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Tryin'

Tryin’ was one of our earliest co-writes with floyd. Five years ago he used my lyric as a template for teaching the two of us some of the songwriting techniques he had learned over the years. What was to be a bit of a learning exercise became a real musical journey for us as he also suggested the strings, developed the melody, transformed the lyric and sang harmony. Most flattering was that he recorded a guy version of the song smile

The forum was much smaller then and we thought newer folks might like to hear the song so we undertook a complete re-mix that consisted of all new effects on each track and a new mastering chain. We also did considerable work comping new versions of the fiddle and cello track. We doubled the vocal track with new effects to get a bit more presence as it was originally with a USB mic into GarageBand. And floyd offered some great mix counsel.

So huge thanks to floyd for then and now and thanks to those who take the time to listen and comment. We appreciate you!
Lyrics are on the SC page.

The techie stuff

Janice: lead vocal (original track doubled and stacked with differing Nectar 2 custom settings). Recorded via Blue USB mic into GarageBand.

floyd: harmony vocal / whatever the man did

Mandolin: composite of multiple generations of RTs 1875/2033 / Waves CLA Guitar

Guitar: RT 1814 / Waves CLA Unplugged

Cello: composite of multiple generations of RT 1856 / Logic Direction Mixer / Neutron 2 / EMT 140 Plate Reverb simulation

Fiddle: RT 1760 / Waves CLA Unplugged

Mix: Logic Pro X
Mastering: Waves Multi-Band Compressor (LinMB) / Ozone 8 Maximizer (limiter)


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Janice, Bud & floyd

Well that was simply gorgeous.
Where to start - The vocals and harmony were simply top class (as expected - your voices mesh so well),
beautiful melody, a nice set of lyrics and a wonderful mix. The mandolin was lovely, and all the band sounds great and the overall sound and production was superb.
Master craftsmen at work.

Peter

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Great song, great sound, great singer(s). Tasteful and tasty instrumentation and fills. Production in the goldilocks zone, to my ears. Very, very nice.


BIAB 2021 Audiophile. Windows 10 64bit. Songwriter, lyricist, composer(?) loving all styles. Some pre-BIAB music from Farfetched Tangmo Band's first CD. https://alonetone.com/tangmo/playlists/close-to-the-ground
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Originally Posted By: PeterF
Janice, Bud & floyd

Well that was simply gorgeous.
Where to start - The vocals and harmony were simply top class (as expected - your voices mesh so well),
beautiful melody, a nice set of lyrics and a wonderful mix. The mandolin was lovely, and all the band sounds great and the overall sound and production was superb.
Master craftsmen at work.

Peter


Peter, those kind remarks are much appreciated. Makes us feel like the revisit was a worthwhile project. Thank you!

J&B


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The two voices sound perfect together.
Sweet song and sweet arrangement.


Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
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Loving it here - everything about this is so beautifully done.

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Thanks for the repost, I was here back then but wasn't very active so missed it the first time.

First of all a very good song.

And man, those vocals sound fabulous! Two great singers of course, but the vocal treatment is superb. Are you using a bit more reverb than you normally do? I couldn't imagine them possibly sounding better, well done.

Killer job on the production and mix, one of your best IMHO.

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Originally Posted By: Tangmo
Great song, great sound, great singer(s). Tasteful and tasty instrumentation and fills. Production in the goldilocks zone, to my ears. Very, very nice.


Thank you! This was a fun project then and now. Glad you liked it!

J&B


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That`s such a good melody! Janice & Floyd`s voices are both very " present" so whatever you did on the vocal processing is just right.
I enjoyed everything about this... the combination of cello with country fiddle is unusual and you made it work.
Another gem well worth the new shine you`ve all given it!

Robert

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Originally Posted By: rayc
The two voices sound perfect together.
Sweet song and sweet arrangement.


Thanks Ray! They have blended well since day one.

Bud


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Wow, this is a very nice piece of music. Wonderful vocals - and the mixing of the music is outstanding good.

Really, really enjoyed this!

Will

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Gorgeous song guys, top pro vocals!
Those multiple takes of the mandolin surely worked out!

Rob


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Originally Posted By: Sundance
Loving it here - everything about this is so beautifully done.



Great to hear from you! Thanks for the nice words.

J&B


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Originally Posted By: BlueAttitude
Thanks for the repost, I was here back then but wasn't very active so missed it the first time.

First of all a very good song.

And man, those vocals sound fabulous! Two great singers of course, but the vocal treatment is superb. Are you using a bit more reverb than you normally do? I couldn't imagine them possibly sounding better, well done.

Killer job on the production and mix, one of your best IMHO.


Thanks Dave. I doubled the track and stacked the two. The top track has my usual amount of reverb while the bottom track amongst other things (one being a little "tape" saturation) adds a bit of delay. Something I've been experimenting with this year. All is added via Nectar 2.

Very glad you liked the production!!

J&B


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Fantastic, so nice to hear a perfect arrangement/mix, so simple but still very lush and the cello is distinguishable & nicely panned, something to chase after. Superb vocals. Has modern Irish folk feeling, reminds me of the Corrs.

Janne


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Another very nice song from you folks! A tip of the hat to everyone involved! Such a beautiful sound with crystal clear audio quality which is something you always seem to accomplish great performances also! Thanks, T

Last edited by Torrey Bliss; 09/30/18 09:04 AM.
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Loved your lyric idea, using the idea of trying, so imaginative, and common to everyone...and how you used the repeat of "I'm tryin'" melodically, very, very nice.

I noticed how you kept the chord chart very simple so that all the other elements--melody, vocal, instrumentation, could step forward and not be complicated by tricky changes...a real hallmark of sound composition judgement!

Everything about the track is top-notch! Congrats on a real jewel!


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What a great sound! Am I talking about any one instrument, all of the instruments, or vocals? YES! It's clean and GREAT warmth.

I really like the variety of effects which, to me, makes things stand out while maintaining blend! What?! YES! Thank you for "going there" with the effects mix.

I did not hear the original; but I loved what I heard with this.

I will admit, when I first saw that you didn't include the lyrics I was a little bummed that you maybe forgot. Then in listening I was actually made aware of two things.

1-I couldn't read ahead of the melody...which is really nice; and actually pretty natural to how you normally might experience a song.

2-When it's mixed and performed really well, they aren't needed. You can simply understand every word! What a concept.

Vocals...I've got nothin' to say. They speak for themselves. (REALLY great!)

The instrumentation is what I love to hear. VERY present; never in the way. It's orchestrated, arranged and executed well. A really nice job in knowing "when to" and "when not to." It really makes all the difference.

I will stop gushing now.

Tryin'? Ah...no. Succeeded!


Chad (Hope that makes it easier)

TEMPO TANTRUM: What a lead singer has when they can't stay in time.
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What cool intro. Such a pretty vocal and harmony. Super collaboration. Production is first class. Just a lovely song...


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Originally Posted By: Robertkc
That`s such a good melody! Janice & Floyd`s voices are both very " present" so whatever you did on the vocal processing is just right.
I enjoyed everything about this... the combination of cello with country fiddle is unusual and you made it work.
Another gem well worth the new shine you`ve all given it!

Robert


Thank you Robert. We also appreciate you mentioning the fiddle. I had originally something with more of a formal violin sound but could get it to work.

J&B


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