Re: [Harp-L]New Richard Hunter piece at Broadjam.com

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Hurricane Ramón" wrote:
<Hey Richard :
<
<While digging on your tunes , ( super stuff you play , some real soul 
<you have ) I wondered who the session(s) musicians were ? And , do you 
<play any of the other instruments that are heard on those tunes ( " In 
<The Night - Riding The Blues )  .

I play almost everything on my pieces myself, using MIDI keyboards and 
soft synthesizers for piano/organ/bass/synthesizer/drum parts and 
sounds.  I use a strumstick run through an amp simulator or two for some 
of my guitar-ish parts, like the "guitar" solos on "In The Thick" and 
"Auld Lang Syne."  I also use loops on occasions--"In the Night" has two 
guitar loops and a drum loop that I picked up from a copy of Future 
Music magazine.  (I had to pitch one of the guitar loops down and 
timestretch both that loop and the drum loop to fit the key and tempo of 
the first guitar part, and record a different kick drum part to get the 
sound I wanted, but that's all pretty normal for people who work with 
loops.)

My brother Mark plays slide guitar, and I use him whenever I can for 
guitar parts.  But everything else is me.

It takes a lot of time to get all this stuff to sound like a real band, 
but it's less expensive than hiring real musicians to work in a real 
studio, and I get to try out a lot of different ideas without paying for 
studio time, which is good when you're experimenting your way to the 
final mix.  I also get to learn a lot of stuff about how the different 
elements of an arrangement work, and what the bass players, drummers, 
etc. do to make the groove happen.

For those who want to try this kind of thing, I very strongly recommend 
a subscription to Computer Music magazine, which is published in the UK 
and sells in the US for about $15 per issue.  Every issue includes a DVD 
with thousands of samples and loops, a full set of very good quality 
software synthesizers, effects, and drum machines, and step by step 
illustrated tutorials on how to produce music in the style of some band 
(generally rock and electro bands of various kinds--the latest issue was 
all about producing hip-hop).  Apart from providing a very usable set of 
tools, that magazine has dramatically improved the quality of my mixes. 
 Nothing else I've seen comes close in terms of actual hands-on 
here's-how-you-do-it instructions.  Want to know exactly how to set the 
compressor and EQ on the bass and drums to sound like the Arctic Monkeys 
or Dr. Dre?  Get that magazine.

Thanks, Richard Hunter
hunterharp.com
Latest mp3s always at http://broadjam.com/rhunter