PhonoBrainer

Such a clean mix, groovy groove, and how wonderful to collaborate with a talent like that! On my studio monitors, lots of clarity up top, as befits the saxes, but the bass guitar and kick drum might stand up just a bit more down low. Did you monitor on speakers that give a good picture of the below 200hz area? Of course your tune is Steely Dannish and you might prefer that super controlled bass. Really excellent, a pleasure to listen to, thanks! cheers, -Tom

Being able to edit the layers inside of the takes??? What a wonderful idea, and a ginormous rabbit hole! Beware! And the linking of mute/solo between folders and tracks and busses was sorely needed. Kudos.

World Listening Day? Never heard of it.

Welcome back Gary! So great to hear this. The mix ticks all the right boxes for clarity, ambience, guitar washes, and background vocals. Superb harmonizing! So while there's really nothing wrong with the mix, I would have to wonder if the lead vocal had a little more presence in the lower registers. You might experiment with adding some weight to it, boosting a little eq in the 500 - 800hz range. The reason I'm hearing is, the lead vocal is currently eq's almost as if it were a bgv, with a lot of low end cut away so it doesn't clash with mix elements. I heard the lead vocal (great performance and voice!) as just a bit thin in the mix. So glad you are back and looking forward to hearing more from you! cheers, -Tom

In space, no one can hear your mixes scream, or, at all.

Fine tune the set list: Cold as Ice, Summer Breeze, Ice Ice Baby, that sort of thing. Also And go full Devo, solar powered fan hat Glad you survived to melt again another day.

Please nobody tell her to hold the mic closer to her mouth.

This is a life plan executing to perfection. Congrats, let us hear the music! cheers, -Tom (presently unretired)

Thanks Mark! Got this one out of my hair, now I can get back to that other one . . . Appreciate the listen! I will say I had McCartney in mind during this one, but no clue as to a specific song. And I do think the bass could do with a .2db drop. The trumpet is AudioModelling SWAM, and it plays along mixed with Hollywood Pop Brass . So glad it held interest, thanks again!

Looks awesome! Congrats! But where are the tangle of untidy line cords, old coffee cups, thumbtack-posted article cut-outs from Electronic Musician, snippets of old lyrics written on the back of electric bill envelopes, old cardboard packing boxes you haven't thrown away yet in case you need to send those things back . . . . . . and your ceiling looks very reflective, would you get some foam or equivalent up there? At least at mirror points as you sit at your mixing position? It's awesome, really, I'd play in there with great contentment. Well done!

Not much on YouTube giving examples of sound or presets. Does it sound 3D enough? I know, 9 bucks.

Great vocals! I liked the mix from the perspective of the guitars! Great blending of your NI and your real guitars! I think you might bring the snare up, and the drums generally up, they sound a bit in the background on this one, as if the person who mixed this had their girlfriend stolen by the drummer. Which, as we all know, always happens. Mix good, arrangement good, vocals great! cheers, -Tom

I liked it, very wooooshy, and some great panning in your mix! Lots going on but the elements don't get lost in each other. Drums are pretty minimal, almost as if they are suggesting the beat rather than stating it. It's a mixing choice, sounds good but I found myself wanting a "drums up" section. The kick is of course the most present element, but maybe getting the snare/hi hats more prominent, at least in parts, could be an idea to add dynamics to the piece. A stellar mix that certainly fits the chill zone. Nice job! cheers, -Tom

I see one fader is up so your delivery driver is a muso and was testing it out at a few of his gigs.

I like how the chatbot AI accounts have contrived to derail this thread, ensuring no further inquiry into their future domination of lyric creation. Maybe they will at last find something that rhymes with purple.

Ok I get that . . . You could fairly say, if you use ChatGPT for "help" writing lyrics, then at best you and Chat are co-lyricists. As for Lennon, a human observing the world around him has been the genesis of creativity since the cave paintings. But Lennon didn't use a computer "intelligence" to help him to observe or interpret anything. I know I don't speak authoritatively on this, because it's all so new, but I do have questions.

What about the ethical consideration of using AI to write lyrics, then calling / considering yourself a songwriter? Just wondering.

The mixer for Hollywood lets you individually bring up trumpets, or saxes, or trombone. But there is a little leakage. Nothing that is a dealbreaker.

Your voice is definitely up for the task. I listened to the doubled and the non-doubled. For the non-doubled, I'd take an eq to the vocal and notch out a healthy 3-4db of the area around 300-400hz, I bet it that might thin it up in the mix. It's got some low mid boominess that needs to go. For the doubled, you might have added a bit too much highs in eq, because there is a bit of sibilance, just a bit. But I liked the doubled effect! For either, your songs are your personal expression, and to serve that end, sing away! Your vocal tone is not even close to bad, super pliable to production techniques, and decent by itself, so rock on! I liked the tune, are you going for an 80's vibe? cheers, -Tom

Glad to hear! Was that for the big version, or Lites/Gig? I'll check out for updates . . . Thanks Antler, that's it exactly! The cogs, they slip.

Hey, I have Soul Bass too! I do like it . . . I'd totally like any effects chain you'd care to share . . . Lately I've been using some Amplesound ones, the A in particular. The tone you got was sweet! cheers, -Tom

Well my hot take is both of those suck. And the Broadway stuff was recorded and coded over a decade ago, by a company that may not even exist anymore. The V-horns are decent if you need softer passages. I'd seriously recommend EastWest Hollywood Pop Brass, the Blue Street brass, and also the Audiomodern SWAM offerings, and 8dio's Euphonium as well. I think you will find no one existing library will suffice, you'll need to mix and match 3 or so to get the realism. It's a fun puzzle!

Just enjoying my 3rd or 4th listen. Any mix where the bass hass this tone and shines without being muddy is worth a go, in my opinion. What did you use for the bass? It kills . . . I also liked the panning of rvb/delay? you had for the mallet woodblock blippy thing around 3:00 - 3:20 . . . and the wah guitar as well. Lots to like here! Would love to hear the tale of that bass . . . so well done! cheers, -Tom

Hi Bjorn, many thanks! All that "engineer stuff" is a lot of throwing spaghetti on the wall, which is why I'm lucky to get two songs a year out. I make dodgy mix decisions, listen to the results about a thousand times, replace them with slightly less dodgy mix decisions. And then finally push it out when I can live with the existing smaller transgressions appreciate your comments!

Thant was fun, a lovely tune (and killer vocal) Keith. What a nice group of people (judging by pictures!) . . . seems like a life was well lived here. More than one, actually! cheers, -Tom