Some Demos to Share

I'm a ReverbNation member and have uploaded songs and want to know what some of you think. Note, as in the title, they are demos as I am conflicted with going in different directions (albeit coming back to the choruses) rather than just having them repeat - though lots of songs to that. I'm in the process of trying to figure out how to arrange everything as it's just everything thrown together, atm. Take a listen and provide feedback if you wish. If you'd also like to help (collaborate), I have no problem with that either.

Here's the link: http://www.reverbnation.com/digitalorchestration?kick=371103

Beagle


Hi Rus,
I'm listening to Kalinka Remix now.  I had no idea what Klalinka was and had to google it.

this is very nice, very modern sounding for an 1860's song!  I like the percussion and the bells, but I have some suggestions.

the rhythm is overpowering the melody, I can barely make out the melody.  there's very little low end on this, it could use some bass instruments and bass percussion.  I'd also like to hear more stereo separation - it sounds very centered and mono.

what are you using for your softsynths?

ok - Tetris Opening Remix
I'm diggin this!  I like the 90's intro then bursting into full blown orchestration.  I'm not fond of the "scratching" but that's a personal taste thing.  this one has much more depth and body, the low end is much more alive than the Kalinka was.  better stereo separation here than in the last one.  this is a decent mix for the "genre" - even tho I'm not sure what I'd classify it as!  not fond of the abrupt ending either, but again, that may just be a personal taste thing which you can ignore.

I would encourage you to listen and comment on other folks' work here in the songs forum.  the more you are part of the community here, the more people will interact with your submissions.  it's not a requirement, regardless of what some people on the forum would want, but it is helpful even if all you say is "I listened and I liked it" or "I didn't care for this"

just friendly advice.

Yeah, I really have to work on that Kalinka (Tetris -Type B) one! I'm gonna shelve that one for now. As far the Tetris Opening one, the fade out didn't cross my mind until it was too late. I'm not too fond of abrupt endings myself, but keep in mind these are demos! lol  

 

You didn't hear the last one? No way!! That is like my favorite! Cute story on where I got the idea. I'll divulge after you've heard the song though. I'd consider it my "flagship song!" I'd love for it to be done live (what can be done live of course)


Thanks, Beagle! (Do take a peek at the third demo song)  It'd be impossible to NOT recognize it! (Very repetitive, but again, I'm working on arranging it further!)

Guitarhacker


Sanford NC? Another NC Caker.... very cool.... I'm from a town close to Wilson.

Blossoms... not bad.... but.... too much reverb, the melody is really buried in the mix.  Also there were several really noticeable edits. 

Kalinka..... pretty much the same.... the music sounds like it's several rooms away or in a backstage room at a concert.

Tetris... hummmmmmm.....


You have talent, you need to work on getting the mix a bit better. More definition so there is space between the instruments, and not rely on reverb to cover things up.

Cool! (On Blossoms) Yeah, it may be my audio setup because the melody doesn't sound "buried" to me. (Note, I tend to do tons of volume adjusting and re-adjusting afterwards) I will say I had to do some compressing to push the melody out (seven instruments) I can hear everything played in that song even with the reverb. Speaking of which, I used the Vocal Hall 1 setting and didn't tweak it and can very easily turn this off. I do like the "concert" sound. 


EDIT: Listening to it again, you're right even when the mix is dry. I'll work on that. Mixing is the toughest part, but composing/arranging is my stronger suit. I do appreciate the feedback.

Rus W

Beagle


Hi Rus,
I'm listening to Kalinka Remix now.  I had no idea what Klalinka was and had to google it.

this is very nice, very modern sounding for an 1860's song!  I like the percussion and the bells, but I have some suggestions.

the rhythm is overpowering the melody, I can barely make out the melody.  there's very little low end on this, it could use some bass instruments and bass percussion.  I'd also like to hear more stereo separation - it sounds very centered and mono.

what are you using for your softsynths?

ok - Tetris Opening Remix
I'm diggin this!  I like the 90's intro then bursting into full blown orchestration.  I'm not fond of the "scratching" but that's a personal taste thing.  this one has much more depth and body, the low end is much more alive than the Kalinka was.  better stereo separation here than in the last one.  this is a decent mix for the "genre" - even tho I'm not sure what I'd classify it as!  not fond of the abrupt ending either, but again, that may just be a personal taste thing which you can ignore.

I would encourage you to listen and comment on other folks' work here in the songs forum.  the more you are part of the community here, the more people will interact with your submissions.  it's not a requirement, regardless of what some people on the forum would want, but it is helpful even if all you say is "I listened and I liked it" or "I didn't care for this"

just friendly advice.

Yeah, I really have to work on that Kalinka (Tetris -Type B) one! I'm gonna shelve that one for now. As far the Tetris Opening one, the fade out didn't cross my mind until it was too late. I'm not too fond of abrupt endings myself, but keep in mind these are demos! lol 

You didn't hear the last one? No way!! That is like my favorite! Cute story on where I got the idea. I'll divulge after you've heard the song though. I'd consider it my "flagship song!" I'd love for it to be done live (what can be done live of course)


Thanks, Beagle! (Do take a peek at the third demo song)  It'd be impossible to NOT recognize it! (Very repetitive, but again, I'm working on arranging it further!)

I forgot your other question about the softsynths for Kalinka, but left to eat.


Anyway, for the most part, I used the 


Acoustica Instruments synth:


Orchestral Strings
Vibraphones
Acoustica Bass, Rhythm Guitars (These parts are not heard in the demo)

For the Bass I used the Impulse synth (Sub Bass patch)

For the piano, I used the Diamond Mod (TruePianos)

The reason it's low-end heavy is because I used the EQ Notch Every 2nd Octave preset. I have two Bass Instruments as audio tracks. One's a "bend" while the other is a "Melodic Conga Drum" if you'll will (stereo panned). There are two bass bend tracks because I haven't merged them.

Each track in the program has its own set of EQ bands and I adjusted them accordingly.

I hope this answers your question.

You should never use FX to try to "fix" something that is not right in a mix.  All that does is create more problems. Using a verb to fix something in the red ..... no, just pull the levels down. 

If you can't hear something and the fader is up, and you have a nice full wave in the track.... maybe it's time to pull ALL the faders to zero and start by setting the level of the weaker instruments first, THEN bring in the other stronger things. 

One easy way to do that is to use busses to group the strong things and then you have one fader that controls the level of that group. For example, bass and drums often are the foundation on much popular music so set their relative level then put them in a buss group and you can raise or lower that level with ease.... do the same with your music. 

If you continue to post your music here, you will get some good advice on what is wrong and right in your mix. By using this advice and a bit of study and work on your part, you will being to notice a big difference in the overall quality of your mixing skills over time.  I like to go back to some of my early stuff to compare every now and then. 

early example recorded in the first year of working with MC4>>>> http://www.soundclick.com...134&songID=6750955


more recent example recorded last year with MC4>>>> http://www.soundclick.com...134&songID=9961448

These 2 songs were recorded about 2 years apart on the same recording software (MC4) and on the same computer, in the same room. You can hear a big difference between them as I was working on  and applying the things I was learning.

One more thing... take all the FX off the tracks and start with a dry mix..... you can do this easily by bypassing the FX bins to start with. 

Usually, when you listen to my music, there is reverb in the vocal track IF it's the only vocal in the song. If there are mutliple vox tracks, there is a vocal buss and the tracks are dry. 

Over the years I have developed a few drum, bass, and piano EQ settings that I have saved as presets that I will insert into that specific track to brighten the sound of that instrument. But reverbs and such are normally in the buss..... and in some cases there is no verb specif plug in the mix at all. I run my verb levels (except guitar) generally very very low. 

The goal: use as few plugs as you possibly can. 

Think less is more in this case, and it's usually true.

Hi Rus,
I FINALLY got a chance to listen to your songs.  Saw this post back a while ago and wanted to check them out, but was at work and couldn't really "listen" to them.
I DO like your ideas and believe that if you take the advice of those that have posted before me, you can turn all 3 into winners for sure.  I thought Kalinka was very interesting and Tetris was nice.
Blossoms has lots of potential, so I would like to see where you take it in the end. 
Since there were a number of things mentioned about mixing, I will only mention the fade.  Song was good and the fade almost made me snap my head around. LOL