The Wagtunes Corner (Featuring My Best Yet)

[dark water]

Really great effort with these (I listened to tracks 8-12).
Very clear arrangements and instrumentation.
Definitely some very May-esque guitar playing in various sections.

I also wondered if you were a fan of ELO or Robert Wyatt, as I can certainly hear their sort of song-writing (as well some Beatles) in your tracks.

Excellent work Wags

[wagtunes]

Really great effort with these (I listened to tracks 8-12).
Very clear arrangements and instrumentation.
Definitely some very May-esque guitar playing in various sections.

I also wondered if you were a fan of ELO or Robert Wyatt, as I can certainly hear their sort of song-writing (as well some Beatles) in your tracks.

Excellent work Wags

I am a big ELO and Beatles fan. I can do a decent Jeff Lynne if I really try hard. I've been told at times I sound like John Lennon, though I'm more a McCartney fan. Have to admit, I don't even know who Robert Wyatt is.

Anyway, thanks for the listen and the feedback.

[aaron aardvark]

wagtunes,
I had a feeling you might have used the IK Brian May software. I gave it a try a few weeks ago: IK sure makes you go through a lot of work to try that software. I'm glad you are enjoying it. Do you mostly use the factory presets, or experiment much with the individual components? I was surprised by the amount of various components.

[jethrobull]

Really enjoyed "Can't Please The World". The vocals move great around the track, the mix is spot on to my ears and the whole structure / arrangement of the track is solid. The lyrics I love, we should all try to just please ourselves and not the world. I spend far too much time pleasing others and at times feel guilty for pleasing myself. It's mentally draining
Great work!

[wagtunes]

wagtunes,
I had a feeling you might have used the IK Brian May software. I gave it a try a few weeks ago: IK sure makes you go through a lot of work to try that software. I'm glad you are enjoying it. Do you mostly use the factory presets, or experiment much with the individual components? I was surprised by the amount of various components.

Aaron, because I wanted the sound to be as authentic as possible, I stuck to the presets. In the future, I will probably mess around with things to see what I can come up with. But for this project, I played it safe.

[wagtunes]

Really enjoyed "Can't Please The World". The vocals move great around the track, the mix is spot on to my ears and the whole structure / arrangement of the track is solid. The lyrics I love, we should all try to just please ourselves and not the world. I spend far too much time pleasing others and at times feel guilty for pleasing myself. It's mentally draining
Great work!

Jethro, thanks for the listen and the feedback. I put a lot of work into this CD. Hopefully, it shows. And yes, we really need to spend less time worrying about what other people think.

[wagtunes]

Now that Queen is done, moving on to just doing some random stuff. This a kind of Jazzy, Big Band thing. Love this Warp IV library. Decided to go with a more ambient vocal and mix on this one instead of in your face. Works for me. YMMV.

Don't Go Near The Water

Don't go near the water
Don't swim with the sharks
Don't play ball with cats that crawl
Or dogs that like to bark

Don't go near the water
Don't you feed the fish
Don't hope for a miracle
Though I know you wish

Cause life is only what you make of it
It sometimes comes around bit by bit

Don't go near the water
Don't you take that chance
Just come with me and you will see
How we can make romance

Instrumental Break

And if dry land doesn't suit you well
You just ring that big ship's bell

Repeat Last Verse

Outro

https://soundcloud.com/steven-wagenheim ... -the-water

[excuse me please]

It's a bit short hehe, but cheerful

[wagtunes]

It's a bit short hehe, but cheerful

Well that's because the tempo is really fast. This was a bitch to play. My fingers don't move as fast as they used to.

Anyway, thanks for the listen and the feedback. Much appreciated.

[Heavenly Sounds]

Like it, makes me feel happy. Good job!

[wagtunes]

Like it, makes me feel happy. Good job!

Thanks for the listen and the feedback. Much appreciated.

[Music Bird]

I’d like to see you do a kids album or something like that, I think it’d work perfectly for you.
Or this
Look up on YouTube ‘dangdut koplo’. Indonesian Music with lots of electric rock guitar, flutes, keyboard synths (generic ROMpler strings, brass, lead synths, etc, gamelan, angklungs), slap bass, and tambourine. Some songs use sitar or mandolin.
Here are some examples
Playlists


Actually this might be hard because of the vocal ornamentations,
Maybe another Indonesian genre, like pop or regional.
Some examples of that





Stuff like this but in English.

[wagtunes]

Thanks for the suggestions. Actually, if you go to the Production Tips forum, I've decided, out of the blue, that I'm going to do a Blink 182 tribute CD. Don't ask me what compelled me to give this a shot.

[Winstontaneous]

wagtunes,
I had a feeling you might have used the IK Brian May software. I gave it a try a few weeks ago: IK sure makes you go through a lot of work to try that software. I'm glad you are enjoying it. Do you mostly use the factory presets, or experiment much with the individual components? I was surprised by the amount of various components.

Aaron, because I wanted the sound to be as authentic as possible, I stuck to the presets. In the future, I will probably mess around with things to see what I can come up with. But for this project, I played it safe.

One "note" on authenticity for classic rock - don't use bass guitar notes beneath the low E (approx. 40 hz), unless the band tuned down all the strings (Hendrix & Van Halen to Eb, Black Sabbath even lower due to Tony Iommi's industrial accident and need for slack strings, etc).

There are a few songs from your Queen project where some low low notes stuck out to my ear. Aside from jazz fusion and pop synth bass, 5/6 string basses with low B strings (~31hz) didn't really start becoming widespread until the later '80s/90s (which coincides with availability of decent consumer hi-fi subwoofers to reproduce the lower frequencies).

[wagtunes]

wagtunes,
I had a feeling you might have used the IK Brian May software. I gave it a try a few weeks ago: IK sure makes you go through a lot of work to try that software. I'm glad you are enjoying it. Do you mostly use the factory presets, or experiment much with the individual components? I was surprised by the amount of various components.

Aaron, because I wanted the sound to be as authentic as possible, I stuck to the presets. In the future, I will probably mess around with things to see what I can come up with. But for this project, I played it safe.

One "note" on authenticity for classic rock - don't use bass guitar notes beneath the low E (approx. 40 hz), unless the band tuned down all the strings (Hendrix & Van Halen to Eb, Black Sabbath even lower due to Tony Iommi's industrial accident and need for slack strings, etc).

There are a few songs from your Queen project where some low low notes stuck out to my ear. Aside from jazz fusion and pop synth bass, 5/6 string basses with low B strings (~31hz) didn't really start becoming widespread until the later '80s/90s (which coincides with availability of decent consumer hi-fi subwoofers to reproduce the lower frequencies).

Thanks. I'll make a note of that.