AndyB01

Thanks Larry Anything ground breaking - like a scalable GUI for instance? I'll see myself out 😉 Andy

Wookie, this has an ethereal quality that I really liked, drums were somewhat unexpected but really filled the space. Great work Andy

Thanks @Larry T. @Paul Bush and @Douglas Kirby - appreciate you taking the time to listen and feedback. Those BGVs took a few takes to get in the can - a mate of mine (who has his own music production company) thought they were auto harmonies (something I never even knew existed); I don't know whether to be flattered or offended... 😂😂 Andy

Well it reminded me a little of their later (and perhaps less popular) stuff - Stormbringer in particular. I agree, it is interesting what people take away from our tracks. Keep on rocking fella, I love your stuff. Andy

Awesome, loved the driving rhythm of the guitars, very Purple if may say so. 🙂 Andy

Thanks for listening Wookie and Nigel - yes drummers are a special breed, but not always special in a good way 😉 Andy

Mix #2 for me - great job! 👍 Andy

That violin(?) is right on the edge between acceptably challenging and uncomfortable, but you've absolutely hit the line with it - a dB more would probably have been too much. Lovely stuff - really lifted my mood and really well done. Andy

I could listen to your vocals and harmonies all day long - beautiful work. Liked the Hammond in the background behind the solo guitar too - nice touch Andy

Hi Douglas, I really liked the stripped back raw edge to this - part of me wanted maybe a hint more gravel in the lead vocal, but that's a minor crit. Loved the finish on the drum fill, classy touch. Andy

What do I think? I think you absolutely NAILED it - brilliant! Well done. Andy

Nice gentle groove on this - that's one long elevator ride - much too good for lift music however. Loved some of the chord progressions and the rhythm. Hope the tremors ease off soon, I use EzKeys shamelessly so go for it, but I mainly use it because I'm a hopeless busker on keys. 🙂 Andy

Thanks David, I've been called many things but that's a new one, appreciate your ears as always. 😂 Cheers @noynekker There are a few more I might revisit, one is a cover of a beautiful song I have always loved (See You Around Sometime) by a little-known Welsh folk singer (Neil Lewis) who is sadly no longer with us. I'm just re-learning the slightly tricky guitar part before I commit it to tape so to speak. Cheers Tom: 1970s karaoke - absolutely - bring it on. You have good ears my friend, I hear that bass timing issue (no idea how that happened, I'll see if I can fix it) and yes maybe bring those drums up a touch. Each drum is on its own track routed to a single drum bus, so I should have enough control in the mix to get them right. Thanks all for the comments and taking the time out to listen. Andy

David, this is the sound I imagine my brain making if someone suggests doing yoga to me - as it goes into fight or flight mode and tells me I need to find a sharp exit! 😂 Enjoyed the listen though, some interesting instrumentation and unexpected changes. The percussion track kept it all together - cleverly done Andy

Great spot Gary, those opening chords might have been ever-so-slightly influenced from 'Make It With You' - I was quite a fan of David Gates and Bread back in the day.

So you might have seen my recent post about an old music folder I found in my attic, dating back to circa 1980. Well, this is the first track to emerge from what has become known as The Lost Attic Tapes project. This particular song has an interesting back story, I actually wrote it on guitar as an entry for a local (and I mean local) song competition – I’d have been about 17 or 18 I guess at the time (so you’ll forgive the lyrical naivety I hope). We had to submit a recorded take (on TDK's finest quality cassette tape) as well as lyrics and music, so I had a piano arrangement written by a local semi-pro musician who was a mate of a mate. The bass player from my band played bass and my mate did drums and BGVs. My then guitar teacher played the piano and also composed the guitar solo (after two listens he recorded that in a single take). I then had to learn it and perform it on the day, as well as doing the lead vocal. In the end, we came second to a girl with an acoustic guitar and a song called ‘Suicide Letters’ (I told you it was a low bar). So we all retired to the pub afterwards to drink our £15 prize money – life changing stuff eh. We used to perform this song in my band, Jetlag, (guitar, bass and drums) and once, the drummer got so bored, he put his sticks down and went to the bar (don’t you just love drummers), I don’t think anyone noticed. As to the track itself, I started by re-creating the piano arrangement in Notion from the original dots (that’s the track with the higher register notes). I then made a chord track from that arrangement (programmed in PRV and played using a Soft Rhodes), which I then used in EzKeys - using one of the contemporary soul MIDI pack arrangements as a session pianist – this added a lower register to the piano to fill out the sound. The VSTs I used are Pianoteq 7 Stage and Synthogy Ivory II. I used EzBass to create the bass track and EzDrummer for a drum track. The ‘acoustic’ guitar is actually my T5z, patched through a CLA guitars plugin and the guitar solo - which is the same guitar - is patched through one of the TH-U All packs with a touch of added delay. I’m not sure this was ever in my vocal range over 40 years ago and it’s even less so now, but I really didn’t want to change the key. I did my best with the vocals and BGVs (give me some credit for attempting a four part harmony on the outro). The lyrics are very simple, but they have an innocent naivety I rather like – the World seemed a far simpler place back then. Any improvements in my mixing are entirely down to the efforts of Mike @Creative Sauce (do check out his channel on YouTube if you haven’t already). This is the most complicated project I have ever attempted - with more tracks, buses and sends than enough. My projects used to be ever so simple (crap, but simple 😉 ) until I started watching Mike's videos and I now have delusions of capability 😂 - any production howlers are entirely mine, despite Mike's best efforts to make me better at my craft. Anyway - here it is – the first track off the Lost Attic Tapes: Breaking Away, circa 1980. I hope you enjoy it, nits and crits welcome as always. I had a lot of fun re-creating this – a real nostalgia trip. Andy

Hi Jerry, interesting piece, both contemporary and traditional instruments and effects blend really well. Such a rich tapestry of sound, beautifully and intricately woven. Highly enjoyable. Andy

Very good for catching carp though, and even the odd tench, they seem to love a spot of luncheon meat. Always raises a few eyebrows when I go to the supermarket to buy eight mini tins of sweetcorn and four tins of spam. You can see the cashier thinking 'poor sod, I wonder of he's heard of food banks...' 'It's for fishing' I say, by way of justification, but they always give me that same knowing look 😂 Andy

The lead at 1:11 sounds ok for level to me, it's the Knopfler'esque guitar work that precedes and follows it that I would say could do with a slight lift. Minor crit though - great groove. Good luck with the old dentistry. Andy

I used to make a lot of videos, using Premiere Elements (good software), mainly shot on my trusted Canon MVX250i DV camcorder. I spent many hours doing the real-time capture then adding titles, transitions, FX, and SmartSound audio tracks before rendering to a finished project. I can now shoot better quality footage in HD on my smartphone and yet I almost never bother. I guess I just fell out of love with it, just at the point when it's never been easier to do. Ironic, right?

I suspect you're on a one-way Highway to Hell trying to fix this and the only way to do the job properly is go back to base zero with a full system re-install of Windows. I know it's a tough choice, I had something similar a while back with my laptop constantly blue screening, and in the end I bit the bullet and went for the full nuclear reinstall. Assuming you have sound and up to date backups, it's probably going to be your fastest path back to sanity. I hope you get it back up and running soon. Andy

I know, you're right, but if I was doing a vid I'd have to go all in. I wouldn't be content with a single still image, but I'm not knocking it. Each to their own.

I started with SoundCloud (still on it). I had a paid plan but they started posting ads on stuff so I thought well if I have to put up with ads, they can shove the paid subscription and I've reverted to a free account. It's a good layout and there are some incredibly talented musicians on there, I get fed up of the spammers and other idiots (some blocks and reports required). I recently started using Bandlab, I like the private track function but I dislike the way versions are posted (I seem to end up with lots of multiple versions instead of overwriting the original). I don't sense too many soulmates on Bandlab (a lot of stuff on my feed I would never listen to). I'm not sure about forking either (not really my thing) but can see the attraction of that feature for others and you can turn disable it. Same issue as SC with spammers and idiots, but they do seem to block accounts on report. Not tried any others, some of the Bandlab issues I have are probably due to my inexperience with the platform and I'll probably fully migrate off SC to BL at some point. Agree about YouTube, but I just don't have the time or patience for making videos as well - kudos to those that do. Andy

8.5" but it's what you do with it that counts 😉 I'll see myself out...

I've lost stuff in CbB before now - usually because of my own poor workflow hygiene. I always make a habit now of hitting Ctrl-S before I do anything I consider to be significant - that might be quantizing, doing a bounce, synth freeze or a mix export - even adding a significant effect or inserting a new VST. It takes seconds to do it but it has saved me in the past but YMMV. Ultimately your call I guess but I get the frustration - I've been there - but you have to find a way to work around it or switch DAWs I suppose. Andy