This is my first post here.

This is a guitar and sax instrumental I wrote last year. The genre is a bit elusive...somewhere between Pop Rock and Pop Jazz. What would you call it? It needs a new name but nothing jumps out at me yet.

I was listening to some old Michael Jackson stuff and this kinda stuck in my head afterwards. I'm thinking it's the type of song he might have done had I written a lyric for it (which I haven't). I hear it as elements of the Michael Jackson style with some Sade influence.

Just a note to everyone. I have Focal Dystonia and It makes typing very difficult. It hasn't affected my guitar playing substantially but that's just around the corner, they tell me. Anyway, if you see a bunch of typos in my posts, that's why.

Thanks for any listens and comments. I'll be listening to some of you.

Al David

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=276329&songID=12070799

(Nope, not related to Craig David, Larry David or Hal David!)

Hi Al,

Welcome to the forums and congratulations on your first song post!

I thoroughly enjoyed what you put together. Through my headphones, the mix was just right, very well assembled. You're a talented musician! This is mighty fine music.

All the best,
Noel

Nice tune. Excellent guitar work.. Neat rhythm...

Al...

GREAT to see you here! You are going to LOVE this forum - guaranteed!
And you will be a terrific addition to it!

Love the track. Solid mix. Great choice of tracks. Tasty, tasty guitar.
Great tone. You will get asked a lot - so I may as well be the first - How do you get your tone - how do you record that beautiful guitar work?

Welcome to the family!

floyd

Al, Nice guitar work. The mix sounds good. I would say this is easy listening smooth jazz. I hear a lot of different influences in your playing and look forward to your next post. Great start. Welcome, Tom

Hi Al,

welcome to the forum.
Great first post.
I absolutely like your style (I'd call it smooth jazz, too) and your terrific guitar work.
I'd like to know what RTs you used.
Merry Christmas.

Guenter

Hey Al... had an idea for a title... using your cited "influences"...
How about "A Moment Of Jade"? - a gem of a title - ha!

Hi Al,

Welcome to the Users Showcase!

What a feel good instrumental. Love the arrangement and guitar tone. Sweet.

Sounds great here.

Josie

Hey Everyone...

Thanks for the warm welcome and the kind words. I will reply to everyone individually before I go to bed tonight...well, actually I usually go to bed around 4:00 AM. Will try to get it taken care of long before then. I'll start now and see how far I get. Thanks again!

Al

PS: FWIW, my close friends and family call me Alan, professionally I'm known as Al. Either is fine.

Scott C...

Thanks a bunch. Glad you like it. I have to give BIAB credit for the rhythm. I had the tune, more or less, floating around in my head and when I ran across that rhythm track, it all clicked for me. Glad you liked it!

Al

Hey Floyd...

Good to hear from ya! It's nice to run across a familiar name and your great music! Good to be here. I'll be posting another song in a little while...don't want to hog the board. I'll be over to take a listen atcha in just a little while.

Al

PS: I'll address my equipment used and the settings at the end of my hellos...

Hey Tommy...

Thanks for the warm welcome...much appreciated. My influences are as varied as the genres I play in...just about all the major genres except metal and Gangsta Rap. My biggest influences are Brent Mason, Fred Newell, Herb Ellis, Lee Ritenour, a Nashville session guy named Mike Baker and a hometown guy from St. Louis named Charlie Tucker. You might throw Stevie Ray and Carlos Santana in there, too. I grew up playing old Traditional Country because that's where the money was and I liked it. But at home, I would practice Jazz and Pop music after learning what I needed to in the Country field. My father kept telling me "You don't need to learn all that fancy sh*t...just stick to your 4 or 5 chord Country. That's all you need." Little did he know what I practiced when he wasn't around!

Thanks again for the welcome!

Al

Guten Tag, Guenter...

Ich wohnte fast 12 Jahren im Deustschland. Ich wohnte 4 Jahren im Einsielderhod, in der naehe von Kaiserslautern, 4 Jahren im Pirmasens und endlich fast 4 Jahren im Wuerzburg. Ich habe gern Deutschland!

I'm afraid my German has suffered a lot since I moved back from Germany...it's been over 20 years. I left there in 1988. Your hometown of Karlsruhe is one of my favorite cities in Germany, Garmisch-Partinkirchen being my number one favorite. I used to visit Germersheim a lot.

Thank you for your warm welcome. After I have finished replying to everyone, I will talk about the tracks and personal instruments I used. Thanks again!

Al

Floyd...

Love that suggested title! Can I steal it??????

Hi Josie!

Love your screen name! And thanks for the welcome...sure do appreciate it! Glad you enjoyed the tune...I appreciate the kind words!

Al

Looks like I got everyone covered for now. I'll gather the info for the tracks and get back to all of you real soon. Again, thanks to everyone for the kind words!!!

Al

PS: the lady in my avatar is my wife...she's the best singer you've yet to hear!!! I admit to a little bias but she really is a great singer. In fact, I'll go grab a BIAB cut with her singing and post it real soon.

Al, the lady is very easy on the eyes too.

I like being able to put faces to names. We have several beautiful ladies on these forums who will help her to settle in and join our little family.

Welcome, m'lady. I'm anxious to hear you sing.

Be my guest! Go for it...

Floyd...

Thanks...consider it stolen!

Don,

Good to "meet" you! Thanks for the warm welcome and the kind comments about my wife. yes, she is much prettier than me! That seems to be the general consensus!

Okay, gonna go get a track with her singing and will post the link in a couple of minutes. thanks again from both of us!

Al & Di

This was a link to one of my wife's songs. I just posted it as a separate thread. Duh!!!!

Very nice. The mix sounds great on my KRK's and the guitar work is stellar.

Welcome again Al!

Love everything about this track especially your guitar playing. But I must ad, and not that is will not stand on it's own, but this great melody is "crying" for a lyric.

Merry Christmas,

Janice & Bud...

Thanks a bunch! We just went over and listened to "Nothing At All"...what a terrific listen that was. nice stuff! Merry Christmas from both of us...

Al & Di

Danny,

We appreciate those kind words about the song. And yes, we've been told the same thing on a couple of other places we have posted this. If we don't come up with something lyrically, we're open to a collab! Thanks again...

Al & Di

G'Day Noel,

We just listened to "Never Again". That's a great song. I (Al) like to play that style of Smooth Jazz. loved our listen! Best to ya...

Al & Di

Don,

We just listened to "Joanne's Smile" and "A 50's Stroll". both a super tunes! love the tone of your guitar! That was some mighty fine listening...thanks!

Al & Di

Al here. Here is the info on the BIAB trax and my equipment settings:

MIDI 39/1 Synth Bass (warm)
MIDI Rhodes Electric Piano (5)
MIDI 54/1 Humming,
MIDI Drums Standard Drum Kit (1)
RealTracks Guitar, Electric, Rhythm Dreamy Ev 120
RealTracks Sax, Alto, Soloist JazzFunkGroovin Ev16 110

I am playing an Ibanez ARZ 400 Guitar thru a Peavey Nashville 112 Amp.

The distortion pedal is an el cheapo I bought locally for $39.00 - brand name is "Fab" but no model designation.

I am playing on the bridge P/U, tone about 75% treble and volume about 60% (the pickups are very hot)

The amp is set as follows:

Pre-Gain: 4
Low (Bass): +3
Mid: +6
Shift: 350
High (Treble) +4
Presence: +6
Master Reverb: 4 1/2
Master Gain: 5

The distortion pedal is set as follows (There are no numbers on the setting so I am indicating the percentage effect for each of the 3 settings:

Level: 50%
Tone: 75%
Distortion: 40%

Those setting may not be exact but are real close...it's been well over a year!

Hope that helps anyone who might be interested. And thanks again to everyone for your interests in our music.

Al & Di

Nice work Al, anything that smacks of Sade does it for me, I simply love those grooves. ('Smooth Operator' is the first song in my band's first set.)

Your guitar work is just right and fits beautifully. A smooth production all round, very enjoyable. Please come again and bring more musical gifts like this!

John

John,


Thanks a bunch! And yes, my wife loves to swing "Smooth Operator". We have a cut of it somewhere but we're not using BIAB trax so I doubt it's appropriate to post a link to it here. I believe this forum is only for links to songs containing at least a few BIAB trax.

We certainly appreciate your kind words. love your screen name, too!

Merry Christmas!

Al & Di

We're doing our best to get over to hear everyone who has commented. It might take a short while with the holidays at hand. But we will eventually get to everyone...we promise!

Merry Christmas to all!!!

Al & Di