AndyB01

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

Thanks all for your feedback, constructive comments and suggestions. I am working on an update to lift this into the key of D (which is a lot closer to the original of G flat than my first version); that's about as high a register as I can manage. I'm also adding a simple drum track and I've lifted the BPM by four clicks as per the original.

As a result I've had to re-record everything and edit all the MIDI, as the chord inversions go haywire after such a significant transposition.

It's a lot of work and I don't have much spare time but will post the new version when I can.

Andy

Enjoyed this one, needs a touch of polish as Nigel says but has all the ingredients for another classic.

Andy

Great riff and some nice lyrics in there - hook and chorus is just great. Super tight mix.

Andy

The multi-voice output is a a very clever feature - I had a quick play with it today. Really good for routing strings - you get a lot of control.

I compared a simple chord set routing to a full orchestra string patch with the same chord set split between bass, cello, viola, and 1st and 2nd violins (both of the violins routed to MIDI Ch 5).

It's incredibly easy to set up the routing - I mean even I managed to do it right first time! You really can hear the difference, you can set levels across the different patches; you can even pan the instruments to their actual positions in the orchestra pit.

Incredible potential if you're into orchestration (although a purist would probably not use Scaler to achieve this). I'm very impressed - much fun to be had.

Pound for pound, Scaler is an incredible plugin imho and just keeps getting better.

Andy

I'm still getting to grips with the last version, will have to have a play with the new features.

It's a highly underrated (and in my case under-used) plugin imho.

Great stuff Peter - thoroughly enjoyed that. 👏👏👏

Andy

Great song - really enjoyable listen - I thought the drums fitted the song style perfectly.

Andy

1 minute ago, Wookiee said:

I remember this from his regular show back in the days when we only had three TV channels or was it four.

Cheers

It was definitely three and they were in black and white!!! 😳😳😳

2 hours ago, Jesse Screed said:

excellent work with scaler and ez keys combo.  I would have liked to see that workflow.  Did it take you long?

A few hours. At first I had to get the chords (fortunately some guy on YouTube had done a bar by bar breakdown) and then transpose to the key I wanted. Programming chords into Scaler is OK, you just have to make sure every chord you need is there once, and then do a mapping to the song structure using key switches to change pattern - I wrote a little guide to help. I just routed and recorded this out from Scaler to another VST (Pianoteq), as the Scaler instruments are a bit lame.

A quick quantize then import (and humanize) the chord track over to a couple of EzKeys tracks. The noodling piano is one of the jazz ballad packs and the accompaniment is a simple basic arpeggio pattern. Both use pianos in EzKeys (the upright). I had to edit a few inversions where EzKeys goes out of whack but it did pretty well.

It took a few hours one evening to get it right. 

2 hours ago, Jesse Screed said:

Is that a nylon guitar

Sure is - a Yamaha Silent Guitar - SLG200-N

My wife's favourite guitar - because it makes very little noise. 😉😂

Lovely acoustic tones and enjoyed the harp too - a minor crit - maybe the lead guitar could have had just a little more crunch in there but it's all good. Like the change of pace and feel at around 2:25 as well - great work, well done.

Andy

Thanks Tom - I actually programmed the piano chords into Scaler (so I could play them using key switches to lay down a really simple chord track) and then I used a couple of EzKeys MIDI packs to add some character and embellishments - worked out better than I expected. 

I tried to keep the guitar solo as close to the original as I remembered it - which pretty much follows the vocal melody. It is fairly busy - it's not particularly difficult to play - you just need to select the best neck position to get the most impact for the glissando transitions (of which there are many).

Appreciate all the feedback and cheers for the listen @MichaelJohn, the guitar tone is just my Yamaha SLG200N (yep that's the so-called silent one), DI'd in with a bit of added reverb. I find it to be a great guitar for recording with nylon strings.

Andy

Cheers Mark, appreciate the listen, you make a good point about the key - for what it's worth - I agree 100%.

It actually came out quite a bit lower than I expected - I definitely have a bit more headroom in my vocal range than this, so I will have a bash at re-cutting it at some point.

Easy to lift the MIDI tracks as you say, I'd re-record the guitar though because transposing it using something like Melodyne will destroy the tone I think.

I look forward to re-comping the twin-tracked vocal tracks. 😂

Andy

52 minutes ago, Bajan Blue said:

Hi Andy

i tried to listen, but the link kept saying "This site can’t be reached - Check if there is a typo in https."

now this might very well be where I am at the moment , but I thought I should let you know

Cheers

Nigel

 

It was a dud link briefly Nigel - after I uploaded a new version - but I think it's fixed now; try again when you get chance.

Andy

Nice builds from the start - I enjoy the journey on your tracks - that occasionally very slightly discordant arp is cleverly done.

Great work

Andy

@noynekker Cheers for the listen, I dropped the vocals as they sounded a bit too loud in the mix to me, but I probably have song fatigue after working on this for hours. I'll have a fresh listen.

My Dad never liked this song or Gilbert O'Sullivan - used to he say that he just 'bashed out chords on a piano'.

What great chords they were though eh, my Dad should have had a closer listen. 😂

The other intriguing aspect of this song is the rather sing-a-long, upbeat melody - set against those lyrics - which tell such a tragic story of loneliness, abandonment and loss.

Andy

P.s. listened again and I agree - I have lifted the vox a few notches (probably overcooked it) 🙉

Hi folks - hope you're all keeping well.

Here's my take on Gilbert O'Sullivan's timeless (if somewhat depressing) classic ballad from way back in 1971. I've always wanted to have a go at this song - mainly because of the guitar solo. I had to drop the key to handle my rather limited baritone range and it's also a couple of clicks slower than the original. I probably could have coped with a higher key, but I really couldn't face re-recording it all (I know the vocal timing is a little off in the bridge section - I will get around to fixing that).

The piano track is well beyond my rather rudimentary chops, so I had to get creative with Scaler and EzKeys to produce this - seems to have come out not too badly but judge for yourselves.

Anyway - I hope you like it - nits and crits welcome as always.

Alone Again (Naturally)

Andy

p.s see later post for updated version 

Nice work Bjorn - music goes well with the footage - transitions also work well.

Looking down from way up there, helps puts a few things in perspective.

Andy

Someone bought me some wooden ones in a tin once as a gift - look lovely but sound and play badly (too chunky and zero flex).

I don't use a pick that often tbh but when I do I use sharkfin mediums - I know they split opinion - they work well for me.

Andy

I quit caffeine for good in the first lockdown. I had tried years before and crashed miserably after only three days with pounding headaches. This time I went down from several cups a day to just one - in a morning. Then after a week I subbed that with decaff, you can get some really good decaff coffee now (using water instead of chemicals to remove the caffeine) - including ground - so this is now my go to and I really don't miss it. 

I never realised how bad my caffeine addiction was, I would get a headache by the end of a day if we had been out somewhere and I had not had a coffee - completely nuts. Also, caffeine has a diuretic effect that I really don't miss.

Hang in there, you will crack it.

Andy

Sounding great as always, enjoyed it immensely.

Andy