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I've been mostly lurking on this forum, I guess I'm feeling brave enough to submit my latest opus for critique.

[MEDIA=soundcloud]unknownartist-14/moonbeam-prayer[/MEDIA]

Recorded and mixed in Mixcraft Pro Studio 7, a collaboration of various remote...collaborators. A guitarist from Sweden, a midi contributor from Oklahoma, a keyboardist from...somewhere, and me in way upstate New York. I usually float a demo to my virtual bandmates, let them contribute whatever they feel like, then massage all hell out of it on my desktop. I'm pretty sure they don't recognize their parts when I'm finished with them :whistle:

I like to think of my musical style as Gordon Lightfoot and John Denver getting high with Paul McCartney at Bing Crosby's house. They all were alive and active at one point in my life. THAT would have been a jam, my friends!:)

I'm not shooting for commercialism, obviously, but I am working toward a vanity album release this summer of some of my favorites. I didn't spend a load of time on the mastering, none actually, just pulled down a iZotope Ozone 5 preset out of laziness. When I pop out a CD I'm planning on having it professionally mastered by http://www.sunbreak… Cass Anawaty at Sunbreak Music[/]="http://www.sunbreak… Cass Anawaty at Sunbreak Music[/]. I picked up a rec to him from some thread on this forum and had him do a single for me last month, I was very pleased. Hopefully he'll give me a discount for the gladhanding!

Love me some dynamic range, hope that shows. Also, screw drums!

I promise to take any and all criticism or suggestions seriously. Thanks for listening!

Comments

audiokid Sun, 03/29/2015 - 17:55

Love it. Reminds of early Genesis, one of my favorites. Very enjoyable. It would be interesting to hear what the ME does.
I would, just so slightly add 1/2 db low mid boost (200 to 500 ish, maybe higher) just so the main vocals ever so slightly warmed up which would also boost them in the perfect spot making this awesome.

Thanks for sharing that. I'm glad there are people making music like this. Kudo's to your group too.

pcrecord Mon, 03/30/2015 - 03:11

Nice song and production, I actually wouldn't change anything except the instrument that is noisy (the acoustic or electric guitar is it?)
Guitar and bass pickups are very sensitive to noises, I need to be far from AC adapters and power lines with mine.
I would try to retrack it, clean or use a denoise tool like Isotope RX.
And for the drums, I won't old it against you :D

Very good vocal btw!

Thanks for sharing !

freightgod Mon, 03/30/2015 - 04:18

Thank you and yes, the guitar dropin from my buddy in Sweden was super noisy, it had sooo much fret noise as he was trying to simulate a slide sound. I actually had to do literally hundreds of tiny volume duck edits to try and kill most of them, but unfortunately I couldn't ask for a redo. Fortunately, on the other hand, I've got a little OCD so live for minute editing. But I couldn't get all the fret noises without killing the performance.

As for just noise noise, I think most of the tracks were clean, although I noticed after using iZotope that it seemed to introduce a little "hiss" which you can hear ever so slightly after the fadeout. I would tweak it next time, again, I was lazy there. I have come to the conclusion that I am no mastering engineer and won't play one on TV, either. I could become one, but only have one lifetime, so making music is more important at this stage.

Love this forum, by the way.

Boswell Mon, 03/30/2015 - 11:11

Nice, especially considering how you put it all together!

I agree with much of what the others have said, but no-one has mentioned the upset to the beat at around 00:17. The first downbeat after the cut really needs to come exactly where it's expected from what has gone before, rather than a quaver (eighth-note) off.

freightgod Mon, 03/30/2015 - 11:50

pcrecord, post: 427032, member: 46460 wrote: It's called jazz !! ;)
Nice catch btw !

Yeah, but...I dunno, I've listened to it a dozen times and I don't think it's a killer. It's right on with a click, I think it's the vocal jive I got going on. But I will experiment with it!! Don't get me wrong. I just kind of don't mind if it's a bit hesitant there. Hmmmmm...

audiokid Mon, 03/30/2015 - 12:22

From a mixing and publishing POV, I hear all sorts of electronic manipulations in this, but there comes a time where we can hear past that and accept a work of art for what it is. I think this track could be published and many artists would want to do it as well. (y)

There is a point where something that was pieced together like a puzzle, becomes a masterpiece and we accept it for what it is or isn't. At some point you have to leave it or completely learn it as you would perform it live and re produce it in a more professional way. Phase two.

So, I love it as is, or I hear this as a great masterpiece ready to be published and taken to a much higher level. Its that good.

Something I do in this step,
To help take our human tendencies focus off a pieced together puzzle like this, I will play a guitar all the way through it and leave it as is, with or without it being perfect.
Its doesn't have to be up front in a mix, just enough so you know their is something natural flowing through it all to help glue the human performance to it.

Its a great track as is, or would be well worth future versions some time again, I love this. I would look for a publishing deal without question.

DonnyThompson Mon, 03/30/2015 - 23:16

Very nice. Pleasing to listen to. ;)

freightgod, post: 426995, member: 48902 wrote: When I pop out a CD I'm planning on having it professionally mastered by [[url=http://[/URL]="http://www.sunbreak…"]Cass Anawaty at Sunbreak Music[/]="http://www.sunbreak…"]Cass Anawaty at Sunbreak Music[/].

Cass is great. I've had him master stuff for me as well. I believe he's down for a few weeks due to a recent move, but he does great work and it'd be worth your wait. ;)

-d.

Jathon Delsy Tue, 03/31/2015 - 08:15

Refreshingly quirky piece, brightly happy perhaps with just a hint of plaintive pathos. Beautiful match of individuality with the well sung vocal and the subdued, harmonically fertile circus feel to the music. Full of pagan imagery and floridly flourishing synths. Cleverly creative, fun but with depth and feeling. Maybe, as this is an engineering forum, I could say that perhaps the lead vocal should be blended a bit more with the music, maybe it's a bit too upfront, and maybe the mix is a bit bass light and also slightly disjointed due to the lack of percussion or groove, but generally I love this sort of fantasy folk, and here the arrangement are mostly charmingly congruous. A piquantly poignant, pert and pretty piece,,,,,

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