanks for the re-listen, Chris.

I'LL BE BACK! -----Lee

 

[junplugged]

Thank god. Dat's a good ting'. You from NYC???

No, Long Island, almost Suffolk.

I'm holding off on monitors because I don't want to buy twice. If i get em I want good ones. Also, I saw the size of the 20/20 powered ones, that is one huge ass cabinet. I will need stands for that. I figure i'll wind up putting everything thru them for reference when i get em....

 

[SOUND DIAGNOSIS]

No, Long Island, almost Suffolk.

I'm holding off on monitors because I don't want to buy twice. If i get em I want good ones. Also, I saw the size of the 20/20 powered ones, that is one huge ass cabinet. I will need stands for that. I figure i'll wind up putting everything thru them for reference when i get em....

I used to live in Forest Hills, N.Y. for only 38 years in the same apartment!!

Well according to the experts, you are making the right decision. I went with the Yorkies after extensive-internet-surfing-mental-masturbation (E.I.S.M.M.) and found only good things to be said from experts and consumers alike. (400 bucks WITH trim switches in the rear!) I am very happy with them. I havent actually mixed enough with these things, but I think when I do get used to them, I can make a chicken soup that ALL will find pleasing. That's the idea with reference monitors, I'm told. Best of luck when you do make your purchase. The clarity and balance difference between a decent monitor and even hi-end consumer grade audio is noticable. ----Lee

 

[SOUND DIAGNOSIS]

Ok boys. I have been a bit busy on this casserole of mine. I made a major adjustment in the beginning of this piece for those of you who are interested. I had enough room in my NOWHERE account, so I left the original in there for comparison if one wishes.
Changes made (many thanks to the great comments from kewl Homerec-Homeboyz)

1) Dropped Mr. Fretless Bass down big time in volume, BUT added some middle EQ for the "body" I think it was originally missing.
2) Lowered initial cymbal swells to a more balanced state.
3) Used ole' Mr. Butterworth filter to cut off all freeks below 20 on a 40th order level.
4) Increased some middle EQ overall (125hz-1k). (warmed it all up a bit, and consequently made the violins richer sounding as well)
5) Did some quickie abrupt volume envelopes on the B3 organ in the beginning for "drama" and a "choppy-funky-slappy-yo-mama" sound.
6) Probably alot of other shit in the 2 hour "makeover" that I forgot to mention...or even worse....forgot I DID!!! ROFL!!

Please feel free and kindly let me know what you think of the newer version. You guys have really helped me to open up my ear-brains. Thanks for this invaluable help, and I will be returning the favor and listen to your music soon!
Cheers!!!!! ---Lee

Here is the link again. The new version is just called "A" Minor Update.
"A" Minor UPDATE

 

[participant]

"...Hello? Is it ME you're looking for?" -- Lionel Richie

Wow... the mix... is very, very dry. And the 2kHz band is very prominent. The performances are (performance is?) pretty nice.

That's a keyboard bass... as a "bass" guitar IMO it doesn't work, but it does how you've used it... maybe some echo or ambience on it would make it sound more natural.

Elegant piano tones... everything else sounds a bit too "piled on" to my ears...

The composition is fine; but this symphonic, epic piece deserves a room sound IMO. Some more depth.... and possibly a real fretless bass, for a loss of cheesiness Musically you're doing some nice things.


Not bad!


Chad

[EDIT] Aw CRAP! I was listening to version 1 while you were posting version 2 Back later...

 

[SOUND DIAGNOSIS]

"...Hello? Is it ME you're looking for?" -- Lionel Richie

Wow... the mix... is very, very dry. And the 2kHz band is very prominent. The performances are (performance is?) pretty nice.

That's a keyboard bass... as a "bass" guitar IMO it doesn't work, but it does how you've used it... maybe some echo or ambience on it would make it sound more natural.

Elegant piano tones... everything else sounds a bit too "piled on" to my ears...

The composition is fine; but this symphonic, epic piece deserves a room sound IMO. Some more depth.... and possibly a real fretless bass, for a loss of cheesiness Musically you're doing some nice things.


Not bad!




Chad

[EDIT] Aw CRAP! I was listening to version 1 while you were posting version 2 Back later...

Hey Chad, thanks for listening. Hopefully, you will get to hear the newer version, although it is not radically different than the original, overall. I have some questions regarding your thoughtful and apparently learned comments in regards to mix #1:

1)I felt that a fretless bass would NOT "buoy" the bottom end needed for a major part of this piece, so I just used it for the beginning. Not rocket science, just spontaneous patch-pickin'.

2)"Very, Very dry". There is already a fair amount of chamber on many tracks (little on main bass track) to keep it fairly moist without blurring the audible boundaries of instruments. I just can't hear what YOU are hearing in that respect. Also, putting a chamber on a bass in a mix as you suggest is an open invitation for an audible, loss of definition, mudpile IMHO, and limited experience that I have.

3)I did a Freq Analalysis at many sections of the first selection. This 2K band prominence is hooey according to my analysis. How did you come to this conclusion and on what equipment. This could be very educational for me and other here. Please advise. Thanks!

4)Descibe "room" sound please. You talking about a mild chamber here? There is already a fair amount of chamber on many tracks (little on main bass track) to keep it fairly moist without blurring the audible boundaries of instruments.

5) No, we ain't talking real bass player here LOL

Chad, I don't mean to question your good will and insightfulness in commenting on this thing. What WILL help me is a clarification/explanantion of EXACTLY how you arrived at some conclusions. I have difficulty following your line of reasoning and it is IN your line of reasoning where some gold nuggets may reside.

Thanks a big bunch if you get a chance to listen to mix#2. Let me know about how you got a prominent 2K band coming out of my piece as well. Got me 'specially FUSHNICKINNED on that one.

Thanks for your time, dude!!
Regards, Lee

 

[participant]

2)"Very, Very dry". There is already a fair amount of chamber on many tracks (little on main bass track) to keep it fairly moist without blurring the audible boundaries of instruments. I just can't hear what YOU are hearing in that respect. Also, putting a chamber on a bass in a mix as you suggest is an open invitation for an audible, loss of definition, mudpile IMHO, and limited experience that I have.

Surely you've got more experience than that.

The cymbal samples, for one... extremely dry. Yes... the "horn" patches do have the room sound. I think my comment was an initial comment based on the intro... that "bass" patch... also... very dry... but yes, once the track kicks in... the ambience is very nice esp. on drums.

As far as the bass is concerned... the "decay" is what I was thinking about... a keyboard bass patch with equal attack/decay on every note... reverb was just a suggestion to give the bass notes some decay... even after they were ... um... "gone".

I did a Freq Analalysis at many sections of the first selection. This 2K band prominence is hooey according to my analysis. How did you come to this conclusion and on what equipment. This could be very educational for me and other here. Please advise. Thanks!

I think this was just that section beginning around 0:23... when the synth horn plays... of course, I didn't mean to imply that the WHOLE track suffered a 2k hump... sorry... it's been a long day... Was just typing as I listened.

4)Descibe "room" sound please. You talking about a mild chamber here? There is already a fair amount of chamber on many tracks (little on main bass track) to keep it fairly moist without blurring the audible boundaries of instruments.

Again... I'm thinking it's just the dry sounding cymbals and bass, to articulate better. Sorry I didn't go into detail for you... to be honest, I just heard it the once. After a couple listens... the ears have adjusted.

No, we ain't talking real bass player here LOL

Well, we ain't talking an engineer on this end, either

it is IN your line of reasoning where some gold nuggets may reside.

Oh, that is doubtful ... this is just an exercise in creative writing

Naw, man. I'm just listening and typing stuff.

Audiophile 24/96-->Sennheiser HD280-->Ears. The room isn't quite set up for monitoring, like the last place was. And I'll get your mix #2. Just do the opposite of everything I suggest, and you'll be platinum in no time


C

 

[SOUND DIAGNOSIS]

Surely you've got more experience than that.

The cymbal samples, for one... extremely dry. Yes... the "horn" patches do have the room sound. I think my comment was an initial comment based on the intro... that "bass" patch... also... very dry... but yes, once the track kicks in... the ambience is very nice esp. on drums.

As far as the bass is concerned... the "decay" is what I was thinking about... a keyboard bass patch with equal attack/decay on every note... reverb was just a suggestion to give the bass notes some decay... even after they were ... um... "gone".

I did a Freq Analalysis at many sections of the first selection. This 2K band prominence is hooey according to my analysis. How did you come to this conclusion and on what equipment. This could be very educational for me and other here. Please advise. Thanks!

I think this was just that section beginning around 0:23... when the synth horn plays... of course, I didn't mean to imply that the WHOLE track suffered a 2k hump... sorry... it's been a long day... Was just typing as I listened.

4)Descibe "room" sound please. You talking about a mild chamber here? There is already a fair amount of chamber on many tracks (little on main bass track) to keep it fairly moist without blurring the audible boundaries of instruments.

Again... I'm thinking it's just the dry sounding cymbals and bass, to articulate better. Sorry I didn't go into detail for you... to be honest, I just heard it the once. After a couple listens... the ears have adjusted.

No, we ain't talking real bass player here LOL

Well, we ain't talking an engineer on this end, either

it is IN your line of reasoning where some gold nuggets may reside.

Oh, that is doubtful ... this is just an exercise in creative writing

Naw, man. I'm just listening and typing stuff.

Audiophile 24/96-->Sennheiser HD280-->Ears. The room isn't quite set up for monitoring, like the last place was. And I'll get your mix #2. Just do the opposite of everything I suggest, and you'll be platinum in no time


C

That last line is a killer. Put a real smile on my face. Thanks for responding and explaining as you did. Appreciate you taking the time to explain "what makes Chad work" a bit! Cya later then sir! CIAO!!! ----Lee

 

[lynx]

Beautiful production, I enjoyed this quite a bit. Got kinda freaky at the end too, great job.

 

[sloop]

This is cool.

I like it! if you want to try something, switch out the piano for steel drums--it would be a cool Island feel groove.

 

[SOUND DIAGNOSIS]

Beautiful production, I enjoyed this quite a bit. Got kinda freaky at the end too, great job.

Thanks, Linx. Freaky is right on there. Twas fun. Glad you got a kick out of it. ---Lee

 

[SOUND DIAGNOSIS]

Re: This is cool.

I like it! if you want to try something, switch out the piano for steel drums--it would be a cool Island feel groove.

Interesting idea. The piano does have a pretty serious role in this thing. One wonders if you replaced it that there will be no "chordal support" in place. There are no guitar pads or any other pads in that "A' Minor. Maybe a Steel drum laced throughout in appropriate sections might do the dew! We can only experiment, right? That's what it is all about. I initially sat down and did that piano track, 1 take. Added fretless, etc etc...until I thought it sounded right. Believe me, I had no idea what was right until the last tracks were laid down. This was silly, spontaneous stuff. Nice to be able to have affordable tools to pull this shit off, eh??? Thanks for listening, sloopy! ---Lee