Hi all, I'm wrapping up a track inspired by the classic sound from around 2003-2007. Any ideas/ opinions/ feedback would be very welcome! Thanks.
Last edited:
Feedback on nearly finished track.
- Thread starter GeorD
- Start date
LostLegend
Elite Member
I liked everything about this right until that main lead synth came in.
It just sounds way too chaotic for me.
The rest of the track is a really tight, dark groove that sounds chunky and atmospheric, just not a fan of that lead.
The chords are gothic and interesting sounding, but I'd dial the reverb and delay back a fair bit and maybe look at a synth patch that sits within the mix a bit better.
Some really great ideas here over all, bit of work on that main lead and that would take it to the next level for me.
It just sounds way too chaotic for me.
The rest of the track is a really tight, dark groove that sounds chunky and atmospheric, just not a fan of that lead.
The chords are gothic and interesting sounding, but I'd dial the reverb and delay back a fair bit and maybe look at a synth patch that sits within the mix a bit better.
Some really great ideas here over all, bit of work on that main lead and that would take it to the next level for me.
Thanks both! I knew this'd be a taste sensitive one, but I'm glad you enjoy most of what's in the track. It was quite a challenge to mix this one properly considering there's a lot going on, so I'm glad to hear that turned out well.
Personally I love this style of lead, but it is indeed quite intense. I wrote a lead midi, chopped it into three pieces and divided it over three slightly different (and panned) distorted squares, with cleaner saws on top. There's a rippling dynamic and movement without needing to add frequency content. But to each their own, thanks for sharing your opinions!
The track is in C# harmonic minor with microtuning. Finding only synths that support microtuning was a fun limitation.
Personally I love this style of lead, but it is indeed quite intense. I wrote a lead midi, chopped it into three pieces and divided it over three slightly different (and panned) distorted squares, with cleaner saws on top. There's a rippling dynamic and movement without needing to add frequency content. But to each their own, thanks for sharing your opinions!
The track is in C# harmonic minor with microtuning. Finding only synths that support microtuning was a fun limitation.
honestly, very messy
The softer melody sounds kinda out of tune to me, and the main hook just doesn’t really cut through. I’m guessing you’re going for a kind of Victorian gothic vibe, but I don’t think the elements are coming together yet.
The breakdown/climax is probably the weakest part for me. The whole track feels a bit all over the place, like there are too many different ideas fighting for attention without a clear direction.
From the way it sounds, I think you’re trying to capture that Ultraform / Fools Forest style sound, with a bit of BEMANI quirk thrown in, but unfortunately I don’t think it’s quite working yet.
Sorry to say, but it’s just not doing it for me.
The softer melody sounds kinda out of tune to me, and the main hook just doesn’t really cut through. I’m guessing you’re going for a kind of Victorian gothic vibe, but I don’t think the elements are coming together yet.
The breakdown/climax is probably the weakest part for me. The whole track feels a bit all over the place, like there are too many different ideas fighting for attention without a clear direction.
From the way it sounds, I think you’re trying to capture that Ultraform / Fools Forest style sound, with a bit of BEMANI quirk thrown in, but unfortunately I don’t think it’s quite working yet.
Sorry to say, but it’s just not doing it for me.
Jetflag
Legendary Member
- Jul 17, 2020
- 4,984 Posts
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Agreed with most of the comments above.. It seems to me, but I could be wrong, that you're trying to make it sound "full" and "interresting" by adding a lots of things.
delay, reverb, pitchbend & automation over your main melody etc. What it does however with an already pretty chaotic note pattern is turn it into a bit of a mess.
Suggestion: Make two mixes for shits & giggles & training. One as is (if you genuinly like it, no need to throw anything away) The second where you critically try and delete each element that isn't absolutely neccesairy.. Then critically look over those elements and see if you can, without muddying them, replace or improve uppon them.
Good luck
delay, reverb, pitchbend & automation over your main melody etc. What it does however with an already pretty chaotic note pattern is turn it into a bit of a mess.
Suggestion: Make two mixes for shits & giggles & training. One as is (if you genuinly like it, no need to throw anything away) The second where you critically try and delete each element that isn't absolutely neccesairy.. Then critically look over those elements and see if you can, without muddying them, replace or improve uppon them.
Good luck
Thanks for the comments. Honestly I'm a bit surprised with the reactions, I was mainly looking for smaller things or suggestions, but knowing the entire thing just generally doesn't sit well here is good to know as well. The point wasn't at all to make something sound full artificially, in fact the point was to make a lively, genuine and cohesive evolving journey with lots of out of the box elements.
Either way, for whatever reason none of the ideas or inspirations I meant to convey have come across, so I know that if I want to connect with people here musically that would have to change. This is the kind of fullness I also look for in other music. Conversely a lot of stuff that gets shared here is too empty and plain to me, so that honestly tracks. I may have misjudged that this forum is the right place for such tracks. So thanks again for the in-depth reviews! I've deleted the track and have learned what I wanted to learn.
Either way, for whatever reason none of the ideas or inspirations I meant to convey have come across, so I know that if I want to connect with people here musically that would have to change. This is the kind of fullness I also look for in other music. Conversely a lot of stuff that gets shared here is too empty and plain to me, so that honestly tracks. I may have misjudged that this forum is the right place for such tracks. So thanks again for the in-depth reviews! I've deleted the track and have learned what I wanted to learn.
Jetflag
Legendary Member
- Jul 17, 2020
- 4,984 Posts
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hahah! Of course not, I meant the soundcloud link I've shard here 
I'm not that melodramatic, I wouldn't delete something I've worked hard on for months just because some people don't get as enthusiastic as I hoped, I'm just making the track private again until I figure out how to move forward.
I'm not that melodramatic, I wouldn't delete something I've worked hard on for months just because some people don't get as enthusiastic as I hoped, I'm just making the track private again until I figure out how to move forward.
Jetflag
Legendary Member
- Jul 17, 2020
- 4,984 Posts
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thank god pfiew.hahah! Of course not, I meant the soundcloud link I've shard here
because do like the dark tech vibe you have going on there and would love to hear where you take this in the future.
Thanks! Honestly? This track is pretty much where I want it to be, I was mainly looking for (1) minor things I missed and (2) general reactions, not for major changes. It's been a long journey but I've come to a place where I feel I can express without hindrance. I don't have intentions of compromising what I enjoy making. Expressiveness is primary in that sense, and community secondary, although very welcome. I currently don't see how I can make something deeper and more contrasting than this one, I've put my heart and soul into it. As a result I am very passionate and excited, and I want to share that passion.
I've been enjoying the fullness of Epic Trance from around 2002-2007 a lot the past few years, think MK-S, Alex M.O.R.P.H., Mike Shiver, Andreas Schmidt, Carl B. Honestly this is not a style I see mentioned here often, may be by Uplifted but not many others. I'm trying to find a similar soul and intensity using modern methods. I get that the result is very different, niche and intense. This type of track won't be for everyone and probably takes getting used to for those that would (eventually) enjoy it. For me music isn't about technical perfection or just the sounds, there should be a story conveying something. It's exactly the unusual aspects or technical imperfections which create meaningful contrasts and soul, where it becomes art. There's just certain types of expression that don't work with a "clean" sound. Honestly the Soundcloud streaming quality doesn't exactly help, there the details kind of fade away.
To make a long story short: the feedback is very welcome and I'll be sharing progress/ future works, but I've truly found my home in what I'm doing, so I wouldn't expect the things that feel off to you here to change in future tracks, haha. I'll keep trying to develop my sound while taking any comments seriously.
On a side note, I've noticed it's quite difficult to talk about different ways of perceiving music without coming across as a complete arsehole. But I think this is the main source for the differences in taste here.
I've made the track available again, I may have overreacted a bit by removing it! But I think it's worth leaving the track open to listen, if only for the potentially interesting discussion opening up here. It's been a long day at work...
I've been enjoying the fullness of Epic Trance from around 2002-2007 a lot the past few years, think MK-S, Alex M.O.R.P.H., Mike Shiver, Andreas Schmidt, Carl B. Honestly this is not a style I see mentioned here often, may be by Uplifted but not many others. I'm trying to find a similar soul and intensity using modern methods. I get that the result is very different, niche and intense. This type of track won't be for everyone and probably takes getting used to for those that would (eventually) enjoy it. For me music isn't about technical perfection or just the sounds, there should be a story conveying something. It's exactly the unusual aspects or technical imperfections which create meaningful contrasts and soul, where it becomes art. There's just certain types of expression that don't work with a "clean" sound. Honestly the Soundcloud streaming quality doesn't exactly help, there the details kind of fade away.
To make a long story short: the feedback is very welcome and I'll be sharing progress/ future works, but I've truly found my home in what I'm doing, so I wouldn't expect the things that feel off to you here to change in future tracks, haha. I'll keep trying to develop my sound while taking any comments seriously.
On a side note, I've noticed it's quite difficult to talk about different ways of perceiving music without coming across as a complete arsehole. But I think this is the main source for the differences in taste here.
I've made the track available again, I may have overreacted a bit by removing it! But I think it's worth leaving the track open to listen, if only for the potentially interesting discussion opening up here. It's been a long day at work...
Julian Del Agranda
Elite Member
- Jul 3, 2020
- 2,308 Posts
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I listened yesterday, with your new comments perhaps worth posting my two cents.
I didn’t really know how to reply. I was ready to be all specific and dive into it, but I actually agreed with the sentiment from a few others.
Perhaps it’s mostly the mixing, as I thought the whole thing was very loud on the ears. Mostly the melodic elements are loud and blurry
Perhaps there’s too much reverb on elements, making everything blurry. (Usually you would set a reverb wetness to 25-30%).
I thought the kick didn’t have any low end frequencies and therefore lacked power. This added to the unbalanced feel
I wonder on which monitors you make music.
Sometimes you heard your track a thousand times (during production) and your brain is biased towards it
I didn’t really know how to reply. I was ready to be all specific and dive into it, but I actually agreed with the sentiment from a few others.
Perhaps it’s mostly the mixing, as I thought the whole thing was very loud on the ears. Mostly the melodic elements are loud and blurry
Perhaps there’s too much reverb on elements, making everything blurry. (Usually you would set a reverb wetness to 25-30%).
I thought the kick didn’t have any low end frequencies and therefore lacked power. This added to the unbalanced feel
I wonder on which monitors you make music.
Sometimes you heard your track a thousand times (during production) and your brain is biased towards it
- Jun 27, 2020
- 4,415 Posts
- 3,368 Thanked
I quite like that it goes hard. I am not too fond of the track overall, but it is not my style so it's not on me to comment.
That said, the mixing does not do it any favors. In the climax especially, everything is very loud and you can hear a lot of elements have to fight hard to be heard. It might be close to clipping at some points, especially the melody.
That said, the mixing does not do it any favors. In the climax especially, everything is very loud and you can hear a lot of elements have to fight hard to be heard. It might be close to clipping at some points, especially the melody.