Blue Medicine

A first attempt at mixing a song in Reaper, with just 4 tracks; comments and suggestions welcome.
Style is _LONEBOY.STY (Lone Boy Acoustic Guitar Ballad)

RealTracks in style: ~2483:Bass, Acoustic, Bowed HeldSimple Ev 085
RealTracks in song: 1856:Cello, Background PopCountry Ev 085
RealTracks in style: 2914:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking Folky16thsBrent Ev16 085

This sounds great to me! I loved that cello lead. Everything are mixed perfectly as far as I'm concerned.

Two thumbs up.

Robert

Nice mix - everything sounds very nice. Interesting (and challenging) lyrics. I also like the cello.
Good work.
Peter

Hi Robertkc

I like how calming this music is. Good vocals. Nice production. Enjoyed this very much.

Awesome song Robert. Loved the acoustic. Super vocal. Cello was a nice touch. As always very cool lyric.. I find Reaper a little more forgiving than Realband. Pretty sure you are going to love it. So excellent video series and tutorials

Thanks for the feedback, Mario.It took three times longer to mix than it would have in RealBand, but after dithering for a year, its time to learn new tricks.

Robert




Peter,
I appreciate your comments. This was a quick write that I like parts of and has some lines I`ll probably go back to... and the cello smooths just about anything out!

Robert

Robert,

A nice dream-like lyric (and melody). The guitar/cello/vocal treatment is perfect for it.

There is something about the vocal - can't put a finger on exactly what - that sounds "squished" (for lack of a better word). Could be a bit too much compression? Or some mic proximity effect. Sort of a tiny bit of overdrive sound. It's very slight and maybe not something that others are hearing?

fj

Sounds good, Robert, you have your own style! I always enjoy your lyrics.

Nice mix, love it when the cello comes in! I'm using reaper here too, switched from Audition a couple of years back. Took a while to get the hang of it, but I love it now.

This is a really nice tune, Robert The combination of those melodies and your vocal delivery and lyrics really gives this tune an interesting vibe. It almost has a dream-like quality to it. The abstraction and steam-of-consciousness style to it really draws me in personally. It bares a certain resemblance to Radiohead or Bjork. Maybe not sonically speaking, but in terms of execution.

You should be proud of this - thanks so much for sharing

Floyd,
Thanks for taking the time to listen closely and comment.
Because I`m undisciplined about proxmity to the mic, I`m usually trying to fix with gain/volume- here I used the Waves vocal rider which seemed to work well.
There`s about half the reverb I usually use on my Nectar2 Simple Country preset, but on choruses there are 2 doubled tracks panned l/r.
Mastered for mid range boost in Ozone.
Hope that helps.

Robert

This was a really nice use of the Lone Boy style. I felt the lyrics really paired well with the overall sound of this song. It was all very well paced. You did a really good job.

Thanks for sharing.

Robert, Really pretty song. Plus one to what's been said already.

Enjoyed very much.

Good to see you back on here, Josie,thanks for commenting.
I caught your meaning about the doubled track being superfluous - took it out and the vocal sounds cleaner to me.
Will have a listen to your new song.

Robert

Robert, I like the way the abstract poetic lyrics fit the music. It is a dreamlike feel and cinematic. Interesting chord choices help make this a great listen, Tom

Hello and thank you for your listen and comments.

Robert



Scott,
Thank you!
The slow acoustic guitar track is one reason I wrote this song.
So far everything I manage to do in Reaper makes me wish I`d started the learning curve a year or so back...and that there was a Lite version for rookies as the capabilities are so far beyond my needs.

Robert


Dave,
I appreciate your kind comments and especially that thumbs up on the mix. The big plus on Reaper from the get go is finding all the VST effects right there; I love RealBand for its link to the RealTracks, but oh my, this is a learning headache that may get results.

Robert

good job. I really like the choice of RT's.

Hello, Robert

Your originality was demonstrated very well in this song.
Unexpected chords that sometimes come out and change of rhythm.
Calm and beautiful melody.
All of them are the characteristics of your songs.
Your vocals fit very well with them and they are very comfortable.
Enjoyed my listen a lot.

Best regards.

Shigeki Adachi

Hi Robert,

Great work once again and that signature vocal is beautiful as always, but really shines here.
We also love the cello.

Rob and Anne-Marie

Thank you Deryk!
I appreciate the dream-like comment - the song came from a hazy memory, so it fits.

Robert




Ember,
This is one of those Real Styles not to be tampered with.I`m glad you liked the song!

Robert


Tom,
Thank you for your listen and kind comments.

Robert

Very nice to hear your use of the _LONEBOY style now that I'm putting out my song based on it I really like the wholeness here, the vocals, poetic lyrics and sparse arrangement all blending together to form a nice folk song, a man and his guitar in a romantic landscape.

Janne

A good job on the mix. I like the song a lot and enjoyed my listen.

I appreciate that -thanks for the listen and comments.



Shigeki,
Thank you, I`m especially glad you liked the melody... as usual it started with something borrowed I let percolate `til it sounds original!

Robert

Robert,

I also really enjoyed the dream-like, ethereal quality that this creation had. It was like you transported me to another time and place for three and a half minutes.

It sounds like you're getting the hang of Reaper. I've been using it for a number of years and I really like it.

All the best,
Noel

Floyd said, “A nice dream-like lyric (and melody). The guitar/cello/vocal treatment is perfect for it.”

We couldn’t agree more. The cello and that perfect acoustic are ideal for the melody and the timbre of your vocal.

Tom mentioned the interesting chords and the cinematic feel. It is very visual.

Looks and sounds like your new DAW is going to work out well.

Well done!

J&B

PS When we moved from GarageBand to Logic Pro I was initially was overwhelmed by the learning curve. After finally focusing on the 10% of the capabilities I would actually use it went well.

Tom has a great ear for the mix and "character" of songs, as do a few other talented folks on this forum. I rarely find reason to disagree with them and I fully agree with Tom's assessment of this song. I've always enjoy the pop-folk sound - tends to mix great verse writing with subdued yet emphatic music backing. you excelled at both on this one. It's always a pleasure to listen to you music - this is a great example why. Best to you.

Alan

Rob & Anne-Marie,
Thank you for that. I`m trying to reduce the amount of processing on my vocals so I`m glad you liked them here.

Robert


Thanks Janne.
Its a very good style (Lawrence also used it to fine effect on a ballad recently)- I`m happy you enjoyed the romantic feel of the song.

Robert

Charlie,
Thanks for the listen and postive comments.

Robert




Noel,
Thank you! I`m glad the dream-like feeling came through.
The video instruction content with Reaper is proving most useful... baby steps, but fun so far.

Robert

Sounds great Robert! Lovely tune with a great production. Really like the chord changes in this one! Torrey

J&B,

That`s very kind, thank you!
I doubt I`ll have the patience to get much beyond the duffer level with any DAW and am in awe of those on this forum (like you!) who turn out professional level mixes. Still its nice to be able to go back to some of my earlier songs and leave them better than I found them.

Robert

Robert,

Gorgeous lyrics and great vocals.

I love the mix but the final sound seems a bit hot and is not like what I have heard in your previous mixes.

There is an effect on the vocals and guitar that is making them sound a little bit metallic and the final seems over compressed. I have never heard this in your productions before.

Maybe you are getting used to a new DAW and working out the kinks?

Also, the cello panned all the way to the left side, it could maybe come a little more center. Those are just a few nits but I really, really, love the song. Again, great lyrics.

Thanks very much for the endorsement Al- all the best to you!

Robert


Torrey,

Thank you for the listen and kind comments.

Robert

Robert,

This is really excellent - shades of Nick Drake... I thoroughly enjoyed this.

Bob

David,
Your comments are very welcome- they gave me the chance to go back and have another listen. With the space of a week or so to clear my mixing head, I think I can hear what you`re talking about in the vocals & overall level of compression...
so with the beauty of using a DAW that doesn`t crash and is quick to work with, I`ve now changed the order of the vocal effects ( Nectar2,Breath Control,Vocal Rider) and it seems to me a bit better. I also removed an Alloy guitar effect ( very little change there to my ears - it is an RT recorded with very crisp picking & lots of string squeaks) & reduced the cello pan from 60% to 40%.
The mastering originally was done with the higher compression of the Greg Calbi presets - now there`s a much lighter setting.
Have another listen if you get time, and thanks again for sharing your impressions.

Robert

Robert,

The difference between night and day. You must have sound cloud pro if you can swap out tracks like that. Do you find pro worth the money?

Whatever you did this time I would use as a baseline.

The moment you said Greg Calibri preset I knew what it was. I don't go anywhere NEAR those Calibri presets unless I want a blue brick. I HATE them.

But this sounds great.

Use the Robert K-Genie presets from here on out.

David,
Yes, I`ve been paying ( $50 a year- seems like a good deal to me )for SoundCloud Pro from about 3 months after I began posting songs and realised I`d be remixing every song again and again as I learnt the ropes.So far SoundCloud is the only platform I use so like to keep it uncluttered.
Your comment about the Greg Calibri presets made me smile-I thought they were way too compressed as well on first listen... then I started to second guess why my mixes were about 10dbs quieter than many of the songs from the forum and threw this one in there.
Its good to know the revision goes in the right direction - many thanks for letting me know!

Robert

I really like your use of guitar vocal cello. Great write and execution.

much enjoyed

Pretty song!! That cello part is just beautiful!! You are such a wonderful poet Robert...always creative and unique lyrical images! Really nice job on this one!! Take care. Greg

Bob,

You know you`ll go straight to my soft spot mentioning one of my absolute favourite songwriters. Thank you!

Robert


That`s appreciated... actually your recent song introduced me to this style, so thanks for that too!

Robert



Greg,
Many thanks for your listen and very kind comments. I`m glad to see you back with a new song!

Robert

There's just so much to like about this composition.

Lyrically, it is sensational; but the quality extends to the musical excellence that becomes the subject of the entire song.

Very enjoyable.

enoyed this one Robert, has just the right elements, love that violin break.

Thank you for listening and commenting!



Thanks for the positive review.

Robert

Great elements but the mix is a little uneven.
The cello side was pretty empty for the 1st minute or so and the opposite side is full of that lovely acoustic. You might consider throwing an ADT (free VST) on the acoustic to get a faux double track panned to opposite sides to fill out the stereo image then pull the cello in a little closer so that it plays almost beside the vocal.
The bowed bass could use a little more definition up the middle - or perhaps some compression. I haven't been able to find a specific VST or even preset to suit cello so it's a trial and error thing.
If you're using Reaper I'd suggest downloading the THD Fish Fillet VST pack and use Blockfish from it as the vocal compressor. It has a wonderful preset for intimate vocals. A VERY little reverb would also sit the vocals nicely. It would be useful to use the same type of reverb across the project so everything is in the same room. There aren't many ReaVerb presets in Reaper but there're plenty out there.
You might even throw ADT on the acoustic to get a faux double track panned to opposite sides to fill out the stereo image then pull the cello in a little closer so that it plays almost beside the vocal.
It might, also, be useful to cut whatever cello frequencies overlap with the bass so that they don't step on each other when the cello pops up.
Finally, a gentle compressor across the mix - in Reacomp the preset Master Buss Glue one is good.

Some interesting ideas- some I considered ( doubling the acoustic guitar to even out the opening and reducing the the overlap of cello/bowed bass) and may revisit. I actually reduced the verb on vocals -aiming for a 60`s folky sound, but I`ll have to check the vocal VST you mentioned.
Thanks for taking the time to listen and make suggestions.

Robert

You did some outstanding work on this tune... your choice of instrumentation really accented the intimacy of your song... I enjoyed the listen.