Superdomestique - Working towards a final mix

T

Tekhed66

New member
Hi all

Well I've finally started doing the final mixes of the tracks I want to release on my bucket-list album...

I've decided to start on the title track and also the longest track of the album... it comes in at about 8 minutes so it was a bit of a task to get it to this stage.

The track is roughly broken into 3 sections ... each section is a nod to a well known keyboard/synth player (not telling who but I'll run a sweep... a round the world holiday, beachside mansion and complimentary copy of my album for the first correct entry).

I know that there are mixing errors and other glitches throughout the track but I can't hear them anymore so if you can stand listening to an 8 minute track, I'd really appreciate some feedback or suggestions.

Before anyone jumps in though - yes I KNOW the drums are very rigid... that's how they're meant to be.. I didn't want a human feel or a groove... just 4 to the floor all the way (especially in part 3 but if you know who part 3 reflects then you'll understand why).

Anyway - for those of you who are brave enough - I give you "Superdomestique" (which, by the way, is a cycling term)

Superdomestique 2 (Working towards a final mix) by Un-Sound | Un Sound | Free Listening on SoundCloud

many thanks! :-)
 
Intro piano sounds nice, nice chords. Nice reverb on the percussion.

Snare might have a little too much upper mids, 3-6k-ish? Still sounds fitting though, leave it if you like it.

Cool transition at 3:20. Kick could maybe use a db or two of 60hz...

Nice Wataryat-type sound at 4:45ish.

Not sure what you meant by 4 on the floor, not sure I've heard it yet, just standard beats.

All in all, pretty good mix, fine as is. My comments are basically just minor taste issues.

Needs a guitar solo somewhere!

Nice work.
 
Hi Johnny
Thanks for your comments.
EQ has been a major pain throughout this mix and the snare has been a pain on top of a pain... I don't know how many times I swapped out snare sounds to get one that fits... maybe this still needs a bit more work.

4 on the Floor is basically a steady 4/4 beat... nothing fancy... just steady and solid (it also comes from an old four-wheel drive car advertisement from a long time ago... 4 gear manual transmission = 4 (gears) on the floor).

There IS a guitar solo in there believe it or not... it's the worlds shortest guitar solo starting at 4:04 and ending at 4:35 (right at the end of section 2)... I think it also has the least number of notes ever played in a solo ;-)

Cheers!
 
Before I begin, I'll tell you right now that I like electronica, it's sort of what I put out too. Sorry but I don't know much about keyboard players besides Wakeman and Wright but I know what I like, and that's this song. And I loved the ending.

I don't mind the drum track, but it's a touch too forward. I do like the way you've mixed things up and how your transitions work. The solo you spoke about could use a bunch more energy to it, a guitarist flying.

Overall, it sounds great but it's a touch long without enough change in it for an 8 minute song.

Timbo
 
I think the synth tones sound nice. I'm not an expert in the genre, but the sounds were pleasing to me.

Programmed drums work pretty well in this genre. The snare sample was a bit splashy. But the kick sample was nice.

It took a long time to develop at the beginning. Maybe you can shorten that up.
 
YellowDwarf said:
Before I begin, I'll tell you right now that I like electronica, it's sort of what I put out too. Sorry but I don't know much about keyboard players besides Wakeman and Wright but I know what I like, and that's this song. And I loved the ending.

I don't mind the drum track, but it's a touch too forward. I do like the way you've mixed things up and how your transitions work. The solo you spoke about could use a bunch more energy to it, a guitarist flying.

Overall, it sounds great but it's a touch long without enough change in it for an 8 minute song.

Timbo
Click to expand...

Kind words Timbo... thanks very much.

Yeah... it's sort of a guitar solo when you're not having a guitar solo... I was planning on a Mike Oldfield sort of guitar section but just couldn't record a decent guitar (let alone PLAY any decent guitar) so i just left it as a tiny guitar phrase... maybe I'll give it another go.

I agree about the length... another post says the beginning is too long so there's scope to give it a trim (I know then end could be shorter so maybe I'll start there and see how it goes)

Anyway - thanks for the ideas and for the feedback.

ps - Wakeman and Wright are two cool dudes but sadly, not one of the three in this track... unfortunately you don't win the around the world holiday, beachside mansion and complimentary copy of my album ;-) ;-)
 
Hi TripleM

I'm not super-sure what I used for a snare (drum sample or just what was in the box).... at one stage there would have been about a dozen drum tracks going ... it was crazy ... I havent listened to this track in months so I can get the sounds completely out of my head... I'll have another listen soon-ish and maybe reconsider some of the sounds.

I was after a Floydy / long ambient sound effects intro for the track... being the title track and all... I wasn't in any great rush to get the track started so that's why it sort of slowly builds ... the ending is too long though... I had always thought that and someone else posted a comment to that effect so I'll definitely give that a trim.

anyway - thanks again for your comments.
 
I like your tones and the melodic progressions are really good. No issues with the mix here. The 2nd half reminds me of Jean Michell Jarre. My only suggestion is to lose the first 45 seconds of near silence otherwise you'll lose your listeners
 
Bulls Hit said:
I like your tones and the melodic progressions are really good. No issues with the mix here. The 2nd half reminds me of Jean Michell Jarre. My only suggestion is to lose the first 45 seconds of near silence otherwise you'll lose your listeners
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Bulls Hit... you've scored 1 out of 3!!! ... the last section IS my nod to JMJ ... well done... you're in the running for the grand prize and since everyone's been way off the mark, I am now offering a clue to the other two ... section 1: think dramatic over-the-top cinematic ... the sort of stuff you'd expect to hear in a film soundtrack written by someone with a funny name.... section 2: (this is a relatively short bit)... think of someone who is known for lovely long fluid keyboard runs if you FOLLOW what I mean.

I think my audience will just have to be patient and put up with 45 seconds of ambience (stubborn sod that I am) ... it won't kill them (I hope) and they might just learn something (!!??) .... thanks for the feedback though... I'm glad you liked the melody and sounds... have another crack at trying to ID the other keyboard players... I'd be interested in you answer (and well done again with JMJ)
 
musically this is an interesting track, would you be prepared to send me the stems so I can mix it for you? even better if you had the individual tracks, the snare needs more weight there's lots of ways I could improve it, obviously this requires a lot of trust from you but I'm willing to give it a go.
 
Btyre2013 said:
musically this is an interesting track, would you be prepared to send me the stems so I can mix it for you? even better if you had the individual tracks, the snare needs more weight there's lots of ways I could improve it, obviously this requires a lot of trust from you but I'm willing to give it a go.
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Hi Btyre
Well it's an interesting proposition.... which DAW are you using? The track was originally recorded in Live 9 but I've since imported it into Live 10 so no going back unfortunately.
Everything still exists as individual tracks (there's a lot of them)... if you've got Live 10, I could send you the entire project.
Anyway - I'd be interested in hearing what you could do with it... nothing like new ideas and a fresh pair of ears.
Keep the conversation going... either post back here or PM me and i'm sure that we can sort out the nuts and bolts.
Thanks for your interest in the track :-)
 
Tekhed66 said:
Hi Btyre
Well it's an interesting proposition.... which DAW are you using? The track was originally recorded in Live 9 but I've since imported it into Live 10 so no going back unfortunately.
Everything still exists as individual tracks (there's a lot of them)... if you've got Live 10, I could send you the entire project.
Anyway - I'd be interested in hearing what you could do with it... nothing like new ideas and a fresh pair of ears.
Keep the conversation going... either post back here or PM me and i'm sure that we can sort out the nuts and bolts.
Thanks for your interest in the track :-)
Click to expand...

good to hear that, I am using Cubase 8 Pro so would need audio files that include silence from start to finish ideally all bone dry with no fx added to anything and 24 bit WAV, do not worry about too many tracks, my machine is a beast, will PM you about it, just gonna be busy over the next few days but I'll be in touch soon.
 
Tekhed66 said:
Hi Btyre
Well it's an interesting proposition.... which DAW are you using? The track was originally recorded in Live 9 but I've since imported it into Live 10 so no going back unfortunately.
Everything still exists as individual tracks (there's a lot of them)... if you've got Live 10, I could send you the entire project.
Anyway - I'd be interested in hearing what you could do with it... nothing like new ideas and a fresh pair of ears.
Keep the conversation going... either post back here or PM me and i'm sure that we can sort out the nuts and bolts.
Thanks for your interest in the track :-)
Click to expand...

I sent you a PM about it hope it got through, cheers.
 
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