Feedback on sad strings/piano cue (S211208SD) please!

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Feedback on sad strings/piano cue (S211208SD) please!

Post by irthlingz » Sat Nov 27, 2021 7:53 pm

Does this work for this listing? Thanks!

V4, side-chained reverb on everything and a less stinging "stinger":


V3, piano forward, bass back, bells in final section:
https://soundcloud.com/user-171442525/l ... e96046b94c

V2, with big room reverb:
https://soundcloud.com/user-171442525/l ... 2081c38376

V1:
https://soundcloud.com/user-171442525/l ... 45ce270539

===

SAD STRINGS & PIANO INSTRUMENTAL CUES are needed by a Music Licensing Company with a large list of placements in Films, TV Commercials, and A-List TV Shows.

NOTE: This Company has signed lots of TAXI members over many years and nailed down lots of placements for them!

This Company is looking for Instrumental Cues that could be found on a playlist with the following references:

"Reflections" by Toshifumi Hinata
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpVEkOUj2ZQ

"Je te laisserai des mots" by Patrick Watson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcdO9UP0hp8

"Experience" by Ludovico Einaudi & Daniel Hope
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MHsDNV9lgY

Although one of the references has vocals, please submit Instrumental Cues only for this pitch.

Please submit modern Piano and String Instrumental Cues that could pull at the listeners' heartstrings. Craft your Cues around a singular motif, and create a sense of forward momentum and dynamics by layering instrumentation in and out as they progress. If you plan on using virtual piano or string instruments, they should sound like the real thing and not dated, stiff, or obviously MIDI-driven. Please be sure that your production is high-quality and current-sounding, as well.

Submissions should be about 2 minutes long, give or take, and have non-faded, buttoned/stinger endings. Do NOT copy the references in any way, shape, or form. Use them only as a general guide for tempo, tone, and overall vibe. Broadcast Quality is needed.
Last edited by irthlingz on Wed Dec 01, 2021 4:46 pm, edited 5 times in total.

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Re: Feedback on sad strings/piano cue (S211208SD) please!

Post by funsongs » Sat Nov 27, 2021 8:42 pm

From The Peanut Gallery - after listening to bits of all 3 references to compare with yours & get the first-impression:
all 3 of those ref tracks have in common: big-room reverb... you might try making your mix match that much 'wet sound', and repost...?
2 cents off the top.
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Re: Feedback on sad strings/piano cue (S211208SD) please!

Post by irthlingz » Sat Nov 27, 2021 10:11 pm

Yes! Thank you, Peter! New verb-sion linked in first post.

Michael

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Re: Feedback on sad strings/piano cue (S211208SD) please!

Post by funsongs » Sun Nov 28, 2021 12:19 am

irthlingz wrote:
Sat Nov 27, 2021 10:11 pm
Yes! Thank you, Peter! New verb-sion linked in first post.
Michael
I don't know if that answers any or all of your questions - but it certainly sounds closer to being on a playlist with the referenced tracks.
Let's see what the experts have to offer.
Your mileage may very.
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Re: Feedback on sad strings/piano cue (S211208SD) please!

Post by Paulie » Wed Dec 01, 2021 8:50 am

I think the reverb makes the piano sound like it is far away, to my ears the piano is too far back in the mix and the bass is to forward. and the piano sounds synthetic... not sure if that's because it's further back, or because the patch is not good enough. Which piano library are you using? As far as the arrangement, I would remove the bass at the beginning and bring it in a little later to help the piece develop over time. Be sure to let the strings breath... insert some pauses or "breaths" between melodic phrases to make it more musical.

I think this is close. :)
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Re: Feedback on sad strings/piano cue (S211208SD) please!

Post by irthlingz » Wed Dec 01, 2021 1:40 pm

Thank you Paulie! Really appreciate the feedback. New version linked in the first post.
Paulie wrote:
Wed Dec 01, 2021 8:50 am
I think the reverb makes the piano sound like it is far away, to my ears the piano is too far back in the mix and the bass is to forward. and the piano sounds synthetic... not sure if that's because it's further back, or because the patch is not good enough. Which piano library are you using?
Pianoteq Steinway B, so I don't think the problem is the instrument. Hopefully, bringing the piano forward in the mix helped?

===
Michael

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Re: Feedback on sad strings/piano cue (S211208SD) please!

Post by irthlingz » Wed Dec 01, 2021 4:52 pm

Thank you, Tom. V4 in first post reflects your comments.
CTWF wrote:
Wed Dec 01, 2021 3:10 pm
What happens at 1:56 is a little out of character and too sudden, and the strings sound a little bit strange in this "stinger", too. I'd try to come to a different resolution at this point or make it much less sharp.
Tried to soften this a bunch.
CTWF wrote:
Wed Dec 01, 2021 3:10 pm
The other thing is that I find the track too dry. I would try a fairly long reverb, but keep its volume pretty low. Possibly even side-chain it, i.e. put it on an extra bus and duck it against the dry version of the track. No guarantees, but possibly worth trying.
I had never side-chained reverb, but did some Googling and concluded that the reason would be to preserve the clarity/attack of the dry track by ducking the reverb mostly on transients. So that's what I did. Curious what others think of the results. I don't trust myself on this because I think I tend to be overly fond of reverb.
CTWF wrote:
Wed Dec 01, 2021 3:10 pm
Good effort!
Tom
Thanks again, Tom!

===
Michael

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