New Song - Summer Time - PG Music Forums

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Hi all,

After a couple weeks off, I finally got back to my computer and wrote another song today. It was almost 90 degrees here today, and I started thinking about summer time, and came up with this little tune. Hope you enjoy it...

Summer Time

All the instruments are RT/RD...
Bass - 564-Electric, Blues, Monday SW065
Drum -: Blues Monday SW8 #5
Piano - 906-El Rhodes, Smooth Cool SW 100
Guitar - 606-Nylon, Chet Fishing SW 120
Guitar - 950-Acoustic, Rhythm, Country Boogie AB SW 110
Guitar - 408-Resonator, Bckgd, Allis EV 120
Mandolyn - 610-Rhythm Choppy
Fiddle - 1148-Background, Country Boogie SW 100 (Outside)

Great job Steve! I love the song, and the combination of RT that you have, and nice arrangements (shots etc) making a real nice sound there. Looks like you've got blues, smooth jazz, country and pop RT all in one song, and they sound real tight!

Steve,

I think this is just OUTSTANDING!

Great tune! Very smooth vocal, a good mix and an excellent job of picking your RT's and having them gel so well. Loved the intro and how you brought the various instruments in, also how they dropped out for the last verse and then came back in to the end, the transitions were very smooth. I never felt like I was listening to RT's... and I feel like I have a pretty good feel for what they sound like.

This may be the best use of RT's I've heard to date!

In case you couldn't tell, I Really Liked It!

Greg

Yep, what they said!

Yes, and also the tempo range of the RT chosen (65 to 120), and the song is at about a tempo of 125. Yet they still sound natural - not tempo-stretched.

Greg,

Thanks so much for your very kind and generous comments! I'm so glad you like the layout of the song. Those are some pretty humbling compliments, and I truly appreciate them!

Robb, my friend of many words

,

I really appreciate your listen, and glad you liked it!

Peter,

Thanks so much. You and your amazing staff are heroes to me. As a musician, I could put together these songs okay, but it would take hours and hours, and a large investment in musical instruments, mics, etc. And I might even possibly have to practice more to improve to a level that wouldn't just totally embarrass me!

But seriously, Band In A Box has been the most instrumental tool in my bag as a songwriter/musician. It has enabled me to write/perform songs at a virtually uninhibited pace.

Concerning using instruments and styles that people wouldn't normally place together, I always try to keep an open mind, and listen to various combinations before ruling them out. Sometimes that EV instrument will work with that SW instrument. And I have had success with using Waltz parts in 4/4 times as well. You just have to listen, and use your imagination. And with the Elastique, even the tempos can be more flexible.

Then - regenerate, regenerate, regenerate, (each individual instrument) until you are happy with each part, cohesively!

Again thanks so much for all the kind comments!

Hope you all have a blessed day!

Steve

OUTSTANDING SONG!

It’s all been said. All I can add is that it sounded live to me.

Great job.

Very nice song!!!
With all of the snow that we have had here in Ohio lately, I am so ready for summer.

Thank you so much for the laid back, easy going song taking me back to some "Summertime"s I used to enjoy.

Keep up the great songwriting, Steve.

Hi Steve,

I'm going to duck as I say this - whatever you used on the vocal - delay or some panning effect made me dizzy bouncing around my headphones and it was difficult for me to listen to the song.

The real tracks and arrangement are nice but I found that vocal effect way way distracting.

Maybe I'll try listening again later on speakers.

Quote:

I'm going to duck as I say this - whatever you used on the vocal - delay or some panning effect made me dizzy bouncing around my headphones and it was difficult for me to listen to the song.

The real tracks and arrangement are nice but I found that vocal effect way way distracting.

Maybe I'll try listening again later on speakers.

Josie,

I just listened a couple times with earphones and I didn't notice what your talking about. However, I have a similar problem with a cymbal thing on a recent song of Noel & Mario's, but nobody else mentioned it so I'm not sure if it's just me or what?

Could be gremlins or tribbles!

Greg

Hi Steve

Really liked your song ! Like always, what catches me with an original song, is the blend between voice, lyrics and arrangement. For my own personal taste, you got it all in that one ! Nostalgia in the lyrics, but ending with you still lovin' the summer time. Living in the present is important. But that being said, you also got me reminiscing about my own recollections of summer times...

Always listen to songs with my headphones. Didn't get what Josie was talking about though.

Thanks for sharing.

Great track and mixing in of the RT's. It sounds like a live studio mix. Excellent fills and transitions. Dang that sounds great!

By the way ... how much of this was done in BIAB and how much was done in RealBand?

Hi Josie!

You don't need to duck. Sometimes even Rachel has that reaction when she hears my voice - and that's when I'm just talking to her!

Seriously, I don't know what you are hearing. I never listened to the mp3 before I uploaded it. I only listened to the wav file, and I am not hearing it. I don't have very much effects on my vocals, so I am wondering if there may be some mp3 artifact going on there. I did notice the eq on my voice seems a slightly "harsh" to my ears. Having said that, what I uploaded is still a rough mix. I had just finished recording it, and roughed out a mix to upload. I never do a final mix until a few days after recording, because I usually record as I am writing. I like to let everything sort of "settle down" in my musical mind before I mix. Since I do my own writing/arranging/recording/& mixing, that's the closest I can get to being objective about my production.

I will be taking another listen to the song within the next couple of days when I have the time, and make adjustments accordingly. If I can find the problem you are hearing, I will make sure to fix it.

Thanks so much for your honest observation! You input is always valuable to me.

Steve

Mario,

Thanks so much for taking the time to listen! I am honored that you like it!

Mark1008,

I am glad you like it. We had a cold front blow in yesterday, so it only got up to 76. I almost had to put on a long sleeved shirt!

Pierre,

Thanks for your comments! The older I get, the more nostalgic I become. But being the optimist that I am, I tend to also look at today, toward a good future!

Kemmrich,

I am so glad you like the song! I generally do all my arranging in BIAB. When I write a song, I write it in a linear fashion in BIAB (no repeats). Then when I have all the bars created, I go back and work on the arrangement, using the bar settings. I generally have to do very little cutting and pasting in my DAW. Then when the arrangement is finished, I render each instrument to an individual wav file. I then use Logic Express 9 on my Mac Mini to record vocals, mix, etc. (I am still using BIAB on a PC, version 2011 with all the RT/RD.)

Hi Steve,
I got my husband to listen on the headphones and he hears it too. So either we are getting artifacts here - which it could be because it takes a long time to load - or something else is going on. We use ATH-M40fs phones.

Just curious, did you triple track your vocal with the main in the center and one on each side? It sounds like it could be the left or right double coming up in too much in volume in different spots at different times. Maybe that could give the vox a moving or swishing sound. I don't know.

It's not constant throughout the whole song. It's there at the beginning goes away comes back.....

If nobody hears it but us not a big deal.

I am glad he heard it too so I know I'm not hearing things. LOL.

Sundance: There is a "waver" there on the vocals a little. It might be that the mixing of the RT's is so good that the vocal recording and mixing is just not "in the mix" as much as it should be. But it is better than anything I can do (ha, ha).

EDIT: How much compression are you using on the vocal tracks? I am trying my best to add zero compression on the actual vocal tracks. It does add to the "swirly" effect sometimes.

Very well produced song. Excellent lyrics. Nice flow. Thanks for sharing.

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Josie,

I just re-rendered my wav file to mp3, and uploaded it. The only change I made was a slight adjustment to the eq on my lead vocal to make it not quite as harsh. I still didn't hear what you were pointing out. (I'm not at all saying you don't hear it.) I think it must be some mp3 artifacts, especially if you say it comes and goes, because the mix on my vocals is very static. And my lead vocal is only one track, dead center. The 2 background harmony tracks are one each, panned one some to the left, and the other some to the right.

Kemmrich,

I agree about compression. I always place my compression in the chain before any effects other than eq. That way any reverb or delay, etc doesn't get compressed. That cuts down on the "swirly" effect.

Please let me know if this makes a difference.

Robert,

Thanks so much! Congratulations on your BIG songwriting month!

Quote:

...I agree about compression. I always place my compression in the chain before any effects other than eq. That way any reverb or delay, etc doesn't get compressed. That cuts down on the "swirly" effect.

Please let me know if this makes a difference.

A "duh!" moment for me -- so obvious, but one I haven't considered! I need to experiment with that the order of effects I use. Duh!

Kevin

Hi Steve,

Bravo! That seems to have done the trick. Sounds fine now. I'm so relieved because I wasn't trying to be critical just to be critical - and I know you know that.

I always enjoy your music so much.

Cool song. I like it.

Steve, excellent job! Love the song and blend of RT's. Great vocal and mix as well.

Bob

Hi Steve,

Yet another terrific track! I thoroughly enjoyed it. You've got a knack for managing to pick and mix some really clever combinations of sound.

All the best,
Noel

Bob,

Thanks so much! I appreciate you taking the time to listen!

Noel,

Again, thanks very much for your kind words.

I have remixed the song, and made some significant changes (added a couple more guitar parts, and totally changed the ending.) I just replaced the upload, if you care to check it out.

Thanks!

Steve