jordanrooben

I've been having a bit of trouble with writing melodies lately, but I have one I think is okay. Can I get some feedback on this WIP? https://soundcloud.com/sanus-concordis/seven/

I don't mean to imply that I've ever done professional work with music before, I just mean that I got into writing music by way of OCR, and I was remixing video game tracks before I began writing original. But yeah, I was just wondering how writing music from that perspective has affected people who have VGM influenced material, and what commission work is like, and it's really cool to hear from the people here.

Asking from the perspective of a mixer/composer with a background of work with VGM, does anyone have any information on the process of actually making money? (As if it's that simple.)

Updating status to Mod Review.

I boosted the volume of the interlude synth, and tweeked the intro again, and I'm pretty happy with the final result. I'm putting this as finished for now, and maybe I'll do a mod review in a bit, if it's good enough. Version 8: https://soundcloud.com/jordanrooben/chrononet-version-8

This is really cool! It very cinematic. The reason the lead seems odd, I think, is the high attack. Lowering that would probably be a good idea.

I think you've got a good concept here. I like the drums and synth lead you used, and I agree with the other posters that there's potential for an 80's style piece here. For me, I think your mixing is a bit flat though. I can see a pretty great soundscape being here, but right now, it seems too simplistic. The arrangement is also a bit too basic. Except for the intro and outro, everything is at more or less the same intensity level. It might help to try experimenting with solos or bridge sections.

For this version, I upped the bass by a lot, because it was far to quiet. I fiddled with the intro some more. The issue with the final section having too much reverb should be gone now, but I don't know if the lead is loud enough there. Version 7: https://soundcloud.com/jordanrooben/chrononet-version-7

Here's a new version with a more polished arrangement, and a few changes to the mixing and sound design. Without having gotten any feedback since I modified the arrangement, I'm pretty happy with it, and I'm thinking that It may be finished. Version 6: https://soundcloud.com/jordanrooben/chrononet-6

I'm taking it in a bit of a different direction now, I think. I got inspired by ' ' by The Others. I liked the evil computer/terminator feeling, and although I'm not sure exactly how much of that made it into my remix, I have a goal in mind now.I'm probably going to be changing the name since I was never completely happy with what it was. For now, it's tentatively 'Chrono-net' or 'Chrononet' - I'm not sure which - but I think that'll probably stay. I know that the transition from the interlude to the finale isn't very good, and suggestions would be great, but I did want to get a new version out sooner, rather than later so I can get some feedback about the direction that I'm taking it in. Version 5: https://soundcloud.com/jordanrooben/giant-mutant-5-chrono-net

I lowered the Sub Bass a bit, and boosted the Wobble Bass. It sounds a lot better now. Thanks for the help! For the snare, I saw what you meant about it sounding a bit thin, and I layered a few more samples in there to give it some more punch. I want something that has a tail to it, though, so I kept the original snare sound too. The section at 1:58 I had used wobble bass samples, but neglected to tune them properly for the section. That should be fixed now. Thanks for calling that out! I totally overlooked it. Regarding the dynamics, I had some minor compression on the master channel. I got rid of that for this version, though. Version 4: https://soundcloud.com/jordanrooben/giant-mutant-4

I'm pretty happy with the arrangement. I can't say it's finished, because I'm sure that I'll get ideas for it while I work on finishing the whole thing. I'm not sure about the production. It sounds pretty good on my headphones, but not so much on my speakers. They're not monitors, so I'm not sure which is more reliable. It would help a lot if I could get some advice on the mixing. Is the bass heavy enough? Are the drums loud enough? Too loud? Version 3: https://soundcloud.com/jordanrooben/giant-mutant-3

Thanks for the advice. I was afraid the drums were a bit muddled. Is it all of the drums, or just the kick ? When you say better drum track, do you mean arrangement wise, or production wise?

I did some work towards another version. I added a few small bits that I thought of over the last few days. I also reworked some of the mixing and the sidechain. Version 2: https://soundcloud.com/jordanrooben/giant-mutant-ve2

The biggest thing that jumps out for me, is the drums. They sound really fake and kind of tinny/papery. They sound almost like you have them filtered somehow. You may want to check out getting some new drum sounds. Vengeance sounds are pretty fantastic for electronic pieces, but you can find a lot of good material for free if you do some google searches. You may want to try to find sounds that are similar to those in songs you like. Other than that, it's not too terrible early on. You should definitely look into getting better samples and/or practice making/choosing synths, but nothing's awful. For the most part, it all sounds generic, which is fine so long as you're doing interesting things. I noticed some stereo seperation/panning on the guitar, which is good. Little things like that can really liven up a boring part. When you first start solo-ing, the sine/sync you have isn't very good, but the actually notes have potential. Experiment with that a bit. Maybe try a sytrus preset, or look into some of the presets from nexus2. It's not free, but relatively cheap for the amount of great synths you get with it. If you want to, you can also look up some tutorials for the built-in fl synthesizers, though that's a bit tougher. After you do the whole "solo" thing for a bit, it's gets pretty awkward. Around 2:00 and on, especially 2:40-3:00. I'm not really sure what you were going for there, but you may want to take another approach for it. As far as the production values, they're decent, which is good if you're starting out. That's where most people have trouble. At this point, your best bet is probably to look on youtube or google for some tutorials. Learn about EQ, compression, limiting, stereo seperation, phase cancellation, etc. As much as you can. There's a lot to learn, but it's a pretty great experience.

I'm not entirely how I managed to make something so good, but this is definitely my best ReMix yet. This time, I attempted to make something that's more-or-less pure dubstep. With the new theme that I introduced with version 5, the name of the ReMix will be chaning. As of version 5, that is planned to be either 'Chrono-net' or 'Chrononet'. Enjoy! Link: https://soundcloud.com/jordanrooben/giant-mutant-undersea-palace Version 2: https://soundcloud.com/jordanrooben/giant-mutant-ve2 Version 3: https://soundcloud.com/jordanrooben/giant-mutant-3 Version 4: https://soundcloud.com/jordanrooben/giant-mutant-4 Version 5: https://soundcloud.com/jordanrooben/giant-mutant-5-chrono-net Version 6: https://soundcloud.com/jordanrooben/chrononet-6 Version 7: https://soundcloud.com/jordanrooben/chrononet-version-7 Version 8: https://soundcloud.com/jordanrooben/chrononet-version-8

True, but house has both bass wobbles, and halftime drums. They're more like accents, but still. That song has far more depth of atmosphere than most dubstep songs have, and it's more reserved in terms of both the drums, and the bass.

Hey, thanks for the advice! I mean, yeah. It's not traditional dubstep, but I wasn't going for pure dubstep. Then again, I don't know that I'd say Ashes to Ashes is either.

It's not quite as good as it could be, but I managed to get a decently-complete song finished before I got tired of it, so I figured I'd post it in case anyone was interested. Enjoy! Remix: https://soundcloud.com/jordanrooben/magma-atmosphere

I'm going to put this as finished, for now. I don't completely see this going too much further, because, yeah, it's not terribly innovative. Feedback is still welcome though!

Okay, I finished the third version. I'm running into a bit of a wall with this track, so I'm not sure how much more I'll be able to do, but I'd like to fix the issues already mentioned, though. Is the mixing better now? I added more to the backing of the final section, and revamped the entire mixing. I re-wrote a lot of the bridge material, and added in a small melody to transition to the key shift. I'm struggling with what to do there, but does it feel more natural now? Regarding the final melody, I think it sounds good, despite being "machine gun-like", because the notes flow towards a natural end. Is it worth the effort to change up the rhythm, or does it sound okay as it is, despite being rhythmically simplistic? Version 3: https://soundcloud.com/jordanrooben/fine-layers-of-slaysenflite-3

That's kind of the type of effect I was aiming for. I just didn't do it right, at all. Though it doesn't seem like the right effect for the song, now that I think about it.

I redid the mixing for the entire track, put EQ on some of the parts that didn't have it, added overdrive to the kick and snare, changed some of the instrumentation, and removed the (mild) compression on the master track, and lowered the levels of reverb and delay. The LR panning at 0:30 was meant to add depth, but that's gone now. It clearly didn't work. Regarding the key change at 1:28 I tried to have more material to lead in to it, but I couldn't find anything that works. As of now, I think that it sounds good, though I may need to revisit it later. That section is in the source the way it is though. Version 2 link: https://soundcloud.com/jordanrooben/club-mythology-slaysenflite-v2

Not a Neurofunk artist, but I work with a bunch of bass-heavy genres so I might be able to help. Compression and EQ. Bass can be a pain, but I find that the best thing to do is to EQ out as much of it as you can save for frequencies near 60hz, 240hz, and treble frequencies which depend on the bass. Usually around 4000hz or 8000hz. In addition to that, slap on a compressor with a low threshold, high ratio, and play with the attack and release. Compression can cause distortion when overused so be careful, but for a genre like this you might be fine with that. Another thing you can try is to give the rest of the track some panning. Leads, pads, hats, keys, etc. can be pushed slightly the left or right, and this will leave more room for the bass and kick, which should be directly in the center and have their stereo separation set to 100% merged. For my own work, I find that having a saw that's playing either perfect fifths, or an an octave higher can make the bass pop out without muddying up the lower frequencies. Similarly, layering really helps. I usually layer my kicks, snares, and basses. The snare sound pretty good for the genre. It's definitely weak, but that's fine.

I feel like the biggest issue with your track right now is that it's too short. The intro takes up far too much of the track, although it feels like the right length. A few tips for making it sound more "full": Try layering a soft low kick under the hardstyle one to give it more depth. Compression would help quite a bit here, just don't overdo it. For the bass, you could try to add in a sub/sine bass playing the same notes as your current bass, and a saw playing an octave above what you already have. For bass, I personally find that it can be good to apply compression fairly liberally. Maybe some simple pads or keys. They should be just quite enough that you don't initially notice them, but even then, they'll add a lot of depth. Having a second lead later in the song won't make the soundscape more full, but will make the track more detailed. Experiment with whatever sounds you have. Be it orchestral strings, synths, whatever. Just pop them intro the track, and see if they fit. You should definitely work on EQing as well. That will make a world of difference. Add a little treble to the leads, and boost the bass for the kick and bass.