KVR Audio

Frantz · Post by **Frantz** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 3:22 am

phoenstorm wrote:I listened to this a few times on a variety of systems and I really like it - great song! - I cannot go too much into comparisons a la sounds like... because I'm not a regular listener of that genre and not very familiar with similar music from the 80s. But this reminded me of Telefon Tel Aviv - probably you know the project? - you mentioned blending your style with a few elements from contemporary electronic music & revisiting them might be interesting. I did a few listening comparisons with songs that I thought had something in common with yours - "Helen of Troy" and "You're the worst thing in the world" - that was very instructive - I think the mix and overall production are really great, and I found myself preferring your track to the other two. Thanks for sharing...looking forward to hearing more

Thanks for the listens and the thoughtful, detailed feedback. I had not heard of Telefon Tel Aviv before. I can hear some similarities in those two songs to my song. I think we were influenced by the same bands. For example, "Helen of Troy" sounds like a sped up version of DAF's "Ich Und Die Wirklichkeit". (DAF are one of my favorites.) Unfortunately, on a lot of their other material, Telefon Tel Aviv use lots of reverb which is a pet peeve of mine.

planetearth · Post by **planetearth** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 4:06 am

Frantz wrote:I've been fussing over this one for a long time. It's time to let it go. Any feedback is appreciated.

Fragile Gods "All That Remains"

http://soundcloud.com/fragilegods/allthatremains

The lyrics are on the SoundCloud link.

Drums: Drumatic 4
Bass: SEM V
Strings: Diva
All other synths: Rayblaster
Plus various effects

Say...I have a song called "All That Remains" also--but yours sounds nothing like it. What's up with that?

I really like the RayBlaster and the '80s sounds on this, and the vocal treatment is great! What made you use the RayBlaster for most of the synth sounds? I have RayBlaster too, and found it to be quite versatile. I've made demos of it for Tone2, and I think it's a bit underrated as a synth.

Steve

Frantz · Post by **Frantz** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 5:07 am

layzer wrote: well here it is...in the dreaded LayzerSound®.... all i tried to do was make the vox sit better in the mix, and balance out the freq spectrum. to my ears it was fairly piercing in the HFs...

very different sounding. i know....as always very sobjective to personal taste!

Thanks for taking the time to do this Layzer. It's always interesting to get your perspective. Let's look at all 3 in the spectrum analyzer.

Frantz Version 1 had some harsh frequencies in the chorus (see the circled red spots) that you and Zombie Queen picked up on.

For my current version, Frantz Version 2, I used a high-shelf EQ to cool off those hot spots without changing anything else. It was a minor, surgical tweak.

Your Layzer Version is a lot more radical. All sounds above 16kHz are gone and there is less energy in the mid to high range. Perhaps there is additional compression? It's an interesting take and it works well but I am pretty happy with the frequency ranges in my current version.

Click for full screen

Frantz · Post by **Frantz** » Fri Mar 14, 2014 4:10 am

fateamenabletochange wrote:Listen to this and a bunch at Soundcloud, certainly a style and coherence between them all, cool stuff.

Thanks FATC. Hopefully we'll be hearing another ambient piece from you soon.

Frantz · Post by **Frantz** » Sun Mar 16, 2014 5:39 am

seismic1 wrote:New mix sounds good to me, but I didn't notice anything really wrong with the original. I was listening through speakers (Rokit 5s and Mission 773s) at reasonable levels. I haven't listened to either using phones.

Thanks for checking out and commenting on the new mix. As you can see from the spectrograms above, the differences between my two mixes were very subtle. Nevertheless, the high frequencies in the chorus of the original mix were irritating to me when played at high volume. It's reassuring to know that both mixes work for you and I didn't overcompensate on the second mix.

nineofkings · Post by **nineofkings** » Sun Mar 16, 2014 6:38 pm

The synth sounds and vocal processing are spot-on. I didn't see anything wrong with the first mix, but liked the second mix. One of those things where you only notice certain elements in their absence.

Frantz · Post by **Frantz** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 7:20 am

daniel_baum wrote:I am really amazed how good this is

Thanks for the nice comment Daniel.

bluedad · Post by **bluedad** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 10:14 am

Glad I didn't miss this. Very good song craftsmanship, arrangement and vocal.

Frantz · Post by **Frantz** » Tue Mar 18, 2014 3:10 am

thecontrolcentre wrote:Really reminded me of early Human League (circa Travelogue). Synths sound great. Early Sisters Of Mercy vibe in there too.

I love the pre-Dare Human League especially "Reproduction." Although I didn't have them in mind, I can see how you are getting that vibe. It is a minimal synthpop track.

I guess the vocals could be considered Sisters of Mercy-ish although I don't know much about them.

Thanks for the feedback.

any1particular · Post by **any1particular** » Tue Mar 18, 2014 6:49 pm

Nice! Great mix-all the instruments are nice and clear and sit nicely in the mix. I hear a bit of Devo in there perhaps-good one Frantz!

Frantz · Post by **Frantz** » Thu Mar 20, 2014 3:26 am

planetearth wrote: Say...I have a song called "All That Remains" also--but yours sounds nothing like it. What's up with that?

You'll be hearing from my lawyers.

planetearth wrote: I really like the RayBlaster and the '80s sounds on this, and the vocal treatment is great! What made you use the RayBlaster for most of the synth sounds? I have RayBlaster too, and found it to be quite versatile. I've made demos of it for Tone2, and I think it's a bit underrated as a synth.

Steve

Currently RayBlaster is my favorite synth to mess around with. When I have a part written but I'm not sure what the synth sound should be, I tend to fire up RayBlaster. It's fun because you can take a sound in so many different directions. The built-in effects are great too.

Thanks for the feedback Steve.

planetearth · Post by **planetearth** » Thu Mar 20, 2014 4:06 am

Frantz wrote:
planetearth wrote: Say...I have a song called "All That Remains" also--but yours sounds nothing like it. What's up with that?
You'll be hearing from my lawyers.

planetearth wrote: I really like the RayBlaster and the '80s sounds on this, and the vocal treatment is great! What made you use the RayBlaster for most of the synth sounds? I have RayBlaster too, and found it to be quite versatile. I've made demos of it for Tone2, and I think it's a bit underrated as a synth.

Steve
Currently RayBlaster is my favorite synth to mess around with. When I have a part written but I'm not sure what the synth sound should be, I tend to fire up RayBlaster. It's fun because you can take a sound in so many different directions. The built-in effects are great too.

Thanks for the feedback Steve.

Ha! Your lawyers don't scare me! You'll see what MY lawyer is capable of...once he's released from prison.

Steve

nasenmann · Post by **nasenmann** » Thu Mar 20, 2014 7:59 am

Good mixing, good processing of the background elements, and the vocal delivery sounds very fitting.

Personally, i find the synth strings and bass combo a little bland. I guess my appreciation of that less exotic type of 80's electropop sound is somewhat limited.

Still, i can see what the tune wants to be, so good work on that.

Frantz · Post by **Frantz** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 3:48 am

planetearth wrote:Ha! Your lawyers don't scare me! You'll see what MY lawyer is capable of...once he's released from prison.

I see you're another gullible musician -- dealing with a lawyer in prison.

I happen to be represented by the top legal team in Nigeria. They are about to close a sweet business deal that will net me TWENTY ONE MILLION DOLLARS. I just need to mortgage my house to raise the fees for the deal. It pays to know the business side of things.

Frantz · Post by **Frantz** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 3:53 am

nineofkings wrote:The synth sounds and vocal processing are spot-on. I didn't see anything wrong with the first mix, but liked the second mix. One of those things where you only notice certain elements in their absence.

Thanks for checking out both mixes. I guess the first mix wasn't so bad. I'm happy to hear that the second mix is OK too. I appreciate the feedback.

Fragile Gods - "All That Remains" (new mix on Mar 10)