I'm only posting here because I'm not looking for comments, I'm looking for crticism. I feel like even if I ask for it at the promotion forum I'm still going to get generic feedback, or not much at all.

This is a reworked version of a song I put on SC called Dream Machine, I don't want the compression to get in the way so I used Tindeck to upload it. I changed a lot of the elements and EQ based on the advice you guys gave me, but I really want to make sure it sounds good when it's a 320 MP3 instead of a compressed upload on Soundcloud.

http://www.tindeck.com/listen/cbhv
EDIT: http://www.tindeck.com/listen/mbzl -- re-edited version, fixed a lot of the brightness issues here.

Like tehlord said a while back, tear this apart for me. Anything bad or good related to the music or the production, let me know. I wouldn't normally do this but I'm really very proud of how this track turned out and I just want to make sure it's as good as I can make it, and my ears are beyond fatigued from listening to this over and over again looking for flaws.

Thanks guys.

Last edited by Kysora on Aug-13-2010 at 21:57

Really very cool track.

There was a couple of things that bothered me a bit :-

It becomes fatiguing fairly quickly. I did a quick EQ check through Ozone and a small 2.5db cut at 166hz and a high shelf cut at 6600hz cut by 2b made it much easier to listen to. I A/B'd your version against my EQ and to begin with it sounds dulled down, but in isolation I think the cuts create a more rounded mix.

I'd also say the piano under the big lead after the break maybe too much information.

Brilliant track though. A keeper for me as you've set it for download

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Does it sound fatiguing to anyone else? I'll give it a shot if it does, thanks buddy.

tend to agree with Tehlord, also clap a bit on the loud side
currenly the high is like metal on my teeth fillings. but indeed a great track.

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if you made this in fl then fuck man it would pointless making any harsh comments as its such a cool tune.

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Yeah this was made in FL, I'd still like to make it as good as possible haha. Thank you though

Alright I'll try a high cut at the frequencies tehlord mentioned and see what it does to the track, any other complaints?

quote:

Originally posted by Kysora Yeah this was made in FL, I'd still like to make it as good as possible haha. Thank you though Alright I'll try a high cut at the frequencies tehlord mentioned and see what it does to the track, any other complaints?

Highs, definitely a little too bright. I love some of the resonance in there, though - just very bright.

Lovely song.

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Sorry you didn't get a response in the musician's promotion forum. Most people who know anything about musical engineering don't listen there, though. No point because 99% of it is awful.

Sorry, but this track sucks. Every aspect is just lame, stupid, and a bore to listen. It hurts my ears to just try because the whole thing is too bright.

Composition aside, it's not interesting.

Engineering aside, the composition isn't interesting.

Keep trying, I guess. It's really not hard to make cool music. I don't know what to tell you, but it's nothing I would put in my set if I were a DJ, that's for damn sure.

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quote:

Originally posted by alanzo I don't know what to tell you, but it's nothing I would put in my set if I were a DJ, that's for damn sure.

Thanks for the criticism I suppose, though calling every element lame and stupid is kind of a bold claim, I really don't know why you feel that way. Is it genre bias? Do you just not like this kind of music? I always figured you've been active in EDM long enough to see past that, but I know how ridiculous people get over uplifting trance around here. And you're saying you wouldn't play it if you were a DJ as if it were a bad thing.. if I were a DJ neither would I. That's not really my target audience.

But, yeah, thanks for the criticism then. If you've got nothing against uplifting trance and just genuinely don't like this, then hopefully you like whatever I do in the future more.

I'm EQing it in oZone right now, so if any of you want to check out the comparison and let me know if it sounds better, please do so. Thanks.

edit: Did the cuts tehlord suggested along with a few small tweaks, it already sounds a LOT better. I think there was something wrong with the volume when I exported the last version, too, now that I listen to it on headphones it's a lot louder than it should be.. that might be causing a lot of the brightness problems. If you guys could just skim through it again once it's uploaded to hear the difference and let me know if it's a good change I'd really appreciate it.

Last edited by Kysora on Aug-13-2010 at 03:32

quote:

Originally posted by Kysora Thanks for the criticism I suppose, though calling every element lame and stupid is kind of a bold claim, I really don't know why you feel that way. Is it genre bias? Do you just not like this kind of music? I always figured you've been active in EDM long enough to see past that, but I know how ridiculous people get over uplifting trance around here. And you're saying you wouldn't play it if you were a DJ as if it were a bad thing.. if I were a DJ neither would I. That's not really my target audience. But, yeah, thanks for the criticism then. If you've got nothing against uplifting trance and just genuinely don't like this, then hopefully you like whatever I do in the future more. I'm EQing it in oZone right now, so if any of you want to check out the comparison and let me know if it sounds better, please do so. Thanks. edit: Did the cuts tehlord suggested along with a few small tweaks, it already sounds a LOT better. I think there was something wrong with the volume when I exported the last version, too, now that I listen to it on headphones it's a lot louder than it should be.. that might be causing a lot of the brightness problems. If you guys could just skim through it again once it's uploaded to hear the difference and let me know if it's a good change I'd really appreciate it.

Nahh, I love uplifting when it's done well. Daniel Kandi (uplifting star) is just about the only Anjuna artist who does no-wrong these days with my ears.

There were a few redeeming elemetns, sure. If you want a confidence boost, I guess I could go through and name each one. They were all minor aspects of the track, though.

I think the big thing is that I *generally* get what you were going for, but it was a poor attempt at that. Again, I don't know what to tell you other than to keep at it.

If I tell you to raise the clap, reduce the brightness, put in more ear candy, etc... they're all useless comments that you can't fully understand until you know what makes enjoyable music. Enjoyable. That's the key word. Make something that's a joy to listen to. At that point, you won't even need comments anymore.

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I wasn't fishing for a confidence boost, I'm happy enough with the track myself, I was just trying to see where you were coming from when you just outright say the track sucks. I don't know if you just meant that personally or if you think on a subjective level this track doesn't hold a candle to even a mediocre track, I dunno. I guess I see where you're coming from though. Plenty of people seem to have enjoyed it so far though and I've never been one to add "ear candy" to anything to make it more appealing to someone else, what's there is there and I'm pretty proud of it personally. Sorry you don't enjoy it, though, I'll try harder to impress you next time around.

Speaking of which, here's the updated track. I don't expect anyone to sit through all 9 minutes of it again but if you guys can just skim it and let me know if this is better/worse/the same that'd be great:

http://www.tindeck.com/listen/mbzl

quote:

Originally posted by Kysora Sorry you don't enjoy it, though, I'll try harder to impress you next time around.

Instead, try to impress yourself. I won't care about your music until it's worth listening to. That's the feeling of the general public.

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