Blues track with reluctant volcalist

[AlanB]

Hi

I thought I'd post my new track here....... Manystation appears on bass and piano. It's a slow blues track. I thought I'd try adding a brass section too!

I was getting tired of making instrumental music all the time. I don't know any good vocalists, so I thought I'd have a go myself . I'm not a singer, but would appreciate feedback on any other aspects of the track (bass too boomy again Paul? )

It Doesn't Have To Be That Way

Hope you like it!

AlanB

[tonalaxis]

Hey nice track AlanB and your singings not that bad! Where's the brass from?

[AlanB]

Thanks tonalaxis!

The brass is Sampletank SE that I got with the boxed version of Tracktion 2. Two trumpets and a tenor sax. It's my first go at arranging brass.

AlanB

[tonalaxis]

Good arrangement!

[AlanB]

Thanks again!

I look forward to doing more of this sort of stuff.

AlanB

[Gargoyle]

Nice track, Alan... has a nice "live" feel to it too

[AlanB]

Thanks Gargolye! Glad you liked it.

You spotted I left some bum notes in then? I prefer a "live" sound to having it all perfect.

Also, it's one of the first tracks I've played drums manually on, using a Korg padKONTROL. The drum sounds are BFD. I found "playing" the drums makes a big difference. It was good fun too!

AlanB

[Gregjazz]

Wow, this is really great!

The organ could sound cool, if it had a wider, faster leslie in some parts.

[AlanB]

Thanks Greg!

I'll try to figure out how to draw a curve for that. The organ is Organized.

AlanB

[Gregjazz]

Ah yes, that's pretty much my favorite organ VSTi too. Maybe just try making it wider and faster in general.

[knype]

AlanB,

A pleasant track, very reminiscent of the Keef Hartley Band.

It's a pity about the vocals. Just kidding

My only criticism is that the organ solo fades out too quickly at the end. I like how it fades out, I just think you should let the organ have 12 bars at full volume and then start the fade.

Nice tone on the guitar. What are the details on that?

Look forward to hearing some more of your work.

[ShawnG]

Good track, very bluesy, I would go with a more "roomy" sound in the drums with some extra ambiance there, but It's good as is, including the singing- remember that singing is 10% technique and 90% confidence, so if you want to sing, just do it, and forget the "reluctant vocalist" part. 15 years ago our band had trouble finding a singer, and I said "screw it, I'll sing!" and now it's my favorite part of making music.

[AlanB]

Thanks Gregjazz, knype, ShawnG!

Greg - I've never gone beyond the presets in Organized. I think I should spend time learning it somemore. I could (and maybe should) have used ManyOne, which has great organ sounds too.

knype - I'm delighted you mentioned Keef Hartley, because that was exactly my influence for this track. Battle Of North West Six is still one of my all time favourite albums. The original plan was to have a third verse, but I kind of decided two verses of me singing was enough! The long fade disguised the fact that i hadn't completed it.

ShawnG - Glad you liked it. Thanks for the tip on the drum sound. I'll give it a try.

AlanB

[AlanB]

The guitar is my ancient Antoria copy of a Gibson 345 through V-Amp2.

AlanB

[knype]

AlanB,

I wasn't sure whether you were old enough to get my reference to the Keef Hartley Band. I guess there are a few oldies who post on here.

I like the Battle of NW6 but Halfbreed is my all-time favourite. I had to go to an online site in Russia to get the CD a few years back. I somehow missed out on buying it when it was on sale regularly at HMV.

I only asked about the guitar because it is a well-crafted guitar break and sounded too authentic to be a "keyboard" guitar. Seems I was right.

Best of luck with your future projects.