Here's the track:
Here's the old first post that is now outdated:
I've been working on a new track that's currently more or less complete in terms of arrangement and structure. I've done zero mixing (apart from basic level balancing) or mastering. Some of the parts are maybe still a little rough around the edges.
Here are some questions I have for you guys:
- At the moment I have gone for a drum synth feel with the drums. The samples I'm using are from a DR-202, which is admittedly the wrong era, but I liked the sounds of them when browsing samples. But part of me wonders whether the drums should feature a real drum kit and emulate a real drummer. Or even, if a mix of the two would be appropriate. I've currently treated the drums as programmed, with everything heavily quantised and a limit number of patterns that get reused, as you'd use an actual drum synth. Your thoughts on the drums would be nice. Do they bother you? Are they too busy? Too repetitive?
- Any suggestions for classic 80s electronic tom sounds?
- The chorus strikes me as a little trite. The lyrics are pretty naff; I just needed something to sing. Maybe I can come up with something better. But the chord progression is also just a little bit too, hmmm, obvious? I don't know exactly what bothers me. Maybe it's fine, maybe I need to make subtle changes to the chords. Maybe there's nothing wrong with a pretty safe chord progression for the chorus. Again, your impressions are appreciated. I often have an aversion to the simple solution, just because it's too simple. I'm aware that that's not always a good mindset. I could be overthinking things.
- What about the plucked synth sound in the outro? At the moment it sounds like a guitar pluck, and I like the sound. But is it the right sound? In particular, is the guitar that comes in later clashing with the synth, as they sound relatively similar both melodically and in terms of timbre. Or do you like the interplay? See my edit below, as I've changed this just a bit.
- Is the overall mix too busy? I like the interplay of the guitar parts, but I worry that there's too much going on, especially because...
- Reverb! There's a smattering of reverb on a send (NI RC 24) that a few tracks are routed to. But to really get that retro 80s sound, I'm assuming I will need to drench things in (very digital) reverb. Does the send approach make sense in this context? Is there anything I should apply reverb to separately? And what about the density of the mix in this context? Any suggestions on how to set up the reverb would be appreciated.