Alone - An Original Folk Song by Chris and Laurette Watson

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stuart3844
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2012/05/08 20:48:16 (permalink)

Alone - An Original Folk Song by Chris and Laurette Watson

This is the third of my friends Chris and Laurette's songs i am working on. I am hoping this one is getting near to completion, but any advice/comments are welcome. This is a haunting tune that sounded great straight from the tracking. Hope i have done it justice. Hope you enjoy.
 
 http://soundcloud.com/stuartbroughton/alone-chris-and-laurette
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    daryl1968
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    Re:Alone - An Original Folk Song by Chris and Laurette Watson 2012/05/08 21:22:50 (permalink)
    very cool - are they playing everything on this or are tthere loops etc?
    The mix sounds great
    #2
    Guitarhacker
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    Re:Alone - An Original Folk Song by Chris and Laurette Watson 2012/05/08 21:55:14 (permalink)
    THis is pretty cool. It has an Irish flavor to it. 

    The bass sounds synthy to me , especially at the beginning. 

    The vocals are pristine! They are the best part of the song to me. 

    As it progresses it looses some of the Irish charm, still good though. 

    Just a bit more progressive than I was expecting. Hence the synth bass and screaming guitar. 

    Nice job.

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    #3
    stuart3844
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    Re:Alone - An Original Folk Song by Chris and Laurette Watson 2012/05/09 02:02:21 (permalink)
    Interesting what you say about the bass sounding synthy, it probably has the least on it. Just EQ, a little reverb and tape sim. On the percussive sections there are two basses playing though.

    Everything is played for real, no synths or loops. Thanks for your comments.
    #4
    malcolmb
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    Re:Alone - An Original Folk Song by Chris and Laurette Watson 2012/05/09 04:20:51 (permalink)
    I love this piece. Wonderfully inventive while retaining its Folk roots. The vocals are beautifully sung and the orchestration masterful. My only very small suggestion is to bring the drums up just a little. Great work.

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    Lynn
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    Re:Alone - An Original Folk Song by Chris and Laurette Watson 2012/05/09 12:31:09 (permalink)
    What a beautiful, haunting song.  The mix sounded very full and organic.  The overall level was a bit low, but the song has good dynamics which allows it to breathe.  Nice job.

    All the best,
    Lynn

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    #6
    stuart3844
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    Re:Alone - An Original Folk Song by Chris and Laurette Watson 2012/05/09 13:59:13 (permalink)
    Lynn


    .....The overall level was a bit low,
    Thanks for you comment Lynn. Yes the level is low. I had the levels up as i would normally do but the whole thing sounded overdriven. Logic is telling me that in the digital world if nothing is clipping (hitting 0dB), which it wasn't, it should be ok. However, my ears were telling me different. So i took 4dB off everything directly ahead of the master bus and took a bit of the master bus too, turned up the volume to compensate and everything sounded much better.
     
    I now need to get the level up without loosing the quality. Pending some more research I haven't done this yet and hence the low overall level.
     
    I guess this long explanation is a cry-out for any tips on this matter. Any offers?????
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    malcolmb
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    Re:Alone - An Original Folk Song by Chris and Laurette Watson 2012/05/09 15:05:21 (permalink)
    Have you tried compression? There are those here much more expert than I who are rightly less than enthusiastic about Boost 11, but used sparingly, it can enhance the overall performance. Add it to the Master Bus and then reduce the 'Input' to about 1 and leave the 'Output' at 0.1. Then play the piece and adjust the 'Input' until you are happy with the sound. I also find the Cakewalk Compression / Gate useful on individual tracks - give it a try (I have Home Studio 7 XL so you may have better facilities if you are using a more advanced version of Sonar).

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    #8
    Lynn
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    Re:Alone - An Original Folk Song by Chris and Laurette Watson 2012/05/09 15:28:28 (permalink)
    Stuart, Sonitus has a nice compressor which can be used as a limiter by adjusting the ratio to 10:1 or higher.  It's fairly transparent is used judiciously.  As Malcolmb said, Boost 11 is OK if used sparingly.  CW has others, especially the ones built for ProChannel that would do the job.  Regardless, your song doesn't need much treatment to really shine, and if you did nothing at all, it would still sound great.
    stuart3844


    Lynn


    .....The overall level was a bit low,
    Thanks for you comment Lynn. Yes the level is low. I had the levels up as i would normally do but the whole thing sounded overdriven. Logic is telling me that in the digital world if nothing is clipping (hitting 0dB), which it wasn't, it should be ok. However, my ears were telling me different. So i took 4dB off everything directly ahead of the master bus and took a bit of the master bus too, turned up the volume to compensate and everything sounded much better.
     
    I now need to get the level up without loosing the quality. Pending some more research I haven't done this yet and hence the low overall level.
     
    I guess this long explanation is a cry-out for any tips on this matter. Any offers?????



    All the best,
    Lynn

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    my videos

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    #9
    stuart3844
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    Re:Alone - An Original Folk Song by Chris and Laurette Watson 2012/05/09 15:59:27 (permalink)
    Previously i have been using Tube Leveler to boost the volume with Boost 11 as well acting just as a look-ahead limiter. Maybe i was getting the overdriven type sound from misuse of Tube Leveler. I was thinking of trying Boost 11 on its own to bring the level up on the basis that it wont change the sound like TL does. However your reservations about B11 are putting be off a bit. I might try ToneBooster's Barricade. I really like there other plug-ins and i have a trial version of this.

    I guess experiment and listen is the best tactic. At least with this track i feel i have a decent starting point to make some meaningful comparisons.

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    darylcrowley
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    Re:Alone - An Original Folk Song by Chris and Laurette Watson 2012/05/09 21:59:10 (permalink)
    What's not to like.  Sweet sound.  Very nice indeed!

    Just to join the comments on compressor... I love the PSP Old Timer.  For $100 this thing has a classic vibe.  You can download a limited time trial version for free.  I used it on a couple of tunes, on all types of tracks and new immediately I would spring for the $100.

    Yes I like this tune...   The vocals are supurb, as is all of it.

    Daryl

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    Razorwit
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    Re:Alone - An Original Folk Song by Chris and Laurette Watson 2012/05/10 02:21:59 (permalink)
    Wow, nice work. This sounds great.

    Might do with some nice 2 bus compression as others had suggested and then a limiter. If you have a bit of money to spend look at the IK Multimedia T-Racks stuff (it's actually pretty cheap just now) or Ozone. I second the Old Timer suggestion, but you'll still want a limiter and the IK stuff has all that stuff in a package. 

    Shoot me a PM if you want and I can run it (gently!) through my SSL bus comp and then through some light limiting to thicken and push up the levels a bit just to see if you like it.

    Dean

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    #12
    BenMMusTech
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    Re:Alone - An Original Folk Song by Chris and Laurette Watson 2012/05/10 02:38:23 (permalink)
    Wow, I was listening to the blues, then comes this irish fairy.  Ok and a fair smattering of Greensleaves at one point.

    This is very Jeferson Airplane.

    The mix is awsome, the master needs a little work.

    I'm actually super jealous!!!

    Great work, I want more of this, this is the music of my heritage.  I want my battle axe and mead and an army to fight and to fight with.

    Neb

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    #13
    stuart3844
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    Re:Alone - An Original Folk Song by Chris and Laurette Watson 2012/05/10 07:56:56 (permalink)
    Regarding mastering and compressors. Does anyome have an opinion on the VC-64 Vintage Channel 1.5 that is included in Producer? Considering the cost of 3rd party mastering plug-ins this might be a good reason to upgrade.
    post edited by stuart3844 - 2012/05/10 07:58:06

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