Some new stuff-critiques welcome

[Eric Bolvin]

Hi everyone;
Got some new "cue" type things up and was looking for some critiques.
They are on the this page: http://www.bolvinmusic.com/newstuff.html
The top 6 tracks on the page are the new ones. Let me know what you think.

Thanks!!~

Eb

[bwd]

Hi Eric.
Action Swing - A hint of the Pink Panther stalking around. Sounds like your comfort zone.
Dark Theme - Solo violin seems like it's a hard instrument to fake. Cool ominous mood.
Hero Theme - This works really well. The melody has the 'hero" vibe. I might choose another sound for the melody in the quiet section - solo muted trumpet? That section has a bit of a bluesy feel.
Med Music - Sounds perfect for a corporate video. Cool echo fx. The bass is providing the pulse but it might be a little loud.
Tension - Bass a little loud again? Lots of tension. Nice big ending.
The Battleroom - A little more reverb on the brass maybe? Great scoring.
Cheers,
Doug

[Eric Bolvin]

Thanks Doug; Gonna check those bass levels.

Anyone else out there with a little time to kill...

[eeoo]

Hi Eric - I listened to the first two tracks. Really enjoyed the first, definitely pink panther/Henry Mancini vibe, very nice! the second was cool and vibey and dark, I thought the lead string line was a bit hot and maybe too ssynthetic sounding? That's my nit, otherwise very nice man! eo.

[Kolstad]

Boy, one just can't get away with commenting one song anymore! Is that a sign of an overflowing market?

I'll steal Doug's very organized lineup:

Action Swing - Yep, PP, I agree! Very clear identity, I think. No use holding this back.

Dark Theme - The harmonica seem out of place, I think..?? (Sorry, just kidding you ). I think the orchestra sound way too much in your face here. Mix the violin down (try to hide the synthy sound in the orchestra). Give it some mix-reverb, maybe automate the strings a little with the modwheel, and go easy on the limiter on the master bus (use a good compressor in stead).

Hero Theme - I think this has a little of the same issues as "Dark Theme" IMO, but maybe not as obvious. I like the composition, but maybe a little on the soft side to be 'hero' like? I think more like 'anticipating something good', but that's all in my mind

Med Music - Not sure about the med association, it sounds a little too dark for corporate IMO more documentary, but hey Im no expert. Sounds tight and ready, though.

Tension - Here you got the strings just right, sounds fine IMO. It sounds like it works due to the editing points, despite the tempo change, so the music supervisor will be able to use both. Nice!

The Battleroom - Sounds like it comes right from a scene. Is that a good thing? Probably.. strings sounded better here, but then again, you didn't feature a solo instrument. The once you did (with the orch. brass), I noticed it.

Overall, you seem to have a great hold of your genres, and your compositions and arrangements are just awesome! I think you could work more on the mixes for those with orchestral elements.. on the shortcomings of the samples. You seem to want to feature a lot of orchestral stuff, and to be honest, I don't think your samples can keep up with your skillz, so a choice is to spend little more time mixing.. or upgrade, I'd say

GL

[georginasaint]

[quote="Overall, you seem to have a great hold of your genres, and your compositions and arrangements are just awesome! I think you could work more on the mixes for those with orchestral elements.. on the shortcomings of the samples. You seem to want to feature a lot of orchestral stuff, and to be honest, I don't think your samples can keep up with your skillz, so a choice is to spend little more time mixing.. or upgrade, I'd say

GL[/quote]

I want to second what GL says here. I listened to the first track, which I loved. I just wasn't completely convinced about the mix but I can't explain why - I'm not very good at that stuff - I felt that the cymbal's reverb didn't match the other instruments. There's much about it that's excellent.

Then I jumped down to The Old Country as you haven't had much feedback on that. And that's where I really agree with GL's paragraph. Wonderful composition with great potential, but just sounds too synth at the moment. Strings particularly. If you're working with E/W, try using a patch of a smaller group of strings and you can always double the track (pref with a different patch). Right now the strings sound quantized which might be because they are, or it might be because it's just one patch...? have a few tracks of smaller groups of violins and then mess up the timing a little bit - humanize it. Also, the first build in that piece has a walking bass-line of some kind that is too muddy right now.

I hope that's helpful to you.

Georgie

[Eric Bolvin]

Thanks for the tips! Will be remixing right away.

Eb

[Eric Bolvin]

Thanks again everyone. I've worked on Dark Theme and completely re-wrote and re-recorded the strings for The Old Country.
If you're really bored and want to give a listen-thanks in advance!
If not-no worries and thanks for the help.

Eb

[Kolstad]

Good job, Eric!
I think "Dark theme" sounds way better. I like the violin the best in the high range towards the end. It seems not as synthy sounding there.

[georginasaint]

Hi Eric!
I relistened to The Old Country - at first I went to your Taxi page and played it and I thought "It sounds just the same" and then I went to your website and listened there and then I could hear the difference!
Much better strings, much warmer now. There's one thing to do that should step them up further - over-lap the string notes where you want legato, by about an 8th note.
Counting in slow 4, I think it's measure three, the violins walk down F, Eb, D, and there is a slight break inbetween each of those notes. That's one place where you want to go into the note editor and pull the last note longer so that it overlaps with the next one. Also, try having the first note the loudest and get progressively quieter - or the other way around, depending on what effect you want. It will make it all more legato and realistic.
It takes a while to get used to editing the strings to get them sounding good. For me, the strings are the most difficult.

Georgie