Commodore Remix

Just wanted to ask you guys for feedback on the 'sound' of this tune. I dropped a post about the "thin-ness" ( is that a real word ) of my Lightforce mix and was hoping to get some feedback on the progress of this one. Any advice would be extremely helpful..

http://soundcloud.com/andyuk-1/frontpageissue15

Thank you in advance..

Andy

It's fine in terms of sonics. What is it you were actually expecting?

AndyUK wrote:Just wanted to ask you guys for feedback on the 'sound' of this tune. I dropped a post about the "thin-ness" ( is that a real word ) of my Lightforce mix and was hoping to get some feedback on the progress of this one. Any advice would be extremely helpful..

I think I understand what you mean Andy.

1). Is the overall mix already eq'd ? i.e. it sounds like particular frequencies are fairly quiet in the low-mid range to begin with - and then more added eq has further reduced the volume in that range.
Maybe try taking any and all eq OFF, to begin with (limiters, compression, maximisers, etc) does it do anything to it?

2). The voices sit well together and the arrangement sounds fine, (notes are fine harmonically and blend well)

3). If it still sounds 'thin' now, listen to the individual voices solo'd... can you play with the waveforms/samples to put more in the low/mid, especially the bass voice(s)?

4). The bass instrument and kit... Do you want to bring them up in the mix and let the bass & bass drum create more punch in the low/mid range when they hit together?

5). Objectively, particular kinds of mixed waveforms create peaks and troughs in particular frequency areas and, IMHO, you need to be careful if you change your sounds that you don't lose the
overall sound qualities that you've got so far, (assuming that you have the mix sort of sounding how you sort of want it to sound).

6). Finally, I learnt something from the review and comments on my 1st remix... People are listening to the remixes on here through many vastly different things, (headphones/speakers etc).
So much that I ended up adding extra lines to my comments to say 'This sounds better through speakers'. I use Logitech Z-680's on my music PC. They're rated +500w RMS and are as clear as a bell
across the frequency range. The bass end is as fierce as anything with an 8" sub - BUT... I compose and play back 2.1 stereo and the bass gets a little more fierce in that mode. My 'Monty' remix
sounded fantastic through my speakers, (warm low end, punchy mid, crisp high), but a couple of comments said 'Not Bassy Enough!', 'Flat Mixing', etc. So, I guess there will always be the element
of people hearing very different sound through their speakers and headphones.

Hope some of this helps

If you have monitors which don't scrimp on the bass then you can forget that other people don't. More modest speakers don't reproduce the bass so well when it's firmly on the floor.

To test, try EQ'ing the entire bass range up and audition through different sets of speakers after using the big monitors as a reference. You'll get an idea of the best bass range after a bit of practice. What's more, two sets of different-sized monitors may help if you need them.

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Poke16384, thanks for the reply.. This is exactly what I needed to hear. I'm finding the "sound quality" of the tune is aggravating me more than the actual tune. I spent so long sliding this and that' watching wibbly lines bounce around' and ending up going around and around. Still' I suppose the art comes from experience but hints and tips ( the checklist ) given freely here all help. More of a pointer, a starting place, than just "more bass needed" or " sounds okay". It is! appreciated guys..

And Commie, I use a pair of Sony monitor headphones, with an M-audio sound card to create it, and run it through the stereo to check it finally. That uses a set of mission 700 bookshelfs, good enough for my uses.

Andy

poke16384 wrote:
I think I understand what you mean Andy.

...... < >

Hope some of this helps

Andy.....

Forget the final mix stuff until the tune is final.

When you compose, try just composing the notes. I know that MY way isn't gonna be right
for everybody, (hehe! may not be right for anybody) but....

I find that I have 3 distinct phases....

1). get the arrangement down - notes, harmonies, backing, drums, bass, lead-line.
At this stage, I don't give a toss what it sounds like. I rarely even pan stuff out left/right,
it's just get the arrangement down, or as much of it as I can.

2). Find the voices - Now... play with samples & waveforms, filters & envelopes.

3). Mix the thing - pan it out left and right, create space, boost & cut, Limit & Expand, etc

4). Go back in - and re-note, re-wave, re-envelope anything which is now 'out' because of the voices or the mix.

I know there are some tunes which demand that I vary this routine, but 90% of the time, it
really, really works for me.

poke16384 wrote: I know there are some tunes which demand that I vary this routine, but 90% of the time, it
really, really works for me.

What do you do if you get blocked, while making a tune, like you cant do anything else with it, meanwhile its only 30% completed.

You definitely solved your problem of not filling the soundspace. Nice.

Analog-X64 wrote:What do you do if you get blocked, while making a tune, like you cant do anything else with it, meanwhile its only 30% completed.

Simple! Save it! Leave it!

Go back when the inspiration returns Analog.

This may not be the same for everyone else but for me, it's like a water tap that I don't control...

When it is turned on, inspiration flows out of it and if I work while the tap runs, I get results. Some days, the tap doesn't run and there's not a lot I can do about it.

Other days, it does and I'm 'in the zone' hearing loads of new ideas, bits and pieces in my head. So, I go back into my 'saved' project and carry on.

It's a process of loving creation, not a MacDoanalds Toy. Weeks sometimes rather than minutes to complete.

The most constructive thing I can suggest is work on a few projects at once. when you 'dry up' on one project, move to the next. If you're having a dry week,
get some of the donkey work done... get some notation recorded or programmed in... Do the parts of the work that don't really need creativity.

But... Always be ready for when the tap runs again and value the time that it does

Poke16384, gotta say the ' sort the tune, watch wibbly lines' later makes me feel better. Just wondering how many hours are spent pondering over wibbly lines? Have had a productive night and I'm actually really pleased with how it's going. ( kinda gone a bit synth/rush crazy hehe ) . Quick updated file here ..

http://soundcloud.com/andyuk-1/frontpageissue15

Again, thank you for all the advice, it's been really helpful..

AndyUK wrote:Have had a productive night and I'm actually really pleased with how it's going. ( kinda gone a bit synth/rush crazy hehe )

That certainly sounds a 'fuller' mix now.. (and sounding nice too!)

The bass sound is square wave based and at certain frequencies it will sound thin. it's a great bass-sound though, quite reminiscent of the Roland SH-101

AT THE MASTERING STAGE, be careful it doesn't get lost at the back, especially with all that FAT brassy stuff up front.

Keep going - It's progressing nicely now!

Pete

All I can say wow... I like how this has progressed... sounds awesome.

There was an arcade game I used to play called "Tiger Heli" and I think this would compliment that game. You should looke it up on the M.A.M.E Emulator.