Here you go peeps. This is my latest offering and is very different from what I have been posting.
This time it's sampled sounds meets the T2 and my custom TVN voices.

I've just edited this post to give you the WMA compressed version rather than the full 42mb WAV. After talking to friends on Skype they said they would like to hear this but only have slow connections.
http://www.4shared.com/dir/688993/1aa6c008/sharing.html

[This message has been edited by Craig_UK (edited 09-04-2006).]

Haven't heard that song in a while Huge file too (whopping 40+mb's)... Anyone with dial-up--I suggest you make a sandwich and have a drink while it's downloading

Craig, maybe I'm a timing nut, but some of the solo work in a few places or (notes) seems to lag. The overall composition itself isn't bad, but I picked up a few issues with timing again. Other than that-great flashback.

Squeak

Hi Squeak can you please point out to me where the timing lags in your opinion?
Maybe you'd be kind enough to play the solo on your guitar and post a link so I can understand where abouts you mean.
Thanks.

[This message has been edited by Craig_UK (edited 09-03-2006).]

Hi Craig

Sounds good. But I think the volume of the lead sounds are too high. Nice job.

Niels

Without having to download it again, I think one of the first spots I noticed it was after the 30 second mark. Going from memory here, but I'm pretty sure part of what I feel is slightly off timing comes after the 30 second mark.

It's also possible it's your note transitioning or phrasing too which makes the timing sound just a tad sluggish.

Agian maybe I'm a timing nut--but does anyone else notice it besides me. A simple manual test you can do Craig, is listen to your own song, and manually tap your foot, hand to your desk (for example) to the beat of the song. Then listen to the solo while doing this.

I also agree that the leads are a bit too high. Try dropping the leads a bit.

Squeak

Hi Craig,

great song.
I love what you have done with the guitars and a couple of the Synth sounds.

Thanks for sharing

Eric

Hi Craig. Man, quite a dramatic impressive contrast to your original submission. Kool synth sweeps panning from right to left. It's immediately obvious that you spent a lot more time focussing on orchestration & production work. I did spot the minute timing glitches I think Squeak is refering to, but feel they're pretty miniscule relative to the grand scheme of things, and pretty much unavoidable considering the limitations of live arranger performance utilizing Registration button changes, of which I too occasionally experience as well.

That said, though appreciate the enhanced sound (louder drums) & more dramatic (intense) instrument (WAV) sounds including added dsp efx, I personally prefer your original version because imho, it better highlights your live spontaneous playing expression & passion , which I feel this version misses. Ok. I'm adding this to my iPod playlist, but still keeping version #1 there to enjoy as well. Thanks Craig.

Scott

Hello Craig.
Big difference from the first version.
I can't see what the fuss is about with the synths being too high... after all Freddy Mercury's voice would be far higher than the rest of the band playing and I'd want to hear his singing above Bryan Mays guitar work. They sound fine in the mix to me as they are, plus it's YOUR own interpretation of the song, so almost everyone is bound to say I'd have played it with this sounds instead, or I'd have played it lower, slower, quicker etc It would be a sad world if everyone played a song the same

No timing issues heard at my end other than possibly half a second out when changing synth voices to guitars and back again, which is unavoidable when using registrations.
Squeak mentions timing issues after 30 seconds which is actually after the intro stops, so I think he is saying that the timing is out as soon as you start to play what Freddy would sing.
When I play my T2 swapping from sounds with reverb on then to guitars with distortion too quickly creates a loud thud sound, where one effect is still fading away and the other comes in on top. You have to be very careful of this, but the swapping of sounds you used was smooth.

Since hardly anyone has yet to comment on the actual sounds used and only your performance here goes:
Very nice realistic guitars, I can tell the sampled ones to the internal T2 sounds. Nice synth sweep pads and good lead guitar played an octave lower than your first attempt which to me sounded more real and gutsy.
What style did you use for this, the bass line and guitar strumming in the background is almost identicle to the original and the drums and cymbal crashes don't sound like internal T2 sounds? The drums are far louder on this version.
The solo in the middle is pitch and timing perfect, even the synth sound is identicle to the original recording - great stuff.

[This message has been edited by T42 (edited 09-04-2006).]

I think a fair bit of the timing thing is coming from Craig's effort to phrase EXACTLY like Freddie Mercury. He's done a very good job of emulating the way Freddie rubato'd around the words.

Unfortunately, without the words a lot of the rubato doesn't make as much sense...... A 'straight from the record' transcription rarely works well if it is played on an instrument other than the original. You can hear this on just about any instrumental album of popular songs. The seasoned instrumentalist re-interprets the song to better suit the sound he is using, rather than relying on phrasing from another instrument or singer, and ends up with a 'better' version than if he'd just copied it verbatim.

Give this a try, next time, Craig, and try to see if a more personal interpretation leads to a better feel for the lead when it is covering a sung line......... How about doing 'Killer Queen' next time??!

Super. In every way.
What can I do to sound like this?
Thanks Craig.