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Hi, floyd jane. Love the sound of this. Fresh is the word that comes to mind. And it moves - propels you along with it. Good to hear! I was trying to be a bit more "pop" than usual. I asked one of my daughters what she thought of it, and she said her foot was tapping, so that was a good thing.  I like the write. Especially the melody. Also good to hear. Since I tend to write backwards - starting at the beginning until I figure out where it ends - I can't always tell if all the parts come together. I think they do, but it's good to hear confirmation. Won't even mention how good you make those virtual singers sound. That's a given. Well, the singers have gotten incrementally better as well. Plus, I  I just wish I had the skills to craft a solo from scratch. One of many things to work on, I guess. The drums are interesting. The snare was...different. Good to experiment (many producers are using "different" snares these days). I'm not entirely sold on the "new" snare, in that it's got less punch than the prior snare. That brings the energy of the production down a bit, and the singers need all the support they can get. I kept expecting the chorus to "soar". The verse melody seemed to indicate it would. Ah, my nemesis: the chorus. The chorus sounded like a bridge to me - the melody and where it went. That happened each time.
Each time, I expected that chorus to "rise". If I were a pro, I'd have another go at this. But I've (probably) grown too attached to this version to repair it, so I'll keep that in mind for the next write. You obviously put a lot of thought into each aspect of the creation of a song. I applaud you. Thanks, I appreciate the helpful feedback!
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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David...great pop sound and very nice melody...Natalie is in fine voice...every instrument is clear and distinct...super production again!
www.soundclick.com/firesongBiaB 2024, Steinberg Cubase Pro 13, Wavelab 11.2, SpetraLayers Pro 10, Audacity, Steinberg UR44 Interface, Yamaha Genos, Roland FP60 and FP10, Windows 10 You are who you are because you do what you do because of what you believe.
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David,
I like the melody and the arrangement. I may be echoing other posters but the guitars overwhelm her vocal on my listening system. That’s my only quibble.
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Hi, Fred. I like the melody and the arrangement. I may be echoing other posters but the guitars overwhelm her vocal on my listening system. That’s my only quibble. Well, that shouldn't be happening.  I've actually got TrackSpacer (an auto-ducking plugin) on the background guitars to help prevent that from happening. I made some tweaks to the track that should help with that. Thanks for letting me know!
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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I know I listened and commented on this previously.... however, I don't think I hit the submit button... duh.
This has a nice drive to it. Lyrically, it's well done as well. The solo on the guitar is well done. Great choice of tracks. The singer has good tone.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Good ol' Nat is fine form. I was reminded at bit of Belinda Carlisle. Maybe it was the vibrato in parts.
Guitar solo sounds good to me. Super dope!
"two strangers/both choosing losing sides" --I like this line
Solid chorus.
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I didn't like the original version because of the snare, but your final mix sounds good to me. Lyrics and vocals have the expected quality and I enjoyed the listen. When Natalie sings for you, she always has a nice Karen Carpenter touch My only criticism is that while I would classify the song in the "easy listening" genre, it's a bit too "easy" for me, as it doesn't have a distinct chorus (lyrically it does, but there's no dynamics or other variety).
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Man, I truly appreciate your effort and detail, and especially the result of all that hard work. This is terrific, David. The melody and lyrics work really well, and the overall mix (as it is now) is perfect. You do an excellent job with Natalie, and thanks to you and others here she is becoming one of my favorite vocalists.
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We like the lyric rhyme scheme and like the slight changes as each verse comes along. it's a great melody and Natalie sounds excellent ... of course it should be no surprise that J&B would like the contralto range. You definitely captured the 80’s vibe and guitar solo sounds just fine to us. We love a good snare pop and work hard to achieve it so V1 of the drums was fine with us. We always enjoy the backstory. Do you give your son and daughter copyright credits? Kudos! 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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Hi, Herb. I know I listened and commented on this previously.... however, I don't think I hit the submit button... duh. Heh. I suspect I've "lost" some posts the same way. This has a nice drive to it. Lyrically, it's well done as well. The solo on the guitar is well done. Great choice of tracks. The singer has good tone. Thanks! I appreciate the kind words, and you taking the time to write them!
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Hi, Scott. Good ol' Nat is fine form. I was reminded at bit of Belinda Carlisle. Maybe it was the vibrato in parts. Good to hear! Guitar solo sounds good to me. Super dope! Ha! I think I need to get used to the idea that a song can have space where someone doesn't sing. For some reason, I think people will consider it "filler" between the lyrics. Probably because I probably put a bit too much focus on that. "two strangers/both choosing losing sides" --I like this line Thanks! Sometimes the words finally work out. Thanks for that as well. I appreciate the feedback!
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Hi, B.D. I didn't like the original version because of the snare, but your final mix sounds good to me. Cool. It's strange how a single element can shape our feelings about something. Lyrics and vocals have the expected quality and I enjoyed the listen. When Natalie sings for you, she always has a nice Karen Carpenter touch Thanks! That's the main reason I choose Natalie - she's got "that" sound. My only criticism is that while I would classify the song in the "easy listening" genre, it's a bit too "easy" for me, as it doesn't have a distinct chorus (lyrically it does, but there's no dynamics or other variety). Noted, I'll see what I can do in the future. Thanks for stopping by to post.
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Hi, Marty. Man, I truly appreciate your effort and detail, and especially the result of all that hard work. Well, all that doesn't amount to much if it doesn't work...  Although that's not really accurate, is it? Almost every failure (and success) can be looked at afterward to see where things went wrong, and perhaps serve as a guide for future attempts. And I still go back to older songs on a regular basis and see if I've learned enough to fix problems. Sometimes it works, other times it just reminds me I've got a lot to learn. This is terrific, David. The melody and lyrics work really well, and the overall mix (as it is now) is perfect. You do an excellent job with Natalie, and thanks to you and others here she is becoming one of my favorite vocalists. Thanks!
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Hi, Janice and Bud. We like the lyric rhyme scheme and like the slight changes as each verse comes along. Thanks! it's a great melody and Natalie sounds excellent ... of course it should be no surprise that J&B would like the contralto range. It's a great place to be able to sing. Lucky you! You definitely captured the 80’s vibe and guitar solo sounds just fine to us. We love a good snare pop and work hard to achieve it so V1 of the drums was fine with us. I'm glad someone liked it other than me! We always enjoy the backstory. I actually cut that backstory way down because the forum wasn't letting me post it. I thought it was because it was too long, but it turned out to be a mis-matched tag. Luckily, nothing important got lost in the edit. There's a probably a moral there, if I bothered to look... Do you give your son and daughter copyright credits? No, but they get a quarter of the profits! Praise and honor accepted, thanks!
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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David,
As long as I only listened to this work, it really caught my attention easily.
Natalie is also very natural and the melodies are very approachable.
So, I was surprised when I read about your production process.
I was impressed by how hard the work was being done.
I felt that I would not be able to do the same thing.
I really enjoyed listening to it.
Best Regards.
Shigeki Adachi
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Hi David. This is outstanding. You've really set a very high bar indeed when it comes to achieving realism from vocaloids. I've got a long, long way to go! I'm really grateful for your detailing all your work and all your plug-ins. I struggle a lot with mixing and getting the 'best' out of my arrangements. I've picked up some excellent insights here. In the words of Synth V, "th ae ng k y uw" --Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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Hi, Shigeki. Natalie is also very natural and the melodies are very approachable. Thanks! It was very kind of you to go back and find this song. So, I was surprised when I read about your production process.
I was impressed by how hard the work was being done.
I felt that I would not be able to do the same thing. Just because I have problems doesn't mean someone else would. I have a feeling anything you tried would be fantastic. I really enjoyed listening to it. I can't ask for more than that.
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Hi, Noel. This is outstanding. You've really set a very high bar indeed when it comes to achieving realism from vocaloids. I've got a long, long way to go! That's a nice thing to say, but I've heard the songs you've posted, and they say otherwise. I'm really grateful for your detailing all your work and all your plug-ins. I struggle a lot with mixing and getting the 'best' out of my arrangements. I've picked up some excellent insights here. I'm glad someone learns from my mistakes! In the words of Synth V, "th ae ng k y uw" Although SynthV would actually say "y ao r w eh l k ax m".
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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David, I like the melody and Natalie does a fine job with it. The production is great and the guitar solo is perfect. I like the drums but of course I lean towards loud drums. Well done, Tom
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You have a talent for melody. The mix sounds perfect, to my ears - though, as you know, I'm not a "technical specialist", haha - I can only go by my own ears, and they tell me the mix is fine as it is . Where this song does shine, I think, is the melody and storytelling. Natalie shines, here, also ... whatever you've done to her voice to make her sing like this, keep doing it And, again, the writing itself is stellar. Thumbs up from me
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