INDUSTRIAL, PERCUSSIVE TENSION

[Edgar]

Hi,

how this track sounds? I used Transformers trailer references for this https://soundcloud.com/putns/hybrid-orchestral

Thanks for listening.

Have a great Road Rally weekend,
Edgar

Listing: INDUSTRIAL, PERCUSSIVE TENSION INSTRUMENTAL CUES are needed by a Music Library for upcoming projects. They're searching for Down-to-Mid Tempo, mechanical, dissonant, and industrial sounding, Tension Instrumental Cues. Please listen to the following references to get in the stylistic ballpark of what they're looking for:

"The Boy Official Trailer #1 2016" (1:50-2:08)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1U21VBSbSs

"Transformers: Dark of the Moon official Trailer" (:36-:58)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTIrEZM-cFE

"Transformers: Age of Extinction" (1:16-1:50)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkIPIkPPbdo

Please submit well-crafted Hollywood style tension Instrumental Cues that are dissonant, and industrial sounding with percussive beats. Build your Cue with the sounds of bowed and mangled metals while the percussion propels it forward. The tension should rise as you add layers of instrumentation and sounds until your Cue comes to a climactic finish. Current sounding electronic elements, and a touch of strings with engaging rhythmic percussion will work really well for this pitch. Imagine the tension that builds in a horror movie as the scene leading up to a horrific moment happens. That's what they're looking for!

Easy Edit Points and Non-Faded/Buttoned/Stinger endings will work best for this pitch. Your submissions should be at least 90 seconds in length. Do NOT copy or rip off the referenced tracks in any way, shape, or form. Use them only as a general guide for tempo, tone, and overall vibe. Broadcast Quality is needed (great sounding home recordings are fine).

[HowlingUlf]

I think it's in the ballpark for as good as it gets for a "music library" as it's a non specific project without an insane budget.
It should be forwarded and if they use it it's up to the library.
Forwarded at least.

The bass at the start is kind of plastic and unconvincing and offsets the impact of the overall composition.
I don't know but it's not sounding tight or the notes are chopping of one another or something weird seems to be going on?
I'd use more effects to make it more throbbing and wet, if you ask me.
Maybe you had another intention with the the sound but without knowing any better to be it sounds a little ... unfinished?

Then there is the "melodic stabs" that have ... mmm ... notes that sound a little out-ish?
Maybe it's just me?

The rest sounds might fine!!!
It's a Stuka bomber, right?
That's noise is freakin' freezing my blood haha!
But that's the point, you bastard!

The selection of other instruments and effects is just what you expect and the production is flawless, so ...
What's missing is the noises from the post production from an actual movie ...
ummm ... which brings up a thought in my head about if the Stuka bomber sounds as great as they are might stick out as a sore thumb for someone?
Anyways, great effort over all

PS that first a la clip was creepy enough to make me want to see the movie haha!

[Edgar]

Thanks for comments HowlingUlf.
Was not intend to sound as Stuka Bomber, but indeed it sounds . I decided to set Stuka Bomber (screaming synth) as background supportive sound and not scare screener too much. I Fixed out-ish notes, added reverb to the bass to fit overall sound and fixed bass unneeded short notes, but left it weird at 1:52 for " something wrong" feeling. Same link corrected track.

Thanks alot, comments helped.
Edgar

P.S feels like missing some bowed and mangled metals, don't know.

[HowlingUlf]

Now!

But the levels are kind of hot?
I'm in the red here at my sound card meters!
I checked because I thought I heard some distortion ...
Take a look.

[SteveJCurtis]

Superb. Sounds right in there to me.

[Edgar]

Distortion over 0 should not be . I like to find place for distortion plugin on every project, so if there is it's just me. But i'll check that out later, thanks.

[HowlingUlf]

If you're keeping an eye at the output bus so you don't hit it too hard you can put a brick wall limiter there just in case.
It takes out any signals that happen to want to go through the ceiling and it does this without coloring the sound.
Depending on what you do (some genres more than others) you can have other output bus compressors before the brick wall limiter.
It's just a compressor/limiter with an output level limit you set and an extremely short fixed attack time.
I have mine set to -1dB and it just kinda works as expected and it looks better with a signal that never goes into the red if you send stuff away ...

[Edgar]

.. mine ( limiter) is still there. Should we set it to -1 db! Don't know, should i?

[HowlingUlf]

naw, it would squeeze the signal even further, I'd guess.
It's probably me who is used to -1 and I think the majority go for 0dB.
I just don't want to haha!

I'd try lowering the levels an equal ammount for all the faders in the mixer in whatever recording program you have.
This would mean the channels connected to the output bus so if you have some kind of group channels only include the group.
If you also include the individual tracks in the group they would sorta be lowered twice, right?

Maybe you have some method of ganging the channels together so when you lower one all the other follows.
That would make it easier, faster and safer to have the same relative levels intact while you do this.

It's also possible it's some specific track or channel or whatever that behaves funny?
You can try to go through them and solo listen each of them.
This might work but it's possible that the distortion is a result of all things building up and then you have to lower all the tracks a little.

HTH!

[Edgar]

I double checked distortion possibilities, all good. I created quick three alt mixes and chose one less compressed (updated same link). What i have noticed my setting for limiter depends on how higher frequencies instruments act in overall mix, if its to loud it will noticeably suffer from file compression and usually screams for reducing -1 to -1,5 db. It's possible to correct it in the mix ( as you wrote reducing track that behaves funny) to not lose overall volume, of course, if you have control over individual instruments. Thanks for involvement HowlingUlf and Steve.

This work sounds definitely better.
Edgar