Visions

[donnypike]

I have a short cinematic atmosphere piece call "Visions" that I have recorded using custom sound fonts and I would like to hear if some of the high end equipment users here at Taxi think it could sound better. through their equipment. http://donnypike.org/Visions.mp3Donny

[mazz]

Donny,I liked the piece very much. Your composition is very nice, I like your harmonic sense.Production wise, the strings occasionally sounded like they cut off unnaturally. This may be because you ran out of voices, I'm not sure. Sampled strings occasionally can sound harsh when stacked up in sections. Sometimes yours suffer a bit from this sound. Even the high end libraries can exhibit this behavior. A little bit of judicious EQ cutting on the overall mix can bring out more warmth without needing to boost lower frequencies.Overall your sound on this piece was some of the best I've heard of your stuff. Keep at it!Mazz

[donnypike]

Thanks for the input Mazz, If you like I can email a copy of "The Highland Way" with the changes I made. It does have a different feel than with the acoustic guitar track in place.

[ernstinen]

Hi Donny,I finally got it unzipped (ah, reminds me of my college girlfriend ). Really nice composition. I agree with Mazz that the sounds can be improved upon, or maybe give the piece more dynamics. Did you do this on one keyboard? One trick to make the orchestration sound more realistic is to give each part its own sound/sample. 1st violin, 2nd violin, viola, cello etc., so that your fine countermelodies are set apart from the lead melody.If you can explain in more detail how you played/sequenced/recorded this, that would help!Best regards,Ern

[donnypike]

Hi Ernstinen, The only keyboard I use is my computer keyboard. I have been a singer most of my life and only play a limited amount of guitar. I use Guitar pro Tablature editor using a graphic guitar fretboard to enter my notes on a staff. I use soundfonts thru a Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS sound card recorded straight from Guitar Pro using Sound Forge 7.0 for a 24 bit wave file. I usually add a -10db setting on the reverb of Concert Hall EAX. I do what I can with this, I can't afford the high end gear.Donny

[mazz]

Quote:Thanks for the input Mazz, If you like I can email a copy of "The Highland Way" with the changes I made. It does have a different feel than with the acoustic guitar track in place. That sounds like a plan. If you want to put it up on your site over the weekend, I'll get it from you.Mazz

[donnypike]

Will do Mazz, I'll take down what I have and put yours up to morrow.Donny