Musicians,Composers,etc...
 

no musical peeps?
 

Nice thread SH. I'm a vocalist myself. I'm curious, has T changed your voice in a positive or negative way?

TCB!!Nice to see another vocalist!Testosterone has changed my singing voice...my goal is to take some voice lessons.In some ways I miss my old voice,although it was quite feminine...My mom used to say "How does that sweet voice come out of you?"

How about you?What kind of music to you like to sing?Do you write your own material?

Testosterone has surely changed my voice. Primarily in positive ways. It's taken much adjustment but I've been managing and working with it. I will say I'm happier with it.
I was fortunate to not have a high talking voice, but I sang a very nice falsetto before T. My falsetto is still great, but in a different way lol.
The music I sing is all over the map. My biggest influence is Elvis Presley.
I sing a lot of ballads, adult contemporary, Pop, Pop/rock.
I actually just finished writing and recording my first original track with a producer. Still waiting on the final touches with it before I move on to the next couple tracks that I'm ready to lay down. I'm truly excited.
My next goal is to start taking one on one lessons for Piano.

Logic for Composing
 

anyone have any experience with this program?
ever used garage band?

I use GarageBand. Surely there's a lot I don't know, but I've been getting around pretty well on my own with it.

Do you have an interface hooked up,TCB?

Good thread start. I could really use some support and encouragement! I had mentioned this as part of my [many] topics on a music thread.

I have had a music block for about three/four years now. I used to love playing my guitar and writing music and lyrics - and creating medodies. This all was a very special way of me expressing myself... even if just for myself.

I try to explain to folks, it's like painting. If you created that way, and then it all just shut DOWN - you would feel that loss!

I always have drumming, but this is a very different part of me - even though that is creative too, yes. But, that is more like a familiar therapeutic jog down memory lane for me. And I'm not doing that as much as I would like to either.

I feel lost emotionally and losing this creative side to me has been like a partial death to my spirit. I can readily see and feel this.

Actually, a sweet woman artist once told me online to sage... and that did help. I think I am due for that today! I just don't understand how to get past this block. Or WHY I haven't been able to! It's a very strange place for me to be. When my mother stopped playing the piano years back, I always said to her, "HOW could you stop playing"?! I loved it so much. I was so baffled with her. And now I'm going through it myself. She is not missing it though, the same as I - as she found replacements. I don't want to replace this part of me. Sure, I can keep adding new parts to my way of "being", but I don't want this to stay away from me. It hurts too much. And it's a way that I've always felt very centered and grounded.

I could still sit at the drums and bang it out, but again... it is not the same thing, creativity-wise. Chord progressions and melody lines, and the rhythms one can create on the guitar. (I enjoy acoustic.) And lyrics are about growth for me, sharing and working through personal things and celebrating. I just canNOT pick up a guitar. I walk past them every day here in my cabin, a hundred times.

It did start back a few years when I was going through a very emotionally distraught time relationship-wise, which means absolutely nothing to me now. But, also then when I lost my older kid cats, M.L. at 23 and Mertie at 24. It's like that part of me died along with the grief of loss at that time.

Any suggestions, I am open... Plus, I haven't sang as much, so I know I am "rusty". I don't like to sound "off" - at all. (Perfectionist Virgo crap.) That has something to do with it all too. But, I know I must play to get back to a certain level to be able to enjoy it again. I do sing along with music, and still very much enjoy listening to songs, but my own stuff... whole 'nother story.

Thanks,
Wildcat

Nah, not yet SH. I'm just making my way around with the basics. I only use GB to test out song ideas and sample tracks right now.

pro tools
 

I learned both Logic and ProTools in school, although I'm probably several versions behind now. I much preferred Digital Performer over Logic (I found Logic a bit illogical). ProTools is the industry standard for digital recording, of course. It's amazing, although its MIDI features seemed a bit limited or cumbersome at the time. I fell in love with Reason, and wrote several songs in it, although it is not meant for full-blown composition, at least not quite in the way that Logic or DP are. But Reason is just an amazing program. I used an Oxygen 8 which was fine for my needs at the time.

GarageBand is an ok tool, I've known people who have composed in it but it's really rather light-weight relative to other programs. I can probably scrounge my Logic notes if you want em...

Clyde
 

I would love some help...

bump

i'm a protools user and i really dislike having to stay in the digi universe to make it work

i've been playing with reaper but after the last digi update my mbox is no longer compatible

i've been looking at nuendo and ardour

anyone out there want to compare and contrast daws

Hey Everyone,

I just finished my first track titled "Drag me down." Check it out with the link below.
Brand new page, brand new everything. Friend me if you want, your support means a lot!

http://www.myspace.com/cristopheraugust

Gershwin Bros.
Harry Warren
Johnny Mercer


my favorites

Harry James
Charlie Barnet
Roy Eldridge
Sonny Stitt
Michael Franks
Kenny Rankin

favorite musicians

Wow, I want to read this all. I am most diffidently going to be coming back and reading everything that is posted, but I am so tired tonight.

I am most certainly a musician, a vocalist and lyricist. I played clarinet years ago, and would love to pick it back up but have to find an instrument at a price I can afford. I also play the piano, well enough, but am by no means a great pianist, I taught myself. This year I bought myself a used guitar and am desperately trying to figure out how to make sounds that don't hurt my ears...

I would have to say my biggest influence is jazz. All though my current work comes out somewhere along the jazz/pop fusion stuff... with a little alternative thrown in for good measure. I love to sing jazz and gospel and spent years as a child teaching myself to "sing black". The voices of strong black women fascinated me and I wanted to sound like that.

I have always been at the wrong place at the wrong time to be able to work on any of my music at a professional or even semi professional lever; however, I am returning to school this next year to get my teaching certificate and plan on majoring in Special Education and minoring in Music. Hopefully that will bring more opportunity.

I'm past electronic rock except for the vocals, which i believe need a good mix. I'd like an new/old, wild, concept now with old/new wooden vintage instruments in larger groups. Sort of a mix of rock, country, and the old twenties jazz. On some magical nights though, I hear celestial music in the air, floating through the trees, and I copy and record the melodies on my flute and yamaha keyboard. I've had many a block too wildcat, but, when you least expect it, your heart song will return.

A friend of mine and I recently re-connected and she does her radio show from home and sends the stations files.......long way from the days i was in radio and everything was analog. She and I had met in radio and to listen t o her talk about radio now amazing. Her show is syndicated now like Delilah.

i bet you were using the sure sm7 - that's an awesome mic on a lot of vocals
it has a bass roll-off and a presence boost selection and get in close there's a sweet proximity effect not too crazy
it sounded surprisingly good on a guitar cab too
i've also used the electrovoice re20 - the fraiser mic
and i've tried a re27 - but it seems to have a slight bump in the presence 2k-4khz and a reduced proximity response comped to the re20

i've been told that a crisper sound is what you need for radio work - is that true?

that makes perfect sense now that i think about it - dj's swim in that warm deep sound while ads and news spots are far more out front and on top and present


i also know an engineer who swears by the heil pr40. he wants to put that mic on everyone. he claims it is superior to the sm7 but i have yet to hear for myself. i would love to get my mitts on one and see what kind of magic it can do

have you considered large diaphragm condensers - they are usually very transparent but i can recommend

the rode nt1 - it has a really smooth sound and comes at a budget price. i've found quite a few of them lately at the pawn shops for about $100. it definitely doesn't sound like a budget mic and slightly off axis it darkens up quite nice
and actually the nt2 as well - it comes with selectable polar patterns and high pass filter but it costs a bit more

and

the neumann tlm103
this mic has sounded amazing on everything i've put it on
it's super quiet so even whispers can be captured with amazing clarity
and run it through an avalon pre - heaven

imac studio monitor speakers
 

Advice anyone?Good sound -not too expensive.












.

i'd like to throw out a recommendation for the m-audio av 40 2 way desktop reference monitors

- they have a small footprint but feel quite substantial (weight and construction wise)
- they are powered and do not require an additional power amp
- they have both 1/4" and rca line inputs
- they have a pretty flat frequency response
- my home studio mixes translated remarkable true in an acoustically treated studio on genelec 1038's (head and shoulders beyond the 8 and 10" jbl and mackie monitors that i've also mixed with)

the downside
- they roll off drastically at about 70Hz (there is a bass boost but it just bumps the 70Hz a couple dB's it doesn't extend the range)

of course this critique is dependent on my mixing space and results can be completely different in yours