Barry Seymour

Scrambling to get this one out before my shoulder surgery in September. Looking for mixing advice. Not sure I'm quite getting the polished sound I want from this. Thanks in advance for any input you may have. EDIT AGAIN: It's out! Thanks everyone, for the feedback.

Very kind, thanks.

Thanks, Jim. Much of my recorded output (since February 2020, when I finally figured out Cakewalk) has been more rock oriented. Barry Seymour Music on YouTube I did do more than a few solo acoustic gigs back in ancient times, however. The strings are the BBC Orchestra Discover plugin, which I found for free. https://www.spitfireaudio.com/shop/a-z/bbc-symphony-orchestra-discover/ I think it sounds marvelous! Thanks for the kind words.

Regarding the pitch problems, I just sang, sang, and re-sang until I got them close enough. I don't have the effortless control I did when I was younger. As for 1:22, yes, I split the acoustic guitar, clipped out the first verse and panned that hard right. The first track stayed center until the second verse, then I panned it hard left using automation. A nice little build on the second verse, without too much work. You have a good ear!

Man. This sparkles. This soars. Great playing, astounding sound! Question: How the heck did you put together this 'quick background vid for it this morning to use on YT?" It's pretty cool.

Released!

This was my first attempt ever at recording a song in 3/4. There are no grooves for this in MT Power Drum Kit, so I ended up doing it super-simple by hand. (I'm no drummer.) Thanks for the good feedback.

Thanks, Marky Mark. 🙂 Since the shaker was digital, I suspect it was the rest of the musicians ( i.e. me) who may have been off a bit. I'll take a look. It may end up being easier to move the shaker, ha ha. As for the lead break, it was a steel string, my old Goya, my chum since the 70s! I recorded it on an Electro-Voice ND 457 microphone, another piece of my 'vintage legacy' (read 'old') gear, my favorite live gig rock mic dating from the late 80s. (I'm not even sure you can find/buy these any more.) I really struggled getting a sound for the rhythm acoustic guitar that I considered acceptable, but in the end I got it, using my wife's Takamine guitar and an Audio Technica P46 Cardiod Condenser microphone. After that, the usual tricks - BREVERB and TDR Kotelnikov for the audio effects on the rhythm guitar. Thanks for the kind words.

Thanks, everyone, for the kind words. I feel I'm continuing to improve in my efforts to record my own music. I also got some good suggestions from a Michael West on the Creative Sauce group on Facebook, suggestions I've implemented with really good results. He recommended a free plugin called 'Wider' (https://polyversemusic.com/products/wider/) which adds a sort of stereo effect to a mono signal without any phasing or chorusing. The result is really quite striking, taking a voice in the center and moving it to each speaker / earpiece, making it sound closer and - fascinatingly - more intimate. I have a new mix I'll post later today, but I pretty much feel like this is the last piece of the puzzle. He also recommending adding a little more 'beef' to the bass drum kick, which I've done. I'll have it up soon.

Catchy and sweet. I hear a little Alan Parsons in there. Can't hear anything to criticize in the mix. Neat.

Here's the new one. Some of my friends say this is a departure for me. Maybe more like a return to my roots. Anyway, mixing suggestions welcome.

Agreed, you're not the first to say so. I very likely will do another mix. Thanks for the kind words.

Thank you. Very kind.

Yeah and every time you put up a track on SoundCloud - every time - some account with a picture of a cute looking chick likes your track within minutes. Go to that account and you see a pitch to let them 'submit your tracks' for you to artificially gain (buy) followers. Gah.

Final release is done. I worked hard on mastering this.... finally getting the hang.

Too many choices. All I know is I'm close to maxing out my free Soundcloud account...

Thanks for the kind words, on this and the other songs! Yes, I miss San Francisco. At least the San Francisco of the 70s, 80s and 90s. :'-( I've added some more controversy to the ending... mastering it now. New mix soon.

I fiddle a bit with it, but couldn't find anything I wanted to change on the outgoing solo. I boosted the snare a bit and added more thunderclaps at the end. I'm also trying hosting this on Bandlab; let me know if you can't get to it. https://www.bandlab.com/post/745c6f14-bced-ec11-b656-2818789a16d5

Good ideas. Perhaps at the end it's time to set a few more things on fire! LOL.

Hey Kirb! Nice recording. I like how the bass almost seems like a lead instrument as well as the bass, underpinning everything. It's higher in the mix than I'm used to, but it works. Everything is nicely balanced, nothing collides with anything else. Sounds great! Side question: just how many Westerly Sessions were there?!?? 😁

Beautiful song! Wonderfully written and heart-touching. The vocals are flawless - the fast passages (melismas) are not always to my liking, but here they're done very tastefully. Love the piano, love the subtle swells underneath as the song progresses. The only suggestion I have would be to minimize or clarify some of the stuff on the low end; it just sounds like a big rumble to me, doesn't seem to add anything to the song. It first came to my notice around 2:47. But a stellar piece of work! Ms. Lynn should have quite a future.

Great groove, love the sound of the electric piano. Great balance throughout, the bass is rich without being overpowering. Somewhat off topic, how do you do a video like this!?? You said it was a 'quick video.' What the heck, man, how is something this polished a 'quick video?'

Very fun. Just liken when I listened to "Atom Heart Mother" while perfectly straight, the room started spinning. 😄 Production is faultless, but I had trouble understanding the words! Not sure why. Compositionally, I'm not a fan of the bass and guitar playing the same melody throughout, but that's an artistic choice. It was executed flawlessly. Fun stuff!

EDIT: I've released the final version. Thanks, everyone, for the feedback. Hey everyone. Here's a new one. It's more hard charging than a lot of my songs, so I might need some guidance on how to make it powerful without clipping / overdriving. It's political, and it has a few salty words, so get your pearls ready for clutching. 😉 Comments / suggestions welcome.

Final Cut is out! See the first post. https://soundcloud.com/barry-seymour/aluminum-stan