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Ok, so this is starting to get funny. Some of you have been following the evolution of this song. And I do mean evolution. Here's the link, but read the song story first. https://soundcloud.com/david-snyder-gigs/bible-on-the-dresser_alt-rock-remixI spent an hour with a Nashville industry mentor who is a well known signed writer, producer and singer in Nashville. He went through this song with me line by line and even got out his guitar and started singing. He said that according to him I would be best served by blending the "John Mayer" feel I have to my pop songs with alt country, and it would sound better and both "create a niche" and "fall into a niche" at the same time. So I tried it. This is the result. Let me know what you think. The style is below. I added a user track I created myself to get that hard chunk-a-chunk palm mute thing that is ever so popular these days. That is the most predominant acoustic. I look forward to getting your thoughts.  David’s Alt Country John Mayer Pop Blend Style is _SPOPS16.STY (Swung 16ths Soul Pop) (User Defined) RealTracks in style: 784:Bass, Electric, PopCrossover Sw16 075 RealTracks in style: 625:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming Rascal Sw 075 User Track: David Snyder Acoustic Chunk Style (Taylor) RealTracks in style: 2536:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm ModernPopSw16Zane Sw16 075 RealTracks in song: 1599:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm Pop16thsA-B Ev16 065 RealDrums in style: NashvilleSwing16^1-a:Snare, Hihat , b:Snare, Ride *******************
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You do have a nice blend of styles here. Well done and much enjoyed.
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Hi David,
I like this version best. The vocals sound quite good now.
Enjoyable listen.
Guenter
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David,
Of all the versions posted, I like this one best too... and I appreciate hearing all the story behind the song's evolution. Funny that it started out as a country song and ended up in a John Mayer style.
I think the musicality of the song works better in this style, but the bible theme makes more sense in Country or hard core Americana.
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Pat already said it all.
We also think this is the best version.
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David
I liked this one the best as well.
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I'm going to have to be on the outs I guess... I don't agree with the "this is the best version" assessments. You have fixed some stuff, no question. But you lost "the heart" that the original version had - it rang true from a gut level - I think you have "revised" all of that out. I hope you are okay with me voicing that opinion (after all, that's all it is).
But, let me reiterate... I dig your music and I totally enjoy your journey... you are overflowing with talent...
Why don't you read PMs?
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I think I understand FJ's point regarding the revision of your song. Your mentor seems to have tried to help you make the song more commercially appealing but ended up superseding you in the song. It seems to be a mixture of portions of a recipe from two or three different cookbooks combined.
This version is a lot different from the first version where so much potential was noted. To me, it seems to be more cliched and disconnected between the music and lyrics and the song has drifted toward a different direction than the original.
So, it will probably be a huge hit. I evaluate a song from within my musical knowledge, and I know nothing.
Good luck with the song.
BIAB 2026:RB 2026, Latest builds: Dell Optiplex 7040 Desktop; Windows-10-64 bit, Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz CPU and 16 GB Ram Memory.
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David,
I can't comment on the previous versions but I think this is good. It's a well written song.
SD
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I guess we are not good candidates to review from the commercial perspective as we just don't think about that -- and I'm sure our songs reflect that attitude So, we are down more with the heart and soul of the, I suppose, less commercial earlier versions. All with a HUGE FWIW! 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! A few of our videos are here on our website: https://www.janiceandbud.com/our-music.html
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Hi everyone, including Floyd and Charlie. This feedback back is great.
I appreciate all of your feedback.
This whole thing is an ongoing experiment to use one song to purposely and methodically *test* the commercial market from many different angles to see if the “professionals” have anything useful to contribute or whether it is a waste of artistic time to listen to “commercial-music centered feedback.”
I have learned a lot and the process of experimentation and alternate takes is not over. I am actually doing more as part of the experiment. I listened to the country music mixing YouTubes Floyd recommended and also took Charlie’s great advice on the use of compression and normalization in Audacity on certain individual tracks before mixing begins. Great suggestions.
There is compression all over the place on this mix and I think it does make it jump out of the speakers. It “sounds” radio, whether it has any emotion left or not—and that is not necessarily a good thing, but it is part of the learning curve. So, I have learned something from the forum on better mastering.
In terms of “authenticity” as Floyd mentioned, I believe I was at my most authentic when I was 12 years recording with my Yamaha acoustic onto a Silvertone cassette player from Sears.
I think I am going to try and get back to that era in this era by focusing more on simplicity and who I am rather than trying to “write for the market.” However, production-wise I do want to know everything the market has to say about production in terms of feedback so I can take what is useful and use it, and throw the rest away. I didn’t want to throw it away though, until I give myself a chance to hear 100 different sides of the story. Pure experiment.
Your feedback has been invaluable. Again, I learn most of what improves me on this forum, NOT from so-called “industry professional” so thank you. The forum is real.
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Hi everyone, including Floyd and Charlie. This feedback back is great.
I appreciate all of your feedback.
This whole thing is an ongoing experiment to use one song to purposely and methodically *test* the commercial market from many different angles to see if the “professionals” have anything useful to contribute or whether it is a waste of artistic time to listen to “commercial-music centered feedback.”
I have learned a lot and the process of experimentation and alternate takes is not over. I am actually doing more as part of the experiment. I listened to the country music mixing YouTubes Floyd recommended and also took Charlie’s great advice on the use of compression and normalization in Audacity on certain individual tracks before mixing begins. Great suggestions.
There is compression all over the place on this mix and I think it does make it jump out of the speakers. It “sounds” radio, whether it has any emotion left or not—and that is not necessarily a good thing, but it is part of the learning curve. So, I have learned something from the forum on better mastering.
In terms of “authenticity” as Floyd mentioned, I believe I was at my most authentic when I was 12 years recording with my Yamaha acoustic onto a Silvertone cassette player from Sears.
I think I am going to try and get back to that era in this era by focusing more on simplicity and who I am rather than trying to “write for the market.” However, production-wise I do want to know everything the market has to say about production in terms of feedback so I can take what is useful and use it, and throw the rest away. I didn’t want to throw it away though, until I give myself a chance to hear 100 different sides of the story. Pure experiment.
Your feedback has been invaluable. Again, I learn most of what improves me on this forum, NOT from so-called “industry professional” so thank you. The forum is real.
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Hi everyone, including Floyd and Charlie. This feedback back is great.
I appreciate all of your feedback.
This whole thing is an ongoing experiment to use one song to purposely and methodically *test* the commercial market from many different angles to see if the “professionals” have anything useful to contribute or whether it is a waste of artistic time to listen to “commercial-music centered feedback.”
I have learned a lot and the process of experimentation and alternate takes is not over. I am actually doing more as part of the experiment. I listened to the country music mixing YouTubes Floyd recommended and also took Charlie’s great advice on the use of compression and normalization in Audacity on certain individual tracks before mixing begins. Great suggestions.
There is compression all over the place on this mix and I think it does make it jump out of the speakers. It “sounds” radio, whether it has any emotion left or not—and that is not necessarily a good thing, but it is part of the learning curve. So, I have learned something from the forum on better mastering.
In terms of “authenticity” as Floyd mentioned, I believe I was at my most authentic when I was 12 years recording with my Yamaha acoustic onto a Silvertone cassette player from Sears.
I think I am going to try and get back to that era in this era by focusing more on simplicity and who I am rather than trying to “write for the market.” However, production-wise I do want to know everything the market has to say about production in terms of feedback so I can take what is useful and use it, and throw the rest away. I didn’t want to throw it away though, until I give myself a chance to hear 100 different sides of the story. Pure experiment.
Your feedback has been invaluable. Again, I learn most of what improves me on this forum, NOT from so-called “industry professional” so thank you. The forum is real.
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Thanks guys.
This whole thing is an ongoing experiment to use one song to purposely and methodically *test* the commercial market from many different angles to see if the “professionals” have anything useful to contribute or whether it is a waste of artistic time to listen to “commercial-music centered feedback.”
I have learned a lot and the process of experimentation and alternate takes is not over. I am actually doing more as part of the experiment. I listened to the country music mixing YouTubes Floyd recommended and also took Charlie’s great advice on the use of compression and normalization in Audacity on certain individual tracks before mixing begins. Great suggestions.
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Hi everyone, including Floyd and Charlie. This feedback back is great.
I appreciate all of your feedback.
This whole thing is an ongoing experiment to use one song to purposely and methodically *test* the commercial market from many different angles to see if the “professionals” have anything useful to contribute or whether it is a waste of artistic time to listen to “commercial-music centered feedback.”
I have learned a lot and the process of experimentation and alternate takes is not over. I am actually doing more as part of the experiment. I listened to the country music mixing YouTubes Floyd recommended and also took Charlie’s great advice on the use of compression and normalization in Audacity on certain individual tracks before mixing begins. Great suggestions.
There is compression all over the place on this mix and I think it does make it jump out of the speakers. It “sounds” radio, whether it has any emotion left or not—and that is not necessarily a good thing, but it is part of the learning curve. So, I have learned something from the forum on better mastering.
In terms of “authenticity” as Floyd mentioned, I believe I was at my most authentic when I was 12 years recording with my Yamaha acoustic onto a Silvertone cassette player from Sears.
I think I am going to try and get back to that era in this era by focusing more on simplicity and who I am rather than trying to “write for the market.” However, production-wise I do want to know everything the market has to say about production in terms of feedback so I can take what is useful and use it, and throw the rest away. I didn’t want to throw it away though, until I give myself a chance to hear 100 different sides of the story. Pure experiment.
Your feedback has been invaluable. Again, I learn most of what improves me on this forum, NOT from so-called “industry professional” so thank you. The forum is real.
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In terms of “authenticity” as Floyd mentioned, I believe I was at my most authentic when I was 12 years recording with my Yamaha acoustic onto a Silvertone cassette player from Sears. I think I am going to try and get back to that era in this era by focusing more on simplicity and who I am rather than trying to “write for the market.” I like the goal of searching for and trying to recapture the musical authenticity of a whole-hearted kid with a guitar and cassette recorder. There are people here who wear all the hats well, and it's easy to fall into a trap of believing that we all need to be engineers. It is my opinion that we shouldn't all have the same goal... it is the nature of creativity that we all want something different and new. The music itself is the foundation. The 12 year old kid intuitively knew that. Speaking for myself, I'd far rather hear heartfelt music that is recorded simply than to hear a highly polished song with no soul. My biggest objection to this song is that I got the impression from the start that your choice of a topic was entirely based on commercial appeal toward a specific demographic. It didn't have the ring of a personal story that you needed to tell in order to find internal peace. Would the 12 year old kid have written this song? If not, I guess that's what you're trying to rediscover. You're an interesting guy, David. I hope we meet some day. I passed thru Raleigh a couple of times in the past week, and I thought of you each time.
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Well give me a holler next time, or hit me up on linked in at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidsnyderraleighall my vital stuff is there. We could sit under a tree in the backyard and do a co-write.
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
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Peter Gannon Talks Band-in-a-Box with zplane
zplane recently interviewed Peter Gannon, the founder and creator of Band-in-a-Box, about the software's early days, what sets it apart from AI, how zplane's audio algorithms are used in Band-in-a-Box, and more!
Special thanks to the team at zplane for their continued support.
Check out the full interview here: https://products.zplane.de/blog/peter-gannon-interview-pg-music
Last Chance! The Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® Special Ends Today (May 31, 2026) at 11:59pm PDT!
Time really is running out! Save up to 50% on Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® upgrades and receive a FREE Bonus PAK—only when you order by 11:59 PM PDT today!
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Country, & Americana (Sets 483–488):
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The 2026 49-PAK is loaded with other great new add-ons as well. Learn more about the 2026 49-PAK!
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