original Love of a Lifetime-Original

[Johnbee58]

Original song. Just me trying to write like Boz Scaggs.

https://www.soundclick.com/music/songInfo.cfm?songID=14220058

I hope you enjoy it.

? John B

 

Edited March 27, 2021 by Johnbee58

[jack c.]

ahh i do hear scaggs.use some vst plugins to make your voice wider/bigger.nice recording job.jack c.

[Johnbee58]

11 minutes ago, jack c. said:

ahh i do hear scaggs.use some vst plugins to make your voice wider/bigger.nice recording job.jack c.

Thanks, Jack.  I was thinking that too.  There is a thinness in the lead vocal.  I have the Ozone Imager but when I use it, Cakewalk crashes.  I also have the Nugen Stereoizer. Maybe I'll give thar a whirl.

? John B

[John Vere]

Nice job I like it. Lots of good parts happening to keep the interest. I think your voice is fine. I’ve gotten used to it?. 
But if you want more warmth use a dynamic mike and get right on it. 
I tried Ozone and it actually sounds worse on my tracks. I think it’s made for people who have real bad sounding tracks and have no clue how to fix them. 
I’m of the camp which you get a great sound before you hit the big R. Then very little is needed 

[Johnbee58]

52 minutes ago, John Vere said:

Nice job I like it. Lots of good parts happening to keep the interest. I think your voice is fine. I’ve gotten used to it?. 
But if you want more warmth use a dynamic mike and get right on it. 
I tried Ozone and it actually sounds worse on my tracks. I think it’s made for people who have real bad sounding tracks and have no clue how to fix them. 
I’m of the camp which you get a great sound before you hit the big R. Then very little is needed 

Thanks John.  Funny you suggest using a dynamic mic.  Fact is I did use my 30 year old Peavey PVM 38 on this.  I just didn't like the way my Avantone CV 12 sounded on this so I dug out my old dynamic and was surprised that it actually sounded better.  (I guess it likes my voice better than the CV 12).  I'm considering buying a Shure SM7B (and yes, I know I would also need a Cloudlifter preamp), but I don't know if it would sound any better.

? John B

[John Vere]

It took me 30 years but for me the best mike live and in the studio is a Sure Beta 58 with a sock on it.  There's a lot of noise in my house right now with fans and appliances and dogs. Until I can build my dream studio condenser mikes are out of the question.  

I meant to ask you- is your dog a type of labradoodle ? it looks a bit like one of ours. 

[Johnbee58]

Ginger was (we were told) a toy, but I think she was a bit bigger than what my understanding of a toy poodle is.  Unfortunately I lost my baby girl 2 years ago. She had stomach cancer.  She was almost 15.

Thanks for the mic tip.  I'll look into the beta.

?John B

 

[noynekker]

Very nice job on this one John . . . the chords and piano parts are well conceived, and it's a very clear mix. I very  much relate to the lyrical content, also well done.

Those staccato strings in the 3rd chorus really add a great and uplifting feeling, getting the point across about that "love of a lifetime", and I'm thinking it might be good if they were in the first 2 choruses as well ? Thanks for posting here !

[Johnbee58]

8 hours ago, noynekker said:

Very nice job on this one John . . . the chords and piano parts are well conceived, and it's a very clear mix. I very  much relate to the lyrical content, also well done.

Those staccato strings in the 3rd chorus really add a great and uplifting feeling, getting the point across about that "love of a lifetime", and I'm thinking it might be good if they were in the first 2 choruses as well ? Thanks for posting here !

Noynekker, thanks so much!  As far as the strings in the first two choruses, I like to "build up" on the instrumentation as the song progresses, the last chorus being the "climax".

? John B

[Lynn Wilson]

John, you have come far in the last few years with your vocals.  A very short delay can "thicken" a voice without much effort, or just sing a double of the lead.  However, I'm not sure you need it.  This song is quite good, and the arrangement is sophisticated enough that it stands on its own.  A+ effort!

[Johnbee58]

3 hours ago, Lynn Wilson said:

John, you have come far in the last few years with your vocals.  A very short delay can "thicken" a voice without much effort, or just sing a double of the lead.  However, I'm not sure you need it.  This song is quite good, and the arrangement is sophisticated enough that it stands on its own.  A+ effort!

Thanks so much, Lynn.

? John B

[Bajan Blue]

Hi John

Good track, well recorded and played

Nice stuff

Nigel

 

[Johnbee58]

12 hours ago, Bajan Blue said:

Hi John

Good track, well recorded and played

Nice stuff

Nigel

 

Thanks Nigel!

?

[DeeringAmps]

Good chorus on this one John, although a little sad.

Well done!

t

[Wookiee]

Sounds OK here John, mix works quite well on my Event 20/20's

[Johnbee58]

Deering & Wookiee-Thanks so much!

? JB

[KSband]

You are a heck of a good song writer. I like all the cool chord changes and yet you manage to make a nice melody out of it, very much much like Steely Dan did so well. Obviously a very good piano player.

[Johnbee58]

20 hours ago, KurtS said:

You are a heck of a good song writer. I like all the cool chord changes and yet you manage to make a nice melody out of it, very much much like Steely Dan did so well. Obviously a very good piano player.

Thanks for the kind words, Kurt!

? John B

[bjornpdx]

John, I'm used to lyrics like you see in traditional poems - fairly strict rhythm, accents in the right places and words have to rhyme. Your lyrics don't follow the "rules" but the song sounds great anyway. Seems like there would be a lot of different ways to sing it.  Do you do it the same way every time or can it come out way different once in a while?

In my limited non-pro experience I've found that double tracking or a short delay like Lynn mentioned above is an effective way to thicken the voc.

-Bjorn

[Johnbee58]

18 hours ago, bjornpdx said:

John, I'm used to lyrics like you see in traditional poems - fairly strict rhythm, accents in the right places and words have to rhyme. Your lyrics don't follow the "rules" but the song sounds great anyway. Seems like there would be a lot of different ways to sing it.  Do you do it the same way every time or can it come out way different once in a while?

In my limited non-pro experience I've found that double tracking or a short delay like Lynn mentioned above is an effective way to thicken the voc.

-Bjorn

Hi Bjorn.  Thanks so much for the feedback. ?

Gee, I guess I really didn't think about it much, but you're right.  The lyric only rhymes in a few places.  The fact that it seems to work anyway proves that lyrics don't necessarily have to rhyme all the time.    Kinda like free verse poetry, I guess.  To answer your question, no I don't purposely avoid rhyming my lyrics (check some more of them out . Most do rhyme ?).   In this case I just followed my heart in what a person in that situation might say.

Thanks again!

? John B

EDIT-BTW, I did do a thickening trick on the vocal and I updated the mix a few days ago.  I put my Fix Doubler plugin on a separate track for the non doubled voice and used the preset called "Stereo Widening",  but reduced the mix on it to a very minimal amount.  I think it thickened it up a bit.

?