vladnuke wrote:It's not that that particular synth is bad sound-design-wise, it's just that it's not in the same key as the drone (or its detuned to a point at which it ends up off-key)
Also it's harmonics add up to a tin drum sound (kind of like Jamaican music), but everything else is electronic and solid. Matching revolves around theme and context. Both theme and context can make or break a match. For example, having hard hitting drums in an ambient track can be good if given the proper context, but can make it sound cheesy if they're just thrown in.
Also there are better ways of getting your feelings across. You wouldn't say the same about a short story that devolves into a Mary Sue construct. Sometimes it's not weird, it's just bad. If something unfitting isn't given context or reason for being there, it's bad, not because it's unexpected, but because it's inappropriate.
For example: an unmodified pony sample thrown out in the open that plays and then cuts off at a vowel. There's might not be anything wrong with that sample, but how it's used is inappropriate. Like a bikini in a snowstorm, it's inadequate because it's in the wrong place.
Not to generalize my answer to your long and well-written post, but cool and thanks! I definitely see what you mean now.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/80418829/Party%20in%20the%20Ponyville%20Arcade.mp3
Ooh, I like. :D Pardon my genre ignorance, but is this 8-bit or chiptune or just "arcade"-themed? Whatever the case, I definitely enjoyed this.
The synth that comes in around 00:58 is a little muddy imo, but maybe I'm just looking for something because I can't find anything, haha.
I like the breakdown at ~1:46. :DD
Wish I had more to say. Is this the final release? I might have to snatch it up if it is. :P
Mr. Bigglesworth wrote:@dr plague
I like the use of the vocalish synth in the intro, but some the perc needs some work when it comes to mixing. The melody is really neat, but it's a little repetitive. I like the chords you used as support and all too.
There's like...very little else I can say. Most other things are just things I like about it, so good job : p
7/10
I didn't have any chords in that, though... (If anyone is interested enough to check it out, though, I did make some minor changes and have that uploaded on my SC. I won't link it, though, because I don't think it's enough work to actually ask for review on. I'll probably repost once my friend and I figure out how we want the drop to go to get feedback on that, but till then, silently working!)
And yeah, mixing/mastering is still something I'm learning. (Well, actually, basically everything about music is still something I'm learning, haha.)
https://soundcloud.com/testsubject72/passing-time-more-wip/s-eF4Gv
You weren't kidding when you said "rough" and "glitchy"... But I'll take "rough" to mean "rough draft" and look at it that way.
I'd suggest having something in the intro to hold an idea of a beat. Unless you were specifically against that. And maybe it's just me, but it just seems slightly out of beat. I keep going through the intro, eventually bobbing my head to what I feel, but your first kick comes in slightly off of my beat. (Hopefully that's just me, hahaha.)
I definitely like the kind of dark, gritty sound you've got going. The reverse kick you have at 0:40 is a nice touch, but it's just sitting there on its own, kind of out of place. Another one comes in a little later, but, idk, I'm not feeling it coming together so much.
Since this is just the start, I'm assuming you have something to fill that silence in, too.
Damn, most of my review here turned out to be me just questioning a lot of stuff, haha. Maybe I just don't understand the genre/sound you're going for. *shrug* Hope I helped, though.
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This is a song I made a little bit ago. There's way too much shit (like, almost literally just shit) in the project now for me to go back and work on it, but I've been thinking about doing a VIP for a long time now. If anything, a review on this track would just help me make the future VIP better. (And I definitely plan to expand on the melody more!)
https://soundcloud.com/plaguedr/z-space-wip-v2-5-4
The kinda swingy part was a last minute addition that I just don't really see a point in removing since I'm no longer working on this track. I already know it's a shitty addition to the song, so you don't need to tell me. :P Another thing, I know my use of samples is just cheesy and bad. Yay. :3
Still, though, idk, something doesn't strike me as right. Maybe it's too much repetition in your synth use or maybe it's just your arrangement, but the drop isn't really doing the right thing for me. I think it's just all the slides, honestly. IMO you overdid it just a bit, and it really wears on my ears. Maybe try fucking around with the panning, that's always fun to do with slides.
First off, I would tone down the synth that comes in at 0:14 a bit. In the intro it works, but in the later sections of the track it overpowers the other voices quite a bit and seeing as it doesn't really fit with the melody later on, it feels like it should be further in the background. I love the break starting around 1:00, but I feel like the placement for the vocal sample "Come on, show Trixie what you've got" is a bit out of place. She says that and then the song gets quieter? It sounds like all you are showing is that you are maybe a bit timid. Hope that makes sense. Just feel that quote might be better off right before a drop, when something a bit more exciting is about to happen. Also, I feel like your drums in some of the buildups could be harder hitting. Maybe layer the snare with a kick, or perhaps get a snare with more bottom end. Last thing, I often say this, but it would have been nice to have a repeating and easily recognizable theme for the listener to latch on to. This was actually pretty hard to critique, pretty polished. Well done!
