[chill] Soft Summer Rain (new version Sept 9)

Hi Walt,
 
I've just finished listening to Soft Summer Rain... I was not disappointed (and I'm somewhat envious LOL).
 
The space you talk about is certainly there, and although you may not have filled every nook and cranny, it does not sound lacking, as far as I'm concerned. That said, I'm not familiar with your work, so I am remedying that right now  So I can hear all those nooks and crannies being filled 
 
 
cheers
 
andy

Yeah nice chill track and it certainly captures the vibe of that genre. The mix ain't half bad neither :)
 
Keep it up

Walt, I would say not far enough.
As I listen, especially with the background in mind, being part of the totality of the piece, every nook and cranny is being used up and thus in my opinion defeats what you are trying to accomplish. I'm thinking you need to work the tracks so that sound cuts, both in the background and foreground, work hand in hand with one another. You stated: learn how to keep "space" in my music, and not fill up every nook and cranny with melodic harmonies or interesting counter-rhythms, which doesn't seem to be the case, unless I'm missing the point of something here.
 
A lot of the background sounds work great with the foreground instrumentation but should also be in with conjunction with what you want to accomplish throughout the piece.
 
You thoughts on my thoughts!!
 
Peace and Blessings, John
  

Walt, I think you accomplished your goal very well.  I get what you are after, and I also understand John's POV, but I think he's talking about something different than you.  This is a peaceful bit of music that induces relaxing thoughts, which would not be possible were it filled to the brim with one technique after another.  My only nit is that I would like to hear a sidestick instead of the snare which persists throughout the song (or, maybe something more ethnic).  All in all, good job!

I love it Walt. I think you have the perfect amount of space...especially for a chill song like this. I haven't read all of the other comments on the drums so I'm just putting this out there and if you already heard it I'm sorry to be a repeat...that snare is a bit much for me in this mix...that's really the only nit I can find. Here are a few things that came to mind as I listened...I could hear that snare replaced with a much lower and less acoustically bright sound...maybe even a hybrid kind of sound that combines a synth with a drum sound...I'm thinking of a more electronic sound. I would keep it lower in the mix and maybe even eliminate it in places.......it's funny this comes up because I was just in band practice last night and I was politely trying to tell the drummer that he could back off some. I asked him to add some sheen and he added too much lol!...............he was adding cymbal taps all over the place.
I was notorious for adding too many cymbal hits on some of my earlier mixes...I would think to myself, that sounds cool and I would add a lot of it. Later on I went back to the mix and thought to myself...man what was I thinking? As you know one or two cymbal hits in a three minute song is usually plenty. I was adding a hit every two measures. Neither one of us are drummers and that kind of thing is easy to do...JMHO.
 
I think the mix you made here is very nice otherwise...excellent chill feel to it wuith everything coming in just right.

@Starise: thanks Tim.  Actually I have played drums in two different bands, years ago, and only relatively recently sold one of my two drumkits.  The remaining kit (a beautiful Yamaha Stage Custom) was still set up in my living room until last year, and I would play it occasionally. :)  But now it's relegated to the basement closet, as I'm more focused on my electronic music lately.  All that being said, I'm afraid the "change the snare" vote seems to be gaining traction.  I'm still considering a change.  Maybe I can find some kind of hybrid sound as you suggest.  I don't want to take too much of the edge off though, as I still quite like it!  Hmm.
 
@jamesg1213: Thanks for the tip about John Martyn.  I took the opportunity to check out a couple of his videos on youtube (and I recommend this one in particular: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8Blccc0PM0).  Quite a compliment indeed.  I'd love to get him to sing on this, or on any of my songs, if I only had a time machine. :)  Thanks also for your assessment of the soundstage and relative space.

@dcumpian: Thanks Dan!  I have to admit you make a persuasive argument about the snare.  I am changing it now.

LUSH. Very nice Walt. 
i would love to hear some vocals with this - you've created a really nice bed for someone to sing over.
Having said that, it also works 'stand alone' 

I've RE-replaced the snare.  I didn't like the "pitter-pat" sound after listening to it for several days.  The new new version now has more of a soft electronic sound.  I hope it works!  I think so, but would love to hear any crits/comments, especially about the drums/snare sound.

It's less apparent now Walt which I think is better, but TBO I would go even more minimal if it were me. Heck I would have probably removed it even..but I understand if you are a drummer. It makes more sense now that this would sound "in place" to your ears. My crits aren't worth much. I can only say what I'm personally hearing.

http://help.soundcloud.com/customer/portal/articles/247820-what-s-the-difference-between-each-subscription-level-
 
Hey Andy, apparently being a "Pro" user does let me do new versions without using stats.  I guess I took it for granted, but it's not able to be done with their free accounts.

Starise
It's less apparent now Walt which I think is better, but TBO I would go even more minimal if it were me. Heck I would have probably removed it even..but I understand if you are a drummer. It makes more sense now that this would sound "in place" to your ears. My crits aren't worth much. I can only say what I'm personally hearing.

Thanks again Tim.  I do appreciate your time and your thoughts, however, I think I'm calling this one done at this point.  I have spent literally 4+ hours auditioning snare sounds (and even non-snare sounds).
 
I'm sorry that you (and others) apparently don't enjoy the rhythmic counterpoint.  It's not exactly the same thing, but here's one of the songs that I'm kind of "going for".  It's called "Sixtyniner", by Boards of Canada (one of my favorites) :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i7Z7UDOYvM
 

Thanks Rik.  I appreciate you taking the time to listen and comment. :)

Walt, this is great.  I  listen to chill a lot, particularly at my day job, and this would fit right in. 
 
I didn't hear the earlier versions but the snare sits in this mix perfectly. 
 
Thanks for sharing.