noynekker

Hi David . . . en garde ! . . . my first disclaimer would be that I'm not inclined to the avante garde, but I did have a few listens to this, mostly because I'm a fan of your compositional creativity. Firstly, I had to google the word "abdabs", then I understood more about it. Usually, when I sit down and listen to some music, it's to relax and uplift, but this style seems purposefully written to evoke a kind of uneasy feeling. It occurred to me that like an actor, a composer can evoke a feeling, such as you have done here with modal and semi tone melodies, and frequencies accentuated in the 2-5k range, it starts out so pleasant, but takes a turn. Part of me wanted to turn it down, and part of me wanted to just understand it. Sorry if I've over analyzed it, but I think I'm trying to tell you that you've musically opened my mind some here . . . I see you released it March 2020, a lot of "new" stuff was going on at that time in our society, maybe that was your inspiration ? . . . Anyways, this piece also sums up the way my work week went . . . Happy Friday ! Thanks David, always look forward to what you're up to here on the Cakewalk Songs Forum.

Well, it's not an earth shattering improvement having articulation mapping . . . because it seems you still have to program it . . . it just makes it more user friendly to program it, which is what a lot of the more recent Cakewalk improvements are all about. Maybe I'll like it more after it saves me some programming time ?

At first, sure VLC Player sounded sonically correct compared to my mixes . . . but when I started listening to VLC Player app on my iPhone (played through larger speakers) there is some obvious level monkeying going on. So, maybe it's just the iPhone app version that has this occurring. On my PC, I use Windows Media Player.

mark . . . I ditched VLC player when I hear it adding extra compression and auto leveling to my material. I found a forum site where they were discussing it, and it confirmed what I heard. As for Windows Media player, there are some colouration settings which can mostly be turned off, but watch out for those Windows major updates where things get turned back on sometimes.

. . . because Windows v2004 is considered a "major" update, a lot of windows basic settings, especially some that have to do with audio, get shaken and stirred back to default settings . . . so most audio and DAW users will have customized audio settings that will have to be re-tweaked. It was not a pleasant update for me, but I have it working back to my spec now . . . until next time . . . As you say, there is a rollback option in Windows Update settings, but it will try the update gain (you will be assimilated), unless you know how to turn them off, which is very hidden I have found.

Hi Douglas . . . this song is so bang on, kind of stark (sparse) recording wise, but really works well to my ears, because of the way it unfolds. The main guitar hook is played like a true craftsman. It's the song we all wish we wrote after our last break-up. Sure, like others have said here . . . maybe some harmony vox could spice it up to keep the radio + streaming folks happy . . . but I would not want them to take away from the inter personal feeling this has, which really speaks to the listener.

Hey John Bradley . . . a brave effort, taking on those classics and all ! I SO appreciate your attention to detail here. I simply had to google and hear the original recording, and yours sounds so very digital, with so much more high end in the snare especially in comparison. (More Pro Channel Console Emulator ?) Acknowledgements, we are in a different recording era . . . I find It really misses that female vocal from a theatrical point of view, but you've covered it nicely, getting the musical idea across. It's got some great energy, just like the original . . . transported me back, musical time travel is the best !

Thanks for the listen Wookiee . . . as I said, we were aiming for the 90’s, perhaps off target a bit . . . sorry to be so Disco,, but glad to hear the mix was OK on your system.

Thanks. . . never heard that one, and glad you enjoyed it !

Hi Mark . . . you ever remember or listen to Boz Scaggs ? So, if and when my dream gal' comes over . . . THIS is the song I want to have playing on my stereo. It's a relaxing thing to listen to, and really like when the jamming starts near the ending . . . find myself wanting it to go on . . . I'm ready for the extended version !

Hi Douglas . . . it's a great hit the highway tune, and you have such great control over that guitar in the way you play it here. It certainly has a very "playing live" feel to it, but these days it's harder to tell if all played live. As Harry C. says earlier, it really does have a good "casual" feel to it, and that's really evident, especially in the vocals. Enjoyed the listen !

Thank you so much Hidden Symmetry . . . your comments are encouraging , especially coming from a talent like yours.

Lynn, those are very kind words, and much appreciated !

Thank you Mark . . . I'm glad you can relate to those days of old, the closest I come to dancing these days is tapping my feet while playing. Thank you for listening and replying.

Thanks for the listen Douglas . . .Ha! well, we were thinking 90's, so missed it by 10 years

The irony here is that it's a song about dancing, and I am world class clumsiest dancer ever It's a collaboration with a former bandmate, who is also busy perfecting self isolation these days, but still found the time to help me out with this one, online. As always, please let me know if anything stands out regards the mixing balance or songwise. Lyrically, just trying to reflect on those youthful days when everyone was "working for the weekend"

I've found it happens sometimes, can't hear the blobs when editing, and it seems related to which tool you are currently on . . . if I switch back to pitch tool for example, I can hear them again.

That's a big YES ! from me . . . the drum change ups really make a difference. Excellent composition and mixing, and it's very catchy, it really has it all.

So great ! Wow, I appreciate how your sax is your voice through this piece, musically interesting with the chord changes. Though, from beginning to end, the snare on 2+4 does not change at all . . . sure, there are fills in the drums, but always that same snare on 2+4 . . . there is an alternate section of interest, but still the same snare volume and exact tone. The recording is all top notch and balanced, but I can't get away from that drum machine thing as I listen. Sorry, don't mean to be a downer, because I SO appreciate what you've done here . . . maybe I just want more drum drama . . . don't mind me, I liked it a lot, but the drums seem important to me this piece somehow . . .

Nicely done . . . very aptly named "Not Quite the Blues" . . . though, I could surely belt out something blueish here against it. I was thinking how I really liked the kick sound on my small speakers (small speakers matter !) . . . then Gary said he wanted more beater head umph . . . I put on my headphones, and it has some bottom, so I just think it's a very well imagined and balanced kick drum, and important to the overall groove, old school, not tacky. BTW . . . The Furry Paws is a great band name.

Hi Paul . . . it's a great song with no obvious chorus, through composed, as it's all about how the lyrics unfold and passion builds . . . and there's that great build up at 2:17 that really won me over ! As the song goes along the harmonies really start to fill things out, I think they are well blended and quite well done. Myself, I prefer more low boom in the kick drum, which really stands out in the early parts when things are more sparse. Had a few listens on speakers and headphones and overall it's very well performed and recorded. You would do well to crop or resample the image smaller a bit for Soundcloud (to see the car going over the cliff) . . . when I went to listen on Soundcloud and saw the whole image, it gave me more of a chuckle. Hey, I guess you were more comfortable when the Bush's were in the driver's seat ?

Oxygen . . . very beautiful, a good breathe of fresh air (pun intended ?) . . . I loved it beginning to end, orchestration, levels, all very well done !

Not a Dell . . . just custom build

I'm using Intel i7-3770K @3.5GHz - - (8 cores) 32GB Ram - - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660Ti Yes, I can also verify that the slow load times occur for Ozone 9 plugs in my other DAW as well, it's surely not a Cakewalk issue.

OK, then it's an original, inspired by the Princeton fight song.