science!

[crs7string]

Vikki and u peters,Thanks for listening and your feedback. It's always good to have another pair of ears give you some perspective. There is also the variable of listening on a completely different system than the one I did the mixes on, you hear things differently than I did. Eventually you have to commit to something, especially with a potentially short deadline if it's a Dispatch listing.As I listen to material submitted to Taxi, some forwarded and some returned, I hear all kinds of things I would tweak. Hopefully, over time, those quick decisions become better decisions.Chuck

[mixopenta]

That's exactly whats so good about these boards. Not only do you have the option of listening in your studio, take it to the TV set in your living room, the stereo, and the car, you also have the opportunity to have it evaluated by people all over the world, on different system, and most important of all, - with a different set of ears.That's so cool, and so valuable IMO!

[mazz]

Quote:Vikki and u peters,Thanks for listening and your feedback. It's always good to have another pair of ears give you some perspective. There is also the variable of listening on a completely different system than the one I did the mixes on, you hear things differently than I did. Eventually you have to commit to something, especially with a potentially short deadline if it's a Dispatch listing.As I listen to material submitted to Taxi, some forwarded and some returned, I hear all kinds of things I would tweak. Hopefully, over time, those quick decisions become better decisions.ChuckChuck, this is exactly the same thing I'm working on. In this business, sometimes the last minute is the only minute we have and so I'm practicing being able to make better decisions and hear the flaws quicker. In fact, I have to run because I have a last minute demo to put together for real! Who needs sleep anyway? Mazz

[kouly]

Hey Mazz, I see you use Stylus AND Reason. Do you use them in Logic or some other setup?

[ncc1701]

Listened to all the tracks posted here so far, think they're great. Really.I haven't experimented with my software enough yet to find all the cool electronica loops that I'm sure must be in there somewhere - this is all "from scratch." http://www.taximusic.com/song.php?song_ ... m=trueMine sounds very amateurish compared to yours. What should I be doing production-wise to get it to sound slicker?kelysian

[crs7string]

kelysian,I think you have all the right elements in this track. Like a recipe for a cake you can have all the ingrediants correct but still not have the cake turn out.Just a couple of suggestions:I would consider the idea of the bass line having a few rests along the way. I'm trained as a guitar player and as a string player we tend to do a lousy job of "breathing". With a few of the eighth notes in the bass line removed, the line would breath and become a little more syncopated. Rhythmically the hihat and the bass line are the same. They don't seem to play off of each other like a drummer and a bass player would. With more space in the bass line the "drummer" could respond to the line. (The challenge of what we do as a one man band is to create the illusion of musicians playing off of each other)The only other suggestion is to consider a sound on the second A section that is less percussive. I'm referring to the guitar type sound that comes in as a counter melody. A more legato synth sound would add more contrast to the percussive bass line. Also adding another percussive element on the second section, possibly a snare drum and bass drum, would create some additional energyYou mention poking around your software for loop type material. What do you have in your arsenal?Chuck

[davewalton]

Quote:Listened to all the tracks posted here so far, think they're great. Really.I haven't experimented with my software enough yet to find all the cool electronica loops that I'm sure must be in there somewhere - this is all "from scratch." http://www.taximusic.com/song.php?song_ ... m=trueMine sounds very amateurish compared to yours. What should I be doing production-wise to get it to sound slicker?kelysianThis is a good piece. In response to your actual question, a couple of things struck me as I listened. The first 2/3 of the track have the bass and cymbal centered, everything else is panned hard right. Eventually we have another synth instrument coming in that's not panned hard right, but it's panned hard left. The "soundstage" really isn't getting filled in like it should, most of the track leans to the right, with not much on the left side. This is one of those deals where blending, rather than separation is something to consider.I LOVE the Fender Fretless sound in and of itself. Unfortunately for the rest of us, that genius/maniac Jaco Pastorius turned that into such a signature sound for him that really, no one can hardly use that sound without dating their song as a "late 70's" style. The sound of the synth that comes in later (panned hard left) is kind of thin, especially compared to the synth sounds in the right speaker. Those are warmer and they seem to be fine to me.So... I'd replace the fretless with almost anything else, spread the right speaker instruments out, and use a warmer, thicker, synth sound for the right speaker instrument. Blend that with the others as well.HTH,Dave

[ncc1701]

Quote:You mention poking around your software for loop type material. What do you have in your arsenal?I have Cakewalk's Sonar Power Studio (Sonar 5 Studio Edition plus a little pre-amp doohickey). I've gone through the tutorials on using the loops and groove clips, but I can't seem to locate if there's a folder or a library or something that came with the application where a bunch of sample loops are stored. (I've always got a song that needs working on and only a couple of hours after the kids go to bed each night, so I've never taken the time to really explore.)I do also have a book, Scott Garrigus' "Sonar 5 Power! The Comprehensive Guide" that's been helpful.Just so you know, this is SO not the way I usually go about things - I'm usually the one who READS the entire book before I even install the program! So I'm not looking for answers I wouldn't be willing to find myself. But since you asked ...kelysian

[crs7string]

kelysian,I've been a Cakewlk user since Cakewalk 3.00 ( The entire program was on a 3 1/2 " floppy disk) The program has matured to the point where you can accomplish anything you need.One of the challenges with a limited schedule to work on music is to be able to get alot done in the time alotted. This requires the necessary tools to work quickly. This challenge is also an opportunity because if you learn to work quickly you can potentially produce more tracks to submit to Taxi and also be able to execute on a Dispatch listing with a couple of days notice.In Sonar you have the ability to set up track templates as well as saving a project template. You don't have to invent the wheel every time you get started. I have the most frequently used software synths and output assignments saved to a project file. I'm ready to go to work as soon as it's loaded. I've also heard of people starting with the TSS Roland GM synth that comes with Sonar as a sketch pad and then replacing sounds later.You didn't mention if you have added any software synths to Sonar. There are VST instruments for everything under the sun. The workhorse VST instrument you see mentioned alot in this forum is Spectrasonics Stylus RMX. This is designed for you to put together drum and percussion tracks very quickly. There are also expanders available to add other loops.You create your tracks by dragging midi files to a track in Sonar and create a groove clip that you can loop and synch to the tempo of the tune. These loops also feel great.Building a bass line, piano part, pad, melody and counter lines is much easier with a great groove to play against.In response to reading the book first, I've found Scott's books to be a great reference when you are trying to do something and become stymied. I know Sonar has far more features than I use. I still don't know how to use the piano roll and that has been in the program for a very long time. Alot of the skills needed to do this are learned "on the street" ie. this forum and Cakewalk's forum etc. not in "school". I continue to marvel at the unselfish nature of forums contributors and their willingness to help. Chuck

[davewalton]

Quote:kelysian,I've been a Cakewlk user since Cakewalk 3.00 ( The entire program was on a 3 1/2 " floppy disk) The program has matured to the point where you can accomplish anything you need... I continue to marvel at the unselfish nature of forums contributors and their willingness to help. I have Sonar too (v5-something). The Cakewalk forum is amazingly responsive. I don't post too often but when I've asked questions, I usually get a response within 15 minutes.There are some loops on the CD (or is it a DVD?). Anyway, they're on there. Personally I didn't think they were that great but they're in folders called "Loopmasters" and "Smart Loops". Personally, I find audio loops difficult to work with. Since I have Reason, I prefer the REX format. Reason and the REX format makes it SO easy to monkey around with loops. I also tend to look for self-contained, "packaged" loops... things like Stylus RMX.I probably use only a dustspeck of what Sonar actually does. Thanks for the mention of the book. I'll check it out on my next coffee run to Starbucks at Barnes & Noble.