X-53mph

I've listened to all your feedback (thank you all, I really appreciate it). I went back to the premaster mix to tweak some sounds before remastering and this is the result:

I used to own the actual pedal back in the 90s. It was a really nice solid piece of kit. I used it on stage at the once mighty Old Trout pub in Windsor, which used to be the warm up venue for bands playing Reading music festival. Saw band near the beginning of their careers such as Pavement, Swervedriver and Mudhoney there. Even Nirvana played a secret gig under a pseudonym. Oh happy memories. 😌

Totally agree. I'd even go as far as saying AAS Strum is useless as a production plugin. It just sounds artificial, like Christmas card music. I agree it can be useful for writing, or just mucking about, but I'd never use it in a mix, unless it was deeply buried under distortion and effects.

Nembrini - I picked up their lo-fi vintage clipper plugin for free when they launched the site. Trying to register it via ilok was a nightmare at first and I more or less abandoned them after that experience. Then a lot later I went back to it and it's now one of my favourite plugins for adding a bit of grit to my mixes (current list price €79). I've since picked up all their free plugins and a few paid ones (echo delay is especially nice) and I use them on a regular basis. Well worth it. I also agree about Melda. Solid, simple and effective.

Honestly guys, this thread reads like an episode of 'serial hoarders'. 😂

I used to use that plugin all the time back in 2000. Great fun 😁

It's very slow.

I got this in a humble bundle along with Luminar AI. Luminar 4 is an older version and already surpassed by Luminar AI and Neo. It might be interesting as a freebie, but. It's already out of date.

It's pretty amazing value for someone with wide interests (such as me). The price was worth it to hear from greats such as Margaret Atwood and Herbie Hancock alone; but I wouldn't recommend it for beginners or folk looking for how-to classes. It's more like spending a few hours in the presence of amazing people as they occasionally drop golden nuggets of information that no ordinary teacher could ever drop. I mean, Hans Zimmer is not going to tell you how to EQ a vocal or get a good reverb.... but he will tell you what it's like working with Christopher Nolan.

Nope, he means samplers. At least that's the word he keeps using.

I've been watching the Hans Zimmer master class. One of the things he says which made me laugh was (I'm paraphrasing) "don't use sample libraries because you'll end up sounding like everyone else".... Says the man who sells sample libraries on Spitfire and co-owns Ujam.

Are you playing the guitar (or lute) or is it a vst? It may just be my ears but there seems to be some strange fazing between certain transitions. Perhaps it's the reverb.

Guys, I would really appreciate your input with this track. It's a tune that has gone through a million edits, retakes, redoes over the years and I finally think it's getting over the line. I won't say what it is that's still bothering me about this mix (let's see if anyone picks up on it) but I would really appreciate any input you may have. I've been getting some invaluable help from a music engineer in NY who has got me to this stage, and his input has really helped. Some technical info - I'm playing all the instruments (no loops or samples). The only synths are the bass (Trilian), Piano (Westwood Felt) with some additional live piano, Strings (Spitfire). Everything else is live. It was recorded in CbB and Mastered in Ozone 9. Unfortunately, Soundcloud's compression doesn't do the mastering any favours Hope you enjoy. Edit: I've removed the link to the first mix because I'm taking down from SoundCloud. Final mix is further down this thread.

Jesus! I'm watching it on the news now. My heart goes out to everyone affected.

Wasn't that last weekend too?

Thank you so much Mark, it really cheers me up to know I'm getting there mix wise. I wish I knew how to get my stuff onto actual radio.

@Starise @steve@baselines.com @noynekker Just for you guys, I've put it up on Bandcamp. https://53mph.bandcamp.com/album/girlfriend-on-a-train-remastered

I use a combination of effects. I love putting Nembrini in the fx chain for that compressed warmth. Izotope is also full of options. This year I got lots of their top end products, which are great. The biggest change I've made though is to use Slate Digital Fresh Air a lot more to unmuddy the warmth (if that makes sense). I've got lots of custom made fxchains that I've built up over time to replace those one-stop plugins.

I wouldn't worry. I used to use it on almost every mix I did in the early 2000, but I've since gone off it. I find those mixes too heavy handed on the compression. Vintage warmer was amazing for it's time, but I think there are a lot of other plugins that do the same thing, often better. Just my 2c

I've released a new version of track on streaming. It's called Girlfriend On A Train and was originally released in 2018. I've since reworked it. All done in CbB and mastered with izotope. I had a bit of guidance with the mastering from an engineer friend in New York to help make it pop. https://open.spotify.com/album/4ddUDREqR5IWxTqcWdog7z?si=5uOd_DcPSLa84GbR_D94LA&utm_source=copy-link For those who don't stream, here's a link to Bandcamp: https://53mph.bandcamp.com/album/girlfriend-on-a-train-remastered Hope you enjoy.

Is the only difference between Recording and Pro that you get Modular Synthesis and Pianissimo in Pro? I got Pianissimo in a Humble Bundle deal, and I rarely use it. Modular Syn doesn't look attractive enough a deal breaker for me. Is there any other reason to upgrade from Studio to Pro?

I got a very cheap usb-c (male) to USB (female) adapter. I'm using a battery powered keyboard. If you power the keyboard from the phone, you'll kill your phone's battery very quickly. As for software: Caustic worked but it's a very old program and I suspect it was sapping my phone battery. There are hundreds of piano apps on Android. Try some out and see what works. A question: what phone do you have?

....and the spectrasonics bass is still excellent. Since getting that I've never looked back.

If I had a big monitor and not a 15"laptop screen, I might go for this. I like the vintage look of mixbus. Perhaps in another life.

This year I've taken the view that if it's a very old plugin or library then, even if the discount is good, I'm not buying. My reasoning follows that of a library music owner who said: when a new library comes out, for the next 6 months you will get thousand of tracks made using that library. By the end of the year you don't want to hear another track using that sound. The number of bundled old libraries does not justify paying the money if the sound is already redundant. IMHO