Gates Of Distraction (ElectroProg - Seismic TranceFusion)

[astrochimp]

My favorite from you. The bass/lead lines are especially cool. Who are you listening these days?

Thanks for listening and commenting G_J. glad you liked it

It's funny. I don't feel that the music I produce sounds particularly like the music that I listen to apart from DM.

Over the last year, I have been listening mainly to the tracks on KVR and King Crimson, '70s Genesis, Opeth, Porcupine Tree, Zappa, Royksopp and of course, Depeche Mode. Oh yeah, Stravinsky. I can never get the Firebird Suite out of my head. That piece of music has everything. I try to play that only once a month. It's got claws

the firebird suite? i hate the firebird suite!
in fifth grade we had to draw a picture to this music without knowing what it was. i got a bad grade for my picture in black and blue, because the teacher expected us to draw something in red and yellow because of the title without telling us in advance.

[seismic1]

Very nice composition. Reminds a bit of what Xymox was doing in the 80s.

I do think there is too little bass and too much treble in the mix. I wonder what kind of monitors/speakers you are using. I am thinking your speakers are boosting the bass causing you to lower it in the mix.

I had never heard Xymox until 5 minutes ago, but I can see a few similarities there.

I'm using KRK Rokit 5s for mixing, but I think there is probably another reason for your comment. Until I was 25 or so, I listened to a lot of vinyl and especially '70s Genesis. Their records weren't renowned for a high bass content, and the late '70s albums were quite long, which meant that the bass components were even further diminished. Also during this time, I was playing bass in bands, and after listening to recordings of gigs and in the studio, I became convinced that my bass sound was too loud. Since then, I have always been a little concerned that the bass should not occupy too much of the limelight. You're probably right about the amount of treble in this mix. The instruments I have used here contain a fair amount of HF. I spotted that whilst mixing the track and was hoping I'd done enough to bring it down a little.

Thanks very much for the listen and the comments, FrantzM

[Frantz]

You're probably right about the amount of treble in this mix. The instruments I have used here contain a fair amount of HF. I spotted that whilst mixing the track and was hoping I'd done enough to bring it down a little.

Two things you could try:

1. Compare your track to one you think is well mixed in a similar style in a spectral analyzer. You DAW may include a spectral analyzer otherwise you could find a free one to download.

2. Run your entire mix through a M/S Compressor and boost just the mid (mono/bass) frequencies and leave the side (stereo) frequencies alone. I think this compressor by Arts Acoustic is quite good:
http://www.artsacoustic.com/aacls_key_features.php

[seismic1]

My favorite from you. The bass/lead lines are especially cool. Who are you listening these days?

Thanks for listening and commenting G_J. glad you liked it

It's funny. I don't feel that the music I produce sounds particularly like the music that I listen to apart from DM.

Over the last year, I have been listening mainly to the tracks on KVR and King Crimson, '70s Genesis, Opeth, Porcupine Tree, Zappa, Royksopp and of course, Depeche Mode. Oh yeah, Stravinsky. I can never get the Firebird Suite out of my head. That piece of music has everything. I try to play that only once a month. It's got claws

the firebird suite? i hate the firebird suite!
in fifth grade we had to draw a picture to this music without knowing what it was. i got a bad grade for my picture in black and blue, because the teacher expected us to draw something in red and yellow because of the title without telling us in advance.

Go and stand in the corner, astrochimp. Oh! How about a 2 hour detention on Friday after school

[seismic1]

You're probably right about the amount of treble in this mix. The instruments I have used here contain a fair amount of HF. I spotted that whilst mixing the track and was hoping I'd done enough to bring it down a little.

Two things you could try:

1. Compare your track to one you think is well mixed in a similar style in a spectral analyzer. You DAW may include a spectral analyzer otherwise you could find a free one to download.

2. Run your entire mix through a M/S Compressor and boost just the mid (mono/bass) frequencies and leave the side (stereo) frequencies alone. I think this compressor by Arts Acoustic is quite good:
http://www.artsacoustic.com/aacls_key_features.php

I put some tracks (my own and those by other artists) through the T-Racks metering and could see a difference between comparative low/high frequency ratios, but I could also hear them. That leads me to suspect that it's just my personal mixing style that is responsible and not the sonic characteristics of my hardware.

I have various M/S options already available in the T-Racks Deluxe suite but I think this would be fairly easy to address taking a little more time with the master EQ in my regular workflow. However, I'm going to read the artsacoustic manual in conjunction with the IK stuff to see if I can get some useful info.

Having said this, I don't think that there is anything necessarily wrong with a bright mix. It can work well on the right track

Thanks very much for the information

[Frantz]

I put some tracks (my own and those by other artists) through the T-Racks metering and could see a difference between comparative low/high frequency ratios, but I could also hear them. That leads me to suspect that it's just my personal mixing style that is responsible and not the sonic characteristics of my hardware.

Yes, I am sure it is a matter of taste and not a problem with your hardware. You should do what you think is best. Having said that, I found the mix fatiguing to listen to and I probably would have trouble sitting through an album of material mixed that brightly. Halfway through my second listen, I felt compelled to crank the bass all the way up on my amplifier and pulled the treble all the way down. And I normally never touch the tone controls on my amp.

In any case, the music is quite good which is the main thing.

[fateamenabletochange]

Missed this one.
I like this fusion idea of yours. Cool stuff. The time spent really shows, like the very end is an excellent arranged finish.

[seismic1]

I felt compelled to crank the bass all the way up on my amplifier and pulled the treble all the way down. And I normally never touch the tone controls on my amp.

In any case, the music is quite good which is the main thing.

Ouch! My Nytech CA-252 didn't have any tone controls

[Frantz]

My Nytech CA-252 didn't have any tone controls

I just Googled Nytech. It appears to be a budget, vintage British amp. Never saw one in the US. It looks, shall we say, interesting.

[seismic1]

Missed this one.
I like this fusion idea of yours. Cool stuff. The time spent really shows, like the very end is an excellent arranged finish.

The TranceFusion idea just seemed really obvious to me. Get a nice set of complementary sounds and roll with it.

The latest track that I'm remixing has taken about 4 hours so far. I wasn't at all happy with any of it last week, but after messing around with some drum sounds and Diversion FX tonight, I think things are starting to move forward. More of a House feel about this but so far the percussion is extremely basic.

Thanks very much for listening and commenting, fatc. Many people would say that the endings of my tracks are the best parts

[fateamenabletochange]

yes, had a bit of a thought about how to say that to avoid the...phew, that ones over...take on things.

[seismic1]

My Nytech CA-252 didn't have any tone controls

I just Googled Nytech. It appears to be a budget, vintage British amp. Never saw one in the US. It looks, shall we say, interesting.

Budget price, maybe (about £185 in 1984), but these babies sell for over £200 secondhand today. It was an exceptional amp when paired with ARC-101 speakers and a Rega Planar 3 record deck.

Nostalgia

[seismic1]

yes, had a bit of a thought about how to say that to avoid the...phew, that ones over...take on things.

[layzer]

funky stuff! enjoyed this all the way through. nice bass and arps... i downloaded that Anatopya synth a while back, its capable of some really spacey sounds need to use it in a future tune, heh

good one

[rlahalla]

I love this track.. I've listened to it a bunch of times but didn't post any comments - nice work indeed! Love the melodic line towards the end there, fits real nice with the mood