Official AIM Review!

Other judges have mentioned, so I won't make a huge deal out of it, but mix on this is hasty enough that it's clipping. Probably could have been avoided by just clipping a limiter on the master if you're really pressed for time -- although I try not to recommend this as it's like putting a bandaid on a bullet wound. Clipping is almost always a sign of huge underlying problems in your mixing process, not that one or two things is too loud. Before mastering, actually, you'll probably want between 3 and 6 dB of headroom.

Protip, if your mix sounds great with the volume turned down to say, 3-15%, it's gonna sound good as a rule. Try that little trick when you find yourself getting too ear strained.

Also, my sympathies with constant mood swings and RL getting in the way of your music. Wish you all the best, man.

Onto the composition.

Reverse intro is actually kind of interesting, as is the ducking bass. Piece is actually composed fairly well. Were it not clipping so badly, I'd have given an extra star. The section at 46 secs is probably the level where I would have my mix sit before mastering. Lately I mix all my pieces turned down to about this volume.

It's a shame time got in the way of mixing this properly. I'm actually really enjoying what you've done here. Wonderful chords and chord voicings. Thanks for turning out for this year's competition!

---Official AIM review---

The synth at the beginning is really cool. Has a really experimental, wave-like vibe. The portamentos and glitchiness is cool too. Beginning at around :20, there’s noticeable distortion in the mix. I think you need to be careful about the volume levels here. You might consider using limiters for certain instruments, or simply lowering the volume of those instruments in the mixer. The atmosphere is great, but the harsh distortions significantly detract from my enjoyment of the piece. The texture is really well-balanced and clear, though. I appreciate the influx of energy at :53 brought about by the drums. The composition is strong overall. Not very dynamic harmonically, but the quirky instruments and experimental sound design are big pluses. It’s really a shame that there’s so much clipping in this piece, because it’s a pretty easy fix and otherwise I really like this track. Most digital audio workstations have some sort of peak flow meter that you can monitor during playback, and it’ll tell you if there’s distortion going on because the stereo is overwhelmed. If you have more questions, please PM me. This is a necessary fix. Overall, though, the composition, atmosphere, and sound design are all great. Keep at it, Demon1000!

8/10

Yeah, so while I dig the jam from a musical standpoint, it crackles almost constantly because the levels are way too high. I get that you were under the gun to nail it down, but there's no excuse for neglecting the mastering process so much that nearly the entire track ends up clipping.

If it helps, I actually brought the score up a bit from 2.92 by giving you a 3. Small comfort to be sure, but it is what it is. Rushing the process is a surefire way to end up with post-production issues due to lack of polish. It can also result in extreme ear strain, which only serves to exacerbate the problem.

On a different note, the reversed intro was pretty cool, though I wondered for the briefest of moments if you weren't going to overuse the effect throughout the track. In the end, I think you made good use of it without going overboard. There were some moments where elements failed to mesh well, and the main offender seemed to often be the bass. Percussion was minimal, but nicely done. Can't say that I care tuppence for that ending, though. It felt uninspired and rather lazy.

Welp, I never enjoy doling out hard critiques, but I'm guessing it doesn't come as much of a surprise. Like I said, the overall motif is nice, but it clips like a beast and the bass ends up overshadowing the rest of the mix. The percussion is slow and trippy, which fits nicely within the piece, but it can't really make up for the other problems inherent within the mix, and it certainly can't overcome a lack of care when mastering.

Regardless, I'm glad that you could finish your track, and I hope that you'll work on fixing some of those issues once the contest has come to an end. Best of luck with college and getting those wild mood swings under control. Been there myself, and I know how hard it can be to focus when even your emotions seem to be at odds. Take care, man.

Some parts are clipping due to the loud volume, the piano painly around 44 seconds in, you can see the spike on the visualizer here on NG. Turning the overall volume on the track down a little might help that, unless it's blowing up in the mixer channel, then you'll have to tweak some things. Great piece though, very pretty.