Thank You for Surprising Me

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kgirl72

kgirl72

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Hi folks,

First of all, since this site is so whack right now, here is a link to the other thread

right here

Well, dropping in and dropping one for an ear-bending session. Will accept any and all comments.

Thank You for Surprising Me

I keep listing these things as Urban/R&B, but I really don't know what they are.

Between my complete inability to post from my home's DSL connection and the current weirdness trying to access the pages on this bbs most of the time, I don't get to say much here these days! Last night, I tried and tried...no dice.

Anyway, had to re-do the drums. I know that it needs some cymbals, some swirls and some verb on the drum track also. Otherwise, what shall I do?

Muchas Gracias mis amigos! As always, if you've been to the other site, just blow me the hell off! Thanks again,
-Kirstin
 
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hey pretty good! i like the song... kind of norah jones-ish in a sense.

i like your voice.

good luck!
 
I dont really like comparing anyone to anyone but,...man,..this sounds ALOT like Alicia Keyes to me. I'm not sure I spelled that name right.
Sounds really good,..but i dunno,..sounds too rehearsed to me. Not enough feeling. Just my opinion. Everything sounds good though. Not really sure what else you would need in this tune,.....I dont listen to enough of this kind of music to say.

I think R&B about sums it up. Good song,...actually fit my mood.

Tale 'er easy,..
Calwood
 
Oh my God!!!!

You have a fantastic voice! The song really suits you. I really like the song. Yeah, does give me a Norah Jones kinda vibe but different.

I really love the piano sound. I thought you recorded with a real piano! (until I read your postings on the other forum)
Yeah, the drums do definitely need some subtle cymbals and hi hat work.
Maybe you could add a very soft Hammond B3 organ sound way in the back of the mix to give it a very bluesy ambience.

By the way, where do you get your brushes drum sound fonts? Is there anywhere I can download them?

Anyway keep up the great work!
 
I guess since I heard it at the other site we`ll have to do the deed. :p This is lovely....
 
Wong,

Brush set can be purchased here--not very expensive

And, there is actually a bunch of different snare hits, one of which is an indefinitely sustained swirl if you a. hold it down, or b. play it, and sit there with your foot on the sustain.

It's a pretty useful kit.
And, fairly cheap. You can get a free kit if you look up Natural Studio, or nskit6. A search on those should get you to the right place. But, it's not the nskit6 that has the brush drums. They have a brush set available for download on their site. As well as a piano, but I wouldn't get it, unless you like the reality of pianos where certain keys really needed some work before they were recorded. Ha ha.

Soundfont is what I named in other site. So, it's free too.

This site is much less frequented than it used to be! I know where lots of ya are.

Joto suds. thanks a ton. Calwood, I appreciate your comments. Actually, the song itself isn't that rehearsed at all. But, I did have to resing things a lot in order to get this down. I have one version of this that made me want to keep re-doing it, where I sang a harmony the whole second verse through, so I had to figure that out. I didnt' want it everywhere, in retrospect.

So, in a way it WAS too rehearsed. Might be a good one to put down, and come back to when I've "forgotten" it some. Ha ha.

I have another new song up on recordingproject.com listening room, which I like much much better than this one right now. Because it was written one day and recorded the next. So, Calwood, it's not rehearsed! I still sing it differently each time, and play it differently too. And, there's nothing but me and a piano soundfont. LOL.

Toki, like I said, and I may have to pm you to get the info to you. You're welcome to lay a bass down on anything you want of mine! I don't usually ask people to put parts on, out of courtesy, but would be happy to have the parts!

I'm going to start a new post with the new song. Hope no one objects.
-Thanks!
-Kirstin
 
hehehe, I was actually poking some fun at what you said..

"Muchas Gracias mis amigos! As always, if you've been to the other site, just blow me the hell off! Thanks again,
-Kirstin"

But I would love to play along if you don`t mind. This is a really nice and comfortably warming tune.

:)
 
Kirstin,

Thanks for the link. Yeah, soundfonts are great tools. Natural Studio does have quite a realistic sounding kit. Does Natural Studio have a brush kit? I didn't come across any though. I've been really scouting around for some jazz brush kits for some slow numbers. Hope I might find the perfect one soon.
 
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kgirly

nice tune!
sensual vocals are the grabber on this. you could prob sing that black velvet song very well

noticed the drums are very dry compaired to your vocals and keys.. even adding a little verb or something on the brushes will bond them to the other tracks better.

Nice! :)
 
UGHH!! Im sick of FAKE DRUMS!!
And fake pianos!! Sorry to bitch but that takes the whole fun out of a good sounding recording. Whats next- fake guitars? Fake singers?
why try?
I could tell the piano was fake a mile away- you know the sound of the instruments, the tone, the mixing- EVERYTHING sets the mood for music. This really has nothing to do with the song itself...simply the visuals it paints in ones head by the tone and sonic timbre of any recording. Im not getting many visuals with fake drums. Do you think Dark side of the moon would sound spacey and serious if Nick Mason used fake drums!??!
has nothing to do with the song though- I just dont think the sound is giving the melodies a fair shake.
 
JMarcomb, long time no see! thanks for stopping by and for the advice. Yeah we all talked about it a lot more over at the other hangout, and you're on the money.

Supertramp--so are you, though, I think you are approaching this a little harshly. It is clear to me, from searching through your posts, that you and I have a different vantage point about why we record at all.

But, I take your point, and agree. :eek: I will NEVER put fake singing in here. Now, to be fair, my focus is as a singer/songwriter, and NOT as an engineer of any kind. I don't play any instruments other than piano, and I play rather mediocre at that. I don't HAVE a band, and I don't play anywhere but my basement. The other thread would have told you that we ALL know these things that you say in your post. There's also an interesting one over there with reasons on WHY people post their songs, and in what stage of the recording. You may want to venture over there, and check that out, it's pretty interesting.

In any rate, this has never been finished in my eyes. I guess I'm more interested in what people think of my songwriting/singing, than in my recording techniques, or my mixing capabilities.

But, really, come on now, the piano doesn't sound THAT bad, maybe not REAL, and the drums need to be put in a space, and programmed much better that I do, or, much better, played by someone who can play. I've only begun these attempts, in anything I've been working on, so I have to learn these things somehow. It makes me happy to learn. I would agree that they don't really work currently.

At least you like the song enough...that means more to me! But, for the record...I DO agree with you. 6 months ago, based upon your delivery, I would have read this as "you suck, why don't you just give it up." Which would have been bad, I think. I do feel that I have some things to bring to the table, and please no one think I'm becoming a "Father Time" type when I say that!!!!!!:p

To be fair, I never once said, "man, listen to how realistic my stuff sounds! Nor did I say, "dude, this is so good, it will blow your mind." Hell, I don't know how to track properly, or mix, for that matter. I am an artist, and being able to get them on tape and hear comments helps me to develop my creative ideas more fully.
I have receive much constructive criticism this way.

Now, if I were to ever have a live gig, and could make one or two bucks off of what I have been trying to create, instead of only spend more than a few, I'd take my shit to a real studio, and let them handle all the important stuff on 'how it sounds'. I'd love to have real musicians, a producer, and money to pay them!
But, I am pretty proud of myself for accomplishing what I have thus far, so, I hear ya, but I'll try not to let your "bluntness" get me down. I've heard a hell of a lot worse, I suppose too. And, this IS home recording dude. It's not really my belief that we should try to be as good as the real deal, and kick them out.

Thanks for listening, and thanks for not letting me think that the song itself is super bad. :D I'll tend to believe the ONE person that thinks that over the many others who didn't.

PS, if I had a Nick Mason, I guess I'd ask him to play drums for me. And, if I ever get a better recording of what I DO do, then maybe I'll have someone here take a crack at the real thing for me.

By the way, I do have a real piano, but honestly, it's old, and the soundfonts probably sound better than it would recorded. The pedals are off the hook in a bad way. It is super useful for writing, tho. And my keyboard is two octaves short, so it's hard to use the full 88-keys, and still maintain a feel of the piano overall.

Anyway, don't think I take offense at what you say...because I don't, but I did have a response to it, though, it was a little overreactive at first. I do feel a need to tell you, you are right, even if you tend to come off a little "Simon-esque" if you know what I mean! ;)
 
Well its down to what you take out. If you removed the phony drums, and recorded yourself beating on the table (ive done this many times when drums taken down) it would sound a lot better. I recorded something cant remember, and I just beat out a simple beat on my wood coffee table and it certainly gave those drum patches a run for their money. I threw a little reverb on them and it with some equing it sounded pretty neat. Also- take out that old piano and see what you can do youd probably be suprised. I spent some time last month restoring my 1976 fender Rhodes piano and surely it was worth the time and effort. Its about making your songs stand out and sound unique. I dont know if you can get that from digital drums, but beating the coffee table seems to work.
 
You know, I actually thought about doing that kind of thing...interesting...I may try that sometime! Hell, I have a guitar, acoustic, I could keep time on the body of it.

Good idea, supertramp.

My coffee table has glass on it, and once I was very stressed trying to write a paper and having my maybe then 4-year- old daughter nagging at me for who knows what, probably that there was nothing good on tv, repeatedly, and I shattered a rather thick middle section of the glass with a roll of duct tape that was sitting on the table, when I picked it up and slammed it down to diffuse my anger, and tell her I meant business about needing some quiet space. Not sure I should be banging on anything! That was years ago, and I have not replaced the pane of glass since, as I wouldn't know where to find one.

Stay cool-I will try this out. I can probably mic that up at least okay.
-Kirstin
:cool:
 
You know, I actually thought about doing that kind of thing...interesting...I may try that sometime! Hell, I have a guitar, acoustic, I could keep time on the body of it.

Good idea, supertramp.

My coffee table has glass on it, and once I was very stressed trying to write a paper and having my maybe then 4-year- old daughter nagging at me for who knows what, probably that there was nothing good on tv, repeatedly, and I shattered a rather thick middle section of the glass with a roll of duct tape that was sitting on the table, when I picked it up and slammed it down to diffuse my anger, and tell her I meant business about needing some quiet space. Not sure I should be banging on anything! That was years ago, and I have not replaced the pane of glass since, as I wouldn't know where to find one.

Stay cool-I will try this out. I can probably mic that up at least okay.
-Kirstin
:cool:
 
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