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Hi All,

I am considering submitting the below acoustic track for listing ACOUSTIC-BASED, SINGER/SONGWRITER-STYLE COVERS of POPULAR SONGS TAXI #Y180423AS

Any Genre
Any Tempo
From any Era
With Male, Female, or Duet Vocals are needed by a hard-working Music Library that gets a lot of placements in TV, and is branching out into Trailers, TV Promos, and Commercials as well.
Quoting The Music Library Owner: “I’ll consider a cover of ANY song that’s been commercially released -- ideally the more famous the better. I’m especially interested in the originality of the cover; it can’t sound like the original. It has to be unique and stand on its own.” can be stripped-down, lo-fi versions with just a guitar/vocal or piano/vocal, or you can send fuller productions with more instruments, all the way up to a full band, as long as an acoustic guitar or piano is at the heart of what you create." "Covering songs that lyrically lend themselves well to being used in Trailers, TV Promos, and Commercials is probably a smart idea. "

I am covering Donna Summer's Mystery of Love from the 1982 self titled album DONNA SUMMER (produced by QUINCY JONES)

Here is her version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRWZ4ku4AEM


Here is my acoustic cover:

http://lindacullummusic.com/wp-content/ ... oflove.mp3

Am I on the right track? and if so, what can I do for the guitar, vocal to make it better? And should I add anything else? Like a harmony? I was going to fade the end..it's stopped short in this mix.

Your input will be greatly appreciated!

Thank you,
Linda

Hi Linda,

Your version sounds very very good- clean and beautiful. I was listening to Donna's and two things came up for me.
1. Where it goes "History has told , as it unfolds" (para.) can you change your energy there and bring in a new sound to the song to give it a little more interest? Maybe a delay and reverb or some tiny little thing - perhaps a light bell-like instrument- just something so it doesn't sound the same as the beginning...

2. How about a few harmonies after halfway thru the song -subtle and with nice reverb - that would be cool I think.

Good luck!

Susan

Thank you Susan! I will try this..

Linda

WOW! - I had not heard this song before. Donna's "disco" original was a big production thing; I didn't try to presume how an acoustic rendering might work.
I think your stripped-down version is awesome just as it is: for a film/tv spot - this 'simple' version probably would have the best shot at getting used, IMHO.

You can always ADD something - but when it's done like this, with stand-alone quality - it proves a few things
1) what a well-written & crafted song it is;
2) you made it work as a solo piece.

I wouldn't change a thing... except maybe bring down the guitar 'noodle' volume (auto mix it) cause it might be competing with the vocal for those few seconds.
But that's minimal - great job!

Thank you Peter for the very nice compliment! Actually you and Susan have made me feel better having been on a recent binge of returns. Almost to the point of fear of submitting! I probably should pass everything through here before submission! Well then I would be nagging everyone

Anyway, one of my return issues has been "not broadcast quality" and from the same screener. I am just wondering what I need to do to have it be so? Could be a good topic for TAXI TV. What one needs in their arsenal to produce broadcast quality mixes.

SO Maybe I will keep it as it is..

I loved that whole LP she and Quincy Jones did. I learned that song a long time ago and play it solo.

Thanks again you guys..hey..why don't you all whip one up? There's a few more days till deadline!

Linda

I really like it as is too Linda. Nice guitar work! Best of luck with it, I hope you get a big fat FORWARD

Great job Linda.

I think the guitar is a little too dominant at the moment.

You could try a couple of things and see how they sound subjectively.

1: Turn the guitar volume down a teensy bit during the vocal.

2. Put another reverb on it with no pre delay to set it back a little. I know it has a long reverb you can here at the sides which may be a global reverb you are sending the vox too, a good idea to put them both in the same space.

3: Put a mid side plugin on the guitar that allows you to adjust the volume and eq of the mid and side signal. Keep the lower frequencies in the middle and put the higher frequencies out to the side, effectively making a hole for the vox in the centre.

4: Put a spacial/spread plugin on the guitar that does all this automatically.

As I said this is all try it and see stuff. Listen at really low volume so that you can hardly hear the vocal or guitar to get your level set first. That may well be all you need to do.

One thing that really needs doing is to add a little reverb tail, not too long, at the end. It sounds too abrupt and dry at the moment.

lesmac wrote:Great job Linda.

I think the guitar is a little too dominant at the moment.

You could try a couple of things and see how they sound subjectively.

1: Turn the guitar volume down a teensy bit during the vocal.

2. Put another reverb on it with no pre delay to set it back a little. I know it has a long reverb you can here at the sides which may be a global reverb you are sending the vox too, a good idea to put them both in the same space.

3: Put a mid side plugin on the guitar that allows you to adjust the volume and eq of the mid and side signal. Keep the lower frequencies in the middle and put the higher frequencies out to the side, effectively making a hole for the vox in the centre.

4: Put a spacial/spread plugin on the guitar that does all this automatically.

As I said this is all try it and see stuff. Listen at really low volume so that you can hardly hear the vocal or guitar to get your level set first. That may well be all you need to do.

One thing that really needs doing is to add a little reverb tail, not too long, at the end. It sounds too abrupt and dry at the moment.

Hi Lester and thank you! I have some questions:

<<2. Put another reverb on it with no pre delay to set it back a little. I know it has a long reverb you can here at the sides which may be a global reverb you are sending the vox too, a good idea to put them both in the same space.

I am using the same reverb on the guitar as the vocal..are you saying use a different one? I can understand this would make sense..

3<<: Put a mid side plugin on the guitar that allows you to adjust the volume and eq of the mid and side signal. Keep the lower frequencies in the middle and put the higher frequencies out to the side, effectively making a hole for the vox in the centre.

I love this idea...however, how do I do this? How does one put in a mid side plugin? how do I higher frequencies out to the side,?? Or rather is there a plugin that just does this? (I am using Tracktion Waveform, WIndows 10)

<<4: Put a spacial/spread plugin on the guitar that does all this automatically.

Yes! So would this plugin be what #3 is? or a plugin that would control #3?

Could you refer me to these plugins?

I really feel it could sound better/different and I appreciate your input.

Linda

Hi Linda, I suppose the idea is to take the edge off the guitar when it is competing with the vocal because of level or the fact it is bobbing around drawing attention to itself.
There are ways to help signals recede/reduce in a mix.
There is up and down using level.
Forward and back using EQ, making it darker by lowering the highs will help a signal recede back.
Reverb can set things back, dark reverbs especially [ put an EQ cut before the reverb on the reverb channel].
Using panning to put the signal out to the side, or using mid side techniques.
A combination of some or all of the above, there is no right or wrong way but simplest is sometime best, just turn it down!

I am using the same reverb on the guitar as the vocal

Referred to as a global reverb, when you send multiple signals to the same reverb [or other effect, global FX].
You could try sending the guitar to another dark reverb as well as the global reverb. Then balance the levels of the dry signal with the reverb sends to get the desired effect. You may not like the result of the guitar being drenched in reverb, [overcooked]. I'm not saying you should do this, I'm just giving some ideas that could help this situation or a different one.

I love this idea...however, how do I do this? How does one put in a mid side plugin? how do I higher frequencies out to the side,?? Or rather is there a plugin that just does this? (I am using Tracktion Waveform, WIndows 10)

You apply it as an insert on the track you are effecting. I checked quickly and I don't think Traktion has one as a stock plugin. You would have to find a freebie or purchase one that is the same type that Traction supports, VST isn't it?

Same for the sound field type plugin. I like Waves plugins. Basically you will just have to google mid side plugin VST, if that is what Traction supports. Maybe check out some of these:

https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2011/1 ... u-plugins/

If you are new to adding plugins to your DAW, its a good idea to install them one at a time and use them to make sure your DAW can handle them. Maybe google the name of your prospective plug and your DAW together to see if other people use them or if there are any known issues.

You shouldn't be scared to download and use third party plugins, its just that some times if a DAW plays up it can be traced to a bug in a plug. These plugs can sometimes even come as stock plugs in the DAW. There are a couple in Pro tools 11 that I can think of.

Anyway maybe all you have to do is change level and pan or something super simple.

Playing with plugins can be cool though, especially if they are simple and easy to use,

Best of luck, I like your version of this song.

Hi Lester,

My curiosity was way high so I did research yesterday and found the Waves product via tutorials, explanations etc... ...I did patch another reverb for the guitar and added a longer reverb tale at the end. So today I will focus on the guitar balance etc referring to your notes of wisdom!

I do use VST's..Actually the verb in the mix you heard was a vst...but the concept of mid-side processing is new to me...wicked cool! THank you for turning me on to it! Actually thank you for being a mentor!

I will upload another version today if you want to review it.

Linda