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Messages - wayfinder

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46
Composition/Arrangement/Theory / Re: [Ql Creating (logical) melodies
« on: January 10, 2016, 08:12:21 pm »
Everyone's workflow is of course different, but whistling, humming and singing is working very well for me. Sometimes things just click and I can intuitively write a melody, but at other times, I have to approach things in a more structured way: I think of melodies in terms of rhythmic patterns and melodic phrases, and I try to surprise with one while keeping the other steady. What that means is, different parts of a melody will end up sounding similar to other parts in some ways and fresh in other ways—finding the balance there is a matter of experience, as are most things. I will also frequently write a second part where I can change up a few things (like going up instead of down in a key place), which is not just a way to call back to the original melody (humans like familiarity), but also a way to express different emotions, and to make a chord progression go a longer way.

Here's an example of a melody I wrote that way (skip to 1:54:40 or so):



Another quick tip: look up call-response patterns. Knowing how to use them will improve your melody writing immensely.

47
Composition/Arrangement/Theory / Re: Repetition: How Much is Too Much?
« on: January 10, 2016, 07:48:08 pm »
It also takes confidence. That's always a problem when you're making something that's easily and frequently done wrong. Making a good track that's really repetitive (at least on its surface) isn't easy. Most people have been conditioned to expect more variety from themselves and others, and there's always a voice in the back of your head going "they're gonna find this so boring."

48
R&A Graveyard / Re: "Finished Tracks" Section Sucks rn
« on: January 10, 2016, 07:35:08 pm »
I wonder if it would work to get rid of Finished Tracks/WIP and instead make a Showcase section that has comments turned off (so it would be +1 votes only), and a Feedback section that has comments open, with the explicit disclaimer that you'll have to expect comments there, whether you ask for them or not :)

May be too radical, but who knows?

49
Samples/Plugins/Software/Gear / Re: Music Production device "PC/Laptop"
« on: January 10, 2016, 07:20:10 pm »
A fast CPU and lots of RAM are good to have, the surprise MVP in my setup is the 21:9 format ultra widescreen monitor though.

50
I use LAME (with the lamedropXPd front-end)

51
Mixing/Mastering / Re: Is mastering always neccesary?
« on: January 09, 2016, 11:44:18 pm »
ive been using mark sherry alot. and usually i send a mastering "blueprint" (roughly mastered version by myself) to insure that what i get back wont be something out of the blue (bass vs drums relationship)
nothing more devastating then sending your demo to the mastering guys at the label you're releasing on and then you hear your track butchered on beatport

Fortunately, my label doesn't just send my tracks off to mastering and then uploads, they have me sign off on the masters. Can't imagine how disappointing it must be to find out your track is out in a ruined version.

52
WIPs / Re: Desire WIP
« on: January 09, 2016, 10:36:26 pm »
You're right, the vocals drown in the mix once everything sets in. It gets better, but they're pretty much buried for a while. I also feel like the kick is a little strong throughout the track. Nice clap though, and a lovely melody!

My suggestions:
- lose the distortion on the vocals in the breakdown, it just makes it sound like she's got a lisp
- try and re-do your volume levels, starting with the vocals (I'd probably start them at -12db) and then bringing all your other elements in. make sure the vocals stay clear and audible throughout. sidechain the chords to the vocals if necessary. also pay attention to the bass and kick levels
- maybe look at the chord stabs' attack, see if something softer would improve the track

Good luck!

53
WIPs / Re: Tron | Short Album WIP
« on: January 09, 2016, 10:08:37 pm »
My overall impression is that of sort-of traditional tunes (like hymns, menuets, orchestral or even slightly jazzy stuff) rendered through the Dubstep Filter #4 Preset on the Make-EDM-O-Tron, so Tron is a good title perhaps ;)

54
WIPs / Re: Electro song WIP
« on: January 09, 2016, 09:43:52 pm »
Track not available...

55
WIPs / Re: Anadel - In The Water [Remix]
« on: January 09, 2016, 09:29:47 pm »
The answer to "should I continue" is usually, "yes, finish it!" Even if it's just to practice finishing stuff. The site you're using was so slow for me that the track timed out and I wasn't able to listen to more than the first few guitar notes—sorry!

56
WIPs / Re: Cause and Affection | deep/emotional house
« on: January 09, 2016, 08:51:42 pm »
Only you can tell whether it's done or not ;)

I just had to switch to headphones, so take my opinion on the low end with a bit of salt, but mixing-wise it sounds like the kick could use a little more character/attack/prominence. The bassy lead works well with the sub.

I'm finding the slow vibrato on the bell/pluck to be more irritating the more I listen. If it's a deliberate effect, it would serve the track better in smaller doses (ie on something that's not playing the whole time). This would also alleviate another problem with the pluck, I felt some pluck fatigue around the 6 minute mark. Also I think there's one quite dominant frequency in there that tends to grate on some of the higher notes, maybe try finding that and EQing it sensibly. You asked about the melody, I think it's fine. It's a bit melancholy, which is nice.

The strings are nicely cinematic, although perhaps harmonically a bit simple for the gravitas of the sound. Perhaps you could look into some more complex chords. I liked the lead string melody in the later part of the breakdown, it gave a nice sense of of tension. I hesitate to call your drop a drop, it's so soft :) Which isn't innately bad, mind you!

I think the area that could be most improved are your accompanying drums, ie hats, claps/snares and percussion. I found the ornamental clap and snare patterns a bit basic and overdone. Some of the sounds you chose cover a pretty wide spectrum (shakers reach far down into the high mids, that sort of thing.) Cleaning that up will improve your track, but I recommend you listen to some more intricate patterns on tracks from the masters for inspiration as well!


57
WIPs / Re: Intro for a tech trance track
« on: January 09, 2016, 08:20:58 pm »
I think your low end needs work. Your kick sits too high up in the frequencies, and your bass is indistinct and lifeless. The result is that you get practically no sub-bass action and no groove, and your harmonic elements and percussion just float on top of a brittle, largely static foundation (and not in the good way things can sometimes float.) This is a very psytrancey tune, so you could look to that genre for inspiration on what to do. Beefy, deep kicks and meaty, simple saw basses are the basics. Shoot for a key between E and F# for both the kick's dominant frequency and the bassline (and you should make sure they're the same for both!) Those are the deepest frequencies that will still sound coherent, below that anything more complex than a sine wave will break up into a growly, farty mess.

If you want to take your cues more from tech trance instead, you could focus on percussion with lots of low-mids and mids to create a groove, and you should think about speeding up the whole thing by a couple BPM. Your kick will still have to change, it just doesn't have any deep oomph, just that annoying finger poking you in the chest. You want something more like a fist in the stomach ;)

Good luck!

58
R&A Graveyard / Re: Perks for dedicated users?
« on: January 09, 2016, 08:03:35 pm »
I wouldn't say so as verified users dont get any privileges, better treatment or "perks". It's just a little trust symbol.

definitely, i'd rather take advice from a blue tick than some random guy who started producing last week

Exactly. The way it works now, the tick is more a sign of prestige.

For example, I have no idea who Volant is, but the mark tells me they're someone whose opinion counts on these boards because they're notable enough to be verified. I never asked myself, "is this THE Volant, the REAL Volant?", so I had no reason to verify their identity. In my opinion, a tick on the profile page still allows those who do recognize the name to verify, without creating a caste system of Important Posters and Unimportant Posters.

59
R&A Graveyard / Readability adjustments
« on: January 09, 2016, 06:38:55 pm »
I've had some readability troubles with the standard template (in another topic here, the small quote text is mentioned already), so at first I chose another, but that didn't have all the features of the standard template, so I did some custom CSS styling using a browser extension (I use 'Stylish': https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/stylish/fjnbnpbmkenffdnngjfgmeleoegfcffe?hl=en).

Here's the code I'm currently using and what it does:


body { font-size: 88% !important; font-family: Verdana !important } // the custom font is quite beautiful, but I found it hard to read, so I replaced it with Verdana
#mainframe { font-size: 100% !important } // I'm also making it a bit larger
.poster h4 { margin-left: 0.75em !important; height: 100% !important; width: auto !important } // this left-aligns the user names with the rest of the poster's info when using Verdana.

blockquote { font-size: 100% !important; padding: 15px !important } // makes the quotes larger

.keyinfo h5 { font-size: 65% !important }  // these two lines adjust the size of the auxiliary info around the post, which is currently quite prominent when compared to the post contents
.smalltext { font-size: 0.65em !important } // it also reduces visual clutter

.windowbg { background-color: #e7eaef !important } // this enables alternating colors for posts. makes it easier to tell them apart
.windowbg2 { background-color: #f7faff !important }

.poster { margin-bottom: 1em !important }    // these three lines move the "edited by" info and the links to report posts to the bottom of the post. reduces visual clutter
.postarea { margin-bottom: 1em !important; height: 100% !important }
.moderatorbar { clear: both !important; overflow: hidden !important }


The overall effect is much better readability, more focus on the post content as opposed to user interface, and reduced visual clutter. The downside is that the new font is a lot less pretty. I'll take it though! :)

Here are two before-after comparisons:

Before
After

Before
After


I hope this helps someone! And perhaps a few of the changes may be something for the board operators to think about.

60
R&A Graveyard / Re: "Finished Tracks" Section Sucks rn
« on: January 09, 2016, 06:08:54 pm »
I definitely think the current system is flawed. For people who are really new at producing, I feel like I can't really give helpful feedback. The thing that you learn the most from at that stage is just making another track.

That's something that you can tell them! :) They may not know.

(also, your user name is overlapping the posts, so meta)

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