Blazblue: Gluttony Fang (Hazama's Theme)

[FaytxStay]

Guess who got a new computer and new toys to play with?

I've been far restricted by having to mix for years on a 2006 core2duo laptop. It just died, so I upgraded to an i7 laptop. The processing power is AMAZING.

Anyways, I wanted to practice on mixing since everything isn't CPU-static now and I feel like I can move forward.

To celebrate, I started a demo of Gluttony Fang.

It's quick and dirty but I have an alarming question:

I have a JBL laptop(I disabled the WaveAudio enhancement) but I'm not sure what the correct volume is for a mix, now. To me, it sounds ear piercing at full volume, but to others(And Audacity), it seems quiet.

Is there a set master db limit that everyone follows?

Demo: https://soundcloud.com/faytxstay/blazblue-gluttony-fang-hazamas

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fZOoeHFG6s

Edited May 6, 2013 by FaytxStay
Re-up'd

[Rukunetsu]

Congrats on your new laptop mon ami - as for the mix, so far so good from what I'm hearing.

Regarding that set db level however - I can't really say honestly.

[FaytxStay]

Thanks! Does the mix sound quiet to you, is what I mean.

Edited May 5, 2013 by FaytxStay

[timaeus222]

The volume issue is minor. Just set it to 36 if 100 seems too loud and go from there. Other applications should be adjusted to have the same max volume as your overall volume, and do so manually if you have to in the Volume Mixer. I currently have a laptop that works at 36% volume just fine, and of course you could just open Audacity and look at the waveform. If it reaches something near 0dB, it's fine.

Your remix is way too soft... by about 7-14dB.

When I normalize it, I hear a dry piano, Shreddage 2 or some other lead guitar library, Shreddage Bass, slightly dry non-kick drum samples, but right now I can't really tell because since everything's so soft. Normalizing it makes it retain the same volume balance, so lots of things aren't loud enough to hear very well.

Edited May 5, 2013 by timaeus222

[FaytxStay]

Re-up'd for you.

Did a brickwall, sort of.

[timaeus222]

The writing you have is implying heavy metal, but I'm not really hearing the low end power. I think you carved out the lows too much on the bass and guitar.

For example, at 0:36 and 0:44, I hear something that sounds like this:

https://soundcloud.com/isworks/shreddage-2-subterrenea-by-ian?in=isworks/sets/shreddage-2-demos at 1:13

Edited May 5, 2013 by timaeus222

[FaytxStay]

Try it, now.

[timaeus222]

Well, now it looks like you have a good guitar tone. You'll need to bring out the bass presence some more though to make the combined sound more powerful. I can hear the bass when it's playing by itself, but when the bass and guitar are playing at the same time, either they're playing different notes or the bite from the bass isn't coming through.

Now, the piano is more exposed sometimes, and it really sounds mechanical. You'll need to adjust the velocities to make it sound more natural and phrased.

[Neifion]

Nice! I agree with timaeus that some of the piano could use a bit of work, particularly the intro when it's completely exposed. However, I particularly like the piano glissandos at 3:13.

[MattCarr]

Not 100% on this, but I leave master level at 0, and aim for no more than -6 on export from daw, then drop some exciter and limiter on that and aim for between -0.3 and 0db on final master. This seems to make mp3's sound better. prob not so much wav. This is just way I do it, so prob best to experiment,

[FaytxStay]

I'm no good at orchestral instruments, so I've been practicing a bit. I also looked into that bass like you said.

This is remotely related, but should the bass and piano sound like this? (Just uploaded)

https://soundcloud.com/faytxstay/white-requiem-ragna-vs-rachel

[timaeus222]

It's actually kinda quiet. The guitar's good, but the bass isn't coming through there either. I think it's mainly the writing, with some detriment from the mixing.