ordinari - departure [synthwave]

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Here's my first finished track:

https://soundcloud.com/ordinari/departure_first_mix

The melodies and chords are a bit cheesy, but the focus was trying to get the sound right. Comments are welcomed (especially about the mixing)!

EDIT:

Here's the second mix, based on the feedback given in the comments:

https://soundcloud.com/ordinari/departure
Last edited by drakmaniso on Wed Oct 05, 2016 11:27 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Nice. It sounds like it could be on Alphaville's first album.

I think the drums are too quiet. The mix and instruments are heavy on mid-range frequencies.

Good first effort. :tu:

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Frantz wrote:Nice. It sounds like it could be on Alphaville's first album.
:D Thanks!
Frantz wrote:I think the drums are too quiet. The mix and instruments are heavy on mid-range frequencies.
I noticed there was a problem with the frequency balance, but I thought it was a lack of highs. I'll try lowering the mids instead... (Though I'll wait a few day before working on a second mix: right now, I can't listen to those cheezy melodies anymore... :lol: )

As for the drums, I wanted a softer sound than modern EDM (there's still a bit of sidechaining on the bass, reverb and pads), but I may I have over reacted...

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good synthpop. just needs some good low toned bowie vocals. i think its the 303-ish lead that contributes to most of the mid range energy Frantz noted. i agree with you though, that it could use a bit more sizzle in the 12khz+ freq's
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layzer wrote:good synthpop. just needs some good low toned bowie vocals. i think its the 303-ish lead that contributes to most of the mid range energy Frantz noted. i agree with you though, that it could use a bit more sizzle in the 12khz+ freq's
Thanks!

There's definitely something unbalanced with the highs and mids, I should have used more references while mixing... I'll start by checking that acid lead!

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Nice tune, and the synths sound good to me. I also thought the drums were a little quiet, and could possibly do with a some more HF content to liven them up a bit.

Good work :)

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Thanks! I'll check what kind of equalization I have on the drums. It's also possible the drum machine I use (VProm) has a limited frequency range, since it emulates old hardware.

It's nice to see that all the feedback I get is similar (there's something lacking in the highs), that makes my task easier for the second mix!

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Here's the second mix:

https://soundcloud.com/ordinari/departure

The only change in the content is in one of the pads, some notes in the low mid were too close to the bass, I moved them one or two octaves up and this immediately improved the clarity.

The only other changes are in compression and EQ: I added a bit of sidechain on a few more parts to let the kick and snare pass through, removed a bit of "mud" around 300 Hz on some tracks, and boosted the highs by various amount almost everywhere. On the master bus I removed some harsh frequencies around 3k Hz, and slightly lowered the mids a bit more.

I might have overdone it though, on some listen I have the impression that the sound lacks body, but on the other hand I like the softness that wasn't there on my first attempt...

Anyway, thanks for all the feedback!

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