michaelhanson

Thanks Paul! All very valid points and things for me to consider.

Here is another song that I am reworking from the past. I did a complete update on plug ins, amp sims, drum software, attempting to bring a fresh version to a solo album compilation. Let me know what you think. Not The Man https://soundcloud.com/michaeljhanson/not-the-man-remastered?si=22ac4026bdc04f05a1be7386fa69983a&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

The feedback that I receive from this forum has always been invaluable. Thank you Wookie for pointing out the background noise in the recording. I was able to go into the Lead Vocal track and reduce much of the hiss. Still a touch there, but much better I think. Abbey Roads Chambers seemed to really be accentuating the hiss and pushing it forward in the track. Moving to a different reverb plug in, seems to have helped that a lot. If its still really noticeable, I guess it would take some repair software to clean up the track...or record a new vocal.

Hey Wookie, Thanks for listening, hope you've been doing well. Good suggestion on listening in mono; no I have not checked that. Real bummer on the background noise you are hearing. I thought I had done a better job masking the noise. This is obviously a really old recording done in more primitive times. Maybe 20 years ago in my early days of recording. I ran this one past Beagle (Reece) before posting and he didn't mention it, so I thought I had done a better job of hiding the noise. I guess I could investigate picking up RX 11 Elements or something and see if it can be cleaned up some more. There is always the option of retracking where there is noise, depends on which tracks I guess. I need some of the John Lennon AI cleaning software on this one. 🙃

Extremely well done. You captured the essence of McCartney’s vocals for sure. Love the instrumentation, very well done. This is up there as one of my McCartney favorites as well. Happy that you could post this as a cover. I’ve got a cover of Come Together that I’ve done, but I really never know what to do with it, as most of the internet music sites say, “no covers”.

This red one and the other blue one, made me beg my parents for my first guitar.

I haven't been around a lot lately. Many might remember me as MakeShift in the old Sonar days. When Cakewalk went the way of BandLab, I just changed to my name (Hanson). I had teamed up with several members here and we were writing and recording songs as a virtual band of songwriters, under the name Scandalous Grace. We put out 4 full albums of material. That band has kind of been disbanded, however...so I'm working on a solo project. I'm going back to songs that I wrote and recorded pre-SG and remixing and remastering; updating plug ins, the whole works. Here is the 1st that I've spit on an polished up a bit. Let me know your thoughts. Someday I Want To Fly

Cool song Clint! Nice to hear you back at it again. Love the guitar work, great tone and tastefully played as always. I hear nothing I would change about the mix.

I struggle with lyrics from time to time. I tried out a lyrics writing AI program to see what it would generate, to add to some lyrics I had already written. The results were interesting. Not all usable, often simple and cliche, but a few lines got my thinking process jump started. I suspect it will get better very quickly. I could easily find AI to be useful as a cowriter or something to bounce ideas off of. There are already near rhyming apps that I’ve used for years to help the writing process. I think it depends on who’s behind the wheel driving the car, who’s making the final decisions that matters. AI isn’t going away, so I’m trying to figure out how to embrace it as a tool.

My understanding has always been that theory was developed to explain why music works and sounds good. It’s kind of like what came first, the chicken or the egg. When theory is not followed, but something still sounds good, then it’s often written in theory as an exception. I think it’s good and OK to understand theory, but I do think that it sometimes keeps people from coloring outside of the lines. Some people can’t stand coloring outside of the lines and others find that to be interesting and creative. Similarly, blue is a primary color and that is a rule of design….but does the sky need to be painted blue.

I wish it were that easy. The problem is that they can all make there own decisions, but then they vary from staying with national standards. ? Our customers expect the same experience at NAMM or CES.

I'm a national operations manager and my job consist of holding meetings with our Branch locations all over the US and Canada. So, for me, it makes total sense to not go to an office when my office is really MS Teams. I travel quite a bit, so I am still face to face with people as well. At this stage in my career, I find working from home to be a huge blessing. I also have the discipline to do so. I might not have had that discipline in my younger years. Eliminating 2 hours of travel and replacing that with sleep has been great for my overall health.

I'm not really worried about that, as I'm 3 years from retirement.

I can relate. A little over 2 years ago I became full time remote at my work position. My office serves both as a studio and remote work office. Two separate computer systems, each with a set of dual monitors. Lunch hours often become recording sessions.

It takes a while to transition to Studio One from Cakewalk. All of the features are there and more, but they are often called by another name. YouTube is your friend. I now prefer the work flow in v6.5 over Cakewalk. I never thought I would say that after 20 years as a hardcore user.

Just curious, which DAW are you using as your primary recording software?

The June 6th announcement kicked me in the pants to upgrade from v3 to v6.5 and truly learn Studio One. Im happy as a clam and I’m not going back. I’ll keep a free version around if I need to work on a collaboration.

I get what you’re saying Rain. The fan in me wishes for Rush to remain the image of what they’re where and to leave it at that. However, they do what they do, because they love music and it’s in their DNA to write, record and perform. I turned 62 today and I’m planning to work until I’m 65. I’m excited t be moving towards leaving the work force and an occupation that I’m not entirely thrilled with. I’m equally excited and anticipating having more time to engage in the things I love, music being one of those loves. These guys are doing what they love and live for already. They are some of the lucky few who were able to combine a passion with a career. Why would they want to quit? We view through the lens of a fan while they view the lens of their lives.

I think the public and the market determine what lives on. Hey, if it sells, why not. It’s a nice retirement plan .

You got that right!

This describes me to a tee! They were over with by the time I was old enough to listen to music and then when I discovered them, I couldn't get my hands on anything Beatle related fast enough. Me with my first electric guitar.

Maybe I’m in the minority, but I like it a lot. The minute I heard John’s voice and his natural ability to make his voice the hook. I smiled from ear to ear upon first listen. John sounds sooooo good. It actually reminded me how awful modern music is.

I’m still thinking….

I wouldn’t personally say the Who sucked, but I have never been a fan. They just doesn’t do anything for me.