KVR Audio

synaesthesia · Post by **synaesthesia** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 10:11 am

I think the bongos and incidental hits are fine. It's the kick, the snare and the hats that need the work - particularly the snare. It needs to be crispier... if that makes any sense!

K-Bee · Post by **K-Bee** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 1:04 pm

Great to know!
I'll do some fiddling around with it and put up another version shortly

K-Bee · Post by **K-Bee** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 7:02 pm

New version of "Sundance"
http://drop.io/Sundance_Remix
I cranked it from 119 to 121BPM, added new kick/snare/Hihat and did some changes in the rhodes solo.
Hopefully it has more "oomph" now

Let me know
thanks

K-Bee · Post by **K-Bee** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 6:36 am

I could still use some additional opinions about this. Especially with the new and improved (?) version posted just above this post

Thanks in advance

sazb30 · Post by **sazb30** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 9:02 am

listening on my computer speakers and it sounds just lovely! The drums seem much crisper and have that bit of fizz that was missing before. The extra 2bpm makes a real difference to the groove, it skips and rolls along beautifully. It's warm and jazzy and bursting at the seams with sexy summer sunshine. I love it!! Some little vocal snippets perhaps? Then again... it's great how it is.

Now I'm going to go and have a listen on my studio monitors.

I'll be back

sazb30 · Post by **sazb30** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 9:10 am

ok, back now and listening on my monitors...

a couple of things you might want to consider:

the bass drum is much better than it was, but it's coming over as a tad boomy and bassy - I would use the word thuddy. You might try layering it with a snappier kick - one with a nice transient crack.

Also, I reckon you could bump up the bpm a touch more. Try 124?

Overall though this is much improved. I think it's great!!

Well done !!

Lotuzia · Post by **Lotuzia** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 9:31 am

Hi Kbee,

Nice sunny track,

Main point is the interaction between drums and track imho.

Warning : Might Be only My Taste here

Bass : Too low/Dull. Needs to have more top (or is really wiped by the BD)

BD : Far too dancey for me. Decay too long, "Dull" Sound, eats half of the other instruments. The very exposed room ambiance on drums : I would have choosen a Plate, or a small hall to add space. The acoustic scene conflicts beetween drums and other instruments imho. Claps too crispy when exposed. I would have choosen acoustic HH for this kind of tracks too with a great shuffle. Percussions : Well, ok but could have been more groovy. Sounds a bit mechanical to me.

Dont misunderstand me : I would have liked to love this track more than I did. I found the overall feeling very happy and cool, and keys/Trump and bass are all nice.

In case it helps

LtZ

K-Bee · Post by **K-Bee** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 11:44 am

Lotuzia wrote:In case it helps

Believe me, it does help

I'll think about adding some more acoustic sounding hihats/cymbals too and I totally know what you mean about the hand claps being overly crisp. Thanks

sazb30 wrote: listening on my computer speakers and it sounds just lovely!
(...)Now I'm going to go and have a listen on my studio monitors.

This actually made me think. We all tend to judge mixing by listening on our studio monitors cause that seems most appropriate. However, the general public don't have studio monitors and I wonder if aiming for a mix that works on regular speakers isn't what I should go for in the end? Stuff that sounds thuddish (is that even a word?) one type of speakers could be great on another. The real art of mixing/mastering must be being able to make everything passable on as many systems as possible.

sazb30 · Post by **sazb30** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 11:51 am

true, but the whole point of monitor speakers is that they give you a more accurate reference that (supposedly) translates on many different systems. My computer speakers are pretty shit and although my monitors are not the best I can certainly hear more through them than the computer speakers or my hifi speakers.

rob_lee · Post by **rob_lee** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 11:57 am

K-Bee wrote:...or at least, that's the intention of this track entitled "Sundance". I was inspired by the likes of Incognito and Sunburst Band (Joey Negro's act)when doing this.
It's damn hot outside where I am and so is this!! (spoken with quite a bit of irony of course

http://drop.io/K_bee_sundance

Comments come highly appreciated. Enjoy!

It's on my Myspace profile as well

Ah Hed Kandi..Cafe Mambo

Only change your choice of drums..they sound very mono and dull on my studio monitors..I love the elements of your track though..

Good stuff

Rob

timwright · Post by **timwright** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 12:06 pm

I play and make soulful house so hopefully I can give some advice...

Firstly, I'd push the tempo up a little, probably to 125ish.

The drums sound very forced, I think it's probably the choice of samples that are to blame, and a nice filtered loop beneath might help out too. All the drums (and percussion) just sound very un-natural.

The bass sounds like a standard midi sound. Listen to some of Jay J's stuff, Harley & Muscle's tracks or even Jon Cutler's early stuff. You'd be better aiming for a nice deep, smooth synth bass.

The idea of the track is very nice. Musically it's very, very nice. I could see this working, but it needs a lot of polishing in my opinion.

timwright · Post by **timwright** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 12:11 pm

Sorry, just noticed you'd posted a new version. Sounding better...

I'd still push the tempo up further. You mentioned Dave Lee's Sunburst Band as an inspiration, but if you listen to Fly Away or other tracks similar you'll notice they're at 127bpm.

The kick drum is too heavy for this kind of track, in my opinion. It sounds more suited to a funky house, club track. You need to pull it back into the mix a little, and aim for a deeper sound. The hat's sound much better now though, and the percussion is sounding cleaner.

DaveL60 · Post by **DaveL60** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 12:51 pm

K-Bee: not a genre I can comment on knowledgeably, and I'm listening on really inadequate laptop speakers, so I won't try to offer specific, track-tuning feedback. Just wanted to jump in an say I really like the feel. Very much the sort of music to put one in a happy space.

DaveL

tehlord · Post by **tehlord** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 1:25 pm

The skeleton of the track works as a summery house track but there's many improvements that could be made I think. The instrument programming is spot on I think but it's the effects applied that need tweaking.

I think the kick is still abit dull, it sounds like you've taken off the attack too much so it's been left with no punch, or click. No what I mean by that?

The brass sounds could use a whole load more reverb and delay, this will take some experimenting.

The EP could change throughout the track by applying some mild distortion, tremelo and even sidechaining it to the kick to make it pump a bit.

The bass guitar needs a bit more articualtion as it's sounds like it's been thrown onto the piano roll as an afterthought. Actually that's harsh, but this type of bass guitar needs to feel like it's being played rather than programmed. Try some slides and ad libs. It might be worth playing with a maximiser type tool to put some of the high end back into that part as well to give it some snap.

Great choice of instruments and chords though. I like it

K-Bee · Post by **K-Bee** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 2:23 pm

Thank you all! This is way more than I expected to get you of asking again.

Let me summarize (for my own sake mostly

)

- a bit faster
- kick change (layering or whatever additions I can come up with)
- Brass reverb additions
- Bassline changes (i might try another bass type altogether)
- Rhodes needs "dirt".

Version 3 coming soon

Sun drenched soulful summer house!