Short, easy=listening tune from a newcomer to this BB

  • Thread starter Thread starter fredlanger
  • Start date Start date
Man... this is a nifty little tune... Nice and melodic.. crisp... not too busy... subtle progressive parts... (strings come in.. then percs come in.. then more percs..) I dig it... nice easy listening.

My only "complaint" (and it's not that big a deal) is the snare sound... it was a little too "fat" sounding.. it didn't quite fit. I woulda picked something that stuck oat a little less... everything else was groovy. :p

WATYF
 
Hello Fred,

Nice tracking. I liked the mellow build of the song. The synth kinda hangs out too close with the bass at first but, finds its place nicely around :50 ish.

Are those two different snares? I don't care for the first one. Too loud and "loose".

What are you playing on lead? Sounds nice and warm.

The chime sweep at the end was too up in the mix IMHO.

Very nice listen, thanks for posting it.


Peace,
Theron.
 
Thanks WATYF. I can already tell (after one response no less) that feedback is going to be useful. I also say that after reading a long thread just now on professional vs "amateur" mastering in this forum. Lots of people who take each song seriously enough to post their honest opinions is a valuable resource!

As far as the snare - I'll give it another listen. I simply used a drumset that came with Steinberg Halion and that was the snare. OK, OK - I'm already realizing I need to be more critical in my instrument and sound choices. I have LOTS to learn - was just reading recording, mixing, and mastering tips in Electronic Musician's annual Studio Guide (or whatever it's called).

BTW - in another thread (in the Mixing/Mastering forum) - I read about Izotope Ozone plugin for mastering. DOes anyone here have any experience with it? (Should probably make that a separate thread in that forum...)
 
theron said:
Hello Fred,

Nice tracking. I liked the mellow build of the song. The synth kinda hangs out too close with the bass at first but, finds its place nicely around :50 ish.

Are those two different snares? I don't care for the first one. Too loud and "loose".

What are you playing on lead? Sounds nice and warm.

The chime sweep at the end was too up in the mix IMHO.

Very nice listen, thanks for posting it.


Peace,
Theron.
Click to expand...

theron,
Just saw your reply after responding to WATYF.

Yeah the string pad (I think you are referring to as "synth") is down in the mix at first - intentionally - but not so much as it ended up.

The snare: there is sidestick and shaker sounds on the off beat in some parts - the only real snare sound comes during the "chorus". As I mentioned above - it is the snare that is part of the kit I chose in my soft synth.

Lead: Steinberg Halion came with several sounds - this is one of the nylon guitars. Actually I was noodling with all the sounds in Halion and got stuck on this sound and came up with this tune....just kinda built it from there.

Chime sweep: Yep. Not too subtle, huh? If and when I get a chance to remix I will be mindful of each of these observations. My daughter is keeping me too busy with her music to get to it currently :)
 
Nice tune man.I found it on the front page of Nowhereradio last night and listened to it 3 times or so.Nice melody and playing.Welcome aboard the BB.Im sort of new to this place myself.I had a username over 2 years ago but never posted.I was mostly reading about 4-track cassette recorders back then.;)
 
Keep in mind that this input is always subjective.. the end result is ultimately up to your taste... Feedback is usually helpful, though, because your ears become "numb" to the song after listening to it so many times.. which is why the synth (or the snare or what have you) doesn't seem "as" harsh to you... because you've heard it a hundred times... :p

Of course,.. when you hear the same "comment" mentioned over and over, it's usually a good indication that you need to consider fixing it... :D

But either way... I think you'll get a lot of useful info/input from this forum...

WATYF
 
I like it all. The fact that the snare stops and starts is what kinda bugged me. I'd take something more bold if it is enter and exit like it does.

I especially like the beginning. and I actually liked the low synth with the bass. I might have gone for a more 'realistic' string patch if available....more bow sound, etc. ...rather than the generic 'mood music' string sound.

Fred...don't loose your bookmark this time!! Very nice music.

(you're gonna get slammed for the wind chimes though around here!!)
 
yeah.. take mixmkr's advice!

I love the music... great melody and mood... just a couple little tweaks and you have a masterpiece!

great work!
 
Hey again Fred..........still like the song. The main thing I hear is the keys that start things off sound kind of muffled to me. They could use a little "sparkle" on the top end. The tune itsself is very nice and everything else sounds good to me.....look forward to hearing more of your stuff.
 
Good morning all - thanks for the continued feedback!

mixmkr: The "strings" are a string pad from Halion or one of the synths that came with Cubase - the most realistic I could find at the time (ech). Since then I got Sonic Synth and the Symphonic Strings expansion ROM. There are a few more realistic patches in there, but nothing like the Garriton strings or its peers.

And the windchimes (can we say "cheese"?). You know how you run across a patch and start playing something with it and it asks to be turned into a song? Well, that nylon guitar did it to me here and I found myself going back a couple decades to John Jarvis' DX7 days - so pretend it's 1985 and the windchimes fit right in ;)

Lt Bob: I know I love to hear more sparkle and couldn't find better patches at the time (just got Cubase SX up and running quite recently after years of MiniDisc (Sony MDM-4 & Yamaha MD8) and hard disk (Korg D16) recorders. The purely computer-based audio world is a tought place to be a musician...I play computer tech most of the time. Anyway - the electric piano patch is lacking in the highs and could be replaced with one of the newer sounds I have since found. The fretless bass doesn't have much definition either (if I may add my own critique).

Thanks again!
 
This is indeed an easy tune to listen to. I can only echo mixmkr's comments. Also being a purist, I'd have liked a real nylon stringed guitar but what the hell, it sounds very nice the way it sits.
 
very nice tune..

an easy listen it was.. I liked it a lot..


sam
 
Boy I thought that was a real pretty piece of music. I thought the keyboards and guitars worked together very well. There was a Gin Blossoms song called 'Not Only Numb' that had a melody line similar to this in spots - but a decidedly different atmosphere.

I think I would have kept the snare out entirely. Elsewhere you went with more of a rim shot kind of sound - I thought that worked well.

Oh yeah - loose the wind chimes.
 
TripleM said:
I think I would have kept the snare out entirely. Elsewhere you went with more of a rim shot kind of sound - I thought that worked well.
Click to expand...
The snare (and actually the progression of the drum/percussion sounds) are modeled after John Jarvis' soft/easy electric piano tunes of the eighties - so while it worked for him then, I am only dating myself...

Oh yeah - loose the wind chimes.
Click to expand...
Uhhh, would you believe a breeze kicked up right at the end of a take and caught those darned chimes, and I forget to edit them out...?
 
mellow

man i like this!! very moody, relaxing thing goin on. good job!!
i can't add to the mixing comment's. keep em coming!!!

thank's for sharing

peace

rick
:p
 
I didnt hate the windchimes.;)Why does everyone hate windchimes?:confused:
 
I'm not sure...I like windchimes. My wife has a buttload of them hanging outside and I enjoy the sound. kinda reminds me of Santana's Caravanseri album.
 
Great song.

I vote for windchimes.

I also agree with ditching the snare and replacing it with rim shots as suggested before.
 
My daughter and I listened, and we both agreed, mellow and peacefull sounding!!!

Maybe try a different snare sound though.

GT
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top