dcumpian
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Posts
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Posts posted by dcumpian
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1 hour ago, Jesse Screed said:
The return of the Man, the Dan.
Epic Regal Expansive
Better than Mannheim Steamroller
Hiya Jesse! Thanks for the comments, though, I doubt it's better than Mannheim, lol. I am glad the epic, or majestic feel came through. It's a reflection of how I feel riding a motorcycle through the mountains.
Dan
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5 hours ago, Paul Bush said:
Hi Dan,
So much in there but never too much and over busy, everything so well ballanced, production perfect, so much depth , just really great cheers PB
Thanks Paul! Trimming back is hard! You'll hear that every chorus/verse is always just a little different...that's because I removed stuff from "here" that I leave in "there". It adds variety, and I don't have to completely kill something that I liked, lol.
Dan
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17 minutes ago, garybrun said:
HI Dan.
I was only thinking I hadn,t heard from you for quite a while... then here you are. 🙂I have learnt a lot from your mixing skills over the years.
The sense of space and clarity you create is top notch.
I recognized Omnisphere and the kontakt stuff but not the guitars.
BFD3 sounds great! (I just got the decades pack... so just learning how to use BFD3)
Well done... looking forward to hearing some more ear candy from you again.BFD3 is, by far, my favorite drum VSTi. I like the detailed control I have over the kits. Having said that, I have never used Superior Drummer, and many folks have commented on how good it is. I do have Addictive (of course), and Steven Slate's SSD4 and now SSD5. I like SSD, but the feel I can get out of BFD3 makes them more real to my ears.
Hopefully, it won't be another year before the next one, lol.
Thanks for listening and I appreciate your comments. We all learn from each other, that's for sure.
Dan
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1 hour ago, geeare1 said:
Hi Dan,
High Road is fantastic! The song, playing, arrangement and mix/production are all stellar to my ears. I've also being away for awhile but I remember being super impressed by your song Airshow. Not sure how long ago that was, though. At any rate, welcome back and great to hear your music again.
gary
Would you believe "Airshow" was April of 2017? Sure doesn't feel like that long ago, lol. Thanks for the listen and the kind words!
Dan
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2 hours ago, bjornpdx said:
Dan
I recognized High Road as something from you since I think you have a signature sound/style to your music. Just sit back, relax, let the music take hold and you won't be disappointed. The mix sounds really good to my ear.Welcome back!
Bjorn
Thank you Bjorn! I really appreciate it!
Dan
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13 minutes ago, DeeringAmps said:
Very nice, almost said beautiful, but I think majestic fits better.
Big cinematic sound stage, I really liked that!
A lot going on, everything in its place across the stereo image and frequency range; balanced probably best describes it.
Well done!
Maybe you would care to share some of the libraries you used?Tom
Also, very much enjoyed the "intimate" feel of After the Snow.
Thanks Tom!
For this piece, except for the drums, pianos, guitars and organ, it is all Omnisphere. The drums were BFD3, pianos were two Kontakt libraries and Ivory II (Bosendorfer). The organ is the vintage organ library in NI Komplete (Kontakt), which I find fills a lot of roles in a single package. All of the guitars, except the lead, were me and my Fender.
Dan
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Very nice Keith!
Really good job on the vocals and this mix sounds great!
Dan
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Excellent!
Really cool vibe on this and the mix is outstanding. Loved it!
Dan
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Very nice piece!
What others have said about the ambience really comes down to a weakness in many orchestral libraries: There is no physical way to sit in a spot where all of those instruments sound so close to you. But, if you smother them in reverb, you'll just smear everything up and ruin it. So, reverb isn't the way to address it. It can certainly help define a space, but it is also very important to place the instruments so that they aren't in the lap of the listener. It's really difficult to do with a sample library, but it can be done with the right tools.
So, in light of all of that rambling, I think you did a great job in putting together a very listenable, coherent piece! Congrats!
Dan
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Wouldn't change a thing. Stellar recording and the mix is top notch. Well done!
Dan
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Another stellar Staypress production! Very nice clean, open mix. You and the missus did a great job on this.
In my head, I heard the timing a little different on a few lines, but that's just me and my weird internal clock.
Dan
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Vocal performance is top notch! I do agree with Wookie that some variation in the drums, like a fill here and there, maybe adding some complexity to the rhythm as the song unfolds.
Nice job on this one!
Dan
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Overall, the instrumentation is pretty good, and your guitar work is excellent. The mix could stand a little polish, like some compression here and there and a little better balance between the tracks. There were a few spots where it felt like things were getting lost in the mix, but that is easy to fix.
Your vocals are well done! You have a good voice, so don't be afraid to put it out there!
Again, overall, I think you did a really good job on this!
Dan
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Well, it's been at least a year since I last posted something. Been a busy year! So, here's "High Road":
https://dancumpian.bandcamp.com/track/high-road
Hope you enjoy the listen and feel free to post any comments and/or suggestions!
Regards,
Dan
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I think you did a great job of capturing the guitar with both, the sparkle and the body of it. That's pretty difficult without a lot of practice and a real decent mic. Usually, acoustics tend to sound all boxy if you aren't careful, but you avoided that very well.
If you care what I think beyond the point of your experiment, then I would say that a little compression of the lead wouldn't hurt. just to smooth out some very slight abrasiveness, and the L/R guitars, IMO, would work better if they were either pushed back a hair, or they played the same thing together. It was slightly distracting to have the mix shift from side to side in the parts where the L/R guitars were quiet separately, with the lead the only thing holding the middle.
Dan
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Very different from what I normally expect from you Tom. Very raw, in a good way, and the mix is wide open. This mix really fits the innocence of the song.
Dan
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Take it All
in Songs
Love the Vanelli-esque bass line.! Vocals are right in the pocket and the mix holds together well. Good job!
Dan
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Nice work Kevin! Heartfelt and, almost, haunting. The vocals and the harmonies are the star of this piece and your mix really puts them out front, a they should be.
Dan
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34 minutes ago, Rod L. Short said:
OK, thanks. Just out of curiosity, is there any benefit/detriment to rendering at 64 bit at all?
Not any that you will be able to hear.
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Have you tried any of the OrangeTree Evolution guitar series? These are probably the best currently available. My second choice would be Prominy.
https://www.orangetreesamples.com/
Dan
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I use this one. It does really sound great, and the varying mic positions really help find a place in a mix. My go to pianos at the moment are:
- This one
- ISW Pearl
- Wavesfactory Mercury
- Keyscapes LA Custom C7
Between these, there is a piano to fit the bill. I still occasionally use the pianos in Ivory II, particularly the Bosendorfer, but not nearly as often as I used to.
Dan
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On a single track, you are not going to hear a discernible difference between 44/16, 48/24 or even 96/24. Some soft synths will render better at higher sample rates, but it greatly depends on the source material the synth uses (samples, for example), and how the synth generates audio. Where you will hear a difference is when mixing your tracks together. At higher sample rates you will have more headroom, which can help to keep the mix from sounding closed in. With good mixing skills and proper gain staging, this won't matter much, if at all, but it can certainly help open up a dense mix.
Dan
That Escalated Quickly! (Mind the Rabbits)
in Songs
Posted
There's the Tom I remember! Very smooth the way you melded those two sections together. I didn't even realize it had happened at first, lol.
Great work Tom!
Dan