For cookies the bell tolls, eh? Let's see...starting around 1:53 or 1:54, I think? It's got a real soft and distant character to it.

For cookies the bell tolls, eh? :) Let's see...starting around 1:53 or 1:54, I think? It's got a real soft and distant character to it.

i need that churchbell, do you deliver? lovely track as well!! the violin sings to me!

i need that churchbell, do you deliver? lovely track as well!! the violin sings to me!

BELL SAMPLE DETECTED ... AT FOUR SECONDS ... STOP

Loving the Roman songs. Nice work on the melody, and the drums too!

BELL SAMPLE DETECTED ... AT FOUR SECONDS ... STOP Loving the Roman songs. Nice work on the melody, and the drums too!

That stutter before the transition at 0:40 & 1:15ish is money, love it. Mix sounds amazing man, once again very impressive use of reverb.  Always impressed by that.

By the way, what piano VST do you use and do you have any advise on how to get it to sound better in general?  The Logic stock pianos I use are starting to sound like garbage to me after hearing you and some of the other guys on here's tracks.

That stutter before the transition at 0:40 & 1:15ish is money, love it. Mix sounds amazing man, once again very impressive use of reverb. Always impressed by that. By the way, what piano VST do you use and do you have any advise on how to get it to sound better in general? The Logic stock pianos I use are starting to sound like garbage to me after hearing you and some of the other guys on here's tracks.

Sweet sweet sweet. I agree with Foo, the transitions were killer.

Sweet sweet sweet. I agree with Foo, the transitions were killer.

Ahaha I forgot about that, that's actually a different bell sample. I really went all in with the church bells in this tune. You can have the consolation prize of this old cowbell I found on the road

We do but the delivery time is about 100 years.

DING DING DING. WE HAVE A WINNER.

Thanks! In general, stock and free piano plugins can't quite cut it - decent quality piano VSTs will usually set you back 100$ or so. I use Pianoteq 6 if you're interested in investing in one. NI's The Giant and Alicia's Keys are two other traditional high quality options, but it's been some years since I last looked into the market, so there are probably better ones for less at this point.

That said however, LABS Soft Piano and Keyzone Classic are two fantastic free piano VSTs, both of them a cut above stock plugins. I use these two all the time alongside Pianoteq for layering and mixing.

The other main thing is having a decent reverb unit, it immediately brings things up a level. I use Valhalla Vintage because I usually want really rich decay signals, but any of the Valhalla products will work depending on your tastes.

When mixing them, pianos usually don't need much treatment - I keep the low end very strictly controlled and usually cut away the instrumental low end rumble and dip the low mids if they sound muddy (which they usually do). My reverb is almost always high passed at around 300-500Hz at least too. You can do this in unit or with a dedicated send if you want more control. I then EQ a little and apply to some light compression and gain to level it with the rest of the track.

One problem that does come up a lot is resonance, which builds up quite quickly with reverb and compression. I tend to solve this by resampling the piano once the writing is all finished, and I'll take manual control of the EQ as the piano is being recorded to selectively EQ different frequencies at particular moments in time. This takes ages though, so I only occasionally actually get around to doing this.

Other than that, I often layer an electric piano with the bass notes of my piano lines to replace the warmth that I cut away. ePianos (I use the free mda ePiano) have much cleaner low frequencies and layer very easily.

Another tip for getting clarity in the upper melody lines is to place those notes on a new instance of the piano and apply very hard compression (I use the free xfer OTT VST), which when the parameters are tweaked a bit can create this brilliant clear tone to the piano that's much better at cutting through the mix.

Hope any of that helps!

Thanks They're so much fun to do, glad you liked em.

[quote=Reilly Farrell]For cookies the bell tolls, eh? :) Let's see...starting around 1:53 or 1:54, I think? It's got a real soft and distant character to it.[/quote] Ahaha I forgot about that, that's actually a different bell sample. I really went all in with the church bells in this tune. You can have the consolation prize of this old cowbell I found on the road ;) [quote=Wisefire]i need that churchbell, do you deliver? lovely track as well!! the violin sings to me![/quote] We do but the delivery time is about 100 years. [quote=Mission Crossing]BELL SAMPLE DETECTED ... AT FOUR SECONDS ... STOP Loving the Roman songs. Nice work on the melody, and the drums too![/quote] DING DING DING. WE HAVE A WINNER. [quote=Chrisfoo]That stutter before the transition at 0:40 & 1:15ish is money, love it. Mix sounds amazing man, once again very impressive use of reverb. Always impressed by that. By the way, what piano VST do you use and do you have any advise on how to get it to sound better in general? The Logic stock pianos I use are starting to sound like garbage to me after hearing you and some of the other guys on here's tracks.[/quote] Thanks! In general, stock and free piano plugins can't quite cut it - decent quality piano VSTs will usually set you back 100$ or so. I use Pianoteq 6 if you're interested in investing in one. NI's The Giant and Alicia's Keys are two other traditional high quality options, but it's been some years since I last looked into the market, so there are probably better ones for less at this point. That said however, LABS Soft Piano and Keyzone Classic are two fantastic free piano VSTs, both of them a cut above stock plugins. I use these two all the time alongside Pianoteq for layering and mixing. The other main thing is having a decent reverb unit, it immediately brings things up a level. I use Valhalla Vintage because I usually want really rich decay signals, but any of the Valhalla products will work depending on your tastes. When mixing them, pianos usually don't need much treatment - I keep the low end very strictly controlled and usually cut away the instrumental low end rumble and dip the low mids if they sound muddy (which they usually do). My reverb is almost always high passed at around 300-500Hz at least too. You can do this in unit or with a dedicated send if you want more control. I then EQ a little and apply to some light compression and gain to level it with the rest of the track. One problem that does come up a lot is resonance, which builds up quite quickly with reverb and compression. I tend to solve this by resampling the piano once the writing is all finished, and I'll take manual control of the EQ as the piano is being recorded to selectively EQ different frequencies at particular moments in time. This takes ages though, so I only occasionally actually get around to doing this. Other than that, I often layer an electric piano with the bass notes of my piano lines to replace the warmth that I cut away. ePianos (I use the free mda ePiano) have much cleaner low frequencies and layer very easily. Another tip for getting clarity in the upper melody lines is to place those notes on a new instance of the piano and apply very hard compression (I use the free xfer OTT VST), which when the parameters are tweaked a bit can create this brilliant clear tone to the piano that's much better at cutting through the mix. Hope any of that helps! [quote=Jokinen]Sweet sweet sweet. I agree with Foo, the transitions were killer.[/quote] Thanks <3 They're so much fun to do, glad you liked em.

Digging the continued Roman vibes.  I say do as many as you feel inspired to do.  Others already beat me to the punch on the transitions but the on at 1:15 really stood out to me.  Just a big joyous moment.

Digging the continued Roman vibes. I say do as many as you feel inspired to do. Others already beat me to the punch on the transitions but the on at 1:15 really stood out to me. Just a big joyous moment.

You should roll out a Roman inspired EP at this point. Awesome stuff!

You should roll out a Roman inspired EP at this point. Awesome stuff!

Damn man, this is awesome. Thanks for taking the time to write this out.  I think I have that LABS one but I keep forgetting about it, and I'll grab that Keyzone one tonight. I've been eyeing another Valhalla verb too.  I use/love Shimmer currently but really want to try Vintage or Room.  Good call on the resonance, I usually take the time to cut it on vocals and synths but usually never think to do so on piano.  I saw there's a plugin called Soothe thats supposed to tackle that for you but its like $200 so F that.  Definitely pumped to try the epiano bass notes and hard compressed melodies.  Those sound like awesome techniques. I appreciate the help man, I'll try everything out on this weeks song.

Damn man, this is awesome. Thanks for taking the time to write this out. I think I have that LABS one but I keep forgetting about it, and I'll grab that Keyzone one tonight. I've been eyeing another Valhalla verb too. I use/love Shimmer currently but really want to try Vintage or Room. Good call on the resonance, I usually take the time to cut it on vocals and synths but usually never think to do so on piano. I saw there's a plugin called Soothe thats supposed to tackle that for you but its like $200 so F that. Definitely pumped to try the epiano bass notes and hard compressed melodies. Those sound like awesome techniques. I appreciate the help man, I'll try everything out on this weeks song.

Very nice piece. This piano sound! And the the violin lines. Very nice, it has a video game vibe.

Very nice piece. This piano sound! And the the violin lines. Very nice, it has a video game vibe.

[img]https://media.giphy.com/media/fi9iBFsZXieAg/giphy.gif[/img]

Thanks hieme for the cool track again, and very cool-good tips about piano production.

Thanks hieme for the cool track again, and very cool-good tips about piano production.

wowwww the piano composition on this one is really something. Can't exactly place what's speaking to me about the melody and hwhatnot but it's just really masterful work. Very good job. And again, JRPG vibes in the best sense.

wowwww the piano composition on this one is really something. Can't exactly place what's speaking to me about the melody and hwhatnot but it's just really masterful work. Very good job. And again, JRPG vibes in the best sense.

Lovely song and execution, thanks for all the tips!!

Lovely song and execution, thanks for all the tips!!

Dig it as usual. Took on a good journey to magical places. I'm not sure what the Roman theme is, but I'm catching up on tracks. Appreciate the notes about production, interesting to hear your process.

Dig it as usual. Took on a good journey to magical places. I'm not sure what the Roman theme is, but I'm catching up on tracks. Appreciate the notes about production, interesting to hear your process.

Thanks, will do. Transitions are always cool moments, I really want to work on them more. Glad you enjoyed them

Haha I'll try, we'll we see how we go. I have a whole raft of things to try out once I finish working on all the older songs that are hanging around. Thanks for listening

No worries! Happy to talk about production anytime. I hope you find it all useful. I did try the soothe trial, but I didn't think it was worth the price. I think I'm happier with the control I get from just manually automating all the EQ cuts. Thanks for listening as usual

Thanks a lot

Cheers for listening

No worries

Thank you so much!

No worries, thanks for listening!

Thanks! It's nothing much, just the energy that was rolling around my head when I made it. No worries, hope it's useful! Thanks for listening

[quote=CosmicCairns]Digging the continued Roman vibes. I say do as many as you feel inspired to do. Others already beat me to the punch on the transitions but the on at 1:15 really stood out to me. Just a big joyous moment.[/quote] Thanks, will do. Transitions are always cool moments, I really want to work on them more. Glad you enjoyed them <3 [quote=danju]You should roll out a Roman inspired EP at this point. Awesome stuff![/quote] Haha I'll try, we'll we see how we go. I have a whole raft of things to try out once I finish working on all the older songs that are hanging around. Thanks for listening <3 [quote=Chrisfoo]Damn man, this is awesome. Thanks for taking the time to write this out. I think I have that LABS one but I keep forgetting about it, and I'll grab that Keyzone one tonight. I've been eyeing another Valhalla verb too. I use/love Shimmer currently but really want to try Vintage or Room. Good call on the resonance, I usually take the time to cut it on vocals and synths but usually never think to do so on piano. I saw there's a plugin called Soothe thats supposed to tackle that for you but its like $200 so F that. Definitely pumped to try the epiano bass notes and hard compressed melodies. Those sound like awesome techniques. I appreciate the help man, I'll try everything out on this weeks song. [/quote] No worries! Happy to talk about production anytime. I hope you find it all useful. I did try the soothe trial, but I didn't think it was worth the price. I think I'm happier with the control I get from just manually automating all the EQ cuts. Thanks for listening as usual <3 [quote=Kedbreak136]Very nice piece. This piano sound! And the the violin lines. Very nice, it has a video game vibe.[/quote] Thanks a lot <3 [quote=Q-Rosh][img]https://media.giphy.com/media/fi9iBFsZXieAg/giphy.gif[/img][/quote] Cheers for listening <3 [quote=djippy]Thanks hieme for the cool track again, and very cool-good tips about piano production. [/quote] No worries <3 [quote=scottux]wowwww the piano composition on this one is really something. Can't exactly place what's speaking to me about the melody and hwhatnot but it's just really masterful work. Very good job. And again, JRPG vibes in the best sense.[/quote] Thank you so much! [quote=codydjango]Lovely song and execution, thanks for all the tips!![/quote] No worries, thanks for listening! [quote=miraclemiles]Dig it as usual. Took on a good journey to magical places. I'm not sure what the Roman theme is, but I'm catching up on tracks. Appreciate the notes about production, interesting to hear your process. [/quote] Thanks! It's nothing much, just the energy that was rolling around my head when I made it. No worries, hope it's useful! Thanks for listening <3

This piano composition is unreal. Your key advice is very appreciated. Your electronic drums are always on point too. I'd love to pick your brain about how you approach your beats. Those fast hi hats, the triplet kicks, the stutter effects Foo mentioned. Its all so cool. As a drummer myself, Ive always wanted to venture into the electronic realm, but really dont where to even start.

This piano composition is unreal. Your key advice is very appreciated. Your electronic drums are always on point too. I'd love to pick your brain about how you approach your beats. Those fast hi hats, the triplet kicks, the stutter effects Foo mentioned. Its all so cool. As a drummer myself, Ive always wanted to venture into the electronic realm, but really dont where to even start.

Not much to add to what everyone has already said, but man those strings are thing of beauty that come in midway with the driving beat, as always awesome work!

Not much to add to what everyone has already said, but man those strings are thing of beauty that come in midway with the driving beat, as always awesome work!

Yo, just realised I forgot to reply to this! Sorry man! I'm happy to talk about drums anytime, or do a video breakdown of this tune to show how I did it - nothing that I do is actually all that complicated. It's cool that you want to get into electronic drums though, they're so much fun to do.

Thanks a lot

[quote=Saucey-dough]This piano composition is unreal. Your key advice is very appreciated. Your electronic drums are always on point too. I'd love to pick your brain about how you approach your beats. Those fast hi hats, the triplet kicks, the stutter effects Foo mentioned. Its all so cool. As a drummer myself, Ive always wanted to venture into the electronic realm, but really dont where to even start. [/quote] Yo, just realised I forgot to reply to this! Sorry man! I'm happy to talk about drums anytime, or do a video breakdown of this tune to show how I did it - nothing that I do is actually all that complicated. It's cool that you want to get into electronic drums though, they're so much fun to do. [quote=Jason Nijjer]Not much to add to what everyone has already said, but man those strings are thing of beauty that come in midway with the driving beat, as always awesome work![/quote] Thanks a lot <3