hello i made a music

http://soundcloud.com/a-reggae-lee-bowyer/hard-doing

This is the first track made on my new monitors so I'm especially interested to hear advice on the mix. I finding it a bit tricky to create separation and definition between instruments at the low end.

My own opinion on the track itself at this point is that I like the first few mins but I'm becoming increasingly disappointed at the last 2 mins. I wish I hadn't taken the track quite in that direction but I don't like to go back and change up like that. The drums are a basic, almost untouched preset loop throughout. I spent ages programming a lot of fills and variations on the rhythm but in the end nothing seemed to help drive the track forward as well as this loop.

Some lovely sound composition here. I do agree it could be a bit more dynamic. There are quite a few catchy melodies going on here and the track is on the lengthier side, but the structure could use more variety and contrast in the structure. Perhaps play around with dropping the main melody for part of the track and have it return later on? Just a thought.

About the drum programming, sometimes keeping it simple is the way to go. You've got quite a few layers there already and I don't feel like there are many gaps in the overall sound that more complex programming would help with.

this is sounding great so far! wonderful ambient vibe and those light vocals are great. as for your low-end problem. Highpass the low frequency instruments. itll clear up the muddy end and will separate the instruments. and you should work a little more on the Drums. you don't need fills per-say but just throw a little variation in em. just to keep them interesting.

  On 10/12/2012 at 6:57 PM, tyoi said:

Some lovely sound composition here. I do agree it could be a bit more dynamic. There are quite a few catchy melodies going on here and the track is on the lengthier side, but the structure could use more variety and contrast in the structure. Perhaps play around with dropping the main melody for part of the track and have it return later on? Just a thought.

 

About the drum programming, sometimes keeping it simple is the way to go. You've got quite a few layers there already and I don't feel like there are many gaps in the overall sound that more complex programming would help with.

Thanks. You are probably right about the arrangement but I don't honestly think I'm likely to go back to this and change anything now. I just want the mix to be well balanced then I can move on. Something I will bear in mind in my next composition. It is a bit on the long side and a slow builder. I tried shortening it originally but it didn't feel right.

  On 10/12/2012 at 7:19 PM, Frankie5fingers said:

this is sounding great so far! wonderful ambient vibe and those light vocals are great. as for your low-end problem. Highpass the low frequency instruments. itll clear up the muddy end and will separate the instruments. and you should work a little more on the Drums. you don't need fills per-say but just throw a little variation in em. just to keep them interesting.

I actually already high passed it all and spent a lot of time trying to give every instrument its own space in the spectrum but either the high pass plugin is a bit shit or I'm not using it well. There does seem to still be some clashing going on at the low end. On my monitors it sounds beautiful and well defined but that low end definition isn't translating too well on other systems.

Sounds fine here. Maybe low pass the stab-thingie that starts playing at 4:00. Oh, and that cymbal thingie at 5:12... that one has got to go.

But yeah, great atmosphere. I would actually love to hear a version without any kind of drums, because the part after 5:12 is by far my favorite :)

this is beautiful. love the atmosphere and vocal samples : )

Nice track, very simplistic and still groovy. The last two minutes, in my opinion are nice, but I have a bit of a problem with the changeover. It happens very suddenly but still it´s very un-momentous (if that makes any sense). As sudden a change as that would be nicer imo if it were more of a memorable and dramatic thing, for instance if you build it up and keep on building in the first 4 minutes, until you reach that climax of where it changes over, you can suddenly bring it down again, or just whatever you want to do.

As for the percussion I´m on the opposing opinion than tyoi, so I guess my advice probably isn´t going to be of much use ;) . I feel like it needs to a bit more varied, it feels way too simple to be repeated so often as that, it´s very much just a loop to my ears. I would totally just get into the groove of the rythm because you´ve got a nice one going on here, and i´d just come up with a different loop for almost every bar, but that´s just me.

I still like it very much.

  On 10/13/2012 at 6:38 PM, Squee said:

Oh, and that cymbal thingie at 5:12... that one has got to go.

 

Haha, yeah it does sound a bit ... pthhh. Sissy is maybe the right word?

  On 10/15/2012 at 5:25 PM, Hermann said:

  On 10/13/2012 at 6:38 PM, Squee said:

Oh, and that cymbal thingie at 5:12... that one has got to go.

 

 

Haha, yeah it does sound a bit ... pthhh. Sissy is maybe the right word?

And very midi-ish :)

lol ok I'll get rid of the bloody cymbal. I really didn't want to go back and work on this song again. I was expecting to put some more work in on balancing the mix but that's all. I think now after reading all the suggestions I am going to change it. Hermann I agree with you about the change over and I just don't like that section at all now. Squee you wanted to hear more without the drums and I think that's a good idea so I'm going to try replacing those last 2 mins with something like that. Thanks for the input everyone.

i dunno what instruments are there in the low end cos I may not hear them: I'm listening on the ipad, with the built in speakers.

but, it seems like I don't miss anything, sonically speaking. I almost always check my mixes on the ipad, and I have to say that yours sounds pretty good. 2 cents

Hi, I think you should introduce drums later in the song. You have nice and beautiful chords which would do fine without drums for a longer time. Also maybe the drum loop might be filtered to add variation to some parts where you need it. Perfect music for night time listening to build up mood. I might try strong delays on 4min extra percussion to make it more like a "huge machine" ticking and working. You had me entertained for 6 minutes, thanks!

I took a little time to change this up a bit. Squee I liked your suggestion of having less of the drums so that's what the last couple of minutes has become instead of the dodgy groove I had going on before. I definitely will re-make the drums this week for something more interesting and varied. For now just take it as a temporary base rhythm and I would appreciate some feedback on the new arrangement and balance of the mix. Thanks.

http://soundcloud.com/a-reggae-lee-bowyer/hard-doing-v2

ahh, this sounds so much better. way to go man! the drum rhythm is great, complements the track well. in the ambient parts you have a bell type sound in there playing your melody over the pad, id make that a bit louder. it should be the focus, i think, instead of the pads being the dominant piece. also id make the drums go longer, but have the rhythm change completely. make it the driving force for the middle of the track.

thats what i would do.

I seriously fucking love that voice sample you´ve used in the middle! Very very well organised and well designed. well well well done !

Cheers

good texture to this track. i like around 2;00 when the bass comes in, also nice ambient melodies.