KVR Audio

jcub · Post by **jcub** » Wed Dec 30, 2020 9:08 pm

"Saving Grace" features a "quintet" of piano/organ/synthesizer, guitar (Linnstrument), alto sax (Linnstrument), a Dragonfly DF-6 fretless tapping bass, and Zendrum.

https://soundcloud.com/jeremycubert/saving-grace

fastlanephil · Post by **fastlanephil** » Thu Dec 31, 2020 12:57 am

I liked your music but for me it seemed like there were four or five different pieces of music played one after another without some kind of cohesiveness that binds them together. Maybe that was you intention.

jcub · Post by **jcub** » Thu Dec 31, 2020 1:17 am

Thanks for the listen and comments. I have several repeated themes linking the parts together and a reprise of the intro section in a slightly different form in the middle. Those were intended to provide the cohesiveness. But I will go back and see if I need to rearrange things to make that clearer.

Bansaw · Post by **Bansaw** » Thu Dec 31, 2020 2:28 am

Nice. I don't normally like Jazz, but can appreciate the amount of work thats gone into this.
Some good brass in there, nice pauses, bass is good too.

jcub · Post by **jcub** » Thu Dec 31, 2020 5:13 pm

Thanks for the listen and kind words!

ChameleonMusic · Post by **ChameleonMusic** » Thu Dec 31, 2020 7:00 pm

Shades of Billy Cobham's more jazz influenced moments at times... Really enjoyed the interplay between all the parts.

I get Phil's point about the quite abrupt changes in atmosphere, but for me they all worked as there are various musical threads throughout the whole piece that glue it together just enough.

Particularly enjoyed the long build up towards the peak at around 5 mins 30!

Production-wise, it was all a little tiny bit clogged up.. Maybe a touch of sculpting with EQ might've helped separate out the parts just a touch more? In particular, the synth and brass sounds merged too much for me at times?

jcub · Post by **jcub** » Thu Dec 31, 2020 8:22 pm

Thank you! I appreciate the comments and flagging the EQ issue.

In addition, to EQ for each instrument, I use a dynamic EQ plug-in called Trackspacer to separate individual instruments from each other. The plug-in allows you to dial in the separation by side chaining audio in from another instrument. I used it to separate the kick drum from the bass, guitar from the sax, piano from synth, etc.

I will dive back in to see what may be overlapping between instruments that are not paired off with Trackspacer.

kingozrecords · Post by **kingozrecords** » Thu Dec 31, 2020 11:25 pm

It does seem to work (the trackspacer) imo, but to be honest; early in the track some of the instruments didn't seem realistic. Later though the others do. Maybe it was just the minors in the piano that seemed like midi.

With headphones this is pretty good, very realistic. I like it. Much like the real thing, but tbh quite like a band who's playing for fun and trying to outshine each other to a degree. The "Band" doesn't seem to be "satisfied" with a lesser part in places. Nice music, thanks for the listen.

jcub · Post by **jcub** » Thu Dec 31, 2020 11:42 pm

Thanks for the listen and comments! Everything was played in real time although I did quantize the drums in various sections.

ChameleonMusic · Post by **ChameleonMusic** » Fri Jan 01, 2021 10:53 am

jcub wrote: Thu Dec 31, 2020 8:22 pm Thank you! I appreciate the comments and flagging the EQ issue.

In addition, to EQ for each instrument, I use a dynamic EQ plug-in called Trackspacer to separate individual instruments from each other. The plug-in allows you to dial in the separation by side chaining audio in from another instrument. I used it to separate the kick drum from the bass, guitar from the sax, piano from synth, etc.

I will dive back in to see what may be overlapping between instruments that are not paired off with Trackspacer.

Trackspacer... Yeah, I have a very similar routine via one of the modules in Neutron... Incredibly useful. Dynamic EQs in general - fiddly to use sometimes, but such a great tool for fine tuning certain aspects of a mix.

jcub · Post by **jcub** » Sun Jan 03, 2021 5:35 pm

The EQ module in Neutron has a masking and dynamic EQ feature which is very useful. I use Neutron and Ozone on everything that I mix. I find their automated features get me around 75% of the way there. For certain instruments, I start with one of their presets (bass and drums).

ChameleonMusic · Post by **ChameleonMusic** » Sun Jan 03, 2021 8:17 pm

jcub wrote: Sun Jan 03, 2021 5:35 pm The EQ module in Neutron has a masking and dynamic EQ feature which is very useful. I use Neutron and Ozone on everything that I mix. I find their automated features get me around 75% of the way there. For certain instruments, I start with one of their presets (bass and drums).

I use Neutron and Ozone on everything that I mix.

Ditto!

The EQ module in Neutron has a masking and dynamic EQ feature which is very useful.

Yeah, it's excellent...used it extensively on that recent Dante piece...helped add a lot of clarity to the mix...full orchestral material is a mixing nightmare at times!

I find their automated features get me around 75% of the way there.

Agreed... I very rarely start 100% from scratch, although I will admit that by the timeI've tweaked and re-tweaked repeatedly, I've usually moved a long way away from the starting point!

jcub · Post by **jcub** » Sun Jan 03, 2021 9:07 pm

Agreed - the Izotope tools have made a huge difference for me. Cobbling together channel strips and mastering plugins was always a hit or miss process for me before.

aaron aardvark · Post by **aaron aardvark** » Sun Jan 03, 2021 9:45 pm

jcub,
Other than Steely Dan (more of a jazz rock band), I'm not that much of a jazz cat, but your song sounds good to me! I feel it is not unusual for a jazz song to keep evolving into something else, so I didn't have a problem with cohesiveness.

MRT · Post by **MRT** » Mon Jan 04, 2021 3:02 am

Really nice. Like the melody you introduce about half way. Over all I like the flow, the mix sounds good here.

Not your usual kvr fare, extra points for that.
So I'm listening to your soundcloud tracks and while there is a definite jazz influence I can't shake that more than anything they remind me of Yes with maybe a smattering of ELP. The prog rock is in there.

"Saving Grace" (Jazz Fusion)