Help!

[Anhedoniac]

I'm doing this nowadays: http://www.anhechoic.com/tree.mp3

I don't care what you're used to listening to - what comes to mind?
Is it crap? Am I wasting my time?

[+JuggerNaut+]

nah, i think it's great. the sound is nice and big, almost reminds me of Dimmu Borgir tbh. tell me the odd time signatures are not cut/pasted. i really like it, keep up the good work!

[Anhedoniac]

Thanks! (and no, nothing is c/p) Glad you liked it!

[+JuggerNaut+]

no cut and paste? awesome.

[Anhedoniac]

Anyway...anything welcome

[DTS]

Rubbish. It sounds too much like it was done on a computer. The sounds, or samples, keep cutting off before the sound would stop.

[Captain]

It's like In Flames meets System of a Down. Good work

[Anhedoniac]

Rubbish. It sounds too much like it was done on a computer. The sounds, or samples, keep cutting off before the sound would stop.

It WAS done on a computer and you're probably right.

edit: does it detract from the song though...there is a song in there, behind the fake drums

[+JuggerNaut+]

Rubbish. It sounds too much like it was done on a computer. The sounds, or samples, keep cutting off before the sound would stop.

It WAS done on a computer and you're probably right.

edit: does it detract from the song though...there is a song in there, behind the fake drums

you said there was no cut and paste...

[Anhedoniac]

I still do...

[DTS]

Rubbish. It sounds too much like it was done on a computer. The sounds, or samples, keep cutting off before the sound would stop.

It WAS done on a computer and you're probably right.

edit: does it detract from the song though...there is a song in there, behind the fake drums

It's not just the drums that sound fake it's the guitars aswell. The whole thing.

Yes it does detract from the song. You could hardly hear any lyrics anyway.

[creep]

Mind numbing and repetitive. Bold, loud notes that suggest music that should be heard loud, but turning this up loud and listening to it for more than 3 seconds would surely break your brain.

I guess you could say I didn't like it.

As edited sound, though... I reckon it was all put together.

[Anhedoniac]

Mind numbing and repetitive. Bold, loud notes that suggest music that should be heard loud, but turning this up loud and listening to it for more than 3 seconds would surely break your brain.

I guess you could say I didn't like it.

As edited sound, though... I reckon it was all put together.

(put together...what?)

thanks, you didn't like it - still, appreciate the comment

[Anhedoniac]

Mind numbing and repetitive. Bold, loud notes that suggest music that should be heard loud, but turning this up loud and listening to it for more than 3 seconds would surely break your brain.

I guess you could say I didn't like it.

As edited sound, though... I reckon it was all put together.

can you give me a reference to something you've been involved with? I'd love to hear it; and i still don't get the "put together"/"edited sound"...

[+JuggerNaut+]

Mind numbing and repetitive. Bold, loud notes that suggest music that should be heard loud, but turning this up loud and listening to it for more than 3 seconds would surely break your brain.

I guess you could say I didn't like it.

As edited sound, though... I reckon it was all put together.

can you give me a reference to something you've been involved with? I'd love to hear it; and i still don't get the "put together"/"edited sound"...

don't pull the "let's see you do better" card. you wanted opinions. you got some.

[Ryoki]

Not my thing, sorry... i didn't like it so i can't really comment on it.

I wish i had the money to buy some half decent music making equipment/software for my PC (and a brain transplant because i'm inherently too impatient to fuck around with music programs enough to learn how they actually work).

Keep it up though, it's a good hobby.

[phantasmagoria]

reminds me a little of opeth. I don't really like it, but it's not bad

[Foo]

Just listened and like this a lot. The black metal growly voice is the only thing that puts me off and even then only a little bit; the music is great.

Do you have mp3s of the other tracks or are they due for retail?

[Grandpa Stu]

how long have you been doing this for? what programs are you using? from what i've read and hear it seems like you're using a midi controller to lay down your patterns and then looping them?

it sounds good and i quite like it. a few suggestions if you aren't aware of these already...

make sure you EQ each and every seperate track. the low end gets pretty muddy sounding when everything is going at once. even cymbols contain low frequency information so make sure you cut that out. it'll actually help brighten them up a bit; as is, they're hardly even there.

use a compressor on your drums to help make them a bit more punchy.

are you using reverb? like, a lot of it? if so cut back on it a little, it'll help clear the track up a little. i'm not sure if the sounds your using are recorded libraries or generated from synths. you'll find that a lot of synths, and some sound banks, will "fancy up" their sounds by adding a lot of effects, especially reverb. if you can cut that out at the source then do that and add it in later at your own discretion.

and lastly, don't fade to end a track. it just makes you seem lazy heh. take the time create a proper ending. fading was a good thing to do like back in the 70s to get your song on the airwaves as they used to fade all their music back to back. now, it serves no purpose.

[+JuggerNaut+]

i disagree with the fade for this track. not many songs should be using it, but this ones uses it well.

[Anhedoniac]

don't pull the "let's see you do better" card. you wanted opinions. you got some.

You're absolutely right. Sorry about that, creep.

It's difficult to hear your stuff is crap though, and I couldn't even make sense of your criticism. But hey, that's my problem.

[Anhedoniac]

Just listened and like this a lot. The black metal growly voice is the only thing that puts me off and even then only a little bit; the music is great.

Do you have mp3s of the other tracks or are they due for retail?

Thanks! It's part of an EP - you can get the rest here:
http://www.anhechoic.com/seed.mp3
http://www.anhechoic.com/salt.mp3
http://www.anhechoic.com/wolf.mp3

[+JuggerNaut+]

don't pull the "let's see you do better" card. you wanted opinions. you got some.

You're absolutely right. Sorry about that, creep.

It's difficult to hear your stuff is crap though, and I couldn't even make sense of your criticism. But hey, that's my problem.

what.

[Anhedoniac]

how long have you been doing this for? what programs are you using? from what i've read and hear it seems like you're using a midi controller to lay down your patterns and then looping them?

it sounds good and i quite like it. a few suggestions if you aren't aware of these already...

make sure you EQ each and every seperate track. the low end gets pretty muddy sounding when everything is going at once. even cymbols contain low frequency information so make sure you cut that out. it'll actually help brighten them up a bit; as is, they're hardly even there.

use a compressor on your drums to help make them a bit more punchy.

are you using reverb? like, a lot of it? if so cut back on it a little, it'll help clear the track up a little. i'm not sure if the sounds your using are recorded libraries or generated from synths. you'll find that a lot of synths, and some sound banks, will "fancy up" their sounds by adding a lot of effects, especially reverb. if you can cut that out at the source then do that and add it in later at your own discretion.

and lastly, don't fade to end a track. it just makes you seem lazy heh. take the time create a proper ending. fading was a good thing to do like back in the 70s to get your song on the airwaves as they used to fade all their music back to back. now, it serves no purpose.

I haven't done metal for a long time, 10 years or something - post-metal is completely new to me. I use Nuendo (+ a host of plugins), Battery for the drums, and Trilogy for the bass some times.

I realize I'm not really good at mixing the stuff...I get it to sound the way I want in terms of what you hear of each instrument and how they interact, but what you've mentioned, cleaning up each instrument to make the whole sound clearer, is something I become deaf to once I get the balance of the instruments right. Definitely a good argument for teaming up with someone, I suppose. I've always thought it was something that could be sorted in a mastering process, but I'm kidding myself of course.

Thanks a lot, I really appreciate your comments! I think just cleaning up the drums (compressing, cleaning it up) will help a lot, but I think I'll get someone to help out nonetheless.