Earthbound - Your Friendly Neighborhood Hospital Dub

[M2S7N]

So this is my first post here on the forums, though I've been reading around and currently have a song in the judging process, also from Earthbound, Bus Rider. Well a few weeks ago I made this one, it's the generic house and hospital theme made into a dub track, which the originals were obviously intending (the composers even cite King Tubby as an influence in an interview). I had also just gotten a new delay pedal (the Boss DD-6) as well as a new preamp, so it was a great excuse to work on some new techniques. I used Audacity to record and mix and all that, and also got my brother to contribute some sax for the lead part.

So rather than submitting this one and waiting 3 months to know what things I'll have to tweak, I figured I'd post it here and try to get some feedback. I'm somewhat unsure if my bass tone is absolutely how I want it. It should be BASSy, and I'm not sure if it hits enough of those lower frequencies. Also the cheap brass sample from my keyboard, I did a lot to alter the original sound so it doesn't sound so MIDIish, but I'd still like some feedback on that.

Basically any feedback at all would be greatly appreciated!

http://www.mediafire.com/?1j4gyuitbzg

[Goten X]

Hell yeah, man. This is what I'm talking about. I'm feeling this groove... I'd jam to this.

Basically anything I found awkawrd within this song you mentioned already. Like the bass. It feels a bit too loud. Just a bit. And the brass sounds bit out of place.

And what kind of sax is that? Sounds like a soprano playing lower notes. I feel that, but the echo effect on it seems to go on for too long. The snare I also don't like as much (it being there is fine, I just don't like the sound).

Uh, besides that.... awesome job, man. You bro lending some sax to this gave it a unique touch, and this is a fresh cut.

/GX

[M2S7N]

Thanks much for the comments, I'm glad to see someone likes it.

The whole bass issue I'm unsure about... You mentioned it being too loud, which is definitely true, but it's also what I wanted. Any good dub track has to have a bass line which you can feel, and sometimes I have mixed feelings about this one, mostly depending on what speakers I'm hearing it through. Through my normal, music playing, desktop speakers I feel like parts of it are weak and still aren't bassy enough (not meaning it's not loud enough, just that I might need to EQ better to get better low end). But I play it in my car and it absolutely kills, so much so that I think I blew my right back speaker testing this song. Anyway, if anyone else has an opinion on the bass I'd like to hear it.

I agree with you on the brass though, I just don't know what I can do outside of searching for a better brass sample and learning how to use VST plugins and all that, which to me is not worth it, I'd rather start a new project. I almost feel the cheap brass sample is acceptable since it's a dub track and not a brass quintet arrangement, but anyway.

The sax is actually an alto, it probably just sounds that way since it's so heavily processed (I ran it into my multieffects processor with amp modeling, reverb, and then to my delay pedal. there's also a pinch of wah mixed in. ). The echo may sound overdone, but again that's kind of the intention. I see what you mean with the snare too, I was unsure about it at first, but now I like the punchiness of it. It's better than sounding like the cheap $150 MIDI-ish drum machine it came out of.

anyway thanks again for the feedback!

[Red Shadow]

Those hi-hats are way out in the open.

[Spooty]

I like this mix a lot.

I am going to say the brass seems a little out of place. I know what you're trying to go for. I feel like I'm listen to "pawn shop". Which is very good. You just need that awesome trumpet/sax feel somehow, and that particular pad doesn't cope well in my ears. Too sharp, in a sense.

Some of the delaying procedures you're doing seems a little excessive. They are there and they are indeed needed. But, seeming a little loud at times.

Overall, very creative. And a joy to listen. To me it sounds like the bass is real. Though, it's a little loud through my monitors, My guess, could be fooled, though. Along with the filtered guitar-esqe sound.

My last question is, where are my papers? I gotta roll this doob up.

[M2S7N]

Those hi-hats are way out in the open.

And by that you mean...?

I am going to say the brass seems a little out of place. I know what you're trying to go for. I feel like I'm listen to "pawn shop". Which is very good. You just need that awesome trumpet/sax feel somehow, and that particular pad doesn't cope well in my ears. Too sharp, in a sense.

I wish I knew some more horn players so I could give that part a little more realism, maybe I can come back to it if I do happen to find a better sample and know how to use it. I know what you're saying, I wish I could get that classic reggae horn section sound, but for now I don't think it's worth it to fix two small parts that hopefully wouldn't make or break the mix.

Some of the delaying procedures you're doing seems a little excessive. They are there and they are indeed needed. But, seeming a little loud at times.

I can remember a couple times where I took the delaying sound (guitar/snare) and took it to near clipping with the feedback, but all that was intentional. Maybe I could have toned it down at parts (I know at some parts I have 3 or 4 instruments delaying at once), but this was an experimental track, so I like the extremities of those sounds, if that makes sense..

Overall, very creative. And a joy to listen. To me it sounds like the bass is real. Though, it's a little loud through my monitors, My guess, could be fooled, though. Along with the filtered guitar-esqe sound.

The bass is real, and it is loud, it being a dub track I wanted it to be louder than the bass in most mixes would be, but hopefully it's not too loud to the point of being distracting/unnecessary. This all definitely depends on the monitors, to me it sounds fine, but I also have biased ears since I played and mixed the damn thing.

Anyway thanks much for your feedback, it's good to have second opinions on things like the brass and the bass. I may give the mix one more run at fine tuning things before I submit it to see what the judges think. ()

[Red Shadow]

By that I mean i can hear them over everything else and just personal preference would suggest their volume is tweaked to send them to the background

[M2S7N]

I see what you're saying, might have to do with the stereo delay I had going on with them. I might bump them down 1 dB or 2 if I go back and tweak shit, thanks for the suggestion.