Bob Oister


Hi, John,
 
This is a really well written and performed, very beautiful song!
 
Excellent, well thought out, emotion filled lyrics, your vocals are fantastic, and the mix sounds nicely textured and very well balanced.
 
Great job on this, nice work, John!
Bob

Thanks a lot Bob, and looks like you caught my 2nd revision after I realized I had a bad vocal segment in verse 3 and I also took advice above and changed out the drum kit of the chorus.  I'm much more happy with it now, and will continue to refine a little over the weekend.  Really appreciate the listen, thanks again!    - John

Hi John...  Just stopped in for a listen to your song.  Man, I know those lyrics oh too well....  but my best song lyrics came from that same place a few years back.

Good job on the mix!  My main crit concerns the "space".  I agree Starise about it needing a bit of longer reverb (plate with a nice pre-delay).  I think it would fit the mood better.  I think the comment above about the guitar sounding a bit "midi" is appropriate too.  And lastly, maybe the regular snare needs to pop just a bit more since it's in the 'energy" portion of the tune.  (The sidestick is very present.)

Keep up the good work, and heal.

Great song! I like how the snare comes in on the chorus. I'm not sure about that stuff at the end though. It seems out of place.

Nice vox!!!

Tony:  thanks for taking a listen and especially for the comments!  Those items are next on my review and editing list for this weekend - I have to confess that I'm very new to trying to modify the various drum sounds within the MIDI grooves used.   (and I used a combination of EZDrummer and CW SI-Drums).   As far as reverb plate/pre-delay, are you talking about setting that ujp within the Master Bus?  Or just particular track(s)?    I am not at all sure yet that I like the beats that I added to the chorus last night - too much hi-hat for me.  I hope to have a bit more settled version by monday.    Thanks again!      John

Guitarpima


Great song! I like how the snare comes in on the chorus. I'm not sure about that stuff at the end though. It seems out of place.

Nice vox!!!

Robert:  thanks for taking time to listen and crit!   You are the first person to note about the ending.  I'm experimenting - and not sure yet about it, but what my goal was, is to end with a bar scene with this guy all down and out, but everyone at the bar is laughing and happy, maybe I was gonna add a barmaid voice  after pouring a beer and she says "how you doing?" and he says  "oh, fine... yeah... just fine..."  that kinda thing, you know, the total contrast, irony.  But I may very well just trash the whole idea.   Not sure yet.   But I like the idea of trying to set a mood, like this song brings up a music video to me of being done at a bar.   Anyhow, remember 10-cc original soundtrack?  All those cool sounds of the street and bar, I always wanted to try to work with some of that kind of moodiness and visual cues...  thanks and I do appreciate that you took time to listen and give the feedback!        - John

 Your best vocal ever.... bar none.   

  Wow.... such nice comments from you.... and as I listened to the song.... you listened and learned and applied it well.  

This song without a doubt has taken your singing to a totally new much higher level. This is the NEW JD..... very cool.  I really enjoyed that song. 

Nice crisp vocals without being shrill and sibilant.  even the mix itself had a nice clean and present sound to it. 

nits.... I'd have bumped the bass up a bit, and the verb on the vocals was maybe the wrong choice... IMHO... the drums maybe should have been tweezed a bit, maybe further back in the mix.... not so up front for a song like this with drums.... but I understand that you were focused more on the Vox and you are definitely rocking that part of the mix.... Your best vocal ever.  

Herb:  thanks for popping in for a listen, and for noticing the improvements you helped so much to bring about     I am already taking careful notes on the various above nits, which mostly revolve around drum beats and better drum FX, and varying the velocities and possible timing on guitar MIDI. 
FYI there is not a separate bass track, I didn't want to try adding something whenever there's a present bass coming across from the MIDI guitar's bass strings.... and I may go back and see if I can either bring it out more or, add in a separate light bass part/track.
Verb on vocals - easy enough to vary and play around with.  Hey I can always shoot you a few dozen more emails for guidance  HaHaHa! 
Many thanks again Herb, and I can't wait to continue this journey.
- John

Thanks from me too, and you're welcome.  I know you know this, but just to make mention of the fact again that the only reason I could help you is because several wonderful guys around helped me (and still help me) so incredibly much.

That, and about a million hours moving little triangles around in PRV trying to make them sound better.  :)  

Great job, John!  

Janet: thank you so much for listening. You just caught ver 3, which I had yet to announce. I made at least 4 changes which Herb pointed out, and most of the others mentioned and hinted at as well... I have listened now about 10 times and I believe I am now satisfied with this. I'm opening it back up to comment but I actually like the result. Thank you so much, teach !! ~ John

I did a version 3 remix last night -  redoing the MIDI drum kits and especially at the chorus parts.  Selected a different reverb on the vox, and tried to adjust the strings and guitar a little more.    So far I'm much more pleased with the new mix.