Avi8or - Not Evil, Medieval (need feedback)

[Avi8or]

Hey there,

Just letting you guys hear a preview of my first track I am actually excited about (for some reason didn't get a response on my last thread)... I am new to the production world, have only been doing about 5 months, and really not even that because I didn't do anything for 3 months.... Recently (about a week ago) I picked my Ableton and my Axiom back up and I went back to work, re-learning what little I knew and learning stuff I didn't. I knew that I wanted to come out with a track that had a banging vibe, one that I like to call "club pumpers" and so I set out to do that....and this is what I have so far, what I would probably consider a little under halfway done, because I have big plans for the second half of the track. Anyways, I know there are some issues with timing and leveling, but that is still part of my learning phase that I am in......anyways, I was hoping to get some feedback and hopefully some helping words of advice because im sure about 99.9% of the artist on this board are way better and more knowledgeable than me. Thanks for taking the time to listen to my track which you'll find below in my signature, I'd love to hear from you on here, or comments left on SoundCloud are awesome as well, I will gladly comment on your material if you would like.....cheers!

-Avi8or-

[Avi8or]

WTB Feedback...

This is only my second song I've ever written, and I want to make this one flawless, any feedback, helpful suggestions and comments are really wanted.

[WeBang]

right off the bat I can tell you the mixdown is horrendous. Second tune so don't get mad.....but everything is just so outta wack....what you need to do is brighten up that snare, as its not breathing in the track. Now the 1.50 mark the synth work is nice.....track is just muddy besides the synth. The kick needs to be kicken way harder as you can barely hear it. keep at it

[Avi8or]

Yeah I knew the mixing was completely off, I have found a few sites that give you pointers here and there, but no matter how I mix my levels it seems that I am always clipping the master channel and it's really frustrating because then I start messing with things again and things that were coming through, aren't any more and vice versa, I know I have the beginnings of a great track...it's just learning how to level my stuff....I have no body to help teach me anything locally anyways that I am good friends with so I just have to keep at it and keep going I suppose, I know I have potential along with this track. Thanks for the advice man, any links to helping you level and mix would be much appreciated.

[paradigm001]

Bells in the beg are too loud. The snare is shit, get a new sample. Your vocal samples are also not mixed properlly. There too loud and outa context.

Everything is competing for space here its all crammed together. That slow moving bass thing is overpwering the mix. Like the arpeggio.

The drums disappear in the synths. You need to separate more. Everything is way too loud and overlapping. Spend some time with the eq and your levels and please lose that shit snare.

[Avi8or]

Bells in the beg are too loud. The snare is shit, get a new sample. Your vocal samples are also not mixed properlly. There too loud and outa context.

Everything is competing for space here its all crammed together. That slow moving bass thing is overpwering the mix. Like the arpeggio.

The drums disappear in the synths. You need to separate more. Everything is way too loud and overlapping. Spend some time with the eq and your levels and please lose that shit snare.

Your style of writing helpful advice makes you look like a prick. I can almost picture how you would convey that in person just by listing off everything that was wrong, which is fine, but words of encouragement go a long ways. You started somewhere too, I am pretty sure you didn't wake up one day with a brain full of knowledge about your DAW, Music Theory, Progression, etc.......This is my second ever attempt at writing a track, and if you would have read my first post you would have saw that I acknowledge that I knew my levels were messed up, thats why I posted it like it is. I'd love to hear your first or second track and see if it remotely compares. Next time don't act like a condescending know it all, or learn how to not punctuate your thoughts every 5 words.

By the way, I listened to your signature songs, muddy kicks all day long.

NEXT...

[parsons19]

Your style of writing helpful advice makes you look like a prick. I can almost picture how you would convey that in person just by listing off everything that was wrong, which is fine, but words of encouragement go a long ways. You started somewhere too, I am pretty sure you didn't wake up one day with a brain full of knowledge about your DAW, Music Theory, Progression, etc.......This is my second ever attempt at writing a track, and if you would have read my first post you would have saw that I acknowledge that I knew my levels were messed up, thats why I posted it like it is. I'd love to hear your first or second track and see if it remotely compares. Next time don't act like a condescending know it all, or learn how to not punctuate your thoughts every 5 words.

By the way, I listened to your signature songs, muddy kicks all day long.

NEXT...

Woah man! Chill the **** out! I am relativley new to production and value post telling me everything thats wrong. Thats how you learn. No one means to be rude or offend. You asked for the feedback so you need to handle it!

As for the track:

I rather like the beg section. Reminds me of "Shot Yourself in the Foot Again" by Skream & Example. But yes the bells are a little to loud. And I am not a fan of the "click click click" in the background. When the Drums come in it gets a little better but the snare is a little weak. It also worth layering the drums especially when it comes to the main section because I can hardly hear them. It doesn't sound bad but levels are in need of some tweaking.

Let us know when the track is finished

[WeBang]

Bells in the beg are too loud. The snare is shit, get a new sample. Your vocal samples are also not mixed properlly. There too loud and outa context.

Everything is competing for space here its all crammed together. That slow moving bass thing is overpwering the mix. Like the arpeggio.

The drums disappear in the synths. You need to separate more. Everything is way too loud and overlapping. Spend some time with the eq and your levels and please lose that shit snare.

Your style of writing helpful advice makes you look like a prick. I can almost picture how you would convey that in person just by listing off everything that was wrong, which is fine, but words of encouragement go a long ways. You started somewhere too, I am pretty sure you didn't wake up one day with a brain full of knowledge about your DAW, Music Theory, Progression, etc.......This is my second ever attempt at writing a track, and if you would have read my first post you would have saw that I acknowledge that I knew my levels were messed up, thats why I posted it like it is. I'd love to hear your first or second track and see if it remotely compares. Next time don't act like a condescending know it all, or learn how to not punctuate your thoughts every 5 words.

By the way, I listened to your signature songs, muddy kicks all day long.

NEXT...

don't take offense he just didn't put " don't hate me like I did"

[Bad Attitude]

Hey man, first of all for your second track, it is pretty good, I remember my first tracks, they were awful, monotone affairs you know. It took me and my partner a good while to learn what we know today, as we have no experience of professional music production and shit. And we learned it by opening up ableton and fucking about with it until we learned something.

Anyway as for your track it definatley has the beginnings of a great track. The seconds half more so as it has that anthemic feel.
You just gotta work on those levels, and some individual parts. Like the snare, try oppening it up in a drum rack or something and doubling it up, adding compression and reverb and shit, that is if you want that particular part, if not, replace it, whatever you feel.
The beginning as parsons19 said that "click click click" is a bit annoying, but that may just be an error in production or something, it's easily fixed.
The samples are nice samples, just need a bit of tweeking to fit them well in the mix.
I'm basically just stating stuff you may already know by now, I dunno, anyway have a look over all feedback you get, as I think you gotta hear it all you know, and if you do you can only better yourself.

Post up any updated versions man, keep us in the loop.

[WeBang]

yeah....and also Avi8or what I liek to do is focus on the mixdown as I am making the tune....it seems to flow better theremore you listen which then helps you get more invloved....though some people mixdown at the end....I think mixdown while making the tune is key.

[paradigm001]

Yea dont take offense at all. Ive been fucking with production for 10 years and Im still learning. I just sidechained my kick to the subs on my new tune.

If you take offense then that means you cant take adice. With my music I listen to it hundres of times and try to point out the flaws. There are always some. Plus its hard to keep each track sounding the same level etc.

What I mean about the sample is true. The snare sample is just not a good one. I have thousands of snares so finding one is crazy.
Believe me the world of production is huge and people use slightlly different methods. You just have to keep working at it.

I used to produce drum n bass in Cool Edit Pro with just wav files. I look back at it now and its all outa wac. I didnt know what to do, at the time I bought a mixer an aleses D4 for the drums, an yamaha sampler and a emu sound module.
I never got that shit to work. So now everythings on the computer and we have way to much to play with. You just have to focus your sound. I guess it comes with experience. Plus no one wants a track where you can only hear the kick. Some producers use a louder clip type kick some dont. Dubstep varies but what doesnt is tried and true production techniques like EQ, Compression, Sound selection, sample selection. Shit I used to go out the bars and get wasted and then come home and get high and start something in fruity loops.
I thought it was the shit at the time that night but when I listened to it in the morning all I had was one fucking loop. I had too many like that in FL. I was affraid to finish for some reason. The tweaking could go on forever but at least now you have a direction. Sample selection is very very important, some samples are not produced and some are compressed and eqed and sound great outa the box.
I just decided this summer that Im gonna keep pumping out dubstep tunes untill I have a full set. And all my tracks sound different so thats a challenge to. Some times you need to scrap an idea or maybee just loop it and fuck with the sounds (eq compression etc) untill everything has its own "pocket" everything needs its place so you can hear it. Some on here sidechain their kicks and I just read a 27 page thread about setting your levels in your DAW. I learned something new. I used to produce tracks way to much and the sounds were all compressed and sqashed and didnt sound right. Now I pick the right sample and go from there. Anyway Im from CT and everyone I meet is a prick,, so that term fits me well. When I was in a band I would scream pattern to the drummer and practive progressive parts untill my arms fell off. We were doing dream theater type shit and we got signed, then we couldnt find a guitarist that could play my song so we were dropped from the label. Thats in the past. Thats why I want to do evverything myself. Theres alot of trust in there. You have to trust that youll learn to make better recordings and it will be like a lightbulb going off. You just get it and you start to hear it and commercial music compared to dubstep sounds like such watery shit their synths are shit and they overcompress and brickwall all the songs anyway. Thats not the direction to go at first. Just learn where your drums fit in the mix and pay attention to your samples.

[Avi8or]

Wow, wasn't expecting so much feedback, and sorry about my retaliation post, I was a little touchy that day mate. No harm no foul?

Back to my track, I have spent the past day and a half or so, attempting to work on levels, and hi-passing things that don't need bass, and working on making my kick, snare, and some of my synths and wobble basses stand out apart from each other. I have also replaced my snare as advised and I am pleased with the result. It still seems that I can't get my levels the way I want them to be, but it's really just a tweaking process I have found...I try to not let myself get frustrated with it, because honestly, this being my 2nd track ever to write, I can't be too upset? I mean, I don't know, for my 2nd track ever, what do you guys think? Anyways, here is the updated first half of the song....I hope it's a little better than last time....again thanks for all the helpful advice guys...I really do appreciate it.



Soundcloud

[Avi8or]

See, I sit here and I listen to my track, then I listen to other tracks, and mine just seems to not have a voice...it seems so quiet and unrefined...and thats what is frustrating is that I can't seem to get levels right to save my life

[SlumCity]

good sounds. intro has a nice borgore relaxation dub feel to it. the build at 1.30 or so is great, sam l jackson sample is cool. the drums stand out pretty well , but if you want that "refined voice" i think you need to be compressing and limiting the synths better.
do eq's first...then compress the sounds so the loud frequencies and peaks get pulled closer to the lower ones, then limit the sounds so the quieter frequencies are pulled louder towards the louder ones....then re adjust the fader so it sits back at the same level as it was and it will sound fatter.
after thats done you will prolly need to look at the drums again so they are still the most apparant sounds in the mix , if they seem quiet bus them all to an effects track and put compression and limiting on them as well....then if your in ableton i would side chain the kick and the snare around the sub and main wobble with the standard ableton compressor...this give extra compression to the sound of the sub and wobble at the exact moment the kick or snare hits....often times its just necessary to do the kick , careful not to over do it. other programs have sidechain compressors available as plug ins. thanks for checking my track out.

[Avi8or]

Thanks for the feed back man, it's promptly noted....since this is the thread that is getting the attention, I"ll just let anyone else know that has commented previously that have been messing with the levels again, and it's marked in my signature so you can listen to it....again, I KNOW it's not right, this are somethings that I was able to determine..

I know the snare needs to be more prominent still.
I think the sine sub needs to be more aggressive or stand out more?
I think the vocal samples could stand to come out a little more....

Also, with my main distorted bass the one that hits at 0:50, I want that a little more distorted with some more throat or "umph" to it I suppose, any suggestions for that would be awesome.

Another think I wanted to address and get all of your opinions on, is I was wanting to go for more of a "club pumping" vibe after the very end of the track when he ask if he broke your concentration, I would like to get into almost a hardstyle/dub beat right there for about a minute or so, then throw it down to a nasty drop and end the song....looking to make about a 4:30-5:00 long track....any opinions, suggestions and advice on any of this would be greatly appreciated....and just for reference, I am using Ableton. When giving me advice, remember this is only my SECOND song I have ever attempted at making in Ableton...I am new to production and terms, so dumbing it down a bit for me would be prime for now...until I get on my feet...thanks guys

Thanks for all of your feedback.