Remix of Reconstructing more Science from Portal 2 - "Destroying more Science"[V7]

[daWaschbaer]

Hey there,

 

i've made a remix of the song "Reconstructing more Science" from the Portal 2 game and require some feedback. I've submitted the first version of the song but it did not make it to the judges panel. This actually is not a bad thing because i've got some very good feedback and worked a few days on the song to improve it. Here are some problems listed in the feedback email i worked on after getting feedback:

 

Quote

"it is difficult to hear past the excessive sidechaining present"

Quote

" On top of the sidechaining, there also seems to be a great deal of overcompression that occurs when all of the instruments are playing at once. "

Quote

" Be careful with your instruments. Many of them are variations of a saw wave, and they often are playing in similar ranges, which causes issues with the soundscape getting cluttered. The heavy reverb on the synths also contributes to this muddy issue."

Now i need to know if any of those problems still are present in the current version of the song or if anything else might be a problem.

I thank everybody who is giving constructive feedback <3

_Edit:

So i got a very good evaluation after i marked the post as "ready for review" and continued working on the song after i got the feedback. After almost two weeks i've finished working on version 7 and are ready for more feedback.

New problems mentioned by Rozovian i am/was working on:

Quote

"The drums are boring. Create a better groove, eg by varying hihat velocities and adding some percussion loop to the background."

Quote

"There's some weird (or absent) transitions that could be improved. The abrupt changes _sometimes_ work here. Ones I think must be improved: 0:31, 1:15, 2:00, 2:34, 3:10-ish, 3:22, 3:28, 4:13."

Quote

"Cluttered sound - Not terribly so (except around 3:00, which is a mess), but you should probably separate the instruments with EQ,. Consider which ones are foreground and which ones background, and process them accordingly. Make subtle (or not so subtle) EQ cuts in the background instruments so the foreground instruments have more room to play."

 

-daWaschbaer

 

First version of the song:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4qhWIS85-GwdkFkYm9jVGkxMHM

 

Second version of the song:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4qhWIS85-GwMV9kT1F5QmxMc0k

 

Third version of the song:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4qhWIS85-GwVGNSWk1wcTNKNlk

 

Fourth version of the song:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4qhWIS85-GwZmJJZjhfMjJnZWc

With version 4 i've tried to solve the overcompression problem.

 

Fifth version of the song:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4qhWIS85-GwY1loeFhTbTNYc1U

I've increased the volume by 3 dB.

 

Fifth version of the song [short]:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4qhWIS85-GwSFFmdEV3VWNheDA

I've shortened the song so the length fits the content.

 

Sixth version of the song:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4qhWIS85-GwZWs1WUFwNXZjVFE

(Made the reverb less intensive from 2:00 to 2:15 and lowered the volume of the piano from 2:56 to 3:28 (because i wanted the piano to be in the background in this part).

 

Current version of the song that requires feedback (v7):

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4qhWIS85-GwNDV5UmJSOW1zOUk

(Tried to fix the problems Rozovian mentioned like the mixing problem,the transitions and the drums. I've changed the piano and need feedback which piano is better. And yes, i was ending on the wrong note and i did not realise it until mentioned. I hope that there is not any overcompression anymore.)

 

(When listening to the song keep in mind that it is meant to become more chaotic the longer you listen to it (especially at the end)

 

Title of original song: Reconstructing More Science

Link to original soundtrack: http://www.thinkwithportals.com/music.php (Reconstructing More Science found in Volume 2)

Edited April 5, 2017 by daWaschbaer
Added version 7 *yay*

[daWaschbaer]

3 hours ago, Tekkera said:

i probably wouldnt sidechain the piano because it eats the transients

There is no sidechain on the piano

[daWaschbaer]

19 minutes ago, Tekkera said:

oh, shoot. something sounds funky with it to me then, how descriptive of me :\

Well i'll look into it... Your description is better than nothing  

[timaeus222]

This is still overcompressed. What it sounds like is that you simply lowered the master volume and left the overcompression there. What you should do is lower the volume of each individual instrument --- there isn't a shortcut to this.

The piano is suffering from the overcompression, so its transients aren't heard.

[daWaschbaer]

12 hours ago, timaeus222 said:

This is still overcompressed. What it sounds like is that you simply lowered the master volume and left the overcompression there. What you should do is lower the volume of each individual instrument --- there isn't a shortcut to this.

The piano is suffering from the overcompression, so its transients aren't heard.

Thank you for your feedback <3 I've tried to fix the overcompression problem and made a version number 4 you can listen to 

[timaeus222]

Yeah, that's definitely much better. Particularly compare at 3:26 between v3 and v4, and you should hear a difference in the reverb tail; in v3 it's pumping from being too loud against the limiter, and in v4, it's just trailing off like normal. Now that the overcompression is lessened, the master track volume (on the master track mixer slider) can be brought back up (by about 3 dB).

[daWaschbaer]

15 hours ago, timaeus222 said:

Yeah, that's definitely much better. Particularly compare at 3:26 between v3 and v4, and you should hear a difference in the reverb tail; in v3 it's pumping from being too loud against the limiter, and in v4, it's just trailing off like normal. Now that the overcompression is lessened, the master track volume (on the master track mixer slider) can be brought back up (by about 3 dB).

Alright thank you for your help  I will wait one or two days if somebody comes up with another problem or suggestion i will work on that if i think that it's necessary and then i will mark this post as "ready for review" \^-^/

[Ronald Poe]

You're remix is pretty cool and I can't hear any production mistakes. However the mix is a little too long and the limited material would be better suited for a 3 minute long mix. Good job though ...

[daWaschbaer]

1 hour ago, Ronald Poe said:

You're remix is pretty cool and I can't hear any production mistakes. However the mix is a little too long and the limited material would be better suited for a 3 minute long mix. Good job though ...

Hey there.

First thank you for your feedback and second: I've uploaded a shorter version of the song so that the length of the song fits the content ^-^

Now i will continue waiting until nobody comes up with problems or suggestions anymore so i can mark this thread as "ready for review"

[daWaschbaer]

I've added one last version where i've made two tiny changes... I hope that this version is the last version because i now am completely satisfied with the song  If nobody comes up with another idea for a change i am going to mark this post as "ready for review" ^-^

[daWaschbaer]

Marked the thread as "ready for review". A big "thank you" to everybody who was giving feedback  @Ronald Poe @timaeus222 @Tekkera

 

[Rozovian]

eval:

The piano is quite mechanical. Humanize it.

The drums are boring. Create a better groove, eg by varying hihat velocities and adding some percussion loop to the background. There are many solutions to this problem. Some better than others. Don't think you need a hundred percussion elements and a messy drum pattern to make it work. Just give it a little more life.

The whole thing sounds quite loud. Find some posted remixes with a similar enough sound or style that you can compare levels to. It seems that at the skill level you're at right now, you've got the tools and know how to use them, you just don't know _why_ and _when_ to use them. Find some good reference tracks from ocr's recent years, and start comparing. How loud should the bass be? How bright should it be? How about the hihat, the kick, the rest of the drums and percussion? How about lead, secondary melodies, pads? Is the bass too indistinct when the rest of the insturmentation plays, does it need the reverb gone at those points? Is something too prominent and needs some eq cuts and reverb to be pushed back? What stands out in the wrong way?

Basically, learn to listen.

Source is there, sufficiently interpreted, and I think the arrangement, albeit messy, is okay. There's some weird (or absent) transitions that could be improved. The abrupt changes _sometimes_ work here. Ones I think must be improved: 0:31, 1:15, 2:00, 2:34, 3:10-ish, 3:22, 3:28, 4:13. I might have missed one, so consider all of them, whether they work for listeners or not.  Sometimes, the problem is that the transitions lack signalling, sometimes that their timing seems off by a measure or two, sometimes that the change in sound or rhythm is too great, sometimes just that the next part just begins without any change to the drums (a crash is often enough), sometimes there's just a jump in levels because of the overcompression. Find the problem, diagnose the problem, solve the problem.

The writing at 3:20 seems too messed up, though. You might want to go with conventional writing and glitch up the sound instead.

There's a loud and annoying glitchy sound towards the end, like a mouse squeek. When it becomes a regularly occurring thing like that, it's more annoying than interestingly glitched.

I think you're ending on the wrong note. It feels like the notes were just cut off arbitrarily. Ending with just the bass is fine, but I'd end on a different note, possibly at a different point in the loop too. If you really want to end on that note, write the preceding notes differently so it makes more sense.

Your questions:

Excessive sidechaining - Not hearing any sidechained compression, but the whole thing is too loud.

Overcompression - Yes.

Cluttered sound - Not terribly so (except around 3:00, which is a mess), but you should probably separate the instruments with EQ,. Consider which ones are foreground and which ones background, and process them accordingly. Make subtle (or not so subtle) EQ cuts in the background instruments so the foreground instruments have more room to play.

Not ready for ocr yet. Seems like you've got all the right pieces for it, in sound design and arrangement, you just gotta shift them around a little. As for mixing, the best advice I can give is to listen and compare.

[daWaschbaer]

1 hour ago, Rozovian said:

eval:

The piano is quite mechanical. Humanize it.

The drums are boring. Create a better groove, eg by varying hihat velocities and adding some percussion loop to the background. There are many solutions to this problem. Some better than others. Don't think you need a hundred percussion elements and a messy drum pattern to make it work. Just give it a little more life.

The whole thing sounds quite loud. Find some posted remixes with a similar enough sound or style that you can compare levels to. It seems that at the skill level you're at right now, you've got the tools and know how to use them, you just don't know _why_ and _when_ to use them. Find some good reference tracks from ocr's recent years, and start comparing. How loud should the bass be? How bright should it be? How about the hihat, the kick, the rest of the drums and percussion? How about lead, secondary melodies, pads? Is the bass too indistinct when the rest of the insturmentation plays, does it need the reverb gone at those points? Is something too prominent and needs some eq cuts and reverb to be pushed back? What stands out in the wrong way?

Basically, learn to listen.

Source is there, sufficiently interpreted, and I think the arrangement, albeit messy, is okay. There's some weird (or absent) transitions that could be improved. The abrupt changes _sometimes_ work here. Ones I think must be improved: 0:31, 1:15, 2:00, 2:34, 3:10-ish, 3:22, 3:28, 4:13. I might have missed one, so consider all of them, whether they work for listeners or not.  Sometimes, the problem is that the transitions lack signalling, sometimes that their timing seems off by a measure or two, sometimes that the change in sound or rhythm is too great, sometimes just that the next part just begins without any change to the drums (a crash is often enough), sometimes there's just a jump in levels because of the overcompression. Find the problem, diagnose the problem, solve the problem.

The writing at 3:20 seems too messed up, though. You might want to go with conventional writing and glitch up the sound instead.

There's a loud and annoying glitchy sound towards the end, like a mouse squeek. When it becomes a regularly occurring thing like that, it's more annoying than interestingly glitched.

I think you're ending on the wrong note. It feels like the notes were just cut off arbitrarily. Ending with just the bass is fine, but I'd end on a different note, possibly at a different point in the loop too. If you really want to end on that note, write the preceding notes differently so it makes more sense.

Your questions:

Excessive sidechaining - Not hearing any sidechained compression, but the whole thing is too loud.

Overcompression - Yes.

Cluttered sound - Not terribly so (except around 3:00, which is a mess), but you should probably separate the instruments with EQ,. Consider which ones are foreground and which ones background, and process them accordingly. Make subtle (or not so subtle) EQ cuts in the background instruments so the foreground instruments have more room to play.

Not ready for ocr yet. Seems like you've got all the right pieces for it, in sound design and arrangement, you just gotta shift them around a little. As for mixing, the best advice I can give is to listen and compare.

Thank you for your very good feedback  I'll work on it for the next few days (or maybe weeks) to improve it and i hope that the result will be something that is ready for ocr. You are a big help for me <3

[daWaschbaer]

Uploaded version 7 after the evaluation and am ready for feedback again.