Keith Wilby

Welcome to the Machine ? Genre isn't my cup of tea but I'm well aware of how much effort went into this and why people would enjoy it. Well done ?

Hi all. This is a big ask but I'd like to invite everyone to review the new album that I intend to send to all of the streaming services soon. All of the songs have already been run by you on here and I appreciate the feedback, but if you have time to listen then I'd like any further feedback you might have about any aspect at all - the mixes, production, songs, running order, cover art ... go wild ? It's available here and thanks in advance:

I will, thanks Mark.

Hi Dazzla. It sounds rather muddled to me, like there are too many sounds fighting for space. I also felt that there are timing issues, especially with the bass - is it "real" or a VST? I'd look at quantizing if it were me. But then of course it's not me and that might have been what you wanted. And if you had fun doing it, which is the main thing, then why not? Just my 2p worth.

First of all, huge sympathy with all tinnitus sufferers. My mum had it and she said voices sounded like Daleks. Must be bloody awful. I have a bit of a high pitched ringing but my wife doesn't talk all the time. Regarding the mix, sounds spot on to me ?

I posted an earlier version of this about a year ago and got some really good feedback - thanks again for that. It's the final song that I'm completing for an "album" drop onto the streaming services so I'd welcome your input. I've replaced some of the VSTs on the previous version with real guitars and I've struggled a bit with mixing the lead guitar properly. Hopefully it won't make your ears bleed too badly. https://www.bandlab.com/post/03c61f43-7f5b-ee11-9937-000d3a41ec2a

Thanks for all of the comments guys, much appreciated. I'll revisit the mix, I think you've probably summed it up nicely @Larry T. ?

Hi all, it's been a while so ... I think I previously posted this song as "Speakeasy" a while back. This version is shorter and has a lead guitar solo in place of the MIDI sax. EDIT: forum comments actioned. Further comments welcomed. https://www.bandlab.com/post/d9ae5bc8-5058-ee11-9937-000d3a41ec2a

Superb, well done ?

Fantastic playing, and I bet you're one of those annoying people that make it look easy too ?

EZ Keys "Bandmate". Kiki Dee didn't appear did she?

I'm not sure but it was considered by poor people like my mum to be something of a delicacy/treat in the late 60s/early 70s ?

Yeah that's how I feel about it, but then when I'm looking after my 11 month old grandson I'm 30 again ?

Amazing guitar, I wish I had that ability. I think the drums dominate the song though, they were too much of an irritant for my ears. Just 2p worth ?

I've done a mix of this song with a sprinkling of AI on the piano track that makes it sound a bit more Rick Wakeman and a bit less Les Dawson. Gone are the drums and bass on this one too. Same video as the original, more or less.

Thanks @Bruno de Souza Lino, that was actually "excluded" for me for some reason. I'll have a play with it ?

Thank you so much Paul. I literally watch myself grow old in it ?

Good point.

I absolutely cannot stand this guy's productions. At first I thought that it was because, on every song I've heard of his, he mumbles the verses and then yells the choruses at the top of his lungs. Rinse and repeat with no let-up. But then I realised that other singers have done this too, for example Tina Turner, but their records don't grate onto my ears like Capaldi's do, so what is it? The only thing I can fathom is that it's something to do with how the recordings are engineered and mastered. They really do give me a headache and I have to switch him off when he comes on the radio. Or it could be that my ears are getting old and can't tolerate some modern production techniques. Who knows? Just my 2p worth ?

I seem to have sussed it out by trial and error. If you click the gear cog towards the top-left then you can map each articulation to an out-of-range key on the keyboard. Happy days ?

Thank you John. Yes, "time waits for no man" for sure (the baby in the tin bath is me and I'm 63 now ?). I'm glad it brought back some memories of your own, good ones hopefully, but nostalgia can be a bitter-sweet thing can't it?

Yes, Harry was my dad. I used to work in his shop at weekends as a teenager. Consequently, I hate decorating ... but my son has been a pro decorator for years now. Work that one out ? The photo of the demolition site is also what's left of his shop in 2013 (it was built in 1966 - Blackburn really got their money's worth there). Good to know it sounds OK on different platforms ?

Sure. What I would like to be able to do is to use a trigger key to change the note value selection at the bottom-left of the window. As I said, I'm a complete newbie to this plug-in and I might well be going about this in the wrong way. Always keen to learn ? Thanks.

I'm a newbie to Cinestrings and my musical theory knowledge is limited. If I have a series of notes played on a violin with the note value set to a crotchet and I want the final note in the series to be a different note value, say a semibreve, how do I change that on the fly? You can use trigger notes that are outside of the range of the instrument in other VSTs in Kontakt, such as Realivox, but I don't see that option in Cinestrings. Any help and advice much appreciated. Thanks.

Nothing wrong with this at all to my ears Mark. I particularly like the vocals, brilliant voice, but everything sounds proficiently played and the mix is just right. Well done indeed.