AndyB01

Loved Fleetwood Mac back in the day - still do - Rumours is such an iconic album. RIP indeed 😓

That is your problem I think. You want a stereo jack and adapter - like this

Daft question but humour me - the headphone jack used on the Solo does have two rings on it and not three? Andy

I admire your dedication and effort - it shows in your work and the results you achieve. I like the new version, agree about the mandolin - very nice touch. Andy

I had no idea that was there, looks very cool and I will definitely use that. Thanks Andy

Another great song Rex, my only crit, I felt the piano VST was a little 'dull' in terms of its voicing - not sure - perhaps it needs a touch of reverb to give it some sparkle or maybe a different VST? However I am also nitpicking - lovely harmonies as always and I thought the panning of them worked well. Andy

Lovely song Gary - very heartfelt performance - something of a James Taylor vibe I thought. Look forward to future mixes - as others have said there are lots of options here from stripped back to the full works. Andy

Thanks, it is a beautiful thing for sure - koa top - sometimes it's just enough to gaze at it... Once you own a Taylor it's hard to look elsewhere tbh, it's like joining a family - the ethics, the passion, the way they look at sustainability - I always have to remind myself how lucky I am to own it. I think it's a keeper. Andy

Rant away by all means - I only mention it because I did try one in the shop and although it can definitely do more in the versatility stakes than the Taylor - well, it didn't have the build quality or the looks to match and there's a lot more under the hood to go wrong. It also didn't have anywhere near as good an unplugged sound as the T5z - sometimes I just noodle away unplugged and I like it to sound half decent at least (although it can never match the sound I used to get from my old 314ce). Hybrids are always a compromise, but I wanted one instrument that could cover a lot of bases and - for recording - it does exactly that so I've no complaints. Mrs AndyB01 is also a fan, but only because it (a) has a smaller case than my old acoustic and so takes up less room and (b) has less acoustic projection and so makes less noise when I play it. 😂

My current goto is a Taylor T5z that I got about three years ago. Probably should have bought a Fender Acoustasonic instead, but there's just something about a Taylor... My only dislike is Position 1 (body sensor) - which is supposed to be the most acoustic-like tone - too much high end and string squeak, and sounds like no acoustic I've ever heard. I really should go back to the store and get it checked. Pos 2 is my favourite on the T5z - covers a lot of genres. I also have a tiny Yamaha THR5a which is brilliant for practice and also works well with my Yamaha SGL200-N gut string. I quite fancy its bigger brother - the THR30II (complete with wireless connectivity). I might upgrade one of these days, when Mrs AndyB01 isn't looking. 😉 For anything that is not clean or acoustic sounding, I'll either use GR6 or TH-U (not sure which I prefer but TH-U probably just edges it). Andy

I got SmartEQ3 from Plugin Boutique, as I had some virtual cash saved up. One thing I am really clueless at is separating instruments in the mix using EQ. When people tell me that 'I need to carve out some space in the mix' for one instrument or another, they may as well be talking in Klingon - I genuinely don't have a clue. SmartEQ has a virtual band feature so you can group instances of the plugin (up to six) and visually 'move' them in the mix. It looks like a gimmick but I tried it on a couple of my tracks and I can definitely hear a difference compared to the bypass, so it must be doing something. Subtle I grant you, but discernible nonetheless. So for that alone it works for me, and the added presets are a baseline to work from as an EQ profile. If, unlike me, you're an expert in the dark art of EQ, I doubt you'd use this feature. Andy

I was never convinced by EzMix, but I got it on a really low price offer some time ago during a weak moment. I don't have many add on packs for it but, of those I do have, there are some nice presets for guitar and vocals that I use quite often. Very simple UI, so a doddle to learn. However if you know what you're doing and already have an established set of plugins and workflow for mixing and mastering, I'm not sure it will add much value to your setup. Andy

Good job Steve (and an interesting back story). I thought it was a hair too fast on first listen, so I went back to listen to the original. On reflection - no - I think you have the tempo spot on. One minor crit - the fade on the final note is just a touch abrupt to my ears, if that note could be held or sustained for a moment more...? Not easy with staccato string parts - I do get that. Brilliant work overall though, as always. Andy

Tempted by the upright, but do I really need another piano VST - no, not really. I'll save my £s for the - hopefully inevitable - EzK2 upgrade. Despite the well-documented shortcomings of EzK1, it's enabled me to create content and piano accompaniment that I could otherwise have only dreamt of. I'm most definitely a big fan (but not quite as committed a fan as @Bapu). 😂 Andy

I've had Stage for years, I'm an occasional pianist but I've found it more than adequate for my needs. That said, I've just upgraded to v8 Standard - because I wanted an extra instrument anyway and I got that for the upgrade price so the deal worked well for me. Just had a play and the additional tinkering you can do in Standard looks good and you can get some interesting sounds. My 2c anyway. Andy

My experience on Bandlab, no bullying but a fair bit of spam and the odd inappropriate comment. I report all of these and tbf to Bandlab - every single one has been blocked and kicked off for breach of rules within a day or so. As to why people do it - human nature I guess - I don't think it's just a Bandlab problem. Pathetic and doubtless talentless keyboard warriors, hiding behind a cloak of pseudo-anonymity they believe gives them the right to abuse others without sanction or redress. It's beyond tragic but almost impossible to police at scale, like playing whack-a-mole but for every one you hit, ten more pop up. Thankfully, this place is a lot more civilized, one of the reasons why I'm still here. I've only ever been trolled once on here (on the previous version of this forum) and the community response was both swift and inspiring. To see this guy (who had been rudely trashing a number of posts by me and others) publicly taken down and dismantled by some of the elders on here was extremely heart-warming. Andy

Some nice lyrical craft in there Allan - I enjoyed it (including the cheesy synths), great job! Andy

Agree with David - you can definitely hear the difference in feel between the piano and the sax - piano feels a little 'automated' to me. Loved the groove however and sax is a standout. Thanks for sharing Andy

It's all Greek to me Jesse 😂

A final bump for this, in case anyone is interested in listening to and commenting on the updated version and missed my last post. ⬆️⬆️⬆️ Cheers 🙂 Andy

Progressions and changes are super smooth as always and always impossible to predict - I love that about your stuff. I think I know where it's going next and then something completely unexpected plays in. Great stuff. Andy

This had a great 50s feel - the mix was spot on. Enjoyed the listen. Andy

A lot of work in there Jack, very interesting use of instrumentation and well brought together. Enjoyed the listen. Andy

Hi Jesse - you certainly nailed the sentiment with those lyrics: 'if you want to be seen, you have to see others' Absolutely spot on. An ode to the crazy times we live in. Loved it Andy

OK here's a new version with all the changes noted above - including a major uplift in the key - nits, crits and comments welcome. I have left the original one uploaded for comparison (should you feel the need). https://www.bandlab.com/post/2df84b89-aa62-ed11-819a-000d3a3ee86d Cheers Andy