vintagevibe

g_randybrown


So the free True Piano in X1 wouldn't be worth trying?

True Pianos doesn't get the respect it deserves.  It lacks the sympathetic resonance that my Garritan Steinway and NI Alecia's Keys have but many (including my self) feel it's the best playing piano out there with the most realistic dynamics.  In the end it's all about how it sounds in the mix.

I'm tempted to the full version a try, the bundled module that came with producer didn't quite do it for me.
 
I'm sure it could be made to work for me in certain mixes. And you can be sure that you're not getting the best in a bundled module, they want to whet your appetite enough for you to head on over and grab the full monty.
 
 
There was a thread a wee while back ... found it here: http://forum.cakewalk.com/tm.aspx?m=2447517
where someone pointed out a Xmas special plus the "Cakewalk producer discount", bringing it in at $88 USD.
 
I'm tempted based on the content of that thread, and yours here too.
 
With the "Producer Discount" (see link in other thread) it's about $137.00.
 
 
Cheers - Cliff
 

NO NOT obsess over the piano.

If you are submitting songs to Nashville publishers, you should understand that in Nashville, more than any place else on the planet.... it is about the song. 

A nice, clean, well produced "demo" will work just fine..... from a full band production to a simple well recorded voice/guitar or voice/piano demo. 

No one is going to listen in Nashville and say, wow that is a really good song but that piano sample is a Bosendorf.... I wish they had used a Steinway, then I would have signed the song..... nope that is not going to happen. 

You want the song to be the best it can be. Because you don't want them saying wow, that is a really nice sounding piano but the song sucks...... next....

Wow them with the song. 

Personally, I don't even worry about the piano parts... I use the cakewalk steinburg collection.... I paid $20 for the samples.  So far in reviews of my music from Nashville's hit songwriters, not one has commented on the piano (good or bad) but they have made comments of the song itself.... because in Nashville............ It's all about the song. 

Guitarhacker


NO NOT obsess over the piano.

If you are submitting songs to Nashville publishers, you should understand that in Nashville, more than any place else on the planet.... it is about the song. 

A nice, clean, well produced "demo" will work just fine..... from a full band production to a simple well recorded voice/guitar or voice/piano demo. 

No one is going to listen in Nashville and say, wow that is a really good song but that piano sample is a Bosendorf.... I wish they had used a Steinway, then I would have signed the song..... nope that is not going to happen. 

You want the song to be the best it can be. Because you don't want them saying wow, that is a really nice sounding piano but the song sucks...... next....

Wow them with the song. 


Personally, I don't even worry about the piano parts... I use the cakewalk steinburg collection.... I paid $20 for the samples.  So far in reviews of my music from Nashville's hit songwriters, not one has commented on the piano (good or bad) but they have made comments of the song itself.... because in Nashville............ It's all about the song. 

All  true but if the song is already the best it can be then dressing it in nice clothes is definitely a plus.   They are used to hearing great mixes and I don't think you can always count on peoples professional objectivity.   But, of course, a great mix won't make them think an average song is great.

Guitarhacker -- I totally get what you're saying and agree 100% with you, but I still want someone to say "DAMN! That demo sounds killer!!!" too. Yes...here in Nashville, there's a saying from one of the local Associations: "It all begins with a song." The second part (which they don't tell you) is "...and ends with frustration." Ha. Thanks for all the suggestions everyone!

Chris, I am not discounting one least bit the absolute need for a master quality demo.  Needless to say, the bar is extremely high in Nashville (and the music biz in general) not only for the song writing quality itself but also for the production of the song. The days of home demo's on cassette being accepted are long, long past. 

I was privileged to hear a "demo" for Rascal Flatts a few years ago at a songwriter's convention seminar. It was one of their #1 hits. The only way you could tell it wasn't RF was when the singer started... the voice was the only giveaway. 

Are you with NSAI? If not, that is a good organization to join to get feedback on writing and production for Nashville town. 

On piano tone..... Ivory sounds really good. I think Janet uses Ivory samples so look her up and have a listen to her piano. I was very impressed with the tracks tone she has sent me over the years of that sample. 

 I use several and the main one is Cake's Steinway. It is a reasonably good piano.  I think the piano sample quality matter more if the demo is a simple piano vocal demo.... then it is 50% of the song so yes, it needs to be the best it could be. If, on the other hand, it is a piano in a band performance, the need to use a top quality piano sample is not as critical since it is not the "star" of the song. I mostly do band production with piano adding fills and background. 

My opinion for what it is or isn't worth:
 
Although the song is more important than the demo, a good demo makes you seem legitimate and that is more than half the battle.

Sad but true: In the days of cassette tapes, I went into the offices of a large Nashville music publisher and saw a lady at a desk whose job was to open packages with cassette tape demos, run a bulk eraser over them, and then throw them in the trash.  The publisher did not want any hint that the company had stolen someone's song from an unsolicited demo, so it was their policy to erase and trash tapes as soon as they came in.  Hundreds of hopefuls had worked hard on their demos and this was the result. 

I don't say this to be negative, but to stress how important it is to be perceived as legitimate and not as an outsider.  Things are harder today because piracy has decreased record company profits and they have reacted by always following the safest route.  They don't take as many chances as they used to which is which 90% of the pop we hear is generic background music.

We can change things, but it will take some work and creative thinking.

"vintagevibe"
It lacks the sympathetic resonance that my Garritan Steinway and NI Alecia's Keys have but many (including my self) feel it's the best playing piano out there with the most realistic dynamics.

Check out TruePianos "Options" page to activate sympathetic resonance. It's available (at the cost of a reasonable cpu hit). 

I've tried quite a few in the past, including some from sampletek. My staple favourites germinally speaking are Steinway Grand for ballads, Yamaha C7 for more 'pop' tunes.

For a sample library I actually settled for Alica's Keys. It's a very good versatile tone for more than just soul. Although the highs don;t quite have the punch as a C7, overall, it's got a lovely depth to it and can fit in well on most tracks IMO. It can be as soft as you need it, but can still be punchy and clear on the highs when you need to drive it harder. 

This is the tricky thing about Nashville.....depending on who the producer is, they may want to hear their own spin on a demo (which you would think a piano or guitar/vocal would suffice......) wrong.......it HAS to sound like a finished master