Review the track(s) above you

[Belgerum]

@DJSadEyez
Okay, this is a song I'm currently working on vocals for. 0:38-0:58, 1:08-1:27, 2:54-3:14, and 3:23-3:43 all will have singing, whereas 1:37-2:54 and 3:52-5:10 will have rapping. I haven't decided for 5:10 onward
https://soundcloud.com/t-jayson/stand-tall-wip

Lots of good stuff going on all around, but there's a lot of repetitive material here. Not that it's a bad thing, and I'm sure that vocals will liven up many parts that seem such, but it does feel a bit that way.
One thing that my old composition teacher always told me that I think might help your technique a bit is noticing when your lines and sections start and end. It's very tempting to just have all your instrument changes, background lines, and everything happen on beat one of a measure every time, but sometimes, certain lines tend to work better coming in with pickups, or starting a little bit later. Try and fool around with that a little, and I think it might help.

A song I feel has some potential, but there are some pretty big problems with the mix at this date. Especially the phasing is through the roof

As was said earlier, I can't tell you much about the mix, as you say it's unfinished. all I can ssay is that I agree, and it needs some mixing and touching upon.
Other than that, it sounds pretty good, and I've got very little to say.

Anyway, here's my stuff. Comments on either of these would be very appreciated.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ohdsdna3ri08xzk/Blarg.wav
I'm definitely not that experienced with synths and electronic genres, so here's something of me trying at that. yeah.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/e2u ... %20WIP.wav
This one's got some vocals in the planning phase, to replace the obnoxious oboe melody, but everything else is mostly final.

[FrostShard]

Blarg.wav -
I really like the melody in this one.
The mix itself is nice and clean. Good crisp highs.

As you said you don't have a lot of experience with synth/electronic stuff and I think the biggest part of it is the drums. In this case they sound dry, small and a little repetitive.
The addition of hi-hats would be a good start, either at the start or introduced progressively. The kick needs to have more substance to it also, as well as the snare (layering?)

Another big thing is sound effects, they really help reinforce the pressure of a song by releasing and building tension. If you don't own any sample packs you can always try using some effected crashes or reverbkicks. Some noise sweeps would be a good addition to the buildup to indicate the tension over a greater time, it just sort of sneaks up on you at the moment.

The sort of guitar sounding lead at the drop works well.
I personally would stray from those 'vweb' sounding high wobbles but that might just be me. :)

Anyway, here is a track I'm working on for a compilation album. Sort of an acid/electronic funk blend. Still a few mixing issues here. (damn those pads)
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/p0y ... tain_2.mp3

[Dr. Plague]

Anyway, here is a track I'm working on for a compilation album. Sort of an acid/electronic funk blend. Still a few mixing issues here. (damn those pads)
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/p0y ... tain_2.mp3

Some parts feel somewhat discordant, but that could just be me. I really like this. You did/are doing a great job with the percussion. It doesn't have that head-bobbing-4x4 flow, but that's obviously not what you're going for. You have everything fitting the music, and it really comes together well.

Really like the part around 4:00 where that one synth starts to fade in. You have great creativity, and it really shows here. Great work, can't wait to hear the finished product! If you don't end up posting it here, shoot me a PM. ;D

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ohdsdna3ri08xzk/Blarg.wav
I'm definitely not that experienced with synths and electronic genres, so here's something of me trying at that. yeah.

Great intro melody and chords, love it! All I would really criticize there is that your drums sound a little soft for electronic, especially considering the harder synths you have come in shortly afterward.

I love the guitar (or guitar-esque synth?) you have going in the back. With the fast-paced drums, it's got a great metal/rock feel to it, and I love that kind of shit 'cause it takes me back to my metalhead days.

Goddamn, shoot me a PM when you're done with this too. Great stuff, man.

https://soundcloud.com/t-jayson/stand-tall-wip

Harder to judge because it's missing the vocals, which are generally central to a song and, well, the parts that should have vocals will obviously feel emptier without them. Keeping that in mind, though, I like what you've got so far. Kick could maybe do with a little more, well, kick to it (if my ears are correct, around the 200-300 Hz range? maybe??).

Same with Belgerum's track, love the fact that you've got guitar in this. There isn't enough electronic music that has full-on guitar in it (and isn't acoustic synth pop kind of stuff).

I'll save some of the tracks before these for whenever I upload another track. I hate falling behind in this thread because it takes me a good 5-10 mins of listening to a song repeatedly to really get an idea of what to criticize, so three reviews is already a good chunk of time. /excuses
srsly though, I'll get back to the rest

Here's my latest track. I want to call it finished, but who knows, I rarely stick with saying that, especially when I "finish" a track before I go to sleep. I took it from DnB to house, and I have to say, I'm really enjoying changing tempo mid-track. The gimmick is a little similar to "kitsunetsuki" from before (because, well, 166bpm to 115bpm then, 180 to 126 this time), but that's just a coincidence. :P

Now that I'm done rambling on about shit that literally doesn't matter...

https://soundcloud.com/dr_plague/olfo

[ArisingFlame]

@Belgerum
Blarg.wav
I wanna hear what you have when this is finished I love this. Like Dr. Plague and FrostShard said, It could use some heavier electronic drums, but aside from that, I have 0 gripes.

@FrostShard
I like it a lot. A very funky feel going on. The percussion is that strong point in this one. Aside from that, the Bass really stands out as well.

::EDIT::
I SO DID NOT MEAN TO CALL YOU FROSTSHART, BUT THAT SHIT WAS HILARIOUS


@Dr. Plague
Sexy intro. Gets you going right at the start. Maybe needs a little more definition on the notes for the growl, unless that's the intended effect, then don't mind me.
I am loving this breat @ 0:55. Brings my anticipation of what is to come
aaaaaaaand. The drop. Beautifully done.
2:49 is awesome. Love the way you brought down the tempo for a different kind of groove. Grat way to bring it to that awesome outro.



https://soundcloud.com/t-jayson/bottle-up-snippet
FL has started to go wonky on me so I though I'd save where I was and pick it up in a bit. The intro, 1st, and 2nd verses are yet to be recorded, so I just exported it from the bridge after the 2nd verse on.

Urk. Just realized how loud the vocals are on the 2nd chorus there. Gotta fix that.

[Snoopy 20111]

Anyway, here is a track I'm working on for a compilation album. Sort of an acid/electronic funk blend. Still a few mixing issues here. (damn those pads)
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/p0y ... tain_2.mp3

Like others have said, your track has a really awesome discordiant funky sound. This interests me a lot because most "funky" stuff I've ever heard has been repetitive and resolved all the loops one way or another. This is just me, but I was expecting a lead or solo of some kind to come to the forefront at some point, although it is by no means necessary or really called for in any way. The piano at the end is phenomenal; it made me think you were about to slide into "Great Gig in the Sky" from Dark Side of the Moon. In fact, if you collabed with some vocalists, I'm sure you could most definitely do something similar to that for a great 2-parter.

Wait. THIS IS A WIP? WHAT?!? This is an incredible track. 3/3.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/e2u ... %20WIP.wav
This one's got some vocals in the planning phase, to replace the obnoxious oboe melody, but everything else is mostly final.

I wouldn't call it "obnoxious." Even as just an instrumental it sounds good, alibi more like a soundtrack to a video of something. As really my only gripe, at the beginning and end the music seems to abruptly begin and stop, which is bugging me for some reason. Take that with a grain of salt though. I have nothing else to say because there's really nothing wrong with this track. 2.8/3



I can't really critique anybody else due to SoundCloud being blocked where I am (curses!), so I'll now just post mine.

This was my first real venture into recording, minus simply screwing around with Garageband a year prior. The song is entitled "Little Wings," as it is a tribute and semi-cover of the similarly named Little Wing by Jimi Hendrix. It was really just me playing along to a backing track I found of the SRV version (thus why the bass and drums were left almost untouched).

I'm not doing any further edits to this in any way. I just want to know what I could have done better, from EQ to playing.

[FritzyBeat]

This was my first real venture into recording, minus simply screwing around with Garageband a year prior. The song is entitled "Little Wings," as it is a tribute and semi-cover of the similarly named Little Wing by Jimi Hendrix. It was really just me playing along to a backing track I found of the SRV version (thus why the bass and drums were left almost untouched).

I'm not doing any further edits to this in any way. I just want to know what I could have done better, from EQ to playing.

I remember seeing this on your channel a few days back, and man is it chill! =D
Every time I listen to it I feel like I stumbled into some sort of mystery film….. with ponies *shot*

The occasional voice clips also add a nice touch, keep the song interesting all the way through (as if your awesome guitar playing didn't already do that XP)
The song is varied all the way through too, I don't think I heard one repeated set of chords twice, at least for a looooong time.

So really, I don't have anything bad to say about this song. Its well played, well recorded, well mixed, and overall just a joy to listen to =) Keep up the amazing work!

-

so, I guess I have to put something up now eh?
Well, I posted this in a thread a while back, and after getting some feedback on it, I re-mastered and mixed it to try and fix any problems people pointed out, and this was the result:



Its still my first venture into My Little Pony music, so try to be as critical as you can. I want to be able to improve after all don't I? XD

[ArisingFlame]

Awwwh. I gots skipped. T_T

[Snoopy 20111]

Awwwh. I gots skipped. T_T

I didn't do it on purpose! I only have time to be on here at school, and school wifi blocks Soundcloud. I'm certain your track is good.

[FritzyBeat]

Oopsie, Sorry about that XP

https://soundcloud.com/t-jayson/bottle-up-snippet
FL has started to go wonky on me so I though I'd save where I was and pick it up in a bit. The intro, 1st, and 2nd verses are yet to be recorded, so I just exported it from the bridge after the 2nd verse on.

Urk. Just realized how loud the vocals are on the 2nd chorus there. Gotta fix that.

The first thing that really jumps out at me about this song is the percussion, mixed with the guitar (which is playing slightly slower) it really sets the true pace of the song, and is very much a joy to listen to =D

The vocals also fit perfectly with the style of music, although I do find if rather hard to understand the lyrics being sung. That however, is more just a pet peeve of mine then something actually wrong with the song =P

The only thing I didn't really like was the bridge. While the music at both ends of the song flowed really nicely, the bridge just seemed to loose that power when the chord progression slowed, and judging by the vocals at that part of the song, I assume you were trying to go for something MORE powerful then the rest of the song, and it just seems to miss the mark there. Perhaps if you could fill it out a little more it might help, or come up with a new melody line that enforces the power of the vocals then this one.

But other then that. The music, the guitar, the drums, the vocals, it all just screens awesome at me XD Gives me the same sort of feeling I get when I'm listening to Linkin Park if you know what I mean =) Very good job!


Now, IO won't post a new song here, but you guys can always scroll up to my last one if need be XP

[ArisingFlame]

Oopsie, Sorry about that XP

The first thing that really jumps out at me about this song is the percussion, mixed with the guitar (which is playing slightly slower) it really sets the true pace of the song, and is very much a joy to listen to =D

The vocals also fit perfectly with the style of music, although I do find if rather hard to understand the lyrics being sung. That however, is more just a pet peeve of mine then something actually wrong with the song =P

The only thing I didn't really like was the bridge. While the music at both ends of the song flowed really nicely, the bridge just seemed to loose that power when the chord progression slowed, and judging by the vocals at that part of the song, I assume you were trying to go for something MORE powerful then the rest of the song, and it just seems to miss the mark there. Perhaps if you could fill it out a little more it might help, or come up with a new melody line that enforces the power of the vocals then this one.

But other then that. The music, the guitar, the drums, the vocals, it all just screens awesome at me XD Gives me the same sort of feeling I get when I'm listening to Linkin Park if you know what I mean =) Very good job!


Now, IO won't post a new song here, but you guys can always scroll up to my last one if need be XP

Haha. This is the third person to bring up LP. Not that I'm complaining.

Thanks for the review. I feel where you're coming from with the bridge. Not entirely sure how to fix it though. I've tried quite a few things, but to no avail. Hmm.... maybe if I added some more bass-ish elements. A few Massive tracks perhaps. I'll post the result of my twerking.


As for Oxygen, I'll type as I listen.

Love the intro. It gets me excited, but it isn't too anticipatory.
Oooh. Strong vocals. Good and bright. The little elements you bring in with the vocals really help it shine. Perfect on the Reeverb especially.
Those snares after the break may be a little loud, but that's just nitpicking.
Beautiful buildup and drop there. It's very calming, but energetic at the same time.

All in all, my only (tiny) gripe is the snares in the first buildup may be a tad too loud, but aside from that, amazing.

::EDIT::
Tweaking... not twerking...

[ArisingFlame]

https://soundcloud.com/t-jayson/bottle-up-snippet-v2
Here is my result so far. I think it helps.

[Kaoss-Walker]

https://soundcloud.com/t-jayson/bottle-up-snippet-v2
Here is my result so far. I think it helps.

I Like the Remix to "I've Got To Find a Way." I think it sounds really 'happy' compared to the original song, but I like that about it.

I've got a cover of the song myself. My friend did vocals, and unfortunately I had to mutilate them to fit my instrumental. This is some of my older work.

I (at least now a days) do more upbeat 'get up and jump' songs. I do electronic metal. The song in my signature is similar to this song here.

[Dr. Plague]

https://soundcloud.com/t-jayson/bottle-up-snippet-v2
Here is my result so far. I think it helps.

I Like the Remix to "I've Got To Find a Way." I think it sounds really 'happy' compared to the original song, but I like that about it.

Via this thread:

First off I will give my definition of ‘worthwhile/constructive feedback. Feedback is criticism, there needs to be some meat in your response that is helpful for the producer. Just saying “nice track, you’re cool” and leaving it there is not at all helpful for the artist looking to get better, yes it’s encouraging and it’s a good thing to say but it’s not helpful feedback. Proper feedback should be, more or less, a list of the parts of the track that, to your ears, did not sound right/good. Again it’s not simply “your bass sucks”, it needs to contain your reasoning so the producer knows you’re not just trolling around. Write as much as you can, no short answers, put time into it and you both will benefit.

In short, feedback needs substance and it needs to be helpful.

I've got a cover of the song myself. My friend did vocals, and unfortunately I had to mutilate them to fit my instrumental. This is some of my older work.

I (at least now a days) do more upbeat 'get up and jump' songs. I do electronic metal. The song in my signature is similar to this song here.

I think the general rule of the thread was to post one song at a time so as to be fair, especially considering you "reviewed" one track above you and ignored the rest.

Sorry for the mini-modding, guys. Will be back later to review tracks myself. Just been pretty busy as of late, but I've got a new track I really want to drop on you. :3

[v.lossity]

Fritzy:
I really like this track. Some of the consonants in the vocals are a bit overpowering I think. I would tone down the highs a bit, the "S" and "T"s are really piercing (at least on my headphones).
I love that instrument that comes in around 2:20. Is that you singing? The vocals are pretty good for the most part but they get a bit nasally occasionally. Also, if a word ends with a consonant, you should hold the vowel until the last moment and then do the consonant. I mean, unless that was a stylistic decision. Which is fine. Just passing along what singing tips I've been taught :)
I would like to hear the theme a bit earlier and maybe some more variation on it, but it doesn't stick out really. There really isnt too much here I can criticize, I wish I had more for you.

ArisingFlame: The first thing I notice is that there is some weird stuff going on with the panning of the vocals in the beginning. Is it supposed to be the same vocal line repeated for the whole song? Also, in the bridge I don't know if you were going for some bigtime dissonance but you got it. If not, I would go back and redo the harmonies. Also, the little flourish at the end is a bit delayed.
I like the feel of this track but I feel like to become a full track it needs some development I think. Perhaps some chord pattern changes, some more complex lyrics at the least. Even if you kept the same lyrics you could add variation with chord pattern changes or by changing the voices singing harmony.

Here is my track. Its a collab I'm doing with a friend. Im currently doing some tweaks on the master. I would love any and all criticism :)

Stream: https://dl.dropbox.com/s/ms7cscj8qo7dfj ... aster9.wav

[Stakeout Punch]

Previous 6 tracks GO:
@Dr. Plague:
Very neat intro! At 0.45 the sidechaining is a little heavy, its mashing things.
Overall, very groovy! The transition at ~2.48 is incredible, I love tempo changing transitions, and you pulled it off!

@Arising Flame: (V1)
This is cool, but the vocals are pretty loud compared to the everything else. Focusing on the drums, the lack of dynamics are a song killer. I can tell that for the most part the drums are straight up sequenced with not much if any volume manipulation. It's not a hard thing to fix, it just takes the time to mess with it. As Fritzy mentioned already, the bridge is lacking in power. You could try using a different guitar (maybe a more distorted sound) or layer another instrument of some sort.
I wonder, how much of this is sequenced in FL versus being recorded? Obviously the vocals are recorded :P

@Snoopy:
Coming from someone that has no idea how to play guitar, your playing sounds amazing. The guitar sounds great to me! The thing that would need more attention would be the backing tracks you used, they sound like stock loops (But they are, right?) Overall they don't kill the song because your playing is the focal point and is more than entertaining enough to keep my ADHD focus.

@Fritzy:
Consonant sounds! Also, as a personal preference I would have EQ'd your voice with a higher spectrum presence. Everything else in the song is bright sounding, then your voice is mellow. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with your voice! It sounds great, but post production wise you might want to put a shallow highpass on it.

Song wise the melodies and beats are splendid. I have nothing else to say, your song is amazing.

@Arising Flame: (V2)
The vocals still seem a little loud to me. It might just be my preference.
Oh man this breakdown is definitely much better. Drums still need some volume variation, program that robot drummer!
I just had an idea: You could record a higher vocal harmony in the last chorus for some extra power.

@V.lossity:
Great intro, perfect build. Seriously my only critique of the entire song is that one open hat panned to the right in the intro. It stuck out to me because of how dry it is, a highpassed reverb would sound nice on it I think.

Here is my track, it was made with LMMS then had each track bounced to FL to mix and master + some effects. Time spent on it: less than 6 cumulative hours (started on it last night after dinner).
https://soundcloud.com/stakeoutpunch/broken-christmas

[ArisingFlame]

ArisingFlame: The first thing I notice is that there is some weird stuff going on with the panning of the vocals in the beginning. Is it supposed to be the same vocal line repeated for the whole song? Also, in the bridge I don't know if you were going for some bigtime dissonance but you got it. If not, I would go back and redo the harmonies. Also, the little flourish at the end is a bit delayed.
I like the feel of this track but I feel like to become a full track it needs some development I think. Perhaps some chord pattern changes, some more complex lyrics at the least. Even if you kept the same lyrics you could add variation with chord pattern changes or by changing the voices singing harmony.

Well, it is technically just the end choruses and a bridge. The rest of the song is not present in this render.
The harmony is not a bad idea though. I actually don't have ANY harmonies on it right now. haha

Previous 6 tracks GO:
@Arising Flame: (V1)
This is cool, but the vocals are pretty loud compared to the everything else. Focusing on the drums, the lack of dynamics are a song killer. I can tell that for the most part the drums are straight up sequenced with not much if any volume manipulation. It's not a hard thing to fix, it just takes the time to mess with it. As Fritzy mentioned already, the bridge is lacking in power. You could try using a different guitar (maybe a more distorted sound) or layer another instrument of some sort.
I wonder, how much of this is sequenced in FL versus being recorded? Obviously the vocals are recorded :P

@Arising Flame: (V2)
The vocals still seem a little loud to me. It might just be my preference.
Oh man this breakdown is definitely much better. Drums still need some volume variation, program that robot drummer!
I just had an idea: You could record a higher vocal harmony in the last chorus for some extra power.

I do need to add some more... depth to it. I'm not really good at drums per se. I need to work on that a lot.
And there's the suggestion for harmonies again. I'd better listen!

Thanks for the input guys

[Dr. Plague]

I'm not doing any further edits to this in any way. I just want to know what I could have done better, from EQ to playing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns_9mKPODBE

Honestly, despite understanding the theme behind the song title and Scootaloo, I think that this would do better without the Scootaloo samples -- or, at the very least, with less of them. It's just a bit intrusive to the listening experience imo.

The only other 'negative criticism' I have is that it was hard to feel the groove at the beginning of the track, but that being said (I use that phrase a lot, don't I?), I picked up a good head-bobbing before the drums even came in, so that might just be me.

Great piece, nice and chilllllll. I'm not even particularly a fan of Hendrix (though I respect his musical influence) and this was good.

Well, I posted this in a thread a while back, and after getting some feedback on it, I re-mastered and mixed it to try and fix any problems people pointed out, and this was the result:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_AYXdVovfs

Its still my first venture into My Little Pony music, so try to be as critical as you can. I want to be able to improve after all don't I? XD

I can take prog house, but I'm not generally a fan of these kind of vocals... so when I say I dislike them, it's not personal, it's just me. I'll leave further critique of the vocals and such out because that's purely personal preference.

Very well-produced. I'm totally jealous for sure. Great composition as well, overall very smooth transitions, though the one from 2:27 to 2:31 seemed like it faded out a little fast. If that's what you were going for, it's fine (as I always say), but, again, personal preference here.

I lied about not saying anything more about the vocals. I'll admit the slight phone filter (or whatever) effect is a nice touch. I'm a sucker for that in music.

I SO DID NOT MEAN TO CALL YOU FROSTSHART, BUT THAT SHIT WAS HILARIOUS

Heh.

https://soundcloud.com/t-jayson/bottle-up-snippet-v2
FL has started to go wonky on me so I though I'd save where I was and pick it up in a bit. The intro, 1st, and 2nd verses are yet to be recorded, so I just exported it from the bridge after the 2nd verse on.

Urk. Just realized how loud the vocals are on the 2nd chorus there. Gotta fix that.

Actually, I'd say the vocals are a little loud in the mix from the start. From around 0:50 to 1:10, though, they're placed better in the mix imo (and on my headphones, can't check with my speakers 'cause of sleeping parental units).

Also, again, won't mention anything more about vocals because I'm not a fan of this post-hardcore-ish style of singing.

The drop synths you pulled at 0:49 were, well, to put it bluntly, random and kind of out of nowhere. Other than the more digital-sounding drums, there was nothing prior to that part letting us know that this wasn't going to be a straight up post-hardcore/hard rock song. I don't have any specific examples to suggest, but somehow introduce the electronic element (that is, not the specific synths, but just some kind of electronic music sound in general) earlier in the song so it doesn't seem so sudden. I hope that made sense.

Here is my track. Its a collab I'm doing with a friend. Im currently doing some tweaks on the master. I would love any and all criticism :)

Stream: https://dl.dropbox.com/s/ms7cscj8qo7dfj ... aster9.wav

Stop that. Stop being good at prog house. Jealous. :(

Something about the drum roll at 1:30 had me feeling like it was a bit empty. Maybe some kind of sine drop (or similar effect) after the roll would go well? That's, as I've said a lot through this post, though, just personal taste for me.

Having the same melody from 1:40 through 2:45 without change (other than risers and claps, from what I heard) was a bit repetitive, though. If the chords did change, I apologize, I'm bad at hearing notes a bit, heh...

Still, I guess I don't have much criticism on the master, so if that was all you're really tweaking, sounds good. :)

https://soundcloud.com/stakeoutpunch/broken-christmas

Your kick and snare could do with a bit more punch to them, unless you were keeping them a bit more in the background just for the beat, in which case the snare could still do with a bit more presence.

I really like the overall idea of this, though. Kind of dissonant at parts but not in a sense of actual clashing or being out of tune or anything, but like... you know what I mean. I'm sure you do. It's what you were going for, I'm sure. And man, those crazy gritty crashes and reverb booms. :D

It could do with being mastered better, but otherwise, I totally dug that.

---

One of my friends has gotten into the producing game fairly recently, and he asked me to remix the second track he's made so far. I tried my best to go above and beyond what I've done so far, and while I don't think I quite managed to achieve that much, I am fairly happy with what I did. HE EVEN MADE ME SONG ART OMG

https://soundcloud.com/dr_plague/stormy ... plague-oni

Yes, I did reuse that growl, but I'm thinking of putting together an oni-themed EP what with having already named that growl my "oni growl"~~
bad excuses Nick bad excuses

So yeah, lemme know what you think. I wanna say the melody I introduced about halfway through (around 2:30 or whatever) is in the same key and chord progression and what not, but I'm not really sure considering how simple the melody the original was. I just kind of made what sounded cool. Definitely would like to know on that.

[v.lossity]

Thanks for the feedback.
@Dr.Plague - Unfortunately, I was already aware of the problem with the repetitiveness but I couldn't do much once I was mastering. Also, with the drum roll I tried all kinds of things to make that sound good, and because this track is peaking so hard throughout the track I couldn't get the drum roll to sound big and full without peaking so hard that it distorted badly. Good ears. I might have to come to you with some future WIPs :)

[itroitnyah]

@Arising Flames's track [Link]

First off, the vocals. It sounds like you spent more time staying on pitch than putting emotion into the song. Sing that emotion that you're trying to convey. Make the listener believe you have a black hatred that you are putting behind you. Music is also about yelling and screaming and being loud. Nevermind that there are other people in the house, when you sing, sing like you mean it. Open your mouth wide and make out each word with your lips. Breath through your stomach, not into your upper chest, etc. I'd go into more detail about breathing and singing right, but that'd take a long time, and I think there's a thread somewhere in the composition subforum about vocals that I've put a wall of text in.

Composition is well done, no complaints here. The only thing about it is how repetitive it is, and how the only change that there is in the song's composition only occurs once in the entire song.

For sound design, the bassy pluck (example of what I'm talking about can be found at 1.56ish) sounds really basic. Saw waves distorted with an envelope on the LP filter. It could stand to be touched up a bit, although it's really up to opinion, whether you agree with me or not.

Mixing is mostly opinion stuff, based on what elements you want to be the center and which ones are just there to add, etc.

@v.lossity's track [Link]

Sound design is the most noticable part to me that needs improvement. This is tricky to critique because I can't exactly say "it has too much bitcrusher" or anything unless it has way too much and is obvious in a not good way. The most I can say is that the sound design sounds pretty basic. Sound design can take a lot of time to master though, so just practice.

The composition is next. it sounds slightly generic, but that can be fine, if that's what you're going for. It's a bit repetitive, imo. 3:18 it changes up, which is OK, I suppose. I sounds almost like you're trying to freestyle? You end up returning to the original pattern, which is good.

Mixing has some slight things, nothing too major though. Mostly just parts where perhaps the ducking is too much for me, etc. Other than that, the song sounds pretty good.

Steakoutponi's track [Link]

The sound design is really meh. A lot of it sounds really distorted. I'm debating whether it's intentional or not, due to the title of the track. A lot of it sounds almost like 8-bit type stuff.

The composition it good though.

Mixing could use some work, mostly with which elements are the ones that are the main point and which ones are just adding, otherwise the song sounds pretty great.

Dr. Plague's track [Link]

The composition is well done, I enjoyed it. It's structured well, etc. At least, in the beginning. As the track progresses, I sorta feel like you added on more and more instruments to add to the mix, but I feel like it sorta ruins the quality. Or perhaps, it's just that; the mixing

The mixing seems 50/50. It's decently done, but sometimes it doesn't feel like there's an element you want to be standing out. Not much critique for mixing beyond that.

The sound design is a mixture between OK and good. Can't complain about it though.

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Now I have a track that I wish to have critiqued:



It's not properly mixed, because I haven't done a proper mix down yet. Other than that, critique away!

[JacksonMiller]

Personally you might need not to have few melodies clash in the drop. The intro melody is really good though, reminds me of Better off alone. 5/10

https://soundcloud.com/jacksonmiller/hounds-of-hell-remix

[Nine Volt]

Personally you might need not to have few melodies clash in the drop. The intro melody is really good though, reminds me of Better off alone. 5/10

https://soundcloud.com/jacksonmiller/hounds-of-hell-remix

Holy hell dissonance out the ass. Right around that part where that guy said "No." and the drop and probably everywhere else (I skimmed).

This isn't a review, I just wanted to say that. So still review everyone else's tracks.

[itroitnyah]

@jacksonmiller's song

That's not dissonance, I don't think. But it sounds like you really distorted it somehow. The melody, that is. The drop seems well composed. The mixing is pretty good, can't complain here. The composition is also good. I can't really offer critique of the song very well.

Anyways, I made some changes to my WIP that I posted recently, including doing a proper mixdown and a bit of restructuring.

Tell me what you guys think: le link

[CaptainFluffatun]

Anyways, I made some changes to my WIP that I posted recently, including doing a proper mixdown and a bit of restructuring.

Tell me what you guys think: le link

The kick is disproportionately loud compared to the snare (:54). In fact, I didn't even notice the snare for a few seconds after it came in. Also at :54, most of the elements seem pretty lifeless. I think you should decrease the volume of that main arpeggio and add other elements. If there is a bass it's hardly audible. I think you need to work more on simply the volume balance between instruments. You'd be surprised what panning and balancing volumes can do to a mix. Also, I'm not personally a fan of that minor pentatonic melody you have in the beginning. It's possible that it's just the synth I don't like the tone of (too simple), but I think it's probably the composition in general.

As far as fixing the volume balance goes, try taking all the mixer sliders down to zero. The bring the kick up so that the volume meter peaks at about -6 dB. Next, bring up your snare to closely match that. Use your ears to find an appropriate balance (because sometimes the meter doesn't help for that). If you think you want to check your balance after this, you can both post a WIP on here, but you can PM it to me as well and I will make sure to give it another close listen. Anyway, after your snare, bring up your hats. Don't try to make them too loud.You might adjust them after you bring in the melodic stuff. Next you should bring up the bass. This is because it's harder to distinguish bass frequencies as you add more in. Next, just continue up the frequency range until you have all your instruments in the mix. As for balancing those, decide which one you want to stand out the most, and make the others a little quieter.

I suggest you also look into some sound design tutorials. While simple tones can DEFINITELY work in a track, I don't think they work here because it's one of the only synths in the beginning, and my ears want the simplicity to be more complex (???).

Don't think I'm just trying to shit all over your song. I think the atmosphere has a great potential to be some sort of bittersweet song. The mixing and execution just needs some work.



Here's a beat I'm working on for a collab. While waiting on the vocalists, I may as well get an opinion

[Injustrial]

Here's a beat I'm working on for a collab. While waiting on the vocalists, I may as well get an opinion

Error (403)

You've gotta copy the public link, so we can see it

[CaptainFluffatun]

Oops! https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53819319/Beat.mp3

Thought I did