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shane9689

SuprSi wrote: »

New track, had to just call it quits with it as I could have just kept tweaking it, but I need to move on!! Similar style to my last but hopefully with some decent low end sounds, unlike my last!

https://soundcloud.com/suprsi/coppinger-wood

nice track, bit too much going on in the bass and hihats abit too thinny and pronounced. if you cut the drums back abit the melodic parts could sing more
liking the use of those chopped vocals. needs maybe a small break where the bass isnt constantly going (gets tiring on the ears) like a breakdown or something in my opinion.

very old school. are most people in this forum over 25?
because ive noticed alot of oldschool music being posted up here by alot of you yet a lack of more modern dubstep or trap etc...

SuprSi

Thanks for the comments, really appreciated. I took delivery of a new set of headphones this week (which I can't open until Christmas) and will be getting my DAC soon, so I'm hoping my mastering skills will improve after that. I get what you're saying about it lacking a break too - I'm determined to put a break into my next tune as I haven't managed it in either of mine so far.

As for the age thing, I'm 37 so my choice of music was of the Sasha & Digweed type. That's what I still enjoy too, hence why most of my stuff probably sounds like it would be better suited to the late 90's! Having said that, there's loads of really good progressive stuff around now, it's just a little harder to find. I have very specific tastes in my music and I'm not a fan of dubstep!!

holystungun9

Miloglow wrote: »

The vocal that plays from the start could be turned down a small bit and maybe add a small of reverb or delay just to give it a nice tail. The vocal that comes in at about 28 sec sounds nice with the reverb and delay on it maybe use similar settings on the earlier vocal??

I like the reverb on the clap but again maybe a tad bit loud.

The offbeat hat that comes in after like 30 secs is way too loud it eats up the mix when it comes in.

I like the bass that comes in at about 1 min 20secs. But maybe solo just the bass and kick and eq the bass to fit the kick as i think they are both fighting for the same frequency space. Also im not sure if the bass is beig sidechained? I don't really get the pumping feel from it. Consider sidechaining the bass if you have not already. If you have then maybe bring the threshold down further.

Personally I think if you do all of these things you will improve the mix of your track immensely and it should also help the kick drum punch a bit more though the mix.

All in all excellent effort for your first track, much better than some other efforts I have seen on soundcloud. Well done

Thanks for that, really helpful. I did my first mix down and played it in my ipod for the day and found it all a bit muted. Went home and decided to 'brighten things up a bit' and over did the hi hats and some volumes. I had spend the weekend on the track and was a bit 'feck it' if I don't stop now i'll go crazy.
The bass is sidechained but not much. I didn't want it to pump too much but I should have gone a bit more so as not to drown out the kick.
Thanks again.

holystungun9

SuprSi wrote: »

New track, had to just call it quits with it as I could have just kept tweaking it, but I need to move on!! Similar style to my last but hopefully with some decent low end sounds, unlike my last!

https://soundcloud.com/suprsi/coppinger-wood

Hey, I'm only one full track into music making so it's only a very humble opinion...Musically, I think all the elements are there and it works well as a whole. The kick does seem a bit too loud in the mix and as there is no break from it I think instead of being 'driving' it might get tiring on the ear. I think the hats are fine as it more of a low end driving track and it's not necessary to always balance the mix with a bright top end. I like all the sweeps and tinkly sounds. Nothing wrong with growing up on Sasha and Digweed. Nice crash and effect at the end.
Last thing, I think even by looking at the waveform of the track there is some opportunity to add more dynamics and not having so much going on all through. You have all to sounds so it would be easy to reduce some parts down for a great breakdown and build up to hammer the full parts back in

SuprSi

Thanks for that - you're dead right about the waveform and it was something I noticed but didn't pay any attention to when I was mastering it. There's no break there at all, no drops or rises, just a single chunk of sound! This is definitely something I need to work on so thanks for pointing it out, very much appreciated

mordeith

SuprSi wrote: »

New track, had to just call it quits with it as I could have just kept tweaking it, but I need to move on!! Similar style to my last but hopefully with some decent low end sounds, unlike my last!

https://soundcloud.com/suprsi/coppinger-wood

Really nice track in fairness. I left the odd comment on the soundcloud page.
Agree with Shane that there is probably a bit too much going on in the low-end. This is mostly from the kick IMO. Nice and melodic in the second half. I reckon I'd get rid of the guitar sample, or even chop it a little. Not sure if fits th mood of the track as it stands. I'm 25 so I'm digging the epic progressive vibe
I could expect to hear this on a GU mix

EDIT: Wouldn't mind a download if you were willing. I'l like to play it through my stereo (Denon CD player, Wharfdale speakers, which have a nice flat response)

mordeith

shane9689 wrote: »

havent been here in awhile, but ive come along way since my last visit,

heres a preview of my newest track, it hasnt been mastered yet, so some advice from you guys as to what to do with it would be great, cheers

https://soundcloud.com/shanemoloneys/unmastered-preview

Good stuff = vocals, pitch controlled synth line. I was suprised by the dub line it took towards the end but in a good way. I'm not sure if you're arrangment is tied down, but the drop after the intro almost has too much coming in at once. Maybe if the vocal was saved for a bit later. Clap is nice and pronounced but not sure about the hitting on every beat.

EDIT: Just to say it's nice to see a decent bit of submissions and feedback here again. It had been very quiet for a while.

SuprSi

Thanks for the feedback, delighted to hear that it would fit into a GU mix hehe, that's my goal I've just enabled downloads there so you should be able to get a copy of it now.

SuprSi

shane9689 wrote: »

havent been here in awhile, but ive come along way since my last visit,

heres a preview of my newest track, it hasnt been mastered yet, so some advice from you guys as to what to do with it would be great, cheers

https://soundcloud.com/shanemoloneys/unmastered-preview

This may be an unmastered version but it still sounds very clean and well produced. I really like the bit after the break - do you use samples or are the sounds from multiple synths? Or maybe a bit of both? Agree with Mordeith about the clap - it sounds great initially, very techno-ish but maybe a little too much on every beat due to it being so prominent.

holystungun9

SuprSi wrote: »

This may be an unmastered version but it still sounds very clean and well produced. I really like the bit after the break - do you use samples or are the sounds from multiple synths? Or maybe a bit of both? Agree with Mordeith about the clap - it sounds great initially, very techno-ish but maybe a little too much on every beat due to it being so prominent.

Yeah, I'm with this too. It does sound clean and crisp and boy does it come in with a bang, maybe even too explosive if that's possible. In that style of music the drop is pretty much the most important factor so yeah, no messing. Looking forward to hearing it tracked out and ready to play from start to finish.

shane9689

thanks a million for your opinions guys... i find it really useful to get feedback here, because youre all much more informed about the details to this style of music than the average joe. ill work on the claps and drums then...yeah, i actually didnt use synths for the drop part, but rather chopped up afew different samples that lucky worked as i wanted them too. although i have begun working on making that style of drop from scratch because i realise i wont always get it right through just samples....anyways thanks everyone, claps shall be edited.

p.s bit off topic, but i feel odd being the only one posting music of this style...of come to notice through months of being on this page that no one ever seems to venture too far into the newer styles (im assuming its a generation age gap thing....). i havent ventured into that stuff untill now only because my experience wasnt adiquite to get the it done right.
that said, i totally dig the older stuff too, just not all of it, some of it is too old school haha

ok im ranting, peace

shane9689

mordeith wrote: »

Good stuff = vocals, pitch controlled synth line. I was suprised by the dub line it took towards the end but in a good way. I'm not sure if you're arrangment is tied down, but the drop after the intro almost has too much coming in at once. Maybe if the vocal was saved for a bit later. Clap is nice and pronounced but not sure about the hitting on every beat.

EDIT: Just to say it's nice to see a decent bit of submissions and feedback here again. It had been very quiet for a while.

thanks mordieth, the preview posted is actually the second drop, so its suppose to be abit more dramatic, first drop will be similar but less stuff going on. although i know what you mean

holystungun9

shane9689 wrote: »

thanks a million for your opinions guys... i find it really useful to get feedback here, because youre all much more informed about the details to this style of music than the average joe. ill work on the claps and drums then...yeah, i actually didnt use synths for the drop part, but rather chopped up afew different samples that lucky worked as i wanted them too. although i have begun working on making that style of drop from scratch because i realise i wont always get it right through just samples....anyways thanks everyone, claps shall be edited.

p.s bit off topic, but i feel odd being the only one posting music of this style...of come to notice through months of being on this page that no one ever seems to venture too far into the newer styles (im assuming its a generation age gap thing....). i havent ventured into that stuff untill now only because my experience wasnt adiquite to get the it done right.
that said, i totally dig the older stuff too, just not all of it, some of it is too old school haha

ok im ranting, peace

* gets Zimmer frame and shuffles off muttering bout the young 'uns.

mordeith

shane9689 wrote: »

p.s bit off topic, but i feel odd being the only one posting music of this style...of come to notice through months of being on this page that no one ever seems to venture too far into the newer styles (im assuming its a generation age gap thing....). i havent ventured into that stuff untill now only because my experience wasnt adiquite to get the it done right.
that said, i totally dig the older stuff too, just not all of it, some of it is too old school haha

ok im ranting, peace

I think the main reason for this (at least for me anyway) is that when I sit down to write a track, I'm influenced by the music that I listened to at home and in clubs back when I was in school/college. For me that was, house, hard-house, trance and techno. I was never much into the DnB or Jungle scenes so I suppose that's partly why I'm not much into the Dub of today. Not that I don't like some of it (Sub-Focus is good, but proably not true Dub). I wouldn't mind trying to write something like that but to be honest I'd have no idea where to start.
I always hated piano-driven house, so not all the old-skool stuff is gold IMO

I'm also partial to good minimal (Ellen Alien, Loco Dice etc.)

Miloglow

holystungun9 wrote: »

Thanks for that, really helpful. I did my first mix down and played it in my ipod for the day and found it all a bit muted. Went home and decided to 'brighten things up a bit' and over did the hi hats and some volumes. I had spend the weekend on the track and was a bit 'feck it' if I don't stop now i'll go crazy.
The bass is sidechained but not much. I didn't want it to pump too much but I should have gone a bit more so as not to drown out the kick.
Thanks again.

No problem, getting your tracks to sound good on everything is a skill in its self. You could mix something on a great set of monitors and it sounds amazing but once you play it in a car/headphones/hi:fi or laptop it sounds lifeless. This is all about knowing where to sacrifice some elements for others, which can take years of practice to do properly, so keep at it and you will see great results.

Miloglow

SuprSi wrote: »

New track, had to just call it quits with it as I could have just kept tweaking it, but I need to move on!! Similar style to my last but hopefully with some decent low end sounds, unlike my last!

https://soundcloud.com/suprsi/coppinger-wood

Can't comment on the mixing etc. at the moment as i am just on my laptop with no headphones, but just to address the whole waveform issue. I think that your main end goal when it comes to producing, mixing and mastering a track is to get it to sound as good as you possibly can and this is done with the most important tool a producer/engineer has, their ears. Looking at different spectrum analyzers and vectorscopes can help to have a visual reference of what you are hearing but the people who will hear your music in the end will not have these visual references so they will be relying on their ears to say what sounds good and you should too.

holystungun9 is right though that looking at the waveform can show you the dynamics of your tracks etc. and I would not disagree with anything that was said but I think the most important thing to do is use your ears and if it sounds good it most probably is.

holystungun9

The catch is if you spend a couple of hours or let's be honest, often a lot more time on your track you lose some objectivity. Yes, you should always go for a walk or some sort of break to clear your head and rest your ears before you sit down and do a final mix down but most producers (i feel) mix down a bit as they go so you often don't have fresh ears and if you are fixated on some part or other you do lose objectivity. Trust you ears of course, but sometimes tired ears or too much time listening to the track can 'colour' the sound as it is and affect your judgement.

One tip I was told is to import a quality released reference track with a similar sound or parts to it. A/B-ing that on the mix down stop can help you realise if you are killing any sparkle or the overall sound of the mix.

shane9689

holystungun9 wrote: »

The catch is if you spend a couple of hours or let's be honest, often a lot more time on your track you lose some objectivity. Yes, you should always go for a walk or some sort of break to clear your head and rest your ears before you sit down and do a final mix down but most producers (i feel) mix down a bit as they go so you often don't have fresh ears and if you are fixated on some part or other you do lose objectivity. Trust you ears of course, but sometimes tired ears or too much time listening to the track can 'colour' the sound as it is and affect your judgement.

One tip I was told is to import a quality released reference track with a similar sound or parts to it. A/B-ing that on the mix down stop can help you realise if you are killing any sparkle or the overall sound of the mix.

good idea, never thought to do that yet

Miloglow

holystungun9 wrote: »

One tip I was told is to import a quality released reference track with a similar sound or parts to it. A/B-ing that on the mix down stop can help you realise if you are killing any sparkle or the overall sound of the mix.

Ya that is a really handy thing to do, one thing to remember when doing that is that the reference tracks have been mastered already so will sound a bit different to yours during mixdown.

Sample Magic have a cool plugin for this that allows you load up 9 tracks and A/B between each of them, loop sections ect. I know you could easilly drag 9 tracks into your sequencer but having them all in 1 plugin cuts down on having a separate channel for each track.

http://www.samplemagic.com/details/184/magic-ab

alba_gu_brath

a new one for you all

https://soundcloud.com/ryan-j/you-all-groove

mordeith

alba_gu_brath wrote: »

a new one for you all

https://soundcloud.com/ryan-j/you-all-groove

Nice kind of old-skool house feel to this. I like the percussion groove, although I'd have liked to hear a bit more variety in the kick programming. The double hh skip at the end of each bar is a bit dull for my liking. I think it could with a bit of an increase in the high end.
I really like the vocals, nice and subtle, yet adding interest. The main low-freq synth is a tad too loud in the mix for me, or rather the kick isn't prominent enough. I think a bit of filter automation would work well on it. Also between the 4th and 5th note of that loop, there's a fairly sudden transition. I think a longer decay on that 4th note where it would blend into the 5th would add a smoother feel to the track as a whole.
It's a nice tune, but perhaps a bit long?

alba_gu_brath

Thanks for the feedback man...I get what your saying about the 4th note, i'll extend it a bit and see what it sounds like. I was thinking it might be about a minute or so too long as well maybe but I kinda just wanted to leave that in there to mix out with yano, I could bring the main synth out earlier I suppose

holystungun9

alba_gu_brath wrote: »

a new one for you all

https://soundcloud.com/ryan-j/you-all-groove

The groove is nice and there are some crisp little drums sounds in there but... it is definitely too long for that the same note keyboard to carry it all the way to the end. I know some people just can't fathom listening to tracks that just groove along. i can and do listen to them and I know what it is like to just be locked in a groove. On the other hand, this one does need some variation or even if it is just in the last bar of every four bars. Those other stab sounds do help but could have a bit more variety or occur more often. Or else if they were effected in a really cool way that was different or just offers some other counter point to the riff.
If you were to think what is the main part of this track or what will be the part that stays in your head/what's the part that you hum along or that you go 'de da doo day de dee da etc...' it's is the one note/chord pattern/ which will get a bit tiring after a while. Doesn't have to be super melodic, just a bit of variety and can still be a groover.
At the start, there are four blocks or 30secs before the break. The first one is an intro, the second slowly brings in the keys/riff, the third is riff at full volume and the fourth is the riff at full volume. I don't think there is a need to duplicate the third part. The break would be fine just after it.
That's my two cents. Hope there is something useful in there.

alba_gu_brath

Few bits updated on it

https://soundcloud.com/ryan-j/you-all-groove

mordeith

alba_gu_brath wrote: »

Few bits updated on it

https://soundcloud.com/ryan-j/you-all-groove

I like the ride and the shakers. You have a nice tom hit every now and then. I think if you built a little loop out of that it would add a lot to the track.

shane9689

alba_gu_brath wrote: »

Few bits updated on it

https://soundcloud.com/ryan-j/you-all-groove

very nice and groovy, but i cant say much beyond that as its not my style

holystungun9

Just finished track number two today.

https://soundcloud.com/kcee-deep/baby-dont-cry

All feedback welcome.

Cheers

mordeith

holystungun9 wrote: »

Just finished track number two today.

https://soundcloud.com/kcee-deep/baby-dont-cry

All feedback welcome.

Cheers

Not my style genre wise, but it sounds nice and crisp. I know you have a deep pad layer there, but I think the track is missing a proper bassline. Great vocal though, where'd you get that, sample pack?

holystungun9

mordeith wrote: »

Not my style genre wise, but it sounds nice and crisp. I know you have a deep pad layer there, but I think the track is missing a proper bassline. Great vocal though, where'd you get that, sample pack?

It was a Motown acapella, and I choped some bits from it. I did the chord sequence and then went looking for some vocals to help give it a bit of mood. I kept the bass back a bit as I just wanted it to underpin the track. I must give it a listen on some other systems and headphones to check if it's want I wanted or not. I had reached the old 'feck messing with this thing anymore' stage.

shane9689

holystungun9 wrote: »

Just finished track number two today.

https://soundcloud.com/kcee-deep/baby-dont-cry

All feedback welcome.

Cheers

very nice mixing, kick fits in really well, bass sounds lovely, synths sound good...one problem i have, is its all abit empty and in a weird key/tonality? also the synth at about 1:40 is good, but just at the end of its riff its abit dodge, could end the riff abit smoother, but i like the track, just needs to fill some space out or something maybe, more synth lines going on to accompany the bass or something....also, you could probably end it at about 4 mins....past that and it gets abit dragged out i think, youve already said what you needed to say with the track, after that it seems like an extended outro which is good for djing but not for a "radio" edit