hey there richg101. im not that experienced with reviewing tunes. but id say you got a great tune here. the main melody is really dark and evil sounding! also i love the bassline. some bits sound a little crowded but very epic.
i love when the beat kicks in after the main break, its cool the way the main tune is saved till after the second main break.
drums:- a bit wiered in some bits but i guess thats what contributes to the sound of the tune.
other than the drums i really like your work.
beckx

thanx for your kind words.

im glad you think the tune is dark. i was kinda going for that sound.

the bassline is one of my favourite bits. it kinda paved the way for everything else.

a lot of people have said it sounds a bit crowded at times. i guess i need to play around in the mixing of the track and possible eq some of the tracks. or possibly tone down the reverb?

the drums are something i messed around with using some of the built in inserts on cubase. like distortion, transformer and chopper. maybe this isnt the best way to vary my sounds.... ill have a play

thanks for the kind and helpful feedback. not many people have time for the newer members on this forum which is a bit of a kick in the stomach....

cheers tho beckx

richard gale

Hey.

-Supposed 80s tune. Automatic bonus points for the attempt at the sound .
-Your kick is clipping under the compressor causing it to go into distortion. Its a thick sound but the distortion ruins it. Try turning the volume of the kick down behind the compressor and then turning the output of the compressor up.
-Interesting intro flanged guitar sound.
-Good long-note bassline.
-I like the flow you created with the plucked sound but it stands out a little too much in the center. Add some chorusing or a stereo expander and that should help its stereo image.
-Good guitar solo. Reminds me of anothter trance song (I forget which) but its a good rhythm.
-The snare was good but for a more 80s feel, you have to add some more flams and rim shots. It cant just be a 2x4 measure the entire time. Add some fills to make it more interesting.
-Breakin is decent but could be enhanced with a sweep of some sort. Try using a VST that allows you to use whitenoise in one of the oscillators and then use a bandpass filter to sweep it from ~8000Hz to ~125Hz. One important thing to point out about sweeps, demending onthe filter you use, you could be generating some harshness so drop in a parametric EQ and take the 3000Hz and the 8000Hz+ range down to -10dB or so.
-The breakout is decent but the flanged guitar sound should be held longer for suspense. Right now its just kinda 'oh here you go have this I guess.' We want it to be 'Oh you think thats good? Take this shit then mother******s!' We want action, fullfillment. Try doing various things, even dropping the audio completely out but definantely extend the break longer for more of a suspenseful feel.
-Outro compliments the intro nicely.

Overall, this song has some great potential. It lacks in some big areas that will keep it out of the mainstream though. Firstly, fix the kick. Distorted kicks are old news and werent popular for very long outside of the rave community . Next, add those snare fills. These two things alone will boost the quality of the song up several notches. Next, you need to fix the break (with the things I mentioned) and then the next several measures after the break. The rhythms you have are great but there wasnt any buildup to a massive melody attack. The listeners want something powerful, monstrous that makes them go 'YEAH!'. Just add a new melody similar to the one used throughout the song but drop in a few more accompaniment guitars that play the, or at atleast close to the same melody the main guitar is playing. Make some slight changes, such as tuning and possibly effects to make them sound just a little bit different. You might even drop the key an octave or a half actave but either way, it will add more fullness . Like I said, this song has some great potential but its being held back by a few simple and easy to change/add things.
Grade A (awesome potential)

Cheers,
Zac

___________________
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---FL Studio 9 User---

hey darksword. thats some really nice comments you have put forward.
thankyou.

its really annoying because a lot of the stuff you mentioned is way over my head! i will start playing with a sweep. ill look through the inserts on cubase and try an work out how to do it. as with a lot of your other interesting ideas.

i guess the main problem i have is that distorsion to the kick. its my shite monitors/old hifi speakers that let me down a lot... i just cant notice things like the slight distorsion on that kick. this has to be sorted out.

also i think your right about toning down the plucking in the center of the track. i may play a deep string melody to replace the plucking and then add a chopper effect to give it rythmn. i originally had a version with an extended break but i didnt have the layers to variate during such a long break. ill try again.

thanks for the very helpful critique and the time you spent writing it. i really apprieciate it.

rich