Title: More 'slow' august. Post by: offthewall on August 08, 2009, 08:35:17 PM 8)
My 40 bpm offering was inspired by an early morning stroll along my local beach in God’s Own Country, north-east England. Here we have all ‘real’ instruments. Jedson acoustic guitar Aria AMB50 electro’acoustic bass Ozark bouzouki Generation D ‘Shush tweaked’ penny-whistle. A smattering of BackStageEQone and GlaceVerb, all recorded through Behringer mic and mastered in Reaper V3.5 ;) James Title: Re: More 'slow' august. Post by: elwoodblues1969 on August 08, 2009, 08:49:46 PM James,
Superb depth & presence of instruments,giving this tune a warm & hearty atmosphere. 8)The whole arrangement could be a bit tighter timing-wise,but I know that being a one-man-band & doing it all live is a massive undertaking. :o Since this is for a contest,have you ever considered using the Celemony Melodyne software to straighten out the notes? I know that if I was in your situation & I had to do everything live,this particular software would be a must have,in my book. -Thom Title: Re: More 'slow' august. Post by: offthewall on August 08, 2009, 09:02:56 PM Thanks for the comments, Thom.
As for using software ($199 :o ) to straighten out the notes .... no thanks, my friend. If I can't play them straight there's no way I'm gonna cheat and pretend that I can. And as for it being a contest ... I'm not in it to win, rather to use the theme as a challenge in the learning process same as we do over here at K-M. There are a whole bunch of musicians over there who can 'only' work with software. Some of those can't play an instrument other than a keyboard. I don't make any pretence. I don't play any instrument exceptionally well ... and some very poorly, but at least I like to try. And I have fun with it. ;D (http://bestsmileys.com/music1/4.gif) ;) James Title: Re: More 'slow' august. Post by: elwoodblues1969 on August 08, 2009, 09:31:29 PM I completely understand where you're coming from James & I feel the same way as far as live venues go,but in terms of recording,I can't live without computer timing corrections,being that my arrangements are large in scope & they're comprised of various different program patches.
Yeah...what I do is a bit fraudulent,as I am not playing any real instruments & my timing is not my own,but I've always been enamored by the concept of creating an entire song from top to bottom without the neccessity for any band mates & I'm fascinated by the technology that provides me with a world of emulated instruments....allowing me to lay down my heart & soul(even though it's not all that organic). I'm just not interested in spending the bulk of my time learning a myriad of different instruments & playing until my fingers bleed before I have the timing down,as I'd rather spend the time creating as many songs as possible....just can't stand the idea of any thoughts or ideas going to waste,so I have to lay down everything in my head,while it's still hot. ;) ;D -Thom Title: Re: More 'slow' august. Post by: MarioD on August 08, 2009, 09:52:54 PM This one took me away to a far and distant land and what a pleasant journey it was :;
This is top shelf all the way :- I found nothing really wrong with your timing. Not being absolutely dead nuts on every downbeat gives this the “organic” feel that it needs. PS – I find it very interesting that some people quantize every note to the nth then press the humanize button :D PSS - Now some songs and genres demand super tight timing and I’ve done that on some of my songs. This is NOT a knock on how we use our systems for timing. Title: Re: More 'slow' august. Post by: folderol on August 08, 2009, 10:08:44 PM While I enjoyed this very much. I do think you were having a struggle with it, and that comes out in a bit of 'stiffness' in the playing.
For what it's worth. I've noticed that in all the entries there so far, and I'm having a bit of a fight with my own piece. I think it's down to the slowness creating a sort of 'dead space' in your mind. Scoops has subtly picked a surprisingly difficult theme. Title: Re: More 'slow' august. Post by: offthewall on August 09, 2009, 09:03:46 PM :D
Thanks for more comments. @Thom ..... I wasn't getting at you, my friend. My little rant was at certain others 'over there' who seem to be fiercely critical of anything that isn't synthetic. I know your particular situation and am an ardent fan of the way you can develop beautiful music. As with most things, a lot of what you do is not to my taste .... but then ... if we were all the same it would be a boring existence? Yes? :-* @Mario .... thanks for the compliment. I'm glad you enjoyed the ride. 8) @Folderol .... very perceptive, Will. :-X Without sounding like a moaner, I am having great difficulties with the arthritis in my fingers at the moment. I hadn't realised it had come across in my playing. You should go into healthcare diagnostics instead of electronics, mate. ::) ;) James Title: Re: More 'slow' august. Post by: folderol on August 09, 2009, 09:59:29 PM Without sounding like a moaner, I am having great difficulties with the arthritis in my fingers at the moment. Ah! The dreaded 'A' word. I've been noticing it more myself this last 6 months or so. Fingers hurting if I grip things tightly or carry bags with thin straps :( Fortunately it hasn't had a lot of effect on my playing yet, but then keyboards don't require the pressure and finesse that guitars, whistles etc. do. Not that it's worth a lot, but you have my sympathy friend. Title: Re: More 'slow' august. Post by: t_riddy on August 10, 2009, 03:45:34 AM I really enjoyed this. A nice blend of instruments and I like the "organic," free-flowing feel. Even more impressive is it sounds like each instrument was done as a single, continuous take. And because of this I learned what a bouzouki is ;D
Title: Re: More 'slow' august. Post by: offthewall on August 10, 2009, 07:20:55 AM Quote it sounds like each instrument was done as a single, continuous take :o Yet another very perceptive comment.You're quite right, my man. Almost all parts were, in fact, a single take. The only extra was a couple of really bad 'bum notes' which had to be over-dubbed. Thanks for the comments. ;D ;) James Title: Re: More 'slow' august. Post by: Oren on August 10, 2009, 02:17:06 PM James,
What stood out for me is the acoustic guitar recording. You managed to capture the nuances of the instrument, and use a bit of room ambience too. :- Title: Re: More 'slow' august. Post by: offthewall on August 10, 2009, 02:37:26 PM Thanks, Oren.
That 'room ambience' is actually the wonderful "BackStageEQone". Because of physical restrictions and background noise I always use a close-mic setting and then add a little processing. This is always the Classic Compressor, on acoustic guitar preset, and usually this wonderful BackStage. I have been using it on most of my acoustic instruments lately. ;) James Title: Re: More 'slow' august. Post by: folderol on August 10, 2009, 06:42:02 PM @t_riddy
You'll get used to our James. He almost always plays tracks right through - shows the rest of us up >:D Don't tell him I said so, but he's rather good at it 8) Title: Re: More 'slow' august. Post by: MarioD on August 11, 2009, 01:25:01 PM @t_riddy You'll get used to our James. He almost always plays tracks right through - shows the rest of us up >:D Don't tell him I said so, but he's rather good at it 8) Will, you got that right 8) |