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The last thread is ancient and only moderately useful, so here's a kid tested mod approved revision! This thread doesn't need a huge OP, since it's pretty self explanatory, but here's the rules: No finished pieces: Anything from rough outlines of entire songs to refined small loops that you're thinking of expanding. Those are okay! We see them a lot scattered in other thread and it'd be nice if this thread became more used, because sometimes having people with different music backgrounds can really help us refine our styles. There's a lot of time people post things that don't do it for me but I can still think of feedback that isn't "scrap it and start again." Don't just post your sketch without commenting on someone else's: One of the things that made the last thread kind of useless was that everyone posted their sketches and only occasionally did people feel like commenting on something someone else posted. So, if you're going to post one of your own, you can take the time to write a little bit of thoughtful feedback, not just "I like it!" If you're posting a sketch you're probably fishing for some feedback yourself, so take the time and give someone else what they're looking for. The last thread was a link depository, lets make this one a discussion to help us all improve. Say something about your sketch: The last thread was a lot of people posting "Here's something I'm working on!" (I am guilty of this), it'll be a lot more helpful if you tell us what you're going for or something about the sketch. Sometimes I make something that I'm like "I had no idea I started off making X and ended up with Y and I have no idea" that's okay, but maybe say "I'm kind of considering expanding it to Z?" It might also be helpful to tell us what you're using to make the sketch, be it guitars, VSTs, or sweet sweet synthesizers. Don't be afraid to comment on something you know nothing about : Are you a classical guitarist staring at a wall of 128 BPM untz untz untz untz? Well, comment anyways! One of the things that really makes SA a great place is the breadth of experience here, and music can really benefit from that. There are some amazingly talented musicians here, and there are some of us with very little or no formal musical background. Any feedback is good, and you don't need to have some specific knowledge of what you're commenting on. If you take advantage of this thread, consider sticking around! I want to see this thread be useful to everyone and much more lively than the last one (which was averaging around one page per five months). Therefore, I shall make an effort to comment on people's sketches all the time, and I would welcome other people who want to do the same. It doesn't take much effort to help people and only popping in when the thread is immediately useful to you is kind of selfish.  If I can get enough people who are willing to be regulars in this thread, I might make a list of frequent commenters and the kind of stuff they work most with.This isn't a hugbox/don't be a dick: Sometimes people post stuff that is bad. Like, actually bad, not "Eh it's not my style" If a sketch is going nowhere, say so! But, explain why, and offer some advice on making it better.  EVERY SKETCH POSTED MUST HAVE SOME FEEDBACK FOR SOMEONE ELSE**Except for this first one from me because there's nobody else who has posted.  Here's a kind of more musical acid thing I'm working on. Despite the name, this isn't really the structure of the song, more just isolated pieces that I've strung together for reference later when assembling the entire track. It still feels like it's missing a lead (outside of where the pads come in). I was controlling everything with faders since this is mostly using hardware and I'm not at the stage of really automating a full track, hence things kind of dropping in weirdly. Also, since I was controlling things with faders I actually forgot to bring in the hats, which can be heard here.
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Feb 13, 2013 15:02
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WAFFLEHOUND posted:Here's a kind of more musical acid thing I'm working on. Despite the name, this isn't really the structure of the song, more just isolated pieces that I've strung together for reference later when assembling the entire track. It still feels like it's missing a lead (outside of where the pads come in). I was controlling everything with faders since this is mostly using hardware and I'm not at the stage of really automating a full track, hence things kind of dropping in weirdly. Also, since I was controlling things with faders I actually forgot to bring in the hats, which can be heard here. I like this, it's got a bit of that retro feel you might hear with The Postal Service or maybe even Boards of Canada. I was about to say I wasn't completely sold on your snare sound but it does fit, and sounds even better with the hi-hats. I think your kick drum needs to be punchier, though, it gets lost when the pads come in. But yeah, it does feel like it needs another layer in there; if not a lead over it all then maybe another rhythmic phrase to fill in the spaces, maybe syncopated. Here's something that started out as something completely different until I loaded the wrong bass synth and groove and it sounded so dumb it made me laugh and I had to keep going. It's too short, though, and I'm not really sure where to go with it next. https://soundcloud.com/lazlow-p/nincompoopery-abounds
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Feb 14, 2013 01:08
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WAFFLEHOUND posted:
For whats its worth I wanted the lead that came in at the start to extend into a full melody, rather than for another part to come in.
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Feb 14, 2013 10:14
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I always liked this thread idea, I'm down to contribute some feedback:WAFFLEHOUND posted:Here's a kind of more musical acid thing I'm working on. Despite the name, this isn't really the structure of the song, more just isolated pieces that I've strung together for reference later when assembling the entire track. It still feels like it's missing a lead (outside of where the pads come in). I was controlling everything with faders since this is mostly using hardware and I'm not at the stage of really automating a full track, hence things kind of dropping in weirdly. Also, since I was controlling things with faders I actually forgot to bring in the hats, which can be heard here. Are you going to put vocals on this? In my head I hear Crystal Castles type stuff working well on it. This mix is really solid. I like the vibe a lot, all it really is missing to me is whatever central melodic element would go on top. Lazlow posted:Here's something that started out as something completely different until I loaded the wrong bass synth and groove and it sounded so dumb it made me laugh and I had to keep going. It's too short, though, and I'm not really sure where to go with it next. I think you've got something here. The good part is definitely where that lead synth comes in. I feel like the production is a little bit too goofy - the vibrato on the lead synth, the brightness of everything in the mix. The songwriting already has that funny vibe going on so I feel like if the production was more chilled out then it would groove pretty hard.
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Feb 14, 2013 13:57
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I don't know if you've heard DickyB's stuff (a poster here) but I legitimately couldn't tell your work apart from his right now. It is very silly, and almost background-to-a-cartoon-ish. I'd kind of like to hear this with some more "serious" elements used very carefully, something like a heavy dance beat and maybe something that grooves throughout (though I'm really just biased towards 303s, and therefore think every song needs that). I really like it, but I guess for me it depends on what direction you're trying to go. If it's music for the sake of art then you could really go anywhere, but part of me wants to see what something that silly worked into a dance track would look like. massive spider posted:For whats its worth I wanted the lead that came in at the start to extend into a full melody, rather than for another part to come in. Which lead, just the little dootdootdootdoot doot doot part? I've thought about that, it'd be fairly easy to do though getting the carefully timed beat repeat to play nice might be a bit of a challenge. That's actually a Moog Phatty Slim, interestingly enough. That thing is a bass monster but I decided to make it a fart machine.  wlokos posted:Are you going to put vocals on this? In my head I hear Crystal Castles type stuff working well on it. This mix is really solid. I like the vibe a lot, all it really is missing to me is whatever central melodic element would go on top. I've actually seriously thought about putting vocals in, I find a lot of dance music is really soulless even with vocals, so I've been working on some lyrics that aren't ridiculously trite and cliché, but that's not easy. I have a deep down desire to find a singer who works in a language not many people have ever heard (I'm a linguist, I love at-risk languages and think modern music could be a powerful tool to help raise awareness of these languages) but I'm not sure how appeal-limiting that would be. Then again Yelle rules and my French sucks so it might work. No idea! Do you think massive spider has a point about the little doot lead being extended? I'm thinking I could actually widen out the bass a bit more so it's not purely in the sub range which would help. I need to play around to see if I can do it with the sidechaining that's there or if I need to make a pluck and layer it on top.
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Feb 14, 2013 17:46
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massive spider posted:For whats its worth I wanted the lead that came in at the start to extend into a full melody, rather than for another part to come in. Yes, this is a good idea. The sproingy synth that comes in later would still sound very nice behind it. WAFFLEHOUND posted:I've actually seriously thought about putting vocals in, I find a lot of dance music is really soulless even with vocals, so I've been working on some lyrics that aren't ridiculously trite and cliché, but that's not easy. I have a deep down desire to find a singer who works in a language not many people have ever heard (I'm a linguist, I love at-risk languages and think modern music could be a powerful tool to help raise awareness of these languages) but I'm not sure how appeal-limiting that would be. This is a GREAT idea, although I'd think the stranger the language is, the better the singer would need to be to keep it interesting. And listenable, depending on how "harsh" the language is on the ear, so to speak. WAFFLEHOUND posted:I don't know if you've heard DickyB's stuff (a poster here) but I legitimately couldn't tell your work apart from his right now. It is very silly, and almost background-to-a-cartoon-ish. I'd kind of like to hear this with some more "serious" elements used very carefully, something like a heavy dance beat and maybe something that grooves throughout (though I'm really just biased towards 303s, and therefore think every song needs that). Haven't heard DickyB's stuff (Soundcloud link?). I guess I supposed that it would be... Light-hearted. (Artistes aren't silly ) Actually most of my recent stuff is like that. I wouldn't say it's music for the sake of art, I have no lofty aspirations for anything other than to, maybe, have my daughter hum along and make beep-boop noises while doing the robot (not yet, anyway). I did make this thing a couple years ago although it's more IDM than dance. It probably bridges the gap between silly and serious (it's hard to be silly with a cello).
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Feb 14, 2013 23:40
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Lazlow posted:Yes, this is a good idea. The sproingy synth that comes in later would still sound very nice behind it. Wait, which are you talking about? Lazlow posted:Haven't heard DickyB's stuff (Soundcloud link?) https://soundcloud.com/colugo
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Feb 15, 2013 01:57
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WAFFLEHOUND posted:Wait, which are you talking about? The one that comes in at 3 seconds. Ah yes! I love Colugo, but yeah, this piece probably sounds too much like him. Although his stuff is much more lush and he obviously knows how to play keyboards. My stuff, it's like a drummer is sitting there pecking at his pc keyboard... 
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Feb 15, 2013 17:56
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WAFFLEHOUND posted:Here's a kind of more musical acid thing I'm working on. Despite the name, this isn't really the structure of the song, more just isolated pieces that I've strung together for reference later when assembling the entire track. It still feels like it's missing a lead (outside of where the pads come in). I was controlling everything with faders since this is mostly using hardware and I'm not at the stage of really automating a full track, hence things kind of dropping in weirdly. Also, since I was controlling things with faders I actually forgot to bring in the hats, which can be heard here. Cool man. I'm really liking your bass synth, it's nice and subdued. I think my favorite part is actually right when the bass comes in when the track is still pretty sparse. I agree with what the other poster said about beefing up the drums a bit and I'm also on the fence about the snare sample, but I think the (909?) hats sound dope. For content: It's been awhile since I've done anything that's just like a straight up hip hop beat, so this was fun to put together the other night. I sort of took a page from Flying Lotus on the sample choice - I don't think he's used this particular song but I'm pretty sure he's used this same artist more than once. It's pretty bare bones and I don't know if I actually will return to it, but hey it's a sketch. http://soundcloud.com/mathbonus/2-14-13
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Feb 16, 2013 07:03
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slardel posted:For content: It's been awhile since I've done anything that's just like a straight up hip hop beat, so this was fun to put together the other night. I sort of took a page from Flying Lotus on the sample choice - I don't think he's used this particular song but I'm pretty sure he's used this same artist more than once. It's pretty bare bones and I don't know if I actually will return to it, but hey it's a sketch. Which artist are you referring to? I listen to a lot of Flying Lotus' stuff and nothing jumped out at me as an obvious bite fwiw. I love the beat. Wasn't expecting that vocal sample. I'd love to hear someone spit over it. Started this sketch this week. Don't know if I'll finish it, I can't find a vocal sample that seems to work. Going for a kind of Explosions In The Sky meets Washed Up vibe. https://soundcloud.com/heyitsben/2-16-13 Thoogsby fucked around with this message at 00:15 on Feb 18, 2013 |
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Feb 16, 2013 14:05
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slardel posted:Cool man. I'm really liking your bass synth, it's nice and subdued. I think my favorite part is actually right when the bass comes in when the track is still pretty sparse. I agree with what the other poster said about beefing up the drums a bit and I'm also on the fence about the snare sample, but I think the (909?) hats sound dope. I'm thinking of beefing up the bassline because I agree that it sounds good barebones like that but it's only really audible in the sub ranges. A bit more depth would suit it. The drum are a Roland TR-707, but since I've run out of audio-ins for now they're completely dry (except the kick, which is layered with another synth). Once I bounce out some of the other parts I'll put some reverb on the snare from the 707 and that should make it less obnoxiously snappy. slardel posted:For content: It's been awhile since I've done anything that's just like a straight up hip hop beat, so this was fun to put together the other night. I sort of took a page from Flying Lotus on the sample choice - I don't think he's used this particular song but I'm pretty sure he's used this same artist more than once. It's pretty bare bones and I don't know if I actually will return to it, but hey it's a sketch. I'm not big into hiphop so there's a decent chance I'm just missing a fundamental element of hiphop in saying this, but I'm not a huge fan of the way the vocal sample comes in on top of that (chopped?) layer underneath. It feels like they're both coming in at slightly off-beat times and combined with the somewhat chopped up drum it feels to me like the overall sketch has a bit of a stutter to it which breaks a flow of the sound. If that's what you're going for than it works, but I almost feel like it needs some binding element throughout (besides vocals). I really like this, but it almost feels like it's pushing the childlike sound a tiny bit hard, if that makes sense. Just the tiny riff in the beginning feels very... lullaby-ish? It's really really nice though, the sound arrangement is good and the progression is decent. That said, I really don't like the bird sample you've got. I love bird samples, but I think you'd benefit to find a longer one and make sure it doesn't repeat, since you've got that sequence of three chirps coming in several times and it breaks the dream-like flow of the sketch for me. And come on dude, thoughtful feedback!
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Feb 16, 2013 16:05
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WAFFLEHOUND posted:I really like this, but it almost feels like it's pushing the childlike sound a tiny bit hard, if that makes sense. Just the tiny riff in the beginning feels very... lullaby-ish? It's really really nice though, the sound arrangement is good and the progression is decent. That said, I really don't like the bird sample you've got. I love bird samples, but I think you'd benefit to find a longer one and make sure it doesn't repeat, since you've got that sequence of three chirps coming in several times and it breaks the dream-like flow of the sketch for me. Interesting you said something about the bird noise. I went back last night and used a different sample cause I felt the same way. Changed it in the link above.
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Feb 16, 2013 16:48
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WAFFLEHOUND posted:Here's a kind of more musical acid thing I'm working on. Despite the name, this isn't really the structure of the song, more just isolated pieces that I've strung together for reference later when assembling the entire track. It still feels like it's missing a lead (outside of where the pads come in). I was controlling everything with faders since this is mostly using hardware and I'm not at the stage of really automating a full track, hence things kind of dropping in weirdly. Also, since I was controlling things with faders I actually forgot to bring in the hats, which can be heard here. If I were you I would go ahead and finish the arrangement and turn this into a whole song. I think the parts all work together pretty well although the drums fall a little flat to me. I think you have posted sketches of this song before and so it would be worthwhile to go ahead and do the full arrangement, adding modulation and build ups etc. to keep up interest. Maybe this is more of a workflow tip but I think it is really useful to try to finish arrangements on songs - you can always go back and adjust things in the mix but it forces you to move forward. Again, YMMV but its something I've found useful. Anyway, thanks for starting this thread. I enjoy hearing what people are doing on SA and I tried to comment on stuff in the other thread.
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Feb 16, 2013 18:04
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WAFFLEHOUND posted:I'm not big into hiphop so there's a decent chance I'm just missing a fundamental element of hiphop in saying this, but I'm not a huge fan of the way the vocal sample comes in on top of that (chopped?) layer underneath. It feels like they're both coming in at slightly off-beat times and combined with the somewhat chopped up drum it feels to me like the overall sketch has a bit of a stutter to it which breaks a flow of the sound. If that's what you're going for than it works, but I almost feel like it needs some binding element throughout (besides vocals). I think it's because one of the snare hits is like 1/16 off sometimes. Maybe try putting it straight but using the swing knob. Thoogsby posted:Which artist are you referring to? I listen to a lot of Flying Lotus' stuff and nothing jumped out at me as an obvious bite fwiw. I love the beat. Wasn't expecting that vocal sample. I'd love to hear someone spit over it. I don't have much feedback, it seems to be going in a good direction, but I really like the synth that first appears at 12 seconds, what is that? Do you have reversed reverb you're automating or something? It sounds like almost the same thing a few seconds before that, but not as "crashing". ashgromnies fucked around with this message at 20:38 on Feb 16, 2013 |
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Feb 16, 2013 20:32
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WAFFLEHOUND posted:I'm not big into hiphop so there's a decent chance I'm just missing a fundamental element of hiphop in saying this, but I'm not a huge fan of the way the vocal sample comes in on top of that (chopped?) layer underneath. It feels like they're both coming in at slightly off-beat times and combined with the somewhat chopped up drum it feels to me like the overall sketch has a bit of a stutter to it which breaks a flow of the sound. If that's what you're going for than it works, but I almost feel like it needs some binding element throughout (besides vocals). The slight off-beatness is definitely intentional... it sounds good to me but it's quite possible my ear for swing is just awful, and so many people are doing that "post-dilla" thing I'm probably better off working on developing my own sound. I agree that it needs something more if I were to flesh it out into a real song, as I said its pretty bare bones. Also, I'm really a fan of the audibility of the bass in your track pretty much just as it is - it's definitely not only living in sub territory. It's nice and understated and even if it's not super prominent there's always indication that it's lurking beneath everything. Do what you will though, of course. @Thoogsby The sample I used is from The Singers Unlimited. Listen to "Massage Situation" if you want to hear flylo sampling em. real nap shit fucked around with this message at 20:57 on Feb 16, 2013 |
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Feb 16, 2013 20:51
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ashgromnies posted:I don't have much feedback, it seems to be going in a good direction, but I really like the synth that first appears at 12 seconds, what is that? Do you have reversed reverb you're automating or something? It sounds like almost the same thing a few seconds before that, but not as "crashing". It's two samples layered on top of each other. I think the synth you're referring to is reversed reverb on a chime that I'm opening a filter throughout the song on. But there's a pretty verby piano underneath it. WAFFLEHOUND posted:Here's a kind of more musical acid thing I'm working on. Despite the name, this isn't really the structure of the song, more just isolated pieces that I've strung together for reference later when assembling the entire track. It still feels like it's missing a lead (outside of where the pads come in). I was controlling everything with faders since this is mostly using hardware and I'm not at the stage of really automating a full track, hence things kind of dropping in weirdly. Also, since I was controlling things with faders I actually forgot to bring in the hats, which can be heard here. I don't know dick about acid but the melody in this is fantastic. If I were messing around with it I would consider making that bass line stand more upfront in the mix. Right now I think it sounds a little cartoonish with just the components that are there. Are you planning on adding a vocal? @Slardel You listen to Bearcubs? Just found his stuff the other day, you guys have a similar sound. Really good. Thoogsby fucked around with this message at 15:39 on Feb 18, 2013 |
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Feb 18, 2013 14:41
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slardel posted:The slight off-beatness is definitely intentional... I listened to it again on better speakers and I figured out what it is that's really throwing me. Right before the vocal samples it feels like the levels of everything cut out, and that makes it feel way less off-beat than jarringly disjointed. It may be totally intentional, obviously I'm a bit more of a fan of melodic stuff. If that was intentional, I'd like to hear it without that if possible. Thoogsby posted:I don't know dick about acid but the melody in this is fantastic. If I were messing around with it I would consider making that bass line stand more upfront in the mix. Right now I think it sounds a little cartoonish with just the components that are there. Are you planning on adding a vocal? I'm planning on adding a vocal if I can come up with something I like and get around to buying a mic for this setup, and I do need to bring the bass out a bit more, it only really sounds good on larger speakers, toss it on laptop speakers or something and it sounds pretty lovely (at least in the parts where it's on its own). Here's a lot more progress in terms of the layout and instruments being used, I've introduced a kind of acidic lead/bass to it which right now is just kind of looping itself every bar because I wanted to just have an example for structuring purposes (also I need to fix the clipping, since it's kind of got a super farty squelch right at the kick which is definitely not intentional. The Moog is on squelch duty since the beeps were cramping my style. https://soundcloud.com/helpimintexas/structure-for-realz
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Feb 19, 2013 02:14
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WAFFLEHOUND posted:I listened to it again on better speakers and I figured out what it is that's really throwing me. Right before the vocal samples it feels like the levels of everything cut out, and that makes it feel way less off-beat than jarringly disjointed. It may be totally intentional, obviously I'm a bit more of a fan of melodic stuff. If that was intentional, I'd like to hear it without that if possible. OH. yeah that's supposed to be jarring, like a DJ throwing the fader down on the upbeat and bringing it back on the next downbeat to create a small moment of anticipation - I probably executed it poorly but that's how I see it in my head. And I added stupid sample of Ludacris saying "gently caress" to fill the space because I'm a dumb idiot who thinks its funny. When you were saying vocal samples before I thought you were referring to the oohs and aahs of the main sample I used.
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Feb 19, 2013 03:40
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WAFFLEHOUND posted:Here's a lot more progress in terms of the layout and instruments being used, I've introduced a kind of acidic lead/bass to it which right now is just kind of looping itself every bar because I wanted to just have an example for structuring purposes (also I need to fix the clipping, since it's kind of got a super farty squelch right at the kick which is definitely not intentional. The Moog is on squelch duty since the beeps were cramping my style. Definitely sounds better, but the sequencing could use a bit of zazz, right now everything except for the the acid line is totally on beat. It also still sounds very loopy with no phrasing, but as I understand it, you've already got that on your radar. TBH I would give it a break, work on something else, and come back to it in a week or two if I were you.
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Feb 19, 2013 10:53
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WAFFLEHOUND posted:Here's a lot more progress in terms of the layout and instruments being used, I've introduced a kind of acidic lead/bass to it which right now is just kind of looping itself every bar because I wanted to just have an example for structuring purposes (also I need to fix the clipping, since it's kind of got a super farty squelch right at the kick which is definitely not intentional. The Moog is on squelch duty since the beeps were cramping my style. This is really catchy. I know you said the acid lead thing is going to be more interesting - what do you have in mind? One idea I was thinking is to basically reverse the fade out sound effect on the lead at the 3:00 mark (and also toward the end) to have the lead come up from the beginning, and maybe add some more panorama. Thoogsby posted:Which artist are you referring to? I listen to a lot of Flying Lotus' stuff and nothing jumped out at me as an obvious bite fwiw. I love the beat. Wasn't expecting that vocal sample. I'd love to hear someone spit over it. I like the sound, but that staticky sound in the left channel is standing out way too much, and the middle drags on without any variation. Maybe a little bit of a swell from around 1:30 to the drop off before 1:55? Honestly I don't think this could really improve much from the use of a vocal sample, but maybe a little more general depth. Fiendish Dr. Wu fucked around with this message at 16:57 on Feb 19, 2013 |
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Feb 19, 2013 16:49
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Fiendish Dr. Wu posted:This is really catchy. I know you said the acid lead thing is going to be more interesting - what do you have in mind? Part of what I'm planning is to have everything from outboard gear sounding good, and then bounce everything out and really start playing with some of the stuff I can't do outboard (such as reversing things, dropping out sound, playing with individual drum effects, vocal samples, etc.) though there's some placeholder stuff in that layout I posted where I've mentally made a note of "dynamic things go here." I'm thinking something a little less loop-y and a little more melodic for the acid lead. It's also not really helpful that a lot of the dynamic things require me to grab knobs (the Moog and x0xb0x, mostly) and mess with them to make it sound interesting and I wasn't in the mood to do it when I recorded the one I uploaded. BUT, to address one of the concerns I learned how to add swing on a 707 and mixed things up a bit  https://soundcloud.com/helpimintexas/swing-demo Also, someone else post their sketch I don't want this thread to just be about me. I've been trying to reply on something else every time but I'm out of stuff to comment on.
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Feb 19, 2013 17:02
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WAFFLEHOUND posted:BUT, to address one of the concerns I learned how to add swing on a 707 and mixed things up a bit That one little change made me tap my toe so much harder. It's amazing what a small tweak like that can do. Can't wait to hear what's next. It took me way more time than I planned (began exporting from Live right after I wrote that last post and was just going to edit-add, but too much time has elapsed heh), but here's a thing I started working on. I know I wrote some junk in the info but I'll put it here for conversation purposes. https://soundcloud.com/argonrock/oort-cloud-p1-mp3 This began as just an intro, and I really dug the groove so I kept going. I think it stalls a little in the middle though, not sure to shorten or add some elements there. Recorded in Ableton Live 8. Drums are ezDrummer. (I plan on adding more variation and "humanism") All other sounds are effects with a guitar through Guitar Rig 4.
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Feb 19, 2013 19:44
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Fiendish Dr. Wu posted:That one little change made me tap my toe so much harder. It's amazing what a small tweak like that can do. Can't wait to hear what's next. You should considering having drums with more Oomph! (think more industrial, hip hop kind of) in there though because that kick doesn't blend in too well as is (at least before the guitars kick in). Also maybe lay a deep one-tone synth around the 1min mark to add more tension. Having trouble getting the right punch when the song kicks in. After a few alteration, here's what I got so far. Is the enough BAM! when it kicks in at 0:25? I'll be adding mechanical melodies á la Qotsa all over the place once I figured them out >_>  edit Added a temporary chorus thing. Still can't figure out how the verse (the trombone part) should be sung. Any suggestions are welcome. Oh, it's about slimey old men with weird sex fetishes (hence the cheesy rock riffs.. obviously ).
Imaginary Friend fucked around with this message at 02:59 on Feb 21, 2013 |
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Feb 20, 2013 01:19
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I think at 1:47, where you say you think it drags a little, it would sound a lot better if you let that guitar line fade out naturally instead of abruptly stopping it. When it comes to that abrupt halt, it feels like you're trying to exaggerate the transition of ideas, and the reverb tail that is attached to it just stops. I think letting the fade out happen would smooth out the transition. I totally dig that track though, the way you've EQ'd your kick and made the drums very reverb-y is a refreshing take on drum mixing. On that either ring modulated (or whatever effect that is) bass noise you have, maybe scoop out a little of the bottom end, so it's still bassy but less woofy.
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Feb 20, 2013 01:22
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I like this, especially from 2:15 on. I think the lo-fi sort of production is really working for it. The one thing that's sticking out to me and I guess it's sort of been mentioned is that the kick is really tinny and thin sounding - I dunno how intended that was but I think if the sample were a bit beefier it would do a lot for the track. Here's a project I'm working on right now - I have a sort of to-do list in my head of changes I need to make - variate the drums a bit, mess with the synth patch/fx chain for a few of the synths, maybe add some vocals, build more tension before 3:17 - I'm gonna return to it in a few days and see what my thoughts are then. I haven't really done any serious mixing beyond just setting my levels, filtering, and panning so it's a little rough around the edges - http://soundcloud.com/mathbonus/2-15-13-wip/s-SHkmH edit - here's the start of something else using some recycled pieces from the song above. I'm not sure if I like where either of them are going. I hate feeling stuck. http://soundcloud.com/mathbonus/2-20-13-wip/s-FUV3h quote:@Slardel You listen to Bearcubs? Just found his stuff the other day, you guys have a similar sound. Really good. I don't, I'll have to check em out. real nap shit fucked around with this message at 07:17 on Feb 21, 2013 |
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Feb 20, 2013 06:57
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slardel posted:http://soundcloud.com/mathbonus/2-15-13-wip/s-SHkmH Here's my thoughts: 2-15-13 Not gonna talk about the mix because you said that you kind of know what you need to do there, so I'll just focus on the composition for now. This track fails to grab me until the introduction of the percussion. I know you probably want to maintain that contrast between the intro and the body of the track that is created by the lack of percussion at the beginning, but there still needs to be something there at the beginning otherwise everyone is going to just turn the track off. Make the time to the percussion's entrance shorter, or add a new element that might be unique to the intro. Alternatively, let the intro reflect the end of your track by beginning with something that does not appear until much later. 2-10-13 I like this one a lot better, if you're trying to decide between which direction to go, I'd choose this one. Greater sense of movement in this track. Really love the sound design, different elements falling in and out of the sub bass. It would be really appropriate to get a vocalist on this track - maybe mixed kind of cold sounding, primarily sounding off upwards of 1k. Cool stuff all around, hope that helps. Will probably post some of my own WIP's up in here come tomorrow.
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Feb 21, 2013 08:19
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Thanks for the feedback, definitely helpful. Maybe all I needed was somebody else to confirm that the second direction is better, which I kind of already knew. I have some ideas floating around around of possible places to take it... might try to add some more guitar (I am dreadful at guitar). Definitely agree about having some sort of vocals on it, I'll probably end up just mixing in some acapellas like I always do. Totally also just realized that you're the dude that did that track Killer. Excited to see what else you have up your sleeve.
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Feb 22, 2013 03:01
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Hey I liked this just want to add that I don't think the guitars are too loud, it was right up my alley. Also I left it playing while I went to type this and I really really really was enjoying Alpha Emissions. Now after hearing others in the thread I am very self conscious about posting any of my music...but I'll do it anyway. https://soundcloud.com/tallyxxx It's all solo acoustic stuff that I recorded on a crappy mic in my bedroom. I just make up the songs while I'm playing so some of them might sound rough in places. I hope they at least sound like music. It's solo acoustic guitar, and I play fingerstyle so its hard for me to record some of the overtones of the wood without it booming like crazy. Is that enough excuses about how crappy my sounds are? I know wafflehound said it wasn't but man I wish this was a hugbox. Oh yeah probably the best out of that group are rayorchuck, jasonjam, and slowerdesertriff. Dan's jam I was drugged out of my mind at the time so I played it too fast, it's supposed to start slow and build fast like funeraljam does. Feel free to comment on any of them and thanks for taking the time to listen to them. Corpus Smegma fucked around with this message at 23:26 on Feb 22, 2013 |
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Feb 22, 2013 22:12
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Corpus Smegma posted:Hey I liked this just want to add that I don't think the guitars are too loud, it was right up my alley. Also I left it playing while I went to type this and I really really really was enjoying Alpha Emissions. Now after hearing others in the thread I am very self conscious about posting any of my music...but I'll do it anyway. Awesome. It was cool seeing my new follower post here I just followed you back too.I like your stuff, they sound really nice. I really only have 2 critiques to say right now and those are: 1: when you can afford one, get a mic and an interface. That alone will improve your sound quality exponentially. I know you said you're currently recording 'on a crappy mic', so I know you're aware of this point, I just want to sort of reaffirm it. You mentioned you liked my 'Alpha Emissions', did you hear the one called 'Sample1' or 'Take 2'? The reason I ask is because 'Sample1' is before I got an audio interface and I just had my guitar plugged straight into my mic-on port on my laptop (using a 1/4" to 3.5mm adapter). This left my computers on-board sound to handle the incoming analog signal without any sort of help. 'Take 2' is after I got my audio interface (Focusrite Scarlette 2i2). Since you're recording acoustic, you would also need a mic. You can get a Shure SM57 or SM58 for under a hundred bucks and if you're really on a budget you can get a smaller cheaper interface like a Line6 UX1 (used) or something. I see a few cheaper interfaces being sold on here from time to time so maybe you'll have some luck finding one here. You can even try posting up what you're looking for in the 'Gear Trades' thread and see what you can come up with. 2: It looks like you have no problem coming up with some pretty nice sounding tunes. I think if you pick one or two to focus on at a time you can come up with some nice songs. I do this a lot. I record any riffs I think of to be used later, and then revisit them occasionally to figure out how to piece them together to form a complete work. Some stuff I'm still completely at a loss. Like 'Alpha Emissions'. I really like that riff, but I don't know how to lead into it or where to go from there. Sometimes I'll find 2 or 3 old riffs that can work together and then can piece them together to form a more complete song. As it is now, you have a nice sound but it doesn't really grab the listener's attention. For example, often times when showing a friend some riff or melody I came up with I'd find myself talking and explaining too much while the song was playing because I would be worried it'd lose their attention. So, I began to try to focus on catching their attention so the music can speak for itself. This is kind of hard to do with instrumental music like you and I are making simply because there are no words. Well, those are a lot of  , but I hope I was able to get some point across. Basically, I think you've got some really nice sounding stuff that could improve easily with a better mic and a little direction.Also I want to say a quick thanks to everybody else for the other inputs regarding my 'Oort Cloud'. I have been working on some changes, which include: 1: Beefing up the drums and making them sound less tinny. - Thanks slardel 2: The guitar reverb fade at 1:47 (I noticed one track was inadvertently cut off when it wasn't supposed to be) - Thanks Loknik 2b: Scooping out some of the bass and tweaking the overall sound of the repeating intro bass sound thing - Thanks again Loknik 3: Adding a "deep one-tone synth around the 1min mark". - Thanks Imaginary Friend. I tried it and I think it's really working for the song. 4: Reworking the heavy part to flow better 5: Considering adding another part after that heavy part to come back to the main rhythm. Trying to figure out how to do this. Thinking about coming back but with a little more groove.
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Feb 23, 2013 02:18
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Fiendish Dr. Wu posted:As it is now, you have a nice sound but it doesn't really grab the listener's attention. For example, often times when showing a friend some riff or melody I came up with I'd find myself talking and explaining too much while the song was playing because I would be worried it'd lose their attention. This right here this sentence is exactly me. I do this all the time. I usually just start playing a rhythm and then a friend will play lead so I got into this mode where I wanted my rhythms to be unobtrusive and like a blank sheet for a lead to be played over. But it becomes a problem when I play alone to people because of exactly like you say, nothing is really grabbing their attention. I appreciate the feedback and getting a mic is my number one target now. The first version of Alpha Emissions I was talking about was the one that said sample1 first. I'm listening to them both right back to back, and I can hear the difference, they sound like different songs. But to me sample1 is still awesome, it seems like I can hear chords being strummed underneath the riff better and for me whatever the chord progression is from 0 to I think about 26 seconds makes me nod my head. However I do see what you are talking about, I think. Sorry my critiques are sucking, I've got to get better than 'that sounded awesome' but I'm not technically savvy enough to point out things most of the time. And I just end up thinking wow everyone is waaaaay better than me. I'm going to keep listening over this weekend and hopefully listen to everyone in the threads stuff, and I appreciate any feedback and critique. Corpus Smegma fucked around with this message at 06:27 on Feb 23, 2013 |
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Feb 23, 2013 06:24
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Corpus Smegma posted:Sorry my critiques are sucking, I've got to get better than 'that sounded awesome' but I'm not technically savvy enough to point out things most of the time. And I just end up thinking wow everyone is waaaaay better than me. I'm going to keep listening over this weekend and hopefully listen to everyone in the threads stuff, and I appreciate any feedback and critique. I have this problem too. Also if it's a genre I don't particularly listen to. If I don't like acid then how the hell can I critique it.
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Feb 23, 2013 23:45
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I just listened to D#32pulloff and I really really really like it. I second the get an interface comment, and I'd really love to hear some lyrics. The thing that really stood out to me in that one is the beginning of it feels like there's not wide enough of a variation in the chords to be as dynamic and compelling as it possibly could be, if that makes sense. That said, you mentioned you're losing overtones so maybe that's what I'm missing out on. Thoogsby posted:I have this problem too. Also if it's a genre I don't particularly listen to. If I don't like acid then how the hell can I critique it. Pretty well, I've got a lot of solid critique from people who have no idea what the gently caress they're listening to. You don't need to like a certain style of music to be able to offer feedback on it. I commented on that hip-hop track up there and I know nothing about hip-hop (though it made my critique a bit less useful, I hope the person it was directed at still found some use in it!) None of us should really be setting out to say "I want to sound exactly like this" and one of the points of sketches is that they're proto-songs, they don't quite have the full completed thing going for them yet that other tracks do If I wanted to get some feedback on a fully finished acid-house song, I'd probably find people who like acid house, but if I'm trying to find guidance and direction then there's no such thing as bad feedback. Speaking of which, here's something I started playing around with this morning I could use some quick feedback on: https://soundcloud.com/helpimintexas/dhamma-2 It's obviously relatively pointlessly small at this point, but my wife and I disagree on the octave of the bassline thing in there. I like it lower (the first half) because it leaves me room for a 303 and the vocal samples sit nicely to me (and by some miracle it's not absolutely crushing the kicks) and she likes the more high range loop. Both are shown with a filter sweep for contrast. The vocal sample is kind of a placeholder but I've got what's going in there in mind just waiing for me to get my hands on a decent microphone.
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Feb 24, 2013 22:36
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Definitely use the lower octave. Bass an octave up seems way too middy (especially if there is a 303 line going on top!) and doesn't leave much space for other synths. Are the vocal and melodic delay both the same? I feel like maybe some interplay between the delay lengths could be cool.
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Feb 25, 2013 02:14
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field balm posted:Definitely use the lower octave. Bass an octave up seems way too middy (especially if there is a 303 line going on top!) and doesn't leave much space for other synths. Are the vocal and melodic delay both the same? I feel like maybe some interplay between the delay lengths could be cool. They are, but that vocal clip is likely going to be replaced by an entire mantra which will have much more vocal play. Here's what it sounds like with a 303 riff shamelessly stolen from Norman Cook: https://soundcloud.com/helpimintexas/stolen-acid Also I freaked out a goon in the #goonmusician IRC with that kick. He really hated it. 
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Feb 25, 2013 04:51
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slardel posted:Cool man. I'm really liking your bass synth, it's nice and subdued. I think my favorite part is actually right when the bass comes in when the track is still pretty sparse. I agree with what the other poster said about beefing up the drums a bit and I'm also on the fence about the snare sample, but I think the (909?) hats sound dope. For what it's worth I thought this was sick. Really like the vocal cutting in and the swing feel. Overall the mix sounded great me, listening on 1 big mono speaker at least. Develop this!
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Feb 25, 2013 06:47
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Imaginary Friend posted:Having trouble getting the right punch when the song kicks in. After a few alteration, here's what I got so far. Is the enough BAM! when it kicks in at 0:25? I'll be adding mechanical melodies á la Qotsa all over the place once I figured them out >_> I'm a few days late, but I thought I'd give you a little feedback on this sketch. Overall it's highly enjoyable I must say, and really that's the most important part! However, I think the mix is ultimately where it falls short. Every kind muds together and it's tough to really pick out each instrument. The drums get lost in the mix especially at the more busy part around 0:25. The vocals actually sound really clean, but sort of stick out compared to the rest of the song. Another small suggestion would be to take the bass part and drop it an octave. The little (circus?) break down at 0:50 was probably my favorite part, I definitely get a Mr. Bungle vibe from it. And to answer your question, I think the build up til the song kicks in is just right, you nailed that part down. Anyways, here is a little tune I'm working on. It's an indie rock (mathrock?) tune, in the vein of Appleseed Cast or American Football.  At the moment the arrangement and recording is nearly done. I do have some placeholder recordings I plan to overdub soon. My concern is mostly with the mix and how busy it is. The first half is pretty straightforward and maybe too little is going on? While the second half might start to get a little too busy. I plan on recording a couple violin tracks for the end. Another concern is, how well it keeps your attention?
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Feb 27, 2013 04:17
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SineRider posted:Anyways, here is a little tune I'm working on. It's an indie rock (mathrock?) tune, in the vein of Appleseed Cast or American Football. This genre is cool and I'm happy that it's coming back again. General EQing advice - lowcut your bass around 30-40hz and turn it down. The EQing on your bass should emphasize the area around 100hz. Guitars will pack a little more punch if you boost just a little bit around 800-900. Also, some notes on compression. While the piece has some decent dynamics as a whole, each individual stem seems to lack sufficient range. Everything is about the same volume the whole way through. This genre depends on a big dynamic range to emphasize the contrast between the loud and quiet parts and this piece lacks that dynamic. Compress your guitar parts a little less - to get that twinkling Kinsella/American Football sound, we want some degree of volume variation in the guitar performances so that, when all the different parts momentarily line up, we can feel it. By compressing, everything stays the same volume the whole time, so we lose some of that dynamic range and the corresponding emotional depth. The adage I always repeat is: good production sounds great, but great production sounds appropriate. Are these drums sequenced from samples or are they recorded from a performance? Either way, they suffer from a similar problem - all the hits are at roughly the same volume and velocity. You can fall in to this trap more easily by using MIDI sequenced drums and forgetting to vary your hits. By varying the velocity of your drum hits in a responsible way, you get a lot more depth to your sound. The addition of the soft vocals around the last 30 seconds of the song adds so much to the song, I'm wondering why you didn't play around with this sort of vocals for the duration of the piece. Any vocals at would add a lot to the track and I encourage you to consider recording some before you continue mixing. Otherwise, there is presently not enough to keep this track interesting. Always ask yourself the question, "why would someone listen to this piece?". Does it have brilliant musicianship to rock out to, a great tone and atmosphere to have on in the background, some awesome and heartfelt or poetic lyrics you can relate to, or just any kind of raw feeling that resonates with you in some way? This track has the beginnings of these, but it needs to commit to something. One last note on the "business" that you're worried about. There isn't actually a whole lot going on in this track in terms of variety of sounds, it's basically just guitar, bass, and drums. The reason it sounds busy, however, is that each part is basically playing for the entire song. The guitar doesn't have to be playing the whole song; the bass doesn't have to be playing the whole song; the drums don't have to be there the whole song. Part of why I sort of got lost in this song is that there aren't totally clearly defined compositional sections that we can predict. Hope all this helps, your song has potential and I think it'll turn out great! EDIT: Wouldn't mind some criticism on this. It really needs some more structure, so any thoughts on that would be great since right now it's basically just a big salad of different parts. https://soundcloud.com/rang_rang/hospital/s-wlXbF Hip hop/electronic instrumental consisting primarily of found sounds. Should probably get vocals eventually. candy bar fucked around with this message at 22:16 on Feb 27, 2013 |
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Feb 27, 2013 20:57
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YALL posted:This genre is cool and I'm happy that it's coming back again. Oh man that was more than helpful! Honestly, after reading this and working on the track for a little over an hour it sounds miles better. It's much more dynamic now, and I think it leaves a better impact. I also recorded a couple violin parts and a bit more background vocal tracks throughout the song as well as redoing some guitar parts and cutting out some of the repeating parts. I'm still need to put some more work into the drums. They are samples as I don't have the means to record a real kit at the moment. I tried to add a bit more dynamic to them, but for the time being I was a bit lazy and copied clips over and over which gives it that same-y sounding velocity. I'm a big fan of the genre as well and it something I listen to quite a bit but don't really try to make much. I mostly do electronic stuff so mixing and recording this style is a bit different for me. Here is an updated version if anyone is interested. I'm going to let it sit for a bit, still very much a work in progress (especially the intro).  I'm trying to check out your soundcloud track but it doesn't seem to load no matter what I do. I'll leave some feedback when I get it to work
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Feb 28, 2013 00:36
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YALL posted:https://soundcloud.com/rang_rang/hospital/s-wlXbF I like the drill sounds, but I think you should dig for a few more- maybe throw in a dentist's drill droning in and out and side to side, and look around for weird lines of dialog from an older documentary on surgery to sample. I have drills and machinery effects on an old "Sound Effects" LP I picked up at the Salvation Army, if you want me to send you a few of those to check out. Also you say it needs more structure- I wanted more progression, but a looser structural feel. P.S. I liked the very soft synth line from 0:33-1:01, because it's something that people listening to SoundCloud on laptop speakers probably wouldn't hear. As for me, I'm trying to pump out a cover of Bowser's Theme from Super Mario 64, and I have what I feel is a decent rhythm track down. Do the fretless bass and transition from 4/4 to 7/4 time sound nice? I'm trying to avoid it sounding overly bitcrushed or metal, which seem to be common themes for the hastily crafted cover versions I hear on SoundCloud. https://soundcloud.com/audioglot/mario-64-bowsers-theme-cover CaptainKirkCameron fucked around with this message at 22:42 on Mar 9, 2013 |
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Feb 28, 2013 19:30
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I'm really enjoying this. I thought the violins were horns at first and was getting a cool Sigur Ros vibe from it. The whole thing evolves really well and the dynamics are great. Sorry but I can't think of anything but positive things to say about it! YALL posted:EDIT: Wouldn't mind some criticism on this. It really needs some more structure, so any thoughts on that would be great since right now it's basically just a big salad of different parts. I'm digging the mechanical vibe and the whole thing is pretty spacially interesting. Sounds like you've got an audio pop going on with your kick sample which can be fixed by raising the attack on the sample or chopping it right at the zero-crossing in the waveform. Here's the start of something new from me, it hasn't really evolved beyond a simple loop yet, just kind of the beginning of an idea that hasn't quite taken off yet. http://soundcloud.com/mathbonus/feb12/s-s21bM edit: pretend it starts at 16 seconds, I neglected to chop off the beginning
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Feb 28, 2013 23:17
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