Old 09-05-2014, 12:28 PM   #1
sammydix
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Default Easing back in...

Been away with 'life' for a few mos, but things are fortunately slowing down enough for a little more music time. Thought I'd slip back in with a little laid back tune I started earlier this year, but not for long...

ME: bass, a.guitar, "string arrangement", and Addictive proggin.
Harpsichord: Pianoteq.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...led%20Home.mp3

All tips and suggestion welcome.

Last edited by sammydix; 09-06-2014 at 07:19 PM.
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Old 09-05-2014, 02:28 PM   #2
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I dig it. Don't have any tips. Nothing really jarred me (in a bad way, mix-wise) as I was listening to it and everything seemed to work together & flow together nicely. Cool track.
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Old 09-05-2014, 03:19 PM   #3
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Nothing much to say either. Solid production, as always. Just chiming in to say great tune!

You're using addictive drums?
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Old 09-05-2014, 03:53 PM   #4
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Appreciate that fellaz. I hadn't fooled around on Reaper since early spring. After reading up on like 4 or 5 updates since then, I had to get used to everything all over again. Think that gave me a fresher perspective.

@M5
AD2 now. got the update as soon as it came out. love it. For me, EZ is too simplistic, Superior is too much, and I could never get used to Jamstix. so AD falls right in the perfect place for my "skills".
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Old 09-05-2014, 04:19 PM   #5
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what a cool laid back song. love the sound of that electric toy piano solo. nice work man
is that the Harmonium in that solo?
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Old 09-05-2014, 05:04 PM   #6
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ha! It's not a toy piano (tho it may sound like it). It's Pianoteq VSTi(I think I spelled that right).
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Old 09-06-2014, 07:53 AM   #7
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I really like your voice, and the way you arrange harmonies.. it works extremely well!

I like everything about this track, and the mix is very clean... you can hear everything extremely well

I could be wrong, but the whole time, I was wondering if "fake" drums would sound better here, instead of "natural" ones.

By fake, I mean a big, fat, Hip hop kinda thing...

I might be completely wrong on this, but that's what I was hearing in my head, and I thought I'd share it
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Old 09-06-2014, 12:56 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sammydix View Post
@M5
AD2 now. got the update as soon as it came out. love it. For me, EZ is too simplistic, Superior is too much, and I could never get used to Jamstix. so AD falls right in the perfect place for my "skills".
Nice -- I always listen intently when I hear programmed drums. Seems you pay a lot of attention to detail. It has not gone unnoticed!
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Old 09-06-2014, 01:40 PM   #9
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Thanks man! And I do. Of course like everyone, I throw things off with >100% quantization and a touch of humanization. But I'll sometimes take it a step more and and manually manipulate midi notes (something I've been doing quite a bit lately when dealing w/midi). Many times to find a specific sound at a specific velocity (one of the beauties of AD) or to add/delete hits--but I suppose most do that too.

I'll have to back off some, though, because I let Kindafishy hear it before uploading and he felt sometimes the snare sounded a little too different in parts (if I'm interpreting what he said correctly). So I may go overboard sometimes.
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Old 09-06-2014, 01:43 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by g4greg View Post
I really like your voice, and the way you arrange harmonies.. it works extremely well!

I like everything about this track, and the mix is very clean... you can hear everything extremely well

I could be wrong, but the whole time, I was wondering if "fake" drums would sound better here, instead of "natural" ones.

By fake, I mean a big, fat, Hip hop kinda thing...

I might be completely wrong on this, but that's what I was hearing in my head, and I thought I'd share it
That could possibly bring a whole different feel to the song and 'contemporize' it at the same time. More experimentation...
Thx man.
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Old 09-06-2014, 02:06 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sammydix View Post
Many times to find a specific sound at a specific velocity (one of the beauties of AD)
Yes, I absolutely love this about AD!

Quote:
Originally Posted by sammydix View Post
I'll have to back off some, though, because I let Kindafishy hear it before uploading and he felt sometimes the snare sounded a little too different in parts (if I'm interpreting what he said correctly). So I may go overboard sometimes.
Yes, sometimes one can tinker too much. I'll find myself messing with a fill and then all of a sudden, an hour has gone by...lol. But yeah, sounds fine to me.
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Old 09-06-2014, 02:52 PM   #12
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Very nice. I like the strings a lot. Can't really find anything to nitpick here.

Sounds more like a harpsichord than a toy piano to me.
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Old 09-06-2014, 04:01 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by Swamp Ape View Post
Very nice. I like the strings a lot. Can't really find anything to nitpick here.

Sounds more like a harpsichord than a toy piano to me.
Don't know if it makes much difference to the sound, but harpsichord is what I meant to say. Don't even know why I said harmonium. Thanks for that SA.
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Old 09-06-2014, 04:12 PM   #14
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Bluesy/Beatles ballad/Classical sound imo, very well done, congrats.
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Old 09-06-2014, 06:36 PM   #15
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Don't know if it makes much difference to the sound, but harpsichord is what I meant to say. Don't even know why I said harmonium. Thanks for that SA.
Ha! I thought so. It's a pretty unusual sound for this type of song but I think it works really well.

The harmonium's a reedy nasal organ, whereas the harpsichord has that plucked-string attack.

I really like this song. I've listened to it a few times now.
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Old 09-06-2014, 07:08 PM   #16
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GREAT tune Sam! as always, your vocals are top notch. tremendous creativity in this one, backed with a ton of care and thought. you can definitely hear that. definitely a 60s vibe.. love it! it has a really nice uniqueness to it that only someone with a lot of experience could bring.

strings arrangement is outstanding! very Beatles sounding.

i love your attention to panning, but kept wondering if the drums were a little too out front. personal taste.. but curious what they'd sound like with a little more room mics/OHs in the mix?

all around classy tune, classy effort and UNIQUE! great job! writing is TOP NOTCH!
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Old 09-06-2014, 07:10 PM   #17
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Quote:
The harmonium's a reedy nasal organ
that's why I bumped myself in the head. they're nothing alike. i do really dumb stuff sometimes. ha!
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Old 09-06-2014, 07:14 PM   #18
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Originally Posted by mschuster View Post
GREAT tune Sam! as always, your vocals are top notch. tremendous creativity in this one, backed with a ton of care and thought. you can definitely hear that. definitely a 60s vibe.. love it! it has a really nice uniqueness to it that only someone with a lot of experience could bring.

strings arrangement is outstanding! very Beatles sounding.

i love your attention to panning, but kept wondering if the drums were a little too out front. personal taste.. but curious what they'd sound like with a little more room mics/OHs in the mix?

all around classy tune, classy effort and UNIQUE! great job! writing is TOP NOTCH!
Totally appreciated MS. Very cool to hear that about the strings because for the first time, I did the notes one by one from scratch (as opposed to using a midi loop)--thus the simple arrangement. I must say I hated the experience, and since I don't use strings that much, I won't be doing that again time too soon.

Kinda mentioned the 'more room' too, but i was trying to keep it mostly dry. Might not have worked as well as thought with this particular song.
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Old 09-07-2014, 12:45 PM   #19
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Cool tune. Some things could sit better in the mix, but cool no less.
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Old 09-07-2014, 04:05 PM   #20
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Good one sammydix, i really like the melody, its catchy as, i'll be getting around all day now singing "in this palace called home"

Cheers
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Old 09-07-2014, 04:32 PM   #21
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Very nice listen, I have to say there's nothing dumb about that harpsichord solo, it's really good and original. Also the strings are very well done. Even though the drums are good too, I also agree they could be swapped with something softer and boomier (but not too boomy, just not as crisp as what is going on atm) My 2 cents.
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Old 09-07-2014, 09:38 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brainwreck View Post
Cool tune. Some things could sit better in the mix, but cool no less.
thanks for dropping dude.

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Originally Posted by Wolffman View Post
Good one sammydix, i really like the melody, its catchy as, i'll be getting around all day now singing "in this palace called home"

Cheers
ha! send me a clip. thx Wolff
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Old 09-08-2014, 11:59 AM   #23
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Originally Posted by hamish View Post
Very nice listen, I have to say there's nothing dumb about that harpsichord solo, it's really good and original. Also the strings are very well done. Even though the drums are good too, I also agree they could be swapped with something softer and boomier (but not too boomy, just not as crisp as what is going on atm) My 2 cents.
yes, I hear it on the drums now. could use some 'softening'. thx Ham.
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Old 09-08-2014, 12:04 PM   #24
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Wasn't sure when it started but it quickly leads you in and grows on you with lots of layers and great separation. Intelligent construction that definitely has the Beatles vibe.
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Old 09-08-2014, 02:38 PM   #25
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Appreciated Barry. and yep, that was on purpose.
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Old 09-08-2014, 02:55 PM   #26
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Do I need specific Software to be able to listen to your track ? I would like to, but can not download or listen !
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Old 09-08-2014, 03:56 PM   #27
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I'm not sure what's happening. I just checked and was taken straight to the DB player.
What happens when you click the link?
Maybe install/update Flash?
Tried a different browser?
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Old 09-08-2014, 07:26 PM   #28
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VERY nice, Sammy. I like all the refinements since the first pass I heard a few days ago, in particular, the bass, the vocals and the harpsichord all sound much more cohesive now.

The more I listen, the more the dryness grows on me too. I just spun it 4 or 5 times, and as I internalize it more, I appreciate it more.

Love the harmonies at the end.

Love the horn accents.

Love the hooks, the uniqueness and the creativity of it all.

Like Wolff, I find myself singing this when it's not playing.
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Old 09-08-2014, 08:24 PM   #29
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Just to be different ...

I will venture to express some confusion about the intended upshot of the composition/arrangement.

I liked it. But I hope you wouldn't mind if I asked whether the picked gtr intro serves its purpose well? It repeats, but almost disappears later on. Is that the right instrument? Might not the harpsichord or pizzicato on strings do the same thing for an intro, with more integration?

If you want to convey tension in the lyrics (socio/psych alienation?) would some more dissonance in the harmonies (as they develop) help that goal?

And although someone above said "bluesy", it is not at all bluesy, rather major-y and disciplined, although that might a strategy for cranking up the emotional impact of the song. A few selected blue notes (maybe sustained?) could really mess with the listener.

Very thoughtful piece! Congrats.
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Old 09-08-2014, 08:41 PM   #30
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@Kindafishy
Hey Kevin. this is why I send to you for soundboard before posting--to get some of those last minute details worked out...until others can find more. thx guy.

@msore
you want dissonant harmonies, wait til my next post. got some strange ones in that one.
The song's in a minor key, but I can hear the major tinges in places. I admit the song is bit 'straight forward', but that was desired for this particular piece, but not so much as a common occurrence. Thanks for the observations!
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Old 09-08-2014, 10:15 PM   #31
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sammydix View Post
I'm not sure what's happening. I just checked and was taken straight to the DB player.
What happens when you click the link?
Maybe install/update Flash?
Tried a different browser?
It´s really strange, do not understand why it does not work ?!

Get a message (Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer)

Error (404)
We can't find the page you're looking for. Check out our Help Center and forums for help, or head back to home.

or

I get a completely white page with an small White "X" in a small black box at the top / left side

Last edited by Giano; 09-08-2014 at 10:20 PM.
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Old 09-08-2014, 10:41 PM   #32
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try this one:
http://www.soundclick.com/player/sin...=12910332&q=hi
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Old 09-09-2014, 12:15 PM   #33
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Yep, I like it a lot, epecially the hapsichord part is great

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Old 09-09-2014, 02:24 PM   #34
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I tired soon on the Ringo-fills, too much drumming, imo. I had AD, almost too fun... it's like the drummer jams along with the other players... sitting in... doesn't really serve the song...

The song itself I liked most, and some of that lush thing, I always like that in your production/sound... I don't know where to put those squeeky guitar licks, the disharmonic challenge, as it were...

That is a good song, how about skipping the "arty/contrasting" bits? Let it be beautiful. Maybe even conventional.
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Old 09-09-2014, 05:23 PM   #35
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@Giano
thanks for hanging in there Giano. Glad I got a link that worked.

@Jorgen
Sorry about the annoying drums, but they were kinda fun to do.
I thought this was conventional. thx for checking in.
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Old 09-11-2014, 04:04 AM   #36
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Love the harmonies. The instrumentation works well. Don't stop experimenting with the strings!
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Old 09-11-2014, 03:52 PM   #37
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Wow great tune
Very cool
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Old 09-11-2014, 04:28 PM   #38
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@FS
If/when I do use strings again, I'm fairly sure I'll be using JO's Midiguitar.

@Garrick
cool that you listened.

thanks fellaz.
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Old 09-11-2014, 10:38 PM   #39
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That's a great tune Sammy! Has a nice loose (in a good way) feel. Strings work well, and your voice is marvelous.
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Old 09-22-2014, 10:33 PM   #40
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Nice art direction, different but recognizable for sure.


I do hear some pops and click in this track. and a few abrupt fades.

I agree that the drums are on the loud side here and bright. the drums feel a bit overly stereo. in a mix that is mostly mono and paned. I'm not a mic guy but it might be worth the trouble to play around with m/s mic placement, or even in the mix project. You know two mic hard paned, (or a track digitally summed to mono) then one mono so you can adjust the level between each.

The mix is a bit vibrant, in some places it feels like a few instruments compete to be up front in the spot light.


Love the vocals, you always nail it!
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