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Pink Floyd The Wall Side 3, Part 1 (Hey You, Is There Anybody Out There?)


Ross Smithe

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Hey all, wanted to present to you my latest (and largest!) cover project, an extended remake/rework/remix/reproduction of one of my all time favorite album "sides",  Pink Floyd The Wall, Side 3 (Tracks 14-19). This is Part 1 of 3, Hey You and Is there Anybody Out There?

A multitude of digital means and methods were used to recreate these iconic tunes (which were originally done in analog, of course!). All vocals are 100% redone. Here's how everything else came together:

Hey You- Full reproduction, using some predone MIDI sequences, as well as my own playing and programming. I put flesh on the bones using a variety of synths and samplers. Joined on vocals by my Floydian friend and singing partner Tone Hjelt from Oslo, Norway.

Is There Anybody Out There?- Pretty much same as above! Used some predone MIDI sequences, some my own playing/programming, and put a touch of the original instrumental track under the opening drone swell to enhance the sound.

Background TV sounds and assorted voices taken from original tracks, of course!

Everything I recorded was done via synthesizers, samples, and sequencing. All done in CbB. I know I'm definitely swimming in deep waters here, but this was a very fun and incredibly challenging project! Didn't attempt to reinvent the wheel, just tried to polish up the rims a bit, and create an immersive listening experience for these timeless and iconic tunes! I will plan on posting Part 2 (Nobody Home, Vera, Bring The Boys Back Home) and Part 3 (Comfortably Numb) in the near future.

Edited by Ross Smithe
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On 7/11/2025 at 11:07 AM, Morenoize said:

Hi Ross, nice piece of work, sounds good.  One little nitpick, the acoustic guitar part following "is there anybody out there"is a bit to quiet , imho.

 

Rik

Thanks so much Rik. You have a point on the guitar level, I think I might go in and adjust!

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On 7/15/2025 at 4:52 PM, steve@baselines.com said:

Very cool!  I can hear a lot of work went into this - I'm assuming the bass was a synth as well?  If so, what did you use?  It sound pretty close to a fretless.

Steve

 

Hey Steve, thanks for the listen and kind word! Yes, bass, and really everything on this, was done on synth. I use a mix and match combination of software and hardware, whatever sounds good for the song. Bass in this case is a patch off of my Korg Kronos called Dark Fretless.

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Brilliantly done,Ross. I particularly like the sound you got on your acoustic! Can you give up any secrets on recording and production?

Only kidding here, but I'm glad you went off key in the same spots that Roger did. It would have sounded wrong if you'd pitch corrected it. Makes me wonder how they pitch corrected back in the day.

Tim

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On 7/17/2025 at 5:35 PM, timboalogo said:

Brilliantly done,Ross. I particularly like the sound you got on your acoustic! Can you give up any secrets on recording and production?

Only kidding here, but I'm glad you went off key in the same spots that Roger did. It would have sounded wrong if you'd pitch corrected it. Makes me wonder how they pitch corrected back in the day.

Tim

Hi @timboalogo, thanks so much for the listen and the kind word! Instrumentally, everything on this project was done "in the box". I used a combination of software and hardware synths (Korg Kronos and Yamaha MOXF). Guitars and bass were mostly off of the Kronos (12 string is from an outstanding sample set called Jensen Guitars, nylon string is from a Kronos combination called Celtic Heart). Drums and lead guitars are from the Yamaha  MOXF (lead tracks were run through TH3 for some extra bite). Electric piano and Harmochord (sounds like a kind of cross between harmonica and accordion) are from Keyscape. Hammond organ also off Kronos (a killer patch emulating Tom Scholz's Boston Foreplay settings). Background pads and voices are mix and match, mostly Kontakt Analog Dreams (there is a preset called "Floyd", lol), Omnisphere, and Spitfire LABS. There are other odds and ends as well, but these were the big hitters. Vocals are recorded with a WA-47 Jr into a Focusrite Scarlett 4i4. My female singing partner recorded her back up part over my tracks on BandLab. I then downloaded her track and brought it into Cakewalk to mix and master (not sure what mic she sang into, I used the Antares Mic Mod VST to help make it  sound good with my lead track). One other secret gem that I use regularly… I apply a free Sonox Inflator alternative called JS Inflator on my master bus before the limiter. Can do wonders to expand and energize your final mix.

Edited by Ross Smithe
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9 hours ago, Ross Smithe said:

Hi @timboalogo, thanks so much for the listen and the kind word! Instrumentally, everything on this project was done "in the box". I used a combination of software and hardware synths (Korg Kronos and Yamaha MOXF). Guitars and bass were mostly off of the Kronos (12 string is from an outstanding sample set called Jensen Guitars, nylon string is from a Kronos combination called Celtic Heart). Drums and lead guitars are from the Yamaha  MOXF (lead tracks were run through TH3 for some extra bite). Electric piano and Harmochord (sounds like a kind of cross between harmonica and accordion) are from Keyscape. Hammond organ also off Kronos (a killer patch emulating Tom Scholz's Boston Foreplay settings). Background pads and voices are mix and match, mostly Kontakt Analog Dreams (there is a preset called "Floyd", lol), Omnisphere, and Spitfire LABS. There are other odds and ends as well, but these were the big hitters. Vocals are recorded with a WA-47 Jr into a Focusrite Scarlett 4i4. My female singing partner recorded her back up part over my tracks on BandLab. I then downloaded her track and brought it into Cakewalk to mix and master (not sure what mic she sang into, I used the Antares Mic Mod VST to help make it  sound good with my lead track). One other secret gem that I use regularly… I apply a free Sonox Inflator alternative called JS Inflator on my master bus before the limiter. Can do wonders to expand and energize your final mix.

Thanks for the excellent deets Ross,

The Kronos sounds are unbelievably excellent! and that harmochord is very cool.

More Floyd please.

Timbo

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