Old 08-28-2016, 04:41 PM   #1
tspring
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Default Smoooth R&B

The tune at the bottom of the web page in this link

http://www.kentavius.com/

was recorded in my son's studio (Sweetfoot studios).

The song (Floor) was written and performed by Kentavius Jones (aka KJ). Pure R&B, about as smooth as it gets. In fact it is so smooth, I'm wondering how Reaper forum members will respond to it. There does seem to be something of a revival of this type of R&B...

I'm especially curious what our European friends will think about this one. Recorded entirely with Reaper of course.

T
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Old 08-28-2016, 05:41 PM   #2
karbomusic
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I dig it. Played some R&B years ago, not quite this smooth but was a great time of learning for me. Like the guitar chops.
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Old 08-28-2016, 07:52 PM   #3
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It think this is great and I love it. The performance is good, the singer has some soul and sounds good. It's mixed very well.

BUT! It has no dynamics because it's compressed to death.

Please forgive me, I think this song is great, but a song this well done needs to breath, and have some dynamics.

I had to turn my speakers down, and even then, it got tiring because it was the same level all the way through.

Granted, I'm an old fart, so you can take that into account.
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Old 08-29-2016, 08:33 AM   #4
Timothy Lawler
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Rich and balanced. Guitars and keyboards sound especially good. I didn't find it over compressed except for the more loudly sung passages of the main vocal. The bass guitar is very compressed but that hits me as just the particular bass tone, same as I might hear live.
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Old 08-29-2016, 10:08 AM   #5
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Hey T -

Nice song.. nice singing... nice mix!

Whoa, that low-end..

Definitely has a "mastered" quality to it in regards to volume/presence, but nothing I found horribly abrasive. Yet, I do hear what Tod is saying. I don't think it would be as noticeable with another genre like say, Death Metal - but this genre is relaxed - so a little more apparent. Kept thinking Lionel Richie while listening... lol..

Was this done in Reaper?
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Old 08-29-2016, 08:28 PM   #6
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Thanks to all for taking the time to listen and comment. Tod I agree that there certainly could be more dynamics in the recording, but I'm not sure how much of the constancy to assign to compression or to other more stylistic elements. I think that Tim Lawler is correct in his suggestion that the bass is heavily compressed. I think that may be what contributes most of the feel of constancy of level. I suspect that there was a very conscious effort to build a very fat low end that is characteristic of this style of R&B. Perhaps a bit too much compression there. And yes, recorded and mixed entirely with Reaper.

T
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Old 08-29-2016, 08:56 PM   #7
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I listened a few times and enjoyed it a whole lot. I think it deserves some sort of award for the smoochiest track ever made with REAPER. I find the compression ok, and I believe that, as tspring says, it is mainly in pursuit of a super fat bass/bottom end.

I think it is real radio ready track that should get some attention and airplay on independent broadcasters playing soul and RnB.
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Old 08-30-2016, 07:03 AM   #8
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Very nice--composition, voice, and style. Ironically, I'm not a big fan of this style (except for 60s, 70s and some 80s R&B, which I absolutely love--and perhaps Prince on the more modern side because he had no boundaries). Still, I think this was classy as hell. My one nit would be I didn't get a sense of "openness" which is hard to explain because I don't mean strictly compression or verb, I just didn't hear a sense of space for some reason.
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Old 08-30-2016, 09:13 AM   #9
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Agree - the instrumental space is all a little too "wide" so that you lose the sense of location. Apart from the solo instruments, it all sounds like everything is coming from everywhere.
That said, nicely recorded and performed - Just not production style I particularly like, even for smoooooth stuff. I would have used pan and width controls a LOT more.

But like I said, nice job otherwise.

P.S. He really needs to proof read "about me" on the web page!
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Old 08-31-2016, 03:43 AM   #10
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Hamish I've got to say that "smoothiest track" will probably be my favorite phrase of the day. Like mschuster said, the track is very reminiscent of Lionel Ritchie (thanks m, I couldn't put my finger on who it was this reminded me of). Sammy and Ivansc, trying to learn from your comments I listened again (with headphones, can't use monitors at the moment), and the sound stage doesn't seem that wide to me *except* for the Hammond organ and background vocals. The Leslie swirl from the organ washes over everything from extreme right to extreme left and the background vocals do seem to come from everywhere. I think that this combines with a relatively narrow dynamic range to make the track feel less open than it might (Sammy's description). It seems that it might be tricky to produce a track that is super smooth and open at the same time. Thanks for the comments - they will trigger a lot of the sort of discussion that Shea (my son) and I love to have.

T

Last edited by tspring; 08-31-2016 at 03:49 AM.
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Old 08-31-2016, 08:11 AM   #11
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Not to divert, but speaking of Lionel Ritchie ... reminds me of "Hello" and one of the most beautiful guitar solos I have ever heard. Definitely in my top 10! Session guitarist Louie Shelton.

(solo @2.36)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84RxK4N1wfE

Ok, returning you to our normally scheduled programming...
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Old 08-31-2016, 12:44 PM   #12
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mschuster, that is indeed a very cool solo. The little five note upward run just at the end is the kind of stuff that really grabs me. Think I'll try to find some other Louie Shelton stuff. Thanks for pointing this solo out.

T

P.S. Look what I found: https://youtu.be/TNjFBUYHVVo
Now we can just watch and learn to play that way, can't we? Well it looks easy...

Last edited by tspring; 08-31-2016 at 01:09 PM.
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