Eden

This is my second ever track created with Renoise.

After posting up my first track and getting some solid advice from you guys on how to improve it, I’ve tried to put that advice to use on this track too.

If you get chance to listen to it, then thanks.

As always any feedback is welcomed.

http://www.soundcloud.com/Rhythmersion/Eden

Hi! You tagged your track as “uplifting”. Somehow, as of my definition of sounds to “lift one up” certain things would need to be totally harmonic, or in harmonic relationship, for it to “work out totally”.

Now I can only point to things that spoil such feelings in my perception when listening to your tune.

First thing was the tuning of the bongo style percussions. When it kicks in, the resonances of the drums are somewhere very odd off the synths that were playing before. Yes you can tune bongos to fit a tune! It’s not such a big drawback though, later on the disharmonics drown under other instruments.

Also tuning, tuning. At 1:40 for example some dist synth kicks in. well, but…it’s out of tune somewhat, and/or is aliasing like mad in dissonant sub-fundamental frequencies. It spoils every “uplift” turning it into “twisted”. Sorry to say that. Those synths come back later on again, and I also have the impression that all the instruments aren’t tuned so well together. Again, crooked tuning can diminish “harmonic” into “twisted”.

Next thing is those chorus/delay stuff that seems to sport detuning. Dunno what effect you’ve used. It makes things crooked even more, like the inharmonic detune of the instruments is even worsened by this effect! it’s always like motion, melodic upwards + right done detuning delays can work, but wrong done can destroy harmonic relationships.

As a sound design fetischist I also noticed the drums/rhythm section being very direct from over-clean drum samples. Yes, such can sound cheesy. Many artists struggle to integrate the drums within the other stuff by intermodulation. It’s the key to making a piece that sounds like it’s from one “voice”. Work out this, I bet with clever equalizing, compression and such you could make those crashes etc. work like they’re from “one direction” in contrast to being forced together against will.

The musical ideas were quite ok I think, don’t take my take on the details too hard, but as I just listened to your tune I found the things I mentioned just didn’t work out for me. I just think this might help you to improve.

Oh… ok :frowning:

I actually hear what you are saying though now…

Back to the drawing board!

I think it sounds pretty good, but i agree that inharmonies gets in the way here and there, especially in the AHA like chorus part from about 2:20. In that part i think you should remove the pads in the back all together or replace them with ones that are tuned properly. The supersaw sounds a bit inharmonic aswell, maybe you spread the saws a bit too far apart? Or is it a VSTi?

For some nice and easy tweakable supersaw you can try this monophonic synth:http://forum.renoise.com/index.php/files/file/96-big-bloomer/ , it sounds fat and harmonic at least at the lower “spread” settings. :slight_smile:

I appreciate the feedback guys.

It’s all done with samples, no vsts involved.

Thanks for the link as well, I’ll have a look at that.