Dark Spanish Night -Remix 3-

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mark skinner

mark skinner

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Here's a new instrumental I'm trying to finish up. It's a pretty simple and mooody one , almost ambiant. I'm using a LaPatrie Hybred nylon guitar and cello. I think a short vocal part will be added later . Any comments or suggestions for improvement would be great. Thanks for the listen .. mark
soundclick.com

Dark Spanish Night by mark alan skinner

self taught multi instrumentalist obsessed with creating music. #indie #jazz #blues #experimental #singerSongwriter #cello #instrumentalist #instrumental
soundclick.com soundclick.com
 
Beautiful as usual, Mr Skinner!

What I'd really like to know is EVERYTHING about that reverb you're using ;)
 
very tasty.
nice tone on that acoustic.
it'd be nice to hear a key change during the long first solo section,
so the walking bass line has a chance to change the mood.
 
Thanx @Odi . Normally I would use a free plate reverb for a dark one like this , but .. I recently got Fab Filter ProR. With the exception of a legacy Cakewalk "tempo delay" plugin , ProR is on everything. The panning delay FX seemed to enhance all the reverbs. It's on several tracks including one of the kick drums. I'm pretty new to the reverb and still using presets. Very little adjustments from me.
In the "small" catogory the drum bus used "drum wood room" , Bass track used "Bass Room". In the Large catagory the guitar bus used "Choir Rich Hall" and the same on cellos. I was auditioning presets and liked the vocal reverb on the guitars. Always a surprise with presets.
@GONZO-X , Thanx for the listen , comment and suggestion. The Godin guitar is pretty easy to dial in using the built in pickups. I know the song is pretty repetive , and I did try a key change early in the mix but .. I kept losing the darker vibe I was going for. I could probably enhance the bass track a little in some of the sections. ?? Anyway .. Thank You .. mark
 
Love it!

Great pacing, demanding a degree of patience from the listener but with the right amount of sugar sprinkled over it to keep it captivating.

A beautiful instumental, I'm intrigued to see where a short vocal might take it.

I might throw in a couple of (admittedly clichéd) castanet single triples just to remind an unsophisticated listener where the inspiration for the song came from but that's just my own weakness and I'm not sure I'd change anything on this at all.

Brilliant.
 
Nice song.

A little repetitive as you said, but I listened to it in its entirety.

I like the way the cello blends into the bluesy / jazzy / Spanish vibe you got going on. I'd probably try some syncopated 16th note runs, ala Al Di Meola just to
add some acceleration and a bit of excitement to it. Not everywhere, but in selected spots.

EL
 
Hi @mark skinner
Beautiful & Flows so well
cello gives a very nice contrast almost haunting !
another great song from you .. well played & mixed

subvibe
 
Thanks Guy's for weighing in. I'm slowly doing some editing and minor tweeks , I've been pretty busy with other projects for a few days.
@HumanPlanet , I like the castenet suggestion but having a hard time finding a decent sound. I've been banging on everything I can find.
@Eric Malone , I'm trying some quick flurries in a couple of spots, but I'm for sure no Al Di Meola. Big fan though ..
@subvibe , Appreciate the comment. It was pointed out to me by someone that my mix is out of balance though. I'm consistently a couple of DB louder on the left side. It's taking me some time adjusting the panning and most have envelopes. I have to go thru them one track at a time. Probably wouldn't have happend if I had Your mixing skills..
@BTStudio , Thank You for the listen and you Very nice comment. Back to work .. mark
 
I've done a remix now reflected in the link. I balanced the L/R channels a litttle better , added a few guitar parts and a short vocal section near the end. I tried cutting it down a little but it didn't work out. I'll probably tweek the vox a little but it's basically what I had in mind while tracking the other stuff.
Thanks for the listen and any further suggestions. mark
 
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I listened to the VOX part 3 times...
My ears really want to hear a higher harmony way in the back of that sweet dark reverb! 8-)
 
Two nice surprises on this one - the cello and the vox at the end (I love strings) - but the thing that's winning on this one is the s-o-u-n-d. You do stuff with reverb that is deliciousness. I've got Pro-R2, and love it. The presets are a wonderful way to get up to speed fast, but recently I just load the default and start tweaking. When it comes to mixing, I am a dull, thick-fingered person, but I can get about 90% of the way there tweaking about three controls on the Pro-R.

The repeating four-note bass pattern is either repetitive, like you say, or it enhances the tedium of the emotion ('without you'). The song comes up with surprises at the end (vox and re-introduced cello), so could you mute the bass part in the last verse, and then bring it back in at the end? I haven't been drinking, honest. It probably wouldn't work, because the song relies so heavily on the bass part, but experiments are... experiments.

Really good work on this one.

8-)
 
@Odi and @dobro Thanx , both are Great suggestions. I'm not satisfied with the vox either and seems something is missing. Didn't have the impact in this mp3 version that it has in my room. I had already planned on trying another higher harmony and panning this morning. I'll edit the title as "remix 2" if it works out. Dobro , I'll for sure try dropping (or lowering) the bass in the section you mentioned. Creative suggestion that may work well. Thanks ..
 
Really nice clarity on the guitars. Very nice playing.

The guitar part that starts the song, to me, has a bit too much low end. Just a bit.

I can hear a volume fader ride on something at around :12.

Things sound compressed pretty hard.
 
I still love that first mix with all it's faults, it has a lovely movement and feel to it listening on headphones.

The added vocal in the newer mix is real nice and overall it's a real good piece of work. Take that ride home.
 
Hello , I've done some further tweeking and got some of the mud out of the guitars. @TripleM , I think the intro guitar(s) sound a little better now.
@dobro , I've adjusted the bass some and completely droped it out when the vox starts. Good suggestion and it worked out Well. Thanx. I'm calling Remix 3 my "final" and I am going to get away from the song for a while.. Thank's for All the Great comments and for helping out.
mark
 
mark skinner said:
Hello , I've done some further tweeking and got some of the mud out of the guitars. @TripleM , I think the intro guitar(s) sound a little better now.
@dobro , I've adjusted the bass some and completely droped it out when the vox starts. Good suggestion and it worked out Well. Thanx. I'm calling Remix 3 my "final" and I am going to get away from the song for a while.. Thank's for All the Great comments and for helping out.
mark
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Brave of you to have along intro to the vocals. What were the mics (if any) on the guitars? I thought it might be the pickup on Goodin but it sounds a lot richer than I’ve found the Goodin system to get - at least in my experience.
 
@TripleM , Yes the original link reflects the remix. That's one reason I like SoundClick , you can replace the original wav file without losing any other settings. @Papanate , I used an AT 3035 on the left guitar playing the main chord progression. The other 3 guitar tracks were DI using the built in pickups. Comman FX on the DI guitars with different settings , EQ , and panning.
 
Just beautiful. Guitars are perfect. mix is perfect. The only nit I have is the kick it sounds too samplish for the music. Would prefer a more acoustic natural less electronic sounding kick
 
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