New track. I can't decide if its crap or not.

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bendbones

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I'm playing around with this little instrumental idea. I wasn't going for any particular sound although it seems to have evolved towards a world-music type of feel. I'm not overly sure about the arrangement or production. I was thinking perhaps it is overly busy? All comments are appreciated :-)

For those curious, the acapella vocal line I found on one of those free sample sites...



Ben.
 
I don't think it is too busy, but I do think the beat needs to drive a little harder. I think the biggest issue is that the lead and rhythm guitars sound the same. Sounds like you used the same guitar, same amp, same distortion, same pickup. They are mixed together too much. I think if you changed the sound up a bit on one of them, it would sound less busy.
 
LOL...good question...I think I meant a mix of eastern and western styles :-)

Ben.
 
I liked it, but I agree with the earlier comment about the guitars sounding too similar. I also thought the guitar coming at 00:37 sounds very cliched. I'd drop that part - the part with the tremolo guitar farther in is much more interesting. I like how the initial part of the song fits in with the "Eastern" drum part and with the voice.
 
thanks

...everyone for their advice / rants. I'm not sure however about dropping the part that comes in at 00:37, since this is the underlying melody that kind of drives the tune...Any ideas?

Cheers,
Ben.
 
bendbones said:
...everyone for their advice / rants. I'm not sure however about dropping the part that comes in at 00:37, since this is the underlying melody that kind of drives the tune...Any ideas?

Cheers,
Ben.
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I dont know - to me it just sounds cliched, very kinda Joe Satriani. Doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of the song. Maybe try it with a cleaner tone, or a more processed tone?
 
I like it. About been too busy, yes, I think its a little fatiguing, like it doesn't have space to breath, but maybe the problem is that the guitars are too crunchy and bright. I think that's what causing it. Overall I think is great. Congrats.
 
Sorry to resurrect this thread but...

I've done some more work on this track, but don't know if its an improvement or not...Is everything in tune...I'm not sure? I think I have ear fatigue or something.

ThePlace

Thanks all
Ben.
 
This is a very interesting track, Ben.
I like it the way it is, it has its own style. I wouldn't change a thing.
Very nice!

Joe :):)
 
Very cool tune! I love the tone and the melody coming from that guitar. (And yes--it all sounds in tune to me.) The mix is lush without being too much--just very rich. Nice variety bringing the guitar in and out. And I really like the way it falls back to nothing there in the second half before building back up.

Great work! :D
 
thanks man!

Hey thanks man, appreciate your comments. I was actually thinking the strings sounded a little flat, but perhaps not

EDIT: Cheers also Joe - didn't see your comment there at first!

Cheers,
Ben.
 
I don't think it's too busy, just too squashed. It gets kind of harsh from the ultra-compression loudness in some spots. Get a nice and spacious raw mix and then squash it for loudness.
 
hey...

blue2blue said:
404 Not Found error... :(
Click to expand...

Sorry mate....that was the original link...there is another later on...Anyway, here it is again:

ThePlace

Will also update the original link right now...ok done...instrumentalIdea now points to thePlace.mp3 :-)

Cheers!
Ben.
 
thanks for listening...

Greg_L said:
I don't think it's too busy, just too squashed. It gets kind of harsh from the ultra-compression loudness in some spots. Get a nice and spacious raw mix and then squash it for loudness.
Click to expand...

Fair enough...I actually ran the whole mix through Ozone Izotope (I absolutely love this plugin)...perhaps I should take a step back and remix for spaciousness without it and then re-apply ;-)

ben.
 
bendbones said:
Sorry mate....that was the original link...there is another later on...Anyway, here it is again:

ThePlace

Will also update the original link right now...ok done...instrumentalIdea now points to thePlace.mp3 :-)

Cheers!
Ben.
Click to expand...

Got it, thanks!

The arrangement has some nice features. The lead guitar and vocal give a much needed contrast to the wall of synths.

But mix-wise, this sounds very squashed. Everything is jammed against the glass, and like a face pressed against a window, it kind of distorts the shape of things. The high frequency content is all but squeezed out. There's no air for most of the song. The drums seem lifeless and thuddy from being mushed into the mix. The mix is very busy, lots going on, but it's hard to really get a feel for the constituent parts, to a large extent. I would back way off on the buss compression, try to work with the midrange tonalities, trying to fit and shape your mix better, stereo and EQ wise, to make room for each constituent part of the mix. That will likely require some EQ cuts. However, there is a serious lack of sparkle and high end definition here, as well. As careful as one wants to be in considering boosting high frequency content, if this isn't the result of already existing EQ cuts, you may need to consider boosting the HF on some of your content.

PS... I made my comments without reading others' comments first. So any parallels in theirs and mine are just that. ;)

PPS... It's definitely not crap. :)
 
thanks man...

Am going to remix in half hour or so...just been out jogging...bloody knackered, need to recoup...

I think I know what both you and Greg_L are referring to though in terms of the squashed dynamic...I am going to back off from the izotope plugin, remix it properly and then re-apply it...

ben.
 
bendbones said:
Am going to remix in half hour or so...just been out jogging...bloody knackered, need to recoup...

I think I know what both you and Greg_L are referring to though in terms of the squashed dynamic...I am going to back off from the izotope plugin, remix it properly and then re-apply it...

ben.
Click to expand...

Makes sense.

Way back near the beginning of the current round of loudness wars in the late 90s, I got hung up on the competitive loudness thing... I bought a compression FX pack from Sonic Foundry and abused one compressor after another looking for the magic tool... there was one called "Wave Hammer" -- so appropriately named... I would measure the RMS of reference CD mixes -- in those days -14 dB RMS was considered 'squashed' [no kidding, now some mixes are in single digits... of course, those mixes are all but unlistenable, seems to me, but, hey. :D ]. Anyhow, I pounded on my mixes and got their loudness up but their listenability seemed to slip farther and farther away... the mixes got harsh, the high end shimmer completely disappeared, sometimes provoking me to brighten the top end, but that just seemed to make things harsher.

In time I found that creating a good mix with no buss compression or EQ in, really tinkering and crafting the mix so that the pieces fit together in a nice harmonically satisfying way, a place in the stereo and EQ spectrum for each instrument/voice grouping worked pretty well. I worked with stereo pan, EQ, and -- crucially -- with dynamic automation, the automated equivalent of 'riding faders' to massage the mix's dynamics, and was able to better create mixes that felt alive and detailed.

Once the mix was right, applying a little compression across the output buss went a long way to 'gluing things together' -- without squashing them together.

But, ultimately, I decided a good sounding mix was more important than a competitvely loud mix, in the long run. Sure, if you go from the lastest Metallica track to one of my tracks, you're going to be reaching for the volume control... but why would I want to sound as awful as the latest Metallica stuff? :D
 
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