Virtual Music 2 - totally revamped synth music.

[daniel_baum]

Hi all,

This is a piece I did a couple of years ago. It was the first piece I did after coming back to the music hobby after a break of a few years, and was thus the first (and thus far, the last) piece I did entirely using VST instruments.

Anyway, I have never been completely happy with it, so this weekend I revamped it completely. I exported it from EnergyXT1, which I consider to be unusable, into Reaper, removed some tracks, added some tracks, remixed it, and the result is that it now sounds quite different. It is now played almost entirely on MinimogueVA and my Roland JV 1080.

It proved to be a surprisingly difficult mix, so I'd be greatful for any advice on how to improve it.

The file is here:

http://www.type34.info/temp/My%20Compos ... 202008.mp3

Hope you like it, and looking forward to your feedback,

Daniel

[shogger]

Hey Daniel,

nice 80ies track. Like the music.
I suggest that you pan some more stuff away from the center. In the beginning your track sounds almost mono. Try panning the delays away from the dry signal, gives more space. Maybe make the snare reverb stereo? Turn up some bass frequencies and more brilliance which would give it a better, more balanced sound.
If your track sounds balanced in your listening environment: Think about bringing your speakers more away from walls and corners to get a more balance bass response (less bass). If you have active monitors you might have a knob to adjust the treble response. If so adjust them so that you would get a frequency response as flat as possible. Check back with other peoples music you know and like.

Shogger

[daniel_baum]

Hey Daniel,

nice 80ies track. Like the music.

Thanks. Ah, the dear old eighties; where did they go?

I suggest that you pan some more stuff away from the center. In the beginning your track sounds almost mono. Try panning the delays away from the dry signal, gives more space. Maybe make the snare reverb stereo? Turn up some bass frequencies and more brilliance which would give it a better, more balanced sound.

Thanks for the very helpful remarks. Each one would certainly improve the overall effect. It hadn't occurred to me that the beginning of the piece is all in the center. Later on there is plenty of panning; for example the pad sound (JV1080) wanders from left to right and back again, and the sawtooth wave spangles (for want of a better term) have a ping-pong delay.

If your track sounds balanced in your listening environment: Think about bringing your speakers more away from walls and corners to get a more balance bass response (less bass). If you have active monitors you might have a knob to adjust the treble response. If so adjust them so that you would get a frequency response as flat as possible. Check back with other peoples music you know and like.

It seems obvious to me that I need some pro listening equipment. I'll probably end up with buying a decent pair of headphones (I know this isn't ideal) because there is no way I could afford professional monitoring speakers. Any speakers I could afford would probably not be worth the money.

At the moment, I have listened to the piece on various pieces of equipment that I have available, and compared it with other pieces of music on the same equipment as you advised, and it sounds well enough balanced to me . . . .

Thanks again,

Daniel

[folderol]

This is an interesting tune, but it suffers from being totally rigid timing-wise. I don't know the software you use, but is there any way to put more expression into it?

[shogger]

If your track sounds balanced in your listening environment: Think about bringing your speakers more away from walls and corners to get a more balance bass response (less bass). If you have active monitors you might have a knob to adjust the treble response. If so adjust them so that you would get a frequency response as flat as possible. Check back with other peoples music you know and like.

It seems obvious to me that I need some pro listening equipment. I'll probably end up with buying a decent pair of headphones (I know this isn't ideal) because there is no way I could afford professional monitoring speakers. Any speakers I could afford would probably not be worth the money.

At the moment, I have listened to the piece on various pieces of equipment that I have available, and compared it with other pieces of music on the same equipment as you advised, and it sounds well enough balanced to me . . . .

Thanks again,

Daniel

I was unprecise with this one. It's important that your tune sounds balanced in the same way as other music of the same style does on your speakers. Then it's good. If you're happy with the balance of hi mid and low frequencies in your mix compared to other mixes then everything is fine. As long as you're sure about what you hear in your mixes does work in the same way in other mixes -on-your-speakers- everything is fine! It's important to know the speakers that you own. Only if you know WHAT your speakers are really lacking it makes sense to get better ones.

Shogger

[daniel_baum]

This is an interesting tune, but it suffers from being totally rigid timing-wise. I don't know the software you use, but is there any way to put more expression into it?

Expression? Where can I get one of those? Does it have midi?



Daniel

[folderol]

My dear boy, it cannot be bought for brass nor gold. Neither can it be contained, measured nor quantified.

Expression comes from the soul.

You are not surely, a sour soldier who sold his sole soul to the evil one?

Phew, did I say all that? Time for my meds I think