AFIII Need advice on my song

I'm inclined to say the second clip is 'better', but I have some comments about that:

The major difference between the two is obviously what you did with the bass, and the bass is more present in the second and I happen to like that; my first thought was that you ought to drop the volume on it a bit, but I'm hearing some dynamic inconsistency, not in the 'playing' (because you note in the title it's MIDI bass) but in the equalization. Compare the F note at :07 to the E flat at :14, the latter is way louder, differences like that stick out. There are different ways to handle that, but less ways if you don't have plugin suites like Waves that give you tons of options. Compressing the low end would probably make it less apparent (i.e, more even) but you can end up with artifacts or distortion if you don't do it correctly. Assuming you want to keep the balance in the track as it is now, I would have a compressor or active EQ clamp down on the loud bits. I would also try turning the whole track down a bit but that still leaves the volume inconsistent. If the first one is tracked with a real bass, I would try turning the bass up on that track instead, I have a feeling it's more consistent in equalization than the MIDI, funny enough...

I mostly do metal so I'm not sure anything I'd tell someone is appropriate unless it's metal, but that was just the one thing that stuck out to me, to me the balance you have on this track otherwise is actually pretty good. You've also got one or two timing issues with your playing, one near the middle of the track, but I bet you caught that already.

With metal, everything is full-on all the time, hardly dynamic at all unless you're in the right subgenre... that's pretty much all I know how to do, which your track isn't, so the thing with the bass is the only thing I'm really comfortable commenting on.
 
Thank you. My timing is horrible. Appreciate you taking the time to listen.. sorry for the torture

I revised them. which is better and why?



 
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Nah for the most part it's fine, just one or two small bits are off. No problem at all! If you want torture, go to the bottom of my Soundcloud, lol.

I still hear the same issue with the second, maybe it's slightly less prominent now. Fixing that kind of thing the right way takes a lot of practice or trial and error. The first is more organic and I usually favor that, whatever you did to the first one was probably the better move, the bass is just less obtrusive, but still there.
 
I really like the groove. To my ear the low chord at .15 sec/.29 sec doesn't fit that well with the rest of the progression. Just before the turn around.... which is great.
 
Thanks

Any advice on improving the 1st and 2nd? Were there any notes or part that didnt sound right? Is everything cohesive?


Thank you. My timing is horrible. Appreciate you taking the time to listen.. sorry for the torture

I revised them. which is better and why?



 
IMHO the bass needs a hi pass filter, at least. I actually use midi basses ( I have quite a few I have gathered over the years) all the time in my mainly midi home studio. All guitars and vocals are the only real instruments.
 
Yeah, this mix overall is pretty darn good. The best is just a bit overbearing. I might pull it back 2bd or so and then I think everything else is fine. We can nitpick tone and such all day, but nothing about it is offside. It's a matter of taste from where you're at (after lowering the bass some).

Try to A/B it with mixes of similar music that you reallllly like if you want to hone it in.
 
where do you hipass & lopass bass at
Depends what you use to record and how you use whatever your using. Do you send everything to it's own bus, then to a master, etc, etc. Anywhere the bass is isolated is where you put the hi pass filter so it only affects the bass. I usually roll off at 100.
 
That jumped out at me also, but the song sounds good!
Should i leave that chord in or substitute it with something else? does that chord mess up the song? please advise.. i made some adjustments.. how's the mix/sound now?



thanks
 
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Should i leave that chord in or substitute it with something else? does that chord mess up the song? please advise.. i made some adjustments.. how's the mix/sound now?



thanks

It's the 4th chord in the progression (Eb). You're playing a Maj7 in that chord, which doesn't sound right to my ears. Maybe try an Eb add9...?
 
Whether you're in standard tuning or not, the chords are: Ab Fm Db EbMaj7. That's the basic outline of what I'm hearing anyway, without naming any of your add-on notes into the chord names.
This is a Maj7 shape: X5767x
This is an Add9 shape: X579xx
Move the Add9 shape around until it substitutes for the 4th chord in the progression (@ about :14.)
 
Are the riffs off?




QUOTE="TSJMajesty, post: 2088413, member: 75409"]
Whether you're in standard tuning or not, the chords are: Ab Fm Db EbMaj7. That's the basic outline of what I'm hearing anyway, without naming any of your add-on notes into the chord names.
This is a Maj7 shape: X5767x
This is an Add9 shape: X579xx
Move the Add9 shape around until it substitutes for the 4th chord in the progression (@ about :14.)
[/QUOTE]
 
No, the song sounds good overall. But like I said (and music is very subjective, and personal, so I don't mean to be critical; it's just what my ears are telling me), that one note (lemme grab my guitar...), I believe it's a D, sounds off within the context.
From what I can tell, the verses are in the key of Ab (Ab Bb C Db Eb F G), which is maybe why that D doesn't resonate to me. Or it could be the other notes you're playing in between the chords.
 
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