Dark Clouds

I've not been around much lately ... Di's relentless Drs' appointments plus having a new house built. I've only commented on half a dozen songs, or so, lately but will attempt to do more listening and commenting over the next couple of weeks, hopefully longer.

This is a song ... a power Blues guitar instrumental ... I put together a while back. Open to any and all suggestions/comments. Thanks in advance. Please be safe ...

Alan


File:Dark Clouds.SGU

Key=Dm , Tempo 65, Length (m:s)=3:11


Song is saved with Volume, Pan, Reverb, Chorus, Bank0,

Song is saved with bar changes for Volume Changes,

Style is _MAIZE.STY (Maize Americana Power Bal Solo)

BassCustom Synth is Synth/Plugin Loaded
DrumsCustom Synth is Synth/Plugin Loaded
PianoCustom Synth is Synth/Plugin Loaded
GuitarCustom Synth is Synth/Plugin Loaded
StringsCustom Synth is Synth/Plugin Loaded

RealTracks in style: 2877:Bass, Acoustic, AmericanaSlow16thsByron Ev16 060
RealTracks in song: 3336:Piano, Electric, Rhythm LoungeFunkJeff Ev16 080
RealTracks in style: 2879:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm AmericanaSparseSlow16thsColin Ev16 060
RealTracks in style: 3438:Guitar, Electric, Soloist BritPsycPopBallad Ev 065
RealTracks in song: 1841:Synth Pad, PopModernGrooveHigh Ev16 075
RealDrums [in Song:RockTexas^4-a:HiHat, b:LooseHat4x4

** This style was originally an Americana genre, but I replaced several instruments to get the bluesy sound I was looking for. It sounds quite a bit different than the original BIAB style. That's one of the great things about BIAB ... it's versatility and capabilities for customizing an original sound.

That's a cool tune. It's the kind of song that makes me want to grab my guitar, dial up a boutique hi-gain model and wail away.

Well done.

Sounds great to me!

Hi Alan,

Indeed, a long time since. I missed you on the forum and commenting my songs. I thought I must have done something wrong, but you were only building yourself a new house. Quite a relief. Except Di's problems. I hope things are going well now(?). And they must be, because you made a very cool/strong song with Dark Clouds, although the title points at the opposite. i hope that is not the case.

About the song: As I mentioned, very cool or strong. The leadguitar played the stars from the sky. I mean that! There is only one thing I miss in this beautiful song. Vocals! When the song starts I immediately started humming. All the time the song continued, I heard that dark raspy voice singing about his lady. But without that it is still that beautifull song I mentioned before.
Very well done!

Keep building and send Di my best wishes,
Hans

Very good to hear from you again! I myself also had a break from this forum because of some unfortunate circumstances.

This song is really pleasant to the ears.. nicely mixed and produced - I enjoyed listening and I hope many more tracks will be uploaded from you!

Thanks for sharing!
Will

Hiya Al, great to hear you again buddy, this is fabulous. Lovely melody and I just love your playing. Great stuff

Superb playing, as always; a real pleasure to listen to.
Regards,
Leon

A beautifully crafted piece of music Alan. The guitar sounds brilliant.
I'm glad you're back at the forum.
I hope Di is feeling ok.
Best wishes,
Mike

Sounds very moreish. Perhaps even Gary Moore-ish. Nice guitar tones well strung together.

Alan,

WOW. That sounds good!

Every aspect of this is a stand-out.
The drums sound great - loud and proud, but not overdone.
The bass is warm AND punchy - a great combination.
The synth pad is perfectly mixed - "just there".

And what a SWEET guitar! Can we assume the entire thing is the BritPsycPopBallad? Did you add processing to the RT? It sits perfectly in the mix. And it sounds amazingly "coherent" - like it was performed JUST for this piece.

The mix is outlandishly good. I've already listened several times and plan to listen several more...

You create instrumentals that are WORTH listening to...

Awesome.

fj

Just fabulous, Alan.

It's as though you knew exactly what I liked and then set out to create it!

I can't find fault with anything - the chord sequence, the instrumentation,
the mix and that haunting guitar are all just right.

When it gets dark, I'm gonna play that again with the lights down low. In fact,
I'm gonna put it on repeat play.

The new house sounds exciting - will we get photos?
Take care, old friend and all the best to Di as well.
Stay safe.
ROG

A great feel, Alan. Good luck with your house. We're building too and were supposed to be done early May. Hmm. Keep 'em coming. You never disappoint.

Just hauntingly beautiful band and the solo guitarist is amazing, difficult to believe this is coming from BIAB - and of course your chords and mixing makes it even more radio friendly ear candy, this should be the Band-in-a-Box theme song or at least one to market it!

Janne

Alan,

A guitar players song... Outstanding!

Bob

Nice arrangement. Great instrumentation. Sounds like Pink Floyd. Well done.

Hi Herb ...

Thank you so much. I kind of modeled this after Gary Moore's "Still Got The Blues". But I made it just a busier and increased the tempo a bit. I didn't put quite as much distortion on the guitar, either. As I said, his song was inspiration ... didn't want it to sound too much like his ... just a slight reference.

Thanks for the nice comments ... much appreciated. Be safe, my friend.

Alan

Thanks, David. Glad to hear ya liked it. Best to you. Please be safe.

Alan

Hans, it's always a pleasure to hear from you ... thanks for your very nice comments.

I wish I had the strong, grizzly voice to sing a Blues like this. My vocals are more suited to Pop-Country and Ballads. Again, many thanks for your very kind comments! Wishing you the very best ...

Alan

Hello Will ...

I truly hope your unfortunate circumstances have improved. It was great to hear from you!

Thank you for those nice words. I appreciate them very much. Wishing you the very best. Be safe ...

Alan

HI Graham ...

It's always a true pleasure to hear from my very favorite accordionist of all time.

Thank you so much for the very nice and supportive comments. I always appreciate your input. Wishing you and Kay the very best. Please be safe.

Alan

Hello Leon ...

So nice to hear from you! Thanks for taking a few minutes to listen and comment so very nicely. Best to you and please be safe ...

Alan

Hi Mike ...

Thank you so much for dropping in for a listen. I'm very happy to like the song. You're a very talented man and your input is always valuable to me. I've already passed on your greeting to Di. She said to tell you she appreciates it very much ... so do I!

And best wishes to you. Be safe ...

Alan

Hi Brian ...

You hit the nail on the head. I developed this song with Gary Moore in mind. I wish I had his vocal skills for these hard-hitting Blues numbers. Unfortunately, that's not the case. Otherwise, I;d have written a lyric and put a long instrumental riff in the middle.

Thanks for the great comments. Please be safe and stay safe ...

Alan

Hi Floyd ...

As always, your comments are much too kind. But I sure do appreciate reading them.

This one came together pretty easily... about 8 hours total from inception to finished ... well, as finished as a song ever gets for me.

The most difficult part of the song was settling on the loop I wanted for the "storm wind" I wanted at the beginning and then gently throughout the rest of the song, with a little more prominence on the choruses. I previewed 15 or more before settling on the one I used.

Actually, the only track from the BritPsycPopBallad style I used was the Solo Guitar. I kept the original Bass, EP, and Rhythm Guitar. I dropped the original drums and found the ones I used (Texas Rock) and then I introduced the Synth and Loop that you hear. So, it's an amalgamation I used for this hybrid sound.

On the solo guitar track, I added some chorus echo/delay. Not a lot, just enough for four or five quickly decaying repeats. I mixed it fairly wet and cut back on the reverb from the BIAB mixer. That's all I did. I was very happy with the results.

As far as mixing, I think you know that the closest thing I use to a DAW is Audacity. I recorded straight from the BIAB Chord Input sheet to Audacity and did some minor fine tuning there. From there I saved it as a high bit-rate MP3 and a Wave file. That was my entire production process ... no 3rd party loops or tracks, no fx/embellishment from outside BIAB, no external mixer. Just straight forward recording off the chord input sheet into Audacity.

I'm delighted you liked the final product. It's one of my recent favorites. Again, many thanks!

You and yours take care and be safe ...

Alan

Very nice, Alan, guitar sounds great!

Cool intro, something a little different. Nice progression and mix too.

Good to see you with a new song, and good luck with the new house!

Al, you and a couple of the jazz guys here are absolute masters at putting together RT/RD tracks that sound like a well honed band that's played together for a while.

This is a great example of that. A BiaB showcase on the showcase forum.

Excellent and you know we love the blues!! Terrific choice of tracks.

Best to both of you. Be safe.

J&B

Alan, that sounds great! These instrumentals you’ve been posting are all carefully crafted and top notch. Tom

A guitarist song for sure.

This is so good it should be used in a BiaB ad.

Great work on this masterpiece.

Hi ROG ...

I'm delighted you enjoyed the song. Thanks for letting me know. I appreciate all those very nice comments! You said you couldn't find a single fault ... that's a particularly breathtaking comment from you ... you being a Music Professor. I'm so humbled by your comment!

Will post a link to the house. The link is to one very similar to the one we're having built. Ours is the same model but with upgrades that add about $30,000.00 to the cost. It should be finished near the end of December. Here's that link:

https://www.zillow.com/community/bakers-farm/2080274211_zpid/

Again, Many thanks. Wishing you and yours the very best. Please be safe ...

Alan & DI

Very, very nice, Alan! I can't think of anything wrong with this one. Very well arranged, the mix is spot on. And very enjoyable, easy to listen to!

I pray that Di is doing well! Glad to hear about your new house. I hope it brings a lot of joy and a fresh start to you and Di in many ways!

Blessings to you, my friend...

Steve

Hi Marty ...

Thank you so much! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed your listen.

And good luck with your new house, too. We're looking at a December or January closing date.

Best to you ... be safe.

Alan

Hi Janne ...

You are so kind with your comments. Thank you very much!

"Hauntingly beautiful" ... I really like that. Thanks so much. And that would be really cool for BIAB to use it in such a manner!

Wishing you everything good. Be safe ...

Alan

Bob ...

You humble me. Thank you. Those few words are thrilling to read. Take care and be safe ...

Alan

Hello ...

Thank you very much for all the kindness! I can see a little bit of the Pink Floyd reference. I actually had Gary Moore in mind as I was putting this together. I added a little more higher EQ than he typically uses, but I wanted the lead to "bite" just a bit. Also, i think this is a just a tad busier in places than he might have done it. But it wasn't my objective to mimic him ... just use his playing as a loose reference.

Again, many thanks for the very nice comments. Wishing you the best and be safe ...

Alan

HI Dave ...

Many thanks for the really nice comments. Sure do appreciate them ... seriously. I was just playing around with the drums and kinda liked how they sounded and thought it might be a nice change to let them get this out the door. Glad it works for you. Thanks for the comments on the house.

Wishing you the best. Please be safe ...

ALan

Hey Folks ...

Those are some mighty gratifying words coming from you. Very humbling and so much appreciated. I think "master", on my part might be a reach, but I aspire toward that goal with my simple recording process. But I work like heck to get the best I can with those self-imposed limitations.

And all the very best to you folks, too ...

Alan

PS: Di says "Hi Guys!"

Tom ...

Many, many thanks for that. Due to my inability to grasp the DAW environment, along with the technical mixing and mastering tools, I have to work very hard to get an acceptable product. Sometimes it works out pretty good. But, dang, I try like heck every time!

Wishing you the very best. Ya'll take care and be safe.

ALan

Hi Mario...

Hope all is well way up there where you are. And thank you so much for that encouragement and support. It means a lot from a gifted talent such as yourself. And yeah, it would be nice to hear this in a BIAB ad ... but I'm not very good at holding my breath!!!

Thanks again. Take care and be safe, my friend ...

Alan

Hello Steve ...

Thank you so very much for all those wonderful words! You pout a smile on my face and a lump in my throat. You are one of the very best talents on the site ... your comments resonate strongly with me. I think you again.

Also, DI and I appreciate the prayers and your well wished. She's actually doing a bit better. We're overjoyed and thankful for every little blessing we get.

Wishing you and yours the very best ...

Alan

I was waiting for Gary Moore to start singing. the guitar stings in the best way.
Also a touch or two of The Thrill Is Gone too.
Maize? That's an odd style name - were they being sarcastic with it being "corn"?
COOL.

Super job putting this together Alan! You have such a great feel for bringing the right realtracks together to give a tune that polished feel that you certainly achieved with this one! Thanks, T

Really nice track. This is what I love about the forum. I get exposed to styles, sounds, RT's that I wouldn't normally gravitate to. Your work is top-notch, the 'engineering' and the playing.

I liked that harmonic "climb" into the bridge!

Nice mix. Everything is placed well and I can pick out each instrument with my questionable hearing. Love the soaring and gliding feel of this.

You're guitar lead sounds awesome!

Hello Al-David,

Splentid musical piece. The lead guitar is very melodious with a very airy arrangement. Nice soundtrack.


Dero13 alias JaniJackFlash

Hello Ray ...

Many thanks for your very nice comments. I'm a huge Gary Moore fan ... we lost a good one when he died. Wish I had his guitar licks and voice! And yeah ... I, too, thought that was a really odd descriptive name for the style. Guess ya gotta name it something!

Thanks again. Be safe ...

Alan

Hi Torrey ...

You are very kind with your comments. And I do appreciate them very much. I'm delighted you enjoyed the song. Thanks for letting me know.

Wishing you the best. Be safe ...

Alan

Hi Tano ...

Thanks for the time to listen and comment so nicely. And I fully agree ... the exposure we get to such a broad spectrum of music on this forum is enlightening and, honestly, quite thrilling. And thank you so much for the very kind words. I appreciate them very much.

Wishing you well. Be safe ...

Alan

Hi Ez ...

I'm delighted this one sits nicely in your ears. The comment about you being able to pick out each track is particularly appreciated as I use a very primitive method of recording. Again, thanks so much.

Wishing you the very best. Be safe ...

Alan

Hi SD ...

So nice to hear from. So good to see you back on the forum. I only wish that were me playing. It's a great BIAB RT. I just molded and massaged it a bit.

Thanks for the listen and very nice comment.

Best to you. Be safe ...

Alan

Good Evening, Dero13. I sure do appreciate those very kind comments. I appreciate the listen and taking time to leave your nice words.

Best to you. Be safe ...

Alan

Sweet, sweet blues. Superbly done.

This is right down my alley, I spent decades listening to nothing but blues and this really hits home for me. Excellent work, my friend!

Another cool instrumental!! I know and LOVE that band!! Nicely done Alan!! Take care. Greg

Loved the powerful energy coming out of this tune. Great guitar tone and awesome feel. Really great!

pumped and bustling guitar!!! The side effects, I'm not sure what they are, can be somewhat distracting. Love the song, Cliff

Loved it Alan. This style really speaks to me. Great playing and arranging.