<Pony><Orchestral/Rock-ish> Race Through Ponyville

[Mikentosh]

This was just an idea I had in my head, so I wanted to make background music for it.

Now uh, this is the first actual song I have made (albeit on the short side), so it's pretty simple.

But I'm pretty stoked on how it turned out; let me know what you guys think.

[Mikentosh]

I hate being "that guy" but... shameless self bump?

I just want to make sure my ears aren't deceiving me, haha
Any feedback would be awesome

[PropellerEscape]

Oooooh nice guitar in the intro :3
I'm not experienced in this type of music, but I feel as though the brass/strings are too loud and overpower everything else, so you should lower the volume on those.
I think the guitar sounds a bit "weak" though. You could EQ it a bit to make it feel fuller and so it's a bit more prominent, and has it's own space in the mix.
The drums are tight, and I can't think of anything to say for them.
It's sounding good though, so keep working on it.

[Mikentosh]

Ah yeah, I kind of wanted to get the brass and strings to sing over everything else, especially the guitar (as originally in my mind I kinda paired the guitar with gilda and brass/low strings with RD). I know guitar is a very melodic instrument, but I wanted it to be part of the background after the intro (I actually did a bit of EQing with the guitar, mostly high passing it a bit, but I guess I'll get better with time). I thought background distortion would make a pretty sweet atmosphere.

That was kinda my take on it =P

Appreciate the feedback, definitely, I'll keep that in mind next time!

What's funny is that the drums are actually drum and bass breaks (with some single hits in there too) and I amped it up just a tad using symphonic toms to layer it, haha

[PropellerEscape]

Awesome! As you said, you'll get better with time!
But you don't need to stick to rules to get sweet music, BREAK 'EM ALL!
Hope to see you around here more :3

[Conchetupony]

I know guitar is a very melodic instrument, but I wanted it to be part of the background after the intro (I actually did a bit of EQing with the guitar, mostly high passing it a bit, but I guess I'll get better with time).

Guitar is a very versatile instrument. You can write punchy, rhythmic riffs with lower notes, or melodious licks higher up the neck - and EQ it, and add all sorts of effects to enhance whichever role the guitar takes.

PropellerEscape is right: the guitar sounds weak and doesn't cut through the mix. The tone of the guitar is too scooped - removing mids often leads to a thrashier metal tone, but if you overdo it, the guitar won't cut through the mix. Add more mids to the guitar - if possible in the amp stage (if you're using a VST), otherwise boost around 300-500 hz.

Again, as PropellerEscape commented, the brass section is quite overpowering, burying the string section and the guitar as well, and muddying up the whole mix. Try cutting the lows/low-mids (<500 hz) a bit and maybe lowering the overall volume of the section.

You could use more of a stereo feel, too. If Gilda and RD are represented by the guitar and the orchestral section, respectively, it'd be logical to pan said instruments to opposite sides. Not hard left or right - that usually sounds plain horrible - just slightly at a side, like 10 to 25%. This will help clear up muddiness and create an interesting effect for the listener.

The composition itself, though repetitive, is good. Lovely guitar intro. Sounds like something I'd hear as a loop in a game.

[Mikentosh]

Guitar is a very versatile instrument. You can write punchy, rhythmic riffs with lower notes, or melodious licks higher up the neck - and EQ it, and add all sorts of effects to enhance whichever role the guitar takes.

My bad, I worded that incredibly poorly. What I kind of meant is that I like to have the guitar a bit buried in the piece as it just gives in an atmosphere. I honestly don't know how to word this correctly because I have just picked up composing and I only have high school symphonic music performance under my belt I don't want to say that I like the sound of mud, hah. I wish there was a way to word in properly.

Again, as PropellerEscape commented, the brass section is quite overpowering, burying the string section and the guitar as well, and muddying up the whole mix. Try cutting the lows/low-mids (<500 hz) a bit and maybe lowering the overall volume of the section.

Sure I'll try to filter it a bit more.

When making this piece I was actually spending a lot of time on both the volume of the brass section and the guitar's ranges. Like I spent a few hours every few days with it just fiddling with both of them.
Good to know that I was on the right track on some of the problems, heh

You could use more of a stereo feel, too. If Gilda and RD are represented by the guitar and the orchestral section, respectively, it'd be logical to pan said instruments to opposite sides. Not hard left or right - that usually sounds plain horrible - just slightly at a side, like 10 to 25%. This will help clear up muddiness and create an interesting effect for the listener.

Ah yeah, I seem to have the brass a little bit to the right and guitars doubled on both left and right (which I remember was about 70-80%.
That would be a pretty cool idea to try.

The composition itself, though repetitive, is good. Lovely guitar intro. Sounds like something I'd hear as a loop in a game.

Thanks for the kind words man! Weird that people do like the intro, I honestly just slapped that all together, haha

I'll try to fool around with it a little more, thanks!

[Conchetupony]

I understand the guitar giving it an atmosphere - it's why the term "rhythm guitar" exists. I just think the guitar could have a bit more presence in this song.

Double tracking gives a "wall of sound" kind of tone, it sounds "full", if you get what I mean. You could probably just reduce the right channel's volume, so it feels as if it's coming from the left.

Myself I got absolutely no performance experience and have taught myself everything I know, through the Internet. xP

[Mikentosh]

I understand the guitar giving it an atmosphere - it's why the term "rhythm guitar" exists. I just think the guitar could have a bit more presence in this song.

Aye, don't worry I know guitar lingo, I've been playing guitar for years (recently on and off because of work, but I am saving for a schecter damien fr because I'm quite done with my little $150 guitar). However producing is a whole other level for me, as this is the first time I'm working with tracks for guitar - EQing, adding a bit of effects, mastering, mixing, etc.

But I guess I wanted to try to make the sound more synth-y then rhythm? Like one of my other drafts was actually a synth in a distortion gate, but I couldn't really get that sound I wanted, so I just ended up with an actual guitar and fiddling with that for a while... Like you know how a bunch of synth pads are atmospheric and not rhythmic, it's very airy. I was trying to aim for that but with guitar. I guess that might have been a long shot for someone new like me

Curse not knowing the vernacular of producing/composing making me sounding like an idiot, hah

Double tracking gives a "wall of sound" kind of tone, it sounds "full", if you get what I mean. You could probably just reduce the right channel's volume, so it feels as if it's coming from the left.

Yeah I can try giving that one a shot, see how it goes!