Retrotation - Streets of Whiterun (Skyrim Remix)

[Retrotation]

Source files in Reason 5.0 can be found here: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/19360283/streets%20of%20whiterun%20source.zip

BWOMP:

https://soundcloud.com/retrotation/streets-of-whiterun

[Cash]

The first issue that sticks out is the percussion. The kick doesn't sound very good, sort of like too much thump maybe? Also, the snare is too weak. And as soon as the bass comes in, the kick gets buried.

As for the bass itself, the little wobble doesn't fit with the rest of the soundscape. Also, the wobble itself isn't done well, it sounds strange to me. I don't like the sort growl sound it has to it.

The random glitching that occurs in the song feels out of place. For example, the glitching at 1:18 and 1:20, it doesn't really work. It feels sort of thrown in.

In addition to the glitching, there are two points where the song basically stops dead for a second. At 0:31 there's a cymbal but everything else drops out. Then at 1:02 everything drop outs for about 1 second right after that kick, it's a jarring effect. Dropping everything out for an instant can work if the song goes into a higher energy section immediately after. However, your song maintains the same energy level, so it feels out of place and a bit jarring.

The orchestral sounds, the strings in particular, seem alright to me. I'm not a fan of the sine wave synth you added, I'm not feeling it.

The arrangement sounds similar to the source, but you've changed it up. It might be too liberal, I'm not familiar enough with the source to say for sure.

I think overall this is pretty good, but sounds unpolished. I hope wasn't too harsh. My comments are just my thoughts while listening, so if you disagree no problem. I hope my comments will be of some use.

Edited December 22, 2013 by Cash

[timaeus222]

The first thing that's apparent to me is, yes, the kick is too loud. There's loads of ~80Hz and ~150Hz on it, but it's a clicky type of kick, and that gets a bit more grating than, say, a tight, thwapping kick.

The wobble bass is too loud, too at 0:34. It's really narrow, upfront, and taking up the center of the soundscape and making things muddy near 120~200Hz.

I also hear the glitching being out of place in most spots. It doesn't flow as well as it can. You can use it for stylistic flair, but it may work better simply as a ~60% mix level to make it not so jarring, and you may need to get more comfortable with envisioning glitch effects first before adding so many of them. You need to evaluate whether or not a particular section really needs a glitch effect, or if it will just be jarring.

It's pseudo-orchestral, so having the wobble bass so upfront and the glitching so prominent makes this sound weird. If the bass was more tightly woven, it could work, but this still needs more TLC in that regard. The orchestral elements sound alright. The sine wave is OK, but it doesn't feel like it's sitting in the mix well yet. Maybe if you fix the muddy production around it, it could work more.

Edited December 29, 2013 by timaeus222