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-- Honest opinion on a production of mine....

Honest opinion on a production of mine....

I always find it hard to get true feedback from others. I always feel like my friends are "yes men" for some reason. I'm going to post a track I recently did that has received support from some modest DJ's but please do not let that interfere with your personal opinion. I'm concerned about composition and your overall thoughts, not mixing and mastering (unless you hear something crazy)

Please, be honest. If its cheesy commercial garbage trash then say so. I created the track with one thing in mind and that was to create a commercial sound and blend it with some 90's elements because it was supposed to go to Perfecto and they passed on it (and ironically paul won't stop playing it).

I took some samples from the late 90's and used them as some building blocks to the track to help with this, with the most notable being the alarm type sound that I pulled from "Tekknova - Last Trip To Paradise"

Anyways, don't hold back negative (or positive) comments.

Thanks a ton in advance for your time. The track is the first in the player and is called Frustration.

http://www.myspace.com/djstephenwiley


THANK YOU!!!

Re: Honest opinion on a production of mine....

quote:

Originally posted by DjStephenWiley I created the track with one thing in mind and that was to create a commercial sound and blend it with some 90's elements

If that was your intention then you were spot on.

The melody that comes in at around 3:40 probably could have been brought out a bit more.. would have liked to see something like that introduced earlier, too, if it could have worked in the composition, and overall just given a bit more focus in the track. It's simple but it kind of glued everything in the track together while it was playing.

It does sound rather commercial but I wouldn't call it generic or anything, though some of the vocal samples were a bit cheesy. They fit the track well enough though.

feel like the bass is a bit muddy and clashing with the kick. I would cut some mids and double it with something higher and add some reverb to the 2 octave higher part. You do double it later on but it sounds weird alone at the beginning. The breakdown is a little empty. Maybe some reverse reverb, delay , chorus to fill the void. That short arpegiatted synth in the break is nice and I think you should bring that out more. That counter melody that comes in after the main chorus in the drop is neat but I would of foreshadowed it in the build at the beginning of the trck. The chordal synths , when they do the 16th notes, maybe shorten the tail. A listen to the synths overall , they sound dull and could use some mid highs.

Great work overall. I think the breakdown is the weakest part. It is one of those tracks that needs a really wet breakdown and it isn't there. The vocals sound great and the performance is spot on.Great recording on that. That sound effect that sounds like a ghost doing a pitch bend fits well. Sounds oldschool.

took a listen to Summersault. That track could have some great potential. I feel like the groove just needs to be more funky with a stronger back beat on 2 and 4 and it could be super groovin.

You've improved alot since my last listen a year ago. Congrats !!!

Good stuff Stephen, I like this track!
The only thing I could say has already been said with the melody around 3:40. Can't say much about anything else, since I'm listening on my laptop speakers. But you were going for that 90's sound, you achieved it. I also like the singer, nice voice.

First off, overall I like the track in general. I think more could be done with it, but its not bad.

I don't like the hats at all, but that's just a personal thing, I've really been avoiding open hats in large doses the past year or so. I feel like if you killed the open hats and replaced them with a more tech-y closed hat it would fit the track better. Also, the drums are very static, no real groove, just very straightforward and quantized feel. Some elements to add "counter-groove" and movement would help alot. Do not underestimate adding things that are barely audible, but add to the "shuffle" and "feel" of the drums.

The track could definitely use more effects just to fill things out. The build up needs to have more of a build up, just that one synth with the filter opening up is not enough, you might want to consider more of a tech house type build up. Don't like that near silence after the build up.

I agree with Richie that the bass definitely needs some work. If the track is to be bass-driven, then the bass needs to be more prominent, otherwise you may want to layer it a bit to give it more weight in the mid-bass range. It just seems flat.

I like the old school sound feel this track has, nice hook and stuff.

quote:

Originally posted by RichieV That sound effect that sounds like a ghost doing a pitch bend fits well. Sounds oldschool.

I've heard this sound in quite a few tracks. How did you achieve it?

Anyway, pretty solid track. It kept my interest for sure.

However, there are some elements that I don't think fit very well. As Eric said - the hats. I can't quite put my tongue on what it is I don't like about them, though.

Another thing I didn't like was when the vocals layer on top of each other, so you hear the "whispery" vocal on top of the singing.

But I enjoyed it!

Hey Stephen,

Love some part of this track man, a spatially 3:06 which remind me of late 80's - bit of Modern Talking, Sandra and CC Catch - really nice. This idea (musically/melodically speaking) has so much flexibility/opportunity build in into it that a lot of producers would love to have that play in they own tracks.

So let's start with this - you have a lots of room in your frequencies to introduce new attractive/emotional/atmospheric sound/s - pads, arps, ..... . Spice-up your track with nice FX which can sweeps throughout you song - this is what will help you connect with people.

Try to change this open hats (like Eric J said) - doesn't fit/sound well.

Make your drums more active (like Eric J said) - they can play with/change different patterns.

I really like you bass (simple is a beauty), although I would make them (at last in some part of this track) more active as well (typical late 80's and 90's sound).

I would want to work on atmospheric part of your song/composition, you need to try connect/interact with emotional side of your listeners, make them/wont them to listen to your track one more time, and more, and more, ..... .

This is only my opinion and reflect only my view on the music.

Overall nice work and definitively great start man.

Cheers

I dont think you should change anything, its the imperfection of older tracks that made them so good, and this one does sound like something thats 10 years old.

quote:

Originally posted by Subtle this one does sound like something thats 10 years old.

That's a good point, it really does sound that way

hey stephen ;}

everything sounds like its good in this production to me.

i feel like you should make a radio edit for this with it. it could work in pop, and be very successful. And, I'd assume a ton of trance jocks could play this no? did you sample the kick from a track? a serious professional effort in my eyes. cheers.

Sounds like something Y2K Kimball Collins would play. It was really, really well done, but I thought it could use some more finesse and that it also lacked a voice or a signature.

God myspace is such shit - anyway i liked it but the breakdown is waaaaaay too long, i thought the vocals didnt really sit right for some reason, not sure why....
production wise, maybe its my headphones, but it seemed to like high-end, no real zip from the hats
overall liked it tho

Since i'm assuming you were making this with the idea of making it something special and not just another track I will give you feedback that can help you do that. As is it is a solid track but it has the potential to be special.

*The sounds fit very well together.
*The arrangement could use a little bit of work.
*You need some swing in your groove. You add swing to the perc and it will make both of the basslines even more powerful and tense.
*The counter melody seems like it has too much reverb on it or needs to be eq'd better. I'm guessing it's the verb; maybe a shorter thinner verb would be better for it. It could just be it's too deep in the track. Throw a short delay on it too to make it feel less quantized.
*The hats/percs are definitely the only true weakness here. For example Summersault is not near as good of a musical idea but much more danceable because you have a ton of swing in your groove.
*You have the opportunity for an epic breakdown; some thick reverb would create a lot of tension and when the break ends the effect of the beat being brought in is magnified. Often in breakdowns in proggy tracks like this less is more and transfers energy out of the break amazingly well.
*The kick doesn't fit with the bass at all; i'd probably just go for another sample.

Good work

The up front vocals don't really fit the track.

There were a few small parts that I liked, but the track is mostly average.

I like this! Sorry not to offer any constructive criticism but I've been puking for the last 3 days and I can't really listen critically at the moment....

arghghfghfghhhh

Thanks a ton guys. Just going to hit a few things as to why things may sound the way they are. Definately a ton of information I need to digest here and see what I like and don't. As pointed out, a 99 style type tune was the goal. The track is not littered with FX simply because they didn't do that back then. They let the instruments do a lot more work then which is what brings that "open" feel to the track (So I doubt I will add any more) - Do agree 100% on a slight delay for the counter melody. Wish I could have brought out a meaner bass line but too late now.

I think somebody mentioned the vocal placement. Unfortunately (or arguably fortunately) these vocals were recorded in 1991. We're talking almost two decades ago. It's an older style vocal mix and I really couldn't think of much else to do with it because it needed to be in there.

Will def take a look at the percs since I see a lot of comments about them. I'm wondering if the MySpace player is f'in with us because they're crystal clear on my akg 701's.....but anyway...thanks a ton guys and if anything else comes to mind.

also those who took the time to give two cents on summersault, thnks again.

Get rid of the vocals, the rest sounds nice so far.

BTW I listened to the summersault remix - this is better. Very nice work

I like the feel structure and mixing and everything (although its hard to tell on myspace).

But I don't like the sung vocal at all, the lyrics are too cheesy. I'd either rewrite it and give it to someone who won't oversing it, or remove it, shorten the breakdown, and use a pluck for the central element. I think the spoken vocals are great though, as is the rest of the track. Good work mate

quote:

Originally posted by DjStephenWiley I'm wondering if the MySpace player is f'in with us because they're crystal clear on my akg 701's.....

I can vouch for the K701's, they're what I use and I'm not hearing any issues with the percussion either.

It's more of people hating Myspace than anything else.

quote:

Originally posted by BshidoHEAT It's more of people hating Myspace than anything else.

agreed.

not that its probably any better, but beatport decided today would be a good day to put it up. haha. so u can listen in the beatportal player instead. sounds about the same to me though. when i get home from vaca ill get a high quality sample uploaded

I heard your track when you first posted it but I've been at home and cannot use TA from there as I dont know my login details, whereas from my business PC the details are stored.

Anyway, I just really like this track a lot and think it brings something fresh and vibrant. I think you've captured the balance between modern and 90's just right.

It keeps my intesrest which most tracks do not these days (I think it's over exposure to EDM that does this to my brain).

I love the open architectural feel and sense of space which lacks from so many tracks now.

The bass I thought was spot on and does'nt need a change.

I'm a pretty critical person by nature, so well done mate. PS I don't bother really outting my tracks up on this forum as there are just so many and I think I'll add to the fatigue.

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