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Topic: Saxophone ruins "Misty"< Next Oldest | Next Newest >
Mark 1 Offline




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Posted: Aug. 02 2002, 20:26

Although I do not exactly like the sound by the sax, or even what's played, I love the way it works musically: here you have an album that's produced to sound like smooth, rippling ocean (sorry, got a bit poetic there) and then this sound breaks through. I think it's very daring and the contrast makes the music more memorisable.
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timshen Offline




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Posted: Aug. 12 2002, 11:32

To me the worst bit on any Mike album is the terrible voice on Altered State (including the squeaky woman's voices sounding like a kid). I love the original Pildown man though!

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Manny Offline




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Posted: Aug. 12 2002, 17:18

I don't know, I think it's a kind of subjetive thing. I don't like nor dislike the "sax" as in Misty but in Turtle Island, that's a whole new story: in fact, I can't imagine it without the sax sound.  By the way, I like Tr3s Lunas a lot, it has been growing on with every listen.  The song I like the less is Return to the origin: not because it's bad but because I went tired of it from the game (that alone might explain why most of the game songs did not make it to the album)
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Baggiesfaninessex Offline




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Posted: Aug. 13 2002, 17:48

I love the synthy sax sound - adds an extra dimension to some great, melodic chill out music!

T4


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treslunas Offline




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Posted: Aug. 24 2002, 14:03

I dont know about anybody else but the sax on thou art in heaven is mind blowing especialy wen it goes really high at around 04:15 in the track, it stands the hairs up on the back of my neck, absolutly excelent!
Tr3sLunas x


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Son of Distant Earth Offline




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Posted: Sep. 08 2002, 22:40

I think at first I was inclined to think "why didn't Mike use a real sax for the track?" until I realized it wasn't just cheesy MIDI, but Mike playing a guitar. Then I was impressed, intrigued, and the sound only grew on me. ;)

My brother has a BOSS FX pedal that has something close to the effect Mike used, and after playing around with it I realized just how hard it is to play a sax using a guitar - you have to pick the notes rather than hammering them or pulling off. It's a very demanding style of playing, and considering the technical aspects I think Mike pulled it off quite well throughout the album.

I especially like the effect in "Thou Art in Heaven." The sax solo towards the end is riveting.

In the end, I think it's like most other MO albums. You have to listen more than once to understand what's going on. :cool:
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Korgscrew Offline




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Posted: Sep. 09 2002, 05:08

In Mike's case, it is cheesy MIDI (a software synthesiser, in fact), just using a guitar rather than a keyboard controller...in using an effects unit to make a sax sound, I think you're probably being a lot more clever...
Getting good MIDI tracking does still demand a bit of care with the playing, though - the less clean the playing, the more likely it is to mis-trigger.

Like I said before, I like it more in some places than in others - I prefer it when it sounds more like a guitar and less like a synthesised saxophone.
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Son of Distant Earth Offline




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Posted: Sep. 09 2002, 12:56

I've not heard this track live - wonder what it would sound like to have a real sax on the solos? ;) Then again, it might be interesting to *see* a guitar being played with the effect in place. Wonder if Mike ever used/uses that funky pick that can synthesize other instruments on the fly? Seeing *that* live would be really cool. LOL If he didn't mess up.

:p
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TheLake Offline




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Posted: Sep. 11 2002, 08:20

The sax is a terrible mistake, really bad judgement. It sounds 'plastic', and I hate it.

Ok it might be fun to play with this sound, but hey, WHY trying to sound like a sax using a guitar????????????????????????????????????????? Why not just put a real one instead?

TELL ME WHY.

Is the next step gonna be Mike replacing all guitars with synths sounding like guitars? I love synths, but not if the try to sound like a guitar.
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MusicallyInspired Offline




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Posted: Sep. 11 2002, 11:38

well one thing about Mike that i admire is hes not afraid to try something different/new and doesnt care what anyone thinks. its just somthn he thought hed try. i dont think he did it cuz he couldnt afford a sax player. i think he did it just to do it. and whats wrong with that?

a friend of mine bought Tr3s Lunas and he said he loved it and when i told him that the sax was really him playing guitar he couldnt believe it.

so ha :)


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Korgscrew Offline




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Posted: Sep. 11 2002, 14:48

Yes, I think that his reason for doing it was mostly because he wanted to - he got the software which he discovered would let him do the sax sound (and he's seemed quite excited about that discovery) and decided he wanted to use it. I think that the attraction is that it lets him play the sound himself, so he can have the sound of a saxophone by playing an instrument which he feels at home with. Being used to mostly working on his own, the idea of being able to do it himself like that would be far more attractive than the idea of having to find the right musician, explain what he wants, get a good take and so on...

If you want to see Mike play the sax-guitar, he does it on the promo video interview that was produced for Tres Lunas - it's been broadcast on TV in some countries, and there was a copy floating around on the web at one time...
He played some synth sounds from his guitar during the Tubular Bells III premiere (in Top of the Morning), but they're not very prominent in the mix. He also used the system to play a harp sound for Ommadawn on the Then and Now tour. That muted kind of guitar sound that he uses on Sentinel and The Source of Secrets is also, to my knowledge, some kind of synth sound, which he has used live quite often.
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lazeeladuk Offline




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Posted: Sep. 11 2002, 19:29

I totally agree with you both Brandon and Korgscrew, I have posted something like this myself a while ago, as MO fans we should all be greatful that he is prepared to try something new, afterall as an artist he has abit of a rep to uphold and most artists are frightened to try change, look at JMJ, when i was younger i thought he was great but now he's.....well......boring!. I say "cheers Mike thanks for that and keep it up" the sax is sound!
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TheMan Offline




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Posted: Sep. 30 2002, 14:05

Quote (MusicallyInspired @ Sep. 11 2002, 11:38)
so ha :)

I played Amarok to my old grandmother and she said 'I hate punk music'.
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Anthony Strauss
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Posted: Nov. 23 2002, 10:14

Hey, take it easy. I also thought I would hate the saxophone thing, but now that it's grown on me...
Not bad. Not bad at all. Still feel he could have drafted someone like Jan Gabarek tho.
I also refer those of you who'd like a good laugh on this topic to Noah Slancess' "Saxophones" JPeG somewhere on this site.
Take it easy. AT LEAST IT WASN'T A TURNTABLE SCRATCH BREAK (thank God). :O
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TOBY Offline




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Posted: Dec. 10 2002, 17:14

Off Topic ( kind of ) Has anybody else noticed the difference between the mix of Misty used in the last MVR demo and that used on the album. I just went back and played the final demo again and noticed that the little flutey backing tune sounds different and to my ears slightly better than the released version. Am I talking bollocks or has anybody else noticed this aswell?
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MusicallyInspired Offline




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Posted: Dec. 14 2002, 00:09

Quote
I played Amarok to my old grandmother and she said 'I hate punk music'.


the friend of mine im talking about wasnt an old grandmother ;).

actually ive gotten him into MO's music as much as i am now. he is also already very musically adept. hes written songs, plays guitar, even went to a school called Recording Arts Canada for 6 months and learned everything abot recording, audio engineering, midi, and the whole bit. and i know 6 months isnt a lot, but in those 6 months he sure learned a lot by the stuff he was repeating back to me. he even said the way they teach it they cram a lot of stuff in but dont miss anything or rush it at the same time. he did say they rushed a bit but not enough to seem like it was all going by too fast so you werent able to understand what they were talking about. anyway he got a diploma from it and everything and can now prove he knows what hes doing in that area.

we're actually planning a musical career together in the future. should prove most ineteresting!

anyways, back on topic (or off, according to TOBY lol)...

i havent played any recent MVR demos...in fact i havent played MVR in a while. in fact i havent listened to much MO in a while (not to say im bored of him). in fact i havent even visited these boards in a while.

but that would be most interesting to hear. perhaps i shall download this demo and see for myself!


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TOBY Offline




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Posted: Dec. 14 2002, 07:58

Check it out it's on the final demo of MVR, I presume the one you get free with the album. I know it sounds different because its had the bass line removed and maybe that just changes the way you hear it. To me it sounds better, more ambient.
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TOBY Offline




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Posted: Dec. 16 2002, 14:52

Right chaps my mistake entirely. The start of the track fades in so you miss the first few bars which means you (well me) pick up hearing it differently, and the bass line is there but again you here it differently. Sorry for the confusion.
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raven4x4x Offline




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Posted: Dec. 24 2002, 22:55

It dosen't sound that bad. OK, prehaps a real sax would have been better, but if Mike wants to play around with his fancy MIDI pickups, then he can (I certainly would if I had one! ). It certainly dosen't ruin the track at all, I quite like it there. I can't say it is the worst sound to ever appear on a MO album either. Come to think of it, I can't think of any really awful sounds on MO albums: prehaps some of the sounds in Guitars, or the 'thunderstorm' in Hergest Ridge. Both of them were audio experiments that didn't turn out right to my ears, just like the sax is. Still, Misty would be quite boring and repetitive without the lead tune the sax provides. Listeneing to Sirius, the sax guitar sounds very much like a pap-pipes sort of thing, if I have the right sound. I quite like the way the MIDI pickup sounds in Secrets, in TBIII, it's hard to believe it is a guitar at all. But, technically it isn't a guitar, I suppose...

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Souvenirs Offline




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Posted: Sep. 28 2006, 10:53

Sorry to revive such an old thread but I just have to agree with the OP. The track is absolutely awesome the first 1:10 or so, then that damn saxophone comes in and ruins the whole track... I really dislike that damned instrument!! Why, Mike, whyyy!
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72 replies since June 05 2002, 01:51 < Next Oldest | Next Newest >

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