Real instruments

[Michael Willis]

I'm starting this thread as a place where we can discuss who plays what real instruments, and how we can collaborate to help each other with live parts.

Mattias or another moderator, feel free to rename this and put it in the right place.

As mentioned a few times before, I practice clarinet. I spent seven years in school band, then didn't touch it for quite some time, then a little over a year ago I bought a bit nicer replacement for the cheap student clarinet that I had, and started practicing again.

I don't have a lot of experience recording, but to "audition" my sound, here are two tracks with me on the clarinet:

https://instaud.io/3aql - A quick experiment with some other acoustic instruments
https://instaud.io/270z - I shared this a while ago on this forum

I'm certainly willing to collaborate if somebody wants me to record a live clarinet part.

[Samulis]

Nice idea, Michael! I'd also be willing to collaborate or play for someone's track.

I play-
Tenor and bass trombones:
https://instaud.io/3099
https://instaud.io/leG

Weird archaic brass instruments (ballad horn, tenor cor, alto horn, ophicleide):
https://instaud.io/1r31
https://instaud.io/1arD
https://instaud.io/GiJ
https://instaud.io/hIh
(I tend to record a Christmas carol every year..)

Acoustic and electronic recorders:
https://instaud.io/1mj
https://instaud.io/2aWW
https://instaud.io/1X0n (also includes hammered dulcimer and my ibex horn "cornetto")

Singing as well, albeit rather amateurish...
https://instaud.io/private/b43530f7eff62...8a9b1591ec
https://instaud.io/2fa4

I can also hunt down pretty much anything else, for a price. Being in Boston, I have access to a ton of capable student and professional musicians; that's half of the reason I was able to make VSCO!

I also don't mind doing some typesetting/orchestration as needed; I spent the first five years of my "career" as a composer working almost exclusively in Finale, so I know my way around entering and spiffing up notation quite well.

[Terry93D]

I fully approve of this thread and at some point I may actually want to hire a few of you...

[VictorSeven]

Ok, since I joined the forums today, let me present myself here also...

I've been playing the piano for ~14 years. I also own a melodica which is currently a bit out-of-tune, but I enjoy playing it sometimes.
I like to record with the electric piano. It is very easy to record, and a bit of post-production gives beautiful results. Recently I was able to find a nice setup to record the melodica also, so now I want to make duets.

Sometimes I hope I could play something else. I tried once with a flute and a violin, and several times with the classical guitar -and I gave up hahahaha.

[Viktor]

This is a great idea! My skill set is not super useful to virtual orchestration, but just in case, I play electric guitar. The styles I can cover confidently are Funk, Jazz (while it does depend on the era), Rock, Folk and Indie. I also do Metal, but at this moment I'm more okay at it and something tells me from previous conversations that there are some folks in this forum that pull of that style way better then I. On top of that I also do electric bass and some piano.

[Mattias Westlund]

Like Viktor I'm a guitarist. I do play high and low whistles and other small keyless woodwinds, but I live in an apartment building with some, uh... 'sensitive' neighbors so recording (or even practicing) loud instruments at home is sadly not an option for me.

[Michael Willis]

(01-14-2019, 02:17 AM)Mattias Westlund Wrote:  uh... 'sensitive' neighbors

I think that guy must work in the same office as me. My co-worker and I found a little room that was previously used to record screencasts or something. The equipment has all been removed, but the sound treatment is still on the walls, so we decided to start holding impromptu jam sessions at lunch time. We went a little overtime one day and some guy marched in saying "How long are you going to be?" ... meaning "Get lost, the sound is annoying us."

[Mattias Westlund]

(01-14-2019, 03:08 AM)Michael Willis Wrote: I think that guy must work in the same office as me.

That's one hell of a commute, maybe that explains his cranky disposition...

Stuff like that sucks. I prefer peace and quiet myself, but in an apartment building you can't realistically expect the house to be quiet as a tomb 24/7. Yet this old guy next door thinks exactly that, and we can't as much as move a piece of furniture or hang a picture without him banging on the door and yelling.

[Nayrb]

(01-14-2019, 04:24 AM)Mattias Westlund Wrote: Yet this old guy next door thinks exactly that, and we can't as much as move a piece of furniture or hang a picture without him banging on the door and yelling.

That's got to be very hard for you as a musician

My situation is similar. I live in a studio and my walls are paper thin; even the floor shakes (sometimes violently) when the neighbors move around. Oddly enough I've become that old guy (although I don't ever confront anyone, just grumble to myself). No one ever complains about my noise, though, so I should count my blessings.

Still, I rarely get to use my stereo and I'm always trying to be quiet when working on music. And like you I had to give up practicing my wind instruments (in my case the ocarina). Electric guitar is a little easier to keep quiet.

Sometimes I wish I never moved out of the parents' house 

[Mattias Westlund]

(01-14-2019, 04:40 AM)Nayrb Wrote: That's got to be very hard for you as a musician

I usually work at modest levels to minimize ear fatigue so that's not an issue. I don't think he'd take kindly to me recording soprano whistles all day long though...