My website features 58 original instrumental compositions recorded on the OASYS, including a collection of tributes (to Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Peter Gabriel, Steve Winwood, Bono, Don Henley, Mark King, Bill Bruford, Robert Fripp, Bryan Ferry, John Wetton, James Brown, Joni Mitchell, et al.) Have a listen. Comments welcome!
--Greg
http://www.gregorysidak.com/music.html
Eric Clapton tribute song recorded on the OASYS
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peter m. mahr
- Platinum Member
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- Joined: Sun Apr 23, 2006 11:47 am
nice songs... and interestingly many of the musicians you stated have been my favourites as well. one of the names i do miss in your list is brian eno! 
there is only one thing i do not agree with you
to me mike lindup was the musicial mastermind behind level 42. although mark king is a great bass player, but i always would prefer tony levin and his way of playing bass or the chapman stick. in case you like artists playing the stick then it is probably worth to listen to that guy who is an austrian and played with level 42, by the way: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBRf7nJmtZE
the drummer is so amazing.... if i met him on the street i would never expect him to be such a cool drummer with such a great sound.
peter
there is only one thing i do not agree with you
to me mike lindup was the musicial mastermind behind level 42. although mark king is a great bass player, but i always would prefer tony levin and his way of playing bass or the chapman stick. in case you like artists playing the stick then it is probably worth to listen to that guy who is an austrian and played with level 42, by the way: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBRf7nJmtZEthe drummer is so amazing.... if i met him on the street i would never expect him to be such a cool drummer with such a great sound.
peter
Peter,
Thanks for your comments. I agree that Mark Lindup is great songwriter and player. I only saw Level 42 in concert once--when they toured as Steve Winwood's warmup act back in the late 1980s. I was really impressed by Lindup and subsequently wondered why he would ever leave the band. My homage to Mark King, though, is driven by my fondness for slap bass, which the Oasys simulates pretty well.
I have seen Tony Levin four times and really admire his playing. Once on Peter Gabriel's first solo tour, and three times with King Crimson. It's great being able to see videos on You Tube of some of those old concerts. Levin would get an interesting gurgling sound on the Chapman stick (particularly on Gabriel's albums), which I presume resulted from running the signal through flanging and chorusing. At least, that is how I am trying to simulate Levin's sound on the Oasys. Incidentally, I once heard the original Chapman play a one-man show on the Chapman Stick at a club in North Hollywood in the mid-1980s. A dazzling performance.
I was just talking about Brian Eno at dinner two nights ago. My oldest knows of Eno's work producing U2 and other contemporary bands. I had to educate him about Fripp & Eno, "enosiffication" on The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Roxy Music, etc.
Look for more tribute songs soon: Sting, Pete Townshend, Donald Fagen, Jerry Garcia.
I will check out the Austrian musician you mention.
As you know from visiting the website, these songs are in the Tribute collection. Check out the other three collections: Courage and Remembrance, Painters, and Faith and Reason. Given your tastes, you might like "Der Zeitgeist" and "For the Evil Done on Our Behalf." They have the feel of Yes, ELP, Genesis, U.K., Level 42. et al. "Faceless Drifter" has a Rush-meets-the-Eagles sound. Check out "Roy Lichtenstein" for something more in the Level 42 style. For a David Gilmour feel, check "With the Help of God and a Few Marines."
Greg
Thanks for your comments. I agree that Mark Lindup is great songwriter and player. I only saw Level 42 in concert once--when they toured as Steve Winwood's warmup act back in the late 1980s. I was really impressed by Lindup and subsequently wondered why he would ever leave the band. My homage to Mark King, though, is driven by my fondness for slap bass, which the Oasys simulates pretty well.
I have seen Tony Levin four times and really admire his playing. Once on Peter Gabriel's first solo tour, and three times with King Crimson. It's great being able to see videos on You Tube of some of those old concerts. Levin would get an interesting gurgling sound on the Chapman stick (particularly on Gabriel's albums), which I presume resulted from running the signal through flanging and chorusing. At least, that is how I am trying to simulate Levin's sound on the Oasys. Incidentally, I once heard the original Chapman play a one-man show on the Chapman Stick at a club in North Hollywood in the mid-1980s. A dazzling performance.
I was just talking about Brian Eno at dinner two nights ago. My oldest knows of Eno's work producing U2 and other contemporary bands. I had to educate him about Fripp & Eno, "enosiffication" on The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Roxy Music, etc.
Look for more tribute songs soon: Sting, Pete Townshend, Donald Fagen, Jerry Garcia.
I will check out the Austrian musician you mention.
As you know from visiting the website, these songs are in the Tribute collection. Check out the other three collections: Courage and Remembrance, Painters, and Faith and Reason. Given your tastes, you might like "Der Zeitgeist" and "For the Evil Done on Our Behalf." They have the feel of Yes, ELP, Genesis, U.K., Level 42. et al. "Faceless Drifter" has a Rush-meets-the-Eagles sound. Check out "Roy Lichtenstein" for something more in the Level 42 style. For a David Gilmour feel, check "With the Help of God and a Few Marines."
Greg
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peter m. mahr
- Platinum Member
- Posts: 1030
- Joined: Sun Apr 23, 2006 11:47 am
Regarding the Hammond organ sounds, I use the distortion organ program and layer one or more drawbar organs. I use Carpet Magic and Mr. Nice (for Keith Emerson sounds) a good deal. Sometimes I run one of the drawbar organs through the same signal processing that I use for the lead guitar. In that case, I put the signal-processed distorted organ way down in the mix. A little bit of grit goes a long way. I prefer that method of introducing harmonic distortion for a Hammond sound to using the Deep Purple Smoke on the Water organ patch (called Japan something or other).
I have to admit that I focus almost entirely on composing the music, not on mastering the technology. So I am not really sure whether I am using CX-3 sounds or not. Maybe I'm missing out on a lot by my ignorance.
I also use the pipe organ sounds, particularly with various choirs, when trying to get a more orchestral progressive rock sound. A couple songs from Courage and Remembrance (a tribute to the World War II generation) use that mixture. Listen to "Pointe du Hoc," "Courage and Remembrance," "The Gathering Storm," and "The Runway at Tinian."
Regarding vocals, for some of the songs I do envision vocals. (Although, I can just as easily envision two versions of many songs, one purely instrumental and the other with vocals.) In nearly two years of working with the Oasys, however, I have tried recording vocals only a few times. Compositional ideas come quickly to me at the Oasys, but when I start doing audio recording, the progress slows to a snail's pace. Acoustic isolation becomes a big hassle because I currently do not work in a soundproof studio.
I find that audio recording in general on the Oasys is cumbersome because (as far I can tell) there is no master volume control for the 16 MIDI channels. Consequently, you can't hear an audio track while recording it (which obviously is fatal to trying to record a vocal). The work-around for this problem is to pull down all your MIDI levels by the same proportion to some soft level, record the audio, and then raise the MIDI levels to achieve the right overall balance between audio and MIDI tracks. This shortcoming strikes me as really dumb for an instrument as sophisticated as the Oasys.
I have to admit that I focus almost entirely on composing the music, not on mastering the technology. So I am not really sure whether I am using CX-3 sounds or not. Maybe I'm missing out on a lot by my ignorance.
I also use the pipe organ sounds, particularly with various choirs, when trying to get a more orchestral progressive rock sound. A couple songs from Courage and Remembrance (a tribute to the World War II generation) use that mixture. Listen to "Pointe du Hoc," "Courage and Remembrance," "The Gathering Storm," and "The Runway at Tinian."
Regarding vocals, for some of the songs I do envision vocals. (Although, I can just as easily envision two versions of many songs, one purely instrumental and the other with vocals.) In nearly two years of working with the Oasys, however, I have tried recording vocals only a few times. Compositional ideas come quickly to me at the Oasys, but when I start doing audio recording, the progress slows to a snail's pace. Acoustic isolation becomes a big hassle because I currently do not work in a soundproof studio.
I find that audio recording in general on the Oasys is cumbersome because (as far I can tell) there is no master volume control for the 16 MIDI channels. Consequently, you can't hear an audio track while recording it (which obviously is fatal to trying to record a vocal). The work-around for this problem is to pull down all your MIDI levels by the same proportion to some soft level, record the audio, and then raise the MIDI levels to achieve the right overall balance between audio and MIDI tracks. This shortcoming strikes me as really dumb for an instrument as sophisticated as the Oasys.
Peter,
Your website rocks. First of all, it looks great. I like the absence of clutter.
I really like how you get the spaciousness of sound on the composition that plays when entering the website. What are you doing to achieve that? Is it all in the reverb? The piece reminded me of Mark Isham's music. When I was listening to "Blue Darkness," my iTunes playlist morphed into "Spirits in the Material World" by The Police, which sounded great.
I watched the Al Slavik video. He is very talented.
Greg
Your website rocks. First of all, it looks great. I like the absence of clutter.
I really like how you get the spaciousness of sound on the composition that plays when entering the website. What are you doing to achieve that? Is it all in the reverb? The piece reminded me of Mark Isham's music. When I was listening to "Blue Darkness," my iTunes playlist morphed into "Spirits in the Material World" by The Police, which sounded great.
I watched the Al Slavik video. He is very talented.
Greg
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peter m. mahr
- Platinum Member
- Posts: 1030
- Joined: Sun Apr 23, 2006 11:47 am
I completely agree.jgsidak wrote:I find that audio recording in general on the Oasys is cumbersome because (as far I can tell) there is no master volume control for the 16 MIDI channels. Consequently, you can't hear an audio track while recording it (which obviously is fatal to trying to record a vocal). The work-around for this problem is to pull down all your MIDI levels by the same proportion to some soft level, record the audio, and then raise the MIDI levels to achieve the right overall balance between audio and MIDI tracks. This shortcoming strikes me as really dumb for an instrument as sophisticated as the Oasys.
When I read the specs I was very optimistic and thought of getting a kind of AKAI DPS24 within OASYS. But then I figured out that this was not the case. But OASYS' strength lies in its synth engines and its sonic quality. Unfortunately until now I did not have as much time to dig into MOD-7 as I wanted it. But hopefully this time is coming soon..... I am using MOTUs dp5 together with OASYS and those two go together very well.
peter
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peter m. mahr
- Platinum Member
- Posts: 1030
- Joined: Sun Apr 23, 2006 11:47 am
Hi Greg,jgsidak wrote:Peter,
Your website rocks. First of all, it looks great. I like the absence of clutter.
I really like how you get the spaciousness of sound on the composition that plays when entering the website. What are you doing to achieve that? Is it all in the reverb? The piece reminded me of Mark Isham's music. When I was listening to "Blue Darkness," my iTunes playlist morphed into "Spirits in the Material World" by The Police, which sounded great.
I watched the Al Slavik video. He is very talented.
Greg
thanks a lot !!!!
Honestly I cannot tell. I put together the sounds I think that fit together well and .... hm, yes I guess usually I am using lots of reverbs and delays. Thanks for comparing it to Mark Isham's music! What a compliment!!!
By the way, did you download the mp3 from my website or did you listen to them on my blog http://www.blogasys.petermmahr.com/
.. and yes, Al is a great musician and is making his way.
Once more thanks, Greg
peter