• Songs
  • Retro Sci-Fi Theme
2012/10/06 20:42:41
Fife
Hi Everyone,

I have been working on a composing exercise to try to re-create some of the sounds that I'd heard in a lot of the TV/film music as a kid, from shows such as The Twilight Zone, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, James Bond, etc.   I spent some time listening to lots of the theme music from these types of shows and set out to recreate some of those sounds that I'd liked so much as a kid.

I wrote this theme to try to capture those sounds, called  "The Invasion of Mayberry", as a theme for a movie that would have included Barney Fife investigating an alien craft from outer space.

I used Sonar X1 for this tune, along with EZ Drummer Twisted Kit, and Nashville kit, along with several guitars including a baritone model from my Variax guitar.  This was a lot of fun to work on.

You can hear the song here:
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_music.cfm?bandID=301718

Thanks for listening!  --Jim 
2012/10/06 22:41:40
Old55
Sci-fi with a little surf guitar.  That's cool, Daddio.  
2012/10/07 09:04:15
geeare1
Hi Jim,

Cool tune! I think you definitely captured the vibe you were going for. Great guitar tones and the Theremin sounding synth is perfect.

Really nice arrangement and mix, too. Also, I want that red Tele with the Bigsby pictured on your Soundclick page!!
2012/10/07 10:11:10
Fife
Hi GR,

That Tele was made by this company in Austin, Texas called Textone Guitars.   I really like it a lot.   They have changed the body style to be different than the traditional Tele shape, but it's essentially the same guitar.  You can find it here:   http://textoneguitars.com/tk_deluxe.html

Thanks for listening to the track!

--Jim 

2012/10/07 10:17:17
Lynn
You may have started a trend here.  Mayberry is ripe for a little revisionism, and you may have got the ball rolling.  This is a fun song to listen to, and the production is clear and easy to melt into.  Barney and the gang would have loved this.
2012/10/07 10:29:21
Wookiee
The vibe captured have you.

All round sounds fine here.

Thanks for sharing [:0]
2012/10/07 16:28:19
Warrenlee
Mission accomplished....fantastic, LOVE it! Best, lee
2012/10/07 16:43:01
M@ B
Thanks for posting. Great song. Those sounds really spark memories. So many familiar sounds, i couldn't place them all, but there is an unmistakable "i dream of jeanie" sound in there. A lot of the earlier sci-fi sounds were done with a Theremin. Thanks again.
2012/10/07 17:41:15
tbosco
Jim!  You nailed it buddy!!!  Love the Tele tone at 0:48.  You most definitely achieved the vision you set out for with this one!  Nice mix.
2012/10/07 17:52:37
Fife
Thanks everyone!  Really appreciate the comments.  

I'm looking for a good virtual instrument for better brass and woodwind sounds, any suggestions?
I'm using Cakewalk's  Studio Instrument for the Strings and I've been reasonably happy with that, but I'm also looking for some more complete string sounds if anyone has suggestions for a good Virtual Instrument for that also.   I've thought about getting Komplete Ultimate but I'm not certain that it comes with good brass sounds or not.

Thanks again,  --Jim 
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