Creating a 'spatial identiy' within a track

Electronic Music Production // Dark Arts
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dubdub
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Creating a 'spatial identiy' within a track

Post by dubdub »

youtu.be/jkeKdMKcqSo

I was just listening to some of my favorite older Conforce tracks and I was amazed by the sense of space in his tracks, they just have a really distinct sound in terms of the tracks' space, like they were recorded somewhere deep on the frozen sea in the middle of winter. You can just really sense that volume of the space, that wideness, that emptyness, that coldness. Just something about the reverb and the way the track is composed that gives it a really distinct spatial identity, which isn't something you hear in a lot of tracks. That got my thinking, do you guys aim for a certain spatial identity when you make a track? Do you have any tips/tricks for achieving a distinct sense of space? I tend to admittely just throw some reverb on everything until it sounds good without thinking to much about it but I'm going to try and work on it more.

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RWise
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Re: Creating a 'spatial identiy' within a track

Post by RWise »

Tbh i dont hear anything special about the 'space' in that track you posted. I just hear a very nicely mixed track with nicely placed reverbs.

Good use of reverb works wonders. Its a lot easier to build a good space in a mix with reverbs when the source material is mono.

I find when i record sequences and drums in mono, it makes it a lot easier to create a nice stereo space in the track through well placed panning and good use of nice sounding reverbs.
Dont take life so seriously :mrgreen:

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RWise
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Re: Creating a 'spatial identiy' within a track

Post by RWise »

For long tailed reverbs, i usually go to plate. Plates are always nice for long tails and always sound lush on hats.

Ill go for springs if i want a darker, more raw sound.
Dont take life so seriously :mrgreen:

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RWise
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Re: Creating a 'spatial identiy' within a track

Post by RWise »

I love the space in this track. The use of short reverbs and panning make it a treat to listen to in headphones.

The mix has that 3D perception to it. (no pun intended..)

youtu.be/V3rJY8w-FkY
Dont take life so seriously :mrgreen:

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suppressor
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Re: Creating a 'spatial identiy' within a track

Post by suppressor »

I brought a book called 'The Art of Mixing' a couple of years ago that really touches on this.
The way that all sounds in a mix fit into a room, thinking about the 3d concept of sound and way everything fits together.
Its a really good way of understanding how different techniques create space.

This is a classic example >>

Image

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HowieRis
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Re: Creating a 'spatial identiy' within a track

Post by HowieRis »

Fuck yeah, Conforce is one of the main producers that made me think more about space and reverb where I'd previously been concentrating on getting better at groove and mix separation.

I've been getting some pretty good results combining a number of short delays (sub 100ms) mixed very dry in combination with fairly bright and short plate verbs for "close" sounds. For sounds I want further back; softening the attack, wetting/stretching the delay values out by a few ms and slightly LPing over a longer reverb works well.

I think most importantly Conforce is good at keeping his mixes very uncluttered so you aren't distracted from the long tails and flutters of detail that subtly add to that cold cavernous atmosphere. I think his music feels really wide and "stereo" too which no doubt helps.

dubdub
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Re: Creating a 'spatial identiy' within a track

Post by dubdub »

RWise wrote:Tbh i dont hear anything special about the 'space' in that track you posted. I just hear a very nicely mixed track with nicely placed reverbs
Oh, I wasn't trying to say it's magic, just that it's a very good example of well thought out EQ, reverb and delays to create a certain feeling of space within the track :)

HowieRis wrote: I think most importantly Conforce is good at keeping his mixes very uncluttered so you aren't distracted from the long tails and flutters of detail that subtly add to that cold cavernous atmosphere. I think his music feels really wide and "stereo" too which no doubt helps.
Yeah, that's definitely part of it. My mixes are always so dense that any reverb tails just dissapear in the wash of shit flying around the stereo field :cry: The reverb itself is also fairly transparent and EQd, I probably obsess too much over having these really thick and grainy 70s Lexicon type verbs in every track.

dubdub
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Re: Creating a 'spatial identiy' within a track

Post by dubdub »

suppressor wrote:I brought a book called 'The Art of Mixing' a couple of years ago that really touches on this.
The way that all sounds in a mix fit into a room, thinking about the 3d concept of sound and way everything fits together.
Its a really good way of understanding how different techniques create space.

This is a classic example >>
Panning reverbs and delay is something I should probably do more of, I never really do it.


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