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Quaid City Bar

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Author Comments

Bar theme for upcoming cyberpunk open world game Neon Sword


EDIT: I guess I should share how I made this since this is my NGUAC entry ;)


This is supposed to be music for a bar hangout of a biker faction in an upcoming cyberpunk game so I wanted it have a bit of a grungy, dirty vibe which explains the big gritty bass synth that pushes the main hook, and the dirty arpeggiated bass found in the rest of the track, both are generated from Massive. The two lead synths and the pads are patches made from Zebra 2. The drum kit is made up of samples from the Linndrum(there are a few free VST's out there that replicate this classic machine) My guitar is actually going direct in but with what I have found to be the best VST amp sim imo, from Kuassa. They make excellent guitar VST's for anyone interested. I should also mention that I do most of my MIDI with my guitar as a MIDI controller using an awesome plugin from Jam Origin that turns audio in directly to MIDI input, pretty rad. Oh and I use Ableton because it is a direct gift from the DAW gods, really I just love Ableton Live...


I wish I had more to say about this song but it's basically an example of just getting right conditions together- pick the right sounds and having a clear feeling of what you are going for and many times the song will just work itself out.


Hope you guys enjoyed, thanks for listening!

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I like the groovy drums and quirky sound design. I think the kick could be a lot stronger, and the snare also needs some compression. The rhythmic and melodic elements of this piece are really amusing, though. The melody at 2:01 was particularly enjoyable - very soulful and even tranquil in a way. I appreciated the change of pace when you broke down the bass line at 2:40. At the same time, I thought the piece could’ve used a distinct emotional height or finale to really hit it home. The fade-out ending came across as a bit lazy. I know you wrote this for a videogame, but tracks in this competition should really function as stand-alone pieces. I also thought the bass lines could’ve been a little more distinct - you might want to be stricter with the equalization in the low frequency range. Still, the mood and atmosphere are absolutely fantastic. Keep up the good work! ;)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.5/2
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the above elements interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.75/10

Joey4Track responds:

Thanks for the review! Yeah I actually don't have monitors atm so my mixes aren't up to par, I have no idea what's going on in the lower frequencies right now, lol. And yeah the song is meant to be looped but actually I totally do have a problem ending songs haha. It was really fun, thanks for judging and for the great feedback :)

Now this is creativity.

I love retrowave! Your sound design is really good. What is your sound design process?

Joey4Track responds:

Thanks! After reading your description from your NGUAC submission I have updated my OP. Nothing too special with this track to be honest but I have the details in the description now ;)

Gimme two!

Credits & Info

Listens
6,127
Faves:
9
Votes
24
Score
4.10 / 5.00

Uploaded
Aug 9, 2017
2:05 PM EDT
Genre
Synthwave
File Info
Song
5.1 MB
3 min 41 sec

Licensing Terms

You may not use this work for any purposes.