The Pain Of Love - new song (new mix 4/26)

One of my favorite Christmas presents was MidiGuitar 2 software which was used in this song to play the tenor sax sample and synth pad from Dimension Pro.  Thanks to Kenny Wilson for bringing this to my attention.  I did all the parts except bass guitar, which was performed by my friend Roger Fife, who also contributed some harmony vocals in the final chorus.  This song is still fresh on the vine, so any suggestions and comments are welcome.  Thanks in advance to all who contribute and who have helped me in the past.
 
It can be found here: https://www.soundclick.co...ngid=13697442&q=hi
 
remixed 4/26/18 per your suggestions.  I centered the sax during the solos and put it in the left channel at 45% during the fills.  I, also, added a touch of vibrato on certain notes.  I boosted the synth pads slightly,  too.  Thanks for contributing your ideas and ears.

Lynn
I agree with SupaReels, the vocal needs to stand out more. Great idea to have a sax in there but to me DimPro wasn't convincing enough. About half way through I was wishing there was just a simple guitar accompaniment because the song is great and your singing is always excellent.   
Just my opinion of course.

BTW I just watched your Rivers of the Sky video.  Wow. Had me teary eyed at the end.

Lynn,  this is one of the best things I've heard in a long time.  The music and lyrics are married so well together;  That's one of your strengths.

SupaReels, you went straight to the big question that I have about this mix.  Exactly what I was looking for.  Here's the deal; when this mix is played in mono, the balance between the vocal and sax changes.  If you're able to sum this mix in mono, give it a try.  I'd be curious to know if you agree.  I appreciate your comments and will consider this question during the next pass.
 
Bjorn, thanks for your time and ears and kind words.  I agree that the sax sample isn't the best in the world, which is why I generally avoid sax emulations, but it's the best I have at the moment, and, at least, gives me the flavor of a saxophone.  (It's kind of like the difference between sugar and artificial sweetener.)  Thank you for your comment on "Rivers Of The Sky".  That was a very satisfying project for all involved, except the actual soldiers in the video.  Fortunately, the young man who provided the pictures and videos is alive and well.

Lynn,
I've listened to the mix summed and though I agree with your observation, I still think the sax is too high in the mix, here's what I did.
During playing with this stereo mix I pushed the sax over to the right a tad and dropped the volume and then took another mono (summed) I/P and played that left centre with the right channel a tad off centre and right … well you did ask …. verdict, for me anyway … great song, vocal really earthy and rich with that almost musky summer beat … but the sax is just too high and distracting . I would use it just to pepper the 'feel' and see if it works for you, after all it's your song!  But again all said this is one of those songs that you wanna pour a large one and loose yourself in the lyric  (I love good lyrics) I like it a lot …
Best regards
Steve

Bob and David, thank you both for your time and kind words!
 
Wayfarer, thanks for replying, and I may be coming around to your way of thinking.
 
Mark, it's good to hear from you.  Yes, do check out MidiGuitar 2.  It requires no special pickup and it tracks very fast, picking up pitchbends very well.  I used it to play the synth pads, as well.

Lynn
The song is great, so I'm looking forward to hearing the finished artical ... no pressure LOL
 

Mark, thanks for weighing in on this.  The vocals are going to rise as soon as I can get back in the studio.

Wookie, thanks for your kind words.  Midi Guitar 2 is a real gem and a bargain at $99.
 
 

Sounds pretty good here Lynn...
 
Really good song you have here. The only two things I might consider is 1) there may be too much of the sax (I kind of agree with cwestmont here), and 2) the song's rhythm is so enforced with the hi hat and piano on the beat that I thought adding something on the off-beats would make it flow just a bit better, like maybe a shaker or tambo.
 
Regards,
Dan

I listened to the new version on headphones. Always a pleasure to dig in to a Lynn song. The work on the vocal and background vocal blends is stellar. Are you sure you are not Brian Wilson? Strings in great spots, nice trippy ballad overall!
 
I though I was going to be clever and super observant about the sax being too left, then I read the comments above. Bad news might be, I listened on h-phones to version 2 and I'd still call the sax as being too left. Just an opinion. It's not horrendous or anything. That patch might use a little vibrato somehow. It's great to have sax panned left when the vocal is doing its thing, but in the saxophone solo sections, can you automate envelope it back to center, just for the sax solo? And then tuck it away left side again when the soloin's done? Just a thought.
 
Do you have Kontakt, Lynn? If not, there's some horn patches available in Kontakt that elevate fake sax to a higher level of fakeness.  :)
 
Another idea fwiw: the piano, I can hear you drop the volume on it when the singing is happening, so that's perfect. In the spot when the piano is a feature, it sounds like every single piano note is midi velocity 104 or something. If you are compressing that piano, you might ease up a bit, so there could be more variation in velocities of notes. It would let the nice arpeggio breathe a bit. That's a good part.
 
You have written an awesome song and these are just niggles. Vocals are great, and your melody line for those vocals has a great sense of cadence for a ballad. That's tough to pull off. Really liked it.
 
cheers,
-Tom
 
 
 

Hey Lynn
Yeah this one really works. There's more vocal presence which I think it really needed. And I like how the sax kind of communicates with the vocal during the song, but I think I'd drop the sax solo at the intro.
Great song!

wow - I LOVE this Lynn - brilliant - sorry I'm late to the party.
I am going to have to get you to play 'sax' on something of mine....!!??
Great song/mix/performances and that sax sound!

Bjorn, thanks for taking a second listen to this tune.   I've received so many good ideas, that I'm starting to feel comfortable about this song.  I played this song several  times without the sax intro, however, I actually started writing this song based on the intro.  I wonder if replacing the sax with a flute would work there.  The flute samples I have work very well with MidiGuitar 2.  Thanks for sticking with me!
 
Makke, it's good to hear from you!  Thanks for having a listen and taking the time to comment.  I really like your new song.

Daryl, it's good to hear from you!  Thanks for your kind words.  I'd be happy to contribute anything to one of your songs.