TAXI.com

This one made me laugh out loud.
I have a thick skin, so it's not big deal. My song "Legalized" was submitted.
It was returned for, among other things, "the virtual instruments could have been better quality".
It was all analog synthesizers. There were no virtual instruments... period.
Not saying the rest of the review wasn't spot on. It was. Notes taken!

Well a point could be made that an analog synth is still "virtual"... I mean, no actual string or wind or whatever realworld soundwave produced...?

It would be best to post up the Listing, references , your own cue and screener comments if you want a sanity check

Mark

OMG, I'm such a newbie.
I am not saying the critique was wrong about any of the other points. But I will start re-amping the analog synths.
Here's the song: https://soundcloud.com/madbaldscotsman/ ... a3498acb86

You know, that's a good point. I'm going to re-amp the synths from now on

RickElliott wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 29, 2021 6:17 am

You know, that's a good point. I'm going to re-amp the synths from now on

I wouldn't worry about re-amping anything. Many people get music forwarded and ultimately placed on TV using virtual instruments, myself included.

Not sure what the Listing was for but I had a quick listen to your track and the main issue for me is a lot of the timing is off , so regardless of whether it sounds real or not it all needs to be much tighter.

Mark

cosmicdolphin wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 29, 2021 6:51 am

RickElliott wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 29, 2021 6:17 am

You know, that's a good point. I'm going to re-amp the synths from now on

I wouldn't worry about re-amping anything. Many people get music forwarded and ultimately placed on TV using virtual instruments, myself included.

Not sure what the Listing was for but I had a quick listen to your track and the main issue for me is a lot of the timing is off , so regardless of whether it sounds real or not it all needs to be much tighter.

Mark

Lol I was hoping the reviewer would have noticed that. Some of it was played in real time and I had changed the swing on the drums for about 16 bars. Good ear!

I agree that we have to lump any analog or FM synth into the 'virtual' category, because there's no way to tell if it's a real honest-to-God DX7 or a model of one. So you don't get a pass for that
I think the modern ear expects each instrument - virtual or not - to have an acoustic space that it fits within and lives and breathes. IMHO that's how we bridge the gap between virtual and real instruments in our recordings. Maybe worth some thought?
Alan

AlanHall wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 29, 2021 3:55 pm

I agree that we have to lump any analog or FM synth into the 'virtual' category, because there's no way to tell if it's a real honest-to-God DX7 or a model of one. So you don't get a pass for that
I think the modern ear expects each instrument - virtual or not - to have an acoustic space that it fits within and lives and breathes. IMHO that's how we bridge the gap between virtual and real instruments in our recordings. Maybe worth some thought?
Alan

It IS a good point and I'm coming around to thinking that way, however people say, "Don't worry about re-amping". I'm going to do it anyway or just play through an amp and mic it from now on. Dean Krippaehne suggests doing it in his book: "Demystifying the Cue"

RickElliott wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 04, 2021 11:29 am

AlanHall wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 29, 2021 3:55 pm

I agree that we have to lump any analog or FM synth into the 'virtual' category, because there's no way to tell if it's a real honest-to-God DX7 or a model of one. So you don't get a pass for that
I think the modern ear expects each instrument - virtual or not - to have an acoustic space that it fits within and lives and breathes. IMHO that's how we bridge the gap between virtual and real instruments in our recordings. Maybe worth some thought?
Alan

It IS a good point and I'm coming around to thinking that way, however people say, "Don't worry about re-amping". I'm going to do it anyway or just play through an amp and mic it from now on. Dean Krippaehne suggests doing it in his book: "Demystifying the Cue"

When I got involved with computer music so long ago that it was called 'computer music', the algorithms for reverb spaces were pretty poor. Modern computers have the horsepower, and algorithms have gotten so good, that the reverbs in basically any DAW can work wonders. It's the producer's ear that becomes the critical point. Of course, nothing beats a real sound recorded in a real (and real good) space. I've co-opted several church sanctuaries over the years for that very purpose. And it bears repeating that Dean's books are great, no-nonsense guides.