Ver. 1: Wanderer

[warfighter67]

Well, this is the first mix of this song. It is symphonic progressive metal with a lot of changeups.

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=10392359

Would love your thoughts (technical, artistic, content) on this song!

[Dreambliss]

I dig the guitar riffs but don't like the sound of the guitar. It's too synthetic. The song is in need of a main melody. After 3:04 I think the song takes a turn for the worse. It was pretty rockin' until that major change where it went from a dark and rough world to suddenly the sun was shining and happy bunnies were dancing in circles around a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. There is nothing wrong with a shift in theme, but it's too drastic and doesn't fit. I was expecting an epic solo as the song before then was really picking up speed...

Other than that I still think it's a pretty cool tune but needs some work. You of course can tell me to jump off a cliff if you'd like

[warfighter67]

.

Thanks for your views on it. I will have a ton of free time today when I get out of school, so expect a version 2 by the end of the day

I will look into smoothing out the transition, adding in a solo (as use FOR the transition, e.g. start out fast solo and get slower near the end), and some more lead guitar parts. Hopefully I will also be getting EWQLSC w/Wordbuilder to work so maybe some nice choir sections as well. I could easily make this song 10 minutes long, hahaha.

[warfighter67]

Looking at my mix: I forgot to pan the L/R rhythm guitar tracks! They were both panned center :/

[Dreambliss]

No problem. Glad I could provide constructive criticism. I would hope you don't drag out the song to 10 minutes . Once a song crosses the four minute threshold, it becomes increasingly more difficult to keep the listener's interest. That's why I aim for about 3:45.

What DAW software, softsynths, VSTs, etc... do you use?

[warfighter67]

FL Studio 9, Piano Roll, my brain, RealLPC, RealGuitar2, Shreddage (kompakt 4), Edirol Orchestral. I wish I could record guitar, but I'd also have to be better at it . I didn't plan on so. A 16 bar solo is in the workings and that's the only length I'm adding.

[warfighter67]

Alright a new mix has been uploaded! Use the same link up there, or http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=10392359 (they are the same link)

[Dreambliss]

Definitely a much better transition. I'm not entirely diggin' the flute, though... it sounds a bit too happy in the outro. A violin might be better suited. Also I am still not entirely thrilled with the rhythm guitar tone... are you using shreddage for the rhythm guitars, RealLPC for lead, and RealGuitar for the acoustic?

I hear ya on the guitar... I'm not good either. My problem is I just don't have time to practice, so I resort to using software instead. I use Vir2 Electri6ity for my guitars and I think they turn out rather well considering it's not real. You should check out my thread further down the page here... I posted three songs that are rock/metal/progressive/instrumental with a dark/eerie theme. These forums don't seem to get many visitors as no one has replied to many threads even on the main page... no big deal to me

I use Sonar X1 Producer Edition for my DAW with the following softsynths/VSTs:

Kontakt 4

Absynth 5

Electri6ity

Scarbee Pre-bass

Superior Drummer 2.0

Massive

Dimension Pro

Rapture

Guitar Rig 4 Pro

Maybe some others I'm forgetting right now...

I program everything by hand in the PRV. Sounds like you do the same

[Rockos]

Nice track. Very good. But I feel like this track is alone/quiet. LAck of a second guitar maybe or a bass guitar. Until 1:33 it sound like a one man playing. Tho it's not bad but this is what I think.

After 1:33 It's better since two guitar are playing.

Dreambliss is right when he's saying 'I dig the guitar riffs but don't like the sound of the guitar'. I Know it's really hard to obtain a sound like a real one. That's the only thing 'SOFTWARE'.

But anyway, I Love this track and want to hear more of you.

[warfighter67]

Thanks for all of the feedback. Yes, RealLPC for the 2 leads, Shreddage for the rhythm, and RealGuitar for acoustic. I also forgot to mention that I also own Colossus (EWQL), EWQL Symphonic Choirs, Absynth 5, PoiZone 2, Morphine, and quite a few freeware ones that I have forgotten. For Amps, I used to use Amplitube 3, but once I started using 3-4 guitar tracks on my songs, my computer just couldn't handle it, so I went after a freeware one and found RedSkull. I'm not much of a fan of RedSkull's sound, but it's all I found. If you can find some nice heavy distortion (not JCM9000 from that guitar suite, already have) that isn't CPU intensive, let me know! P.S. It doesn't exactly have to be free. But free is always better.

Edit: Just fyi, getting the chord progression for the acoustic guitar took forever! Haha, I'm no expert on how to make an acoustic guitar sound pretty good, but I think I hit the nail on the board. I should also state that I like acoustic guitar as more of a percussion instrument than a chromatic one, but the fact that it's both is appealing to me. The percussion part comes from strumming chords, which is why almost any acoustic guitar melody you will hear me make will either be all chords or hitting lower notes (where the percussion part shines).