Stylus RMX / Stormdrum

[slideboardouts]

Quote:You guys are just too level headed!! My story is a cautionary tale: learn how to use your gear, even if you buy really great stuff like Atmosphere and Stylus because those presets have been played out and the real proof is in the creativity and technical expertise of the nut behind the wheel.Just because I buy a $100,000 cello doesn't mean that I'm going to wake up the next morning playing as good as Yo Yo Ma.The gear is a tool, not a panacea.Peace,MazzWord.

[zircon]

Quote:Perhaps you could post a link so that we may listen a bit? I'm sure some of us would be able to add to the feedback that you have heard. Maybe we could even help you make more sense of the Taxi Screener's feedback. I'd love the opportunity to give feedback that may help.If you are posting for an electronic dance track and the feedback was, "...too mechanical..." it definitely could be that there is not enough elements coming and going in the track to keep the main drumbeat 'interesting'. I certainly fall into that category from time to time and work to add more elements. If I may add something... Sometimes I will find that some synths will sound 'weedy' if there isn't enough harmonic content in the stereo field (which EQing effects), enough stereo information, or not layered properly. You'll find that most of the time the Screener's feedback is pretty close to on the mark. If the feedback seems vague, someone from the forums will surely be able to help with that. drI appreciate the offer, but I am quite happy with the tracks in question. The feedback I got from these screeners was in the minority. The songs were forwarded quite a few times otherwise (no deals from them, though.) Independently, I've been selling them via physical CD and digital distribution, which has been generating some healthy income. They've also been licensed to multiple libraries, including one where I submitted to them via Taxi, was rejected by one of the screeners, and ended up getting accepted when I submitted directly to them. I'm the kind of producer that obsessively works on tracks, and then when I'm done, I'm done. If I get criticism on them I keep it in mind for future works.All I actually want is more time to write music... between full time classes (and all the homework, projects, and reading that entails) plus visiting my girlfriend out-of-state every weekend, I just don't have time to write much. When I do have time, it's usually either school-related or commissioned works that have come in. That's one of the main reasons I stopped my Taxi membership. If I can only write, say, 20 songs a year, and if I can license most of those myself, then it's not really worth my money. When I graduate, I'll most likely renew, though!

[aimusic]

I totally get where the screener is coming from in a sense, when I submitted it, I thought the track was pretty cool, but now I listen to it and I realise WTF was I thinking....I'm new to dance/electronic styled music, so I'm not clued up on all the layering techniques and all that. I have learnt to crank down most of the reverb on the synths as that makes them sound distant (unless I wanted to achieve that sound). I agree that I want to learn to tweak the sounds but I'm not 100% sure how to do that effectively.http://www.taximusic.com/song.php?song_ ... am=trueAll of your advice has been very helpful and I thank you!Would someone be able to gimme some advice on layering etc...?B

[slideboardouts]

Hey aimusic,I took a listen to your track. I'm not at all an expert on electronica so take my advice with a HUGE grain of salt. Though its kind of hard to tell with streaming audio, your actual synth sounds didn't really seem like they were all that bad. I think that the production on the whole is thin sounding. Its very sparse with a lot of space between the different melodies you have going on. It seems like there are drums, bass, 3 or 4 synth sounds throughout the whole thing and thats about it.Layer it with arpeggiaters, pads, gated synths, etc. Also I would have your hook with a lead melody that was a little more active.Here is a dance/electronica song I did called Aether: http://www.taximusic.com/song.php?song_ ... m=trueLike I said, I am not an electronica expert at all. But hopefully you can hear some of the layering I'm talking about. In the hook alone I probably have about 4 or 5 synths going simultaneously.It starts with an arpeggiator, then a kind of gated arpeggiator, then the hook adds a bass synth that is probably a combination of a biting synth bass and just a regular ol' bass sound, and a combing synth for the lead melody.I hope this helps. I'm not an electronica guy and am pretty bad at explaining things lol.-Steve

[mazz]

I listened to your piece and I concur with slideboard that the production is what is sounding thin. I'm not an expert on electronic either but I think your drum sound on this piece is what is holding it back from being as good as it can be. The drums sound kind of like a rock kit and for what you are doing on this piece, a more electronic kit would sound more in the style. Either that or run them through a distortion and thick compressor to bring them much more up front, which will put it more in the style.slideboardouts piece sounds thicker and lusher and some of it is in the synth sounds but a lot of it is in the mix, it's much more "in your face" sounding which your piece needs.The piece doesn't need more layers, IMO, just a more distinctive mix.Keep going.Mazz