A Mark In Time
Mark Knopfler Discussion => Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum => Topic started by: Brunno Nunes on November 03, 2019, 03:56:19 AM
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Hello everybody
I have been doing an experiment where I can reduce the voice volume of studio recordings and get new sensations about the songs!
This is for those who are fans and want to have a new sound experience, watching other details of the song in a different way.
I did this experiment of reducing maximum vocal and noticing new nuances hidden in the song. Contemplate the beauty and magic behind the song!
I will leave some examples I have done so far! :wave
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g4uiHQBmIc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g4uiHQBmIc)
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Now with Hand in Hand.
Contemplate the beauty and magic behind the song!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juQMybmIq0I (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juQMybmIq0I)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwREP6P_owo&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0CpsS60VJidafpiol_ZEOQHffV6WmQSxPBNpiKuq4JMh-4LTu68We6Je8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwREP6P_owo&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0CpsS60VJidafpiol_ZEOQHffV6WmQSxPBNpiKuq4JMh-4LTu68We6Je8)
What will stand out is the phaser rhythm guitar, as evidenced by David Knopfler in the Once Upon a Time in the West version of Rockpalast 1979, the extraordinarily creative Pick Whiters drums and the vocal backing at the end, which are absolutely charming.
This video will only matter to those who appreciate subtleties, which are camouflaged in the song, better perceived when we focus on other instruments. In my view, this further enhances the beauty of Dire Straits art, it would be amazing if we could hear every single instrument or voice in isolation, but at least that here is possible!
(I recommend using a headset for better appreciation.)
Hope you like it!
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(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyWqC6c-wKM&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR03noOqlBjeAFaHqt2QkKTOBGuXwNyycl_jxXAlzKgISoNc9OPLrggtJ_k)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyWqC6c-wKM&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR12MpoG7o-NppckzyYZfjqcCbwJA6BQsd9I9-p47Q-m2ZldQyw2zE4AuSE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyWqC6c-wKM&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR12MpoG7o-NppckzyYZfjqcCbwJA6BQsd9I9-p47Q-m2ZldQyw2zE4AuSE)
Here is one of the best results I could get from this masterpiece, Single-handed Sailor. The rhythm session is unbelievable, there are 4 guitar channels, I reduced the voice and one lead guitar (Mark Knopfler [100%], MK fingerstyle) and highlighted:
Guitar Two - Rhythm - Left Channel Mark Knopfler- [100%], MK fingerstyle
Guitar Three - Rhythm - Right Channel Mark Knopfler [50%], David Knopfler [50%]
Guitar Four- strummed chords - right channel- Intro 0:00 - 0:20 and every part where Mark is soloing (highlighting the deep rhythm guitar), 0:20 - 0:56 and 1:54 - 2: 11 David Knopfler [100%], strummed, accents on the snare drum.
Enjoy this magic by savoring this unique sound, attentive to the guitar passages rich in precious details, as well as Pick Whiters' super creative drumming.
It is pure magic!
Hope you like it!
Use a headset for better analysis and appreciation!
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5MTk8gaX9A (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5MTk8gaX9A)
Another sound wonder of the first Dire Straits album
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDEWLbgiI7Q (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDEWLbgiI7Q)
We are accustomed to always hear the solos of Mark Knopfler's guitar and his songs, which is always spectacular. However, we stayed without noticing
the incredible textures that are on other lines of guitars made by Knopfler in other layers of his songs.
So here's a copy of what I'm now experiencing. This allows to perceive new textures in the songs, it is possible to perceive in more detail very curious things that were hidden, some surprising.
Listen and get your conclusions.
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fantastic job, I love it ! :thumbsup :clap
Ingo did a similar thing some years ago : https://www.mk-guitar.com/2008/11/04/how-to-hear-more-on-a-recording-than-normal-ears-can-hear/
as he explained, it's in the same way as karaoke machines
of course, you loose the stereo, but you can hear some very nice details
I love to hear separate tracks like on guitar hero files, or like the BBC did with some Floyd tunes for example. very very interesting
thanks for sharing Brunno :thumbsup
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Great job !
"single handed sailor" is amazing too
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This is just brilliant!
I recall listening to "It never rains" like that some years ago and I was amazed about an acoustic guitar rhythm that I never noticed before...
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Yes, that's amazing indeed! I'm more old school in that respect and appreciate the whole track at once and if you can't hear any particular colour of the song because some instrument is buried down too deep into the mix I consider it was composer intended.
This is just brilliant!
I recall listening to "It never rains" like that some years ago and I was amazed about an acoustic guitar rhythm that I never noticed before...
That's a good example, because in that track acoustic guitars really go almost unnoticed, but on the other hand, as guitar tracks panned almost 100% to left and right, it's easy to hear it if you want.
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Yeah, it is done by inverting the phase on one of the stereo channels (which is possible e.g. with any good mixing desk, or with software). I also made myself a simple cable wired to do the job so I could listen to any music with this effect using any ordinary headphones.
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if you can't hear any particular colour of the song because some instrument is buried down too deep into the mix I consider it was composer intended.
yes maybe the case most of the time, but not always I think
sometimes, the mix does no justice to what the composer had in head
sometimes, it's even not at all what he wanted. the most famous example is let it be, remixed by Spector and Lennon against Macca's ideas
and sometimes the technology at the time of the recording wasn't enough "elaborated" to have all details audible. I am thinking about "old" recordings during 30's 40's 50's and even late 60's like on Hendrix or Beatles recordings for example
and when they can release some remixed stuff, they often say "that's how I wanted it sound, but at the time it wasn't possible"
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Take a listen to "trapper man"
It has sax, trumpet and trombone. Where? Buried in the mix. If you listen to it at high volume you can listen to it, very low, but it's there.
I asked Guy about it and he said they had problems with it mixing. If it was prominent, it was too much prominent for the song, if they take it out, there was something missing, so they decided to leave it there but low in the mix. It´s difficult to listen, but it's there and kind of fill the song.
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if you can't hear any particular colour of the song because some instrument is buried down too deep into the mix I consider it was composer intended.
yes maybe the case most of the time, but not always I think
sometimes, the mix does no justice to what the composer had in head
sometimes, it's even not at all what he wanted. the most famous example is let it be, remixed by Spector and Lennon against Macca's ideas
and sometimes the technology at the time of the recording wasn't enough "elaborated" to have all details audible. I am thinking about "old" recordings during 30's 40's 50's and even late 60's like on Hendrix or Beatles recordings for example
and when they can release some remixed stuff, they often say "that's how I wanted it sound, but at the time it wasn't possible"
Of course those low volume instruments were intended to be this way. It is important to understand what this phase-cancellation technique does: It cancels all signals that have the same volume on both of the two stereo channels. These are the signals that normally seem to come from the center, apparently coming from a virtual place in the middle between your two speakers, typically vocals, bass, bass drum,...
What remains are the signals that are mixed more to (= have higher volume on) one of the stereo channels, those that seem to come from rather the left or right side of the stereo mix. The more they are mixed to one channel only, the higher their volume will be.
To illustrate, here is an example: let's say we have three instruments - like guitar, vocals, and piano.
The guitar has volume 6 on the left channel, and volume 0 on the right channel - you will hear it only from the left speaker.
The vocals have volume 7 on both channels - so you will hear vocals on both speakers.
The piano has volume 2 on the left and 6 on the right channel - it is louder on the right speaker, it seems to come from a virtual position somewhere between the center and the right channel.
Now, you invert the phase of one channel and mix both channels together to a mono signal.
There will absolutely no vocals (as volume 7 from the left channel cancels with volume 7 from the right, like 7 - 7 = 0)
The guitar will have volume 6 (6 - 0 = 6)
The piano will have volume 4 (6 - 2 = 4)
The resulting mix has compeletely different volume relations between all the instruments (guitar 6, vocals 0, piano 4).
If you want to hear music this way you can solder a little headphones adaptor cable, with a plug on one end and a jack on the other. The jack / plug has three connectors, left, right, and ground. Leave the ground on the plug empty, connect right on the plug with both left and right on the jack, and left on the plug with ground on the jack.
Then just plug your headphones into the jack on the adaptor, and the plug of the adaptor into your stereo device, and voila.
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yes of course I know this phenomen Ingo, I started working as a sound mixer some years (well decades) ago :)
what I meant was the mix can be sometimes not excatly what the artist wanted to be. Ok it's rare, but it can happen, in very particulary examples (Let it be, or another example : infidels would have sounded different if Mark could have done the job till the end)
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I'm glad you enjoyed these results, I really have a lot of fun doing these experiments, having the experience of feeling the song from another angle, highlighting other instruments in the recording, further enhances the admiration for the band's musical architecture.
This weekend I will bring some more examples, among them, It Never Rains with the guitars in highlights! :wave
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yes of course I know this phenomen Ingo, I started working as a sound mixer some years (well decades) ago :)
what I meant was the mix can be sometimes not excatly what the artist wanted to be. Ok it's rare, but it can happen, in very particulary examples (Let it be, or another example : infidels would have sounded different if Mark could have done the job till the end)
Just to jump in....
Totally agree with what you said. Also it has to be understood that any mix is 'of the moment', and there is no such thing as a perfect mix, numerous years in the studio has taught me that.
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https://youtu.be/Xkge3pIUf0o (https://youtu.be/Xkge3pIUf0o)
Those interested, check!
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https://youtu.be/pyOB-V0qiiM (https://youtu.be/pyOB-V0qiiM)
I've always wanted to hear this masterpiece from this angle, I've always considered it one of Mark Knopfler's best live performances.
Enjoy!!!! :wave
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlLJYPh1MXQ&feature=youtu.be
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlLJYPh1MXQ&feature=youtu.be)
The beauty of a song focusing on the instrumental part. How many subtleties, nuances ... Live the unique taste of Dire Straits!!!! :wave
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https://youtu.be/pyOB-V0qiiM (https://youtu.be/pyOB-V0qiiM)
I've always wanted to hear this masterpiece from this angle, I've always considered it one of Mark Knopfler's best live performances.
Enjoy!!!! :wave
That's so cool! It's hard to listen to the album version after this live version. Always found hilarious that it ends with a fade-out, but as I heard the show bootleg I recall they had some technical difficulties so they decided to cut it.
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https://youtu.be/pyOB-V0qiiM (https://youtu.be/pyOB-V0qiiM)
I've always wanted to hear this masterpiece from this angle, I've always considered it one of Mark Knopfler's best live performances.
Enjoy!!!! :wave
That's so cool! It's hard to listen to the album version after this live version. Always found hilarious that it ends with a fade-out, but as I heard the show bootleg I recall they had some technical difficulties so they decided to cut it.
Well, they had to fade out because the song was over 13 minutes, would take up a lot of album space, so they turned it into something compact and suitable for the radios. My LP MFN has a label highlighting that the album comes with an unreleased version of Portobello Belle-Live, really, it must have been impactful at the time to hear Dire Straits reshaping a song in such a brilliant way.
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Sounds super good! Many thanks! I really like to can listen Walk of life and So far away without vocals :) (both studio versions)
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https://youtu.be/pyOB-V0qiiM (https://youtu.be/pyOB-V0qiiM)
I've always wanted to hear this masterpiece from this angle, I've always considered it one of Mark Knopfler's best live performances.
Enjoy!!!! :wave
That's so cool! It's hard to listen to the album version after this live version. Always found hilarious that it ends with a fade-out, but as I heard the show bootleg I recall they had some technical difficulties so they decided to cut it.
Well, they had to fade out because the song was over 13 minutes, would take up a lot of album space, so they turned it into something compact and suitable for the radios. My LP MFN has a label highlighting that the album comes with an unreleased version of Portobello Belle-Live, really, it must have been impactful at the time to hear Dire Straits reshaping a song in such a brilliant way.
Not only that but also the Portobello outtro was linked with the Tunnel of love intro, turning it into a two songs in one, a very very very long one!
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https://youtu.be/b0ND5XRonL4 (https://youtu.be/b0ND5XRonL4)
Some more interesting results!!
Enjoy without moderation!!!
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https://youtu.be/t8m_-IVw4cc (https://youtu.be/t8m_-IVw4cc)
Feel the peace in the master's voice! :wave
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https://youtu.be/M2req_FbykA (https://youtu.be/M2req_FbykA)
The Scaffolder's Wife- Accompaniment.
Beautiful melody!!! ;)
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https://youtu.be/M2req_FbykA (https://youtu.be/M2req_FbykA)
The Scaffolder's Wife- Accompaniment.
Beautiful melody!!! ;)
I always loved this song, so beautiful music, so beautiful singing...
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Bruno, your work is absolutely fantastic!! Would love to listen to Trapper man or Basil in the same way... should you work on those songs!
:clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlLJYPh1MXQ&feature=youtu.be
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlLJYPh1MXQ&feature=youtu.be)
The beauty of a song focusing on the instrumental part. How many subtleties, nuances ... Live the unique taste of Dire Straits!!!! :wave
Sounds great! thank you!
Always struck me as such an interesting tone on the outro solo from Mark, I think I remember reading Ingo saying it was a Black Strat in open G with a capo 3 on his website, Which I don't doubt, I'm sure he's correct, more I find it interesting the almost acoustic type tone he gets out of it in the solo at the end?
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https://youtu.be/t8m_-IVw4cc (https://youtu.be/t8m_-IVw4cc)
Feel the peace in the master's voice! :wave
That's free estate for people doing remixes :lol
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Bruno, your work is absolutely fantastic!! Would love to listen to Trapper man or Basil in the same way... should you work on those songs!
:clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap
https://youtu.be/73jPM_d0_8w (https://youtu.be/73jPM_d0_8w)
The voice that touches and soothes the soul of all Knopflerians!
Hope you like it! :wave
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Bruno, your work is absolutely fantastic!! Would love to listen to Trapper man or Basil in the same way... should you work on those songs!
:clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap
https://youtu.be/73jPM_d0_8w (https://youtu.be/73jPM_d0_8w)
The voice that touches and soothes the soul of all Knopflerians!
Hope you like it! :wave
Bruno, I'm afraid I did a little mess with my poor English... Actually, I would have liked the "reduced volume" of the voice for Trapper and Basil, leaving all the instrumental part.
But... None the less, it was amazing to hear the voice only version of Basil, with the voice of Ruth coming in somewhat unexpected... Pure goosebumps!!!!