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Would like some critique.


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Hey guys! I am currently trying to develop into a viable video game composer. I currently have one non-paid video game under my belt. I am looking for tips and education anywhere I can get it so I thought I would post some of my originals to get some feed back.

Feel free to offer advice and criticism. If you would like to add me on sound cloud, that would be fine also.

Thanks!

Jacob Kauble

https://soundcloud.com/jacob-kauble/the-broken-blade

https://soundcloud.com/jacob-kauble/sets/full-moon-rising

https://soundcloud.com/jacob-kauble/lion-of-judah

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I chose The Broken Blade to critique.

The bagpipes are very dry and piercing. You need reverb on them, and a mild drop in the high frequencies. The violin and piano are very dry too. The guitars seem to be kind of narrow, or just quiet.

The piano is very exposed and mechanical at 1:41, 3:52, and 4:31.

2:07 has some very rigid drum sequencing, and it's making things muddy and stiff. 2:31 and 4:50 are very crowded. You tried some panning, but that only exposed the mechanical piano again. 2:52 has some mechanical-sounding brass. 3:53 has some mechanical-sounding strings. Too little release on the envelope, and too much attack.

Overall, it's mainly a sequencing and articulations problem. Try working with your samples more and getting a feel for how they can emulate real instruments.

Edited by timaeus222
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The pipes in general have an unnatural quality to them, but I play the pipes, and to be honest, I haven't found a realistic sampled pipe yet. Bagpipes are a weird instrument, very difficult to play on a keyboard even if you do have a good sample set.

I would agree with the above critique on all points. Particularly the composition is good, but the mixing/mastering is off. Guitar should be a bit louder, drums a bit quieter, everything needs a bit of EQ to clear out the mud. A multiband compressor can work wonders in the mastering too.

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Full Moon rising is much better in the mixing area. Still a few areas I would watch the levels of individual instruments. There were a couple of points where a single synth sound, or drums were just higher than they probably should have been.

Lion of Judah, this again is better mixed than the first track. Still, the piano is a bit dry, as are the strings. You don't get much of a sense of space. Brass is missing expression, especially noticeable on the longs. Generally speaking it sounds a bit more mechanical than it could with some more expression thrown in for everything.

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