Jump to content

Sonic 4 Ep 1 - Mad Gear Zone Remix (Dubstep) WIP


Recommended Posts

It's not a bad start, some nice sounds. I just feel it needs more impact and needs to build that half beat dubstep feel. Maybe try adding a nice full power kick and a big reverberant snare alternately on the 1st and 3rd beats of the bar (that's assuming you're already at a tempo around 135bpm?)

I say just start with that if that all makes sense and see how it evolves from there?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's not a bad start, some nice sounds. I just feel it needs more impact and needs to build that half beat dubstep feel. Maybe try adding a nice full power kick and a big reverberant snare alternately on the 1st and 3rd beats of the bar (that's assuming you're already at a tempo around 135bpm?)

I say just start with that if that all makes sense and see how it evolves from there?

Thanks! I'm glad to know that I'm off to a good start. I'll be sure to upload an update as soon as possible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really like the overall groove you have going on here. It's really upbeat and got me into the song quickly. There are enough change-ups throughout to keep things interesting too.

Now a few critiques... the dubstep elements throughout sound pretty weak. The bass in particular, feels reserved and bland. It needs something more to make it pop. Not sure if it's the sample or how you're doing the effects, but it just doesn't feel as "in your face" as I would expect from the genre.

The lead synth could use some filter lovin' as well. It sounds like it could be EQed a bit better so it has a crisper, cleaner sound. Also some additional LFO effects, like vibrato, tremolo, or some pitch bends, could serve it well to make it sound more dynamic. I hear some of that going on already, but I feel it could use more.

Overall though, I enjoyed this. Nice job.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really like the overall groove you have going on here. It's really upbeat and got me into the song quickly. There are enough change-ups throughout to keep things interesting too.

Now a few critiques... the dubstep elements throughout sound pretty weak. The bass in particular, feels reserved and bland. It needs something more to make it pop. Not sure if it's the sample or how you're doing the effects, but it just doesn't feel as "in your face" as I would expect from the genre.

The lead synth could use some filter lovin' as well. It sounds like it could be EQed a bit better so it has a crisper, cleaner sound. Also some additional LFO effects, like vibrato, tremolo, or some pitch bends, could serve it well to make it sound more dynamic. I hear some of that going on already, but I feel it could use more.

Overall though, I enjoyed this. Nice job.

Thanks! Just the advice I needed. I'll be sure to go over this again in a few days. *I'm a little tired of listening to it, lol*

Anyway, this one's a smaller update. I changed some of the lead and percussion, but not a noticeable amount.

http://www.box.com/s/748b9c6a99b27b4d294d

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
https://www.box.com/s/abe8dae93707e5b4333c

Another update. To be honest, I'm starting to hate the entire execution and feel I should just start over...

I don't know, I think it sounds pretty good. I like some of the little changes you made (like around the 1:50 mark) and some of the other modifications you made on the melody, at least from what I can remember (I didn't go back and listen to v4 again).

My crits from earlier still hold though. I'm not terribly fond of the bass sample and at times the lead just doesn't seem to pop, especially in the first 30 seconds or so (not sure if that's intentional). I think overall it just needs to be EQed a bit better, so it stands out more. Maybe boost the high-frequencies a tad?

It's a shame you weren't able to join the Sonic compo in time, I would've liked to have heard what you could've come up with! Nice job on this though!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't know, I think it sounds pretty good. I like some of the little changes you made (like around the 1:50 mark) and some of the other modifications you made on the melody, at least from what I can remember (I didn't go back and listen to v4 again).

My crits from earlier still hold though. I'm not terribly fond of the bass sample and at times the lead just doesn't seem to pop, especially in the first 30 seconds or so (not sure if that's intentional). I think overall it just needs to be EQed a bit better, so it stands out more. Maybe boost the high-frequencies a tad?

It's a shame you weren't able to join the Sonic compo in time, I would've liked to have heard what you could've come up with! Nice job on this though!

EQ is definitely something I have trouble with. I'll be sure to fix that in my next update.

Thanks for the crit, man. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

EQ is definitely something I have trouble with. I'll be sure to fix that in my next update.

Thanks for the crit, man. :)

Yeah no problem. I never quite got how to EQ either until someone really explained it to me. My best recommendation is if your DAW has a graphic equalizer then to assign one to each of your buses and/or instruments, then watch which frequencies your instruments are primarily occupying, then write that down. Then the idea is to not have too many instruments occupying similar frequency ranges, because that's what causes a muddy sound where instruments sound like they're overlapping. Your most important instruments should take precedence. So for example, if your lead synth is primarily occupying the 1500hz - 2000hz range, then you might want to bump that freq range a bit (0.0 - 1.0db or so). Then if you have some backing synths or other instruments in that range, maybe lower them at that range a bit (0.5-1.0db or so). Do that for each instrument, boost the areas you want to focus on, then lower that same range in other instruments. That should help make your instruments pop. Just don't go too extreme.

Another good thing I like to do is cut off frequencies lower than 100hz on my instruments, EXCEPT for bass and percussion. This stops your other instruments from muddying up the low frequencies that should only be occupied by your bass and kick. This should give your bass a cleaner sound as well.

Good luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This v5 isn't bad at all! Maybe boost the higher frequencies of the lead a tad and add some vibrato on it. You could also make the sound at 1:05 a bit louder for a bigger contrast in a section shift. Also, at 1:20, maybe a sound decreasing in pitch could serve as a good transition.

Overall, some of the backup and lead synths you use are kind of bland. Try changing to a different waveform for your synths for a wider sound. You can also, rather than boost the higher frequencies, widen the frequencies it covers little by little until it sounds right but does not muddy up the other instruments as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...