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A new original song which is influenced by many traditional folk ditties which tell of tragedy at sea. Apart from the vocals, guitar solo & the waves at the end, everything else is a Realtrack. Enjoy. RCKWLZM.STY: RealDrums 778 - Ac Bass 861 - Elec Guitar 858 - Elec Guitar 856 - 12st Guitar POPWLZLZ2.STY: 1188 - Ac Piano 1179 - Fiddle RCKWALTZ.STY: 860 - Elec Guitar BZSLWLZ.STY: RT2214 - Bouzouki https://soundcloud.com/andyshearer-1/the-maidens-tale
Last edited by Andyman; 06/26/20 01:52 AM.
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Great job, and so true to the genre. I liked everything about this--vocal harmonies were real nice, and well-placed. Excellent solo. In your lyric, the interior rhyming (within any given line) worked so well. Overall a top-notch composition and production. Thanks for putting this out there. Enjoyed it all.
Windows 11, Intel Core i5-8600T 2.3Ghz, 16 gig ram, BIAB 2025 MegaPak, SampleTank 4, Keystation49 Kybd, Neewer NW-800 mic
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EXCELLENT.
There's an occasional war between the vocal and the snare triggered reverb.
Your vocals are a treat.
There are some points where the vocal is quite aggressive - beginning of phrases mainly - that could use a little automation to address or a faster compressor.
The solo is ace but seems to be in a different room from the song...mismatch of reverb? Too much wet delay?
No matter - this is a cracker.
Cool.
Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
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Apprentice
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Thanks for the positive feedback, rayc.
I take your point about mismatch of reverb for the guitar solo and it maybe because of the echo effect I added using Audacity. I may spend a bit of time tweaking the live tracks at a later date. I'll reduce the echo on the guitar and take some reverb off the snare. Glad to hear you liked the song.
Last edited by Andyman; 06/24/20 02:50 PM.
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Expert
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Expert
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Haunting. Great example of the musical simplicity of the genre with well-chosen embellishments to enhance to mood.
A tragic tale well told, particularly the last verse -- she still sees her lover, yet not quite.
ProTools; Ableton Live Lite; Reaper
Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 MK4 interface
Novation Launchkey 61 Mk4 midi controller
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Thanks for listening. Glad you liked it.
I meant to make the last verse ambiguous. Maybe she's a ghost who reappears whenever there is a storm ?
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I confess I missed the ambiguity. Must listen to it again.
ProTools; Ableton Live Lite; Reaper
Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 MK4 interface
Novation Launchkey 61 Mk4 midi controller
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Terrific job, I listen to a lot of music played at renaissance faires and this would fit right in. Liked the solo, and everything else about this one.
Windows 11, Intel Core I5 10400, 16 gig ram, Scarlett 2i2, Sony Acid Music Studio 10, BIAB 2020 UltraPlus Pak
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Excellent choice of orchestration, and the choice of material is perfect to further demonstrate the enormous power that this program can deliver in the right hands.
Fantastic lyrics - no question, and the guitar break slots in just so well.
Great job, really great - start to finish, especially liked the waves at the end.
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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Brilliant. Really enjoyed the song. Lyrics, melody, backing and harmony just perfect
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A good tale well written in a style I enjoy. I like your vocal timbre and phrasing ( though not completely convinced the double vocal, which I think goes throughout, wouldn`t be better used on just the refrain).
An excellent instrumental choice- the guitar solo especially well suited ( ok, I agree with RayC the reverb needs a tweak to make it gel.)
Excellent work - there`s not enough trad. folk on the forum - its good to hear someone who has a feel for the genre.
Robert
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Journeyman
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Excellent. Everything in this is consistently high quality, nothing to detract from the perfectly captured traditional folk feel. It has a very nice feel, beginning, middle and end, and the waves were definitely a nice touch. The guitar solo was excellent, and as noted, just at the right place. Great work, and outstanding use of BIAB.
Ed Z Soundcloud profile https://soundcloud.com/user-415064494BIAB user since 2019 iPad Mini, Garageband for iOS, BIAB for Windows 2020 UltraPAK, Xtra Styles packs 6-9, Windows 10 Lenovo PC, Kontakt Player, SpitFire LABS, SampleTank 4 CS, some Soundfonts
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Many thanks for the positive comments including the constructive critiques. All of them are helpful and are much appreciated. So much so that I may come back to this song at a later date and have a bash at tackling one or two of the points that were highlighted. I felt good about this song while I was recording it as I'm quite fond and familiar with the genre, but as is always the case, there are always improvements to be made which don't reveal themselves immediately.
I think that I might even try writing more songs in this style in the future.
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Really well done, Andy. I like when hearing a song when I can close my eyes and see the performers on stage. Really well sung and that solo is absolutely perfect.
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Thanks Marty. Glad you liked the guitar solo. Until BIAB came along, I was much better known as a guitarist than a singer or a songwriter. It's definitely helped me to develop some other skills.
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Andy,
very, VERY good composition, lyrics, vocals, everything! One of the best "new" folk theme tunes I have heard in long time. Thank you for sharing!
Misha.
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Andy,
Very well done. Seldom hear anyone truly capture the genre so well.
A solid write, true to the style.
The backing tracks are appropriate, as well.
And surprising how well that solo guitar fit in.
Nice vocals and harmonies.
Cool ending.
fj
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You put those "many traditional ditties" influences to great use. The excellent vocals and image rich write are backed up by an outstanding selection of RealTracks. Did you put any additional processing on the guitar solos? They fit in really well. Also the fiddle ... it seems to have just a hint of overdrive on it. In a good way. It's likley just the cool way it all fits together in the mix or my aging ears  Really nice! J&B
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Andy, this is really great work! It's like I've stumbled across a missing Gordon Lightfoot cut! Great job on that guitar solo also! Thanks, Torrey
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Many thanks J&B.
I used the 'Sweet Lead' effect from my 8-Track Boss BR-864 Digital Studio for the guitar solo, which was played on my Strat Plus DX. I chose that effect because I wanted it to really stand out, and I think the reason that worked so well was because it has a completely different reverb setting to the Realtracks. I also added a slight echo effect to the Strat solo using Audacity to add an extra dimension to the sound.
I used a Boss VE-20 for the main vocal and the harmony with a modest amount of echo for the majority of the song, but I then added more echo using Audacity for certain words or phrases (eg. "Now he's gone" and "Now she's gone" at the end of each verse).
The Boss VE-20 is a pretty low end piece of kit, and I don't always use it, but I guess it's okay for certain songs.
It's funny that you should mention the apparent overdrive on the fiddle because I wondered where that had come from myself at first. I found it particularly noticeable in the section between the end of the 2nd verse and the guitar solo, but then I realised that it is because I had increased the volume of it ever so slightly to cut through the Realtracks gritty rhythm guitar which comes in during the build up to the solo. At first I thought that I'd exceeded peak amplitude, but the volume meters didn't go into the red so I decided to leave it as it is.
I was also very happy with the transition from the relatively powerful solo section and the last verse which begins softly with just piano and bouzouki, but the most satisfying part is the point where the acoustic bass and percussion are re-introduced during the second line of the last verse.
When I tried it, I was pleasantly surprised how something that seemed so insignificant could have such a dramatic effect.
The ability to get good results by being creative and experimenting with different styles and Realtracks is a constant source of inspiration for me using BIAB.
Last edited by Andyman; 06/28/20 02:07 PM.
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