Well, it took 4 months to finally come up with the inspiration to finish this one, but I think I'm finally happy with it. It's my first straight-up trance track in quite some time and it features Avonlea Montague on vox/lyrics.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pag...&songID=7538623

BTW - I'd really like some input on the mastering/finalizing - it sounds great on one of my systems, and not so great on another. Thanks!

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Vocals are a little loud and harsh - they could go down, but just a notch.

Computer speaker notes: (Altec Lansings w/Bass Module)

Bass response (rolling-bass-line) seems to vary, having more punch in lower notes.

Very pretty.


Headphone notes: (Sony MDR-700's)

Vocals are still a little hot but a lot of what I heard could be a phasing problem occurring with the panning - nice effect, BTW!

Chords, coming in on the down-beat have a lot more presence, as do the special FX.

Detuning in arpeggiated synth is more pronounced. Love the panning effect.

yeah the vocal is a bit harsh but this could be down to just being her voice. witch is nice by the way.

all the alements created work well with the track,piano break down ect. so yeah good stuff

Thanks for the comments and compliments, guys! After listening to it on several systems, I really don't like the way I (pre)mastered it - it seems to have muddied up the basses/kicks and probably led some of the bass problems that Eddie mentioned. I'm going to leave it alone for a few days, revisit the mix with fresh ears, and re-finalize it.

quote:

Originally posted by EddieZilker Vocals are a little loud and harsh - they could go down, but just a notch.

That's what I've been thinking, but most of the comments I've gotten on other forums are saying that vox need to come up! I'm going with your suggestion.

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I took a few days away from this to try to get a fresh perspective and I'm much happier with the finalizing now. The old "mastering" really mucked up the low end and kinda buried the ambience (vocal fx, pads/strings). I also tweaked the mix and added a high string part during the chorus/synth solo. I'm going to leave it up for a day or so in case anybody cares to add more comments, then send it to my label.

Thanks again for the listens!

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Sonar Platinum | Ableton Live 9 | Logic Pro X | Access Virus TI2 Keyboard | Kurzweil PC3X | Nord Lead 4R | NI Maschine

like the track! vocal is a bit loud
pads in the chorus can use a bit more delay/verb
clap a bit louder
open hh a bit less harsh (cut around 1k?)

try to cut your kick and bassline a few db around 500hz with a Q of around 1.5

and also on the vocal maybe a bit more damp on the verb and a little vocal delay.
but further top notch!

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Analogue Mastering
Esoteric sound for the discerning ear

nearly forgot, the piano could be a bit less damp, a bit more bright, volume was right, but it missed a bit of clarity

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Analogue Mastering
Esoteric sound for the discerning ear

Don't know if you've made the changes mentioned above, but in my opinion it sounds just right, regarding the vocals that is. Perhaps it's just me and my bad ear, but isn't the straty saw synth a bit off tune?? Maybe it's ment to be that way. If so I haven't anything more to say but GoOoOoD. Exellent work!

/MG

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"I found the screaming cat. It's dead now!!!"

Thanks for all the suggestions and comments, guys! I'm going to make a few final tweaks to the mix and call this one good. If you have any more comments, you might want to save them for yourself because we're going to make a remix pack available within a few days for anyone interested in remixng this song. Thanks again!

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As promised, the remix pack for this song is available.

http://www.tranceaddict.com/forums/...6&forumid=48&s=

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I lack the production experience to add much further than has already been said, except to point out that this track succeeds in the most important respects of appealing and attractive melody. Lovely vocal walking the melancholic vs euphoric line very well indeed.

personally, I found some of the presets you've used just a touch old-fashioned, but that need not be a bad thing. I can see a large room sticking their hands in the air to this one.

Nice work.

quote:

Originally posted by SpaceVandal personally, I found some of the presets you've used just a touch old-fashioned,

The sad part is, most of those synth parts aren't presets - I designed them myself! Don't worry, you're not the first person to tell me my sound is 5-10 years behind the times! Thanks for the input and compliments - I really appreciate it!!!

BTW - you should remix it!

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Sonar Platinum | Ableton Live 9 | Logic Pro X | Access Virus TI2 Keyboard | Kurzweil PC3X | Nord Lead 4R | NI Maschine

Last edited by cryophonik on May-01-2009 at 17:03