Project: 60s British Rock

[funky lime]

nevermind, my opinions aren't worth sharing

[wagtunes]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I actually own Fab Four and will probably be utilizing it.

This may be harder than I anticipated, especially since everything is going to be virtual (no real guitars, bass, drums or anything)

Ultimately, I may end up scrapping the whole idea but I'm going to at least give it a shot.

[vurt]

This may be harder than I anticipated, especially since everything is going to be virtual (no real guitars, bass, drums or anything)

id say you picked the hardest period to try with vstis.
at least with revolver/sgt peppers on youd have fx to help with making the instruments sound a little more natural.

[vurt]

Ultimately, I may end up scrapping the whole idea but I'm going to at least give it a shot.

good
because youll never know till you do try.
and look at what you learned along the way with the trance project

[donkey tugger]

There's a nice 'tea towel drums' setting in NI Abbey Road 60s drums.

Good call on that. Man, I used that library for years before I ever discovered the tea towel feature, and totally by accident at that.

Same here, was a few months after I bought Komplete that I also stumbled across it - the f**kers should publicise it, as it sounds really good!

Another one (which I don't have, but the demos sound good);

https://www.wavesfactory.com/legacy-drums/

[wagtunes]

There's a nice 'tea towel drums' setting in NI Abbey Road 60s drums.

Good call on that. Man, I used that library for years before I ever discovered the tea towel feature, and totally by accident at that.

Same here, was a few months after I bought Komplete that I also stumbled across it - the f**kers should publicise it, as it sounds really good!

Another one (which I don't have, but the demos sound good);

https://www.wavesfactory.com/legacy-drums/

Yeah, I've got all the drums that come with Komplete, so that's covered too.

Oh, and to answer somebody's question about the vocals, yes, I will be singing these.

[donkey tugger]

There's a nice 'tea towel drums' setting in NI Abbey Road 60s drums.

Good call on that. Man, I used that library for years before I ever discovered the tea towel feature, and totally by accident at that.

Same here, was a few months after I bought Komplete that I also stumbled across it - the f**kers should publicise it, as it sounds really good!

Another one (which I don't have, but the demos sound good);

https://www.wavesfactory.com/legacy-drums/

Yeah, I've got all the drums that come with Komplete, so that's covered too.

If you've got Komplete then you've also got a great 60s stylee bass in the Scarbee Rickenbacker. The muted preset is excellent for that Macartney style muffled tone.

[wagtunes]

There's a nice 'tea towel drums' setting in NI Abbey Road 60s drums.

Good call on that. Man, I used that library for years before I ever discovered the tea towel feature, and totally by accident at that.

Same here, was a few months after I bought Komplete that I also stumbled across it - the f**kers should publicise it, as it sounds really good!

Another one (which I don't have, but the demos sound good);

https://www.wavesfactory.com/legacy-drums/

Yeah, I've got all the drums that come with Komplete, so that's covered too.

If you've got Komplete then you've also got a great 60s stylee bass in the Scarbee Rickenbacker. The muted preset is excellent for that Macartney style muffled tone.

Well, I've also got MODO Bass. As a pure physically modeled bass, there's nothing better. I don't know if it can pull off the Rickenbacker sound though. I'll have to check the different models.

[donkey tugger]

There's a nice 'tea towel drums' setting in NI Abbey Road 60s drums.

Good call on that. Man, I used that library for years before I ever discovered the tea towel feature, and totally by accident at that.

Same here, was a few months after I bought Komplete that I also stumbled across it - the f**kers should publicise it, as it sounds really good!

Another one (which I don't have, but the demos sound good);

https://www.wavesfactory.com/legacy-drums/

Yeah, I've got all the drums that come with Komplete, so that's covered too.

If you've got Komplete then you've also got a great 60s stylee bass in the Scarbee Rickenbacker. The muted preset is excellent for that Macartney style muffled tone.

Well, I've also got MODO Bass. As a pure physically modeled bass, there's nothing better. I don't know if it can pull off the Rickenbacker sound though. I'll have to check the different models.

Each to their own of course, but when I tried MODO bass I wasn't convinced by the more vintage stuff, didn't have the imperfections/scrapes/noises etc - too polite by half. They might have improved it now mind, but to my ears the Scarbee Rickenbacker is spot on for 60s influenced stuff and I've used it loads.

[wagtunes]

Of course I'm no Paul McCartney on the bass.

[deastman]

It seems to me that the virtual guitar is going to be the hardest part to pull off...

[wagtunes]

It seems to me that the virtual guitar is going to be the hardest part to pull off...

Well, I have all the Real Guitars and Vir 2 Electri6ity. I don't think there's anything better out there.

[funky lime]

nevermind, my opinions aren't worth sharing

[The Noodlist]

It seems to me that the virtual guitar is going to be the hardest part to pull off...

Well, I have all the Real Guitars and Vir 2 Electri6ity. I don't think there's anything better out there.

https://www.kvraudio.com/news/orange-tr ... ffer-41526 Sounds good.
https://www.orangetreesamples.com/audio ... oaster.mp3

[wagtunes]

I know this is going to sound weird after I posted a whole page of technical suggestions, but...

I think nailing the actual songwriting and arrangement is the most essential part. I know you said that part's easy, but is it really? The Beatles were masters of their craft in that regard, where they made songs that sounded deceptively simple but were still musically interesting. The arrangement in particular is pretty slick, especially when you consider all the vocal harmonies.

So I think attitude has a lot to do with it. They were trying to make the most out of what they had, which is totally different than the situation we face today, where we try to impose artificial constraints on ourselves.

I understand the appeal of a challenge to make an authentic sounding "virtual 60s band," as I have dabbled in that myself some years ago. And for me, personally, the hardest part was actually writing songs like those bands wrote songs. The recording/production aspect was just sort of "whatever works" (granted I was taking a completely different approach to you, using real drums/guitar/bass).

And yes, a lot of that sound came from having a human touch. That part is tricky to emulate. However, I think you should be able to get most of the way there, kind of like how skilled media composers can make an orchestral mockup that is pretty convincing as far as the general public is concerned.

I'd recommend NOT working to a grid! (Even if you're sequencing MIDI by mouse, try turning the grid lines and metronome off, and just go by "feel" if that makes sense. It will be extremely awkward at first, but you might be surprised by the results!)

But the crux of it is, it doesn't matter if you have the best tools or not, as it's much more important what you're choosing to do with them.

My point is this: Take me back in time to Abbey Road in the 60s with all the exact same gear, with Geoff Emerick and George Martin in the building with me, and I'll still sound nothing at all like a Beatle. It wasn't the mics or the consoles or the guitars or the drums or whatever... it was the simple fact that they were who they were, that was responsible for 90% of that sound.

So really, if you can nail that songwriting and arrangement, I think the rest of the technical stuff will sort of fall into place around it, and is nothing to get hung about

Curious to hear the results!

(sorry for the long-winded posts, but this topic is of particular interest to me if you couldn't tell)

I actually agree with you. The songwriting and vocal arrangements are going to make or break this. I have these things going for me in my favor.

1. I grew up in the 60s and The Beatles were my favorite band. I lived and breathed them.

2. I've been writing music for over 40 years, most of it in the style of 60s and 70s anyway if not utilizing the sound of the era.

3. I've been told many times that I sound like The Beatles as far as my writing and singing goes, though I'm not sure I agree.

4. This project means more to me than you can imagine. It's something I've always wanted to do but never had the guts to try. So there's that extra incentive.

This is a song I wrote quite a few years ago when I knew nothing about mixing. I didn't even know what a limiter was (so turn down the volume). I've been told that this could have been a later era Beatles or George Harrison. Again, not sure I agree, but the comparisons have always been there.

Again, this is a TERRIBLE recording so turn down your speakers.

https://soundcloud.com/steven-wagenheim ... n-a-string