PlanetZ forums - scopeusers.com

I've uploaded this link for feedback from you knowledgeable and mainly civilised fellows

Firstly I did this cover version to try out my GPO. Okay, there isn't enough portamento on the solo violin and perhaps I used the wrong string section, but it was a matter of getting to know the software a bit.

Mainly though I also want to try and improve the quality of my mixes using my ageing ears. It sounds okay on my rig and to my ears, but what about yours??

Used Scope mixer, reverb and eq plus GPO and a short intro pad of Atmosphere.

The track is a cover of Reflection from the album White Stones from Secret Garden

download it here:
www.tonaleffects.co.uk/reflections.mp3

Thanks folks

Sounds awesome to my ageing ears too!
Although, the strings in higher octave don't sound as natural.

Thanks Bingo
Yes I agree about the strings. Still, first time with GPO

Forgot to add that I added a band pass filter in the master effects in cubase to take out some of the very bottom end, and then used the L1 ultramaximiser in Wavelab to finish off

Delicious composition, really.
I think in the middle part the string orchestra covers the piano a little bit, I would take the strings 3-4 dB down. Sometimes (at the beginning of a new phrase) they sound a bit hard. Try to smoothen the attack.
Did you choose a sound with damped violins?
What about engaging a real violinist for the solo part?
The piano is ok, it could be played with a bigger dynamic range, sometimes I would wish to hear a softer sound with a smoother attack, too. When you play the piano part on a good Steinway or so, you will hear the different attack between piano and forte.
Anyway, I like your little piece.

wow Neil, impressive!

OT: you're file immediately starts playing, streaming, without having to load it to disk.
I still wander what makes the difference to make it happen this way.

Great work Brotha' Man Neil B.

So that is what GPO sounds like. Really nice piano chops too.

I can only say thank you for sharing the tunes.

Just don't stop recording.

The attack of the " Old Bastards " is alive and well.

don't coun't me in tho

Gershwin is even popular in North Korea these days, so you must be on the right track

How nice to wake up to a bunch of replies - thanks fellas.
Now, I should respond to some of the comments.

Herr Voigt
I can't take any credit for the composition, only my interpretation of it.
As I said it's a cover of Secret Garden's "Reflection" from the White Stones album.
If you like their music have a look here
http://www.secretgarden.no/lowband/fs_f ... eling.html

I'll comment on the other bits a bit later on.

Jimmy V
quote: "So that is what GPO sounds like"

Well, that is what it sounds like in a beginners hands!
I'm working on another track with it and own up to starting with a GM midi file, but I'm developing it bit by bit.
If you fancy a listen to it (unmixed, unfinished) click here
www.tonaleffects.co.uk/minuet.mp3

Back to Herr Voigt:
quote
" I think in the middle part the string orchestra covers the piano a little bit, I would take the strings 3-4 dB down. Sometimes (at the beginning of a new phrase) they sound a bit hard. Try to smoothen the attack.
Did you choose a sound with damped violins?
What about engaging a real violinist for the solo part?
The piano is ok, it could be played with a bigger dynamic range, sometimes I would wish to hear a softer sound with a smoother attack, too. When you play the piano part on a good Steinway or so, you will hear the different attack between piano and forte. "

If you have GPO I used the following for the track
Violin 1 Gagli solo
Vlns 1 sus-short mutes
Steinway Piano
Cellos Lush

Now the thing I'm getting my head around with GPO is the fact that cc1 controls the timbre and volume on many of the samples.
I'm trying to balance this against the velocity too.

I have to thank Shroomz massively for his VM1 device, else this track would still sound like the screams of a very short nun at a penguin cull

So it's been a matter of experimenting between velocity and modulation/timbre/volume.

For each instrument I had to find the right point to start in terms of capturing the mood with the timbre. This is where the VM1 really helped.
The strings sounded very wooden with a constant velocity but had the right "feel" overall. So what I did was use cc1 curves (drawn into Cubase after) to create swells. In a sense I used a low cc1 as a slow attack and then reversed this on alternate chords for a decrescendo.
I'm sure that over time I'll find the right way to do it, but this seemed to work well enough.
Yes, later in the track the string section is much harsher, but on the original by Secret Garden it too is a much fuller sound and I suspect it contains synth pads layered in too.
The piano was a bit of a cop out to be fair, settling for a velocity that sat nicely, without varying it too much. I used the VM1 to fix the velocity initially then edited some of the notes afterwards. The feel of my midi keyboard doesn't allow maestro style playing at perfect velocity.

So all in all that was the learning bit of GPO.
It was nice to use so few instruments (as opposed to my usual stuff) so I could concentrate on trying to get a good clear mix. I was quite happy with that part of the experiment.

Thanks again guys for the comments to date.

Keep It Up Neil B., My Brotha'.

Maybe by summertime you will feel comfortable w/ GPO. It takes me several weeks to get my keyswitches placed where I want after editing, etc.

Gigastudio 4 looks to make all of these recording only apps, a breeze to play live.

I think it would be neat if I could do a skelton mix of parts I like, send them the19thbear 4 vocals, as his voice has pro qualities compared to my B.Idol/J,Morrison tones. Pass it over to you for strings, and then let Alfonso add his Adern Guitars.

Who Knows, It might work ?