Would appreciate some feedback

[tywjohn]

I recently put this together starting off just messing around and it ended up sounding pretty good, at least to me.
I would appreciate any and all kinds of feedback, particularly around arrangement and the mix.

It was produced in Bitwig with mostly stock plugins. All drums were synthesized except for the crash (I'm not completely happy with the kick).

https://soundcloud.com/tyw-j/kinda-just-bored

[MattKingUSA]

The ride is just a db too harsh for me. But the song as a whole is superbly done.

[sunrat]

The overall sound is good but I was waiting for it to go somewhere else, to build some more, and it stayed the same.
Then, I just watched a Youtube video of Hans Zimmer doing Time (from Inception) live and it evolves constantly with no two bars being the same. Quite magnificent actually and a tough act to follow.
There seems to be timing issues with the drums, some occurring off the beat, which is distracting. Not keen on the double kick beat either, and the triple snare would be better as a single with massive reverb IMO.
Not bad for just doodling around.

[jeanette_c]

Hi @tywjohn , I agree with @MattKingUSA about the ride. It's a nice sound, but it might suite the song by being a bit quieter in the mix.
Also, I find the reverb on the snare a little prominent. Maybe it could work better even at the same volume, if you highpass filtered it or put a sidechain compressor on it with the dry snare being the sidechain signal.
I like the arrangement a lot! It's a superb combination of sounds. the melodic sounds are glued together well.
The kick I suppose is a question of preference. I've heard a similar aesthetic often over the past years, maybe not that recently. I think such a sound works well in a club. It's not been my favourite sound, but I see how it works i context. If you're not happy, try a different model or drum synth. I'm sure Bitwig alone may have to offer a good choice and then there are other synth drum plugins, not to mention samples.
Overall, a good piece of music, rather atmospheric.

[bfalke]

Great buildup in that song! What plugins did you use?

[tywjohn]

Thanks everyone for the feedback! I'm going to take it all in and keep working on it.

Plugins used:

• SurgeXT for the pad sound + paulxstretch.
• All drums were synthesised using Bitwig's E-instruments (E-Kick, E-Snare etc) except for the crash which is a sample.
• Tracktion's F-em for the arpeggio
• Strings were made from a layering of Odin2 and a pack from Spitfire Labs called Amplified Cello Quartet.
• The bass sound is Phase-4 (native Bitwig)
• AA-551 channel strip on the drum bus for some saturation.
• Valhalla Supermassive (maybe too massive based on the feedback)
• Glitch2 for the glitch effects.
  The rest of the effects are just native Bitwig.

[kamiluni]

Hi,
the overall sound is beautiful , the kick seems good and right for the piece. Perhaps, the snare should be a bit different, but it's a matter of taste.
The ambience and the mix is good.
From the arrangement point of view I can suggest you more variations. I listen mostly the same chord where only the bass make changes in the harmony. more than 7 minutes is a long time, in my opinion a shorter version allows you to have to do fewer variations so you don't get bored.
Thanks for share!
KL

[psyocean]

Very cool, beautiful music! Streamed the measured step of the panther

[lilith]

The mix is good imo, but there's a lot happening in the low end below 30 Hz. I would apply a high pass filter to get rid of that stuff.
The choice of sounds is maybe not very consistent and it feels a bit inhomogeneous as you mix acoustic sounding instruments (like the percussion in the background) with pure electronic instruments. In this case it does not integrate well, but that's maybe also a matter of taste.

[bulevardi]

Very great atmosphere. It's not getting bored.
There's some overal tension, prolly due to the paulxstretch.

[psyocean]

Pleasure listen this! Very good!