F.73| Official Constructive Criticism Thread | MOD APPROVED

[Layra-chan]

Technic Terabyte

http://soundcloud.com/techpunk/house-project

My WIP

Your off-beat snare sounds really weird, as in off-beat snares are really weird. It makes the percussion sound too fast.

The other main problem is how minimal your track is. You have 3-part percussion (kick, clap, snare) and the pad chords, and that's it. The four (four?) chords you keep repeating get boring since they don't change at all, and there's nothing else to the track. If you're making house, maybe you should think about adding a bassline, and some shuffle-y bits to the percussion.
Also, you might want to visit the Basic Production Guide, where Evol and I describe (vaguely) the basic things to consider when producing music.

[Evolsine]

Layra-chan

Technic Terabyte

http://soundcloud.com/techpunk/house-project

My WIP

Your off-beat snare sounds really weird, as in off-beat snares are really weird. It makes the percussion sound too fast.

The other main problem is how minimal your track is. You have 3-part percussion (kick, clap, snare) and the pad chords, and that's it. The four (four?) chords you keep repeating get boring since they don't change at all, and there's nothing else to the track. If you're making house, maybe you should think about adding a bassline, and some shuffle-y bits to the percussion.
Also, you might want to visit the Basic Production Guide, where Evol and I describe (vaguely) the basic things to consider when producing music.

Main points:
1. Snare is off, and worse, any depth it has is removed by the EQ
2. Same chords, synths do not sound dynamic
3. Bassline?

[Technic Terabyte]

Evolsine

Layra-chan

Technic Terabyte

http://soundcloud.com/techpunk/house-project

My WIP

Your off-beat snare sounds really weird, as in off-beat snares are really weird. It makes the percussion sound too fast.

The other main problem is how minimal your track is. You have 3-part percussion (kick, clap, snare) and the pad chords, and that's it. The four (four?) chords you keep repeating get boring since they don't change at all, and there's nothing else to the track. If you're making house, maybe you should think about adding a bassline, and some shuffle-y bits to the percussion.
Also, you might want to visit the Basic Production Guide, where Evol and I describe (vaguely) the basic things to consider when producing music.

Main points:
1. Snare is off, and worse, any depth it has is removed by the EQ
2. Same chords, synths do not sound dynamic
3. Bassline?

I will work on it
1. I will figure out the snare
2. alright i will change it up, i don't understand what you mean by dynamic
3. consider the bassline done when i work on it
4. the percussion needs work so consider it done and i guess a hi hat would help but it is still a bit hard to make my percussion interesting

thanks for the feedback its appreciated.
(i was even worse before i read the production guide the first time so honestly this is the best i have done yet)

[Layra-chan]

If you're making 4TTF stuff, there are only a few ways to make your percussion interesting.
One is to add more of it; shakers, congas, more hats, ride cymbals, toms, etc. Polyrhythmy is great.
The other is swing, which I mention briefly in the production guide.

I'd suggest taking out the off-beat snare and replacing it with a soft hi-hat or ride cymbal. Also add some shakers or closed hats, even softer, on places that aren't on the beat (i.e. the fourth-notes). Experiment to see what happens.
The basic idea is to plunk down your kick precisely on the fourth notes, and then fill the spaces between the kicks with other stuff.

[Technic Terabyte]

Layra-chan

If you're making 4TTF stuff, there are only a few ways to make your percussion interesting.
One is to add more of it; shakers, congas, more hats, ride cymbals, toms, etc. Polyrhythmy is great.
The other is swing, which I mention briefly in the production guide.

I'd suggest taking out the off-beat snare and replacing it with a soft hi-hat or ride cymbal. Also add some shakers or closed hats, even softer, on places that aren't on the beat (i.e. the fourth-notes). Experiment to see what happens.
The basic idea is to plunk down your kick precisely on the fourth notes, and then fill the spaces between the kicks with other stuff.

Thats a wonderful idea!
thanks

[Technic Terabyte]

http://soundcloud.com/techpunk/forgotten-voicmails

This is what i did to my last work in progress.
Thanks for the help the song needed some work.

[Technic Terabyte]

Evolsine

Layra-chan

Technic Terabyte

http://soundcloud.com/techpunk/house-project

My WIP

Your off-beat snare sounds really weird, as in off-beat snares are really weird. It makes the percussion sound too fast.

The other main problem is how minimal your track is. You have 3-part percussion (kick, clap, snare) and the pad chords, and that's it. The four (four?) chords you keep repeating get boring since they don't change at all, and there's nothing else to the track. If you're making house, maybe you should think about adding a bassline, and some shuffle-y bits to the percussion.
Also, you might want to visit the Basic Production Guide, where Evol and I describe (vaguely) the basic things to consider when producing music.

Main points:
1. Snare is off, and worse, any depth it has is removed by the EQ
2. Same chords, synths do not sound dynamic
3. Bassline?

Better?
http://soundcloud.com/techpunk/forgotten-voicmails

[Layra-chan]

Technic Terabyte

http://soundcloud.com/techpunk/forgotten-voicmails

This is what i did to my last work in progress.
Thanks for the help the song needed some work.

The percussion is a lot better now. The synth still needs some work, in that you're still looping a single melody over and over. It's a longer melody now, yes, but that's not going to fix the problem. What you need now is to break your song into sections; some sections are going to have that synth melody, and the others are going to have other stuff.
Also, the synth melody isn't very interesting in itself. It's sparse note-wise and neither the chord progression nor sound design are particularly complex. It'd be good as a support for other stuff, but it isn't enough to carry the track. You might try filtering it, remove the high- and low-end and then stick some other stuff on top of it.
Again, like the drums your problem is the lack of other stuff. You have possible foundations, but foundations aren't enough.

[Technic Terabyte]

Layra-chan

Technic Terabyte

http://soundcloud.com/techpunk/forgotten-voicmails

This is what i did to my last work in progress.
Thanks for the help the song needed some work.

The percussion is a lot better now. The synth still needs some work, in that you're still looping a single melody over and over. It's a longer melody now, yes, but that's not going to fix the problem. What you need now is to break your song into sections; some sections are going to have that synth melody, and the others are going to have other stuff.
Also, the synth melody isn't very interesting in itself. It's sparse note-wise and neither the chord progression nor sound design are particularly complex. It'd be good as a support for other stuff, but it isn't enough to carry the track. You might try filtering it, remove the high- and low-end and then stick some other stuff on top of it.
Again, like the drums your problem is the lack of other stuff. You have possible foundations, but foundations aren't enough.

so what i got was the drums are better but the melody still needs a lead or something else to carry it and make it interesting?

Consider it done

[Layra-chan]

It needs to not just be the same thing for fifty bars. You need variation over time, not just more stuff on top.

[Technic Terabyte]

Will do sweatdrop

You guys have been really helpful
Thank you

[Swarovskii]

The Finer Things In Life

Can I get some suggestions/critique on this song? It's my first IDM/Ambient song and I'd be interested in making more but I need to know what I need to work on.

[Layra-chan]

E-Z Widas

The Finer Things In Life

Can I get some suggestions/critique on this song? It's my first IDM/Ambient song and I'd be interested in making more but I need to know what I need to work on.

The hard panning on some of the things is a bit strange on headphones. It kind of feels like the bass is a bit too full, but that might just be my headphones. I'll see how it sounds on my speakers at home.
Does the percussion come back in a bar early at 2:37? It sounds like it comes in a bar before the melodic phrase begins.

[King 0wl]

Evolsine

n-n-Dimethyltryptamine

http://soundcloud.com/auscore/psy-illojiqual-gauge

Kick drums is too saturated in the mix imho.

anything else? i'm on vacation right now away from my studio but i might tweak that up a bit when I get back. What are you listening on?

@layra, any feedback? I've always valued your judgement.

[Technic Terabyte]

Ok i think i am done working on this for awhile
But i did add a melody to change it up a bit and a ending

Final cut