Hi,

I've got a new song out. It's called "The Somnambulist" - you can check it out here:
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=13154258
    
It features the usual cast of characters:
Made with SONAR Platinum
Superior Drummer 2
Trilian Bass
some Kontakt sounds
A real Telecaster and Stratocaster (S-Gear Amp sims)

Any feedback gratefully accepted.

rgds,    

Hi John,
 
That was a fine guitar, bass and drums original composition and I enjoyed listening to it.
 
I listened on headphones, as always, so I'm never best to pass judgement on sound related stuff. That said, if I was to comment, it would be that it sounds quite "toppy," or "brittle," if you know what I mean. There is plenty of bass there, and I can clearly hear everything down the low end, but the high end stuff appears, to me at least, be a touch too high.
 
And I'm still learning about this anyway, which is another reason why I shouldn't comment...
 
Hopefully, someone with more experience will be along shortly 
 
cheers
 
andy
 
 

Thanks a lot for listening synkrotron  - and for your comments.
 

And I'm still learning about this anyway,

well, so are we all - so feedback is always good ;-)

Hey jbraner,
I am loving those feedback/synth gestures that you introduce the listener to at the beginning of the song. It made the drastic change of character in track all the more surprising. I was getting myself ready for some sort experimental tape piece. Did you perform the bass part or did you sequence it? How about the drums
 
I think it was around 0:50, there was some sort of resonant filtered synth sound that was playing another voice in the arrangement. I thought bringing another quasi-independent part at that moment really added depth and more of a 3-D feel to the arrangement, especially since it wasn't really competing for the foreground. Stretching the listener's perception of that foreground/background relationship is always a killer move. I also really enjoyed the many different positions that the lead guitar, like at how around 3:00 it leans a little right, and then when it comes back in around 3:40, it has a slightly different position. I think that also really helped with adding interest. I love all of the different guitar tones you used in the track as well. Really good job with this. I bet it took some work getting this finished.

Amine,
 
Thanks a lot for listening and for the kind words!
 
The intro is done with a plugin called echobode (https://soniccharge.com/echobode ) which I just discovered recently.
That synth is just a little minimoog sample in Kontakt - just a little bit of "counterpoint" ;-)
Then the next time around - it has a little modulation on it...
 
The bass is just done on a keyboard (in to Trilian), with plenty of MIDI editing in SONAR. The drums start with MIDI files from Superior, but I edit them a lot to try to make them sound "real" ;-)
 
Then the guitar is all S-Gear amps on the Tele and Strat ;-)

I liked it!   Bit of a retro feel, with nicely layered (and varied) guitar tones throughout.   Although I think adding the organ stabs towards the end was a nice touch.   Oh, nice pinched harmonics there too.     
 

Thanks a lot for listening Steve! And for your comments ;-)

John, I've always liked your clever songs and arrangements.  This pieces was full of surprises for me, and I loved the tones you wrung out of your guitars.  I just got S-Gear, and I'm looking forward to playing with it in the near future.  If I hadn't already bought it, your piece would have sold me on it.  Great job!

Hi Lynn,
 
Thanks a lot for taking the time to listen (again)! And for your comments.
I love S-Gear - I hope you like it too ;-)