Feedback on a non-listing track

[OwenGrech]

This track was returned a while ago because it was not exactly on spot for that particular listing however the feedback was pretty positive apart from being a little repetitive at times so I decided to work on it some more to try and add a bit of variation. If it is good enough I might do some similar tracks and pitch them to the library I am signed to.

I was going for a cool, swaggy, confident, unapologetic kind of Rock. What do you guys n girls think? Any feedback would be appreciated.

This is the original I submitted for the listing:

https://soundcloud.com/user-981810763/j ... boGIRQrfrh

and this is the new one

https://soundcloud.com/user-981810763/j ... 1bMLLzqSmZ

PS. A little unrelated - but could anyone be so kind as to show me how to actually embed the Soundcloud player into the post? I have been trying all sorts of things including wrapping the link with the soundcloud icon but to no avail and it makes me wanna tear my hair out!!

Thank you!
Owen

[OwenGrech]

PS. A little unrelated - but could anyone be so kind as to show me how to actually embed the Soundcloud player into the post? I have been trying all sorts of things including wrapping the link with the soundcloud icon but to no avail and it makes me wanna tear my hair out!!

It only works with public tracks.

Tom

Got it thanks!

[Peterg]

Sounds good to me! Maybe the drums sound a bit programmed, the clap sound that comes in with the snare doesn't help, and I've always liked to hear splashy cymbals (compressed) more clearly in this genre. I think the drum parts are good, but could maybe have a bit more snap like a rim shot in the snare sound, and the hats more in a room.
But there's lots of great arrangement ideas and ear candy.

Peter

[OwenGrech]

Nice!
If it was my mix I'd consider carving out a touch of the first rhythm guitar to make more space for the lead, and shaving a bit of the sharp top end off the lead, but that's just my subjective opinion. Another subjective view is that there are times when the mix width collapses to almost mono, and although that's a cool trick to use momentarily to give transitions extra contrast and impact, it feels a little uncomfortable for lengthy sections IMHO. Maybe its just me though. Overall, its a cool track and should find a home. Make another 11 or so and get pitching. Good luck with it/them.

Thank you Graham for taking the time to hear the track, much appreciated.

Nice solid advice you got there! I am thinking of sidechaining an eq with a slightly more aggressive curve during the lead parts to make space as you suggested.

Re the mono issue do you have any suggestions on what can be done? It wasn't on purpose from my end as I did the usual stuff to widen the stereo field (double track separate guitars with different amp settings hard panned ect). I even used some widening at the mastering stage and I have a feeling that might have backfired. Overall I am still trying to up my game when it comes to manipulating the stereo field for maximum effect but in the meantime I am having fun learning

Thanks for the encouragement and once again great feedback!

owen

[OwenGrech]

Sounds good to me! Maybe the drums sound a bit programmed, the clap sound that comes in with the snare doesn't help, and I've always liked to hear splashy cymbals (compressed) more clearly in this genre. I think the drum parts are good, but could maybe have a bit more snap like a rim shot in the snare sound, and the hats more in a room.
But there's lots of great arrangement ideas and ear candy.

Peter

Hi Peter, thanks for lending me your ears! I blended in another kick+snare just to give it a bit of a snap but at this stage I am thinking maybe the source kit needs to change. Funny that you mentioned the cymbals - if you listen to the original track, the cymbals were included in the drum bus but to my ears they sounded a little bit weird so in this version i removed them from the bus so that they won't get compressed but now that I got myself some distance from the track I think that you might be right - they do need at least some compression. Do you think it is a bad idea to compress them separately instead of including them in the drum bus? I still think that they were a little over compressed in the original track so I am thinking maybe compressing them separately would give them some more life without over washing the mix.

Either way thanks again for the feedback!

owen

[lesmac]

Do you think it is a bad idea to compress them separately instead of including them in the drum bus?

It's a great idea to separate them. Lots of engineer/producers ask drummers to play cymbals and open hi-hats separately so they can compress the heck out of the drums without that crazy wash.

Tie them together with a verb further down the chain or add any effects you fancy.

[OwenGrech]

Do you think it is a bad idea to compress them separately instead of including them in the drum bus?

It's a great idea to separate them. Lots of engineer/producers ask drummers to play cymbals and open hi-hats separately so they can compress the heck out of the drums without that crazy wash.

Tie them together with a verb further down the chain or add any effects you fancy.

Hey Lesmac thanks for your comment! Thank goodness for plugins as you don't get to hear the drummer complaining when being asked to play the cymbals separately

Yeah I am not a fan of that crazy wash either so from now on I'll definitely be putting them on a different bus

[OwenGrech]

It gets better with each listen, so well done on making a really good track.

Thanks

Its the section from 1:14 to 1:36 that I miss the stereo width. Its OK for some contrast for a while at 1:14 but by 1:25 I'd say it could go wider again whilst reserving full width for the the final section entering at 1:36. Or you could just play it safe and go for consistent (or at least compatible width right through. For art, the contrast is great, but for sync some might argue that the more flexibility you give editors to cut/paste/join sections and variations of your track, the better. That's your choice.

Graham, thanks for pointing out the exact time. I can totally understand your point now and this is indeed a great observation from your end! It didn't occur to me that the width contrast might also interfere with possible future edits!

There are several options to play with to get width. You could double track the riff guitar, or take the easy way out and use the Haas effect, but that sometimes starts to sound unnatural, phasey and can give mono compatibility issues, so not everybody is a fan of that technique. Here's some alternatives though.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq2V6K85ygo
If you don't want to work on the guitar, you could also try some wide panned stereo pad (Hammond?) as a texture that you can't hear a great deal but give some sense of width.

Again, thanks for the link! I think the hammond idea could actually work nicely as it will add back the width while also keeping the ear candy in place for some usable variation. Great Idea! Your feedback is top notch Graham and it is precisely the kind of feedback I aspire to hopefully give!