MisterB

Yes, it's a very well put together suite, that works wonderfully. Very flexible and yet also easy to navigate and understand. Gotta be the key to success in a plugin.

I use way too much profanity in every day life. Not as much as I used to by any stretch, but that might be because I talk to less people. :). I do think that the f word is one of the most versatile words in the English language, and have no problem with it. The ultimate insult is the c word, which around here gets mixed results - like Marmite (for the brits) - you either love it or you hate it. I am careful with its use, but still use it to describe people, with the right people (mostly my wife). In conversation it can help get a point home easily and is thrown away. In a song, its printed forever, and I feel that if its being used, there has to be a good reason for it. I used to be in a band that made an album, and one of the best songs on it had the singer end with "who wants to see truth through these pretty f***ing lies". The song had quite a bit of anger in it that was portrayed through the vocal delivery, and to my mind, the use of the f bomb was completely unnecessary (and I think it was a little awkward with the meter, though it kind of worked because it was the last line). It would have limited radio airplay of the track (this was 2007) and I managed to convince the band that the line would be better delivered without it. They went with it, and I still think the song is better for it.

I recognize a few of these. I've used Deelay, PaulXStretch and the Gatelab/Filterstep/Panflow set. Deelay was the most useful to me (because it can do reverse delays), PaulXStretch has the most potential, but is let down by its complex UI. I just didn't have the patience to try and figure it out. The concept though is useful. The other set works, but is nothing that I don't have already. Replacing something that my DAW already does is going to take a really good UI (for example Animation Station is JUST an arpeggiator, but its UI is just miles ahead of anything else I've seen, and it made it worth the investment, and replacing the arps that are built in to my DAW. My recollection of Gatelab/Filterstep/Panflow, was that they don't share the same UI. I mean, they have similarities, but certain things that are common between them don't appear in the same place on the UI. The UI does look nice though, so if you only use one of them, then I guess its not an issue. I have the Cableguys Shaperbox2 which gives me everything that Gatelab etc gives me and more, all in a common interface, with multiple modules in the single plugin. It's not free by any stretch, but it does make Gatelab etc redundant for me.

Super job on the guitar and voice. Sounds great.

Pretty catchy song you got there. I like it.

There's a few wrong notes in there, but I think your singing is fine - you sing in tune and have a good presence about your voice. The quality of the recording is pretty bad, but your singing is fine.

Of the songs I wrote, an instrumental ditty called Manic (Funky Dory, Fists of Funk, 2007) was selected as a title/ID track for a CBC radio show, which lasted a couple of years. That's the most I've ever received in royalties. I was the trumpet player in the band at that time too. I wrote two tracks on that album. The album itself wasn't a great seller, or award winning. More popular, but I was just a side musician, would be something by a band called Hey Rosetta!. I played on one of their albums as a trumpet player, and the album was popular in Canada. I wouldn't know what track that I played on would be most successful, but it would certainly be more successful than any other album I've had a part in. I have played on other albums which have had some local popularity. I did produce (not write), a track for the Newfoundland and Labrador Summer Games, which would have been heard by quite a lot of people. It was never released as a single or anything, but did get some air play on radio and was used at the start of each session of the games. I also produced (not write) a title track for a locally produced news/arts TV show that airs three times a week. That particular track was used for around 2 years as the opening/closing music.

Cubase for life here. I started on it, on Atari ST with Cubase 2 in the early/mid-nineties. I have used others at work (ProTools, Digital Performer, Logic, Ableton, Nuendo) and tried others at home (Reaper, Studio One), but I always come back to Cubase. It feels familiar, logical, extremely full featured, and I love the results. Currently using Cubase Pro 12. I choose Cubase over Nuendo for the price and the fact that most of my home stuff is MIDI based.

Do you have any particular genres of music that you think would suit your work, or even just genres that you like?

IT's all good Chris! Thanks for the collab. I posted in the original thread this morning with where the song is today (a bit further than since my e-mail yesterday). My hearing is really messed up at the moment (more than usual!), so mix is probably really off, but the feel should be there.

As a musician, yes, I have achieved way more than I ever expected and I've given up public performances now. They took the good out of me physically, but I'm glad I did them. When I moved to Canada, I got a job at the university in the music school. As a 100% mediocre musician, I got way more opportunities than I deserved by my abilities. I started giving myself goals based on locally available venues, and played them all. I got to perform with the local symphony (1st trumpet no less) for a pops concert, played at the largest venues for music in the city (and province), and recorded and performed with a number of bands, including one of the most popular rock bands to come out of this province. I would never have dreamed of doing anything like this in my home city (Bristol, England). As a recording engineer, yes - similarly, I have worked as a recording engineer on projects larger than my abilities should have allowed me to, sometimes very reluctantly, like when I had to record an 80 piece symphony orchestra. I've recorded a number of albums, including two by a pretty well respected classical guitarist. As a composer, not yet. This is the part I've invested most into, and yet, feel I have seen the least amount of progress. Not having a mentor is the key here. I have sought advice, but never been given anything that you'd consider long term enough to make a difference to my progress. I did a diploma in film composition, but never felt any connection to my tutor. I have done short film scores, I have written a couple of songs that appeared on a funk album, and I have done a few originals that I've had local singers sing for me. I've arranged and produced albums too by others, which is something I couldn't ever have imagined doing. But I've never released a full album of my own stuff. I'm getting closer to my goal though, even though my hearing is not so good these days. I did an RPM EP last year, so if I can put together a five track EP in a month, I should be able to do an album over the course of a year or so, right? We'll see.

This would be age 24 (the closest I have to a photo at age 20). I'm the guy on trumpet. I remember the gig and the venue, even though neither was particularly good. New Years Eve, 1992, Fiddlers, Bristol.

Five of each is definitely going to be pretty limiting and I'm not sure I would want to play in this circumstance, especially VSTi's. I could probably do with just five VST processor effects, and I could just do with one single stand alone application. But I do use a lot of VSTi's, and couldn't really do what I do without them. VSTi NI Kontakt 6... most of my sample libraries use it. It would be fairly useless on its own, and I don't even have the factory library installed. If I can't also have all of my sample libraries, I wouldn't choose to include this here... instead, I'd choose TT EZ Bass since that would help give me an almost complete rhythm section. TT EZ keys... really needs an update, but in spite of this, its incredibly useful for those of us that don't play keys well enough to do performance parts in a multitude of genres. Arturia Pigments... my top choice for a very versatile synthesizer. I could use others instead (SynthMaster would be my runner up), but this is the one I tend to go to most, and to my mind is the most complete, with a very easy to use UI. Dreamtonics Synthesizer V - I think that Synthesizer-V is probably the most significant development in VI's in recent years. This is a vocal synthesizer. It creates incredible quality vocal parts for you from scratch. It's an amazing song writing tool for people who don't sing, and the output quality is good enough for release if you put a bit of time into the production. TT Superior Drummer - amazing sounding drums in a great VI. VST NI Raum. It has equals among algorithmic reverbs, but this one came with Komplete, and it's an easier to use and more versatile reverb than any other I've used. Can create wonderful spaces. CableGuys Shaperbox. Very useful rhythmic effects, especially for synth/EDM based music. SampleLogic Animation Station - it comes up as a VSTi in Cubase, but its really a VST. It doesn't really do anything you can't do with most other arpeggiators, but the UI makes it very inspirational to use. NI Guitar Rig 6. Comes with a lot of effects built in, so could technically be used for a lot of things. I don't use it a ton, but I do use the standalone plugin versions of many of the effects that come with it, so if I was down to 5 total VST's, this one would give a lot of bang for the buck. iZotope Alloy 2. I dunno, I've been using this to process drums and bass particularly, for years. I guess this one is for the tweaked presets I use all the time. Programs Steinberg Cubase Pro. I've tried many DAW's over the years as part of my job. I always go to Cubase for my own work. It's just the most intuitive DAW for me personally. Don't need any more.

Thanks John. I don't have any monetization plans for anything, I'm basically back at this to amuse, learn and enjoy the process. I'm hoping to find someone(s) to collaborate with on something of mine initially, but also open to working on others material, and think that in spite of my slight hearing challenges, I can produce something that someone will be proud of. I have tons of VI's that I've bought over the years, and would love to put them to really good use again. Not looking to make any money from anything, and hope there are likeminded individuals to collaborate with here. btw - I actually find tinnitus to be less annoying than some of the other issues I have with hearing. None of them are really seriously detrimental to music production, but they are annoying and can affect my own perception of what sounds good. That's where I'm hoping others can help me with honest critique.

Hi there, I'm Rich, originally from Bristol, England (first 31 years of my life), and have been living in Newfoundland, Canada for almost 23 years. When I moved here, I got a job at the university as a Concerts Manager, and several years in, switched over to full time tech, as the Music Technologist. I worked for the School of Music for 17 years, during which time I had many opportunities that someone of my meagre musical abilities would struggle to get anywhere else. I've played in funk, rock, pop and jazz groups, and I have 13 album credits over the span of my time here, in multiple roles. I totally switched gears at the age of 49 to become the university's photographer, which is what I still do now. The switch was as much due to some hearing loss, 24/7 tinnitus and never getting a weekend to myself, as anything else. I completely gave up all musical ties and interests when I made that switch, returning briefly last year to create a solo five track instrumental EP for the RPM Challenge (not sure if that's a well known thing or not: basically, it's a world-wide movement, where you produce an album start to finish in the month of February). This year I re-built my in the box studio, dusted off my studio monitors and keyboard, and have been getting back into writing with most of my old Virtual Instruments and some shiny new ones. I used to do some low budget local film composing, backing track arrangement and production and some other things to amuse myself. I love to write, and produce, and I'm here hoping I can collaborate with a lyricist who is honest, and enthusiastic, and interested in being part of the whole production. I'm not really sure how to define my musical style. I like acoustic ballads, some EDM, pop, rock and jazz.