FreeEarCandy

Bikini waxed and sax-ed! Good times behind and ahead. Enjoyed the track. Thanks!

Tasty guitar work, Larry. And all the other elements, though seemingly sparse, were well thought out and really spiced it up nicely. Like oregano, you don't want to add too much and drown out the taste of that lovely guitar work. The pauses added a little tension suspense too. Well done!

Nice one Andy!

Sort of a rock opera? I have always been a fan of rock operas. Jesus Christ Superstar was the first concert I went to. It was the road show version (brown album). I think I was 12 at the time. Then came along Tommy (The Who) and I was sold on the concept. But they apparently had a shelf life and things moved on. I suppose radio stations had limitations preferred the 3 min standard which allowed them to plug more ads and reap more revenue. Anyway, cool production and backstory. Thanks for sharing it.

Not familiar with any of the toys you used, so not much I can say in that regard. Nevertheless, the thing that stood out was the clarity-no mud. Sometimes striving for perfection can wear one down and snuff out inspiration. I don't think to 2 (perfection and inspiration) mix well. The short incomplete tune clearly has a lot of potential. I have a lot of the same incomplete ideas in a holding tank awaiting my return. They may be waiting forever, as I don't enjoy struggling with writers block. In any case, I enjoyed the short demo-warts and all.

It probably could use a bit more boost in the low end. Its not terribly weak, but there is room for more. A matter of taste. Cool video. I wouldn't mind being a bubble in her bathtub.

Hello Mark. So glad you liked the song. For the vocals, I used an cakewalk FX chain I found, which used a Sonitus EQ-Sonitus Modulator-VX-64 Vocal Strip-Cakewalk Tempo delay (in that order). Then I ran it through BlueVerb DRV-2080, and then I used the Prochannel Eq before sending it to the mix bus. All stock plugins, I believe? I'm sort of set with the arrangements, but all the suggestions are interesting & welcomed-food for thought. I know what you mean. Certain songs just resonate in our heads. Like a lock and key. I agree with Tom about it being a bit creepy. Puppets always struck me as being creepy, and I was probably tapping into that impression. However, I believe I wrote the music first and the lyrics followed. Makes me wonder if the music is a bit creepy or if its the theme? Maybe both! Thanks so much for the wonderful comment, Mark! Dean

Hi Tom . You have ears like Underdog (a complement)! I would have never caught it, and sure enough, there it was-mostly on the left. I removed it with some software and also checked the clicks too. I also took your bass suggestions to heart and lengthened that short stops. Also widened the bass to give it some presence. I remastered the results, which boosted the loudness quite a bit. More than I feel comfortable with, so I backed it off a few db looking for a happy medium. I uploaded the result to Bandlab. People like you are the reason I upload here. I love the critique, Tom ! I really appreciate you, and others, taking the time to listen and all the helpful suggestions. Thanks !!! https://www.bandlab.com/free_ear_candy/puppets-0706d18d?revId=0c8f395e-23b7-ed11-a8e0-000d3a3f8f45

A woody folk song. No strings attached.

Sorry for the late reply. Thanks for listening and commenting. Glad you enjoyed the work-worts and all.

Revisited 2012 Cover project of Pink Floyd Childhood's End from the album Obscured By The Clouds. This updated version replaces the 2012 Casio analog keyboard drum track with the Steve Slate demo drum kit, and some percussive element from MODO drum. Rebalanced and remixed along with numerous tweaks and turns along the way. I don't think this is a particularly popular PF tune, but I always fancied it for its lyrics and clunky feel. Also, a spacy Gilmour lead is always a nice thing. Put on a good set of cans and let me know what you think down below. Dean

Hello Sal. Thanks for responding. I did look inside the Cakewalk Command Center and I didn't see any specific download or install option for GR4le. Nevertheless, thank you for your consideration. Much appreciated! Dean Hello Sook. I have an account, but have yet to check if they still offer GR4le. I think msmcleod answered my questions where I can locate it. Thanks for your consideration. Dean Hello msmcleod. That's great news. I wasn't sure which bundle it came with and you have answered that question. Yes. I should be able to still download SX1-P and that should also solve my CW amp sim issue as well. I may already have it stored on a hard drive, but I think I'll just download it again. Thanks so much for the guidance and time saving info. That was a big help. One more thing. Since I think this problem is solved how do I shut this topic down so I don't waste anyone's time responding to this solved issue? Dean.

Sad to hear about your loss. I comes through in the guitar solo. May time ease you pain, Dave.

I think the vocals sound a bit boxed. Perhaps widen them a little and see what happens. It just may do the trick and sound louder as Tom suggested.

I think it sounds good. High energy. Plays well with the video (good video work). The only thing I was considering was if the kick is loud enough, but upon more consideration, its loud enough and I'm not struggling to hear it on my cans. However I wonder how this will sound with ear buds and smaller speakers, which I do not have. I like all the different elements that pop in and out to spice this up. Nice work so far as my ears can tell. Enjoyable.

I opened up an old project I created on my paid platinum version of CW before Bandlab. In this project I used guitar rig 4 le and a cakewalk amp sim. Upon opening the project I was informed that neither was available. I searched around in the CW platinum content files, which I still have on my computer, and could not locate either. However, my old CW account clearly shows that I purchased or acquired the guitar rig 4 le via and upgrade. I have the serial number, but I cannot find any down load option to restore it on my computer. As far as the CW amp sim I don't have a clue where I can locate it in my platinum content file. I did a search on my computer and still came up empty. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! FreeEarCandy P.S. This problem has been solved! See msmcleod (Mark) comment below for the solution. Thanks Mark!

Awe! Blues, thick or thin, always sounds good. Back in the day, when I was just a lad, car radios were mono and the reception was always bad. But that didn't stop the blues from grabbing ones attention. Much enjoyed! Dean.

Somehow I missed this one. Really nice tune! Personally I would have brought those vocals more forward or pushed the instrumentation back while the vocals are at play. Let the bass and drums carry most of it through, and then bring all that sugar to the front when the vocals are done. But all that aside very well done. Dean

All roads lead to Rome, unless you are already in Rome. Then its anyone's best guess. Very different, musically. This would work in a musical play. That's where it seems to fit in my mind.

Not familiar with the original tune, but his sounds good to me. I just can't make the connection between Lullaby and the spider theme. Nevertheless, cool video. I love watching spiders. I'd never touch one, but I do like watching them. The guitar solo was cool too. I also liked the drum track. Dean

Ha! 6ft grand? Just so happens I have one of those in my top pocket! I can even put Red Hot Chili Peppers on it to warm you up. Glad you liked the intro to nowhere, Tom, and thanks for the kind words. I did a quick look and I probably could push a little more around 200hz. Thanks! Dean. It has a place. I just couldn't find it. Thanks, t. The song I was trying to match this up with has some slide guitar. So, that was my first go to. I never considered that it sounds like "whales" calling, but it sort of does now that you made the connection. Cool interpretation. Thanks, Mark! Thanks for listening, markno999. Glad you had some good cans to take it in. Otherwise much will indeed be lost in a piece like this one-IMO. Thanks for listening and letting me know what you thought. Good or bad, always appreciated! Dean

That's fine, Phillip. At the end of the day you have to like it. But I think what's going on here is many of the elements you are using are in the same frequency range and that creates a bit of a problem called masking. For example, if you take 2 identical tracks, and change the phase of 1, and then play them together, you will not here anything. Well, masking is very similar. The strongest wave will prevail, but some of the energy of the winning wave will be lost, or "castrated". Now, you can deal with this in a few ways. One is panning. The other way is eq. I prefer panning and adjusting the width when I want all the elements to be equally heard. If you eq, then you are essentially lowering the volume in a particular frequency. Believe me, I know mixing can be a real pain in *****, and sometimes I just wish the process wasn't so time consuming. I don't think you are being snobby about it. You have an idea/feeling in your head and you are trying your best to get it on paper. I get that in spades. Some of the tunes I post I have been working on for a very very long time. I gave up counting versions. Some seem to come together like magic ( I love when that happens). Others, its like pulling teeth. I think its safe to say that everyone here has gone through this experience. IMHO, this has already come a long way from the first version. You have a very good concept to work with and its worth the time you put into it, but its always good to take a break and let your head clear. The fact that you are working on it must mean that the tune has not yet reached a satisfactory level in your mind. So try to sit back and listen to it and discover what it is about the tune that is troubling you, and then think of a way to solve it with the tools you have at hand. Someone said that a mix is never done. We simply surrender. I believe that is true. Dean.

Very creative, Steve. Vocal harmonies are right on. Has a British rock feel to it. I think its real good, and I enjoyed listening to it. Dean

This is very swampy and it got my bottom all soggy! Love it!

Thanks Nigel & Steve. I appreciate the comments and glad you enjoyed the head trip. Nigel. I've listened to a lot of Pink Floyd & Genesis, so I have no doubts they both have had a big influence on me. Steve. I think we both have the same problem.