Ive been working on this track for a few days now, i want to see what you guys think of it.

is the mix down OK?

anything i can add to this also?

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Kick drum is WAY too loud and too bass-y. Notch that sucker at 50Hz to take out some of the boom. This may also help out the general "woody" sound of the kick.

Cymbal crash way too loud as well. Super loud, in fact.

The plucked chords are too quiet as well. Those might benefit from a high pass for the low frequencies and a tiny boost at the fundamental.

Probably could stand to bring that background pad up a tiny bit. If its purpose is to provide a bed, then it definitely need to be louder.

That bell piano (?) in the break is very dull, might want to look for a different piano. It just doesnt sit in the mix well either when the track comes back in. Its too loud in parts.

The filter sweep in the transitions makes the whole track very quiet when it gets turned up, is it hitting any 2-buss compression too hard?

Track in general sounds muddy and out of balance mix wise. Make sure everything but the kick and bass are highpassed around 150Hz. Needs more air and brightness. Sounds very mid-scooped.

The entire track might benefit with a bit more FX elements to generate some interest. The basic arrangement is good, but some of the parts drag on a bit. Adding some FX elements here and there will help keep the listener interested. I think if you can fix the mix, then it might turn out to be a pretty cool chill track.

Minor gripe, but the reverb at the end of the track cuts off. Dont let it go out that way, let it ring out. In fact, you may want to review the send/insert effects in the track, especially reverb. it sounds like a lot of parts could do with less reverb on them because it is pushing them into the background when they sound like they should be more prominent.

it was that bad eh?

alright ill be working on it thanks

The kick is quite thumpy, maybe just bring the level down a bit.

The background plucks could use some more definition so they can be heard better.

The lead piano bell is a bit too loud, but I don't mind the sound of it.

Overall, this is quite nice, a nice chilled song, has a good groove.

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Originally posted by derail The kick is quite thumpy, maybe just bring the level down a bit. The background plucks could use some more definition so they can be heard better. The lead piano bell is a bit too loud, but I don't mind the sound of it. Overall, this is quite nice, a nice chilled song, has a good groove.

thanks im kind of new to this stuff, and ive always wondered, whats a great synth the can produce really good clean chord plucks, the one i'm using just doesnt cut it. any good ones besides sylenth1(hate that)?

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Originally posted by sako487 it was that bad eh? alright ill be working on it thanks

Not bad, just stuff I noticed. Mixdowns can be a bitch, even for professionals. Having good monitors, a clean DA signal path and room treatment can make things easier, but you can still make a good one without all those things (to a point). In your case, the track is arranged well enough and things aren't too cluttered, so its probably just a matter of getting the sounds to sit properly. Try mixing in mono initially to focus on getting your levels set and turn on stereo once everything sounds about right. Also, remember, sometimes its not about volume. There are times where too much reverb or other effects can push things into the background, and it helps to back off a bit.

quote:

Originally posted by sako487 thanks im kind of new to this stuff, and ive always wondered, whats a great synth the can produce really good clean chord plucks, the one i'm using just doesnt cut it. any good ones besides sylenth1(hate that)?

Sylenth1 is more than capable of making great plucks, its just a matter of careful programming, (sometimes) use of effects and (most importantly) context in your track. You'll need to make heavy use of the filter envelope decay in order to get that pluck-y sound., and make sure your filter envelope is modulating the cutoff enough. You need to achieve a balance between the Filter envelope, amp envelope and filter cutoff.

I've made great plucks in Sylenth1, Massive and ES2, all of which serve well in various tracks.

Last edited by Eric J on Sep-26-2009 at 05:52

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Originally posted by Eric J Not bad, just stuff I noticed. Mixdowns can be a bitch, even for professionals. Having good monitors, a clean DA signal path and room treatment can make things easier, but you can still make a good one without all those things (to a point). In your case, the track is arranged well enough and things aren't too cluttered, so its probably just a matter of getting the sounds to sit properly. Try mixing in mono initially to focus on getting your levels set and turn on stereo once everything sounds about right. Also, remember, sometimes its not about volume. There are times where too much reverb or other effects can push things into the background, and it helps to back off a bit. Sylenth1 is more than capable of making great plucks, its just a matter of careful programming, (sometimes) use of effects and (most importantly) context in your track. You'll need to make heavy use of the filter envelope decay in order to get that pluck-y sound., and make sure your filter envelope is modulating the cutoff enough. You need to achieve a balance between the Filter envelope, amp envelope and filter cutoff. I've made great plucks in Sylenth1, Massive and ES2, all of which serve well in various tracks.

i aint saying sylenth 1 is really bad,to me it just sounds weak, maybe some compression and reverb could help. I'll check out the other ones also.

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Originally posted by sako487 i aint saying sylenth 1 is really bad,to me it just sounds weak, maybe some compression and reverb could help. I'll check out the other ones also.

I'd work on the sound in Sylenth1 itself, i think the problem lies in the patch programming. Adding reverb is just going to wash it out more. Compression is just going to lessen the pluck effect by killing the transient. Have you tried turning off the effects in Sylenth1?

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Originally posted by Eric J I'd work on the sound in Sylenth1 itself, i think the problem lies in the patch programming. Adding reverb is just going to wash it out more. Compression is just going to lessen the pluck effect by killing the transient. Have you tried turning off the effects in Sylenth1?

turned em all off, and also layered 3. Its louder but not that epic chord sound i want

nvm i fixed it

Did you have anything on the master when doing the mixdown? Any compression, limiting etc...?
If not, then I'd say the mix doesn't sound half bad. Apart from that bell thing, which is way too loud. I don't mind the kick, I think it sound good, but bring it down 1 or 2 db and it'd be perfect. Maybe bring down some of the low end, because it does sound boomy, especially when listening loud. Th cymbal is too loud though, super loud That plucks thing could also benefit from a 3-5db boost. I'd also boost the pad, but I don't know if that was the intent to have it in the background so much.

Maybe I'd remove some of the very high end off the cymbals too. Or just leave that to the ME.

Anyway, apart from some levels being off, the mixdown sound OK to me. Sounds eqed good, you seem to have nice stereo image going.

I think if you work out the levels and send this off for professional mastering, it'd turn out quite nice.

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Originally posted by vikernes Did you have anything on the master when doing the mixdown? Any compression, limiting etc...? If not, then I'd say the mix doesn't sound half bad. Apart from that bell thing, which is way too loud. I don't mind the kick, I think it sound good, but bring it down 1 or 2 db and it'd be perfect. Maybe bring down some of the low end, because it does sound boomy, especially when listening loud. Th cymbal is too loud though, super loud That plucks thing could also benefit from a 3-5db boost. I'd also boost the pad, but I don't know if that was the intent to have it in the background so much. Maybe I'd remove some of the very high end off the cymbals too. Or just leave that to the ME. Anyway, apart from some levels being off, the mixdown sound OK to me. Sounds eqed good, you seem to have nice stereo image going. I think if you work out the levels and send this off for professional mastering, it'd turn out quite nice.

thanks for your comment, i did all those things exept for the bassdrum. I lowered the really low lows in the bassdrum but not the kick. I want the kick to be really thumpy and sorta stand out, not be weak you know?