Ambient thumping Techno

[Constructs]

Hello, I just finished up a track, feels nice to put something on my soundcloud as I took a long break from uploading anything and just focusing more on sound design and mixing. It is kind of a drawn out emotional track with a bit of pep to it, let me know what you think! I will be checking out and commenting on your pages as well if I can find them, cheers!

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[disect]

Nice track, personally I feel the kick is a bit too much there and becomes pretty annoying after 1 minute of listening.

[dubdub]

Agree, the kick sits too big in the mix. I also think it has a too much mid/top end, for a track like this you need a deeper/dubbier kick. The Pad feels like it lacks some mid-lowend, if you are having it as the main melodic content of your mix, you can have it be very meaty in the mids/lows. It's also a bit too washed out, you need to layer enougher pad or some noise which are more dry.

[Stace]

I think the bass and the kick work well together but there is too much top in the kick and it is too loud. I don't think lowing the volume of the kick and EQing it a little will have an adverse effect on the interaction.

You have some really nice sounds but I don't think the percussion is sitting well with them, maybe it just needs to come down a bit, the hats certainly sound too loud.
I like your arrangement, there isn't ever too much going on (guilty here) there are some LUSH sounds in the second break

[Constructs]

Thank you all so much for the excellent feedback, I agree with everything said and will be making some adjustments to the song.

Thinking about remaking the kick, just need to make sure it rolls up on the tail because I like the bass I definitely need deeper bass with less mids.

I need to layer the pads a bit better and bring them up in the mix and re balance my percussion, I've got work to do, cheers everyone!

[Lost to the Void]

I actually think the balance is pretty good. I`m playing this in the mastering studio and it holds up pretty well.
The kick is big but it`s not crowding anything out. The hats are a little scratchy, maybe less 12k and more 5k will even them out.
The main disconnect is that the kick and hats are very crisp and defined and a little dry, and the rest of the track is all wet ambient washes with no transients anywhere so it makes the mix sound like it is coming from 2 different spaces.

Maybe giving the pads more low mid and easing back on the high end will let them sit "in" to the mix more.

Personally I would have a more muted, slightly muddier and more distant kick drum (but still with the same bass impact) to fit the overall distant and ambient feel of the track.

[bobby_cuntox]

...im on the "kick is too big" side too, that and a little dry (i think some reverb may work here), really like the rest of it a lot, would like to hear it with the kick changed.

[Mattias]

My only complaints are that the hats are a bit distant. I'd say you should up the 909 hat a tiny bit and lower the other chorus hat instead.
Possibly even consider to remove the chorus washy effect.

Also I think the track will benefit from getting rid of the side-chain pumping on the pad there.

[bioniceye]

the ducking on the pad is a little bit too much in my opinion
i think i like a classic 909 kick better in this track
this one sound a little bit too woody

[bobby_cuntox]

.... interesting how a lot of slightly different stylistic opinions are coming out on this one.

[Mr.Dino]

nice track. my opinion is that at the end i feel a little tired about the kick, but all the rest is awsome.
is it all modular?

[TimBuys]

I personally feel the kick fits the vibe of the track. Also, nice track!

[Aurongroove]

a subbier Kick might have been better, but no point crying over spilt milk.


actually, yes there, I feel the elements of the track don't quite gel, but don't "not gel" enough for me to trust you were being ironic/counter conformative.

It just sounds like the drums samples of a regular/hardish techno track, laid ontop of an other wise ambient track.
In fact the most "unified" the track sounds as a piece of music is the section 0:30 ~ 2:07.
After the first breakdown, the beat comes back and it feels like a couple who have broken up but are staying together until the contract on the flat they're renting runs out @5:36.

so, yes, I am crying over spilt milk, a subbier kick might've helped marry the track together a bit better, as might some silkier effect of those hi hats and percussive bits and pieces.


The mix and production is balanced and nothing is over or under cooked. So you have an impressive bill of health in that respect. It's cool that your intentionally working on sound design, feel, etc of your music. It's often very hard to explain to someone what exactly that means doing, but you're definitely doing it and doing it well.

What you need to add to the pot is, once you're sketching and writing and directing is finished, and your at that 60% realized-and-finished stage, you need to start listening to what the track itself "is", or, what it is trying to be, and help it become the finished unified, independent work it is becoming.

Great work.