Honestly, I’m on the road and listening in my Jeep and probably not in a position
to critique however….
Story, dood…..really really enjoying this. On repeat
When that piano hits. Bruh….
So want to say more on this but can’t.
Keep working this cut man
Posted by TranceLover007 on Sep-29-2023 05:50:
Just one think I would change - kick, for some reason is not sitting well for me in this WIP. The rest is really smooth!
Cheers,
Darek
quote:
Originally posted by Storyteller
Okay, there is slightly more now
Kick is a bit dull, too boomy for my liking. Overall mixwise it feels like there is a blanket across the whole thing (with exception of the vocals). Loudening the high-end percs would help as well as accentuating some of the mid/high of the syths. Low end is overly present. That reese bass needs to tone it down a lot
The vocals sit well in the mix.
The beat with new elements added at 2:18 is great, the previous remarks still apply.
Don't get me wrong as I've focussed a lot on the mix in all my remarks. Musically it's interesting and a pleasure to listen to.
Posted by SystematicX1 on Oct-13-2023 16:32:
quote:
Originally posted by Storyteller
Kick is a bit dull, too boomy for my liking. Overall mixwise it feels like there is a blanket across the whole thing (with exception of the vocals). Loudening the high-end percs would help as well as accentuating some of the mid/high of the syths. Low end is overly present. That reese bass needs to tone it down a lot
The vocals sit well in the mix.
The beat with new elements added at 2:18 is great, the previous remarks still apply.
Don't get me wrong as I've focussed a lot on the mix in all my remarks. Musically it's interesting and a pleasure to listen to.
Everything you said is dead on Story and personally, I was afraid of that as it was my dumb ass that shouldn't have even attempted mixing anything knowing my situation. The situation? A BIG empty room with wood floors....NOT a good combo.
Posted by SystematicX1 on Oct-16-2023 23:43:
So, this is a remix. Still trying to line up the Vox and damn that is hard. Never heard of this guy but he goes by the name AYOKAY and this is a track called 1000 Nights.
note* Trying to challenge myself by not listening to the original,and still haven't so..I have no idea if I am totally destroying his cut or if it adds some character...love to hear your thoughts
Gordan!! What is up man man, long time no hear/see. Glad ya made it back to us =O)
What have you been doing musically...is this track you are presenting one you are currently working on or, is this something you had working previously. Did you take a break or have you continually been working on tracks since you last posted
Your piece Šutnja (Original VOCAL mix) - Vocal is correct for this. And yea, duh...if you label it Vox, you better have it. In my opinion however, it may be a touch too much. I honestly dug the vocoder but it became redundant,quick. I mean, the track is actually kind of a long piece. And for me to say it's to long well...that would be the kettle getting called black. My point is, there is nothing but "build" for nearly 2 minutes of the track until some kind of percussion comes in. If you put vocals entirely with the music, there is nowhere to go for the listener. If a track is going to take you on a journey, it needs to have breaks and a plateau. Hopefully that makes sense
Totally dig the "hook" lead. Curious if you worked some delay in there is you wouldn't fill out the phrase a little more.
As well, using some notch filters on both of the tones that make up that lead to fade in between (automate a lowpass/highpass on the frequency )each other lends variation to that lead and keeps it exciting throughout.
Overall I like this vibe and mostly glad you are producing and are well =O) Good stuff man and good hearing from ya!
Posted by gordan100 on Nov-20-2023 12:26:
Hey Phil,
sorry, i was tired yesterday and didn't have energy to write anything. I was on the break from producing last couple of years.
I've made the bone structure for the track a few weeks ago. Vocal was hitting me later one night before sleep, but my singing is not something great so I had to mask it a lot with vocoder. That sadly removed some nuances in "singing". I should give this to proper singer to work on it. Glad you like the hook.
I very much dig the Storyteller track, also your remix of 1000 nights sound very chill and groovy. Though I would get rid of that synth at the beginning, track start to sound much nicer and flow better at 0:53 when piano kicks in.
Cheers!
Posted by theterran on Nov-21-2023 05:28:
quote:
Originally posted by SystematicX1
So, this is a remix. Still trying to line up the Vox and damn that is hard. Never heard of this guy but he goes by the name AYOKAY and this is a track called 1000 Nights.
note* Trying to challenge myself by not listening to the original,and still haven't so..I have no idea if I am totally destroying his cut or if it adds some character...love to hear your thoughts
Considering you've probably had some time to work on it, some of this may not apply anymore...but, I'll just go off what's there now...
First...Makes sense why it'd be such a pain...125bpm original vs. ~173bpm. And yeah, I wouldn't listen to the original...I did, and I think it's a pretty bland pop-tune. Reminiscent of just about every click-bait youtube video out there.
Understand the WIP part for sure, so feedback will be in relation to that. Still though, there's some standout spots early on in what seems like more polished territory 00:52/00:53, (also 2:21/2:22) where the vocal slice is easily heard, even passively.
Intro vocals sound clean and on beat, but the vocal delays sound a little awkward / out of rhythm at the beginning. Delays might benefit from some cutoff/filter-work so it's not 100% dry echoes to provide more ambience...or at least be jivin' with the groove. (Little weird on headphones too)
The instrumental backing is nice, and I actually dig that first synth...Pretty interesting sound. Instrumentation seems to do a good job at supporting the vocals instead of overriding them. Also prefer the simpler beat that oldschool DnB had, especially when the beat isn't the focus.
Dunno if it was an EQ decision or not at 1:40, but the mid/low range on the lead vocal seems a little muddy/stuffy, and doesn't sound as clean as the intro sample. Maybe it's just my ears getting used to the new room setup, but the cans still somewhat agree...
Dryness/forwardness of the chorused vocals as well as what seems like dissimilar reverb also seems to draw attention away from the lead rather than support it imho...the chorused bits also seem to lean a little heavy on the right channel. (Not sure if intentional, but perceived as a little unbalanced in the 'ol cans...)
Think I understand what you're trying to do at 2:20 and beyond...sounds like an interesting idea with the chorused vocals...Hard to tell as it stands though...seems very much still "under construction", so it'd be unfair to comment beyond it I think.
As personal taste goes...Never really been a big fan of munchkin'd samples...but I think with the right touch, I'd 100% take this tune over the original. Original, while well produced, is just blegh.
_____________________________________________________________
Also got a work in progress you could take a crack at if you'd like...Been awhile since I've subjected myself to criticism lol. :S
First time working with vocals seriously, and first test mix using an analyzed / corrected room. Super dated / cliche / cheesy mix though :P. I'm stuck forever in the year 2000.
Posted by SystematicX1 on Nov-21-2023 06:58:
quote:
Originally posted by theterran
Considering you've probably had some time to work on it, some of this may not apply anymore...but, I'll just go off what's there now...
First...Makes sense why it'd be such a pain...125bpm original vs. ~173bpm. And yeah, I wouldn't listen to the original...I did, and I think it's a pretty bland pop-tune. Reminiscent of just about every click-bait youtube video out there.
Understand the WIP part for sure, so feedback will be in relation to that. Still though, there's some standout spots early on in what seems like more polished territory 00:52/00:53, (also 2:21/2:22) where the vocal slice is easily heard, even passively.
Intro vocals sound clean and on beat, but the vocal delays sound a little awkward / out of rhythm at the beginning. Delays might benefit from some cutoff/filter-work so it's not 100% dry echoes to provide more ambience...or at least be jivin' with the groove. (Little weird on headphones too)
The instrumental backing is nice, and I actually dig that first synth...Pretty interesting sound. Instrumentation seems to do a good job at supporting the vocals instead of overriding them. Also prefer the simpler beat that oldschool DnB had, especially when the beat isn't the focus.
Dunno if it was an EQ decision or not at 1:40, but the mid/low range on the lead vocal seems a little muddy/stuffy, and doesn't sound as clean as the intro sample. Maybe it's just my ears getting used to the new room setup, but the cans still somewhat agree...
Dryness/forwardness of the chorused vocals as well as what seems like dissimilar reverb also seems to draw attention away from the lead rather than support it imho...the chorused bits also seem to lean a little heavy on the right channel. (Not sure if intentional, but perceived as a little unbalanced in the 'ol cans...)
Think I understand what you're trying to do at 2:20 and beyond...sounds like an interesting idea with the chorused vocals...Hard to tell as it stands though...seems very much still "under construction", so it'd be unfair to comment beyond it I think.
As personal taste goes...Never really been a big fan of munchkin'd samples...but I think with the right touch, I'd 100% take this tune over the original. Original, while well produced, is just blegh.
_____________________________________________________________
Also got a work in progress you could take a crack at if you'd like...Been awhile since I've subjected myself to criticism lol. :S
First time working with vocals seriously, and first test mix using an analyzed / corrected room. Super dated / cliche / cheesy mix though :P. I'm stuck forever in the year 2000.
Thanks soo very much for the honest feedback! Fully taken and noted,
And Dood, you should totally post your stuff. It's quite nice seeing you guys get back in the groove and posting it, here. Motivates me thats for sure
Posted by SystematicX1 on Nov-21-2023 07:00:
quote:
Originally posted by gordan100
Hey Phil,
sorry, i was tired yesterday and didn't have energy to write anything. I was on the break from producing last couple of years.
I've made the bone structure for the track a few weeks ago. Vocal was hitting me later one night before sleep, but my singing is not something great so I had to mask it a lot with vocoder. That sadly removed some nuances in "singing". I should give this to proper singer to work on it. Glad you like the hook.
I very much dig the Storyteller track, also your remix of 1000 nights sound very chill and groovy. Though I would get rid of that synth at the beginning, track start to sound much nicer and flow better at 0:53 when piano kicks in.
Cheers!
No way,you gotta keep em and don't get me wrong. I actually DO like the vocals and they fit very nice in it. My suggestion was to limit that amount and spread it out a bit so you can hear the song as well as the vocals lol
Posted by theterran on Nov-22-2023 07:34:
quote:
Originally posted by SystematicX1
Thanks soo very much for the honest feedback! Fully taken and noted,
And Dood, you should totally post your stuff. It's quite nice seeing you guys get back in the groove and posting it, here. Motivates me thats for sure
No problems! Hopefully not too critical...this place did kinda rub off on me a little bit when I first started xD. Also, every time I'd poke in, you'd have a track up...and it'd take awhile for a response. Thought I might fill in again, being an old lurker
Suppose I could...been awhile since having honest peer review. Liven the place up a little too. (Wouldn't expect any next greatest hits from me though haha)
___________________________________________________________
Welcome to have at 'er...Very first time using vocals.
Vocals are from the main FL21 demo project : I'm awake by bombs away ft. Karra. Only listened to the track maybe once? Hasn't been used as reference for mine...Also, no permission obtained as of yet...so it might just stay in the private collection.
And yep, it'll sound dated...like most of my stuff. Clean, dry, dark, D minor vocals? Brain goes : yup, time for some more 2000s era euphoric vocal trance! Great...thanks brain. haha. Managed to avoid C# though, did not go full cheese.
I'm really just hoping...that my low-end is finally clean [enough] off just the nearfields...If it's clean, I will be so happy. I hate having to drag my computer over to the reference sub in my theater room just to finalize the low-end with my butt, on the floor.
Oh and...also aware there might be some minor artifacts when the quick n' dirty vocal stereoization kicks on and off...It's the stereoizer, and I'm aware of it...Will probably split the audio into L/R and use manual panning to clean it up...or find a better plugin for the job.
Posted by SystematicX1 on Nov-24-2023 15:34:
quote:
Originally posted by theterran
No problems! Hopefully not too critical...this place did kinda rub off on me a little bit when I first started xD. Also, every time I'd poke in, you'd have a track up...and it'd take awhile for a response. Thought I might fill in again, being an old lurker
Suppose I could...been awhile since having honest peer review. Liven the place up a little too. (Wouldn't expect any next greatest hits from me though haha)
___________________________________________________________
Welcome to have at 'er...Very first time using vocals.
Vocals are from the main FL21 demo project : I'm awake by bombs away ft. Karra. Only listened to the track maybe once? Hasn't been used as reference for mine...Also, no permission obtained as of yet...so it might just stay in the private collection.
And yep, it'll sound dated...like most of my stuff. Clean, dry, dark, D minor vocals? Brain goes : yup, time for some more 2000s era euphoric vocal trance! Great...thanks brain. haha. Managed to avoid C# though, did not go full cheese.
I'm really just hoping...that my low-end is finally clean [enough] off just the nearfields...If it's clean, I will be so happy. I hate having to drag my computer over to the reference sub in my theater room just to finalize the low-end with my butt, on the floor.
Oh and...also aware there might be some minor artifacts when the quick n' dirty vocal stereoization kicks on and off...It's the stereoizer, and I'm aware of it...Will probably split the audio into L/R and use manual panning to clean it up...or find a better plugin for the job.
Dood, on the road due to the holiday's and just put this on in the truck. I WILL be responding to this...just gotta get home! Dig this...more in awhile
Posted by SystematicX1 on Nov-26-2023 03:57:
quote:
Originally posted by theterran
Very first time using vocals - Serious? Nice work man...I mean, I guess the questions I would have for this area would be, did the vox samples come dry or wet or did you add any post effects
And yep, it'll sound dated...- Nothing wrong with that at all
did not go full cheese - nothing wrong with doing that at all either lol =OP
I'm really just hoping...that my low-end is finally clean [enough] off just the nearfields...If it's clean, I will be so happy - On my end it sounds very clean and have listened on two of my high end speaker sets
I hate having to drag my computer over to the reference sub in my theater room just to finalize the low-end with my butt, on the floor -
LOL LMAO
I love the atmospheric tonality you have created with piece at it flows. It takes you on that journey
The music is that old school style groove and dig how you transition to the chorus with that gated harp.
That Arp....TOTALLY old school arp slayer right there.
My only complaint, you cut it at the drop and left us hanging =O(
LOL
This is a good thing...loved the tension build, would like to hear the driving percussion after the drop. Good stuff man [/quote]
Posted by theterran on Nov-26-2023 09:26:
quote:
Originally posted by SystematicX1
Very first time using vocals - Serious? Nice work man...I mean, I guess the questions I would have for this area would be, did the vox samples come dry or wet or did you add any post effects
And yep, it'll sound dated...- Nothing wrong with that at all
did not go full cheese - nothing wrong with doing that at all either lol =OP
I'm really just hoping...that my low-end is finally clean [enough] off just the nearfields...If it's clean, I will be so happy - On my end it sounds very clean and have listened on two of my high end speaker sets
I hate having to drag my computer over to the reference sub in my theater room just to finalize the low-end with my butt, on the floor -
LOL LMAO
I love the atmospheric tonality you have created with piece at it flows. It takes you on that journey
The music is that old school style groove and dig how you transition to the chorus with that gated harp.
That Arp....TOTALLY old school arp slayer right there.
My only complaint, you cut it at the drop and left us hanging =O(
LOL
This is a good thing...loved the tension build, would like to hear the driving percussion after the drop. Good stuff man
Thanks for the listen/feedback!
Vocals were dry as a bone. Spent about an hour and a half cleaning up artifacts using RX 10 advanced / spectral repair.
Sorry about cutting it off...It's very not done. I'm torn between chord progressions, because I can do a major shift that sounds nice...And I'm still experimenting with different pads/additional instruments. Once I finish out the sequencing I don't mind posting again .
-Edit-Misread was tired...yeah, full percs after drop for sure.
Might as well throw one more up, not as many projects lined up as there used to be...
This one's been cooking in the sequencer for a long time, but I've finally got the chord progression and melodic content sorted out...This tune is definitely truest to my production nature.
Posted by Storyteller on Nov-27-2023 08:57:
quote:
Originally posted by SystematicX1
So, this is a remix. Still trying to line up the Vox and damn that is hard. Never heard of this guy but he goes by the name AYOKAY and this is a track called 1000 Nights.
note* Trying to challenge myself by not listening to the original,and still haven't so..I have no idea if I am totally destroying his cut or if it adds some character...love to hear your thoughts
Got little time in between work so apologies if blunt. I wanted to leave feedback on a bunch of posts.
* See if the kick could be less boomy.
* Sibbilance on lead vocal needs to be reduced. It is harsh at times.
* Maybe lead voc can be reduced in volume, probably 3dB or more, or if the whole mix is compressed harder it might fit in.
The intro isn't really my cup of tea. Matter of taste. From 56 sec I really like it, the mix opens up nicely. Nice bass, and piano, it all glues together well. The majority sounds great, it really does.
Posted by Storyteller on Nov-27-2023 09:34:
Oldschool sound you've got going on . Vocoder action (no idea what's being said), reese-ish bass. Some tension. Could be cool to try out portamento on the bass to make it slide.
Honestly I'd just revisit the drums to make them sound more recent but I figure that's not the sound you're going for.
What I think could greatly improve this is more active panning of sounds. To remove some from the center. Furthermore the use of effects and some catchy rythmic changes.
Thanks for the nice listen, was a good throwback to the oldschool progressive days around ~2000 or so.
Posted by Storyteller on Nov-27-2023 09:40:
quote:
Originally posted by theterran
Nice oldschool sound here too. Would love to hear some freaky delays on that bass when the vocals aren't present (Ohmboyz used to be good at that back in the days).
Especially with that saw arp it's that trancy stuff that used to be on Tiësto's compilations. Magik 6 or something .
A few things for me personally:
- The hats seem a bit washed out
- missing a snareroll when the clip ends
Looking forward to see how you finish it.
Posted by Storyteller on Nov-27-2023 09:46:
quote:
Originally posted by theterran
Nice arp to start with. I like how the whole thing slowly grows.
Everything feels so soft somehow. Particularly the clap could be a little louder for my taste.
In the break it could progress a little faster. I really like the strings you've got going there. With the filters opening of the arp I was hoping to be suprised by an additional melody line. Oh there it seems to be, bassline going down (the volume sfx is a bit much). I did not expect the lead, I would have been satisfied if the arp took the front with a full hookline and the strings. The lead is a tad loud.
Hope it helps.
Posted by theterran on Nov-27-2023 19:57:
quote:
Originally posted by Storyteller
'Feedback!'
Hope it helps.
Ah, thanks for the honest feedback! Indeed tried out a bunch of different snares/rolls for that first tune's build, but there's a lot going on there, and they either end up sounding unnatural to me, or getting drowned out.
. Vocoder action (no idea what's being said), reese-ish bass. Some tension. Could be cool to try out portamento on the bass to make it slide.