dubdub - sequence 428 (from the 4hour challenge)

[dubdub]

I originally did one this for the 4hour challenge and reworked it a bit and added some verb and delay etc. Even though there's not a lot of elements, I found this pretty hard to mix since the synth starts out small and gets really, really big. Maybe I should have dialed back some of the saturation and tape hiss to get more space and transients.

[Lost to the Void]

Nice.

There`s a lot of hiss on there, overdoing it a bit, even my real tape machine isn`t that noisey.

The problem with this big filtery synthy things, is they lose punch and attack when you open up the filter, so sometimes it works to also automate the filter envelope along with the cutoff, just to keep the attack portion a little more present, or even dialing in a little sidechained gate, chained to a ghost hats or snares running on 16ths, keeps the choppy rhythm and retains groove.
Low end could be bigger on this, EQ and maybe some more harmonics down there do give it more whoomph would be nice.
Personally I would copy the whole synth line down an octave underneath itself so it`s doubled up, and do the above, with careful Eq, just to get it really meaty.

I like that you tease with the snappy hi hat as it does lock the beat in once it goes.

[bioniceye]

in my opinion its too long
if you want to make it this long you need to add a part without the filtered synth or a part with way lesser energy
further the hiss in the intro is too much
as lttv allready said try to add the synthline an octave belove for some extra sub

[dubdub]

Cheers guys.

These are some nice ideas that I haven't really thought about, V. Thanks man, will try them out. The mod matrix on the Mony/Poly VST isn't exactly the most exhilarating thing to use but modulating the envelope along with the cutoff seems like a good idea, I usually just add a bit of unsynced envelope modulation to add a bit of movement. I never really sidechain synths, seems like a good idea to add movement though.

I'm surprised you say the low end could use more harmonics, given how saturated it is. Maybe i'll just have to easy up a bit on the LPF on the bass. I EQed a bit of the sub out of the kick, maybe that's why mix lacks a bit of oomph. Knowing myself, i'll probably fuck the mix up when I add another octave on the synth but it's worth a shot I guess

[suppressor]

I really wish soundcloud had higher quality streaming, the low bitrate makes that hiss sound worse than it probably is.

Either way i think it dominates a little too much and takes away from the highs in your track.

I think its my personal preference but i'm really not a huge fan of that synth line.
Maybe play with dropping octaves over time or do the opposite, start low and build high?
There is no real dynaic changes in regards to the feeling other than you opening cutoffs etc.

I really like your kick drum though. So big and round.

[dubdub]

Cheers. The kick is actually really simple if I remember correctly, just Decapitator, some additional master bus saturation etc. and a bit of EQing.

[Root]

I'm playing around with decapitator for kicks as well. It can either add all you need or take away everything ..not easy, but a good tool.

[The_G]

It's got a lot of potential, and is very close to where I think you want to be.

I like the main synth line a lot. I'd add something on the low end to compliment that. Maybe the same line pitched down, as suggested above. Or a counterpoint.

Stuff I don't like: the tape hiss, which is irritating, and I'm not really a fan of the 909 ride. It just seems very obvious and Mills-ish.

[dubdub]

It's a 707 ride although they sound very similiar I actually don't remember any records where Mills used the 909 ride. I'm sure he's got some but he never abused that sound like others. I really have a soft spot for that sound anyways. Still trying to find a way to process it that makes it a bit less obvious.

[willemb]

I am not going to say anything useful, just: I like this. Good vibes man.

[The_G]

It's a 707 ride although they sound very similiar I actually don't remember any records where Mills used the 909 ride. I'm sure he's got some but he never abused that sound like others. I really have a soft spot for that sound anyways. Still trying to find a way to process it that makes it a bit less obvious.

Hehe, guess I should have known, since I use 707s for all my synthwave stuff.

Anyway, I totally get that--I feel similarly about the 707 snare. And don't forget that this was just my personal reaction. If you feel like the ride works, then you should just dismiss my comment out of hand.

I just think you've got some really great parts here, but I think you should experiment with different kinds of drum sounds and see what best matches that line.

[Prophän]

Got a nice old school feel to it, nothing negative to say about this since it was done for the 4 hour challenge, excellent work