Feedback CyberPunk

[deluxesound]

Hi I submitted my track for Cyberpunk listing and got some feedback not sure I agree with so turning to TAXI forum and members with more educated ears to hear your thoughts.

One comment was sounds were bit dated, drums specifically and ok I ran out of time to add more character to the kick so I'm ok with this but 2nd comment has me confused.

Melody could be more developed. I have read in many listings how overly complicated melodies with several themes are not desired for synch. Simple is better repetition is good especially as it is less likely to clash with dialogue on screen so definitely bit surprised with 2nd comment and needing some seasoned folks on here to see if that's the consensus or not and any other feedback that could be helpful.

Thanks
https://www.taxi.com/members/BI_k1PecQT ... k-commando

[cosmicdolphin]

Quick listen, I am getting a VERY repetitive vibe form the lead part...it just does the same thing over and over for the entire cue.

However, it would be best to post up the orginal listing and references as well otherwise it's difficult to judge what they were looking for.

[deluxesound]

Hi thanks for your response - Here's the listing:
A Bunch of CYBERPUNK INSTRUMENTALS are needed by an awesome U.K.-based Music Library that's distributed all over the world.
TAXI Tip: Want to be a standout with little competition in a particular genre in this company's catalog? Here's your chance! Less competition in that genre = More possible placements!
They’re looking for Instrumentals in the general stylistic wheelhouse of these examples:
"The Cyberpunk Ghostrunner" by Yuri Petrovski
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrUksM_SWN4
"The Matrix" by Head Splitter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOIRuIZ4lT8
"Legendary" by Smash Stereo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-LiWZBDdho

I mainly used the Cyberpunk Ghostrunner reference as was a bit overwhelming trying to incorporate all three. Noted newbie error missing the listing as well as probably should've posted this to TAXI review station so learning curve there.

Thanks

Eric

[cosmicdolphin]

Ok , first thing I am hearing is your kick drum is far weaker sounding than the refs - that's immediately noticable. The easy fix is to use a great souding kick drum sample ( i.e from Splice or similar ) and then don't mess it up. The snare will probably sound fine with a great kick drum.

Your lead sound is not rally cutting it , and I could say the same about the whole mix. It sounds a little like someone threw a blanket over the speakers copared to the ref tracks. This might be something you've done to the mix buss that's actually making everything sound duller - smaller and weaker. A great way to keep on target when mixing is to use a plugin like Metric AB, load up the ref tracks ( I'll let you figure out how to borrow them for educational purposes ) and then after you've level matched the tracks go back and forth and listen carefully. How loud is their kick ? Make yours the same. How bright is their snare ? Do the same ..etc.etc. until your mix sounds closer to their mix.

You sounds need a bit more of a sound design edge for this genre , that means processing them to give them more of a vibe, make them sound cooler. The Ghostrunner track obviously has some sort of saturation going on, there's a filter that moves around to keep it interesting. The sounds are quite compressed and I wouldn't be surprised if they've been slammed through a plugin called OTT ( which is free BTW ) then thy've probably been sidechained to the kick to pulse a little in volume.

A times there are stutter type effects. There are lots of ways this might be done. It could be a gate, could be a plugin that just applies a rhythmivc filter and gate...there's tons of them out there. Doesn't really matter which one you use as long as it makes the part more interesting.

Mark

[deluxesound]

Hey Mark,

Thanks for your feedback, very insightful and helpful. A lot of what you say I can see would definitely help and have some of the things you mentioned but didn't apply, OTT being one. Thanks gives me a good place to go back and reset and improve for the next one.

Really appreciate it.

Eric