No Escape

I guess I'm late to the critique party... First off I'll say that this is my genre so your critique will be harsh. I'll also say right off the bat that I'm impressed with the track in general. Intro guitar might be a little dry (maybe slap a long delay 400-500 ms on it to give some more epic flavor) The harmonies were all dead on, which is very nice. The double bass at 0:33 was too much and I would personally tone it down a bit (maybe some double bass variations, and not just a straight blast). The track needs some more length- OCR won't take it unless it's bare minimum 2:00 min. I would drop soundclown or whatever that site is and get a tindeck profile. This allows users to download your track, which would allow me to give a production value critique as well. It's obvious you spent some time on the drums arrangement, and it flows well, so I won't attack it too much. The ride cymbal seems a little off to me( I feel like it's used a little too freely in a lot of parts, and it doesn't quite fit...) but it's not offensive at all. Over-all, the track is a win. I just can't identify any production problems. BTW, if you want to get more into doing remixes, check out my thread for a potential album project. Your work is good and I could use some mixers like you CLICK ME FOR THREAD *EDIT So I just read that you don't have the session files or the raw mixdown. Unfortunately, OCR won't accept this until it's at bare minimum 2:00. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you're either gonna have to re-work the entire mix, or try to blend some new tracks in with the old to add length (I recommend trying the latter first). Do what you have to to get this track to 2:30 to avoid length issues (they might still bitch at 2:30) . On a side note, Sbeast64, please drop that Chrono Trigger Frog Avatar. It literally made your post look weak when I read it (This is the most random thing I'll probably ever post). You seem like you know what you're saying so I want everyone to feel the credibility there.

Oh indeed I will shit on this track... just kidding. No really, its good. I'll leave my last advice at "tone down the track between 100-200 and lower the volume of the entire track by .5 (1/2) Db." This way, it won't clip on anyone's system. That's it. Take it or leave it. The power is yours

I thought you have a Korg keyboard. I have a Korg N1 and I just use a bass patch and the "portamento" setting. I don't know if FL has this, but I would ask some FL users (specifically Zircon, who is an FL expert) if it's possible to portamento in FL.

DJMystix covered the issues here well. I can literally hear the left channel resonating in my ears, so there needs to be some right channel action to counter balance. This track needs some percussion of some sort. I won't tell you what to add, but even at the build up, there's a lack of intensity by the lack of rhythm or high end (AKA cymbals). Also, Double bass? There's no Kick drum at all, let alone double bass. Don't get me wrong, this track should not have a kick track, but maybe some good snare samples and some cymbal surges (I don't know the actual name for them) would help instead (So much for not telling you what to add lol) It's a decent orchestral track, and definitely great for a first "anything". BTW, get a Tindeck.com account so ppl can download your tracks for review. I can't give a good audio analysis unless I have the track. The EQ sounds alright, but chances are it's probably lacking some low and high end. On that note, just take the feedback as what it is, feedback. Most of these guys are here to help you (Nobody wants to see your mix fail). Welcome to OCR

LOL NO!!! I'm talking about individual bass slides. There are 3 of them in that window. They start one octave above the root note, and slide down before the next note in the progression is hit (4 bass notes per progression, or 4 measures if you will). Listen carefully. I know you're using headphones, so the bass response isn't there exactly, but listen for the sound of a note moving down. In this case, the note's are C# and C on a Keyboard. In this case, each slide is about 2 seconds long. By the way, sig request?

Better... But not quite it. Listen to 2:00-2:15 of this track to understand what I'm saying. I'm talking about deep bass, using slides (starting on a harmonic and sliding down to the root note) Let me know once you've heard it, as I'm not supposed to let ppl here it until it's released.

Nice mix. You obviously have been doing trance for a while, and it shows. I could definitely hear a snare or hi hat flam at 2:00 to really bring that transition. I'm gonna throw it out there, at the risk of being crucified by all other sound guys out there, but I think this track might need a boost at the very bottom end (between 35Hz and 65). All and all, these are all I could come up with for the track as far as production is concerned ( A very good thing) By the way, I'm trying to start a project for a 3D fighter called Flying Dragon (N64) and I'm looking for talent. You're definitely in if you want any track. THREAD HERE

Figures I find this after I review your other track. It definitely sucks when you have a song that's sick and every other song you do has to compete with it. This song is decent, but not near as good as the other track. I won't mention the length, because it's a WIP, but there are some issues here. The kick is mega heavy. The vocal harmonies are very bland (they sound like octaves of the lead voice) and the synth is somehow not quite right, but I can't figure out why. I've heard your other work, so I know what you're capable of, and I'm holding you to a higher standard than normal (it's kinda unfair). But I know you're gonna make this track sick. It kinda sounds like your other FF track, so I know you'll get there. Just keep at it.

I'm gonna switch this mod review since it's already been submitted.

I didn't play any instruments until I was 18. I started out with a Radio Shack keyboard, and that was it. Now I'm a live sound tech and I compose regularly. I play keys (I upgraded to a Korg N1), Guitar (PRS, 24 fret 10 top custom SIIICK), some drums, and do all my own mixing, editing and mastering. Quite a jump.

Ummmmm, not when the track ended mid progression lol. This track seems much better as far as levels are concerned. The kick might a tad too hot in the mix. The cymbals sound nice, but the hi hat might need a little boost. I did recognize that the guitars were real, but it took a while. I know it sucks to hear, but maybe you should re-record them with a little more variety (only leads, rhythm was fine). I find that turning the tone knob down to about about 4-7 on the guitar itself takes away a lot of the initial strike of the string, which is a big reason it sounds sequenced in some areas. Over-all not a bad track, just some good fine tuning on EQ and some attention to the leads will help a ton.

I really enjoyed the harmonies in the intro, I just wish you had less mechanical sounding patches. A little more cymbal work would definitely help this track a lot as well. This is my genre of music, nor my style of track, but I'm really diggin this for some reason. For the genre, you could definitely use some bass. The kick sounds sick, but I feel like I should be hearing bass slides everywhere. It would give you another layer of rhythm that could create more changes in the track. I say all this, but this track seems relatively easy to listen to as is. BTW, I'm not a mod and I'm relatively new, so I'm not busting your balls, but I think you're supposed to put your track as "finished" first, and then "mod review" after some feedback (I've seen how some mods are about this crap). Of course, this could be considered feedback from a non-mod, so maybe you're alright after all . By the way, what's a user bar? As you can see, my profile is very visually lacking. Any chance you could hook me up with a sig? P.S. I'm trying to start a project, and I like your work. Check out THIS THREAD and let me know if you can cover something.

Gario's dead on with his review. The soundscape is a little bland, some of those synths hurt my ears, and (something he didn't mention) The constant high hat is too dry and too hot. Maybe toning it down at 3k and 10k would help to make it less tiring to listen to. He was right that the composition was really innovative and the transitions were pretty smooth. This track has a good amount of potential, just keep at it.

SIIIIIIIIICK! Dude, I NEED you for my project. Can you please look at my thread and see if you'd be down to cover anything from Flying Dragon (N64)? Specifically, look at Gengai and Ryumaos' themes. I think they might suit your style best. You can find it RIGHT HERE Onto the mix itself... It was relatively perfect as far as production (something I'll rarely say). The guitar can be considered the weakest link because you can tell its a midi track. I'm sure someone could help you with those leads (I'm not sure if I'm quite good enough). The pianos and violins really stood out for quality and a good human feel. The vocals were mixed right where they needed to be and the effects were a nice touch and pleasing to hear. If this is entirely your production, your grasp of both composition and audio technique is well above average. We need more tracks from you.

I'm just trying to help out... no harm intended:neutral:. If your track is clipping on my DAW, it may clip on others as well (But it's your choice on your track, not mine). By the way, Dafydd, I'm recruiting for a potential project (I have a thread in the requests forum). A few of those tracks seem like your style (I've only heard your F-Zero WIP). If you're interested message me.

Spoken like a true engineer... nothing short of poetry

I'm a live engineer, so we call it sound reinforcement, but really it's just understanding the basics of how sound works in terms of Hz (Hertz), knowing where a musical instrument should "sit" in a mix (e.g. a violin would sit much higher than a bass guitar), and being able to create a smooth and balanced mix so that the instruments blend well with each other and nothing sounds overbearing or too quiet. Also, knowing how delay effects, such as reverb or delay, work is a big plus to make the track sound pleasing to hear. As a starting point, listen to a track that you want yours to sound like (production wise, not necessarily composition). Listen to it many times at different volumes (starting low) and see what stands out and why. If the track you like has a sick sounding piano, then try to figure out why it sounds so good. It's probably the way it's EQ'd of the effects used to give it the sound it has. Then experiment until you get close to that sound. Good luck!

YEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH! Good timing. I had just started composing for Ryuhi's track yesterday, but I'll consider it yours now.

OK fine... send me a copy at noescape16@yahoo.com. If that track doesn't clip everywhere, I'll consider it your win.

I'm trying to recruit for an OCR album that covers Flying Dragon (N64). The moment I'm cleared to post the thread will be the moment you become my album artist (your work is sick) The link to the recruit thread is here if anyone is down with working on it. CLICK ME

Not to argue, but I literally just downloaded my own tracks from tindeck and they were basically unchanged. You don't have to lower everything, but the lack of dynamic range will make your track tiring to listen to. A ton of ppl have a problem with wanting their track to be radio ready. Unless you double as a mastering house, you will not achieve this level of quality or VOLUME. I would suggest creating a new mixdown, and making sure not to hit 0Db (a few times is fine). Clipping is not only painful to hear, but is easily noticed if its even a little excessive (I noticed it before I even downloaded your track). The track is good, but it needs to not clip or resonate at certain frequencies (specifically 100-200 Hz) to be great.

I'm so sorry...you're just a glutton for punishment LOL. Alright, as I listened to the track, the first thing I noticed was a lack of human feel. You need to play with the velocity settings in your DAW to make it sound like the notes are being played by a human, not a triggered keyboard. Same volume issue- needs a huge boost in level to be where it needs to be. The staccato setting you're using only sounds good in the violin range (above middle C), so I would ditch those low note solo transitions in favor of higher ones. This is especially noticeable at 2:27. From the 2 track I've heard by you, I would say that you need some more understanding of sound reinforcement and what it takes to make instruments blend well together. Again, the composition is good, and you have a good idea of what you want to hear, but the combination of mechanical patches and production issues will make life hard for you unless you face them and learn about sound reinforcement and how to apply it to your tracks. Some drums might not hurt to beef the whole thing up. Btw, the tempo change at 3:50... not sure if I dig it. Good concept, but make the transition smoother. I hope I'm not discouraging you with this lengthy feedback. I'll gladly answer any technical questions you have about sound,EQ, effects, etc. I'd like to see this track go somewhere, so keep at it.

I guess I'll shoot a review first. Although I enjoy the composition over-all, that lead setting has got to go. It simply doesn't sound good at all with the track. Since this is obviously a midi track, it shouldn't be hard to shop around for a new setting and keep the composition. Also, the whole track needs a serious boost in gain (at least 6db on everything). 1:45-2:06 has major pitch issues (It's not even close to key). Intentional or not, It does not suit the track, and is actually painful to listen to (something I'll rarely say). This carries on a little ways past what I mentioned in the harmonies. The track comes together at the end, but the ending is a bit abrupt (although its a good ending, it needs something a little more, maybe some hanging notes, or a feed back into the intro). I hope I don't sound like I'm bashing, because I've personally produced tracks far worse than this and enjoyed them, but this track needs a ton of work to get it to where it needs to be, IMHO.

I was fine with the chiptune transition, but I noticed the entire mix was clipping. Might I suggest working the volume down a little? Also, the mix seemed a little heavy between 100-200 Hz (not necessarily a bad thing for the genre of track), but at 1:56 it was feeding back and flooding the mix. The clean guitar at 1:56 sounded a little on the tinty side, but bearable by all means. On the composition side, the changes were enough to keep me into the track. I would say that it needs a little work overall, but it can all be done post-production (which is easy). Keep it up!