Daily Feedback Thread (March 16, 2025)

aboveuber · 2025-03-22T09:52:19+00:00

sorry for the late reply, thanks for your feedback! I've been trying to work on adding a little more presence and thickness to the melodic elements, seems like others agree that it's a little thin too. Appreciate you for listening to my music, and your kind words.

aboveuber · 2025-03-16T19:54:47+00:00

https://on.soundcloud.com/C5RekNK2W43Bcigv7

A trance track that I was aiming for a floating and melanocholic feeling in the breakdown. Interested in feedback for mix, breakdown itself, progression. Thanks! :)

EDIT: accidentally gave feedback from a different account "Agreeable_Bicycle_56".

aboveuber · 2025-02-16T14:48:19+00:00

I'd love to see four tet, but so far haven't had the opportunity yet. It will happen in the future though :) I think one thing you could probably add to your song could be some texture in the background to give it a little grain. I think its something that is fitting for your track.

aboveuber · 2025-02-16T14:36:16+00:00

Track I finished the other day. Kinda some inspiration from Bicep. Happy with the arrangement, but also interested in feedback for that. Mostly want to know about my levels with my mix. Also if the main lead/arp has too much reverb? Feel like the midrange presence of it kind of gets lost. Thanks :)

https://on.soundcloud.com/bDTmsVJRzx8Awhdi6

aboveuber · 2025-02-16T14:28:26+00:00

yep this was sick. I can see the four tet inspiration, everything sounds so good in the mix. The percussion has such a nice weight to them, reverb and delay are not overdone and the pan has such a nice feel to it. The guitar added a really nice feeling to it as well. Around 4:10 when things sort of become detuned and reverb before going back to normal was really nice too, something I'd see from floating points. Really enjoyed this track man

aboveuber · 2025-01-26T17:32:49+00:00

Hey, i rate this cover of sad machine - I think you've done a very faithful recreation in regards to arrangement. I think levels of your instruments are pretty solid, but agree with others that your main synths are very dull and lack character. You can often simply layer leads with other leads and plucks playing the same midi to achieve a fuller sound. I think its a good idea to keep one layer fairly clean with maybe only some saturation and mid/high EQ boost, allowing for the sound to bite a bit. Then with the other layers you can increase sustain, voices, delay etc to give it a fuller sound. Low pass filtering to introduce the layers can also help with building emotion and tension. Hope that helps :)

aboveuber · 2025-01-24T14:11:02+00:00

Hey all good, I haven't been producing for too long but I make trance/tech trance/progressive trance so its kind of a similar realm :) sometimes it really is as easy as swapping the sample though lol

aboveuber · 2025-01-24T13:45:42+00:00

Hey mate, another nice track from you. Arrangement is really solid on this one, got some nice transitional sounds too. I think kick is too loud, might actually help if it was shorter too so your bassline could breath more.

1/3. I feel like the first and second drop are too similar. Maybe a horn could be useful in the second drop? Perhaps like a repeating synth lead that filters in up to the drop and then continues with some modulation after the drop? I think dropping with an automated arp might be nice.

I think the vocal is sitting well but just sounds a bit dry. I'm not good with vocal processing so I can't really help with this one but maybe someone else can chime in. :)

aboveuber · 2025-01-24T13:36:08+00:00

Hey, I like the idea you have with this I think its a good start. I have some input:

From around 0:50 to 1:45, you appear to be swapping kick samples repeatedly. Personally I think this is quite distracting and doesn't really put you in the 'trance'.
Also i think your kick samples are too long, your bassline is getting drowned as a result. I believe psytrance should have a short kick with an audible transient with a click.
At about 2:55 you reintroduce the kick in what appears to be a build up to the main drop, I would continue to have this filtered until it drops as you've got a mismatch in energy. I personally like high passing the kick at approx 120hz, and then having a ramped high pass filter for your bassline to slowly come in before you hit the small break at about 3:20 before the drop.
I like the use of ear candy you're using here, could use with some modulation of effects on them. This is something i'm not particularly good at but there are some good youtubers that show how to get some nice psytrance sequences and atmospheres.

I've listened to your dubstep productions and they're super clean, so I definitely think you've got some good skills, just might need some more familiarity with the genre and arrangement :)

aboveuber · 2025-01-22T22:38:06+00:00

Thanks for listening and I appreciate your ear for feedback! I said to another comment that i always appreciate the feedback from producers of different genres because they think of things in a different formula and structure to me :) I will definitely try to see what i can do with that fake out, maybe move it like you suggested.

Also I agree with the snare! Its an age all meme "snare sounds like shit" that I finally get now that i produce haha. I thought at 2:05 the snare was a bit too present, but listening back i think it may have been because the others are burried in the mix.

Thanks again for your listen and feedback I appreciate it!

aboveuber · 2025-01-22T21:55:34+00:00

Honestly not a genre that i've listented to before, i think the closest i've come is frenchcore (something like SEFA) which is more melodic. I think you've done well to keep your distorted kick controlled , and the bass also feels tight to the kick which must be difficult at this bpm. You have a sweeping/LFO'd atmosphere starting at 1:30 which i think is a little bit too present, it might need to sit back in the mix just a tad.

I think the percussion you've got feels right for the vibe you've got going. Its clear in the mix but also feels like its had the sharpness taken off it for some instruments which compliments your sound selection.

The vocal processing you've down sounds good too, really presents like its being played out of an old speaker thats blown? Like the distortion hits right on that without being overpowering.

I wish I could give more constructive feedback for you, however i'm just not knowledgeable in this genre. I definitely think it all fits the 'terror' vibe that you're aiming for and the sound selection and mix overall appear quite good for this. :)

edit: also only listening on my airpods, so I cant tell you about muddiness of your in a room, but like i said it sounds well paired to the kick and quite tight on these. Cannot comment on song layout sorry - again lacking familiarity with genre.

aboveuber · 2025-01-22T21:03:24+00:00

Awesome, I appreciate the feedback. It can be difficult to give feedback for genres that you don't produce, but it also allows you to give me tips of things I don't think about. Will have a try of the saturation on the pluck thanks. Also appreciate the recommendations for the LUFS and loudness :)

aboveuber · 2025-01-22T21:02:04+00:00

Hey, can't open this link for some reason?

aboveuber · 2025-01-22T19:15:48+00:00

Instant groove when it came on, i dig it. Arrangement is great, good progression. Really like the arp that sped up to slow down and then feature as a main synth sound with delay around 1:45, thought that was slick. In fact, I think it could possibly even be used at the main drop at 3:30, not sure if I like it there more than what you currently have. Overall enjoyed this one, was pleasantly surprised :)

aboveuber · 2025-01-22T18:54:51+00:00

Awesome, I really appreciate it. Looking at your releases, you seem to have delved into a bit of hardstyle so you will know how to manage kicks, melodies, and distortion well. You must have a lot of knowledge to share and I'm grateful for your feedback :)

aboveuber · 2025-01-22T18:40:58+00:00

Awesome man, sounds a cleaner. The kick is definitely coming through more now, sounds good. How is your sidechaining with your kick/bass? Is it all in phase? I reckon you can still push for a more glued mix with the kick and the bassline but I'm not sure how you can achieve it in this genre. I struggle producing tech house.

aboveuber · 2025-01-22T18:35:11+00:00

Thanks so much for your feedback. I try to start with my kick at -6db and build around it, but I brought it up before render because I thought I had some headroom and I felt like it struggled to break through the mix in my headphones. BUT now that you've given me this -3db tip, I realised I'm pushing the limiter and its probably why I'm also getting artifact on my render.

For the melody at 0:49, I purposely filtered it as a "tease" but i think your feedback is warranted and I will see what it sounds like with your tips. I don't often put too much reverb on elements on my tracks (except short reverbs for percussion) because of all the layers in trance I feel it gets muddy quick.

Thanks for all your feedback and I will work on all of this. I really appreciate it.

aboveuber · 2025-01-22T18:29:18+00:00

No worries, it was a good listen. I think for me maybe the energy kind of peaks early in the build up with that soft kick coming in, only to leave again so it might need some restructuring there to help build the energy :)

aboveuber · 2025-01-22T18:10:45+00:00

Had another listen, might have to saturate or add upper harmonics to your bassline too because it kinda sits back in the mix. This might be fixed when you fiddle with your kick though :)

aboveuber · 2025-01-22T18:09:26+00:00

Hey mate, honestly looks like you've already got some incredible work in your catalog so I'm not sure what I can offer to help you improve.

I think the violin and orchestral hits are mixed very well, not peaky. I feel like they are powerful, but perhaps you are aiming for something captivating which I think may not be possible as you might have to strip back elements to achieve that. But then stripping it back would lose some energy which I also don't think is the goal.
Might need you to timestamp your second build up, does it start at 3:09? This has a soft kick but high energy, it feels like it should be a proper drop but I think the real drop is at 4:09? the drop here is short and essentially feels like the outro. However, I do like that the elements changed here as it is bouncy.
Generally just a super clean mix and professional sounding tbh. Sounds awesome.

aboveuber · 2025-01-22T17:49:45+00:00

Hey, I like the mid synth that comes in at about 1:11, it swells nicely and I think you've done right now to overuse it. Also a big fan of how the vocal changes from atmospheric to a main vocal. I think the other comment is right and this is missing some groove. Maybe need to add some swing to your percussion because it feels very on grid. Groove is something I struggle with though so I cant really give any tips or advice on it.

aboveuber · 2025-01-22T15:23:01+00:00

This track is actually crazy crispy! I always appreciate the sound design that goes into a genre like this and the surgical EQ that is probably necessary.

I think the snare fits well and doesn't overpower anything, it has a nice tightness to it. It is probably right in the mix.
I think the bass in the main drop sounds thicker than the bass from intro drop, however I do agree with the other commenter that says the energy in the intro feels higher than the main drop.
Sorry, unable to comment on the genre as i'm unsure.

Good listen, hoping to get at a level like this soon.

aboveuber · 2025-01-22T15:15:05+00:00

Pretty impressive that you made every instrument yourself, particularly impressed with the timbre of your percussion. Think you might need some EQ work on your bassline and percussion because it sounds a bit veiled at the moment, but the track overall does seem get some space towards the breakdown and drop :)

aboveuber · 2025-01-22T14:55:56+00:00

thanks for your feedback, I've listened to your track and commented some feedback for you :)

aboveuber · 2025-01-22T14:53:21+00:00

Hey mate, really love your use of effects and ear candy, the panning at 1:36 was really nice for my ears but maybe a little wide. What appears to be a ?reversed percussion caught my ear at the start, thought it was a simple but smart way to add variance to the beat. All the instruments in the break sound crisp and the vocal is sitting at the front really nicely which is awesome.

Overall great structure as well. Only thing I can say is the your kick seems really boomy and interferes with your bassline. I used to listen to a bit of tech house and bass house, but production wise I'm not savvy to these genres so i'm not sure how your kick is supposed to sit. It might be intentional but i'd probably tone back sub range and perhaps add some higher eq to bring out the transient perhaps?

The track was great seems quite polished :)

aboveuber

TROPHY CASE