Topic: New recordings (made on Genos) that I did recently

[jimlaing]

Hi all!  With a bit of extra "at-home" time, about a month ago I decided to do another collection of song recordings.  This time, I did all Broadway/Show music, so I called it "Curtain Up!"  There are 26 songs.  Here is a link where you can find the recordings.  It was all done on Genos (see write-up for more details) . . .

I think the last time I did one of these was 28 songs I recorded last year sometime.

https://www.psrtutorial.com/perf/jimLaing.html

Jim

[ugawoga]

Hi Jim
You are going great guns and the music is very well played.
I will also put some music up at a later point ,but i am embroiled in mixing and making a thousand and one mistakes.
When mixing it is totally different to playing the keyboard .
It is all fun of  the fair
We all should have a mixing section where all can exchange ideas, because the high rollers with megabucks keep putting videos up and that always brings contradictions.
I ,like a lot of others keep going around in circles searching for the perfect mix for an amateur. Sausages !!to that !!
Soon Mr Blue Sky!!


All the best
john

[EileenL]

I think you will search for ever. Why not just sit and play. Genos sounds great as it is. There are some great performances on you tube now days.

[ugawoga]

Hi Eileen


I have learn't loads and the mixing is now coming into fruition for me now.
I am now using Ozone mix and mastering package and totally impressed so far.
You would not believe how genos sound can sound even better.

when mixing you realize all the imperfections in sounds as they layer together. You keep getting  weird noises, eg, hoots in the orchestra sections if  notes are not harmonising in their own space.
I have noticed too many notes in a chord can give unwanted noise so two notes can sound better. It is hard to explain.
I think it is the same with brass,no overlapping notes.
Anyway i am coming through and once over the learn curve things will be quicker. 
I still play the keyboard everyday as well.
I have just got this goal to reach ,so i can start producing my own music.
Call it the Lockdown Curve!!
Just watched the Spacex launch live and docking at Spacestation . Unbelievable!!
Must be fun sitting on a few 100 tons of fuel!!





All the Best
John

[Lee Batchelor]

While Mother Nature, a.k.a. Covid 19, has been warning all of us humans to slow down, I have spent a great deal of time recording myself. I have discovered that playing the Genos and recording music are 100 percent different activities. The Genos really shines as a live playing machine either in the living room or on a stage somewhere. For recording, the Genos offers some intriguing sounds but in most cases, it isn't even housebroken compared to recording with VST instruments. Of course, that's a totally unfair comparison because decent VST instruments are huge in terms of file size - far bigger than the space Yamaha devotes to its voices on the Genos.

For the Genos to do what it does in live playing is nothing short of amazing. However, if you want to produce (record) seriously, the Genos is just another MIDI controller.

[markstyles]

I feel that the Genos sound 'breathes' which I can't say for any Kontakt Library..  The Kontakt voices are interesting that they have many key triggers, for different articulations..  Still Kontakt sounds static to me.. 

But we all have our own tastes and observations. 

[ugawoga]

Hi Francesco

Yes, at last Neutron and Ozone  itself can give great sound as it listens and puts in the Eq , and all other effects to what is necessary.
You can always say no  and try a different way, but the Ozone suite gets you in the ballpark very quickly.
I have nearly finished my first song with it as i have tried all other ways  to get results.
The thing is it takes years to be a mixer and Ozone can cut some of them off HOPE!!! .
You get some strange anomalies  in Cubase with the Genos and  i agree with lee that the Genos is really suited for live playing.
Vst Instruments are so much more precise in their sound quality and easier to mix
Even when editing midi from Genos in Cubase, it can get glitchy sometimes, but there are ways to get around that.
I also agree with Francesco that Ozone can turn the Genos Orchestra sounds to a more Cinamatic feel,but you have to watch your chording as you can get resonances.
As I said two notes instead of three does the trick sometimes. (Low notes sometimes clash with the higher notes that sound like an owl hooting) (Resonances)
EQ helps as well
To me it is all about listening hard which does your ears in sometimes.
For Lee, i would say go for Ozone when a deal comes up, like Black Friday or Summer Madness as  Izotope bring the mastering suite right down.
I have now spent three weeks with it and i am really getting into it  and it is not to difficult.
I am just going back and forth adjusting and making my mind up.
The other thing is that i can fiddle, fiddle and fiddle and still find something that i have missed  and  reckon i have to stop at certain point and be satisfied.
Neutron balances your mix  first and you do not have to gain stage. Accept or not . You have the choice to re- jig.
After that it is up to your ears , then over to Ozone to master.
Also Lurssen have a great offer from IK multimedia.  This is the Lurssen mix console that you put on your ipad and test your song in your car stereo and hi-fi's. £30 for the top version. I think the offer is ending very soon.
All In all Cubase is the top boy 
The money saved from lockdown can get you the mix suite!!
 

All the best
John

[Lee Batchelor]

I feel that the Genos sound 'breathes' which I can't say for any Kontakt Library..  The Kontakt voices are interesting that they have many key triggers, for different articulations..  Still Kontakt sounds static to me..
But we all have our own tastes and observations.

I agree. Most sound library instruments that I have tried tend to sound sterile by themselves, whereas, the Genos instruments are processed correctly so that they can be used as solo instruments right out of the box. Sound library instruments sound wonderful in the mix. Their solo instruments are also amazing but you need to make sure they are meant for soloing. That is, you can't just pick any old violin and use it for a solo. The voice must be processed as a solo instrument.

I have used a lot of the East West sound library instruments. The file sizes are huge and are best paid for by subscription. The only downside is you must keep paying every year if you want to keep the instruments available on your computer. Then again, any enhancements or additions are free. I guess it all depends on what you're trying to accomplish.

[ugawoga]

Hi Lee
Sampletank is great , Arturia synths are fantastic and the Korg Collection.
A little Genos and a little Vst is 100%
Sampletank has to be good as Jorden Ruddess  plays it unbelievably. The Dream Theatre guy with the Goaty Beard and shiny bonce..


All the best
John

[jimlaing]

Hi - wow - I only posted a note to mention that I had some new recordings to share.  I think these replies must be on the wrong thread??  They don't seem to be related to my initial post? 

Jim

[Lee Batchelor]

Good one, Jim. You know how we all tend to "drift" off-topic at times. What was the question ?

[ugawoga]

Hi Jim
I gave you a great plug up there high in the list.
One thing always leads to another!!

" Life is not as we know it Jim" . "Beam me up Scotty"!!!

[jimlaing]

Yes, I did see the reply on topic ... thanks ... just was surprised to see all other replies on a few other topics - I know that happens ...

Jim

[Toril S]

Excellent recordings Jim. I believe all think that, but got tangled up in the sound producing details😀😀

[ugawoga]

Hi Jim

It is great to discuss the mixing side as we can all learn and we all know it is not an easy task.
I am trying all the time to improve the quality of the songs that i output and it is an uphill climb.
Things are starting to take shape for me now as I have been persistant  and not losing hope.
I find playing the easy part and the final output the most difficult.
With Ozone and Neutron ,it has made life easier.
You have balance to start and whilst mixing ,you have tonal control. You can sculpture a sound and the program puts the effect chain in for you. Accept or not. it is up to your ears once balanced. No gain staging as it takes that boring part away.
Amazing stuff this and it brings your song right up to the standards for the box.com.s, Soundcloud and cd .
I have just finished the first part of  a song  Mr Blue Sky and successfully mixed it. I have just the end section which uses choirs  with  a slower generating epic beat sound  and then the outro etc.
I had to do this song in three parts because of the instrumentation.
It would be a lot easier to play " Bring Me Sunshine"!!
Also made the registrations and that allows me to play the song in one go entirely using the live sliders when needed and  a couple of pads.

All the best
John

[ugawoga]

Hi Toril

Jim has done a sterling job on his music
It is good to talk!!!


All the best
John

"Bring Me Sunshine"

[Lee Batchelor]

Nice work, Jim.

Holy socks, you must hear this. I started out on a reed type organ with buttons for the chords (don't remember the name). Its blower fan was about as loud as the instrument itself. My dad bought me a Lowrey Holiday in 1958 and a year later I started taking lessons!! I was born in 1953. We share a lot of common ground .

I dropped out of organ playing in the early 70s and played trumpet all through high school. Since then, I bought a Baldwin organ in 1980, a few Yamaha organs after that, and then in 1991 started into synths, PSR, Tyros, and now Genos keyboards. Amazing!

[ugawoga]

Hi Frank

I have had The Ozone package for three weeks now and got stuck in with Neurtron first as it Is a balancing and  mixing program.
I have yet to go over to Ozone as this program is more for the mastering side as i am led to believe.
I am sure things will unfold especially the differences in the two programs
I am just getting used to Neutron and i have just about matched a reference track which i go back and forth to check in the Control room in Cubase.
Well Frank, i am still battling away. . I will put the results up when finished.

All the best
John

[jimlaing]

Thanks all ... so on these recordings, I did use Ozone (v7 I believe) on the master of the final stereo file for all the recordings in my collection.  Mainly so that volume levels across the whole 'album' are fairly similar from song to (similar genre) song - hoping that listeners don't have to lunge for the volume control often while listening to them on a CD player or just from the Dropbox MP3 files I made.

For mixing, I mostly did it in the Genos, before playing the song (setting the various parts to levels that seemed to work), then if I added anything as an overdub, I did the mixing in ProTools, but I didn't do anything fancy, just adjusted level of added track if needed.  Then Ozone on the master bus to "finalize" the song . . .

Jim

[Pino]

CorBlimey Guys, it must take 100’s of hours even with a top of the range Genos just to get one song to record the way you want it.

Record the song on your keyboard, then load it to a DAW then correct the mistakes, then record more tracks and then spend time with other software to balance and enhance the tracks.

Im a style player, I have been debating whether to record a few tracks on top of the style to make things more Interesting, but then I will be a midi file player as opposed to a style player,

I understand it does not make any difference to the audience but it does matter in my head, I played midi backing a vocalist for over 20 years and then decided to drop the midi and play styles,
that’s when I really started to play.

Midi means messing about on the PC much more than the few minutes it takes me to sort out the style, so much less time to practice to perfect the song and learn new songs.

I suppose that after the midi is complete then we can play with just one finger melody over the midi, that’s what I did before, so easy.

Not knocking anything just fighting with myself, I feel sometimes I  need more than a just a style but stopped myself going the midi file route, and the beat goes on. 🎹

Pino

[ugawoga]

Hi Pino
Playing is the first priority and the only way to learn and progress
The mix side for me is to get a great recording like they do in a studio
I do not play out and about, so i have the time to experiment and better myself that way.
I like to play standard songs, but would really love to write my own music and that is why i am getting down to the mix side in preparation.
It is a dream to follow to eventally make my own music, but things get in the way like work and household things.
Now retired things are looking up

All the best
John

[EileenL]

I am with you Pino,
  I just pick a style that is suitable for the song I am going to play and play. I also find using certain Multi Pads make a huge difference in filling the song and enrich the end product.
  I often compose a song but to do this I need to play it on the keyboard first and usually turn on Midi record so that if it OK I can then get a copy of the music and print it out for further use.
  At the end of the day no one really cares about all this technical stuff. If the performance is good they will enjoy it straight from your keyboard. I listen almost daily to keyboard only performances and believe me there are some fantastic players out there.

[Pino]

I like Jim’s songs very much, the 2nd and 3rd tracks do make a big difference.
Just interested in how Jim performs live at a gig, do you play over a wave file or Midi file or ?

I’m on a learning curve here, nothing negative,

After 10 years of style playing gigs I’m getting a little bored some time and looking for something different but I’m feeling that if I’m not playing the chords then whats left to play, just the melody.?

Pino

[ugawoga]

Hi
Nothing wrong with what Eileen says but i have got this little dream even at 69
The tech stuff is interesting but if you can play, it all becomes easier.
I am not a lego brick builder, i prefer Tonka toy. Sausages to that!!!

All the best]
john
"Bring Me sunshine"!!

[Pino]

John
I’m not so sure
If your building your songs in ‘Cubase’ then you are a Lego builder, 
building brick by brick, been there and done it.

It’s great to have a dream and plenty time to get it together.
You’ll get there soon.
Best wishes John and keep on dreaming 😀
Pino

This is my dream

https://youtu.be/JOAQ6PxGI6M

https://youtu.be/teQy0oOpwVI

https://youtu.be/hG38MyZqq1g

[Lee Batchelor]

Pino and Eileen,

There's no doubt that playing a song and recording it either on the Genos or in Cubase as a wave file captures your inspirational moment and when you're recording MIDI you're sort of "manufacturing" music.

On the other hand, MIDI is also one of the most amazing tools that makes you a better player. When you record a song as a wave file, you listen to the playback and are in awe at how good you are. Trouble is, what do you do when you discover an incorrect chord that clashes with the rest of the score or when you let the left-hand piano wander into the same musical real estate as the bass guitar? You can't fix that and if you don't, the result is a very amateurish performance. That's fine if you're willing to settle for that. If you're gifted enough to play a background score for a vocalist and make no mistakes, then you're a pro. I wager that most of the users on this forum are probably not in that category - myself included.

One of the most common musical errors I hear from users' recordings on this forum is the tendency to rush the phrasing. I know because I'm just as guilty. When you record yourself in MIDI, not only can you hear errors such as rushing a phrase but you can also see the error. I've noticed that my piano accompaniments tend to be consistently rushed by about a 1/32th note. Such an error ruins the feel of the song. Seeing that error in the MIDI data has taught me to slow down and relax my phrasing.

There are dozens of other things that MIDI data can reveal. We shouldn't discount the many teaching powers of MIDI. If one's goal is to display their true musical talent, then MIDI is a necessary intermediate step.

[mikf]

If you record in real time then I see no effective difference whether you record to audio or midi.
Where midi comes into its own for people with the musical ability is to make complex arrangements. Of course people with less musical ability can also use midi to make corrections, or build something that sounds ok track by track.
When playing live the amount of satisfaction you get comes from what you play regardless of whether it is over a midi or driving a style, or playing with other musicians. Of course you could also the midi to ‘cheat’ and play little, that might have little musical satisfaction for many of us.  But then many would say using a style is also be cheating.
Mike

[EileenL]

To me using a style is certainly not cheating. Some of us can't have a Drummer or guitarist playing along with us. That is all part of the fun of owning an arranger keyboard.

[jimlaing]

Since someone asked about how I play live - I just play live, no added tracks.  When I do "album" recordings, that's when I sometimes add a little extra, but even then, most of what is on the final 'product' is what I did in a 1-pass live recording. 

For the person that asked how I do songs live, here are a few videos (older Tyros ones, but posting just to answer that person's query about how I do songs live ... these are some examples.  When I make an "album" from recordings like these, I just add a little (maybe an extra 10%).  I do not spend 100 hours :-)   But I don't typically try to make *perfect* recordings, just decent ones.   The Broadway collection of 26 songs I did in about a week, not "all day every day", so it might have taken me ~40-50 hours total effort for all 26 songs.  But as you can tell when listening, they are "Decent" but not perfect.  I do most of the "mix" by adjusting the volumes on the Genos, before recording.  Then mix in the ~10% extra in Pro Tools, such as a string layer or a Trumpet solo or whatever.

For the question of how I do songs live - here are some examples . . . re-post of older videos I made, since I have not made any videos recently .. . .

Can't Help Falling In Love: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bXcQvXItjI
Blame It On The Bossa Nova: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a67vYlTwg-c
Classical Medley #1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQqtrTnOtfY
Tennessee Waltz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q_KJv2RzCk
Rocky Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP14y5qtDk4

[GrantB]

Hi Jim,

Such a pleasure to listen to you play, thanks for the music man.

Cheers

Grant

[ugawoga]

Hi Pino
I am not a lego builder as i play a song then just do minor edits. I do not want to sound like a midi file.
YES YOU ARE DEAD RIGHT
I am one brick short of a building set!! Rather av a legover!! & a bottle of wine!!
The thing is that i get all main parts of a song on track 1 with registration changes.
What i do is convert to wave and chop the top line and put into different tracks for EQ.
Thanks to another on this forum telling us that it is best to disolve your drum tracks and then you have control over each drum kit element.
Great tip.
I also notice that in the Genos sounds there is quite a bit of resonance in some sounds which are not pleasant until you EQ them out.
Ozone does put you in the ballpark  and is a worthwhile investment
I have nearly completed my first big task and i now have a better understanding of how sound works and how things can mask other things that give you boxiness or mud in the final stages. Also learning to control bass is a learn curve. Learning frequencies is another plus in your arsenal.
I still have a way to go, but that is the fun.
I also agree with Mikf.

[ugawoga]

Hi Eileen
You can do what you like and i also do not care about what is or is not. It is good to swap ideas and talk.
A guitarist, sax player or a piano player can only play one instrument at a time . A keyboard player has to be multi-tasking.
we are like Don Partridge " Rosie woh Rosie!!! remember that!!
If you are in a band you play bits and pieces an have humans to keep the beat with
A Genos player has to keep time to a machine!!. The band inside is relentless!!! The robot orchestra takes no Prisoners!! No6
I am not a number ," I am a Free Man"!!!

All the best
john              "The trouble is the Humans"!!

[Pino]

Jim, very nicely played, I know how much time it takes to get thing to where we’re happy, I’ve multi-recorded loads of songs over the years,

My question was, what do we do after we record a few extra tracks on top of our pre-recorded style based song turning it into a midi file, do we then play a melody line over the midi file when performing to an audience or do we go back to playing the style as in style play.?

I suppose that we have to play the best music we have available, whether it’s a home made midi or a style and that is where the problem is within my head, I don’t feel good playing midies.

It would be great if YAMAHA could add a ‘piano roll editor’ screen to our arrangers, then wouldn’t need to go near a PC for making music.

The best arranger keyboard I’ve owned to date is the Technics, they had brilliant tools for on-board editing including a wide screen and a ‘piano roll’ editor

I recorded these songs (Christmas CD-1995) using the Technics KN7 styles, arranged and edited all the songs solely on the KN7 ‘piano roll editor’.     
Still doesn’t sound too shabby even 25 years on.

Pino

https://app.box.com/s/hjlu5fsntlbnbydjv59qqbwtm0eipowd

https://app.box.com/s/uwy6gcasf7o2rfib0oztcby37ww2c350

https://app.box.com/s/h4z4wlhpfz1bq0ivpbbxkv8lp2bo7tet

https://app.box.com/s/gqsw1l699vlvkpvkxyr2u15kv5wv0ukp

https://app.box.com/s/wt22dkr8gmdlv300pvydtb9x0cfc9uvn

[ugawoga]

Hi Pino

Make a song the best you can and then you have a master track to save and listen to on a stereo hi-fi and put on some sites.
With Cubase you can get your song in the ballpark for sound levels as Soundcloud, box etc have a standard and sometimes you are left wondering why your track is too soft and not as you perceived it -14 to 15 LUFs , not the -3 db standard.
The -14 Luf's is a better perceived volume standard as -3 db the old way can be too soft if the wave peaks are not compressed and the spiders body fattened a bit..
I am learning all the time and i am no where near a pro yet!!

During all tht process it helps to sort out the registrations so you can play live to it.
For me it has been a big learn curve ,but EQ and all of that stuff  is better understood and you can apply that the best you can to the Genos.
Balancing and tweaking gets a better sound on the Genos.
I do find that it is best to sort a styles bass and kick drum/snare etc out before recording.

All the best
john

[ugawoga]

Hi Franco Massa
Hey Frank " do you drive racing cars"!!  Silly me  "It must be Fillipi

I have now got used to the tonal balancing in Neutron
Great for practicing EQ
Just got to check my song tomorrow as my ears ar shot. It is weird how your perception of a song changes even after  long periods at a low volume.
So Balancing to start and then mix to your hearts content and check with tonal balance.
I am Doing Mr Blue Sky and the getting a choir just right is quite hard on the Genos. I married a choir with men from Sampletank 4 and the blend with the female voices on Genos works a treat.
Ihave also done the Dramatic ending to the song  and for me that was the easy part .
Oh well having fun learning.
I have  yet have to finish it all in Ozone, but i have conquered the Neutron. I had a Quantum Leap with a glass of whisky to celebrate.
If you want to chat on this more we could open up a new thread.


All the Best
john

[Pino]

John, We’re on the opposite end of the music spectrum.

I’m into playing and your into producing
There’s member here that are players and members that are sound engineers and producers and everything in-between and it’s all good.

With new apps and music programs coming out every week then players would be distracted to spend time on the technical side but I can tell you, if you want to go out gigging then P is for ‘Practice’ rather than Programming on the PC.

I would think your reward is when you mastered a great mix,
My reward is when the dance floor is full and that’s a good feeling. getting out there is a lot of fun

I've put some songs up here using the on-board styles, all ready to go in minutes and recorded on the SX, if you were down at a beer garden or a chill-out bar after a hard days work and sipping a drink or two in the evening sun you would be happy to listen to a keyboard player turning out these songs and I can tell you that the sound coming out from my 2 Eon One’s would be 100 times better than from iPad or PC speaker sound on this MP3 recording.

Have fun John 😀
Look forward to hearing ‘Mr Blue Sky’.

Pino

https://app.box.com/s/hg9qi6mu53n4uh6e4lux47b6msm3ul4p

[Lee Batchelor]

My reward is when the dance floor is full and that’s a good feeling. getting out there is a lot of fun

Fully agreed but sadly, where I live in Canada, those gigs are likely banned for a long time until we get a vaccine for Covid-19. I'd say that's going to be at least 2 more years. The vaccine is at least 18 months away, and then it needs to be administered to the masses. Live entertainment everywhere is completely off the table and will likely be the last thing to be reinstated unless the leader where you live is a complete moron and doesn't care how many people die.

I'm glad to have recording to fall back on . Believe me, recording tracks IS practice because you don't want to spend hours cleaning up mistakes. Whether you're playing the Genos for a dancing crowd or a track in a DAW, you want to get it right the first time.

[mikf]

Hi Lee - tough world for live gig musicians just now, but it will come back. We had live music at our golf club on a Friday, seemed a bit soon to me, but I guess people after a while just accept there is risk and get on with life.  Normality returns.
Mike

[Lee Batchelor]

Agreed, Mike. Are you in the US? Seems the US is moving faster on the re-opening than a lot of countries except for those that have basically had no cases for several weeks.

Let's hope we can get out playing again soon ! It has one enormous benefit over recording at home - it keeps you sharp.

[mikf]

Yes I am in the US right now although I also have a home in Scotland. We should be there right now escaping this Texas summer heat, but Covid has kept us here.  The area in Texas where we live has had very little virus issue, and in the last week things have become pretty relaxed. In fact locally life is almost back to normal, malls, restaurants, shops all opening again. Not sure yet if that is good or bad!
 I long since stopped gigging but agree it keeps your playing really sharp. I did a little sit in with a friend who is a terrific vocalist last year at his gig in an upmarket restaurant just outside Toronto (my daughter lives there). I played Ok and enjoyed it. But like riding a bike, after a 25 year break you might not fall off but you wouldn’t enter the Tour de France.
Mike

[Lee Batchelor]

Mike, I live east of Toronto by about 75 miles. Our small community is close to a major city. The entire catchment area is about 250,000 people and yet, we've only had about 120 cases, no deaths, all resolved, and only a small amount in ICU. Despite our low numbers, we're still under the Toronto area rules, which means our beaches, restaurants, and other public events are still either closed or under very tight restrictions.

Personally, I don't see us going into seniors' residences ever again. They have been my bread and butter for the past 15 years. There's no way I'm going back to the scummy bars to play in a loud band until 2:00 a.m. for peanuts.

In Canada, I believe 75% of our deaths have been in long-term facilities and they are under a very strong magnifying glass at the moment because their infection control protocols have failed miserably. On the other hand, I don't see why we can't hold outdoor concerts for people who are willing to social distance - although the nice weather has given people a false sense of security as they attend anything outdoors while being in close proximity to one another!

[jimlaing]

Thanks Piano for those nice KN-7000 recordings!  That was my 'instrument of choice' some years ago, the Technics KN-5000 then 7000.  Too bad they stopped making keyboards! 

Re: playing vs. recording ... yeah, we cover the spectrum - some people like primary to play live, some like the recording/mixing and putting songs together that way.  I guess I'm closer to the "play songs live" preference, as I like to do my live performances, and when it comes to recording, I mostly just record a 'live-played' audio track, then maybe do a small amount of 'engineering' as I did in these 26 songs here (in this thread).  I tend to not prefer to spend a ton of time in the 'studio' side of it; most of the time is playing the song and recording that in one go, then maybe 'sweetening' it a little if I want to make a recording to hand out to friends and family.  When I do the live playing, I just play using the styles and sounds on the Genos.  Both 'sides' of this can be rewarding ... just depends on a person's preference, what they enjoy most, etc. - and perhaps on what their 'goal' is in creating/playing/recording songs.

Nice that we have a variety of ideas and possibilities!

-Jim

[Lee Batchelor]

Fully agreed, Jim.

The wonderful thing is, whether you're a live player or studio "make it perfect" player, we're all increasing our life span on this planet, and helping to stem off Altheimer's and dementia. At least that's what I read from reliable medical sources.

[ugawoga]

Hi jim
That is what i do ,play a song a few times live and do the mnior edits in Cubase.
I just chop the track 1 into several parts and put on separate tracks and disolve the drum parts to mix separately That's it.
This way you can change registrations and play , so you don't sound like a midi file.
The beauty of this is that you can sdd vst Instruments and maybe put an extra track in to embelish.

All the best
John

[mikf]

John
You keep making this statement about not sounding like a midi. I would really like to know what you mean because to me if whether you record something on midi or on audio it always comes back how you played it. ie if you play it good it comes back good, if you play it bad it comes back bad. How can it change depending on the recording medium?
Mike

[Lee Batchelor]

John probably means that he doesn't over-use things like quantization, rigid velocity curves, and other settings that take the human feel away from an original recording.

[Pino]

John, We’re on the opposite end of the music spectrum.

I’m into playing and your into producing
There’s member here that are players and members that are sound engineers and producers and everything in-between and it’s all good.

https://app.box.com/s/hg9qi6mu53n4uh6e4lux47b6msm3ul4p

John, apologies if it came over as If I was saying that you are not a player,  of-course you are a player and probably a good one at that,  what I meant was that I play the styles more or less as is, maybe tweaking a little where I think you are more refined, making sure that every voice sounds it’s best, wish my English was better sometimes. 😀

Pino

[ugawoga]

Hi Pino
Do not worry as it is good to have banter.
LIve playing is good and also delving into the Abyss is also good hopefully not coming up with egg on your face!!
I have finished mixing my first song with Ozone  and got a nice  Tonal  balance curve.
Now to mixdown to single wave to master in Ozone
I am wondering after all that i have learnt whether the end result will be any good. That is the frightener.
I have got to now master the matching to a reference track  and then done.
I want to get decent results because it is nice to have a collection of your own music sounding  good.
I  will use the two mixes , one for streaming and one for cd. So that has to be learnt
Last night i spent two hours practicing for a rest as all this learning does your ears in and i  tend to lose sound focus.
Tomorrow i will check on monitors and the bounce down to single track.
Once I get used to this it will be a walk in the park HOPE!!!!
All takes time and at the moment we have plenty of Covid time!!
Your songs also sound very good, nice medley.


All the Best
John

[Pino]

John, I decided to plonk on a "thank you" because you are a big contributor to this forum. I’m sure 1,000 have red your posts around the world over the years but not often do you get any thanks, and I will say, always humorous and funny 😄

Pino

[jimlaing]

Thanks . . . appreciate the comments!
-Jim