AndyB01

I had an EKO Ranger back in the day - my first 'decent' guitar, before I understood the meaning of the word decent 😂, I used to amplify it with a Schaller sound hole pick up - not great. This however sounds great, some nice chord changes and as Tom says - there's definitely a lyric and song in here if you look for it. Nicely played Andy

I'm just working my way through the entire album - and I'm loving it. Fabulous stuff Andy

Graham - you will need a dedicated audio interface. So many to choose from and everyone has their particular favourites. Personally I'm a big fan of Focusrite Scarlett gear - I have a Gen 1 2i4 and it's still going strong - I've had it donkeys' years. eBay can be a good source if you're not fussed about new. Just do your homework. Andy

If you're new to MIDI, try this: And check out Mike's other videos while you're at it. John's tutorial videos (post above) are also recommended. Welcome to Cakewalk and music production - simultaneously both the most frustrating and most satisfying thing you can do with a computer (imho). 😂 Andy

Hard to like this any more than I did already but now it's an absolute country classic. Steel guitar is soooo sweet. If I could have one really minor crit - I'd like a touch more variety in the percussion track. Great work Andy

Very 'Wind And Wuthering' that cover shot. 😉 I love this, the guitars remind me of Ant Phillips' stuff and yes I can hear the Yes and Genesis vibe Keith references. Mic sounds pretty good to me - I've got the T.bone SC450 and I'm pretty pleased with it as a studio mic. Love the sharp ending too. New fan (Another) Andy

Nice effort Larry, I'm not quite getting that reggae feel from the strummed guitar, perhaps it needs to be a little more staccato and less resonant - this mix is definitely better to my ears. I must admit, I am not much of a reggae fan but it is darn difficult to do well, so kudos for taking this on. Andy

Pretty cool track - everything sounds great. Top work! Andy

Looks great but at over 400 quid, I think I'll have to pass that one up. Andy

I'm with @Wookiee - definitely better than the original! Interesting choice of song to cover - I thought the genre makeover fitted the lyrics perfectly Andy

Clever lyrics (which I like a lot) and a great groove. I was reminded ever so slightly of Ian Drury & The Blockheads (meant as a compliment). Great stuff Andy

Love the guitar work - don't fear the vocals - put the levels up and go for it. We are all our own worst critics. I'm with Bjorn on wanting a little more variety both in song structure and percussion - the riff feels like the song wants to lift towards the end - maybe a key change (as if anyone does those any more)? 😂 Look forward to hearing more of your stuff Andy

There is a little-used notes function in Cakewalk, I tend to use that to document key project data (like plugin settings and a few other things). Has saved me a few times. Bit of a pain to do but really helps if a manual rebuild of a project is required. Andy

I especially like the percussion and the harmonies - bit of a West Coast feel to it - nicely done Andy

One of the download files failed at the first attempt (probs due to server loading) but worked second time around. Looks (and sounds) good. Andy

I have an old Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 which causes absolute havoc if I connect it via USB 3.0 - I get blue screens and crashes all over the place. It took me ages to realise this was the issue. However on USB 2.0 - rock solid. If and when I upgrade my laptop (five years old), I reckon I'll have to upgrade the interface as well. Andy

'Strong opener' - something of an understatement. One word: brilliant Loved it Andy

Great job, no problem with the vox to my ears., mix sounds spot on. Andy

I also found the presentation a bit wearing and ended up skipping over most of Rikk's parts - but - the software looks great. Now please do the same thing for EzKeys!

Considering the constraints you have, you're making great music, keep it up. The fourths as in the circle of fifths - of course - please forgive my weak attempt at some wookie related humour. On a more serious note, those fourth intervals do make a change from the more usual musical constructs many of us have been brought up on. I have a theory book to read, I really should dig into it. Andy

As in 'May the fourths be with you' 😉 Enjoyed that - a lot - lovely subtle drum fills and great bass track. Loved the little synth runs - great stuff. Andy

+1 to this suggestion - Mike's videos are really good. Enjoy the ride!

It's a journey in percussion for sure - definitely on the experimental side - but the mix was fine. Andy

Oh my - that vocal starts and I'm gone. Can't say I was a massive fan of the synth sound in the instrumental but this is simply a matter of taste - fabulous work as always. Andy

Paul I hear the timing issues - do you need a drummer that can follow your timing instead of you following theirs? If so, I can absolutely identify. 😂 Rhythm issues aside - I like the groove on this - guitars sound great (might come up a hair) and the vocals are also sounding good; bass maybe down a tad and perhaps roll off some of the low end as there's a bit of mud down there on my Sony cans - other ears may hear it differently. I'm the worst at playing in time and what I have started doing is trying to follow a really simple drum pattern - like a click track but using drums instead of the monotony of a metronome - it helps but I'm still not the best. In my experience you're never going to fix this in the DAW - however much you quantize it - you'll just end up making it worse (well that's what happens to me, as quantizing is a dark art I am yet to master). So unless you get advice on here from a quantizing wizard (I am sure there are some), you're either going to have to re-cut it until you're happy or learn to love it as it is. I do find it hard to follow more complex drum tracks and stay in time, but a simple kick and snare I can usually follow relatively well - I bin it afterwards and replace it with the drums I want. Another good piece of advice I was given is to practice it until you can virtually play it blindfold, then on takes you can focus on the timing and not worry about spotting the right notes and chords (easier said than done though). Have you tried comping the guitar and looping around five takes then you can switch sections in and out to try and get the best overall result - might help. You can always fix vocal timing in Melodyne to a degree (but don't push your luck) so there's always that. I hope at least some of that helped but - all that aside - I really enjoyed the listen so give yourself some credit; good song. Andy