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This is my final entry in the Xtra Styles competition in the Country category (content copied from original post). Southern ComfortI wasn’t going to enter in this category as Country’s not really my genre but then I thought “nothing ventured nothing gained”. Also BIAB makes it fairly easy to try out genres that you may not be so familiar with. I used the _SALOON style which was very inspiring including both Resonator and Pedal Steel guitar tracks. However, I found it too busy so alternated between the Resonator and Steel guitars for the verse and chorus. Also, the song has quite a few “pushes” which I found created unnatural sounding Pedal steel and resonator chord transitions so I created a parallel version of the song with no pushes and used the Resonator and Pedal steel tracks from this version. For the solo guitar I decided to have the day off and found a very tasty RT (413:Guitar, Electric, Soloist Train Pickin'). I generated two versions of the solo and cherry picked the bits I liked the most from each one to create the final solo. I also added edgy (L) and clean (R) amp models and chorus to the solo track and finally added my vocals. ****** Song Summary ************* Title: Southern Comfort (Xtra Styles Comp) File:Southern Comfort (Xtra Styles Comp).SGU Key=E , Tempo 95, Length (m:s)=2:21 Style is _SALOON.STY (Saloon Funky Resonator Country) RealTracks in style: 1416:Bass, Electric, PopSw16Sync Sw16 075 RealTracks in style: 2627:Guitar, Resonator, RhythmPlus BluesFunkyRandy Sw16 075 RealTracks in style: 1421:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm PopCrossover Sw16 075 RealTracks in style: 876:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm NorthernRockFuzzyQuarters Sw16 075 RealTracks in style: ~~363:Pedal Steel, Background Ev 085 RealDrums in style: NashCrossovrSw16^10-a:Snare, Closed Hat Push Beat 2 , b:Snare, Open Hat Boogaloo RealTrack added: 413:Guitar, Electric, Soloist Train Pickin' Ev 130 ******************* Lyrics:Well I’m driving this highway, Through haunted dusty towns, Heading for Nashville, Near the Mason-Dixon line The Grand Ole Opry Looks mighty fine to me But I won’t be stopping Got somewhere else to be Every place I see it just reminds me Of every moment that I spend with you With every mile I’m getting even closer Southern Comfort pay your due Now I’m headin for Memphis Seeing sights that make me think Of times gone by Nearly drove me to drink Now things are lookin better Got you on my mind Be there before you know it Feeling mighty fine Every place I see it just reminds me Of every moment that I spend with you With every mile I’m getting even closer Southern Comfort pay your due Enjoy! Rec
BIAB 2022 UltraPAK, CbB, Studio One 5 Pro, Fender USA Tele, Harley Benton Fusion & others.
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I really like this song a lot. I think you did a great job on this one.
Charlie
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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Cheers Charlie, much appreciated.
Rec
BIAB 2022 UltraPAK, CbB, Studio One 5 Pro, Fender USA Tele, Harley Benton Fusion & others.
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Really catchy tune!! Very nice changes, and some cool lyrics. You have a real knack for melody. For me, the vocal seems too buried in the mix. You sing really well, and I would bring it up 2-4 db. I also feel the arrangement is a bit busy at times. Love the song!! Take care. Greg
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Rec, caught this one first thing this morning and loved it, only getting around to saying something now. All your songs have a real "arena singalong" feel to them, and I love the guitar solo at the end of this one too 
Will - PG Music
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Really catchy tune!! Very nice changes, and some cool lyrics. You have a real knack for melody. For me, the vocal seems too buried in the mix. You sing really well, and I would bring it up 2-4 db. I also feel the arrangement is a bit busy at times. Love the song!! Take care. Greg Thanks a lot Greg for your comments. I think the same as you about the vocals being buried. It was weird with this song - I spent ages and ages adjusting the relative levels. I would increase one thing which caused something else to be buried. I even tried sidechain compression so that the vocals reduced the levels on the guitar tracks when they kicked in but couldn't get it to sound natural. I also agree about the how busy the song is in places. I think the _SALOON Style is excellent but you have to separate the RTs and not use them all at once! There may well be a version 2 of this song before too long Rec, caught this one first thing this morning and loved it, only getting around to saying something now. All your songs have a real "arena singalong" feel to them, and I love the guitar solo at the end of this one too Cheers Will B Glad you enjoyed this one too and thank you for your positive comments. My other Xtra Style competition entries were mostly about sad or unhappy things so I wanted a more upbeat feel to this one that people could sing along to. All the best, Rec
BIAB 2022 UltraPAK, CbB, Studio One 5 Pro, Fender USA Tele, Harley Benton Fusion & others.
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Very singalong and catchy.
Yes, bring the vocal up as Greg suggested...its a good melody that will come out more.
There`s still time for a remix before the contest closes!
Robert
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Yes bringing up the vocals and thinning out the backing tracks would put this excellent song over the top for me.
You have a very good voice so put it on the top.
This is an excellent song that just needs a little polish IMHO.
Life is short so make sure you spend as much time as possible on the Internet arguing with strangers.
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Very singalong and catchy.
Yes, bring the vocal up as Greg suggested...its a good melody that will come out more.
There`s still time for a remix before the contest closes!
Robert Yes bringing up the vocals and thinning out the backing tracks would put this excellent song over the top for me.
You have a very good voice so put it on the top.
This is an excellent song that just needs a little polish IMHO. Many thanks for the comments and suggestions Robertkc and MarioD. I am working on a version 2 mix Rec
BIAB 2022 UltraPAK, CbB, Studio One 5 Pro, Fender USA Tele, Harley Benton Fusion & others.
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Nice song - agree with the comments it's a bit busy in parts - perhaps lose the pedal steel? (particularly during the guitar solo)
Nice and catchy.
Peter
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Nice song - agree with the comments it's a bit busy in parts - perhaps lose the pedal steel? (particularly during the guitar solo)
Nice and catchy.
Peter Thanks Peter, yes that's one of the changes I have made and I will be uploading a new version soon... Cheers, Rec
BIAB 2022 UltraPAK, CbB, Studio One 5 Pro, Fender USA Tele, Harley Benton Fusion & others.
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Updated mix now posted on Soundcloud (use same link as before or click here). - Removed a lot of overlaps for pedal steel, resonator and guitar. - Brought vocals forward in the mix - Other minor tweaks Rec
BIAB 2022 UltraPAK, CbB, Studio One 5 Pro, Fender USA Tele, Harley Benton Fusion & others.
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Oh yeah! That is a much cleaner mix and the gain on the vocals sounds good. FWIW, I ascribe to the notion that perfection is approached when there's nothing left to take away rather than when there's nothing left to add.
Your soundstage now allows each track to have it's own place w/o stepping on others. I think all of your efforts paid off and you have a nice song for the contest.
And like Mario said you have a nice voice...so keep it on top!
We enjoyed it!
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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As Jon Lovitt used to say "That's the ticket"!! Sounds great now. Fantastic song. Vocal sounds great-you're a great singer-don't be shy, just put it out front. Excellent mix!! Take care. Greg
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Thanks Janice, Bud and Greg for taking the time to listen to the remix and for the vote of confidence. Much appreciated Cheers Rec
BIAB 2022 UltraPAK, CbB, Studio One 5 Pro, Fender USA Tele, Harley Benton Fusion & others.
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Rec,
I enjoyed that!
Cool solo and thanks for the insights into how you did the song, nice to see how others work so's that I can adapt stuff and use myself!
great stuff
Alyn
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Rec,
Enjoyed that. Like Greg said... "this is catchy!"... terrific melody. The song itself had a feel like the California Country Rock bands - Poco comes to mind...
Nice. Smooth. A great listen...
floyd
(btw..thanks for the very nice comments on "I Love You When It Rains"... did not want to bump it again, as I had another ready to go...)
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Rec,
You`ve cracked it on the remix.Now its radio ( & contest!) ready.
Robert
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Very cool tune. Loved the lyric and vocal
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Rec,
I enjoyed that!
Cool solo and thanks for the insights into how you did the song, nice to see how others work so's that I can adapt stuff and use myself!
great stuff
Alyn Cheers Alyn. Glad you enjoyed the song and found the information useful. Rec,
Enjoyed that. Like Greg said... "this is catchy!"... terrific melody. The song itself had a feel like the California Country Rock bands - Poco comes to mind...
Nice. Smooth. A great listen...
floyd
(btw..thanks for the very nice comments on "I Love You When It Rains"... did not want to bump it again, as I had another ready to go...) Thanks a bunch Floyd for your positive comments. Quite understand re "I Love You When it Rains" and I meant every word. Rec,
You`ve cracked it on the remix.Now its radio ( & contest!) ready.
Robert Thanks a lot Robert. The competition seems to be hotting up with all the great entries from so many. I've not looked at the forum for a day or so and there's so much to catch up on! Very cool tune. Loved the lyric and vocal Cheers Scott, kind of you. Rec
BIAB 2022 UltraPAK, CbB, Studio One 5 Pro, Fender USA Tele, Harley Benton Fusion & others.
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