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Hi Forum friends, My last couple of songs on the forum have been blues or jazz numbers. This one, RAPTURE, is a love song featuring flute, strings and piano, as well as guitar, bass and drums. Rapture The only RealTrack is the drum track: RealDrums-NashvillePop16. I would be grateful if you have a listen (or two), and feel free to provide any feedback on the song, the arrangement or production. I hope everyone is well. Cheers, Mike
Last edited by mkg50 (Mike G); 05/05/20 03:10 AM.
Mike Garry BIAB 2025/RealBand (5), UltraPak, Kontakt, EZmix, Ozone 9 Elements, Audacity, MSi PC, Windows 11, 64bit, 16GB ram, CPU: Intel i7. https://soundcloud.com/user-952388172
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Beautiful song, nicely done.
The volume fades on the strings are a little too extreme. It’s a common tool to bring a little more realistic dynamics to the digital strings sound. I use it all the time. To my taste (and there may be others that disagree with me) this is just a tad extreme. Also, I would add just a little more reverb tails to the strings to help blend in the dynamics, Not so much that it buries the real timbre of the strings, but enough to give it that real concert hall, or sound stage “live” feel.
I enjoyed this one.
Steve
Steve Young Music"In order to compose, all you need to do is remember a tune that nobody else has thought of." - Robert Schumann
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Very pretty song Mike!! Rapture is a perfect name!! Really well done! Take care. Greg
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Excellent song. I do agree with Steve about the strings. I also think they are a tad loud when compared to the flute.
But this is still one fantastic song that needs just a little polish. Great work here.
I think my wife has started to show the first signs of dementia.
She said she can't remember what she ever saw in me!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Beautiful song, nicely done.
The volume fades on the strings are a little too extreme. It’s a common tool to bring a little more realistic dynamics to the digital strings sound. I use it all the time. To my taste (and there may be others that disagree with me) this is just a tad extreme. Also, I would add just a little more reverb tails to the strings to help blend in the dynamics, Not so much that it buries the real timbre of the strings, but enough to give it that real concert hall, or sound stage “live” feel.
I enjoyed this one.
Steve
Thanks Steve. This is precisely the honest feedback I was hoping for. I, too, was not totally happy with the swelling on the strings' sustained notes but I couldn't find a way to change it. I read on the Kontakt forum site that that's just the way it is, and the only option is to spend more money and buy a better strings instrument. I haven't given up though and am working through a few options. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. As always Steve, thanks for your valued input. Cheers, Mike
Mike Garry BIAB 2025/RealBand (5), UltraPak, Kontakt, EZmix, Ozone 9 Elements, Audacity, MSi PC, Windows 11, 64bit, 16GB ram, CPU: Intel i7. https://soundcloud.com/user-952388172
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I think the previous comments articulate the overall impression quite well.
A little work with the balance will bring a lot of polish to this song. Overall it's very beautiful, with a lot of potential.
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
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Mike,
Interesting tune. Very suitable for kids show. Rich arrangement, yet listens well.
I was trying to come up with meaningful suggestion and looked above. I could not of said it better than Steve. Fades on strings are a bit aggressive. I listened as whole, then couple of separate parts... I see that it might be tricky to maintain a single instruments, especially on articulation parts around 2:40. Perhaps using 2 separate string instruments would help? Thank you for sharing.
Misha.
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Excellent song. I do agree with Steve about the strings. I also think they are a tad loud when compared to the flute.
But this is still one fantastic song that needs just a little polish. Great work here. Thanks for listening Mario. Following helpful comments from you and others, I have reworked the strings (they are now quieter and have less unnecessary swelling on sustained notes). The link to the song (in my original post) is the same but I have replaced the track with the new mix. Thanks again, Mike
Mike Garry BIAB 2025/RealBand (5), UltraPak, Kontakt, EZmix, Ozone 9 Elements, Audacity, MSi PC, Windows 11, 64bit, 16GB ram, CPU: Intel i7. https://soundcloud.com/user-952388172
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Is melodic string part mean t to lean left - (the flute does that also) ?
The string, generally are loud and they blur a bit when those fast descending runs happen.
Perhaps shorten the delay and lengthen the reverb.
I'm not in the room with you so am, really, only guessing. The final note of the piece end abruptly tooo.
As a composition and arrangement - NICE ONE Mike.
Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
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Nice job, I enjoyed it. As someone who has wasted too many hours trying to get the sounds I want out of Kontakt, you did pretty well, much better than I can do. Stick with it, you got skillz and you'll get there.
Windows 11, Intel Core I5 10400, 16 gig ram, Scarlett 2i2, Sony Acid Music Studio 10, BIAB 2020 UltraPlus Pak
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Very pretty song Mike!! Rapture is a perfect name!! Really well done! Take care. Greg Thanks Greg. I agonised over the name for a long time so your comments are very well received. Cheers, Mike PS I'm working my way to listening to everyone's recent songs but the coronavirus seems to have prompted so many new submissions to listen to. Stay well.
Mike Garry BIAB 2025/RealBand (5), UltraPak, Kontakt, EZmix, Ozone 9 Elements, Audacity, MSi PC, Windows 11, 64bit, 16GB ram, CPU: Intel i7. https://soundcloud.com/user-952388172
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Rapture is the perfect title. This is a very interesting and dynamic tune. Wonderful writing, and I agree a better mix will bring this to the higher level it deserves. The strings may be a bit overwhelming at times, but everything still comes through. Well done, Mike.
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I think the previous comments articulate the overall impression quite well.
A little work with the balance will bring a lot of polish to this song. Overall it's very beautiful, with a lot of potential.
Thanks for your encouragement VideoTrack. Working with strings is quite frustrating but I will keep at it. Cheers, Mike
Mike Garry BIAB 2025/RealBand (5), UltraPak, Kontakt, EZmix, Ozone 9 Elements, Audacity, MSi PC, Windows 11, 64bit, 16GB ram, CPU: Intel i7. https://soundcloud.com/user-952388172
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Hi, Mike !
WOW ! What a beautiful piece
of music you´ve created !
Absolutely instant classic !
I´m out of words for this
masterpiece !
Congrats Mike !
Stay safe !
Cheers
Dani
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Nice. It creates a very relaxing atmosphere. I like it.
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Beautiful piece! Nice composition, nice arrangement.
Sounds great to me, Mike, well done!
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Sounds good to me - some very nice multi instrument playing as well.
Pretty piece.
Peter
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Lovely, and enjoyed on a lovely day in the forest we
are so fortunate to live in.
Great arrangement and the strings and flute create a
very atmospheric piece. Quite cinematic also.
Well done!
J&B
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
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Is melodic string part mean t to lean left - (the flute does that also) ?
The string, generally are loud and they blur a bit when those fast descending runs happen.
Perhaps shorten the delay and lengthen the reverb.
I'm not in the room with you so am, really, only guessing. The final note of the piece end abruptly tooo.
As a composition and arrangement - NICE ONE Mike. Hi Ray, Thanks for your usual honest and forthright appraisal. It is much appreciated. Re the strings and flute leaning to the left, the panning for both instruments was set at zero, but when I look at the audio tracks I can see that, in places, the left channel is slightly stronger!?! I have attempted to ameliorate this in a remix (see below). Re the strings being a bit loud, I have edited this to soften the passage. Re the final note ending too abruptly, I have fixed this. If you are interested, I have uploaded the remix with these changes (plus others) to SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-952388172/rapture-remixThe original version/link is still up: https://soundcloud.com/user-952388172/raptureThanks again Ray, Mike
Last edited by mkg50 (Mike G); 05/11/20 08:01 PM.
Mike Garry BIAB 2025/RealBand (5), UltraPak, Kontakt, EZmix, Ozone 9 Elements, Audacity, MSi PC, Windows 11, 64bit, 16GB ram, CPU: Intel i7. https://soundcloud.com/user-952388172
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Mike,
Interesting tune. Very suitable for kids show. Rich arrangement, yet listens well.
I was trying to come up with meaningful suggestion and looked above. I could not of said it better than Steve. Fades on strings are a bit aggressive. I listened as whole, then couple of separate parts... I see that it might be tricky to maintain a single instruments, especially on articulation parts around 2:40. Perhaps using 2 separate string instruments would help? Thank you for sharing.
Misha. Thanks for listening Misha. I've adjusted the strings a bit, and remixed the song, after a few forum comments. You can have a listen here: https://soundcloud.com/user-952388172/rapture-remix Cheers, Mike
Mike Garry BIAB 2025/RealBand (5), UltraPak, Kontakt, EZmix, Ozone 9 Elements, Audacity, MSi PC, Windows 11, 64bit, 16GB ram, CPU: Intel i7. https://soundcloud.com/user-952388172
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