Barry Seymour

It's out! Thanks, everyone...
 

Sorry this took so long; I decided to ask my friend Jack Hill to do the bass. He added upright bass. I replayed some of the squeakier bits, re-sang a few clinkers, remixed and mastered.

Candidate for final release. Let me know if you have any suggestions!
 

Yes, and the section in question is already it's own clip. I just dragged it to the left a bit. Coming soon.

1 hour ago, DeeringAmps said:

Assuming the drums are a midi track. “Bounce to clip” all the drum midi. Then in the “Inspector” the “start time” will be shown. You can move that start time forward or backward on the timeline by “ticks”. When the  “feel” is right, lock the midi clip. 

hsmusic is suggesting minus 20-30 ticks. It depends on the “resolution” your using. That’s set in the preferences. I believe that 960 ticks per quarter note is “default” these days. I generally use 240, back in the day 120 was pretty common…

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I'm reluctant to move everything. Maybe just that opening salvo.

2 hours ago, hsmusic said:

To me when the drums kick in it's dragging a bit..could be a bit of latency if recorded in real time..

Don't mind my ears,  imagers or aural exciters do it to me..the high end, a kind of phase & balance effect. I wouldn't sweat it if sounds good to you or others..again great tune.

That actually could be due to the fact that I first recorded to a click track, then added in drums later. The drums are actually accurate, it's everything else that's probably off.  I'll have to research what I can do about that... Thanks!

2 hours ago, hsmusic said:

Excellent songwriting as always..I hear the drum track being slid about  minus 10-30 ticks or so..(the mix sounds good but my ears have problems with  the processing you're using, a  psychoacoustic- spatial-width type plugin.. but that's just me)

What do you mean "you hear the drum track being slid?"

The spacer is a plugin called 'Wider.' I always thought it was subtle, I'm interested to hear what problems your ears have with it. (I don't wanna cause problems! 😊)

Looking forward to your response; thanks for the feedback.

7 hours ago, Martin Bannet said:

Nice work. The acoustics are a super tone, but ultimately, a tad brighter maybe? If you're going for that 'quick decay' bass from 70's rock, then you got it nailed. Voice is up front, which is stellar! 🙂 And a great voice at that.  Kick and bass buried, but maybe that's the style you're going for, so it's cool. 

Thank you. Funny you should say that about the kick, someone else thought the drums were a bit much.

I do want to strive for a richer bass sound, and maybe the kick drum could come up a bit.  I'm gonna play with it over the weekend. Thanks for the feedback.

2 hours ago, garybrun said:

Very nice acoustic sounds and separation.
Great vocal too Barry with good lyrics.
Is the other instrument a clarinet?

Well done.

 

BBC Orchestra plugin. Clarinets and bassoons, then a full string section.

Thanks, Gar!

58 minutes ago, AndyB01 said:

Killer acoustic tone (is that a 12 string?) and some lovely chord inversions too.

The vocal is truly excellent and I love the lyrics.

I'm not entirely convinced by the addition of the drums - some light percussion maybe but these feel just a little heavy - but that's just taste and fancy and one guy's opinion.

Don't let that minor crit detract from what is a great song - I loved it.

Andy

 

Thanks for the feedback. That's a Yamaha A1M Acoustic. I love the tone of Yamahas. I fingerpicked one channel and flatpicked the other, then panned them left and right.

Hey there groovy guys, groovy gals. Peace love dove, bells, incense and Hare Krishna...

Sorry I've been absent for a while, but I have a new song.  Let me know what you think!
 

Very smooth, very slick. Amazing playing, flawlessly mixed, pro quality. I used to hear stuff like this on the radio all the time on the 'Smooth Jazz' stations in San Diego in the 80s. Well done!

PS: The more I go into this, the worse I feel about my guitar playing. 😁 Holy crap.

8 hours ago, mark skinner said:

Barry , that made a deep impression. Well Done !   I'm glad I live in the sticks ..      mark

Thanks! Yeah, it's gettin' old. Good thing I work from home!

Here's the final video! Can you feel the anxiety? 😁

Okay, this is a new mix. I also mastered it. I think this is the one.

3 hours ago, Lynn Wilson said:

Barry, this is a terrific song!  I like that you are willing to experiment with styles because it keeps you from being predictable.  I like the vocals in the version I just listened to.  Keep it up!

I normally qualify my efforts by admitting "my music is 50 years out of date." Well, with this song, I'm up to being only 40 years out of date. 😂

Thanks for the compliment.

12 hours ago, noynekker said:

Barry . . . it starts with that AM radio broadcast, then the vocals come in accentuating those very same AM radio frequencies., probably too much 1-5K. @garybrun suggestion will help this a lot. Interesting that the lyrics are all so clear to understand, but not pleasing to the ear in that middle range, it's a delicate balance.

It is a bit different for you, more synth driven, than guitar driven . . . good song idea, and really liked the lyrics . . . fix that vocal mix, and you've got another winner !

Thanks. I worked on this last night. I had applied a voice doubler to the track (just two voices) and a guitar amp - that latter made it really harsh. I took the guitar amp off, tried the 'AM Radio' EQ and that didn't work either. I ended up doing just the opposite - boosted the bass a bit and the treble a LOT and it works. It's clear, it cuts through a bit, but it's not so harsh. I also backed down the vocal volume a bit so it sits in the mix better. I'm at work now, will post that mix in a few hours.

Thanks, @noynekker!

3 hours ago, garybrun said:

Cool song.
Great lyrics.

Regarding the vocals..
Isn't it just do them as you normally would then add a high  pass and low pass filter to you get the effect you want.
Then add saturation to make them pop?

That sounds like a better idea. Thanks!

2 hours ago, KSband said:

Sounds like we are back in the 80's. The vocals have a harsh high mid that made me turn down the volume.

Yeah, still trying to figure out how I want to handle that. It's more harsh than I'd like.

Very foreboding, lots of cool sounds.

Going out on a limb here with something different. Still undecided about the sound quality of the vocals, may tweak that more.

Suggestions welcome!

EDIT: Final Mix!

Hey everyone; first time in this forum.

I got a nice toy for Christmas, an AKAI MPK Mini 3. It's hooked up and working correctly - but  can I configure it to use the drum pads as a control surface?

I've added it into settings in MIDI / Control Surfaces, but now what?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

I know there's another song making the rounds today... but here's the final mix and video!

One of the nice things about not having a record contract is I can make my songs as long as I want. 😉  Sorry guys, not shortening this one. Been down that road.

Someone above asked what horns I used. Two guys! A trumpet player and a sax player.

As for the screaming trumpet, that was sort of a Sunstone hallmark from back in the day.

Getting ready to pull the trigger,  after all.

I had this up a few months ago, but life intervened. Now I am close to finishing this, but am seeking further feedback from folks in the know. That means you!

Let me know what you think and THANKS.

Okay, after months, here's a new mix. I think it's close, but I'd love some of your sweet, sweet feedback. 😏