TAXI.com

Hello all, I was returned on this listing:

COMPOSERS OF LATIN (ROMAN) MUSIC NEEDED by a Music Producer who is creating a new independent music library and already has several TAXI composers under his roof. Instrumentals ONLY!

I had the Recording option selected under Not Master/Broadcast Quality . I truly wish the screener would say at least a couple of words as to direction! I realize it is a 'Y' listing, however one can ask!

I would truly appreciate any & all comments as to what you believe, would be the reason for the returns. All opinions are welcomed!


"Attack the Perpetrator", & "North of Rome MMX"

Thanks for your time!

http://www.taxi.com/vincentpace


Cheers,
Vincent!

Vincent,

Both pieces suffer from "over mastering". It sounds like you overdid it with the buss compressor. Everything is pushed too far forward by the compression and the sound is very harsh and even distorted in some places. It tends to make the strings sound like a string machine and kind of grating on the ears, amongst other things. I was watching the meters on my Central Station and I saw the telltale meter response of a square wave on some stuff, in other words the meters go to a certain place and then stop moving during the loud sections and I can tell if I saw the waveform it would look like a square wave. This is orchestra music, not Metallica!!

I'd like to hear these without any mastering processing. I have a feeling they're more dynamic and have more space in them, and that's what they need. You just got carried away with the mastering tools.

Bummer, but I have to agree with the screener here!

Mazz

Hi Mazz, thanks for weighing in! Well, you've certainly added to my confusion! Firstly, let me suggest that I totally appreciate what you've pointed out here, because I was not aware of the items mentioned! Secondly, I am not the one who mastered these pieces, they were professionally done, which is clearly, neither here nor there!
However, perhaps this is teaching me to be a little more discerning when mastering is done for me, & or time to do it myself!
Just do not have the funds to purchase the proper toys that would allow for optimum mastering!

I am always the first to admit, that my production skills require much work. I suppose, if I am to continue to compose orchestral material, I would do well to learn the mastering skills required to not make the orchestral music sound like 'Metallica'. ( I am not even familiar with any of their music).

Attached you'll find a link to the non-mastered versions. Your thoughts on these versions would be truly appreciated!

Thanks for your time!

Cheers,
Vincent!


http://www.reverbnation.com/tunepak/2474428

I prefer the un mastered versions by far. Now I can hear the piece without being pushed back in my chair!!!

That being said, I think you still need to work on the mixes. They still sound a bit harsh in the upper midrange, kind of "loaded up" in the 4-6 kHz range, which is the range the ear is already naturally sensitive in. Your monitors may be a bit shy in this frequency range and you might be over compensating when mixing. You can still get good mixes on your system, but you have to know what the limitations of your system are and know that when it sounds like "this" on your speakers, it'll basically sound good everywhere. It just takes practice and a lot of listening to your mixes on other systems like your car, living room, etc.

Also the strings on the first piece aren't as good as they could be, you need to smooth them out sound-wise, work on the expression on the long notes and switch to a short articulation when they are playing the stacatto chords. There's a tell tale longer release time on the legato articulations that I hear when they are played short, and it just makes the strings sound synthy to my ears. Dig in and change up the articulations.

Your "mastering engineer" was pretty heavy handed with the compression which just exacerbated the issues with the mix. If I was mastering this, I'd send you home to tweak the mix some more and then I'd actually listen before I just put on my favorite Ozone preset and let 'er rip, which is what it sounded like this person did. Sorry if this engineer is a friend of yours, but I think you need a second opinion, maybe a different set of ears than this person. They just did a rock/pop number on these, which wasn't appropriate for the style at all.

Just my 2c.

Mazz

PS: I only mentioned Metallica because there was an uproar over the sound of their last album, which was basically two black stripes on the waveform display if you looked at it. I'm not ultra familiar with their music, but that album really stirred up a lot of controversy because of the way it was mixed and mastered.

Hi Mazz, as always, thanks for your input! I've certainly come to that conclusion that perhaps I need to re-think the mastering portion of my submissions. That being said, I am still very much struggling with how to put expression/dynamics throughout the orchestral pieces. As mentioned 6 to 12 months ago I had no idea orchestral sound libraries even existed, so there is still much to learn on my end. Its certainly not like drawing in the dynamics on a score, and hope that the players/conductor execute your intention properly.

The strings on Attack the Perpet... were divided into legato, or staccato, according to the articulation I wanted. Yet, clearly more attention is required. As for my system, I am not using a Mac quad ( iMac 3.06 ghz, Intel core duo 2 ) which implies, on occasion I have to track all parts down to wave files before I mix. This further implies limiting expression to automation which is a total pain, & not nearly as effective as I wish for.
Lastly, the headphones I use, taped up after our 2 year old got his hands on them, are not the overly expensive kind, so I can see ( or rather not hear), what your suggesting.
Writing for media, is different from the sort of writing I'm used to, yet I'm in this for the long hall, & really rolling up my sleeves, to achieve my goal of using composition to support my family. It may take a while, yet as I always say, I'll always be doing music, so why not!

Mazz, your thoughts are always greatly appreciated!


Cheers,
Vincent!

I like the writing in both pieces. I remember the second one from a peer-to-peer posting.

I also like the unmastered versions better. What orchestral library are you using and what is your DAW?

I feel you're pain. There is a huge learning curve in getting the sample libraries to really sing. Still in that curve my own self.

B

Hi Bryan, thanks for your input! The library is EWQL Symphonic Gold, & I'm using it with Logic Pro 8.2. Clearly, much to learn since I just purchased this library at the end of December. So, it has not been a long time! I'm sure your further along than I am in your understanding of how to do all this stuff, & clearly it shows in your work, which is quite good!

I suppose its all uphill from here!

Thanks again Bryan!

Cheers,
Vincent!