timaeus222 Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 So what you're saying is, you aren't comfortable with shifting from a semi-repetitive genre to a mix of organic and EDM? Then you just need the practice. Get in the habit of changing things up in a song very often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazerblade Posted February 27, 2013 Author Share Posted February 27, 2013 Exactly. I agree that practice is what I need as well. ATM I'm having a blast just going crazy tearing the structure of this remix up and seeing what I can do with it. I'm also playing with organic variations(like vibrato, velocity, and all that stuff) and different kinds of transitions. I'm trying to keep it fresh and original by changing things up like you said, but have it still be recognizable and coherent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazerblade Posted March 1, 2013 Author Share Posted March 1, 2013 Here is another update. Most of the work in this one went into improving structural and instrumental dynamism and uniqueness. I have not put much into making the melodies played seem more organic. I don't doubt that more work needs done, but I'm liking the direction this is taking. https://dl.dropbox.com/s/90tuj5xe7i67unw/World%20Of%20Potential%20-%20wip18.mp3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 Try not to use instruments that you don't have sufficient samples for, or try not to expose instruments that you don't have great articulation possibilities for. At this point, it's best to perfect it with what you can work with best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazerblade Posted March 13, 2013 Author Share Posted March 13, 2013 I'm not dead! Here is another update! I used synth sounds instead of orchestral for everything! I'm using exclamation points satirically! I used a sync lead in place of the old strings, although I think it might need more organic variations before I'm 100% satisfied with it. I also funked up the drum beats in some places and... stuff. https://dl.dropbox.com/s/t3anwvrgn3wjthz/World%20Of%20Potential%20-%20wip19.mp3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Strader Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 All of the synth sounds are really plain though, really common type sounds without adequate processing on them... It's almost like you loaded up a bunch of preset sounds and dropped them in there. I do like the "moo" lead though. Remember those cups you used to turn over, and it would go "Moooooooo"? I like that sound, as vanilla as it may be. From what I can tell there's no reverb or echo or anything to dress up any of the sounds, which is really apparent in the intro. The whole thing was basically a loop, although some of the solos were pretty cool. I was digging where you were going at 2:04. I think with a LOT of EQ and effects you could potentially make this work with these sounds, so don't give up just yet, but know that you have a long way to go to make this more presentable. Also, try to write some type of chorus or other sections to break this up from simply being a loop. You need some of that personal variation to make it a ReMix instead of a cover! Tinker with this a little more and I'll come back to check out your next version, but do not rush - give it the time it deserves, and really work on refining all of your sounds. Tweak them, become a master of synthesis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazerblade Posted March 18, 2013 Author Share Posted March 18, 2013 Actually, the only sound in there that was that dry was the resopad, but I've fixed that now. Perhaps all of the delay, reverb, and EQ were hard to hear because they were playing with other instruments or I had too much compression. I get what you're saying about following a song structure over a progressive structure, but I'm shooting for something between and am moderately satisfied with the area the current structure has landed in. That doesn't mean there isn't room for change. I admit that I'm new to anything other than straight up progressive like Trance and Acid though. Anyway, here is a new update. https://dl.dropbox.com/s/0s9d3oqd1hn0a2m/World%20Of%20Potential%20-%20wip20.mp3 There are articulation, EQ, FX, PAD, and slight composition improvements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 The beginning sweeper pad, IMO, sweeps too quickly and to too high a cutoff because it hits the sync lead's frequencies. When the sync lead first came in, it sounded muddy. The kick is still pretty boomy without much high end energy. The snare is a bit better, but it could stand for even more compression. The organ definitely sounds dry to me. I don't hear any reverb, not even a little bit. The vibrato-high lead seems to be too loud. The 3o3 arp a little before 3/4 of the way through is pretty relentless on the filtering and should be adjusted. On the outtro, good variation with the kicks, that's something new, and you should be creative like that more often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazerblade Posted March 21, 2013 Author Share Posted March 21, 2013 Ah yes, I couldn't put my finger on any of those problems myself. Here they are fixed, and I've made a very small tweak to the arrangement. I'm not sure this performance is perfect on the acid filter controls, but it's not the final recording and I think it works anyway. https://dl.dropbox.com/s/hhiawb7mwdc8s03/World%20Of%20Potential%20-%20wip21.mp3 I'm starting to feel pretty satisfied with the sound, but how is the arrangement? Do the melodies and structure take what is recognizably the original and do something interesting with it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 (edited) Yeah, the organ is still dry, just thought you should know that. If you can imagine it in a room while you're listening to a result, then it's going to be in a good spot. Brandon is right, it does just seem like you took a bunch of presets and used them plus some modwheel stuff, but it doesn't seem like you tweaked them further or enough. For example, the sync lead, if it had delayed (slow attack) vibrato, would be even more intense. As for your other leads, what about extreme pitch bends and portamento, or going from staccato to legato? You can always adjust your sequencing to make a patch sound better than the patch actually sounds under "typical" sequencing conditions. Creative sequencing usually improves the perception of a patch's complexity. Well, the arrangement seems to change often enough, so I think it's just the sounds and sequencing that are holding you back. Edited March 21, 2013 by timaeus222 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazerblade Posted March 23, 2013 Author Share Posted March 23, 2013 (edited) So I finally got the organ to sit properly in the mix... then I realized that it really did not fit in with the rest of the sound design at all, which I had been in denial of. It took me awhile to settle on putting together a pseudo-house pizzicato string with extra unison detuning and automated filter cutoff for the replacement. I've also done a lot of work on the articulation for a couple of of the leads as well, and a bit of similar work on the other lead. https://dl.dropbox.com/s/zs218j8cqs2nc9u/World%20Of%20Potential%20-%20wip22.mp3 ATM I can only see a couple of things that I'm not sure about, which I left because... well I'm not sure. Is the pizzicato too quite in the outro, and did I overdo it with the variation on the sync lead? Edited March 23, 2013 by lazerblade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazerblade Posted March 26, 2013 Author Share Posted March 26, 2013 Combo bump and fixing some things that somehow ended up broken about version 22. Everything in previous post is still correct. https://dl.dropbox.com/s/7fpxb1syelsaifl/World%20Of%20Potential%20-%20wip23.mp3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argle Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Wow, is this really your 23rd WIP? I salute you for your persistence, sir. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Great, I think you got what I meant with more vibrato on the sync lead. Now is there a way on your synth you can adjust the modulation on the oscillator sync with some automation? That could be cool, as you could adjust the development of the timbre so that it lines up with the song. For example, the sync modulation at 0:42 could be slower for a cooler effect when combined with the vibrato. The pitch bend at 0:50 was a bit strange, just personal taste. What happened at 1:02? Something cut off really quickly because of the short release and no sustain, or something to that effect. At the point when your finger left the key, it just stopped making sound without a sort of fading. The note at 1:40 seems like it would be better off a bit longer. 1:50 - 2:20 sounds a little repetitive as it repeats a static 8 note arpeggio that just retains the same rhythm the whole time. The gradual builddown was effectively done. Kind of common, but it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazerblade Posted March 27, 2013 Author Share Posted March 27, 2013 (edited) Wow, is this really your 23rd WIP? I salute you for your persistence, sir. My day is now made. Granted, a lot of them were small incremental improvements. I loved the idea of automating the sync LFO speed and got some pretty nifty sounds out of it as well as doing a bunch of other things for this version: https://dl.dropbox.com/s/b7onteuz7aed638/World%20Of%20Potential%20-%20wip24.mp3 Of note is that I've added some subtle harmony variation in the three voices that make up the looped arp at 1:50, but I'm a little stumped for other ideas that fit the mix and arrangement to mix that part up. EDIT: blammit. I accidentally put the old link here. I have now replaced it with the new one. Edited March 28, 2013 by lazerblade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted March 29, 2013 Share Posted March 29, 2013 The sync lead is improved, but it's not quite there yet, personally. See if you can imagine a natural phrasing of the sync lead, and carry out what you're thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazerblade Posted March 29, 2013 Author Share Posted March 29, 2013 https://dl.dropbox.com/s/7fqv6vpsdd4g7aa/World%20Of%20Potential%20-%20wip25.mp3 Automating that took a bit of thought and tweaking, but I like the way it subtly makes the instrument seem more organic. I wasn't sure how extreme to make it, so I just made it so that it was hard to pick out but would be noticed if removed. Right now the most difficult parts are always starting recording when the LFO is in the right place and then performing the filtersweeps properly. I'm pretty satisfied with it at this point, so I'm upping the status to finished. Anything that needs a little more polish, or any problems with the mix? On the lead, should I have a stronger sync envelope with slower LFO speeds, or is it good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted March 29, 2013 Share Posted March 29, 2013 (edited) Yeah, there you go, the sync lead is sounding really good now. Some small balance issues: - The snare is a bit quiet overall. Most noticeable at 1:43. It could just be because the lead there is too loud. - The saw lead at 0:42 is slightly too quiet. - The white noise sweep at 2:03 is a bit quiet, and could stand for a small amount of resonance (boost at the fundamental) to be heard a bit more. - The lead at 1:50 is slightly too loud. Reduce the volume by about 0.2-0.6dB, since it's blocking out the 3o3 arp a little. Where the sync lead is in its modulation cycle should be its Phase. And then if you had some harmonies in certain spots, it could make the arrangement even more interesting. Edited March 30, 2013 by timaeus222 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazerblade Posted April 1, 2013 Author Share Posted April 1, 2013 (edited) It seems that whenever I do the serious mixing/mastering tweaks of a track, the snare gets buried somehow. It's an interesting quirk that is fixed now. A number of other volume and automation tweaks and fixes complete this next version: https://dl.dropbox.com/s/ttkstlc0s0w0ie1/World%20Of%20Potential%20-%20wip26.mp3 Also, on my Youtube, my viewers have started giving the advice on my various hopeful OCRemix WIP's that they need more cowbell. I think that is a pretty solid expression of what working on these feels like. I do really think that the focus on detail has been a great learning experience for me, as well as helping push my tracks past the "cool" line over into the "awesome" territory though. Edited April 10, 2013 by lazerblade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 (edited) Technically, the sounds are pretty plain even with the modulation, but hey, it's practice. Last few things: - kick is pretty boomy without much punch. I just made this recently, and I happened to find an awesome kick to use after 0:09 (if you try not to think about the insane guitar ;D). Yours doesn't need to be that kind of timbre, but it does need to be louder and more powerful. It should be heard pretty much all the time. - At parts like 1:50 with a lot of layers, see if you can hear every layer by focusing your ear on an individual instrument. If you can't hear a layer very well, then some other layer is too loud, or that layer is too quiet. - You could greatly benefit from a mindset where you can't stand repetition; then you'll want to vary things up more often, even if just by a little. Edited April 1, 2013 by timaeus222 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rozovian Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 Yeah, plenty of vanilla sounds, but that's not a big problem if the track is engaging. I'm missing crashes and other punctuation between parts. Each part just comes and goes without a lot of transitioning. They're not big abrupt changes, but it feels like it's missing something. I think some crashes and other end/beginning "punctuation" between parts would help. The track is essentially drums + sync lead + background stuff. The individual instruments don't quite sit right as a cohesive whole. Maybe a softer bass drum, a more muffled bass, and a softer sync lead would make the parts sit better. Softening things means you can make the whole track a tad louder, tho that's secondary to making the mix better. I'd also screw a bit with EQ to give each instruments its own space in the frequency range. Not too much, just enough to make them sit better together. Source is there, and it's a nice take on the source. Track overall flows well. Feels a bit short, but it's better than feeling too long. Step back from knowing how you've mixed the sounds and just listen and compare this to modern electronic tracks (or whatever sound you're going for). How is it different, and what can you do about that? I'm not talking about copying another sound, just the principles behind how it's mixed, how loud, prominent, wide, sharp etc different instruments are, and what their roles are. You can learn a lot from just quick comparisons. Not quite there yet, but not a lot in the way of getting there, either. /mr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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