~SW~ Depth Charge

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~SW~ Depth Charge

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Author Comments

Hello! I think you deserve a break. If you agree, take a seat, have a listen, we have cookies. Unlike the darkside, we don't lie about having them.

This was a huge experiment for me, and I think it turned out alright. Thanks to all the people who reviewed it while it was a work-in-progress and gave some excellent assistance in developing it! You guys are awesome. :P

While some people may call this ambiance, I don't think it fully fits into that catagory, as it's a bit too pulsing and busy for that. Therefore, it goes into "Miscellaneous". If there were a Soundscapes catagory, I would put it in that, but... Can't. Oh well.

Enjoy!

-If you think there's anything on this that needs improving, anything at all, please take at least a minute to give a sentence or two about how or why. That's all. It doesn't frustrate me to get a low score, but it does to get a low score without reason.

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WhistlerMusicUK

2011-10-03 11:36:36

Good work

Really enjoyed listening to this. Very glad to hear someone making something other than dance music on here! You really have an awesome pallet of sounds but I do think there are still some mixing issues. You're nearly there dude but some of the synths are a little shrill. There's also a realy lack of focus towards the end of the song, you seem to lose your hook! I would have loved to hear that come in again and maybe shave a minute of the arpeggiated section off.

Overall though, fantastic effort. I enjoyed it! Keep experimenting.

SkyeWint responds:

Hmm. Glad you enjoyed it - this took quite a bit to make. Now, to address your problems...

Shrill synths? I can only think of one part that had a "shrill" sound, and that's right after the second main section transitioning to the "chorus" (the part with the bell-like sounds). That part had a bit of shrillness, but I had dulled that down. Does your sound system have the treble turned up? That could be part of it, as I've listened to this on laptop speakers, studio headphones, three kinds of ear buds, two different car speakers, and a few other kinds of speakers, and I haven't had this problem as long as the treble isn't turned up.

For the lack of focus towards the end, I'd assume you mean the part where it simply cuts to the guitar. That's mainly to transition to the ending. I'm not exactly sure what you mean by a "hook", but... Oh well.

Glad you enjoyed it overall, and though I may not agree with part of what you're saying, I do understand about some of it, and I'll try to fix my music up more in the future.

Thanks!

(Also, if you could possibly PM me about what you meant by a "hook", that would be awesome.)

DreamEater

2011-10-03 04:39:05

Pretty sick!

I really enjoyed the overall ambiance of this track, and I could see why so many would consider it ambient; The samples you chose are brilliant and sound very airy, yet full and lively at the same time. The arp melody was subperb, and I really enjoyed the pitchbend effect on your lead as well.

Things I would have done differently:
- Your build-up seems a tad crowded, during/ right after the break
- The drum samples in this track seem a bit dry
- The delay could have been done a little bit better on a couple perc instruments

Overall; Solid track buddy!
Can't wait to hear the next one

5/5
9/10
Faved/ DL
~Dj Sonik

-Review Request Club-

SkyeWint responds:

Heya, XsakuX! Glad you enjoy it, you should be able to hear the next one next week. I could definitely use some feedback on it.
Now, addressing each of your points in turn...

Buildup: Assuming you mean the buildup in the beginning after 1:03, it's actually not that busy or crowded. Assuming you mean the buildup after 2:24, while it's a tad busy, there's not that much.

Drum samples: Actually, they're wet except for in the beginning. They have a lot of reverb on them, though it's a bit hard to hear over the other things. If by dry you mean boring and basic, they're not meant to be particularly special, but more like a backbone for the rest of the song, something to tie it together and give people something in the music they can latch onto that stays generally the same.

Delay: There's no delay on any percussive instruments. o.o Where did you hear that?

Anyway. Thanks for the review, see you around!

megakill

2011-10-02 14:41:24

Definitely A Favourite Of Mine

I'm glad that you went on to finish this track and touch everything up, because what you've produced is one of the best songs I've heard in the portal.

You ironed out all the issues with the synth levels, giving everything it's own place in the mix, the frequencies are all a lot cleaner and pretty much spot on.
I really don't have much to say in terms of constructive criticism, because there's very little left that would need to be improved. You've addressed pretty much everything I touched upon in my review of the unfinished version, and the ending fits extremely well.

I'd have still liked the kick to be slightly more prominent, but that's only really a minor edit.

All things considered, this is a great piece.

As promised, I've given 5/5, fav'd it, and downloaded it.

Great work!

*Review Request Club*

SkyeWint responds:

Glad you enjoy it! I hope that I can bring more music that you enjoy like this to the review request club for the awesome reviews. Too bad I can't review my own music. :P Anyway.

The kick isn't meant to be overpowering the other things in the piece, and I did amp it up a bit, but when I tried amping it more than how much it is, it caused mixing issues on other levels. :(

You had one of the most comprehensive reviews with the most advice on what to do for mixing, and since I haven't studied mixing, but instead composition... that was a HUGE help. I tried a lot to fix up what you pointed out, and apparently did well. Yay.

Thanks again for the review!

Nimble

2011-10-01 21:14:00

Nice Catch!

This certainly isn't a new idea,but the approach of tackling it sure is!

i certainly love the synths you used for the melodic lines,they sound so angelic to me,in a way,because of the slight delay/chorus effect you may have added in. the chord progression isnt uncommon but the harmonics were well pulled off,which i appreciate.

i dont really like the arpeggiating synth in my right ear half the song,since it's a bit on the high pitch scale and it hurts a little after a while,but that's just me.also,the song really didnt have much dynamic contrast,which is fine since you're experimenting,but you shouldn't forget about these things while experimenting.

overall,i like it.it's a new approach on the ambient style and the miscellaneous sounds together.good work.

Review Request Club

SkyeWint responds:

Glad you enjoy it. The melody lines are some things I really liked on this song.

I don't quite understand the arpeggiating synth problem you had. I'm fairly sure that wasn't only in the right side... Do your headphones not do the high register very well? I had tested this on multiple headphones/speakers, and it seemed to sound good, but... Oh well.

As for dynamic contrast, would you rather have it have only one volume - loud - like most songs?

Thanks for the review overall, I'm glad I could entertain differently than what you've heard before.

NekoMika

2011-09-29 17:03:35

Soothing to the heart

Really like the ocean waves at the start as they get you calmed down and feeling really relaxed as you carry on walking along the beach looking for the answers to who you are seeing many buildings around you have crumbled away into nothingness. Very chilling song though and makes you feel relaxed.

The synth is really nice and has a nice little echo effect to go with it too. The chilling ambient higher sounding synth reminds me of old 90s movies as well. The drums sound rather smooth and quite calming as they give off an echo showing how empty the world has become since the zombies began to appear and many animals have become angrier and more violent as well.

The tune just gives a chill feeling though and I like where it feels it would end and then comes back up again. The backing bass is very smooth and relaxing here and I like it a lot too, very nice.

Overall, very relaxing song. Very enjoyable if just sitting there with headphones on, volume turned up and just closing your eyes while letting your imagination take you places.

Review Request Club

SkyeWint responds:

I was wondering when a review would turn up. Thanks!

The song is definitely meant to be calming. I was trying to portray the peace and serenity of the ocean while the depth charge is falling down through the water.

I love doing basslines, glad that shows. It was a bit unfortunate, but I had to change the instrument doing the bass. The previous one was either messing up the mixing or inaudible, and I couldn't get in between those.

I'm glad that you could just sit there and close your eyes to listen to it and let your imagination take hold. There was another thing I was going for. I wanted it to be chill.