to this several times because it is another of your songs that make me want to stop and reflect.
Suffice to say right now... this is a gem of a song. Wonderfully written and played.... and sung beautifully by Cat. Ed, I can't argue with you falling in love with this (third) vox mix.
Welcome to the present..... (slight chuckle)

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...I'm happy when anything I do prompts someone to stop and reflect... I LIKE stopping and reflecting... So this is a very cool thing for me to hear...

I'm pleased you like the song and the playing behind it. I think everyone who listens is going to appreciate what Cat brought to this song... She really brought it to life... This particular take of hers had a sweetness to it that really got to me...

And as for the present... well... This is a PRESENT recording of an OLD song... I'm already working on present recordings of songs whose age is not measured in decades...

Thank you for listening and commenting, Jack. I think your comment was already up by the time I knew the song was up... I always appreciate your thoughts...

Ed

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Just to say it's a so beautiful song, as usually with a very good guitar playing and now the nice voice of Mystified.
Good collab, good results, bravo !
Downloaded. Thanks to share...
Marc

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I don't know why I think that's so cool, but I do... My one experience of France was a change of planes in Paris on the way to Milan, one time, and my memory of THAT is that suddenly the onboard food was way better...

I'm pleased you enjoyed the song, playing, and of course, Mysti's voice...

I see that you've got songs up now, Marc... I hadn't noticed... I'll give listens over the next day or so...

Thank you very much once again for listening and commenting. Much appreciated.

Ed

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The first thing I thought of was the warmth from the strings. And the bass sounds very good. Is it a real instrument or midi?

The composition gives you away as a solid songwriter Ed. I had to stop for a while and close my eyes to enjoy this to the full. The sound from the guitar is like in the recordings you've shared from earlier days. It's like I would recognize you if I heard one of your tune on the radio, even though it's a pretty traditional folk style.

Mysty, your vocals here are the most direct and nearest I have heard from you. And I think you have the voice of a goddess:) Beautiful and soft, and the harmonies is just right.

Wonderful work from both of you:)

10's all over, and I'll have a copy of this please:)

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...musicianly ears... I did a lot of simplifying of the guitar tracks... When I began, I had many more than make their appearance here... And I did try for a warmer sound than I sometimes use...

I am rather proud of the bass sound, which others have commented on. I came up with an interesting "trick", just by messing around, that worked very well. The bass is, in fact, MIDI. I played the root note from the chord progression, using the Oxygen 8 keyboard, with the GarageBand Upright Jazz Bass sound (trying for that Danny Thompson tone... I wish...). I then adjusted the timing for all my little mistakes, and then I copied the track to another track. On the second track I used a synth bass, pitched low. I started very low and brought it up just enough that I began to hear a little extra weight in the bottom of the timbre. I thought it sounded cool.

Thanks for the acknowledgement as a songwriter. That is what I think my main calling card is. People can certainly play and sing rings around me. That said, it's very neat to hear that there's something in my guitar playing sound that's identifiable.

I'm also pleased that you are picking up on that quality that Mysti has brought to the vocal here... it's very present and intimate, to my ears... it draws me in as I listen...

Thanks for the listen and comment, Thoddi. You always get me re-listening, and thinking...

By the way, I still intend to comment on your very cool collab with Cori Ander. I just have this "bet" going with Johannes... I'll be there soon, and I love it...

Ed

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I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the comments here!

Thanks for listening and the really kind words.

I've always had a soft spot for folk music--singing harmonies with my Dad as he played guitar when I was a kid.
...Pretty much how I learned to sing :)

And Ed's song is so beautiful, here.
It was a pleasure to join in...


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nice to see and hear this up Ed. wise choice on not doing the vocal yourself. i can't picture you with a high falseto. Mystified sings like a angel here. and yes! the two guitars sound great. i had to take a break and this is a perfect "mellow down" for me, as i'm creating a cacaphony. it fits the weather that surrounds me at the moment. snow on the ground fog and cloud cover. living in a mist, no gulls but a gang of blackbirds plotting something.

Excellent song!

Vic

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...that I did all those really high parts for the Bee Gees...

Well, you're right. I've been hearing this song in my head for twenty-three years, and now I can hear it for real. Mysti really brought this to life, and really stepped into the song to do it...

Glad you like the guitar sound, since, as you know, I love how you layer guitars yourself...

Creating a cacaphony, are you? Can't wait...

Blackbirds.... hmmm.... we had a pair of redtail hawks screaming quite dramatically over us as we walked to church this morning... I'd worry about the blackbirds, though...

Thanks as always for the listen and your thoughts...

Ed

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...for inviting me to sing along on this beautiful track!

The invitation came at a time when I was working on too many other projects, and I had to set it aside for a while. But, thankfully, Ed was VERY patient and when I was ready to buckle down and learn and record the song, I was able to really give it the attention it deserved.

What a lovely song...with wonderful lyrics! I feel fortunate that I was invited to add my voice to this piece. I'm glad you like the result :)
I do, too.
It was surely a pleasure working with you on this song, too, Ed.
So thanks so much, again :)



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I feel like I need to give layers of thanks to you... You really made this song come to life...

The hardest part, for me, was whittling down so many gorgeous vocal tracks to the ones heard here... You gave me a lot to work with, and it was all strong...

I am very glad that I waited until you could do this. Your voice is just so suited to this melody...

And, just to add to your resume, you're a great person to collaborate with. I hope to have that pleasure again during my MacJams career...

Ed

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sweet.

I can't say much other than your beauty as a human bean comes thru in your music.

This is as nice a recording and performance as you will hear on any album....and the song is wonderful.

Bravooooooo

z

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That's TWO of us human beans on this one, pal...

I'm blown away that you think that highly of the recording and the song. That means a great deal to me.

I appreciate the listens, comments and crits that you gave it along the way...

Thanks again,

Ed

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...lyrics/guitar/vocal/production...even the picture.

First time of heard Mystified. What a fine, unspoiled voice. Perfect.

I really enjoyed this.

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I'm really enjoying the songs you've posted so far... I'm pleased that the whole package comes across as a good one...

I really do like the picture... I found Julia's work on stock.xchng and there it was: a fir turning black and white... It's a beautiful, stark shot... more dramatic in a larger format... Worth checking out over on stock.xchng...

And as for Mystified... she's a veteran around here, and her work bears listening to... You'll be amazed at her range and depth... AND humor... be sure to catch her "chicken lessons" if they're still up...

Glad you enjoyed it. I appreciate your listening and commenting.

Ed

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......... new Ed ;)
Still, a lovely song - you must have written some killer songs over the years Ed. The guitar sounds just right, and Mysti's voice is so sweet and clear - like Judith Durham on a good day (OK, she rarely had a bad day). I'm not sure the song needed the bass, but it works nonetheless. I'm wondering how the bass sounds on monitors, as it's quite loud in my 'phones (which are usually a little bass-poor).
Getting tracks from Mysti must be getting them from Fran - a veritable choir (or guitar ensemble) all at once.
Excellent post - mellow and pleasing to the ears (and the space in between).
Peace,
Neil

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...determined to be my harshest chronological critic...

I've been meaning to let you know that the Rusty Dusty Brothers have popped up a couple of times on my iPod in the office and on the walk home lately... one time, no lie, I thought... "the Byrds... what TUNE is that?..."

Now that I've posted a bunch of my songs from the recorded archives, this year is going to be the year of alternately recording old songs that never got recorded before, re-recording old songs that got recorded poorly, and...recording new songs! At least, new-ER... things in the one to five year range...

I will, of course, be investigating Judith Durham... Not a name known to me... but it will be...

Glad you like the guitar sound. I worried over it, as I do.

As to the bass... let's see... if those are the Sennheiser HD-280's, I'm listening on those now... I can see how the bass sounds a little forward... I did intentionally try, on this tune, to roll some of the bass out of the acoustic guitars, and let the upright carry the bottom end. I also made a conscious decision to try to have the bass be a little more forward this time than I usually do... In my room, on my monitors, it sounds about how I wanted it to be, but that continues to be a learning curve for me... it'll be interesting continuing to hear how others respond to it... In addition to the trick I used with the MIDI tracks (see thoddi comment, above), I also experimented with ChannelStrip and other plug-ins...

Of course, some brave day I'll just ship whatever tracks I'm working on off to you and have you put REAL bass on them... THAT would be fun...

Yes, the original mp3 and the original AIFF tracks from Mystified really did sound like a choir... and a really nice sounding choir, at that... The comparison with Fran is an apt one... I've also experienced the Ziti 'Wall O' Guitar" effect... and thank God, in both of their cases, it sounds good... It's the whittling down to simple beauty that gets hard...

Thanks for the listen. I am always eager to hear what you think, about whatever it is that I'm doing...

Ed

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Judith Durham - the voice out front of The Seekers. Pure, clean and , well, pure and clean ;)

Any time you want tyo send a track for bass, please feel free - it would be a pleasure.

The headphones I'm using are still my KOSS R/80s - very bass-poor, which is why my songs are a little boomy on monitors - I've almost convinced Jan I need some monitor speakers to "further my art".'

Cheers,
Neil

---
Wannado

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is it true sopranos have more fun? beautiful clarity to the vocal - sung easily and effortlessly. the harmonies are a beautiful flower blooming in fast motion. "where 3 or more vocals are gathered"....is ALWAYS a good thing, imho. you delivered a solid backing for this bird to soar, ed. i noticed the bass right away, and liked the rich dark gravy it gave your sonic stew. the lyric is a strong reminder that gentleness is needed for the spirit to thrive. nicely done, folks. anne

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Anne, music, and especially singing, is harsh, wrenching, grueling work...

I'll try to have Mysti reply as to the fun capacity of the American soprano in its natural habitat... I did think that you'd be one who could appreciate what she has crafted here...

Glad you like the backing here, too. You in the SISTER-hood always seem to have truly first class backing tracks... More specifically, I am ridiculously happy that you liked the "rich dark gravy" of the bass track... That gets me laughing, but it certainly sounds like what I was shooting for...

Pleased you like the lyrics, too.

Thanks for listening....

Ed

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....That this song was very easy to sing to--as I worked with it, I connected with it. I'm grateful Ed thought of me and let me in on it.

Oh..was I supposed to confirm that sopranos have more fun....?

Well...what do YOU think? ;)

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Fullness. Great recording.

I love the presentation in many ways!

No complaints from me!

Doug

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I'm pleased you've no complaints! Rich and full are good words to hear about a recording... Glad you like the total presentation...

Thanks for listening and commenting...

Much appreciated...

Ed

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Your Beautiful Voice, singing a very Special message.......and i enjoy the subject matter........with affinity :D*

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...o artist formerly of the night...

For my part, I'm glad you like the melody... and I'm right with you about Mystified's beautiful voice... Pleased, too, as chief-lyricist-and-bottle-washer, that you connected with the subject matter...

Thank you again for listening and letting me know your thoughts...

Ed

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and couldn't think of a better female singer to sing a duet with than The Myst. You lucky dog you! I envy you Ed. Love the photo, love the tune. Thanks so much Ed for cluiing me in on this wonderful tune. Nobody has effected me more than Myst's magical voice She can really put ya on a magical mystery tour for sure. Her voice is that special!

Way to go you two!

She does so many styles, but I wish she would do TONS more within the folk realm. Her voice really shines with folk. It's almost like her voice was made for folk. Myst it's something to be really proud of. Cause it can really grab you, and grab you hard :)

NIce playing and writing Ed. A complete terrific package. Music needs more of this for sure.



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I feel really lucky to have gotten to work with Mystified on this one. As I've noted above, her voice is a perfect match for this tune... she does, in fact, have a magical quality to what she does... You can imagine that voice as Merlyn's Nimue, calling from the woods...

I feel very fortunate to have had the gift of this collaboration...

Thanks for listening and commenting, Bill. It's good to hear from you again.

Ed

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Thanks, Tiler, for your very generous praise, here.

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Ed, you already know how amazing I think this is, and the immediate swarm of fans over here would tend to confirm that. Mysti, your singing was seemingly made for songs like this, it all fits so perfectly. It's really very beautiful, great job guys!

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...thanks again for all your recent help... Especially for helping me know when 'enough is enough'... Your help and encouragement is priceless...

Ed

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I feel very fortunate that Ed asked me to sing on this track, and was patient enough to wait for me to get to it.

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I must admit that I have been a little bit nevous about your "second coming out". What maybe if it wouldn't keep the grip of the old days.

So this is both long awaited, welcome and a in a way a breathe of release. Instead of loosing the grip I feel it has got deeper and stronger. I feel this composition has more of lasting value than the old ones, I even dare to say MUCH more, but that is a matter of my very personal taste.

Maybe early to say after listening just three times, but to me it has evergreen qualities. One I will enjoy as much after listening 333 times. I wish this one will come out wideworld and that established artists will take it into their repertoires. Not that yours and Mysties beaufiful rendition lacks anything, but so it can be spread to millions of people instead of hundreds. I am convinced that it holds for that.


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I must admit that I have been a little bit nevous about your "second coming out". What maybe if it wouldn't keep the grip of the old days.

So this is both long awaited, welcome and a in a way a breathe of release. Instead of loosing the grip I feel it has got deeper and stronger. I feel this composition has more of lasting value than the old ones, I even dare to say MUCH more, but that is a matter of my very personal taste.

Maybe early to say after listening just three times, but to me it has evergreen qualities. One I will enjoy as much after listening 333 times. I wish this one will come out wideworld and that established artists will take it into their repertoires. Not that yours and Mysties beaufiful rendition lacks anything, but so it can be spread to millions of people instead of hundreds. I am convinced that it holds for that.


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I've just come in to check out comments on the song before work, and there is a Wall Of Curry!....

I understand the anxiety... I am shifting over to tracks that are recorded in my little spare-bedroom-office-studio with my iMac, and not recorded or begun in a more professional space... This IS still an old song, but it is a fresh recording of an old song...

I do hope that the song has some staying power... It is another one that captures a moment, for me... and the moment is timeless... Please feel free to recommend it to any major recording artists you run across...

I am always glad when you enjoy one of my efforts, my friend. I was really hoping to surprise you with this one...

Ed

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You WERE surprizing me with this one!
(with a happy smile on my face)

---
Johannes Curry

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Hi Mysti. This one is not only beautifully vocalized but also warm. Eds productions often (maybe always) have a very warm basic mood. You have very sensitively catched this up. The result is a production that is all together really really pleasant to listen too. Thank you for taking on this task!

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Hi Mysti. This one is not only beautifully vocalized but also warm. Eds productions often (maybe always) have a very warm basic mood. You have very sensitively catched this up. The result is a production that is all together really really pleasant to listen too. Thank you for taking on this task!

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Thanks, Curry.

I really appreciate those comments. They mean a lot :)

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Superb production. Guitar sounds splendid. Would be interesting to know something about the guitar, mic placement and other relevant factors.

PS Sorry .. I am NOT doing these double posts, seems like the system cant take muliple comments so instead of posting the next one it reposts the previous one again .. very frustrating. (I felt I have comments on some different aspects of this and wanted to split it up to make things easier) ...

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...The guitar was recorded using my Rode NT-1A. Biggest problem has been minimizing the fan noise from the iMac, which tends to be brought up from the noise floor by any compression I use. I have had to struggle with fading tracks up and down, and judiciously using SoundSoap to clean some tracks...

I eventually settled on a position of the mic boom so that the mic is facing directly AWAY from the iMac, and I have some Auralex foam on the boom to try to knock the noise down... Not perfect yet, but enough to record...

I position the mic so that it faces the guitars at about the octave fret, about six to eight inches away... There are two tracks of acoustic guitar being heard, with a slightly fainter acoustic 12-string in one channel and a faint acoustic 12-string run through the GarageBand 'Acoustic Echoes' preset in the other... That gives it all a whisper of jangliness... The guitars have a small amount of the GB matrix reverb, and are also treated with the ChannelStrip GB acoustic preset... forget which one...

Read my reply to thoddi, above, about the bass...

Mysti sent me pristine tracks... Already trimmed and almost noiseless... I made a couple of VERY small edits, of small noises that were brought up by compression, but nothing major... Her vocal has a tiny bit of matrix reverb, and I believe that on ledebutant's recommendation, long ago, I used the TrackPlug 4 female vocal preset, which worked very well...

That's about it...

Ed

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Such a creative use of GB's possibilities .. I take impression of your way of thinking while experimenting .. maybe I can have some future use of experimenting like that .. thank you for an extensive answer!

On fan noise: Don't know if I read you right here, but you don't need to have noise floor or compression on while recording!?! That's GB effects, aren't they? In that case you use them only while mixing ..

---
Johannes Curry

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"Noise floor" is just a phrase that refers to how loud the noise is on a particular track... It doesn't matter if you record without effects, which is what I almost always do... If you use compression later, it is likely to raise the loudness of whatever noise is in the track... In the case of my "live" tracks here, that means it brings up the fan noise...

On this song, I don't think I used any effects until I got down to mixing...

Ed

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I have a special iTunes list containing a few tunes to play in the morning for my kids to wake up to. I have choosen songs that first of course doesn't have harsh or troubled moods, secondly have a tone that give hope and lust for life, joy and light. Shortly, tunes that makes a perfect way for kids to wake up.

It is very difficult to find songs that meet my requirements for tunes in this list. But this one qualifies as almost a model tune here. And from tomorrow it will no doubt be the opening number.

PS This time I try to quit Safari before posting this one .. hope it works ..

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I am tickled and pleased to think that you'd put this tune into the 'wake-up' rotation for Mackie and Sunbeam... You and I, being dads, know how crucial that wake-up time is... I'm honored...

Funny thing about the double-posts. Seems like you've got it figured out, though...

Thanks again for your supportive and thoughtful comments, Johannes...

Ed

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Your song is always gentle.
Harmony is beautiful.


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I am pleased that you like the song, and find it gentle.

And yes, Mystified has done a lovely job with the lead and harmony vocals....

Thanks for listening and commenting...

Ed

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...thank you for your lovely words :)

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Ed, you and Cat are two of my favorite artists here on MJ, and you never disappoint me. This collab is yet another example of fine artistry by both of you; beautifully written and performed.

God bless,

Rick

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That's very kind of you to say...

I much appreciate the kind words and the appreciative listen...

Thank you very much for both...

Ed

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Hahah, well thanks for showing me such audio!, I really liked the song and it's soft tones, it puts me thinking, somehow, it's really a piece to close the eyes for, and think of something beautiful.

Keep it on.

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I'm pleased that you enjoyed the effect of the song... I hope you'll check out a few of my other ones if you have a chance... I will certainly check out a couple of yours...

I appreciate that you listened, and let me know how you liked it...

Ed

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I can't say much that hasn't already been said.

I came. I heard. I loved.

What a great combination.

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I naturally hoped that you'd like it.

Thank you for listening and letting us know what you thought...

Ed

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Thanks, Miss C.
Lovely compliments, those...

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what a gorgeous piece of music......!..........beautiful......

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I am pleased that you like it. I'm heading toward your new one in moments...

Thank you for listening and leaving a comment...

Ed

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.. to my heart where it has lodged itself for a long time to come - how very lovely - thank you my dear and yes - HUGS!!! xoxox

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...that Mysti is getting the hugs....

Thanks for listening, caroline... straight to the heart is how we like it...

Ed

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...glad you dropped by. Thanks for listening, and very glad you enjoyed.

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I've been meaning to comment earlier on this but I keep coming back to it to listen and I never seem to get it straight in my mind. It's a gorgeous melody and a great vocal performance and the acoustic picking is really quite nice. One thing that bothers me a lot is the bass part. It certainly sounds like you over-adjusted all the mistakes out of it, and the human element and swing is gone. I really don't think Danny Thompson would play it so straight, and you made that reference in a comment here so I make that comparision, so it sounds even more midified to me. I would really much prefer real bass on this, especially since it's so organic to begin with. The acoustic guitar tracks sound a little thin, like they are overly compressed, and you mention something about adding compression to them in one of your comments, and I was thinking that maybe you should not use any compression at all on the guitar tracks. It's not like they really need it, they are so delicately picked. Sometimes we get a little carried away with all the audio shaping tools at our fingertips that we ignore the simple things. But I'm in the minority here, so ignore me if you like, I just thought I'd offer another perspective.

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This is plainly going to continue to be a frustrating bit of 'learning experience'
for me... I tell you without exaggeration that I listened to this track on my Alesis monitors here, on four different headphones, on my iPod earbuds, on my Sennheiser replacement iPod headphones, and on my little Boston Acoustics speakers at work... and I finally got it to where the bass seemed prominent enough to have weight without overdoing it, or so I thought... And when I had people pre-listen to the mix, I got unsolicited praise back for how the bass was turning out...

I can see why mix engineers spend so much time and energy working on bass response...

(Often, of course, MY songs don't really have much in the way of bass, so it's not an issue...)

I WAS joking, and I hope it came across as a joke, about getting Danny Thompson's tone... I know very well I'm not sounding like Danny Thompson here...

Of course, most of your crit concerns the MIDI-fied nature of the bass, and I think that's just down to me not being a bass player. I really didn't 'over-adjust' the mistakes, because really the mistakes that I corrected were BAD mistakes... coming in EARLY... playing the wrong note entirely... and I didn't mess with note velocity at all... Perhaps next time, if I don't have Neil do the bass, I'll get even braver and try doing it on bass myself...

In its original form, this song had about a dozen acoustic guitar tracks... once I started working with Mystified's voice as the central element, I cut back and back and back until it was down to four acoustic guitar tracks...

I'm prob'ly guilty in terms of using more plug-ins than I needed to. I was just seeing what all the stuff sounded like, and I thought it sounded pretty good.

All of these things said, I don't care if you're in the minority... this is really good and solid listening, and I appreciate that you're willing to let me know how it really sounds to you. I'm re-listening with what you're saying in mind...

If you ever have the inclination, I'd be pleased to ship you the files and you could try a mix. Or maybe I'll have Neil put in real bass and THEN ship you the files... that might be fun...

Thanks again for a detailed and thoughtful listen. Much appreciated.

Ed



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If you like you could just give me a disk with the .band file at fran's gig this week. I'll even take a crack at a bass part myself, I've been getting a pretty good bass tone lately out of the old epiphone. See ya around!

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So very good this....classic yet contemporary. Lovely guitar work Ed. And Mysti...your vocal harmonies are elegant and downright angelic. Well done you two. VERY well done.

Take care!

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I'm glad you like the guitar work. Mysti's vocals really are the centerpiece of this effort...

Thank you for listening and commenting...

Ed

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