JustinC721 Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 Shorter Intro, drifferent beat, slightly slower tempo http://ocrwip.fireslash.net/?fid=125 I'm aware my timing slips up a bit towards the end. I'm working on the other part which will go with this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnappleMan Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 Great intro! Once the intro is done, everything starts getting weaker and weaker though... Your percussion is repetitive and the sounds don't seem to fit in this context. Or rather, what you're doing with the drums in this particular song, just weak. The lead instrument is completely flat and boring. You took a cool melody and killed it with bad phrasing. The rhythm in the song doesn't do anything for the melody, things just don't work at all. Keep the intro, change the rest... please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustinC721 Posted April 29, 2009 Author Share Posted April 29, 2009 Great intro! Once the intro is done, everything starts getting weaker and weaker though... Your percussion is repetitive and the sounds don't seem to fit in this context. Or rather, what you're doing with the drums in this particular song, just weak. The lead instrument is completely flat and boring. You took a cool melody and killed it with bad phrasing. The rhythm in the song doesn't do anything for the melody, things just don't work at all. Keep the intro, change the rest... please My timing is off somewhat towards the end which might be why it doesnt sound like it carries the melody. I'm not very good at figuring out how to use my keyboard's arpeggiator (I hate reading manuals), but i'm open to suggestions regarding a better drum beat. The song isn't going to be 3 minuets of this. There are 2 other parts that will be worked in. I'm just trying to figure out a smooth way to transition them. But is the new effect for the rythym too punchy, or is it better? And does the slower tempo work better, or should I speed it back up to 165bpm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnappleMan Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 Tempo and rhythm are two different things. You need to be aware of the groove the song NEEDS. That's dependent on the melodies and the natural sounding rhythm of the song without drums. Right now it just sounds messy and off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustinC721 Posted April 29, 2009 Author Share Posted April 29, 2009 Tempo and rhythm are two different things. You need to be aware of the groove the song NEEDS. That's dependent on the melodies and the natural sounding rhythm of the song without drums. Right now it just sounds messy and off. Timing is cleaned up, new lead, and transposed to Ebm The intro is still Dm. I'm not sure if transposing was a good idea, but it might make an easier transition to the next part. http://ocrwip.fireslash.net/?fid=126 But I'm not sure what to do for a drum beat still Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHands Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 Dig the intro, seems muddy though. This one seems more in time with itself, which is a huge improvement. I'd like to hear the rhythm instrumentation get a little more gritty without feeling muddy (mixing should help this). What kind of music do you normally listen to? This one seems like it'd be awesome with heavy beats, the kind of blast beat stuff you hear in punk and metal (some aggressive techno too). The other issue is that right now I don't hear much variation from the original. Granted, this still a very early WiP, but it's something to look at down the line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustinC721 Posted April 29, 2009 Author Share Posted April 29, 2009 Dig the intro, seems muddy though.This one seems more in time with itself, which is a huge improvement. I'd like to hear the rhythm instrumentation get a little more gritty without feeling muddy (mixing should help this). What kind of music do you normally listen to? This one seems like it'd be awesome with heavy beats, the kind of blast beat stuff you hear in punk and metal (some aggressive techno too). The other issue is that right now I don't hear much variation from the original. Granted, this still a very early WiP, but it's something to look at down the line. I honestly don't have a clue when it comes to mixing. I built a PC specifically for recording music. It has a Sound Blaster X-Fi. And it's just me playing my keyboard through the mic jack (recording through the line in doesn't seem to work) I use audacity. And for some reason, I can't seem to avoid losing quality during MP3 compression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrototypeRaptor Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 I honestly don't have a clue when it comes to mixing.I built a PC specifically for recording music. It has a Sound Blaster X-Fi. And it's just me playing my keyboard through the mic jack (recording through the line in doesn't seem to work) I use audacity. And for some reason, I can't seem to avoid losing quality during MP3 compression. There are so many things wrong with what you said...let me help before Snappleman comes back and destroys you For music RECORDING (not listening for entertainment), Sound Blasters are crap; get a decent onboard soundcard (like an M-audio) or an external preamp/audio interface. To truly capture the quality of your synth, you are gonna need at least 1/4 inch inputs, preferably XLR. So until your source sounds good (IE: quality inputs), there's not too much you can do about the mixing... Also, an mp3 IS compression. You can't avoid losing quality because that's what it is - a quality reduction for a smaller file size. RAW wavs or FLACs are what you want to be mixing on, not mp3s. just a friendly FYI - I do like the arrangement so far, though. keep working! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustinC721 Posted April 30, 2009 Author Share Posted April 30, 2009 There are so many things wrong with what you said...let me help before Snappleman comes back and destroys you For music RECORDING (not listening for entertainment), Sound Blasters are crap; get a decent onboard soundcard (like an M-audio) or an external preamp/audio interface. To truly capture the quality of your synth, you are gonna need at least 1/4 inch inputs, preferably XLR. So until your source sounds good (IE: quality inputs), there's not too much you can do about the mixing... Also, an mp3 IS compression. You can't avoid losing quality because that's what it is - a quality reduction for a smaller file size. RAW wavs or FLACs are what you want to be mixing on, not mp3s. I mix with WAVs, but at some point, the file will be compressed to MP3. Anyway, what kind of external soundcard do you recommend that I get? \ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustinC721 Posted April 30, 2009 Author Share Posted April 30, 2009 Oh and as for the music I listen to: Rush, Dream Theater, SOAD, Metallica, Pink Floyd (no Floyd influence in the intro I swear), and yeah, I have a thing for VG music. Particularly from Castlevania, and FF series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHands Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Awesome. In that case, for the drums, I want you to think like the guy from Avenged Sevenfold. The drum lines fluctuate from a straight beat into an elongated breakdown of fills (for example, the main drumline in Bat Country). Don't be afraid to sequence a lot of different ideas and see what works best. The energy from the drumming can be more important in some ways than the rest of the piece. This isn't always the case, but it can turn what would be a relatively straight forward piece (the chord progression Zero Wing harped on) into something more powerful. Then again, this is your mix, not mine. That just seems to me like it'd be most fitting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffrey Taucer Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Really love the lead synth! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harmony Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 You can churn out good mixes with a Sound Blaster so that card doesn't have anything to do with the muddiness or mixing problem. "Mixing" in general is just making sure that instruments don't step on each other's toes. The easiest ways to do that are with volume, panning and EQ. There are 2 big reasons your mix sounds muddy and jumbled. First the main bass synth that comes in at 0:23 is loud, bright, and very full, meaning that it takes up a LOT of sonic space. Then you try to cram drums and a lead on top of that and you get mush. Try lowering it's volume slightly and using an EQ to lower the higher frequencies. I think that will help the lead synth to cut through a lot better. Also, everything is dead center. Pan some of your instruments to get them off of each other's back. Put an EQ on each instrument and play around with it to see if you can make the mix sound "better." It takes practice to know what "better" is, but you've gotta start somewhere. My suggestion for improving mixing is to start with all instruments muted, then unmute each of them one at a time. Each time you unmute an instrument, adjust the volume/panning/EQ of all of the unmuted instruments until it sounds balanced to you. The second cause of the mud is that the timing of the lead is way off. You want something like this to be crisp and clean. If you're unable to record using MIDI so that you can adjust the notes later, keep practicing playing the part until you are very comfortable with it. Comfort = MUCH better timing. It's got a little ways to go, but I like the promise of what you've done so far. Have fun with it and good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffrey Taucer Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Also: I still think you should call it "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Destruction" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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