Song(s)

[Dr. Time]

On a second listen to it, I actually take that back. I felt like the guitars were louder, yes. But now, they seem to be perfect. Idk what came over me earlier

Nono, that's the thing. I asked if that's the guitars that you thought are a bit too loud in the mix because that seemed to me as well. It's what you feel about the mix the first time you listen to it that matter the most. If you need time to get used to it, means it's not a good mix yet.

Oh, well...then yes, I FELT like the guitars were a bit loud at first. So that's that.

Now, I LOVE this. I'll admit, the intro wasn't as great as the previous ones I heard, but it's still good.
The snare sounds uncommon. Like, it really feels nice to have something fresh for a change. Did you custom-make it or was it a sample?
I love the atmosphere. The only complaint I have, is that it's way too short. :P

I really love how informative this thread can be, btw. I find it extremely helpful and feel that I learn a lot by listening to your stuff Thanks for that.

To break it down for you what's actually happening: I created a very funky arpeggiator which is completely random melodically, has completely random velocity and note length as well. Then I put it on various synths and listened to how it sounds. I found three synths that had different things emphasised by the arp (main synth that you can hear from the start, texture synth that comes 0:26 and a bass synth). So every time I bounce this track the actual note pattern is different.
Snare is a whole different thing, you're right. It's a drum sample I found somewhere. But I halved the tempo of it and the pitch got changed as well. I really liked the texture it brought even though you can hear some artefacts.

Yeah man, I'm really glad I can share my methods with you and hope you find it interesting and helpful!

That's actually very interesting! Thanks for sharing.
And I DO find it very interesting and helpful.

There's a new version of nothingsgonnahurtyou cover. I fixed the snare at the end, worked on the mix and added some elements and neat textures to make it more interesting: https://soundcloud.com/carusofficial/nthn/s-kWVkK
What do you think of the mix now?

Ooooh really good job! The mix sounds cleaner, and I think the snare works well now.
I think I'll replay this song a lot My friends will love this too.
Only one question: Why the tapestop at the end? A fade out would've worked better imo.

[Ramond]

Somin, there are no guitars that are ever too loud. Doesn't the guitar kind of pick up a lead here? Then it's justified having it this much in the foreground.

[Simoneon]

https://soundcloud.com/carusofficial/nakedheart/s-bbw2y

Little something new I did. Really curious on how the mix sounds, because I haven't tested it on any other systems but my own. If something isn't pleasant to your ears please comment and tell me when's that.

[Dr. Time]

YAYYYYY

Okay, so I'll go part by part.
Really liked the intro. How it starts soft and subtle and all. But one thing I noticed, which is nothing big really, is that the first synth, upon playing a note, abruptly stops. I mean, there wasn't a smooth fade-out or anything. Unless it was intentional.
You could try adding a slight hint of reverb to add a tail to the synth, so that it just sort of fades out instead of stopping before playing the next batch of notes.

Liked the melody you put on top of the first synth after the initial intro. It's a really uncommon melody with that synth, which really is a breath of fresh air from the usual generic sounds.

Also have to mention the sound effects in the background during this part. Is it a simple white rise and fall with some filters? Or did you record it somewhere?

Now, the drums.
The drum pattern was really uncommon, and not in a bad way. I also thought that the snare really suited this tune, unlike the one in a previous song I told you about.
Also, in around the 1:50 mark after the drums fade out, the hats (?) that keeps playing are...a bit odd, in my opinion. It's not really audible anyway, although it does add a bit to the song.
Try using a clean finger-snap that's not too loud in that section. I dunno if it'll even work, but you could try.
Of course, this is just my opinion so.

Loved the outro, too. Nice, simple, interesting.

Overall, love the chill vibes of the song. Kinda missed your singing though
Also, I really, really loved the sounds you used in the background. It really, just, sort of filled up the song without interfering with the other elements. Do you download these sounds from random places, or do you make them from scratch? Really nice, nevertheless.

Thanks for sharing!

[Simoneon]

Really liked the intro. How it starts soft and subtle and all. But one thing I noticed, which is nothing big really, is that the first synth, upon playing a note, abruptly stops. I mean, there wasn't a smooth fade-out or anything. Unless it was intentional.

Hm it's hard for me to understand which notes you meant exactly, but if you're talking about the chords themselves and how they leave some room (in terms of silence) in between the chords -- that was intentional. I played everything live so all the pauses and small things in the performance are mostly intentional.

You could try adding a slight hint of reverb to add a tail to the synth, so that it just sort of fades out instead of stopping before playing the next batch of notes.

That's what I have later for that synth, isn't it? I didn't want to flood the intro into the reverbs so quick, I want it to start dry and close to you and then get more distant as you listen.

Liked the melody you put on top of the first synth after the initial intro. It's a really uncommon melody with that synth, which really is a breath of fresh air from the usual generic sounds.

Thanks! Funny thing is that everything is just one synth. I think it takes up 8 octaves for the whole song.
   

Also have to mention the sound effects in the background during this part. Is it a simple white rise and fall with some filters? Or did you record it somewhere?
---
Also, I really, really loved the sounds you used in the background. It really, just, sort of filled up the song without interfering with the other elements. Do you download these sounds from random places, or do you make them from scratch? Really nice, nevertheless.

Some of the sound effects are coming from the synth itself (vibrato, vinyl effects). But the main thing I used to create this atmosphere is a convolution reverb where instead of a regular impulse response I put a sample I had recorded previously, which is basically me hitting a cooking pan lid (I really liked the sound of it and thought I'd use it as a cymbal sometime). You can really hear the effect coming at the parts where you said I used whitenoise with some filters (but I didn't haha). I added some dubstation delays here and there -- and that's it! To make it even more wide and random, I added different slow moving tremolos on all the atmosphere tracks, with slightly different rates (from 0.08Hz to 0.12Hz I think).
Have to point out that all the convolution reverbs I have are coming from the main synth performance. Looks like this:    

If you want even more details I can bounce these down separately so you can hear what they do.

Now, the drums.
The drum pattern was really uncommon, and not in a bad way. I also thought that the snare really suited this tune, unlike the one in a previous song I told you about.
Also, in around the 1:50 mark after the drums fade out, the hats (?) that keeps playing are...a bit odd, in my opinion. It's not really audible anyway, although it does add a bit to the song.
Try using a clean finger-snap that's not too loud in that section. I dunno if it'll even work, but you could try.
Of course, this is just my opinion so.

Thanks! Yeah, I noticed that when I was making the segment. However I didn't want to add any more sounds as I wanted to keep the simplistic feel for the drums. But yeah you're right, there is something strange about it. However to be fair I kind of started to like it after a few listens. It still brings that odd feel, but at least shakes up the dreamy and sleepy atmosphere.

Loved the outro, too. Nice, simple, interesting.

Overall, love the chill vibes of the song. Kinda missed your singing though

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks man, I really appreciate your comments! Makes me happy that you listen with such detail... and motivated so I want to add even more details (even though it seems you haven't found the sampling thingy I did with this piece yet). I kinda missed singing as well, but my mic has broken down so it's tough. Thanks for listening!

[Dr. Time]

This was SO helpful. And you even took the trouble of taking pictures? Thanks.

Yes, the reverb thing makes sense. I guess it just comes to you with experience In the end, it did all come together beautifully.

Some of the sound effects are coming from the synth itself (vibrato, vinyl effects). But the main thing I used to create this atmosphere is a convolution reverb where instead of a regular impulse response I put a sample I had recorded previously, which is basically me hitting a cooking pan lid (I really liked the sound of it and thought I'd use it as a cymbal sometime). You can really hear the effect coming at the parts where you said I used whitenoise with some filters (but I didn't haha). I added some dubstation delays here and there -- and that's it! To make it even more wide and random, I added different slow moving tremolos on all the atmosphere tracks, with slightly different rates (from 0.08Hz to 0.12Hz I think).

THIS. This was extremely interesting.
I always struggle with making sound effects. But this gave me some ideas to experiment with, haha.
The most I've learnt is that you can never go wrong with experimenting
I think I'll look into some good, free third-party plugins that will help with this.


Another thing that I struggle with is keeping the song interesting. I keep on doing it, and then suddenly, boom. No more ideas. Don't know how to proceed. I take a break and all, but it's still the same. .-.
I ultimately scrap the project in it's entirety like that. Oh well.

Thanks! Yeah, I noticed that when I was making the segment. However I didn't want to add any more sounds as I wanted to keep the simplistic feel for the drums. But yeah you're right, there is something strange about it. However to be fair I kind of started to like it after a few listens. It still brings that odd feel, but at least shakes up the dreamy and sleepy atmosphere.

It actually grows on you as you listen to the song more But perhaps you could try using something different too, and see how it works out. That's all I'm saying.


And finally, thank YOU for sharing your work. The way you work, and the tips I find in your thread are priceless. Thank you.