LinuxMusicians

Hi,
Well, it's friday...publish day. And, yes, this means: a video for you all.
This time, I used the Korg in the mix as well. You'll notice a pulse through the piece...that is the Korg....
A lot more reverb. We're in Space, after all, there's a lot of space out there...
As suggested by @jeanette_c , I have offset some channels to create a "bounce" in the track.
The taiko...thanks to @Rainmak3r , I found a nice set of more realistic set of taiko sounds...
They can also be heared in the "dance of the Thunder and the Fairy"....
Hope you like it.
I was trying to stretch the stereo using the tips @LAM gave, until I found out that I use a 32 bit OS and the plugins are (go figure) 64 bit
Oh well...
Love
Melissa

Very good track, this time the mix/EQ sounds more balanced.
I would make a more pronounced use of effects to blend more the sounds, especially the bell and the drum, but we know why you can't at the moment.
Regarding these two sounds, everytime I hear them I can't avoid to think about the 1994 album "Primordial Atmospheres" from Mystical Sun (an amazing album, ahead of its time in my opinion).
Not that these sounds are exactly what were used in that album but for some reason my brain associate them to that.

LAM wrote: ↑Fri Nov 19, 2021 12:58 pm Very good track, this time the mix/EQ sounds more balanced.
I would make a more pronounced use of effects to blend more the sounds, especially the bell and the drum, but we know why you can't at the moment.
Regarding these two sounds, everytime I hear them I can't avoid to think about the 1994 album "Primordial Atmospheres" from Mystical Sun (an amazing album, ahead of its time in my opinion).
Not that these sounds are exactly what were used in that album but for some reason my brain associate them to that.

Thanks. Ah, more inspiration to be had, it seems, thanks for that tip

Hey Melissa, this is a nice track. Very spacey without the overdose of pathos.
It does sound a little unbalanced in the stereo panorama, leaning more towards the left. A quick fix might be to put either the "pulse" from the Korg or the sine-like pluck over to the right. The bell sounds somewhat excessive to me, but it's a statement.
The slightly vocal drone is great. A nice timbre, very hypnotic, especially in combination with the white noise wind patch.
Out of interest: which Korg synthesizer do you have?
As for the reverb, it is more present though still subtle for that arrangement. Everything flows well, but you're still some distance from critical reverb collapse. This is not a point of criticism, simply feedback that you are not in danger of overdoing it.
And the Taiko is massive!
Best wishes, jeanette

jeanette_c wrote: ↑Fri Nov 19, 2021 8:13 pm Hey Melissa, this is a nice track. Very spacey without the overdose of pathos.
It does sound a little unbalanced in the stereo panorama, leaning more towards the left. A quick fix might be to put either the "pulse" from the Korg or the sine-like pluck over to the right. The bell sounds somewhat excessive to me, but it's a statement.
The slightly vocal drone is great. A nice timbre, very hypnotic, especially in combination with the white noise wind patch.
Out of interest: which Korg synthesizer do you have?
As for the reverb, it is more present though still subtle for that arrangement. Everything flows well, but you're still some distance from critical reverb collapse. This is not a point of criticism, simply feedback that you are not in danger of overdoing it.
And the Taiko is massive!
Best wishes, jeanette

Hi Jeanette!
Thanks for all the info! I have some things to look for.
Hmm, a disbalance. I need to pay attention to that. Perhaps...listening to the track WITH headphones should help. I dont know if you saw my setup. The speakers are not perfectly placed (IBM computer speakers, pretty good, in fact)...
I have a Korg Monologue. In this track, it was controlled over MIDI, using Seq24. Somewhere in the track, I clicked it to get it started and I played along...
I use an upgraded toy (the Clifton drumset for kids) that I hooked up to the PC via MIDI. I used my own drumkit for that. And...the thing is touch sensitive, that, I need to keep in mind. The bell is soft on one point and (way too) hard on the other. Listening afterwards...after the track got aired...
I'm still looking for the sweet spot where the effects (reverb amongst them) come...so I desperately need all the input I can get here...
I'm really gratefull for this, thanks
Melissa

OccinticLady wrote: ↑Fri Nov 19, 2021 8:45 pm ...
I dont know if you saw my setup.
I wouldn't have, unless you described it and I missed reading about it.
...
I have a Korg Monologue.
Nice synth. I had the chance to play a Minilogue XD (not exactly the same beast, but close enough) a few days ago and loved it!
...
I use an upgraded toy (the Clifton drumset for kids) that I hooked up to the PC via MIDI. I used my own drumkit for that. And...the thing is touch sensitive, that, I need to keep in mind.
One of my keyboards is very sensitive. I found out that limited the velocity range in my sequencer helped a lot to tame it. Perhaps that might be an option. Some instruments really do react too strongly to slight differences in pressure.
...
I'm still looking for the sweet spot where the effects (reverb amongst them) come...so I desperately need all the input I can get here...
...

It can ben difficult, especially since you get so into your own piece, maybe starting off dry and then wondering if you haven't gone too far. With me it's bass frequencies or distortion. You hear loads of suggestions to get around it... Listen to a reference track in between. Leave your work for a day and come back. Try to use some visualisation tool, where aplicable. Analysers might help with stereo balance or frequency issues, but reverb is a tough one.

@jeanette_c thanks
I do need to put some "space" between the making and the re-experiencing, I take about one night, I make a track (or a piece of it), go to bed and play that piece fist thing in the morning.
When a track is done, I play it while I do other things, if I experience it as pleasant, I trhink it's okay for release. If some sound tugs at your sleeve in an unpleasant way...it's probably not (yet) right...

I did notice a bias towards the left when listening on headphones, but this disappears when on speakers, so to me the matter is moot.
I very much like the piece and find it very atmospheric. I thought the various chimes fitted nicely.

I always leave a new composition for at least a week before re-listening. That way you get a much better balanced impression.

folderol wrote: ↑Sun Nov 21, 2021 12:43 pm I did notice a bias towards the left when listening on headphones, but this disappears when on speakers, so to me the matter is moot.
I very much like the piece and find it very atmospheric. I thought the various chimes fitted nicely.

I always leave a new composition for at least a week before re-listening. That way you get a much better balanced impression.

Thanks.
Indeed, a little while between composing and re-listening. One week may be too much, unless I work on an other piece in the mean time.
I try to drop a piece per week...
But, it's purely an organisational thing

Nice to see the Taiko SFZ used! Everyone pointed out the "left bias" in the stereo mix, so my only suggestion would be to vary a bit how you use the Taiko library itself: for instance, at ~1:06, where there's two hits in a row, they sound exactly the same, so either playing with velocities or hitting different keys (which will trigger different but similar samples) may help.

Rainmak3r wrote: ↑Mon Nov 22, 2021 3:25 pm Nice to see the Taiko SFZ used! Everyone pointed out the "left bias" in the stereo mix, so my only suggestion would be to vary a bit how you use the Taiko library itself: for instance, at ~1:06, where there's two hits in a row, they sound exactly the same, so either playing with velocities or hitting different keys (which will trigger different but similar samples) may help.

Thank you!
Happy you pointed me to that set, it helped a lot and will do so in the future.
I have also created a limited set for on a drumpad (4 pads, two cymbams, two pedals...limited) so I can play in an organic way as well
I have a ton yet to learn. Mixing seems to become the next challenge, I love it

Great piece, sort of 70s Vangelis moved forwards in time.

It is hard to compose tracks like this, despite their direct "simplicity" because time flows differently, but I really think you pulled it off. I especially like all the work with filter sweeps etc.

oscillator wrote: ↑Fri Nov 26, 2021 8:13 pm Great piece, sort of 70s Vangelis moved forwards in time.

It is hard to compose tracks like this, despite their direct "simplicity" because time flows differently, but I really think you pulled it off. I especially like all the work with filter sweeps etc.

You noticed the influence of Vangelis. Well, I do grab inspiration left n right
Thanks for the feedback