The WIP Thread

[manana]

As Shammas said, it definitely has a BTBAM vibe to it. I dig it! Maybe beefen up the guitars a bit by introducing some low mids in there? Maybe around 350-550 hz.



I really like your clean tone. It's super crisp and elegant. Some interesting snippets you've got there! Great variety.



I went ahead and listened to the v2 you just put up. Drums as punchy and cut through really nice. I feel bass guitar could be brought up a bit as well as beefing up the guitars around the same low mid area as I said above. But very concise and well played!


Here's a little something I've been working on.

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/ijewbear/the-funnels-of-shiredun[/SC]

Wow that was a cool song! Very dreamtheater like. I think the guitars are a little dark and can use more presence. The hats can come down in volume and the kicks kind of sound flubby? Like you bumped them in the 3khz range? If you lower the hihat volume and compress the drum bus more I think it will sound better. What did you use for the intro?

I took your advice and here is v3

https://soundcloud.com/drummtest/bay-of-pigs-v3

 

[Saieph]

Tallest - Love the track! I especially dig how in it's completeness, various elements poke their heads out and surprise and engage you along the way. It's a very dynamic track, but also darn cohesive. The overall tone is also very pleasing. I would DEFINITELY like to hear more of what you have going on for sure!

Shammas - Very cool compilation. You have a little bit of everything going on there, and it's extremely compelling and is sure to make for a very solid set of songs. It sounded to me like the levels were all very "together", so while this board is specifically for critiquing, I really have nothing more to say than keep up the good work!

I edited a little and completed my most recent contribution. I brought the delay guitar up a tad, put some delay on to smooth things out, brought the heavier guitars down a tad, and added a little verb to the snare. I did NOT, however, get a chance to "humanize" the snare any further. TALLEST - I hear you about the drums and guitar in the "bridge" section(s)...I was kind of going for something a bit disjointed there to separate the sections, and also (as you will hear at the end of the track) going for a foreshadowing type effect with the drums, while maintaining something cohesive with the music itself. This is the opener of a conceptual 5 song thing I'm steadily working on...so it is introducing some elements that will be reflected and expanded upon throughout the rest of the group of songs. As a stand alone, it may feel weird, but I'm really hoping I can tie all that together to make sense as things progress. So, here is the newer, completed composition (sans humanize):

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/gashzilla/0002_saieph-1[/SC]

That being said, here is the incomplete start of song #2 in aforementioned concept album...follows the last one directly. I only put bass on the intro, and there is a part where I haven't even tracked the guitars yet. LOL But, it's something, and a bit heavier and faster than my typical offering. Thanks, as always, for listening!

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/gashzilla/0003_saieph[/SC]

 

[Saieph]

Update to the new song. Composition is pretty much done. Maybe a couple of other elements here and there...I'd say at least 90-95% done.

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/gashzilla/0003_saieph-1[/SC]

 

[JEngelking]

EDIT 2 (1/10/15 9:49) I fixed up a few things and mastered it while trying to be a bit more subtle. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out now, I think I'm done with it, but if anyone has any tips on how to improve it that would be great

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/nickareiaswip/1-1-2015-final[/SC]

That was awesome dude! I really liked the feel of that track. I agree with theo, everything sits well and sounds cohesive, the drums and bass glue together well and have just the right amount punch, nice work man. How present the bass was also made me happy.

Hey guys,

Trying to make a new mix from the ground up. Used TSE x50v2.3.1, trillina, MF.

https://soundcloud.com/drummtest/stiawa-htrea-eht

I too got BTBAM vibes, I dig what you've got so far. The overall feel is kind of robotic in the first half, although not in a negative way and I don't feel like it detracts from the song at all. I feel like overall the levels of the instruments are all good, but that the drums could be punchier. The kick drum and snare could use more body in my opinion, but that might just be a matter of taste. Otherwise, good work!

Here's a little something I've been working on.

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/ijewbear/the-funnels-of-shiredun[/SC]

I was initially gonna say that I think the guitars could use some more high end, but I actually think the tone you have going fits really well with the style of the song. I really like the energy of that clip, were you planning to expand on it more? It's awesome!

Update to the new song. Composition is pretty much done. Maybe a couple of other elements here and there...I'd say at least 90-95% done.

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/gashzilla/0003_saieph-1[/SC]

I feel like the cymbals could cut through more, but it sounds to me like the bass and drums sound pretty cohesive with one another. I enjoyed the song itself as well! Although the guitar tone is a little boxy to my ears.



Here's my latest recording. It's probably the least technical thing I've recorded in a long time, but it was fun to write. I'm sure it would sound far more complete if I had a bass to record as well. Songwriting-wise I feel like there's something missing towards the end, I just get the feeling it's incomplete, even though I think it works well as a shorter, energetic, in-your-face song. Maybe I just need to repeat the ending riffs another two times or something like that? Let me know what you guys think.

Planning to put this on an album with Sauronkraut and Stone Chicken which are also on my Soundcloud and I've posted in this thread.

https://soundcloud.com/oceansbuiltonsinkingships/rotting-frame

 

[Saieph]

I feel like the cymbals could cut through more, but it sounds to me like the bass and drums sound pretty cohesive with one another. I enjoyed the song itself as well! Although the guitar tone is a little boxy to my ears.

...cymbals...check. I will get on that. I have actually noticed that a bit recently. I don't really like cymbals much, but I think you are right, for the sake of a "good recording" they do need to cut through a bit more.

Thanks for the compliment, for sure. Can you please elaborate on "boxy"?

Here's my latest recording. It's probably the least technical thing I've recorded in a long time, but it was fun to write. I'm sure it would sound far more complete if I had a bass to record as well. Songwriting-wise I feel like there's something missing towards the end, I just get the feeling it's incomplete, even though I think it works well as a shorter, energetic, in-your-face song. Maybe I just need to repeat the ending riffs another two times or something like that? Let me know what you guys think.

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/oceansbuiltonsinkingships/rotting-frame[/SC]

I enjoyed that! With a bass it would definitely sound more full. To my ears the snare is just a tad too up front...otherwise, very enjoyable. As for the ending (and this is JUST me here) I would invite some wicked electronic element...something chaotic and noisy, fading in...something to throw the listener off, but also to give the feel of "an end"...

Good stuff...looking forward to hearing more.

 

[JEngelking]

...cymbals...check. I will get on that. I have actually noticed that a bit recently. I don't really like cymbals much, but I think you are right, for the sake of a "good recording" they do need to cut through a bit more.

Thanks for the compliment, for sure. Can you please elaborate on "boxy"?



I enjoyed that! With a bass it would definitely sound more full. To my ears the snare is just a tad too up front...otherwise, very enjoyable. As for the ending (and this is JUST me here) I would invite some wicked electronic element...something chaotic and noisy, fading in...something to throw the listener off, but also to give the feel of "an end"...

Good stuff...looking forward to hearing more.

Hmmm, that's something cool to think about, maybe I could repeat the ending riffs twice over and on the repeated part I'll add on I could have some sort of crazy glitchy sounding guitar? I'll have to work on that!

By boxy, it just sounds to me like the guitars could use a little more thump and low end, and lack some presence. I think they could glue together with the bass and drums a bit more too. What are you using for the guitar tone? I think you're on the right track with the style of tone, just needs a little tweaking!

 

[Saieph]

By boxy, it just sounds to me like the guitars could use a little more thump and low end, and lack some presence. I think they could glue together with the bass and drums a bit more too. What are you using for the guitar tone? I think you're on the right track with the style of tone, just needs a little tweaking!

I don't have a proper interface, so I'm using JamUp on my iPhone, a fairly flat profile on an amplifier on that, into the mic in on my computer...that then goes to Amp Rack on Cubase 7. Honestly, I took the Meshuggah presets and messed with them to get them where I wanted. So, re-tweaking should not be a problem, I'm just getting a bit frustrated with my tone and have tried re-working it several times. I'll try to post the full chain at some point tomorrow when I'm back at it.

My PLAN is to get a Focustrite Scarlet 2i2 at some point so I can skip JamUp for everything except my bass (simulated bass...it's still my guitar )...I DO have a Lexicon Alpha sitting around somewhere, but I'm not sure if it's a good interface or not so I haven't really done anything with it.

Any suggestions so far? I'll get that chain soon.

...and thanks, as always!

 

[Kinzoku]

Here's something a little dark that i made a couple of minutes ago, i kind of like it but i just don't know how i want the track to progress. Any thoughts?

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/jonaserixon/dark-slow-guitars[/SC]

 

[Saieph]

Here's something a little dark that i made a couple of minutes ago, i kind of like it but i just don't know how i want the track to progress. Any thoughts?

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/jonaserixon/dark-slow-guitars[/SC]

Add a few more layers...heavier...get a chug going...then slowly bring in a full choir as counterpoint to the underlying melody. Then bridge the main melody into a major-key re-render, then slam the listener with all of the elements back at once. A la Type O Negative. Just a thought.

 

[hypotc]

Wrote this little twangy thingy today. It's simple, but I really like the groove. Any opinions?

[SC]http://soundcloud.com/hypotc/mjau[/SC]

 

[DamienE7]

Manana- Sweet song man, reminded me instantly of Alaska-era BTBAM. For my personal tastes I'd make that snare a little less "garbage canny" and probably add some more low-end bass frequencies in there. Otherwise, sounds killer my man!

Tallest- There isn't much I can say that Theo didn't already say, except maybe I would try and make that lead at 1:06 sit a little better. I really love the vibe of that track though.

Here's my latest, it's a compilation of a few songs off my album that I'm currently working on. They're mixed, mastered, and all so feel free to tear anything apart as your heart desires.
[SC]https://soundcloud.com/michaelaverymusic/teaser-1-michael-avery-album-2015[/SC]

Man!! That is super impressive If anything I would say that the Phaser in the 4th clip could blend a little better... it feels overpowering to me

Thanks. I listened to the whole teaser. First, you can definitely make that louder! Throw something like l3 ultramaximizer from waves or any kind of master oriented limiter! The writing is really good. The guitars could use more treble and presence, otherwise its pretty good. I think you can play around with the levels to make it more balanced.


Here is a mixtest I did. Cover of bay of pigs by acacia string. I will be using this as a template for all my low tuned songs so I hope its good!

https://soundcloud.com/drummtest/bay-of-pigs-mixtest

Acacia Strain is Amazing and so was that man! sound really good

Wrote this little twangy thingy today. It's simple, but I really like the groove. Any opinions?

[SC]http://soundcloud.com/hypotc/mjau[/SC]

This is a really groovy track... Id like to see a bass lead or something like that in there... i can just feel the bass wanting to take off.


And now... I have updated my cover of Paint It Black

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/damien-evans-7/paint-it-black-1[/SC]

 

[Saieph]

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/saieph/test_saieph[/SC]

OK, so, I'm now using nothing but the guitar>DI>Amp Rack for guitar and bass tones. This is just a quick tone and overall initial mix test for 1. Guitar Tones (quad tracked 100L-80R + 80L-100R), 2. Bass tone (overdrive, even though I may change it to a more "fuzz" tone), 3. More humanized snare hits, 4. Cymbals up slightly in the mix.

Let me know what you think. (Yes, I think the guitar and bass MAY need to come up in the mix more, overall)

EDIT: For clarification, I have BEEN going thru JamUp on my iPhone for a "clean" channel link to Cubase, then amping using Amp Rack...previously the bass tone was completely generated on JamUp. I hooked up my Lexicon Alpha over the weekend and this was the result...after having to get a decent bass tone and re-do the guitar tones for consistency with the DI interface as opposed to a starting clean channel direct to mic input.

 

[spn_phoenix_92]

Wrote this little twangy thingy today. It's simple, but I really like the groove. Any opinions?

[SC]http://soundcloud.com/hypotc/mjau[/SC]

I really love the eq on the guitar

And now... I have updated my cover of Paint It Black

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/damien-evans-7/paint-it-black-1[/SC]

Really good cover, but there's a bit of a weird frequency thing going on with the guitar, kinda like a speaker in a tunnel if that makes any sense. Other than that it's perfect!

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/saieph/test_saieph[/SC]

OK, so, I'm now using nothing but the guitar>DI>Amp Rack for guitar and bass tones. This is just a quick tone and overall initial mix test for 1. Guitar Tones (quad tracked 100L-80R + 80L-100R), 2. Bass tone (overdrive, even though I may change it to a more "fuzz" tone), 3. More humanized snare hits, 4. Cymbals up slightly in the mix.

Let me know what you think. (Yes, I think the guitar and bass MAY need to come up in the mix more, overall)

EDIT: For clarification, I have BEEN going thru JamUp on my iPhone for a "clean" channel link to Cubase, then amping using Amp Rack...previously the bass tone was completely generated on JamUp. I hooked up my Lexicon Alpha over the weekend and this was the result...after having to get a decent bass tone and re-do the guitar tones for consistency with the DI interface as opposed to a starting clean channel direct to mic input.

Only thing I could possibly say would be a little more high end or tightness, everything else sounds fine to me.

Ok here's something I did last night, I want to make it about 3 times longer & extend the guitar & synth part quite a bit, probably focus the rest of the song around that. It's got quite a few kinks I gotta work out but so far that's what I got of it

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/spn_phoenix_92/untitled-ambient-project[/SC]

 

[DamienE7]

I really love the eq on the guitar



Really good cover, but there's a bit of a weird frequency thing going on with the guitar, kinda like a speaker in a tunnel if that makes any sense. Other than that it's perfect!


Only thing I could possibly say would be a little more high end or tightness, everything else sounds fine to me.

Ok here's something I did last night, I want to make it about 3 times longer & extend the guitar & synth part quite a bit, probably focus the rest of the song around that. It's got quite a few kinks I gotta work out but so far that's what I got of it

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/spn_phoenix_92/untitled-ambient-project[/SC]

For the life of me i cannot figure out the guitars in this cover! I'm gunna have another go at it down the track after i swap out my pups i think... just can't seem to get what i want out of emgs anymore...

Im looking forward to hearing your tune a bit more fleshed out... i think working the guitar into that intro a bit more would be really good for it... maybe slowly introduce it with a lead part over the keys and bring the drums in gently building some tension/suspense...

So i have another tune i have been working on... i think i am starting to make a bit of progress with this mixing thing... let me know what you guys think!

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/damien-evans-7/epilogue[/SC]

 

[Saieph]

I really love the eq on the guitar
Ok here's something I did last night, I want to make it about 3 times longer & extend the guitar & synth part quite a bit, probably focus the rest of the song around that. It's got quite a few kinks I gotta work out but so far that's what I got of it
[SC]https://soundcloud.com/spn_phoenix_92/untitled-ambient-project[/SC]

I really like that! Simplistic, straightforward, moody...and it leaves you wanting more...wanting a resolution. I would argue that after your kinks are worked out, this will be some super special stuff and I look forward to hearing more!

I'm working out song #3 for my concept EP. This is just a start, and I will more than likely explore a couple of different mix and tone options here. The ending is a bit more brittle and less full than I would like. So...yeah, it still has work, but it's getting there:

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/saieph/0003_saieph[/SC]

 

[Saieph]

Sorry, uploaded the new version and knocked out the one in the previous post. Your critiques are very welcome!

This has everything except bass, and it's using the newer tone options I have. Let me know what you think!

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/saieph/0003_saieph[/SC]

 

[Konfyouzd]

Didn't know this thread existed... I like...

 

[Saieph]

Didn't know this thread existed... I like...

I like that you like. In fact, I like the fact that I liked you liking it!

 

[Forrest_H]

Had a sad, made this:

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/forrest-hooker/healing[/SC]

 

[rohan daniel]

hey guys just wanted to get some criticism on this track about mixing, mastering or maybe something you just hate about this track

am i doing it right?
line6, SSD and UAD were used on this track

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/sidechainaudio/cynic-bliss-lost-in-heaven[/SC]