SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC051 November 2021 - Winners announced

[Mister Fox]

Since nobody did this yet, and I'd say that @becsei_gyorgy deserves just as much feedback...

I've listened to the production, and I found a couple of things I'd re-address:

First, I'd actually pitch down the snare or use a different one, which would fit the tone a bit more (give it more weight). Then what I completely miss, and also don't really hear on bigger speakers (other than the kick), is a bass. I hear a bass synths, but nothing that adds the low-end or some additional growl.

The Lead Guitar is fine, but for the rhyhtm guitars I'd have loved to play them in a lower octave (they're 7-strings and 8-strings), also... maybe more "chugging" rather than sustained power chords. Plus, a slight bit more distortion on the guitar amps, not to mention the overall production is very bright (probably due to the lack of more bass focused guitar playing). If you're using RealEight for that purpose, play with the "bridge mute" layer on lower velocity as well. As an example:

Musiclab Team - Guitar Riffs. Part 5 (2:54min, "Masterplan - Take me over")

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Other than that, interesting production. Maybe you got the chance to work on it still.

[Arelem]

Here is my entry for this month



I would have liked to do a few more takes for the vocals but I haven't sung rock/metal in years and my throat couldn't handle anymore.

DAW:
FL Studio

Instruments:
Various samples for drums
Flex - Guitars & Bass
Wedgeforce MATCHA - Guitar

Effects:
Amped Stevie T - Distortion
Bass Bus Lite - For fuller bass
Fruity Convolver - Reverb
NadIR - Guitar cabinet
Fruity EQ 2 - EQ
Gain Reduction - Vocal boost
Little Alter Boy - Vocal effects

[alavault]

Notes I've taken, in no particular order

@becsei_gyorgy
An interesting including extreme vocals. Maybe adding the lyrics somewhere could be helpful ?
Anyway, the mix of synthesizer and "guitars" is interesting and reminds me somewhat of Deathstars.
The vocals have a strong reverb (already printed ?) pushing them back in the mix. This is unexpected for the style.
The lead guitar sounds great. Adding harmonies could be a cheap way to add variations. The solo sounds fake though.
A violin was unexpected, but welcome. Using an amp sim could make it blend better with the whole package : as is, it sticks out a bit too much for my liking.
Rhythm guitars are somewhat forgettable (sustained chords ?). Adding a chugging/palm mute part in unison with the arp could an interesting addition.
The drums sound good overall. The kick get lost on the doubles at the end.
The mix sounds thin. Adding "real" bass (EZBass-like) would fill the low end and make everything fatter.
Conclusion : great production, lacks some low end excitement.

@Arelem
Could be described as rootsy metal.
While the parts are well written, drums and guitars sound fake and make a weird mix with the overall feel. The amp is great and fits the song perfectly though.
Even for the style, the kick is overly clicky. This is not really pleasant.
The vocals sound great : gritty and present. Great stuff here.
The lead guitar sound better (i.e less fake) than the rhythm ones.
Conclusion : strong addition, let down by the fake-ness of the guitars and drums for me.

[VCA-089]

Here is my submission...

FLAC: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-xmP84 ... sp=sharing
MP3: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bKe7wo ... sp=sharing

It is another case where I create a track from a spontaneous jam by testing a new plugin. It was UJAM's VG Carbon. Funny is that I got it as a gift on sale may be a year ago and almost forgot about it. Without it, this track may not be even written.

An inspiration for this track goes deeply from 90's strategy videogames soundtracks, with several influences of progressive and industrial metal bands of that era.

Instruments and techniques:

1. The drums are FL Studio's factory drumkit (FPC Metal kit).
2. The bass is ABP Lite. I tried to use other bass libraries and also tried to use MODO Bass, but I got the same result with more CPU usage.
3. The rhythm guitar is UJAM VG Carbon, an 8-string guitar rompler with builtin processor.
4. There goes a keyboards:
- Synthetic arpeggio made with Repro-1;
- Synthetic choir (mixed) from TAL-Sampler's factory bank with lots of volume automation;
- Sweeping pad made with Repro-5 (appears in the bridge section);
- Orchestral hit from FL Studio's FLEX (General MIDI library).
5. The lead guitar is MusicLab RealLPC. Processed with ToneLib GFX (one of the factory presets, slightly tweaked). This guitar rompler has some interesting humanization options. You cam make it sound like it was played by a dead drunk punk.
6. A buch of desert storm samples, processed with frequency shifter and shimmer reverb that crates some eerie atmosphere.
7. A special send with several stacked reverbs that processes some instrumets and drums to create a huge imapct sounds.

Produced in FL Studio 20.8

Technical details:

► Show Spoiler

Generators:

x1 FPC
x1 Ample Bass P Lite
x1 UJAM "VG Carbon"
x1 U-He "Repro-1"
x1 U-He "Repro-5"
x2 TAL-Sampler
x1 FLEX
x1 MusicLab "RealLPC"

Native Effects:

x1 Balance
x5 Parametric EQ 2
x2 Limiter
x10 Blood Overdrive
x1 Stereo Enhancer
x3 Delay
x1 Love Philter
x1 Wave Candy
x1 dB Meter

VST Effects:

x17 TDR & VoS "SlickEQ GE"
x12 AdHd "Leveling Tool"
x2 Thomas Mundt "LoudMax"
x1 TDR Kotelnikov
x1 D16 "Decimort"
x1 D16 "Frontier"
x1 ToneLib GFX
x1 U-He "ColourCopy"
x1 Walhalla "FreqEcho"
x1 VoS epicVerb
x1 Eventide "Blackhole"
x5 Audiority "Xenoverb"
x3 TAL "Chorus-LX"

Master Chain:

TDR "Nova"
Limiter №6

Total:

x9 Generators
x74 Effects
x28 MIDI Patterns
x22 Mixer Tracks
x2 Audio clips
x18 Automation Clips

Sample packs:
FL Studio factory library;
TAL-Sampler factory library;
Pachamedias - Bolivia Desert Vol.1 (Sonnis.com GDC 2019 Game Audio Bundle)

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[becsei_gyorgy]

@@Mister Fox
@alavault

Thank you for listening my track.
When I was almost done with the first version of the song, I thought a lot about the fact that there is always a bass player in a real band, maybe I should have one here too. But finally I thought I would keep the synthesizer, 'lighter' line and I don’t need extra bass. It confirmed that looking at the frequencies of SPAN, I also didn’t feel the need.
However, taking the advice, I put a simple bass guitar in the song.
I didn’t have time to write significant bass movements, it simply plays the root note of the chord.
It’s too simple, but because of the soundscape, it might be good.

I updated my song, my first post.

I also took it back a bit from the vocals reverb because at the beginning of the song it seemed too much also to me before, though it wasn’t confusing later.
And the violin received a slight saturation.

I really don't have time for other changes unfortunately.
The sustained chords are all from the Uproar Kontakt library, can’t be modified easily, a whole new rhythm guitar track would be needed, and to tell the truth, I could not be done easily, especially in short time.

Maybe adding the lyrics somewhere could be helpful ?

The posted youtube video is subtitled.

Thanks again for the feedbacks.

[EsteveCorbera]

Hi,
I have update my song in my first post.
I have made more changes again following the latest recommendations from Mister Fox.
It’s really great to give us feedback before the 24th and be able to make the changes you suggest. I'm learning a lot.
I changed the bass rhythm again, lowered the volume of the B3 organ, added more cane to the VG-Carbon amplifier, and gave strength to the low frequencies of the guitars.

[EsteveCorbera]

Today I made an effort to modify my song and give you some feedback. This is how I contribute to this interaction, which should be the basis of this challenge.

@alavault
I really like how it sounds now. A little closer. Although I still think that the distant percussion that is approaching, for me gives it little realism.
I have to admit that rock is not a style I like too much, but your theme has a different vibe (more soundtrack) that I personally like a lot more.

@erictracks
I find the first part of your song dark, too full and chaotic. Centered guitars and others open to an overly forced panorama. In addition, they seem to be played in different places.
Instead, as I mentioned, the second part is much better. The placement in the space is much more correct.
Review peak levels.

@GMoneh
Good song.
As a matter of consideration it reviews peak levels.
Maybe the guitars lack a little more strength, or as the fellow said, he lacks crunchiness.
Good vocal performance.

@becsei_gyorgy
Because of the style of the voice you put on, I might give the drum a bit more power and make the guitars more crunchy.
From minute 2:26 you add speed to the percussion that sounds a bit out of place, I would even say out of tempo.
Is there a part of background noise made expressly?
Thanks for explaining where to get the videos, I'll take a look.

@Arelem
I can't understand the opening sound of the song. I’m not tied to the sound of a cassette to the rest of the song.
The effort you put into singing is great, it fits the song very well.
Rhythm guitars may be too loud. In the end they put themselves in their heads.
The final battery sounds fake, the poor drummer could not give at that speed.

@VCA-089
I like the intro, going up to the guitars.
Maybe it would take a little reverberation to get things closer, but maybe that’s a matter of preference.
Some high percussion elements sound out of time and out of place.

(translated with google)

[Arelem]

@alavault
Thanks for the feedback. I tried layering different guitars and effects to get a more realistic sound. It can be pretty difficult to get an authentic guitar with 100% synthetic instruments. I think they turned out ok considering.

@EsteveCorbera
Thanks for the feedback. The clicking and buzzing at the start was intended to be like turning on the amp and plugging in the guitar. It is pretty similar to a tape deck sound though.

[Mister Fox]

A friendly reminder:
We're in the final 24 hours to submit your production.



Please get your production ready and submitted today.

[A Future in Noise]

Composition, lyrics and vocals by A Future in Noise



Real instrument:
Guitar, steel, six strings: Cort AD 810 OP. (Real microphone: Scarlett cm25 mkIII.)

Instrument Plugins:
MODO BASS (pretending to be a Rickenbacker 4003), Shortcircuit softsampler loaded with various free drumsamples from the Internet, organ and e-guitar included in the free Kontakt Player from NI.

FX:
Reverberate LE from Liquid Sonics times two, plus IR files from Samplicity (/Bricasti M7), Hybrit AmpSim from LePou, Emissary AmpSim from Ignite Amps, NadIR cabinet simulator – also from Ignite Amps with their own, new IR files (haven't had time to look in to it), Independence Free Fx: delay, limiter and chorus.