I updated the vocals on my first vocal piece, changing the lead and some backing voices to Natalie from Solaria. I was aiming for a late 60s, Burt Bacharach vibe.
4 Likes
Nice vibe, nice groove. Being a flutist, i would prefer a clearer, more audible tonguing of the flute. Perhaps Orange Tree Samples “Passion Flute” would do, it’s old, but probably more apt for the task than any common orchestral flute.
1 Like
There are several modeled flutes that could also be useful and way more esxpressive.
1 Like
I have no doubt that the flute could be more realistic and expressive.
Two things though: 1 - I used the flute I have, a “common orchestral flute”. But the second thing is I did consider expressiveness and prominence of the flute in writing out the part, and I felt like, given the genre and time period I was trying to harken back to, the flute part would probably be pretty plain. So it is mostly just simple counterpoint notes to the melody, without a lot of personality.
Maybe a better sounding flute would improve the track overall, I don’t know. But I can also picture a recording session where the session musician does a very passionate, dynamic performance, and the producer comes back with something like “This isn’t the Philharmonic, it’s a simple pop record. Just play the notes.”
So in the end I felt like it was OK for the flute to be a bit plain.
2 Likes
one thing i did in my song “i can’t stop missing you”, the flute solo used the SINE player “Mistral” (Jazz Flute) - which is very expressive without (to me) a lot of extra tweaking to make it work. the SINE player and the Mistral library are free. a more upbeat flute SINE library is “Lucent” (also free) which are samples by Claire Wickes.
1 Like
I actually have the Mistral jazz flute. I’ll see how it sounds in place of the orchestral one I used. I might also have downloaded the Lucent flute last time I was at the SINE site. My intent was to just to an update on the vocals on the older piece, but it sounds like I should spend a bit more time and explore the flute instrument. I assume the other instruments did not stand out as needing attention.
overall i think the balance is good, but the flute carries its own weight - so it’s as important (or nearly) as the vocals 
1 Like
Which plugin would you suggest? I have some stuff with flute, too, and am always interested in good sounding flutes.
For my ears, the most realistic instruments are modeled, or modeled plus sampled. Standard sampled orchestral libraries do NOT work for pop or jazz, the attacks are wrong. Jazz/Big band libraries (JABB,) sound OK, but are not really dynamic, so the authenticity is lacking - try a smooth brass crescendo…
There are other companies, but SWAM offers the most interesting choices for my needs. They are NOT cheap, but if you plan to do this for the next ten years or more, this is the optimal way forward IMHO.
Thank you, that’s very interesting. I only know very few modeled instruments. I’ve heard of SWAM, but never paid attention. Now I watched some youtube videos and agree: it’s very convincing indeed. Guess I’ll buy some instruments this year… Thanks again!
It’s sounds quite real. Well done.