Normally the MIDI output from BIAB is not something you want to solo. But I thought the piano in this song (from Mancini style) sounded remarkably authentic. In fact, most of the parts in this song were generated by BIAB, including two RealTrack solos. Check it out!
Starlight Moonlight
That is remarkable. The whole thing gets better as it goes along. The intro doesn't seem to match the piece at first, but it all gets tied together at the end. A very pleasant listen.
R.
What software did you use for the strings?
BTW, I was listening to the other tracks on your web page. They are REALLY good! I love the use of the bells and other "off road" sounds.
RickeG
Hi RickeG,
The strings are primarily from Dimension Pro, which is probably the soft synth I use most. I think the solo violin and cello are from Sonik Synth, however, as well as some of the "highlight" strings. They have a little sharper sound, but don't provide the nice lush sound the DimPro strings do.
By the way, a few other gems that are free for the taking: The nylon guitar with Independence Free, the free guitars from Pettinhouse that you can use with the Kontakt Player (which times out in 30 minutes, a minor inconvenience), and the upright bass that comes with the free Kore Player.
Thanks for taking a listen!
Mel
Mel,
I just got around to listening to a few of your compositions and like the two members who commented above I too really enjoy these productions. Ditto to RickeG's take on the non-conventional sounds, you have done quite a job incorporating them into the productions.
Nice work indeed!
Hi Mel,
I have the Dimension LE. It comes with a ton of sounds. However, most of them sound like they are geared to more of a horror movie score than anything else. I need to tool around with the violins more perhaps. That is inspiring that you were able to get that tone for the non-solo parts. Maybe, I may have not been using the synth properly.
RickeG,
Apparently the sounds that come with LE depends on the package. At least one version comes with the Garritan Pocket Orchestra which some people really like, but I rarely use it. It sounds like you have an ample supply of their dimension multisamples, many of which you aptly described as more appropriate for movie scoring. The strings I think you like are also my favorite, the "full strings" multi (about 130 mb). If you have it, you might want to change out the default bass patch (I think I use the bass legato patch), which gives it a smoother sound.
I only use a fraction of the capability of DimPro (as is true of all of my synths). I would describe myself as an advanced newbie. Thankfully, with over 1,500 presets on my DimPro, there's still plenty to play around with even without knowing much about what you're doing.
Danny,
I really appreciate the feedback. Part of the lack of convention is that I learned with my limited studio stills that I get better results by composing and arranging on the fly. If I write a song ahead of time and have a good idea what I want the recording to sound like, I'm usually disappointed with the results. So I just let the whole thing evolve in the studio. BIAB really helps me generate a lot of ideas quickly. It's a great tool for fueling the creative process.
Mel
I think everything sounds pretty decent except where the piano is the solo instrument - then it's got a wooden characteristic to it/ too 'on-time'. Needs a bit more humanization. For example, the arpeggios on the right hand chords are dead-ringer quantized midi stuff. It's a simple enough part that I'd go into those particular sections and add some jazz to what's going on. A grace note into the top note of the first arpeggio in the phrase, a little swing, etc.
Once the 'bone solo starts, then I can begin to imagine people playing the instruments. The sax solo is particularly nice and hard to believe it's midi; at least to my ears. Perhaps the sax was one of the Real Tracks?
Rockstar,
Good suggestion. I also recently learned of a midi plugin (http://www.midi-plugins.de/index.html) that's supposed to add some humanization that I might experiment with. And yes, both the bone and sax are RealTracks. Thanks!
Mel