testing instruments - short jazz track

[anne]

Hi - I'm trying out some of my software instruments so I can learn how to use them better. THis is a short jazz track with sax and trumpet. I am wondering if anyone can tell me how this sounds (not melodically or as a jazz track - I'm specifically looking for feedback on the below items)What questions I'm particularly asking :convincing sound overall?convincing sound of sax phrasing of saxconvincing sound of trumpetphrasing of trumpetand then the rhythm section (which I think sounds pretty good). If it were a scale of one to ten, ten being "enough to sound real for 20 seconds" , I'd mark this as is at:7 for convincing overallsax convincing 6 phrasing 7trumpet convincing 6 phrasing 5rhythm section 8I know I still have work to do on this. I'm doing this in small steps as I learn. Any feedback is truly appreciated. THANKS!TRACK IS CALLED "Experiment" and is on my taxi page at:http://www.taxi.com/AnneHouseI am using logic and kontakt instruments. I put minimal effects on the tracks (eq etc) while I work on this process to get the sound as good as possible and learn how to use kontakt.

[hummingbird]

the trumpet doesn't sound convincing to me. it sounds synthy.The sax sample is better altho I think you could work the velocities better... think of the sax like your voice, sing the phrase & then think about the different textures that come into your voice as you move from interval to internal. whether the sax is playing like a sax plays... I'm no expertrythm section seems okay altho a little far back in the mix for film/tv, I think.HTH - good composition, tho -- keep workin' on it, you'll get it!

[heinsite]

hi anne--i'm envious you've taken the dive into the upper ech world of the software thing! good luck, it will get better. needless to say, i haven't done it yet...the sax is VERY hard i'm told to reproduce, but this isn't bad, and as humminbird says, just play with it, i'm sure it will get better, and it sounds better than the trumpet, i'm curious to hear the trumpet sound UNmuted, as this is clearly an attempt at a muted one--since i'm sure you'll be using many tracks with unmuted and more "normal", i'd be curious to hear what this program does straight trumpet/cornet.anyway, from a non techie, non musician, that's all i got..the best,warren

[geo]

Hi Anne....nice to see you around....Had a couple of listens....Rhythm section.... bass sounds hot.... and I think it sustains too much.... drums too far back..... Trumpet.... for some reason I'm going to suggest cutting some mids .... I've been fiddling with sounds lately and that might help it.... Sax .... I was fortunately able to record a really good sax player and he like his sound treated like a voice ... little wet .....maybe that will translate to what you're doing... Sax phrasing sounds the better of the two...Like the tune!!Peace, Geo

[ideascapes]

Anne,Happy to listen and comment: - convincing sound overall? Good in terms of feel, especially. Drums work well. Bass is a little boomy and would be good to hear more attack on the strings. - convincing sound of sax? Pretty convincingly played, but I can tell it's a sample/synth. Pretty early on, one of the notes overlaps--that's a dead giveaway.phrasing of sax - greatconvincing sound of trumpet - no; trumpet extremely tough to pull off; usually works only as an ensemble (but not with other trumpets, necessarily)phrasing of trumpet - pretty good, but the sound was distracting; again, listen very closely for overlapping notesHope this helps!Vince

[billg]

hey Anne, I'm not really qualified on the horn stuff but the sax sounds pretty convincing to me. The bass though, as geo mentioned, needs less sustain to really sound like an upright-

[anne]

"as this is clearly an attempt at a muted one--since i'm sure you'll be using many tracks with unmuted and more "normal"This was completely unintentional... again, just shows how much learning there is for me to do!Thanks everyone for the feedback. I'm sure you can relate that, after working on something for a while, you really stop hearing what is going on and need to step away from it. For instance, the notes on the bass - that never crossed my mind because I was so focused on learning how to use the horns....Now I know to go back and tweak that track !I just picked up some cds with some similar songs and so now I will spend the time a/b - ing the sounds to work on getting them somewhere in the ballpark. I'm excited to finally have the time to work on this - I think my writing will be faster overall, once I'm not struggling so much just to use the VIs.

[tmarcoe]

Both Instruments sound like you're using Creative Labs Audigy II. They are OK for comcercial and tag music (you can get away with that when you're writing that kind of music) but if you're writing anything else I would only use them down in the mix with live instruments up front.

[heinsite]

oh, sorry on the horn...but maybe you pushed the wrong button? LOL--hey and it was nice to meet you at the rally--and get rid of that picture you have posted, that is NOT the pretty lady i saw in person!!! and LOL, you've seen why i DON'T post a pix!!you'll get it down, you are a smart lady!!all the best,wh

[anne]

Great info TMarcoe - I was using Kontakt but I'm just stumbling my way around in that program. I agree that live instruments are best - right now I'm just trying to learn how to get the best sounds I can and practice, practice, practice.....Bill - thanks for the compliment. I likely did hit some button that I wasn't aware of, and if it sounds like a muted trumpet rather than a normal one, that shows I have a lot to learn I will have to go check and see what pics I have, too!Thanks for all of the help - I've now got more than enough feedback to work with until my next iteration is finished