[Xenoblade Main Theme - Acoustic Guitar]

Hey guys. I just got started with this today, and I wanted some feedback. I really felt like making a purely acoustic guitar track, as that's my favourite instrument.

I don't know if this will be the final structure or if I want to add something or change something. Probably will.
In fact, if any of you have any structure suggestions, I'd appreciate it, because I'm honestly not sure where to go from here.

Anyway, tell me your thoughts. Thanks!

 

[K.K.Slider - Steep Hill]

Wow, this song really fits this genre. Very nice arrangement.

I'm sorry I don't feel confident enough to give any critical advice yet, but I just wanted to drop by and say that I like this, and I'd like to hear more.
How about doing something with Two Days Ago? That was always one of my favourite K.K. tracks.

[Suikoden 2 - Reminiscence - Cover [WIP - Feedback needed]]

Yeah, you're right. I'll definitely do that.
I was worried it might get too much if I did that, but I should've tried at least.

[Suikoden 2 - Reminiscence - Cover [WIP - Feedback needed]]

So I went back to this and added some more reverb to the violin and guitar tracks, lowered the volume slightly on the piano and also re-recorded the guitar track.
I did try to re-record the piano with less sustain, but I was never happy with how it ended up. It always ended up sounding very empty and it kinda messed with my playing. Therefore, I lowered the volume, hoping that it might make the muddiness not stand out as much. I don't know if it worked out well, but I don't think it sounds horrible at least.

I'm much more of a fan of how the violin sounds now. It's much less brazen and in your face than it was before, and it doesn't sound like someone's standing right in front of the microphone and playing.
I still don't have the subtleties of reverb down, and I very well may have overdone it on that front. lol
I'll keep working on that, but tell me what you think. Here's the updated version.

Thanks for the advice as always!

[Suikoden 2 - Reminiscence - Cover [WIP - Feedback needed]]

Thanks a lot for the feedback! I really needed it.

- I do use a lot of sustain when playing. I have a hard time making it sound good without it, for some reason. This has to do with my piano playing more than anything else, so.. Are you saying it'd be better to record entirely without sustain and add reverb to make up for it? I thought sustain was easier to control, which is why I'm doing it so much.

- Yeah, that's my problem too. I don't really know how to fix it. The thing is, I'm using an electric violin. That may be a bad idea. Maybe I should just buckle up and buy a microphone for my acoustic violin? If you've recorded like that before, do you have any suggestions for good violin microphones?
Oh, and the guitar is lined, if that matters for anything.

- Duly noted. I'll re-record the guitar.

15 hours ago, Jorito said:

Maybe work a bit more on spacing (early reflections and reverb tails) to blend in the guitar and violin a bit more.

I honestly have no idea what early reflections and reverb tails are. I'll look it up on my own, but if there's something you wanna add or point out specifically, please do that.
Oh, and I already added reverb to the violin and guitar, but I'll try messing around with that a bit more.

Thanks a ton for the great advice. Now I have things to be mindful of when mixing, which is nice. I really appreciate it.

[Suikoden 2 - Reminiscence - Cover [WIP - Feedback needed]]

Hey everyone. I recently got into a music-making mood and I decided to give one of my favourite Suikoden tracks a shot.
Now, I've got some issues I need to work out, but I'm sort of stumped on what to do, so I thought I'd ask here for help.

My main problem is I don't think the violin and guitar fits into the mix at all. They sound out of place, and I'm honestly not sure how to fix that. I'm still not very good at mixing, so there's that
Some advice on that front would be much appreciated!

(And yes, I know that you can hear me fiddle with the guitar before I start playing. I caught that, and will remove it as soon as I sit down with it next time)

Here is the link:

Other than that specific issue, any general tips and opinions are always welcome.
Thanks in advance for any replies I get! It's always fun to hear back from people.

Take care, guys.

[So I tried making some battle music...]

I'm programming my drums as I don't have any way to record actual ones. Nor can I actually play drums. xP

Do you have any tips on how to make programmed drums sound "agressive"?

I think these are probably the most punchy drums I've ever made, which may not be saying a whole lot. haha

Oh, and thanks for your feedback!

[So I tried making some battle music...]

I would've put it as finished, since I'm technically done composing it, but I'm sure there's a lot of technical things I need to do with it.

I started out making a regular battle theme, but it ended up sounding more like a boss-theme in my opinion.

Anyway, tell me what you think. Thank you!

https://soundcloud.com/omegametroid93/boss-battle

[Tips on programming drums?]

Hmm.. Alright, how about this?

Let's say I wanted to make something a bit heavier, with more power. I don't know how to make the drums reflect that.

[Tips on programming drums?]

So, I was messing around with drums earlier and I came up with this:

https://soundcloud.com/omegametroid93/testing-drum-programming

I've EQ'd and used compressors and reverb on basically everything in this track. The thing is, I don't know if I'm doing it right.

So, I thought I'd have you mixing gurus out there tell me what I'm doing wrong and what I need to do to make it right.

And yes, I know it's the same drum loop throughout the entire thing. But I wanna make sure I know how to mix what I have before I start making variations.

Thanks again, guys!

[Mixing violin]

The violin sound you have going on right now is a bit cramped and nasal, which gives it an almost harmonica-like timbre in some places. Have you done any EQing on it yet? You might try cutting in the 1-3 kHz range to reduce some of the harshness and boosting a bit below that (maybe 600 Hz) to increase body. Boosting with a high shelf above maybe 5 kHz might help bring the overtones out a bit, which may give it a bit more sparkle. I think it would also benefit from a wider, wetter reverb.

How did you record this? I ask because it sounds like a close mic in a very small space, which, if it is the case, is probably contributing to the cramped sound and may be difficult to fix in the mix.

I recorded it with an electric violin as I don't have a way to record regular violins. I'll try doing the EQing that you mentioned. I already tried giving it a wetter reverb, and it sounds kinda.. weird. Then again, I don't know anything about reverbs and EQ so I'll give it another go after increasing the width of the reverb.

Thank you!

[Mixing violin]

Hello, everyone. I was wondering if anybody here knows anything about mixing a violin?

Basically, I started making a song, but I'm not sure if the violin fits in correctly. Is there anything I should or could do when mixing to make it better?

This is probably a very vague question, but even if you can't answer, some general mixing tips is always nice...

https://soundcloud.com/omegametroid93/melancholia

In case you don't wanna listen to the other stuff, the violin comes in at around 1 minute into the song.

Thanks in advance for any help

[First Original Song - Input wanted]

Hi all, I recently made my first original song, and I'd like some input on it.

Any input, be it negative (but make it constructive please) or positive is greatly appreciated!

It's pretty much complete but if there's anything I can do, which I'm willing to bet there's a great deal of things, then I will try to do so.

It's a simple, slow ballad(?) with piano, cello and violin. I don't know if there's much else I can say about it...

I used my electric violin since I don't have a good enough microphone to record an acoustic one. I used reverb and EQ to try and make it sound more like an acoustic violin.

Have a listen and let me know what you think.

Thanks. ^^

https://soundcloud.com/omegametroid93/first-original

[Tips on programming drums?]

Hello all. I'm relatively new to working with DAWs.

I was wondering if any of you have any tips on programming drums, whether they be electronic or acoustic. When I try to do it myself, they always end up sounding really dull and flat. But on the contrary, if I try to EQ them, I always end up exceeding the volume limit, making the little red light flash.

Sometimes that happens even if I just put drums out without EQing them. It then happens when I try to add other instruments on top of that.

So, any tips would be great, as I know absolutely nothing about this. So far I've been using Impact, but if there's a better software out there that's free or really cheap (I'm a poor student and Impact came with Studio One), I'd love to take some recommendations.

Oh, and I have done full songs before, but I used drum loops, which I want to get out of the habit of doing, since it kinda feels like cheating.

Sorry about my utter cluelessness.. ^^'

And thanks in advance!

[Donkey Kong Country - Life in the Mines]

Thank you!

I don't really understand what you mean about the bass being too loud. I listened to it in 2 different headphones, and it sounded fine to me.

Maybe if I EQ away some of the higher frequencies?

I'm also not entirely sure what dynamics is but I'll work it out.

I'll get on the drums and humanization right away.

That was definitely helpful, thank you.

[Donkey Kong Country - Life in the Mines]

Well... That's what I'm already doing. haha

Thank you though.

[Donkey Kong Country - Life in the Mines]

So I made a tune. I'd love to get some feedback on it.

I'm new to remixing, as well as working with DAWs in general, so if anyone has any helpful tips judging by the song I made, that'd be very much appreciated.

Here it is.

Thanks in advance to anyone who replies.