<Non-Pony> Shameless Self-Promotion

[nightmare822]

Hello, I'm new to this forum; however, I've spoken to a couple of members. They're currently helping me with sound design, but until then, you'll have to listen to the crap I put out that's made from presets, like this song! http://soundcloud.com/nightmare822/cityscapes

All joking mannerisms aside, I would really appreciate if you would all critique this and let me know what you think. What did I do right? What did I do wrong (other than using strictly presets).

Thank you all in advance!

[Djeinus]

It's pretty nice. It's a pretty good background song.

[Nikki-Layne]

Starts out pretty good. The plucks are a hair too loud, but otherwise good.

The melody introduced at about 15 seconds in is good, but a bit repetitive.

I love the kick you used, but you might want to ease up on it a bit before the snare comes in, make it hit less often. It sort of gets in the way of the spacey, ambient feel you've got going.

The snare you used could have been a lot better. I recommend either filtering it or possibly just turning the volume or velocity way down. I'd also use less snare hits in the fill at around 1:14. It also feels like it pulls out too soon, only to come back not too far later, it's all a bit jarring for this style of song.

That being said, your synths all work really well together, and the piece as a whole is well composed. I especially like the way your song progresses and develops as it goes on.

Really, the beat is the only part of this song that I don't like. It's way too aggressive. I'd go with something spacier, more ambient.

Also, try playing with automating the panning of your instruments. I feel like your song would really benefit from adding some diversity to the panning.

Edit: Also, your transitions are smooth as hell.