FF Mystic Quest - City of Forests

[TheKrow]

Working on a nice, chill tune, nothing too extravagant. Imagine walking into Foresta's inn and listening to this before you hit the sack. Just lookin' for some extra thoughts/opinions.

Original OST: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKEUJ2pHIYg

Edited February 23, 2013 by TheKrow

[Mykah]

I was actually listening to this soundtrack the other day!

Really nice work, I would definitely enjoy chilling out to this after a hard days fighting monsters in the forest.

[TheKrow]

Tyty. Update with some dynamic/level changes. Added a violin to help move along the end.

[TheKrow]

Bump. Still looking for any kind of feedback.

[TheKrow]

bumpbumpbu

[XPRTNovice]

Man, talk about the failure of the community here. Sorry it's taken so long for anyone to talk to you about this piece. I'm listening now, though admittedly it's not in the best environment.

First, kudos for doing a FFMQ arrangement. This album has so many great tracks. I've wanted to dig my teeth into it for a while.

The core of it is really nice and chill. I like it. I think a live flute and violin would take this to new places, but the flute isn't as jarring as the violin. The violin took me out of the mood because the sample sound is so harsh. I could offer to do the flute for you if you like, but I can't make any guarantees as to the quality of my playing.

You're right in that it lacked a bit of movement before the violin came in, so yes, I agree that there's somtehing you need to do to the last bit of the piece to keep it feelign like it's moving forward, but I can't think of any suggestions off the top of my head. Maybe add some padding? I actually think of water while I'm listening to this...maybe some water sound effects? I'm just shooting from the hip. The track does feel a liiiiittle empty, as chill pieces tend to do.

[rebrained]

I kind of like the room reverb, because it gives everything a sort of hand made feel, but it also sounds like it's somehow applied unevenly, like some instruments aren't affected by it. For example the flute and harmonica have a lot sharper high end than the bass and percussions, which makes them stand out in a bit awkward way.

Can I ask how this track is made? Live recording or virtual instruments?

Edit: the harmonica is a violin? Daaaamn...

Edited March 7, 2013 by rebrained

[jnWake]

Pretty mix, very chill as you said.

The arrangement is nice but there's one section near the ending (I don't think there's a timer in tindeck so I can't point the exact moment) where you have some chords that are potentially out of tune.

I don't get tired of the arrangement when listening to it but I could see some people saying it's repetitive. The drums don't change at all since they are introduced, you could add more movement there. A synth pad could also help you there.

Regarding production, the harp sample sounds a bit saturated. Is it clipping? Anyway, most samples aren't really good, but I like how they are sequenced. Bass is the best IMO.

[TheKrow]

Thank you guys for the feedback, I appreciate it

Man, talk about the failure of the community here. Sorry it's taken so long for anyone to talk to you about this piece. I'm listening now, though admittedly it's not in the best environment.

First, kudos for doing a FFMQ arrangement. This album has so many great tracks. I've wanted to dig my teeth into it for a while.

The core of it is really nice and chill. I like it. I think a live flute and violin would take this to new places, but the flute isn't as jarring as the violin. The violin took me out of the mood because the sample sound is so harsh. I could offer to do the flute for you if you like, but I can't make any guarantees as to the quality of my playing.

You're right in that it lacked a bit of movement before the violin came in, so yes, I agree that there's somtehing you need to do to the last bit of the piece to keep it feelign like it's moving forward, but I can't think of any suggestions off the top of my head. Maybe add some padding? I actually think of water while I'm listening to this...maybe some water sound effects? I'm just shooting from the hip. The track does feel a liiiiittle empty, as chill pieces tend to do.

I probably won't end up adding any sound effects. I agree it would help give it more padding, but I still wanna keep that sort of indoor tavern feel. Live recordings would be awesome, I know the violin sample sucks haha. If you're genuinely interested in playing flute, I will happily accept that offer. If there's any issues, I'm sure we can work out an arrangement to accommodate your skill. I'm definitely not in love with it or anything haha.

I kind of like the room reverb, because it gives everything a sort of hand made feel, but it also sounds like it's somehow applied unevenly, like some instruments aren't affected by it. For example the flute and harmonica have a lot sharper high end than the bass and percussions, which makes them stand out in a bit awkward way.

Can I ask how this track is made? Live recording or virtual instruments?

Edit: the harmonica is a violin? Daaaamn...

I see what you mean about the reverb. I didn't really notice it before, thanks! And yeah the violin sample really sucks lol. These are all samples from the standard Kontakt library. A lot of them are pretty decent, but I'm still figuring out the best way to dress some of the poorer ones up

Pretty mix, very chill as you said.

The arrangement is nice but there's one section near the ending (I don't think there's a timer in tindeck so I can't point the exact moment) where you have some chords that are potentially out of tune.

I don't get tired of the arrangement when listening to it but I could see some people saying it's repetitive. The drums don't change at all since they are introduced, you could add more movement there. A synth pad could also help you there.

Regarding production, the harp sample sounds a bit saturated. Is it clipping? Anyway, most samples aren't really good, but I like how they are sequenced. Bass is the best IMO.

I think what you're hearing near the end are major seconds between the instruments, so that can sometimes be jarring if there's almost none throughout the rest of the song. I'll check that again to make sure I didn't screw something up, but I THINK that was it. The percussion could definitely be a bit more varied, but I almost want to keep it as simple as possible to keep the listener's attention on the other instruments. I suppose I'll just have to be subtle about it

I might at some chromatic percussion like bells or something, I don't want to use synths so I can keep it feeling more natural. I don't think the harp is clipping, but I'll have to make sure. I think it's a bit "buzzy" from the lower frequencies. I was mixing sort of bass-heavy to compensate for my hardware, but definitely the low frequencies need to be cut a bit.

[timaeus222]

I think there's an EP or harp in the beginning? Well, whatever it is, there's a bit too much feedback, and sometimes it resonates really heavily, like some sort of inharmonic metallic vibrations. It could be because of EQ, or something with the mic I think you're using. I can hear a little keypressing or plucking.

The acoustic bass that comes in the middle was a bit sudden. I just heard it and rewinded a little to see why it came in. I have no idea why it came in.

The rimshot is a bit dry, and actually a little weak. An 808 rim shot doesn't seem to work for this. Maybe an acoustic rim shot instead, with a little bit of reverb?