Tropical Fire

A little something I threw together last night on a whim. I have no more than 3 hours, total, invested in this. So, it probably needs a tweak or two. I think the sound ended up somewhere between Carlos Santana and Joe Satriana. Let me know if you agree or not. It's Latin-Jazz-Rock. Open to all comments/suggestions. Thanks in advance


File:Tropical Fire.SGU

Key=Cm , Tempo 145, Length (m:s)=3:51

Song is saved with Volume, Pan, Reverb, Chorus, Bank0,
Song is saved with bar changes for Volume Changes,
Style is _GAVEL.STY (Gavel Funk Rock Fusion)

RealTracks in style: 2609:Bass, Electric, ClassicFunkRootFiveAlex Ev 130
RealTracks in song: 1409:Piano, SynthLayer, Rhythm Soul70sSteady Ev16 100
RealTracks in song: 1771:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm JazzFunkMovinMuted Ev16 130
RealTracks in style: 3060:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm SwampyFunkJoe Ev16 110
Loop in Song: Drums\CongasEv8[single]
RealTracks in song: 1722:Guitar, Electric, Soloist TexasBluesRockStraightSol Ev 120
RealDrums [in style:JazzFunkMovin^2-a:Snare, HiHat , b:Snare, Ride


I changed out the left channel rhythm guitar and the EP from the original style. I added the lead guitar, as there was none with the original style, and the congas. By doing so, I changed the sound from Rock Fusion to Latin-Jazz-Rock. I wasn't sure if the 1722 RT lead guitar was gonna work. I was pleasantly surprised after 3 or 4 attempts and kept it. I got lucky! It was stretch from 130 bpms to 145 bpms.

That rock n grooves along very nicely - well chosen lead - it's stretching seems to have made it better.
there's some string noise (?) top right that could be reduced a little if you've the timeand inclination.
A cool melange.
Well done.

Lots of movement, color, Dynamics, energy to your track I'm not. Sounded great! One thing I paid attention to--it's kind of a repeating song format, but you kept every repetition of the pattern interesting.

Cool stuff, Alan. More Satriani than Santana I think, Carlos doesn't play this fast.

But yeah, great groove, I like it.

Lots of movement, color, Dynamics, energy to your track I'm not. Sounded great! One thing I paid attention to--it's kind of a repeating song format, but you kept every repetition of the pattern interesting.

Alan,

SWEET!

A great listen. A nice balance - good mix. Although there were times that I wanted Carlos to step up and put a little "breathe" into it... But, in the regard, it was properly titled.

No one does this kind of thing better than you!

fj

Not a bad outcome for 3 hours work! I liked it. The track has a lot of dynamic movements... it is far from Santana's style in my opinion, but good in it is own right!


Thanks a lot for sharing!
Will

The Fast and The Furious: Extended Guitar Solo Edition.

Fun listen.

I have tried to use that track (RT 1722) without much success but you really got Mr. BListerFingers fitting perfectly in with the band. Nice work!

Oh Yeah ..... It got my mojo workin'
I was waiting for Michael Shrieve to show up.
Nice.

Hi Ray ...

Many thanks for the time to listen and comment. I'm considering a revisit. I'll check out that string noise if I do. Also, I think I might slow the tempo by 5 or 6 bpm ... not much, just to let the lead guitar breathe a little better.

Again, many thanks. best to you & yours. Be safe ...

Alan

Good Morning, Tano ...

I appreciate the listen and really nice comments. I did try to vary the verses just a touch in an attempt to avoid a listening redundancy. I played around with a few loops to better accent the choruses, but everything I tried sound too "busy". But if I revisit this, which I'm inclined to do as soon as I get a chance, I'll look at more ways to add a touch more variation along the way.

Thanks for the observation. Much appreciated. Best to you & yours. Please be safe ...

Alan

Hi Dave ...

yeah, I think you're right about it being closer to Satriani. I'm thinking about a revisit when I can, If so, I'm probably gonna slow it down a few bpms. Not too much, maybe 5 or 6 bpms. That'll still keep closer to Satriani than Santana, but it might open a little more "clear space" for the lead guitar. Thanks again.

Best to you. Please be safe ...

Alan

hey Floyd ...

Thanks so much for the listen and your input. I'll probably do another take on this sometime pretty soon. I'll try to give the lead guitar a little more room. Thanks so much for the very comments. wishing you and yours the very best and please be safe.

Alan

Hi Alan,

That took me straight back to when I bought Santana's Abraxas album on
vinyl back in 1970.

I think you had it just right when you said Santana/Satriana. Very much
in the Santana style with a bit more intricacy and speed from Joe.

I've been a fan of both for years, so I was always going to love this track.
Nice work for only three hours!

Hey, the house details looked great - keep me up to speed with the project.

Stay safe both of you.

Best, ROG.

Loved the backtrack on this. I got the Santana vibe as well. Guitar was smokin. Excellent playing Alan. Well done

Sounds good, Alan. I really like the Latin feel. Moving.

Oh yeah! And pushing that solo guitar to at or near what I would assume is the BPM limit worked really well. No artifacts and FAST!

You do such an amazing job with RD's and RT's.

Good one for the sync libraries!

Best to ya'll. Be safe.

J&B

Hi ROG ...

Thanks so much! I'm excited to know I tapped into your "musical heart" with this one. That suggests I might have gotten some of this right. And has been mentioned, the tempo is a bit fast for a typical Carlos Santana song ... and perhaps a little more complex than his straight forward approach.

Glad you liked the links to the future house ... maybe by December. We're looking forward to it!

Thanks again. Wishing you and yours the very best. Please be safe, my friend.

Alan

Hi Scott ...

Thanks so much for the listen and comments. Glad it works for you. I only wish I could play as good as that RT! back a few years, before I "acquired" this disease (focal dystonia) that significantly has deteriorated my playing abilities, i was a pretty decent player ... made a real nice playing for a lot of years. I might be able to play nearly as good back then, but I appreciate the opportunities that has back then. I just appreciate what remaining skills I have. It's all good!

Best to you. Take care and be safe ...

Alan

Hey Marty ...

Thank you so much ... sure do appreciate the very nice comments! Di and I have always been partial to Latin music .. particularly Latin Rock and Latin jazz. Again, thanks so much. best to you and please be safe.

Alan

Hi Folks!

As always, I appreciate your input and kind comments. I'm not positive off the cuff, but I think the lead guitar RT is 30 bpm above it's norm. the past few upgrades of BIAB seem to handle, better and better, stretching the bpm range for the various RTs and RDs.

As far as track selection, the way I usually approach it once I determine what type/kind/genre of song I'm going to create, as well as the tempo, I preview tons of styles in the Style Picker until I find one that has the basics of what I have in mind ... usually the bass and drums will guide me with that selection. I then audition, typically, 8 - 12 RTs for each track I'm going to use. I'll narrow it down to 2 or 3 and then make a final selection. In quite a few instances, I'll end up choosing a different track than my initial selection, depending on how the tracks sound together. I then grab my guitar or one of the old, outdated EPs we have (usually the guitar) and fine tune the chord progression and convert the key, if needed, to the one I want or need.

Once I have it all entered onto the chord input page of BIAB and initiate all the adjustments I can there, I send it to Audacity and due a little more fine tuning, mostly track volume and a little EQ plus any needed fade-ins or fade-outs. That's pretty much it. pretty simple!

Again, thank you. Wishing you the very best and please be safe ...

Alan

Yes Alan, Very Santana, and Very good!!! I grew up as a Carlos devotee.......still love that sound!! Nicely put together!! Take care. Greg