All of Your Heart

[RexRed]

 

New tune for you beautiful Cakewalk peeps! ?

Critiques welcome!

Edited May 11, 2023 by RexRed

[Keith Wilby]

Beautifully sung as always @RexRed. What did you use for strings? Sounds great.

[Ross Smithe]

Great tune! Very nice performance and production. 

[mark skinner]

 Rex , Beautifully simple and Very well sung.   I did have a little trouble with the quick L/R sweeping in the main vocal lines. (with headphones on) It probably isn't very noticeable listening thru monitors though. Are the main vocals double tracked with different panning or did you use an automated sweep ?

 Enjoyed it ..  mark

[RexRed]

2 hours ago, Keith Wilby said:

Beautifully sung as always @RexRed. What did you use for strings? Sounds great.

I have a lot of different string instruments that I usually prefer but sometime fall back on the trusty old Dimension Pro violins (strings) as I did in this case.

It was the espressivo fortissimo ones I believe. 

[RexRed]

20 minutes ago, mark skinner said:

 Rex , Beautifully simple and Very well sung.   I did have a little trouble with the quick L/R sweeping in the main vocal lines. (with headphones on) It probably isn't very noticeable listening thru monitors though. Are the main vocals double tracked with different panning or did you use an automated sweep ?

 Enjoyed it ..  mark

On the voice I used a Waves Kaleidoscopes Chorus and I also widened the vocal with IZotope Ozone 10 imager and during the chorus part (the part that is repeated) I sang 2 extra dub/unison tracks and panned them left and right,

I am not sure which of those effects is the offending one.

Probably the dub tracks during the chorus. I can put vocal rider on them and then use Melodyne and align them up with the main vocal a bit better so they do not undulate as much.

Thanks for the heads up on this!  ?

I still have a few vocal lines that are late and a particular note I sing on the wrong pitch I need to correct as well.

I will go in and make a few more changes before this gets published.

I love the critiques, you people are so good at finding my mistakes and alerting me to them!

Best to you!

[RexRed]

1 hour ago, Ross Smithe said:

Great tune! Very nice performance and production. 

Many kind thank yous for the compliment Ross! 

[RexRed]

Well, I made the final changes to this song today.

I made the nylon guitar a bit wider and the bass also on the upper end.

I fixed the dubs so they did not shift the lead vocal as much left to right, lowered the volume on them and aligned them better, added vocal rider.

I fixed the timing on the lead vocals and fixed the phase problems with a lot of the tracks.

I think it is done.

(maybe)

?

[Keith Wilby]

17 hours ago, RexRed said:

the trusty old Dimension Pro violins (strings)

Any idea where I might acquire the pro version? My Google searches suggest that it came only with SONAR Platinum which I believe is no longer available (?).

[AndyB01]

18 hours ago, mark skinner said:

I did have a little trouble with the quick L/R sweeping in the main vocal lines. (with headphones on) It probably isn't very noticeable listening thru monitors though. Are the main vocals double tracked with different panning or did you use an automated sweep ?

Hmm I hear this on headphones too - it's a little distracting but still another great song - nice simple arrangement and beautifully sung as always.

Yes those old Dim Pro instruments can still hold their own. I still use them from time to time.

Andy

[RexRed]

On 5/12/2023 at 4:25 AM, Keith Wilby said:

Any idea where I might acquire the pro version? My Google searches suggest that it came only with SONAR Platinum which I believe is no longer available (?).

There are nefarious means with which to acquire the old Cakewalk versions which I do not subscribe to. I purchased lifetime updates and bought many versions of Cakewalk all the way back to Cakewalk for MSDOS.

It is a word to the wise that some VST instruments go under and become no longer available.

This is why cloud based backups are not always foolproof.

I would think Gibson would want to profit from the products that remained in their possession after the Cakewalk acquisition. But they simple let them fall to the wayside for whatever reasons.

Speaking of VSTs that go under, the same thing happened to Emu...  Emu/Creative Labs/Sound Blaster

 Creative Labs shed their professional wing of their company, they had Emu audio interface cards    

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/EmulatorX--e-mu-emulator-by

The entire legacy of Emu synthesis is now a thing of the past. Emulator X3 cannot be purchased.

But, not exactly...

After a time these products lose their patents.

And the time is not like 90 years as it is for songs.

It is only a couple decades. So different companies revive these products after the patents run out.

It may only be a matter of a few years and Dimension pro will be revived as a revamped product by some company that specializes in reviving old synths.  

When you have invested in tons of "sound packs" and a synth goes under, sometimes you are left without a working product when you need to change computer systems. 

Dimension Pro can still be found online  but the means with which to find it are not necessarily, "legal".

I paid for my version(s) of Dimension Pro several times over as well as buying Rapture too.

I might add that there are other offerings for sounds today that really outdo Dimension Pro entirely but then there are some signature sounds in Dimension Pro that in some instances, nothing seems to sound sweeter.

You might be able to buy and old version (CD/DVD) of Cakewalk X3 on Ebay. As long as it comes with the serial number and activation codes it should work, but I am not absolutely certain of that. By installing it, it does not negatively impact your Cakewalk by Bandlab version. You just have an older version you can open as well.

 You might have to use the Cakewalk Install Manager (Command Center). I am not sure how a "new user" would apply in that instance as well.

Make sure the version you buy from Ebay has the serial numbers and activation codes also for Dimension pro and Rapture. When you install Dimension Pro you have to right click and install and open it as "administrator" to get the serial and activation codes to work right.

Perhaps there are others that can answer better and I am sure there are entire threads on this forum that discuss how to get a hold of legacy Cakewalk synths, instruments and effects.

Best of luck on this Keith!

Edited May 13, 2023 by RexRed

[RexRed]

On 5/12/2023 at 5:22 AM, AndyB01 said:

Hmm I hear this on headphones too - it's a little distracting but still another great song - nice simple arrangement and beautifully sung as always.

Yes those old Dim Pro instruments can still hold their own. I still use them from time to time.

Andy

Since I removed the dubbed voices I assume that what you are hearing is the slight sweep of my chorusing effect.

I will look more at that and see if I can tone it down more or disable it.

Thanks for the comment Andy!

Edited May 13, 2023 by RexRed
typos

[bjornpdx]

Rex, beautiful song! PBS had a documentary on country music a while ago and I think your voice is right up there with the best of them. Not sure if you consider yourself country, but the song and your voice certainly has that country ballad sound IMO.
-Bjorn

 

[RexRed]

On 5/13/2023 at 5:58 PM, bjornpdx said:

Rex, beautiful song! PBS had a documentary on country music a while ago and I think your voice is right up there with the best of them. Not sure if you consider yourself country, but the song and your voice certainly has that country ballad sound IMO.
-Bjorn

 

Hello Bjorn!

I love country music very much, as well as rock music. I fit somewhere in the middle and this is why I have chosen "folk rock" as my genre, even though I can at times stray across both gambits. 

I usually aim for "acoustic" sounding music. I find nylon guitars seem to epitomize the feeling I am looking for. But a nice piano song can be a sweet change as well.

I have tried to make it in music but the powers that be seem disinterested so I just plug along merrily making new songs and gradually building a fanbase of awesome people as yourself.

 It has always been about the music and I LOVE Cakewalk... Cakewalk has enabled me to get the music that I feel inside, out of me and to the world.

Cakewalk is a thing that dreams are made of... Musician dreams... 

Thanks for listening!

?

[David Rossi]

This is pretty wonderful.  You do have a really nice and forward country voice and I like the vocal pads that fill it out.  
 

My only suggestion which may be a betrayal to its simplicity, is to add some color acoustic hooks / licks in the various emptiness under the strings.  It’s a wonderful song, just maybe needs a little more break up the repetitiveness of the base tracks.

[FreeEarCandy]

Great tune. Nice voice.  I don't know if its on my end or not but I'm hearing clicks here and there.  I heard them on another tune I listened to today and when I went back to check the click was gone. So, it may just be on my end.  Nevertheless, very enjoyable tune!

[Lynn Wilson]

I agree that you have one of the best voices going, and you know how to write a song that lets your vocal shine!  I've heard you do songs in other genres so I know how versatile you are.  I love the photo of you with all that classic analogue gear, but I have a question - what is your recording chain these days?  Your vocals are so consistent that I imagine you could sing through anything and sound great, but you do know how to engineer and produce.

[RexRed]

On 5/15/2023 at 9:40 AM, David Rossi said:

This is pretty wonderful.  You do have a really nice and forward country voice and I like the vocal pads that fill it out.  
 

My only suggestion which may be a betrayal to its simplicity, is to add some color acoustic hooks / licks in the various emptiness under the strings.  It’s a wonderful song, just maybe needs a little more break up the repetitiveness of the base tracks.

I totally agree about adding some acoustic hooks, I need that in a lot of my songs. Many years ago I used to do a that a lot more but got out of the habit. Lately I have been thinking a lot about the guitar hooks I used to add to my songs. It is like getting back on a bicycle  after many years of not riding one. This song would really benefit from them I think.  I just need to do it I guess.

 Since a lot of my songs need it, it may have to wait until my next song and maybe someday I may come back and revisit this song.

I too am wondering about betraying the simplicity but I really do not know without trying.

Thank you David for reestablishing this thought that I have also been considering, it makes that more important to get these subtle embellishments back into my songs.

I believe that also adds to the replayability factor. There is more to the song so listeners will tire of the song later, rather than sooner.

All the best and thanks again for the very helpful input. ?

[RexRed]

On 5/15/2023 at 10:57 PM, FreeEarCandy said:

Great tune. Nice voice.  I don't know if its on my end or not but I'm hearing clicks here and there.  I heard them on another tune I listened to today and when I went back to check the click was gone. So, it may just be on my end.  Nevertheless, very enjoyable tune!

I have not heard any clicking but it is possible.

When I punch in for a vocal segment, sometimes my mechanical keyboard can make a click in the mic/recording.

I actually did not listen to my vocal alone in this song (I usually do) so a click or two could have snuck in.

When I revisit the song, I will do that, listen to my vocal and see if I missed some clicks. I did hear a couple breaths that could have been tamed a bit more. ?

Thanks for the heads up FreeEarCandy! ?

[RexRed]

7 hours ago, Lynn Wilson said:

I agree that you have one of the best voices going, and you know how to write a song that lets your vocal shine!  I've heard you do songs in other genres so I know how versatile you are.  I love the photo of you with all that classic analogue gear, but I have a question - what is your recording chain these days?  Your vocals are so consistent that I imagine you could sing through anything and sound great, but you do know how to engineer and produce.

Thanks very much for all of the vocal compliments! I am very happy that my voice is liked. I do consider myself a singer first and foremost.

I guess that is because I think a lot of my vocal ability is a "lucky talent" that I have tried to polish, strengthen and utilize most of my life.

I create most of my songs from start to finish. I wish I had other people to help but I am not that lucky. ?  

I am a firm believer in simultaneously mixing and mastering at the same time. 

So my mastering process is mostly fixed with mixing tweaks rather than mastering tricks.

I have a 18 core Intel processor and I record 48khz 24bit on a RME Fireface UCX II. I also incorporate a Rodecaster Pro 2 into my live streams.

My mastering bus usually only has Ozone 10 or Fab Filter Pro L2 or both.

Again I try and fix my mastering issues by mixing.

I use a side chain for my vocals so they cut themselves out of the mix and this fixes any banding conflicts.

If you visit my CBBTV YouTube channel  you can watch me "live" working on many of the songs I have showcased here.

You can chat with me during the live broadcasts and add input or ask questions as well.

I would really love it if Cakewalk people showed up for my live YouTube broadcasts.

I do live song writing, live tracking, editing, mixing, mastering and I also showcase a lot of my VST instruments, effects I use, favorite patches and discuss sound subscriptions. (talk about my old days at the music university)

There is no part of the song creation process that I do not cover in my live videos. 

Please click subscribe and click the bell for notifications of when I go live. 

I have a few people who sometimes show up for my live broadcasts, come and say hi to them as well.

I have made many many videos, some of them are like 8+ hours long, some of them are quite helpful and I share even my, erm, "trade secrets". They are still useful because I share a lot of really important stuff that took me a lot of years to learn and accumulate knowledge. 

I have been using Cakewalk since way back with Cakewalk for MSDOS (longer than anyone that I know of making Cakewalk videos on YouTube) so I have learned a bit in all that time. ?

I have seen nearly all of the YouTube Cakewalk video creator's content and there are none quite like mine, long form and "live". 

Thanks for your inquiry Lynn!  

All the best Cakewalk peeps! My channel:

CBBTV

https://www.youtube.com/@cbbtv

My suggestion, go to the "live" video section of my YouTube channel and watch from the latest videos backward to the oldest videos.

Some of my oldest videos are bit outdated as I have changed my recording processes a lot since then. Skip ahead if it gets repetitious.  (music making can be that way)

All the best to you!

Sincerely,

RexRed 

Edited May 22, 2023 by RexRed
typos