mark skinner

I caught information about this guy on an online IR shootout video. He wrote the program and made it available for free to make your own IR using your own acoustic guitar. I'll probably try him for a few of my guitars. mark

I've used a few free acoustic IRs from "worship tutorials" (I think). They all worked well , but they're a little quiet. They were easier to get the volume up with theTh3 cab IR , than with the pro channel convolution reverb IR loader. These were used on an exotic bodied Washburn. Thin body , arched back, deeep cutaway with a large oval sound hole. It's not real quaky sounding , but the Ir's made a Big improvement. Of course who would take the time to make an IR for a guitar like this ?? "Any" acoustic IR can make an improvement if the signal is properly EQ'd etc.. I've found using the quad curve EQ preset called "Big and Bright" does a pretty good job of reducing piezo quack on it's own. I have to adjust it a little , but when used with an IR it sounds more like the guitar was captured with a mic. mark

Loved the reversed stuff and the guitar work. You sure kept this one Interesting. I'm Really liking the Modo bass! Its got the tone and drive I strive for but never quite get. I Really Enjoyed this .. mark PS- 5 stars for the title alone ..

I" finally" got a Remix done , taking into account Everyone's suggestions. There's "lots" of Suttle changes that probably I'll be the only one to notice. Besides those , I punched the kick and bass harder more towards a funk feel . I also added 8 bars with a lead break. I baked in a change in the intro that I didn't want to keep , and had to cross fade the part from the instrumental version to fix it. Lesson learned about not working on a "save as" copy. Also went through 2 days of Blue Screen Crashes. Finally figured that out. I'm going to let this mix soak and get away from it. Thanks for Everyone's suggestions , they Really made a difference.. mark https://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=14565499

Keith , off to a Great start on this one. I don't think there's much to add to it. I think I would be tempted to sing on top of some of the guitar licks , like at 0:57-1:03. Might work , might not , and I'd just stick a marker somewhere and "call it a chorus". Very nice guitar work! Enjoyed the energy .. mark

Lovely song with Fantastic melody's. I Really enjoyed the piano chord stabs and the smooth horn section. Highly impressive writing ! Loved it .. mark

Very Punkish ! Loved it ! I'll bet you all shared some Great times together , and maybe the same barber. Enjoyed it ! mark

Hello Treesha , I'm Really Glad to see you back and hope things start going smoother for you. I Loved the harmony in this and the great melody lines. I Really liked the change around the 1:30 mark. Seems like the mood lightened up from there to the end. Very Nice . Enjoyed it .. mark

@steve@baselines.com Glad you enjoyed it , I too have been jacking it up Way too loud. @Craig Fowler I appreciate that , it's my editing skills that help the most .. @KSband Thanks for the listen and comments. I really wasn't ready to end the song without a break or a different bridge section but , I did just add vocals to the instrumental version and it was already pretty long. @Larry T. I should have a remix done soon and have already boosted the vocals (a little). I sure wish I had some female backing singers ! @noynekker Sometimes it doesn't matter about the amount of work done in a collaboration , but the quality of it and the inspiration gained. You even had verses coming in at spots that my markers said "hold". The little things made a big difference on this one , and I was Really stuck. Thanks again .. Looking forward to many more .. mark I'll try and get the remix done asap. I've been tied up. Thanks .. mark

Cool one. Hats off to you for actually doing a reunion like that , instead of just writing about it. Nice .. mark

@Bajan Blue @AndyB01 Thanks guys , I Really appreciate the listen and comments. @Nick Blanc Thank You for commenting and your suggestion. I have several instruments going to a buss with a common reverb. I backed the reverb off a little on it and it does sound much clearer and the transients are coming through better. Common verb on the vocal bus as well. A very small adjustment helped there as well. The cello has a pretty massive reverb on it from Valhalla. I "barely" dropped the mix on it. I'll live with the mix for a while before doing any remastering. Thanks. @RikF I would also like a "nice" solo. Seems I always just do fills. Maybe I'll try something. Thank You .. mark

Nick , Glorious ! I think it worked .. Great Job on this , now the door has opened .. Enjoyed it .. mark

First off I'd like to say , that the realization of this song would not have been possible without the help and collaboration of @noynekker for his lyrical and mix suggestions. He opened the door for the "entire story line" and made everything easier to bring to completion. The vocal version in my opinion has taken a drastic turn from the instrumental funk groove version of this song. We've been thru a bunch of mixes and are still open for any suggestions for improvement. Thank You for your time , and as always your inspiration. mark - REMIX - down the page . https://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=14560162

You're welcome. One thing to keep in mind is .. I doubt if you are ever going to go out somewhere and do a live gig with 10 synths. So .. when you come up with something cool , you might as well keep it as an audio project and lay down some additional melody tracks in your DAW to build a complete "song" out of it. There was plenty of room in this one for vocals as well. If you don't do lyrics or sing , find someone who does , and bring them in. The live set up backing videos would be "icing on the cake". Just my 2 cents worth .. mark

Nick , I Like this one. You seem to be getting good at laying down a nice bed for some good melody's. When you got the groove going at 4:06 then jumped to the synth in front of your monitors , everything worked while playing a melody line against the backing. It would have also worked at 1:02. I believe this is something that has been missing on your previous videos. I think you should do a lot more of that. Enjoyed it .. mark

Thanks Tom , I too like the MT drums when they fit in. It's pretty cool how easy it is to put in the fills. Bernie Taupin has Never gotten the attention he deserves. BTW the focal point is now there and Locked In. I think you'll like the next vocal version. @KSband I can definitely relate to your response. A lot of the time I just listen to the melody and cadence of vocals instead of what is being sung. That is Until I start doing lyrics , then there's always a roadblock. Especially if I'm not inspired or have a good solid storyline for a song. @steve@baselines.com The finished song will be more in line with a live band theme. More Cowbell ! Thanks .. Vocals were finished this morning. I'll finalize and repost soon.. Thank You to "Everyone" mark

So Smoooth .. I'm relaxed now . Thanks Loved it! mark

Wow ! That was a Fantastic arrangement and Incredible playing ! I couldn't believe how seamless the rhythm changes were under the lead guitars . Very Nice .. mark

Are you using the "fast" export option ?

Thanks .. I've tried many times to do a song with a single guitar , haven't gotten there yet. I Really like that synth but this is the first time finding something useable for anything I've done. Thank You for the reply. We've been working hard on vocals and a story line taking it away from just a jam. Noticed now there's now a we ? Thanks ! Yeah , I kinda set it up from the beginning for vocals. I used to do a stripped down version of this solo , but the vocal lines never really went anywhere . It was just fun to play the guitar thang. I Really like doing syncopated L/R guitar tracks. Not really a big fan of double tracking or stereo guitar for the type of things I usually do. It's a long way to go to get a finished song , but It's going well. Thanks for everyone's time and input ! mark

I Absolutely Loved this song . Your vocals were Superb . I really liked the build up leading to the main verses and especially your weaving of the harmony's. I was really wanting to hear a little bit more during the outro.. Maybe just a copy and paste ? There was also something about the way you EQ'd the vocals that seemed a little different than normally done (to me). I thought that put them "out of the box" a little and it worked Fantastic! The Tasty instrumentation was also Highly impressive. Every writer produces a song that Really connects to a particular listener. This one was Mine. Thanks .. mark PS: I Totally agree with @PhonoBrainer about the bass..

@freddy j @timboalogo @Miguel Carzola Thanks So much for the listen and comments , I Really appreciate it ! @PhonoBrainer Those were wonderful compliments , this song was truly from the heart. I too am hearing "something" on both mixes posted at 1:13. I think it's a stray vocal delay coming in at a strange spot. I'll look for it pretty close in the project. Thanks for that .. I thought for sure it had slid away .. mark

@Bajan Blue @Grem @RikF @noynekker Thanks guys for the positive feedback! I'm going to just sit on this one for a while. I'm liking the tracks but it's too repetitive to stand on it's own as an instrumental. When I'm positive about the direction to take it I'll repost. This also may turn out to be a collaboration. Ever heard the term "I'm at a loss for words" Thanks . Later .. mark

Hello , here's a new one still in the works. It's an instrumental for now , but I'll be adding vocals (if I can come up with anything) , If not I'm goin to try melody cello tracks. Weapons- Washburn Monterey Studio , G&L ASAT , Ibanez bass , MT Power drums, TTS cowbell and various hits , Tyrell synth. Any crits or thoughts for improvement will be appreciated . Thanks .. mark https://soundclick.com/r/s8ny3n

Lovely ambiance surrounding the lead guitar . Nice ring to it with a tasty choice of reverb. You must have bought a nice one. I Really enjoyed your performance and production .. mark