apb's 100 Most Recent Comments

Experiment #5 - Lemon Grass by mfwmiles 1 month ago
Catchy! Nice skiffly groove. Nice light, flighty "good times" vocals .. very well delivered. Excellent.
FAST JIVE by KCsGROOVE 1 month ago

Nice crisp and clean classic Strat sound .. with a lovely a lovely roomy reverb/ambience to this. Playing is great .. can tell everyone was enjoying themselves in this.
Baby Boss by pharmakeus 2 months ago

Very fine vocal mix, expressive guitar leads... whats not to like? Has a kinda Björk thang goin' on overall to my ears. Good stuff.
Piano Dance by Bassplayer2593 2 months ago

The mix of fast piano runs and dance beats did catch me a little by surprise at first (despite the title)- but I quickly found it groovy: made me think of the mall scene from Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure a little.
Mend by apb 2 months ago
[quote="borris"]Nice start for a great song. Very 'classic rock' sounding with a bit of a modern influx. Nice loud mix.

Yeah, I would really like to hear vocals here. Go for it. The guitar sounds are crazy good. Nice work on the drums too (no loops? ...wow!) Is that a harmonica at the end?

Thanks Borris: no harmonica. I think you mean the small FX bits I did using my "you rock" midi guitar controller, with it's own native el.guitar sound and it's whammy bar/pitch bend. Mix is just made on GB but with Ozone 3 mastering AU plug-in, real guitars/bass are using POD X3 Pro amps and the drums in this are "live" Roland TD-9K (not midi). A vocal mix will come later.
Why? by borris 2 months ago
Very slick 80s(?) pop. Overall fantastic feel and the pull of that catchy bass riff is quite something. Well sung and fine solo too. Mix seemed a tad hot to my ears with some noticeable clipping on the piano part in the intro for example.
The Plane by vegetal 2 months ago

Hypnotic Dance/Trance indeed with some old fashioned retro disco thrown in- that glitchy bass part stood out for me. I did expect some more variation to arrive in the composition around the half way mark...but the rather small breakdown section came eventually. After this point, the arrangement seemed to oscillate from use of glitchy bass part and then not and a choice to not build toward the end. My advice would be to suggest: introduce some more small, subtle variations. Keep more constant "quantity" of instruments/voices to make "breakdowns" and "build-ups" more obvious variations... and I really thought this piece could have made some use of the occasional dramatic dead-stop + short reversed cymbal returns to the groovy trance beat.
Cherry Picking by TimAdCanTom 3 months ago

Cool! The percussion was awesome!!! The synth trumpet.. meh.. not so awesome. It made me think of TV themes from the 60s, like the Avengers or the Saint.. but African... if that makes any sense (?). Anyways, major kudos on the percussion. All midi? with Sibelius 6 was it? Wow.
Nothing Else Matters by Vixen 3 months ago
Fabulous. What an orchestration and an emotional vocal performance that Metallica would struggle to achieve themselves. I would only dare suggest trying to compress the vocals a little- since there is some "belting" bits, to squash 'em down a little.. and to avoid clipping those big, powerful notes/moments.
Ballad of Julian Assange by pharmakeus 3 months ago
Excellent protest song, clever, lyrically sound. Delivered masterfully.
Who Will Stop The Rain by Gweaterman 3 months ago

Fine performances all round: well sung, well played. Solid production/mix too. Country yes, but with some pop sensibilities. For some reason I got shades of Van Morrison (Brown Eyed Girl) mixed with the Gin Blossoms (?). Enjoyed.
Sicker quicker by apb 11 months ago

"Nought" vs "Naught" info:

The words "nought" and "naught" are spelling variants. They are, according to H. W. Fowler, not a modern accident as might be thought,[by whom?] but have descended that way from Old English. There is a distinction in British English between the two, but it is not one that is universally recognized. This distinction is that "nought" is primarily used in a literal arithmetic sense, where the number 0 is straightforwardly meant, whereas "naught" is used in poetical and rhetorical senses, where "nothing" could equally well be substituted. So the name of the board game is "noughts & crosses", whereas the rhetorical phrases are "bring to naught", "set at naught", and "availeth naught". The Reader's Digest Right Word at the Right Time labels "naught" as "old-fashioned".[3][4]

Whilst British English makes this distinction, in United States English, the spelling "naught" is preferred for both the literal and rhetorical/poetic senses.[4
Its a Snap by Axelbreeze 11 months ago

Very cool .. sweet mix on the electronica .. movin' an' a groovin'..vocals in this context reminded me of Oceanic "Insanity".. well delivered, but would have liked the recording a bit "cleaner" .. fair bit of hiss at the end... sounds like veryone had lots of fun doing this and that's a bonus to the mix.
Watch My Suicide II by JCLeonard 11 months ago

Your voice made me think of "Sisters of Mercy"/"The fields of the Nephilim" a bit... the song a bit more DM backing. Nice use of those GB?El. guitars .. the pick slide is perhaps a little over-used/repetitive. Liked the "middle-eastern" flair you gave this at the end. As much fun as you can have with a suicide bomber...
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (cover) by randolf 11 months ago

Instrumention is very good.. the bass sound could a bit better imo.. the vocals are fine, just wasn't so keen on the effects. Very tricky and ambitious to take this one on .. last refrain the lower vocal sounded like it had alot more reverb than the rest .. my only mixing nit. This rendition is overall very well performed on all the parts... very faithful to the original, I liked that. Good job you two .. 'fess up- who had the Mellotron sound handy? ;o)
Holy Natural by vegetal 1 year ago

does he/who sing "it's only natural" or "holy natural"? Hard to tell.. I would have guessed the latter. Groovy, catchy, energetic punk for sure .. just missed a dead stop and a "1,2,3,4" reprise near the end. Kinda Exploited/GBH etc etc...
Oh my Darlin (acoustic session) by stevel 1 year ago

Since when did you get Logic? Fine recording, pity about the slight buzz/hum but that aside, excellent song, sweet pickin'/strummin' and tone from the acoustic and well sung too. "Wine is fine, but whisky's quicker" - Ozzy ('Suicide solution'). Oh, at first I was expecting a cover ... and "Clementine" to make an appearance... phew.
mishy moshy boppy whoppy by Lapskin 1 year ago

Awesome! Really enjoyed this .. there's a synth coming in about
half way that's a bit loud in the mix .. and if you add some more "Flat Eric" -esque glitchy-ness too .. it would make it perfeck.
Dancing Barefoot (patti smith cover) by michael2 2 years ago

Excellent cover and sound Michael. On the vocals, I find a "quick" way at the end, to gain some headroom for vocals in an otherwise "I'm happy" mix is to use "ducking". This is easy done in GB ..and converts to something (I forget which) in Logic. It basically "ducks down", "leaves alone" or "ducks up" some tracks relative to others when they are 'active'... by a db amount you specify. Grouping tracks in Logic and re-adjusting the entire bed (as a group) or sub groups in the bed (eg. all drums) to give the vocals (another group I suspect with lead and backing etc) more room (fairly easy too) is another equally good alternative.
One drawback with the "ducking" is that 'active' means when the track has ANY playback recording, even "dead space" .. so some trimming of the lead-ins, outs etc on the vocals might be required.
The Keening Spell (UF) by becwil 2 years ago
Very cinematic/soundtrack .. evokes many images .. all creepy .. would suit a ghost or Halloween outing equally well. Enjoyed it, thanks for sharing.
SUGAR SUGAR by MickD 2 years ago

Does have a fair smattering overall of Peter Gabriel to this to my ears too .. excellent guitar work. Lyrics do get a little repetitive- though I'm glad you didn't sing Hermesetas ;o)- mix is very good .. but sounded a bit cluttered in the beginning (after the intro)- I would guess the backing vox are a little loud at that point for my tastes. Enjoyed this.
Strawberry Fields Forever (Beatle Cover) by Lavalamp 2 years ago

Nice take .. modernised .. but at the same time faithful. I like the beats (in particular as a bit of a twist on Ringo).. and the outro. Well sung, the extra graveliness in your delivery suits this very well I thought. Well done Dave.
IF IT'S NOT SCOTTISH... by chuckk1 2 years ago

Asch, ye cannae wack it ..

/Alan

(Scottish)
We Better Have It Now by UncletupeloFan 2 years ago
4


Marvelous song. Bleak but heartfelt and gripping. While I enjoy lo-fi for feel .. I think the song is so good, it could have a bit better production: every just a bit less muddy and clearer .. nice up front intimate vocal recording etc.. and perhaps the addition of some strings (not much).
Always with Me Always with You (Satriani Cover) by Nick_W 2 years ago

nifty fingers. Impressive. Cutting edge tone.

Enjoyed it. Not so familiar with the original I must confess.
Parting Gift by Rusticalia 2 years ago

.. a sad and thoughtful farewell, parting is such sweet sorrow eh?.

Delivery on the vocals is perfect imo.. works extremely well as an acoustic number... and your style and uniqueness makes it work.

Excellent.
Fires Light The Way by thenownows 2 years ago

I thought the singing and el. piano carried this, excellently done.. and at times I just found the extra wash of spacier sounds in the background innappropriate and irritating to be honest. I'd remove them .. or lower them a fair bit in the mix.
In Kerosene Light by Xolv 2 years ago

overall very nice music... with nice percussion. I agree with the laid back feel - I could picture it in a movie: romantic dinner scene, between some middle-aged couple, in a nice hot country.

My only nit was .. since I was in this space .. that very warbly drawbar organ sound that came in around the 3/4 mark sounded like .. er.. indigestion. smiley
ma tripin senses by yogeshsoundrecords 2 years ago

Short and sweet. I wanted more .. but I liked what I heard... full of eastern promise smiley
Guitar Test 1 by HeadCheese 3 years ago

Desipte recognising that pretty prominent GB library stock "Edgy rock bass 1" loop, speeded up, I really liked what you built up around it.

The vocals are well delivered and effected.. it does have an overall RHCP kinda sound to the bed as has been mentioned but the more 'death' metal vocal makes it quite unique combination. I also liked the rather comical use of the classic "Crazy Train" percussion. The finger tapped guitar was interesting .. suitably energetic.... I'm guessing that was played?
Lies Lies (w/Lunatrick) by MickD 3 years ago

Excellent collaboration. Production is great (solo could have come up a smidge imo).. catchy, superb performances all round. An interesting mix of styles too .. kinda Bon Jovi acoustic meets 80s "sister's of mercy" with some Bowie thrown in for good measure. Structure wise, I thought it perhaps needed some more verses/narration parts, as the balance is swayed heavily in the refrain repetitions, without losing any of the catchyness.
Electronic Storm by vegetal 3 years ago

.. this is thumping! Awesome .. nice variations throughout, never gets tiring. Excellent job. Clipping? Not here with me MSP3s .. heavy and pumping, yes.

I would have liked just the occassional guitar power chord (on the shift up changes) at some point, would just have given it the edge .. and the odd sexy french female sample wouldn't have gone amiss either.
Footnote by Browntones 3 years ago

Excellent singing/harmonies .. reminded me a little of Ivan Dando and the Lemonheads.

Sounds like there is a little clipping on the chorus'... otherwise excellent mix.

Thanks for sharing.
Clam Bay Pier Dance by Xolv 3 years ago
like the bass in particular.. screams sunshine, dance and fun .. and guitar ..kinda Martin Knoffler-ish solo .. nice ethnic touches with the percussion and accordian instrumentation choices.

Well done, fine good feeling/swing yer hips vibe. smiley
Enceladus Encounter by feenixx 3 years ago

spacey, martial arty, shades of 70s cop show tension and even Twin Peaks in spots .. quite a mix. I was more enthrawled up to and including the spacey sample in the middle .. before these other bits seemed to repeat... I liked the free form flow of the earlier section prior to the spacey breakdown.
hiphop project by irok 3 years ago

this is very cool .. I would have loved some heavily vocoded vocal phrases .. saying .. well something .. I dunno .. I get that 'cos some of the synth sounds are so close to 'talking speech' .. like they are saying something .. it seems a natural thing to consider adding.

Good quality.. nice groove, laid back and easily appealing.
Try - Deep inside by jack1972 3 years ago

reminds me of the band "Live" quite a bit. S'good all round... was this mastered?
The Carnival Starts Today by 8MonthMalfunction 3 years ago

very nice. Singing and harmonies very lush, nice simple catchy melodies .. fond of the mandolin myself .. nice to hear it. Simple percussion: claps and tambourine works well .. I'd like to hear it build in the arrangement so drums and bass would come in.. as it's a really good song... love the folkiness.
Pharaoh Redeux by MontgomeryCalifornia 4 years ago
5

Indeed - not only is this the standard by which all GB4 recordings in this genre should be compared to for recording quality and mix .. all the performances are even more impressive. A true epic.

It's just the drums that are DoD loops? Or did you get a real
drummer in for this version Allen? The "Loop use" confused me...though they too are mixed so well .. it's hard to tell...
love the gong/deep cymbal? near the end

To my ears I hear a brilliant novel blend reminiscent of Alice in Chains "what the hell have I" with some Metallica inspired elements too.... I really love the acoustic break too..
all more than ready for radio, CD, download and stage.

Fantastic collaboration.
You're not big boned, you're just fat by MartinDunn 4 years ago
5

Funny and well done - I like bit of tongue in cheek, or face in pie smiley
Pop ... poppoppoppop by Slupper 4 years ago

Nice .. but the opening progression (returned to later) reminds me alot of the verses of "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera .. fine guitar playing throughout...great little commercial solo- enjoyed it. Fine mix too... perhaps a little long .. would need
to hear it with vocals really.
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