# My Computer is a 1950s Orchestra - Part 2



## alexballmusic (Mar 6, 2017)

Hello,

I had a lot of fun doing the first one of these and learned a few things, so decided to do another to see if I could better it. What do you think?



*Sounds used:*
*Strings:* Spitfire Audio Chamber Strings & Orchestral Tools OSR
*Brass:* Cinesamples Cinebrass Core and Cinebrass PRO
*Woodwinds:* Spitfire Audio Symphonic Woodwinds
*Percussion:* Spitfire Audio Joby Burgess Percussion
*Harp:* Orchestral Tools Symphonic Sphere

*Sequencer:* Cubase 6
*FX:* Mixed in mono using Izotope Vinyl, U-he Satin, Waves, T-racks

*Score:* Hired from the Light Music Society (http://www.lightmusicsociety.com/library-search/?returnedWorkTitle=Portrait+of+a+Flirt&returnedComposer=Farnon_Robert)


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## R. Soul (Mar 6, 2017)

As the previous tune, this sounds excellent.
I'm far (very far actually) from an expert, but this sounds really authentic to me. Well done.


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## alexballmusic (Mar 6, 2017)

R. Soul said:


> As the previous tune, this sounds excellent.
> I'm far (very far actually) from an expert, but this sounds really authentic to me. Well done.



Ta very much!


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## storyteller (Mar 6, 2017)

Somewhere around 0:45 I thought to myself, "Self, this sounds like Mary Poppins." Then around 1:19 I thought, "Self, this really does sound compositionally similar to Mary Poppins. I wonder if it is the same composer?" Turns out...no....but, there is a crazy rabbit hole you can journey down when investigating who did the music to Mary Poppins. Just ask me. I just spent way too long down that rabbit hole since listening to this track. All that to say, kudos! Job well done!!


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## Kent (Mar 6, 2017)

I'd like to hear this mixed quasi Duophonic


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## jemu999 (Mar 6, 2017)

Love it!


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## NoamL (Mar 6, 2017)

The winds and brass seem markedly improved from last time. This sounds really cool. Have you thought of doing some vintage mix chain emulation? Tape warble, the whole bit...


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## rlw (Mar 6, 2017)

Sometimes you need to feel
Warm and woozy. I thoroughly enjoyed this. Thanks for lifting my say


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## Nathanael Iversen (Mar 6, 2017)

Very well done! Feels "right".


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## alexballmusic (Mar 6, 2017)

storyteller said:


> Somewhere around 0:45 I thought to myself, "Self, this sounds like Mary Poppins." Then around 1:19 I thought, "Self, this really does sound compositionally similar to Mary Poppins. I wonder if it is the same composer?" Turns out...no....but, there is a crazy rabbit hole you can journey down when investigating who did the music to Mary Poppins. Just ask me. I just spent way too long down that rabbit hole since listening to this track. All that to say, kudos! Job well done!!



Haha! I love a good wormhole.

Farnon did compose some film scores. I was also watching a Pathe film from the 1950s the other day and his name cropped up at the end as thr composer.


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## alexballmusic (Mar 6, 2017)

NoamL said:


> The winds and brass seem markedly improved from last time. This sounds really cool. Have you thought of doing some vintage mix chain emulation? Tape warble, the whole bit...



This is running through Izotope Vinyl and U-he Satin and actually mixed completely in mono. I tried to keep the wow and flutter light so it was there, but not heavy handed.

Would be interested to try it through Waves Vinyl or something else.


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## alexballmusic (Mar 6, 2017)

NoamL said:


> The winds and brass seem markedly improved from last time. This sounds really cool. Have you thought of doing some vintage mix chain emulation? Tape warble, the whole bit...



..Oh and thanks on the woodwind and brass. I used the individual Spitfire woodwinds last time and the Symphonic Woodwinds this time as it's since been released. It's definitely better. Plus I Cinebrass PRO now as well, so could do those muted sounds.

And I took on board a lot of feedback about the brass in the mix of the last one.


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## alexballmusic (Mar 6, 2017)

kmaster said:


> I'd like to hear this mixed quasi Duophonic



That would be interesting to do - for sure!

The unprocessed stereo mix didn't sound as old as I wanted, even when I'd used tape and vinyl emulation so I tried going completely mono and it sounded right. I hadn't thought of then going back to a faux stereo with a duophonic mix.

Thanks for the suggestion!


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## ChristopherDoucet (Mar 6, 2017)

alexballmusic said:


> Hello,
> 
> I had a lot of fun doing the first one of these and learned a few things, so decided to do another to see if I could better it. What do you think?
> 
> ...




This is sooooooo cool!!!! Refreshing!


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## Saxer (Mar 7, 2017)

Love this style! And it's really great performed! Real fun to listen to!


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## IoannisGutevas (Mar 7, 2017)

Brilliant! Well done!


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## Claude_Ruelle (Mar 7, 2017)

This is so cool! Good job!


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## Musicam (Mar 7, 2017)

Yeah Brilliant!


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## Musicam (Mar 7, 2017)

alexballmusic said:


> Hello,
> 
> I had a lot of fun doing the first one of these and learned a few things, so decided to do another to see if I could better it. What do you think?
> 
> ...



Can I use Izotope Vynil for epic OST? Thanks!


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## alexballmusic (Mar 7, 2017)

Musicam said:


> Can I use Izotope Vynil for epic OST? Thanks!



Hi. Don't quite understand the question. What is epic OST?

Izoptope Vinyl is freeware and works on all sequencers.


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## Musicam (Mar 7, 2017)

alexballmusic said:


> Hi. Don't quite understand the question. What is epic OST?
> 
> Izoptope Vinyl is freeware and works on all sequencers.




Epic scoring like Avengers? I doubt between Neutron and Izotope or Izotope Vynil... Thanks for your support.


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## Ashermusic (Mar 7, 2017)

Excellent. You nailed it.


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## Alatar (Mar 7, 2017)

Love it


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## mc_deli (Mar 7, 2017)

Oh dude I listened to #1 again the other day... saving this for later... very excited... chocks away!


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## Paul T McGraw (Mar 8, 2017)

alexballmusic said:


> Hello,
> 
> I had a lot of fun doing the first one of these and learned a few things, so decided to do another to see if I could better it. What do you think?



I was born in 1953. You are now the King of 1950's pop orchestral music in my book. 

Ah yes, those were the days when little boys could play outside, unsupervised, and no one worried that a pervert might want to kidnap them. The June Taylor dancers featured often on TV, including on the Jackie Gleason and Ed Sullivan shows, were so sexy (you could see their legs) that my Mom would demand the channel be changed if they came on the TV. Nearly everyone was in church on Sunday morning and women were expected to honor and obey their husbands. Ah yes, innocence lost indeed.


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## Musicam (Mar 8, 2017)

Any review of T-racks?


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## alexballmusic (Mar 8, 2017)

Paul T McGraw said:


> I was born in 1953. You are now the King of 1950's pop orchestral music in my book.
> 
> Ah yes, those were the days when little boys could play outside, unsupervised, and no one worried that a pervert might want to kidnap them. The June Taylor dancers featured often on TV, including on the Jackie Gleason and Ed Sullivan shows, were so sexy (you could see their legs) that my Mom would demand the channel be changed if they came on the TV. Nearly everyone was in church on Sunday morning and women were expected to honor and obey their husbands. Ah yes, innocence lost indeed.



Thanks very much! Nice to hear from someone who has first hand experience of the era! Definitely a very different world. For better and worse.

The music and recording techniques are sublime - I love them. Large sections of this piece are in 5 and 6-part harmony with really close voicing. Fascinating playing around with it and learning how it works. That waltz section in the middle is magic. The chords look like they should be a mess with so many notes crammed together, but it just sounds superb! They really knew how to voice things and arrange things back then. Guess there wasn't any technology to fix things in the mix!


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## alexballmusic (Mar 8, 2017)

Musicam said:


> Any review of T-racks?



I've used it for years and years for mastering. I expect there's better software, but I just know it inside out and how to get the results I want quickly.

Most of my work has another layer of mastering in a post house, so I tend to semi-master with it and leave some dynamics in, but you can smash things to sound like commercial masters with it.


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## Fer (Mar 8, 2017)

fantastic work alex! after hearing your rendition i was thinking that i never heard modern recordings/performances of that kind of golden classics. if you ocassionally upload the lush Air stereo version let us know : ) thanks for sharing


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## synthpunk (Mar 8, 2017)

Very inspirational maestro.

Is spitfire chamber the old Sable? I need to get that updated as soon.


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## alexballmusic (Mar 9, 2017)

alexballmusic said:


> I've used it for years and years for mastering. I expect there's better software, but I just know it inside out and how to get the results I want quickly.
> 
> Most of my work has another layer of mastering in a post house, so I tend to semi-master with it and leave some dynamics in, but you can smash things to sound like commercial masters with it.



Thanks!

I tried a modern mix with no degrading to make it sound old. It just didn't sound right at all. Think I can't separate the music from the recordings of the period, so just sounded really off to me.


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## alexballmusic (Mar 9, 2017)

synthpunk said:


> Very inspirational maestro.
> 
> Is spitfire chamber the old Sable? I need to get that updated as soon.



It's Chamber strings with the improved legato and scripting.

I had Sable before I had Chamber. Sable is still very good. It's not a huge leap between the two.


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## mc_deli (Mar 9, 2017)

Oh marvellous. Spiffing. I am interested in how much CC work you had to do to sculpt the parts to sound so natural?

Light Music Society looks ace. TBH I thought the first tune was much much stronger, though the second has more magic in the mix no doubt.

So, have you studied this genre before, and after these two, do you reckon you could do your own piece in a style close to these?


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## alexballmusic (Mar 9, 2017)

mc_deli said:


> Oh marvellous. Spiffing. I am interested in how much CC work you had to do to sculpt the parts to sound so natural?
> 
> Light Music Society looks ace. TBH I thought the first tune was much much stronger, though the second has more magic in the mix no doubt.
> 
> So, have you studied this genre before, and after these two, do you reckon you could do your own piece in a style close to these?



Hiya,

There's a lot of automation of dynamics on CC1 and then vibrato. Also, the sample that's triggered and the kind of legato changes dependent upon the velocity and overlap, so I'd play around with that as well to make it as good as I could. Those variables alone make a huge difference.

Funnily enough, the reason I got so into this was because I had a few jobs where I needed to do this era of music last year and I hadn't studied it. I did a passable job, but I knew there was a lot of depth to this genre and it bugged me that I was doing a pastiche. So I went on a bit of an obsessive mission getting hold of scores and mocking up bits of them to understand how they worked. Then wound up doing an entire version of "A Canadian in Mayfair" bit by bit. So it kind of evolved.

I've done some original pieces in the style now and probably going to do more: 

http://www.productionmusiconline.com/track_detail.php?track_id=2657

And this one: http://www.productionmusiconline.com/track_detail.php?track_id=2656

Light Music Society - a goldmine of sheet music from the first half of the 20th century. It's Ernest Tomlinson's family that run it. They were throwing away loads of sheet music from the BBC decades ago when they moved from live orchestras to recorded music and so Ernest asked if he could have it all. Good job he did otherwise that would all be lost!


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## artomatic (Mar 10, 2017)

Legit! Even down to the wow and flutter. Love it! Period.


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## ghostnote (Mar 17, 2017)

It's Disney time! Made my day, thanks for sharing this!


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