[jd]

did this with a youtube sound file of peter white.trying to record with my arb metal instead of my bellite so im interested to see what anybody thinks. its a first take with a little home studio setup. thanks jd click on this link
soundclick.com/jdgoldberg

 

[Koen88]

sounds nice! altough you could `ve put yourself more to te foreground If you were performing this live and would`ve thaught you stood all the way back behind the bass guitarist..

but nice sound, nice technique.. if you`d said this was a professional take I would believe it.

 

[jd]

thanks! I have know idea what Im doing as the "engineer" .I didnt even put eq on it.just went with the default reverb and compression.appreciate you taking your time to listen to it.

 

[diskman50]

Very nice sound Jay

Diskman50

 

[ismail]

Actually...I think putting the sax a little less up front is a good idea which could be applied a lot more often. Although you don't seem to have done it intentionally.
I mean: the sax is a solo instrument that sticks out anyway, if it's mixed rather loud like on many, mostly modern, albums, I might be able to hear the sax more in detail, but the musical piece as a whole gets worse, because the instruments aren't balanced well enough anymore. Depending on the audience, I think it's always worthwhile to take a step back and try to listen to a piece not as a sax player, but as a regular listener.

 

[Koen88]

Actually...I think putting the sax a little less up front is a good idea which could be applied a lot more often. Although you don't seem to have done it intentionally.
I mean: the sax is a solo instrument that sticks out anyway, if it's mixed rather loud like on many, mostly modern, albums, I might be able to hear the sax more in detail, but the musical piece as a whole gets worse, because the instruments aren't balanced well enough anymore. Depending on the audience, I think it's always worthwhile to take a step back and try to listen to a piece not as a sax player, but as a regular listener.

true it can be quite nice! but than I feel the balance of the other instruments has to change a bit.. the bass a bit back and the supporting organ(?) isn`t in it`s supporting role anymore.. but thats`s just my feeling /idea.. (talking about this particular song)

as example in where did your heart go now from wham in about 1 minute in..

 

[dorono]

Hello JD,

Wow, great job - you've definitely nailed the smooth jazz style. I think your tone is great, you play with a lot of soul and conviction, and your improv develops nicely at the end of the recording.

If I had to say anything:

- it might be good to use some additional dynamics and phrasing to build the intensity from the start of the melody to the end. In other words, perhaps you could start playing the melody a bit mellower and then build up towards the end, tell a bit of a story.
- some of the melody is not played in exact unison with the guitar, which can be cool, but in some cases here it doesn't sound entirely intentional
- there are some intonation problems in the altissimo register (I think you might be able to get away with some subtle auto tune just on those notes but don't tell anyone I said that)
- At around 1:20 and 2:43 there is a bit of a note flub

Otherwise, I think you're doing some great work here (esp for a first take!) and with some polish I can see this catching on.

Kudos!

 

[jd]

thanks dorono! yes plenty of flubbed notes.I agree with pretty much everything you said. Thanks for taking your time to listen to it and give me your thoughts .Im impressed that you really heard it all. the good bad and the ugly lol. I was just messing around with it but if I did put it on a record I would be really careful about nailing the parts correctly. I think your thoughts are right on the money.pretty much How I hear it too.those flubbed notes really made me cringe when I would listen back to it. and yes the altissimo on this piece wants to play a tad sharp.only another player could give me such thoughtful insights .thanks!!

 

[BOPITY FUNK]

Listen to King Curtis play this tune on 'Sweet Soul'---a masterclass in ballad saxophone playing, just had it on in the car coming back from a gig.

 

[jd]

love king curtis! one of my early heroes