Hello everybody!

Back with a new track. My previous track was some sort of trance tryout, but ended up being something else than trance. This is my second try on writing trance tune. Perhaps this isn't either pure trance tune, I think it has more dreamy quality.

Anyways, I would really appreciate comments and advices regarding arrangment and mix. My main worries are that the track is bit too repetitive, and perhaps it doesn't intrude enough dynamic contrast. Also does it feel bit messy to you guys?

Regarding the mix I feel almost deaf. I used this whole day for mixing and now my ears are basicly burning, so I can't really say how well I did. Comments?

Thank you guys!

Oh, and the track:
http://soundcloud.com/raskal83/two-dreams-in-a-dream

No comments? Is the track so boring?

Intro beep is annoying.

Your pads are nice though. I don't like the chords they play, but they sound good. Your perc and bassline makes the rest of the tune sound dated, same with the main lead too.

It's not a terrible effort, and if you were going for the oldskool vibe, you have achieved it.

My advice is to get some modern sounds (sample packs for percussion) and look at making some modern synth noises. Then try and make a more current sounding track, cause at the moment all I can review is how old the track sounds.

It's not terrible, so don't be downbeat, just freshen it up a little. Make the kick harder and the bass lower and you're half way there.

___________________
Nothing lasts, nothing lasts, everything is changing into something else. Nothing is wrong, nothing is wrong, everything is on track...

You know, William Blake said... uh, nothing is lost. Nothing is lost and I... I really believe that, we only move on...

listened.. the high's sounded way to high imo. It also sounded like you went crazy on phasing or alternating your sounds. The riffs were cool and so was the break. I'd just bring the entire track down from those high frequencies so people's ears don't hurt.

Thanks for the comments guys!

I need to be more careful with the highs then. I guess I'm way too used to mix those highs that ways. But yeah, definetly need to be more careful.

It's not actualy phasing that is going on, it's loads of filtering that I automated trying to create sense of movement.

quote:

Originally posted by raskal83 Thanks for the comments guys! I need to be more careful with the highs then. I guess I'm way too used to mix those highs that ways. But yeah, definetly need to be more careful. It's not actualy phasing that is going on, it's loads of filtering that I automated trying to create sense of movement.

Also be aware that excess highs are often a result of ear fatique. You mentioned you worked all day on this mix down on this. Take a break perhaps?

Edit, although I didn't notice the highs being glaringly loud?

___________________
Nothing lasts, nothing lasts, everything is changing into something else. Nothing is wrong, nothing is wrong, everything is on track...

You know, William Blake said... uh, nothing is lost. Nothing is lost and I... I really believe that, we only move on...

Agreed, it does sound a bit dated, but i actually like that. Listened to alot of stuff that are similar so was a joy to listen to.

I felt like the song structure was very well put together. Uplifting.

The beep at the beginning is slightly distracting, I like how it shifts to the melody, but the initial beeps could perhaps be smoothed in a bit more.

The pads were really dreamy in this, definitely creates a sense of movement in the song, and the lead synth has a very catchy tune.

I didn't find this song very repetitive. However, dance music is very repetitive, and I have heard many songs that are MUCH more repetitive than this, so probably not the right person to be the judge of that lol

I think you did a very great job with this! Of course, if you want to make your song (or future productions) more modern, new samples and sounds are definitely in order. People always recommend Vengeance Essentials, but check out Xfer sample pack if that helps. Great job on this track Raskal!

Again thank you guys for taking time to comment on this. I'm still quite new to making trance (or electronic music that matter. I come from traditional rock backround being guitar player). And even though I have feeling that I have slight understanding the type of arrangments that are used in trance, but I'm totaly lost regarding sounds. Partly I like very oldschool synthmusic (Ray lynch, Kraftwerk, Vangelis, Tangerine dreams etc) and partly I like this much more modern (For example what Armin Van Buuren plays on his state of trance program). I just need to dwell more into world trance and synths. Thanks guys!

quote:

Originally posted by raskal83 Again thank you guys for taking time to comment on this. I'm still quite new to making trance (or electronic music that matter. I come from traditional rock backround being guitar player). And even though I have feeling that I have slight understanding the type of arrangments that are used in trance, but I'm totaly lost regarding sounds. Partly I like very oldschool synthmusic (Ray lynch, Kraftwerk, Vangelis, Tangerine dreams etc) and partly I like this much more modern (For example what Armin Van Buuren plays on his state of trance program). I just need to dwell more into world trance and synths. Thanks guys!

Arrangement is up in the air atm, tunes are becomming shorter and all the rules are going out the window. Do what the hell you like, did you program these sounds yourself? If so, great job!

___________________
Nothing lasts, nothing lasts, everything is changing into something else. Nothing is wrong, nothing is wrong, everything is on track...

You know, William Blake said... uh, nothing is lost. Nothing is lost and I... I really believe that, we only move on...

I dont have the skills to program those kind of sounds from beginning. What I do is I get preset sound, play the thing it is supposed to play, then tweak the preset sound from there. I don't think (I might be wrong though) that there are any pure preset sounds on that track, but all the sounds come from presets that I have modified. Just don't have the skills yet to do it totally from beginning, although trying to learn all the time.

Hear you there bud! I always find sound designing to be more complicated than actually arranging the track, a lot of top producers such as Armin and A&B have people they can go to for sound design (I believe some of the members of A&B even went to school for music, probably learning some of this themselves).Luckily in today's world learning about sound design couldn't be easier thanks to the internet.

With that said, I don't see it as wrong to use tweaked presets, I do it sometimes myself. Presets are not only there to help demo a certain synth, but they also help take out the work and effort sound designing requires so you can put your full attention to arranging. A tip I wish I learned a long time ago would be to sit down with your favorite synth and just make your own bank of presets. When you are hit with inspiration for a song, you can just put your full efforts into writing the song, having full concentration on a single task rather than two.

You should be very proud of this track, it has a very good vibe and emotions, and thats the most important thing for a song to have. Music is intended to bring emotions to the listener.