PhonoBrainer

@noynekker - wow thanks, just trying to have a little fun straight outta 2016. The video I'm also reworking will maybe shed light. HEY! I had a DX7 in the golden beyond and played the crap out of it, so perhaps it's there in spirit if not in reality . . . sure appreciate the comments, many thanks! @garybrun - thanks! and the voice over guy is an Indiana senator giving a speech in maybe 1940 warning against America's involvement in the lend-lease program . . . from a really old movie, so I have fair scrubbed most of the scratch off of it!!! Good idea though . . . many thanks! @bjornpdx - yes there absolutely is more room for delays and such, and I thought about taking it full dubstep, but just never got it there. I might sneak back and slather a little more effectery in there. thanks for the idea and the listen!

Now added a video. Comments are most welcome! . . . Soundcloud link is below . . . thanks, y'all!

Well we got on the train, and we are wondering where it's going! Not a bad groove and Dan's mix advice is pretty quality. cheers, -Tom

Well, super collab! Ideas for the mix? I'd drop the violin that is playing underneath Doug's singing. Doug's voice is more than strong enough to capture the interest, and the violin noodle underneath is for me more distracting than enhancing. By all means keep the violin in the breaks! Just my .02 haystacks. Keep it going, gents! cheers, -Tom

I thought I responded to this already, but, cool tune! Yes for me I agree that synthbass is pretty durn thick loud and gooey, and it sucks up the energy that should be going to the upper range, like I bet the vocals pop if you drop the synthbass 1.5db or more, across the board. I like your voice and the tricks sounded fun, so I'll check back if you tame the monster in the basement!!! cheers, -Tom

It's honestly not bad! OK, three months, actually, is not that long. Take a breath, take a breather, set it aside if you need to. Come back to it in three years if you need to. And that's why I have half-finished songs that are 25 years old . . . Ideas? Sure! 1) Those piano stabs, do they also have a string pad playing in unison, underneath? If so you might drop the string pad, see if it helps the clarity. 2) Drums seem to have their own reverb thing going on, more stairwelly than the other instruments, and if Bandlab can't help you, then . . . 3)I liked the lead vocal a lot and the bgvs are very well placed and thought out! 4)Is there a bass guitar on its own, or is it mimicking the piano stabs? The bass guitar is not very present and it could add some slight differences or little fills or something. mixing is a dark art that we are all trying to learn. What you have here is pretty decent so far, keep at it! cheers, -Tom

It sounds like they deep sampled an OTS guitar strum.

Uh, actually I was reading too fast, I have and like the s73 as well. This 1973 is unknown to me.

Oooh crap, I was a fool fooled. My happy remarks applied to the s73 . . . I don't have this 1973 which is more full featured.

Do you really have free will if you want to respond, but it's late and you are just too damned tired???

Did I just read "Mongolian Horsehead fiddle" or do I need more coffee??

He really fills the lane

These things may or may not work. Buy better, more shielded cords? With pure silver cores? Or https://www.amazon.com/Ferrite-Core-Cord-Noise-Suppressor/dp/B01JMTCC5 Or Move those noisy pickups around the room a little, there's probably a spot where the rf is cancelled. Hit record and then move over into the bookcase by the ficus Or Learn to Stop Worrying and Love the Barbecued Iguana

Pianos are very very subjective, but I ran with ivory II as my main piano for a few years. It lacks a depth to the samples, and doesn't play super well from a touch standpoint. For 249? Pearl or Noire would be considerably better imho but that's on the yamaha side.

It shouldn't take them 18 months to reverse engineer Reaper.

This is the stuff. I loved it. Sorry to hear about the flooding. The chills vibe is strong with this one. cheers, -Tom

Like a Prog Martini Jazz. Very very interesting. What did you use for drums? They sounded good to me, maybe just a bit more fill programming in certain spots? You have a very strong sense of compositional style, I can hear it in all of your works I think. What was the musical about? cheers, -Tom

Great drum performance and mixing, and same with the guitars. That doubletime section was friggin awesome. You guys know what you are doing!!! I'm a big Rush fan from decades ago, appreciate the reference and your tribute. cheers, -Tom

Great lyrics, and the guitar parts, too. Overall I feel like the mix might be just a hair overcompressed. I dunno, it's not way smashed, just a little smashed and sometimes crunchy artifacts are a choice. On the guitars, do you have a guitar doubling the bass line? I'm hearing more overcompressed crunch on the bass than anything else. If you have a guitar doubling the bass, you might drop the guitar's volume just a hair? Total guess. "Hot Dog" came after, and it's much cleaner in the bass dept. . . . what settings did you use there? still "Blackhole" kind of sucks you right on in! cheers, -Tom

Loved the whammy bar dips. That's a neat guitar lead line. We need much more Latin jazz stuff on the forum. Your jazz guitar improv skills are legit. Cool! For a not, maybe that rhythm guitar you occasionally have panned far right could sit better in the mix, maybe drop the volume? Maybe more reverb , plate, on the horns? Thanks for that one! -Tom

Stereo MCs kind of groove. Noice!!!

I listened on headphones . . . very much liked the groove. I was missing the kick drum and the bass. I know, headphones will do that. But you might give the mix a spin on headphones, if you haven't already . . . it's a bit on the brighter side of the teeter totter. Cool little bgv ooooh adds and the piano bounces along nicely as well. A very cool foray into jazz which I thought had more funk in it and therefore the bass stuff is critical. Or should I check my headphones? Nice one! -other Tom

I'm hoarding electrons.

Plus it looks cool like my old Marantz amplifier!

Yes please post! And continue fractalling, although the tap water might catch fire.