Jay:
Let me tell you a little about the creation of this track:
ApoC contacted me to see if I was interested in a collaboration and we decided that I would just start a draft and then he would get involved.
So I just added the few chords that you can hear right at the beginning. Added a few strings, a Reese bass and then I went to bed.
The next time I looked into the mix, ApoC had already added a full drum set and had the arrangement ready until the break.
I was still missing a small main melody and added a few notes. You can hear it coming in at the end of the break.
The next time we were finally able to work together in the draft at the same time.
But I have to tell you, most of the time I just sat and enjoyed watching ApoC work.
He finally made sure that the track sounds the way it does now.
I can only say that there's a whole lot of reverb everywhere, but you already know this lol.
There's something about that reese popping in and out (like at & ) that bothers me but I can't put my finger on it.
Everything else sounds awesome to me.
Dec 27, 23
Now that I look back on it, that's exactly what it is (to me at least).
Dec 27, 23
i think its the mid frequencies popping out too much on the reese
Dec 21, 23
Sidenote(s):
It may be the fact that it's not sidechained (heavily) and I'm not used to hearing stuff without (much of) it but Idk.
The reese also sounds a bit muddy at to me. I'd suggest cutting off a bit more of those higher frequencies (probably around 1000hz-2500hz), or lowering them, to make it sound slightly better.
Dec 19, 23
Felt good helping with this <3
Dec 19, 23
No no, Its absolutely fine <3
Dec 19, 23
Sorry for any confusion though
Dec 19, 23
I don't know why you're a co-author but this song is just me and JayFK. The link was on invite everyone so I guess it included you although it wasn't intended to
Dec 17, 23
My crit will be in pieces as I listen again and again and fight with character limitations lol.
\first crit, right off the bat: This track feels like it has too much reverb. I'm getting a lot of muddiness @00:10- when the volume increases and other parts come in. Instead of doing such a drastic and quick change as you did, I recommend you extending the length of that volume build possibly starting at and increasing on a 40-45% slope
Dec 17, 23
Thank you for all the time you took for the review.
the reverbs are probably my fault. I just love the Quasar 😄
Dec 17, 23
The last thing I will critique, if I may, is the composition. The intro needs work and the second half of the track needs to be mixed better so that it compliments the first half but offers something new and exciting enough to keep people engaged and listening to the whole track. There's two verses and choruses, to be super forgiving, but the transitions almost don't exist. I would like to hear you do more work on your transitions and auxiliary sounds.
Dec 17, 23
Then do the opposite, play the track at a very loud volume on your output equipment, and listen to hear what sounds are unpleasant, or too loud etc. This is a good starting technique to mastering a track and finding out what parts shine, or don't, and which ones need more love.
Dec 17, 23
Again, I'm going to say, too much reverb on everything in this song but I think that's just my preference. That is not a fact. I think you'd be better off picking one or two sounds you want to reverb instead, or putting a gentle big room reverb on everything and tweaking it
A good technique when mixing/mastering music is to turn your output gain down low, til it's quiet but just loud enough to hear. Take note of what sounds you aren't hearing well.
Dec 17, 23
Instead, the chords have a peak in volume where they reach maximum unpleasantness, imo. I think if you perhaps compressed that instrument or EQ'd it a bit (especially if you cut the highest parts of the spectrum) you'd have a much cleaner sound, but you'd need to perhaps pair it with a saturator or some clever compression/OTT could bring out those key frequency areas
Dec 17, 23
instead of increasing the volume on the last two notes in the intro before the chords and other parts come in, I suggest a square, rather than a slope, where the increase happens exactly on the downbeat instead of fading into the downbeat, if that makes sense
The next part is dramatic feeling, but it gets sort of messed up by the sloppy into.
again too much reverb on all these sounds. I get the feeling you want those chords to sound powerful, but they dont have that punch...
Dec 16, 23
This is very nice, congrats on the chart!
Dec 19, 23
Thanks! But I don't usually pay attention to the charts
Dec 11, 23
Good job guys :) Sounds a bit thin but overall good job!
edit
I can only say that there's a whole lot of reverb everywhere, but you already know this lol. There's something about that reese popping in and out (like at & ) that bothers me but I can't put my finger on it. Everything else sounds awesome to me.
Felt good helping with this <3
My crit will be in pieces as I listen again and again and fight with character limitations lol. \first crit, right off the bat: This track feels like it has too much reverb. I'm getting a lot of muddiness @00:10- when the volume increases and other parts come in. Instead of doing such a drastic and quick change as you did, I recommend you extending the length of that volume build possibly starting at and increasing on a 40-45% slope
This is very nice, congrats on the chart!
Good job guys :) Sounds a bit thin but overall good job!