Kind of Cha-cha-cha

Steinberg Lounge
1

Hi all,

Here is my last instrumental piece. The title is inspired by the title of a Korean series, Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (a pleasant comedy-drama). This borrowing is simply due to the fact that this instrumental is a kind of Cha-cha-cha. I would have liked to make it a song with lyrics in Spanish, but unfortunately I have no knowledge of it, except Gracias Amigo.

On the other hand, I am open to all proposals and collaborations.

The title is in French for the poetic side of the language. In the English language, this could be translated as: According to your dreams Cha-cha-cha, In your dreams Cha-cha-cha or at the simplest As you wish Cha-cha-cha.

I hope you will indulge in Cha-cha-cha dancing to this melody that I actually wrote down when I woke up one morning.

I am open to any form of comment, good listening!

2

A good somewhat melancholy melody. The electric guitar sounds too processed to me and somehow a bit out of context in this tune.

3

Hi Hko,

Thanks for the compliment on the melody. About the electric guitar, I also wondered whether it was the right thing to do or not. Would an acoustic guitar be better? Finally, I said to myself: why not.

I think I was influenced by listening to the group Mana that I’ve been listening to a lot lately, they are sometimes very acoustic and other times very Rock. I am thinking particularly of the song “Rayando el sol”, in Live version, which may have influenced me. I have one maybe overstated the influence.

Anyway, thank you for the comment.

4

Really nice feel to this. I was dancing around the room. Good job. I might suggest reducing the harsh highs of the cymbals. And I would be interested in hearing a version where the electric guitars were replaced by acoustics, per the discussion with HKO. It’s a rich composition with a lot of melodies and counter-melodies. Really well done.

5

Hi Early21,

Thank you for these good comments. I am also happy to have made you dance. My wife has wanted to learn Cha-cha-cha ever since she heard the song.

For the treble I will correct this in a future mix. I’m always bothered with the cymbals and the Hi-Hat, these are instruments that pierce the set easily. I always have the impression of reducing them too much. But also, I think I lost a little hearing in the treble, it does not simplify things.

I will try a version with acoustic guitar eventually. I cannot play the same score as the electric guitar which is very dynamic and rhythmic. I have to find a way to play a score that will suit and enhance the instrument.

Once again thank you!

6

I was trying to think how the electric guitar could be replaced but could not cone up with ideas. It does create contrast. An acoustic guitar could suite the tune but I suppose replacing the electric guitar with an acoustic one means that you will need to rethink what is played on the acoustic though.

7

That’s lovely. I like the different guitar sounds. Are you playing the main melody on an acoustic? It’s beautifully rich sounding. I could easily imagine the electric guitar sounds being played by a thinner, ‘chimey’ Strat out-of-phase sound. Nice smooth bass sound too.

Steve.

8

Hi Hko,

I’m going to keep the electric guitar score as it is, but with a lot less distortion, just to reduce the aggressiveness of the sound. I’m going to add an acoustic guitar to it to give just a little support to this rhythm that I want to keep.

It’s about finding a way to make these two scores sound good with the rest of the instruments.

9

Thank you Plectrumboy,

The classical guitar of the melody played with a pick is a combination of both, a VST and a classical guitar. Just the Aria classical guitar sounded a little too thin for my liking and would have needed more than a recording track to give it some oomph, without being too sure of the result. Combining it with a VST (with a stereo rendering) that had a different sound allowed to thicken the sound and make it more present and interesting IMO. Cubase has all the necessary tools to properly synchronize this kind of situation. I treated each track individually and did a global treatment on the group of these tracks with the result that we hear.

For the bass, normally I would have used my Austin bass either directly in the interface or with my Washburn amp, but here I was lazy and opted for the NI Rickenbacker (Pick Style) VST. I recently purchased Komplete Kontrol and upgraded to Komplete 13. I used this VST reproducing almost exactly what I would have played on my bass in terms of positions and articulations. The result is not so bad.

I’ll probably do another version later, but for now I’ll let the piece live as it is.

10

Brilliant. Did you play the VST with a guitar synth or on keyboard? I’m assuming the former. In either case, that’s a great solution.

Steve.

11

I played it with my Komplete Kontrol keyboard. I have an old Roland GI-20 interface connected with my GODIN XTSA - Lightburst MIDI guitar which I used in some tunes. But not for this one. To be honest, I didn’t even think about it. Either way, I’m happy with the guitar part tone and melody.

12

Inline with the Korean ambiance. Remember me a journey i had in Vietnam where we were able to listen to this kind of mood…
I agree also for the treble too.

Well done… Rene_L, Hard work most probably.

13

Thanks Stephco!

This instrumental simply took me some time. Once the tune is finished. I convert all VST tracks to audio and import all audio tracks into a template for mixing and that’s where the most time consuming and difficult work comes for me. I try to improve myself with each new mix and for the Mastering, I sometimes pay to have it done by the pros, but generally I do it myself like for this piece. It’s a lot of work indeed, but it’s my passion and a hobby that keeps me alert, sane and not thinking about all the nonsense in the world that is so wonderful and disturbing at the same time.

14

Hi,
This was a nice track, and I appreciate all that went into creating it. It’s certainly tricky to make suggestions or comments about somebody’s work because we hear things differently and some things simply come down to taste. “Hey Van Gogh, you went too heavy on the dark blue.”, or “Paul, that bridge on Hey Jude might benefit from a saxophone section.” Hey, somebody might’ve felt those feelings and articulated them (if so, I’m glad Vincent and Paul didn’t pay attention).
To my taste, I felt the electric guitar sounded a bit too “crunchy”. If you felt something needed to change, perhaps you could try a different sound with the electric. Maybe something more strat or telly than the kind of thick humbucker sound you have. Generally, it could come down to a cleaner guitar sound with less distortion, and not require a re-do with an acoustic.
Drum programming is certainly an art in itself. As a non drummer, I always struggle to do the drums as smoothly and intuitively as a drummer might. That leads me to try to keep the parts somewhat simple, and usually more repetetive than a real drummer would play them. You went for more than that with your fills, and I understand why, but some of them didn’t sound that organic. That might’ve been from either the way they were “played”, or from how they sat in the mix.
Those are the 2 areas that struck me, but again they come down to taste. If you’re happy with them, leave it all alone. It’s a good composition and recording as it is, and the time certainly comes for any of us to move on to the next project, although it is nice to know how other sets of ears hear what we do.
John

15

Thanks swetch!

I’m glad you like the piece and appreciate your feedback. I will never find comments or suggestions useless. If these can allow me to question myself and improve myself, I am interested and I also remain the sole and final judge.

You have a fine ear and an excellent knowledge of guitars having noticed the use of a Les Paul. To be completely honest, I didn’t actually play this score, but rather NI’s Electric Sunburst VST. I tweaked a preset and played it so it fit well and the way I wanted for the piece. I took the sound as it was without modifying the distortion (screamer) of the preset. I just liked that very Shredding sound, I don’t know if the word is right.

The idea of ​​adding an acoustic guitar would require me to play and record it myself because Komplete’s Strummed Acoustic VST doesn’t quite have the kind of Strumming that would suit and satisfy me. I’m not saying no to a possible experimentation, but for the moment, I leave that aside.

Regarding the drums, I use six of the sixteen patterns including two Fills and one of the two intros (which I modified) from the ‘‘Nod Rock Mix 01’’ preset from the Simon Phillips library of GA5. All the others are from myself and stuff I’ve heard here and there and fit best into the context of the piece. But, it is true that some are perhaps less appropriate and would need to be simplified. Simplicity always tastes better. Not being a drummer, there are surely some gaps in programming this kind of stuff. I’m not dissatisfied with the result, but if I can do better, why not. I take that into consideration.

Another Komplete VST I’ve used is Classical Guitar. Two presets in the doubled outro with the Scarbee A-200 electric pianos. The main melody is as I mentioned before, it’s a combination of Classical Guitar and this VST.

As you mentioned, for now, I’m more interested in finalizing another project than resuming this one. However, I am very seriously considering revisiting all the pieces I have published in recent years and seeing if I could do better. But before I do that, I need to get some new sound boxes with a bigger woofer.

Thank you and see you next time.

16

I hadn’t realized you weren’t playing a “real” guitar here. Pretty impressive guitar sound on your VST. Not sure you could tweak that to sound more like a single coil guitar pick up, but you don’t want to, and that’s fine. If you had any kind of Les Paul patch, the pickups on them are double coil, so you probably couldn’t or wouldn’t play around with changing that. I’d only commented on that because I also saw guitar references in other comments. What’s fine with you, and suits your vision, is great.
One curiousity I have for you and a few others is why you’ve used VST’s that aren’t part of Cubase? I always rely on Halion, Retrologue, Groove Agent, etc., and am usually able to find something I’ll want to work with. I play guitars and bass, so the only plug-in I use on my own recordings is Line 6’s Helix Native. I find that to be better, in that it’s more diverse, than what’s built into Cubase. Let me know what you think the advantages are to the other VST’s if you get the chance.
John

17

Hi John,

I haven’t fully explored Native Instruments’ Kontakt Electric Sunburst library. Here is what the manual says: ‘‘Its samples originate from a carefully selected instance of the iconic single-cutaway, double humbucker electric guitar. The instrument was recorded through Universal Audio Solo 610 preamps, whose bold transient reproduction and tube saturation prepared the guitar for further effects processing with virtual amps, cabinets and effects. To enable you to freely combine the two pickups, the individual signals were routed through two separate outputs and recorded through two separate preamps. In addition, for greater sonic variability, a small membrane condenser microphone was mounted directly above the strings to capture the sound of the plectrum hitting the strings.’’

The instrument is very versatile with a lot of possibilities. This is without counting the pre-programmed Patterns that can be modified. NI offers Telecaster (Electric Vintage) and Stratocaster (Funk Guitarist) libraries with the same kind of assortments. Unfortunately, they don’t come by default with Komplete 13. I’ll have to buy them separately, if I absolutely need them. HALion 6 has a number of Patches for these, but sometimes it’s more complicated to use than playing them yourself.

I am a guitarist with a few guitars available. I also have a bass that I can play Finger Style or Pick Style as needed. When I have the chance, I prefer to play the scores myself.

I’m not bad at the piano, my main controller is Komplete Kontrol (brand new), my ROLI Seaboard Rise 49 keyboard and my MIDI guitar with the Roland GI-20 interface.

In the majority of the pieces that I published here, I used regularly and mainly Steinberg VSTs which sound very very good. I have HALion 6 and GA5 which are the VSTs I use when I start creating, then I explore with Retrologue, Padshop, HALionOne. I don’t mind exploring the Loops offered with Cubase and those that I acquired later.

As I mentioned before, with the purchase of Komplete Kontrol I upgraded to Komplete 13. I deliberately chose to maximize the use of Komplete 13 for this piece. I do not deny the VST Steinberg. I use all the tools that are available to me and for which I paid a good amount of money anyway. Komplete 13 is not free, the same HALion 6 and some libraries, as well as GA5 of which I have almost the majority of the libraries.

I don’t know if there are advantages or disadvantages to using other VSTs than those offered by Steinberg and Cubase Stock Plugins. I believe it’s for the diversity and possibilities that can differ from plugin to plugin or company to company. It’s like having the desire to own a Larrivee guitar, a Martin or a Taylor. When you have little money, you are satisfied with this good old No Name guitar and when you earn a little more you satisfy your desire to own a Martin or a Gretsch

I have all these VSTs for which I paid a high price for some. So, I just use them and take advantage of them.

18

Thanks for responding to me about the Native Instruments products. Our DAW’s can lead us to whole new levels of being “gearheads”. I’m always hoping on my end to not have that lead to new depths of potential money pits. Good to know what people are using and why in contrast to the Cubase suite. I’ve definitely noticed some more realistic sounds, particularly for reed instruments, in some of the non-cubase things that people are using in their work.
John

19

John

There is one thing you should never lose sight of. Music has nothing to do with all these VSTs. These will never make me a better musician or composer. All we need to write a piece is a piano, a guitar, some instrument or just our voice.

In the end, what counts is the impression or imprint left by the created work. All the rest are just accessories.

Greetings!