(Chillwave) Bleed Some More

This forum is for sharing your Reason creations with the rest of the community. If you post a song expecting feedback please take time to leave some for others.
Forum rules
Remember to begin your thread subject with a genre, ie.: (Hiphop) New instrumental
Post Reply
User avatar
mbfrancis
Posts: 648
Joined: 02 Feb 2015
Location: Orange County, CA
Contact:

17 Jul 2017

Haven't been participating here in a while, but I hope everyone is well. This is a chillwave track I did for a Taxi submission (for MTV). Wrote it and recorded it over the weekend. Mostly samples. More of a sketch than a track, I like the vibe, though...let me know what you think.

EDIT: new audio, ran through LANDR, pretty good results.
Last edited by mbfrancis on 24 Jul 2017, edited 1 time in total.
Producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist. I make indie pop as Port Streets, 90s/shoegaze as Swooner, and Electro as Yours Mine.

User avatar
aburazaru
Posts: 170
Joined: 28 Feb 2016

22 Jul 2017

Sounds awesome! Mixed really well and has a great feel to it! Who's on the vocals?
How was I supposed to know "don't touch" meant to not push the big...red...button?

User avatar
aeox
Competition Winner
Posts: 3222
Joined: 23 Feb 2017
Location: Oregon

22 Jul 2017

1:18 is really catchy. Sweet vocals as well.

Good work!

User avatar
mbfrancis
Posts: 648
Joined: 02 Feb 2015
Location: Orange County, CA
Contact:

24 Jul 2017

aburazaru wrote:
22 Jul 2017
Sounds awesome! Mixed really well and has a great feel to it! Who's on the vocals?
Thanks man - that's me and my friend Alanah. I looooove boy/girl vocals.
aeox wrote:
22 Jul 2017
1:18 is really catchy. Sweet vocals as well.

Good work!
Thanks, I was worried it didn't fit the track, like it suddenly went all Depeche Mode. :) Glad you like it.
Last edited by mbfrancis on 24 Jul 2017, edited 1 time in total.
Producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist. I make indie pop as Port Streets, 90s/shoegaze as Swooner, and Electro as Yours Mine.

Thousand Ways
Posts: 252
Joined: 18 Jun 2015
Contact:

24 Jul 2017

The track seems to have disappeared – can you reupload?

Respect for your Der Himmel über Berlin profile image.

User avatar
mbfrancis
Posts: 648
Joined: 02 Feb 2015
Location: Orange County, CA
Contact:

24 Jul 2017

Thousand Ways wrote:
24 Jul 2017
The track seems to have disappeared – can you reupload?

Respect for your Der Himmel über Berlin profile image.
Hmmm....worked for me, but I cleaned up the link, does it work now? Here's a direct link w/out Soundcloud tags, which don't seem to do anything different lol:



Der Himmel über Berlin ('Wings of Desire' in the US) has been my favorite film since the late 80s. For a kid in SoCal, Berlin looked the coolest, edgiest place in the universe. I used to watch it with dates to see their reaction - if it was too confusing or they didn't like it, basically that ended the relationship right there ha.
Producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist. I make indie pop as Port Streets, 90s/shoegaze as Swooner, and Electro as Yours Mine.

Thousand Ways
Posts: 252
Joined: 18 Jun 2015
Contact:

24 Jul 2017

Hmm – still not coming up here, for some reason. I can see other SoundCloud links elsewhere on this site, but not this one. Maybe it's something to do with cookies.

First saw Der Himmel über Berlin circa 1992. They had to change the title when translating it, because the German makes no sense when directly translated to English: in German, 'Himmel' means both sky and Heaven. Apologies if I'm pointing out the obvious.

When I lived in Berlin in 1998, I went to see the film at a small indie cinema in Mitte. When Potsdamer Platz came onscreen, the whole audience laughed, because by 1998 it was full of Sony Centres and God knows what. It bore no relation to the wasteland that Wenders had filmed there in 1986 or ’87.

User avatar
mbfrancis
Posts: 648
Joined: 02 Feb 2015
Location: Orange County, CA
Contact:

24 Jul 2017

Here, add www to this: soundcloud.com/martinbfrancis/bleed-some-more-ft-alanah-master
Producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist. I make indie pop as Port Streets, 90s/shoegaze as Swooner, and Electro as Yours Mine.

User avatar
AttenuationHz
Posts: 2048
Joined: 20 Mar 2015
Location: Back of the Rack-1

24 Jul 2017

Very good track Although I'm not too sure of the LANDR master myself I have to say. The vocals seem pushed to much in that version. Had a listen to the original and I think you could get better results either getting it mastered by an end user or doing it yourself.

I would probably take a good notch out of the bass for two reason.
Bass Atten..JPG
Bass Atten..JPG (51.14 KiB) Viewed 2557 times
1. You'll get a snappier/pluckier bass when you run it trough a Maximiser/Limiter at the end of the chain.
2. Make room for the bass of the male vox which also could do with a slight 2-3dB reduction at the same frequency.

Both these attenuations will balance the female vox in the process. Making that stand out a lot more. The female vox would be very complimenting to the male.

The piano seems too bass heavy also at that frequency.

Might do with some gentle compression also before a maximiser as well as bus compression on the master although only let the needle move slightly.

I usually use the Mclass 1.65 ratio about 20db threshold between 57-66ms attack and a fast adaptive release around 165ms then adjust the gain to suite if done right you should not need to go over 1.65dB on the gain but between 1-1.3db is usually the sweet spot.

You'll probably want to slam the bass with a 6.5db ratio on an mclass to get it pluckier about 20 threshold no gain change or A/R after the eq notch. When its maximised on the master chain it might stand out better.

I'm a fan of duets myself its like aural tennis.
It is not too much of an ask for people or things to be the best version of itself!

User avatar
mbfrancis
Posts: 648
Joined: 02 Feb 2015
Location: Orange County, CA
Contact:

25 Jul 2017

@AttenuationHz

Really glad you like the track -

Woah, thanks for all the detailed comments. I'm wondering if with all these edits I wonder if these aren't mix issues - I mixed it pretty quickly to hit a deadline. The only reason I liked the LANDR version is because it got the low end and high end to competitive levels...I usually don't add enough of either (I'm deaf). I'm happy to send you the WAV if you could show me what you mean - I don;t think you'd be cutting bass off the first mix, more the opposite. :)

Hey question, when you say "bass" do you mean the actual bass part or just the entire low end?

Thanks again!!
Producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist. I make indie pop as Port Streets, 90s/shoegaze as Swooner, and Electro as Yours Mine.

User avatar
AttenuationHz
Posts: 2048
Joined: 20 Mar 2015
Location: Back of the Rack-1

25 Jul 2017

mbfrancis wrote:
25 Jul 2017
@AttenuationHz

Really glad you like the track -

Woah, thanks for all the detailed comments. I'm wondering if with all these edits I wonder if these aren't mix issues - I mixed it pretty quickly to hit a deadline. The only reason I liked the LANDR version is because it got the low end and high end to competitive levels...I usually don't add enough of either (I'm deaf). I'm happy to send you the WAV if you could show me what you mean - I don;t think you'd be cutting bass off the first mix, more the opposite. :)

Hey question, when you say "bass" do you mean the actual bass part or just the entire low end?

Thanks again!!
Well it does sound counter intuitive to remove bass from the bass. What I mean is find the fundamental of the bass and reduce it just enough that the kick and the overall sub bass stands out a lot more. When the track is limited at the end of the master chain what happens is there are less peaks that can clip or distort so you get a louder sounding master. You're subtracting to add later the frequencies attenuated can still be brought back to the same level and the frequency not reduced sound louder.

Its difficult to hear what needs to be done with a track when you spend a lot of time tweaking it I'm guilty of that myself. I learned that the hard way and I'm guessing you went straight to a master after you completed a mix. You should always give your ears a good rest from a track to the point of not remembering what it sounds like. When you go back to it a week later you will find yourself hearing things that you were not aware of. I'd be happy to give you an example.
It is not too much of an ask for people or things to be the best version of itself!

User avatar
mbfrancis
Posts: 648
Joined: 02 Feb 2015
Location: Orange County, CA
Contact:

25 Jul 2017

No I get it, cut some targeted low end so more of the overall low end comes through when limited. I'll play with it - I still think it needs to be remixed. :)
Producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist. I make indie pop as Port Streets, 90s/shoegaze as Swooner, and Electro as Yours Mine.

User avatar
Carly(Poohbear)
Competition Winner
Posts: 2871
Joined: 25 Jan 2015
Location: UK

25 Jul 2017

Nice and chilled and it flows together really well (quite catchy), I don't really listen to music with vocals but I have now listened to this several times, the mix of the vocals work really well.. :thumbs_up: :thumbs_up: :thumbs_up:




PoohBear

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recent Music made with Reason
(Electronic) Solar Dance
(Electronic) Into The Night
(Upbeat) The Players Took Me There Made in Reason 9 with heavy use of the players
(Electronic) 5 Steps (Video added) Updated
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My Soundcloud Page ....... Nektar Mappings
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

User avatar
logicalpocket
Posts: 147
Joined: 27 Jan 2015

26 Jul 2017

Really like this track, it's got a really cool funky vibe to it.

Like @AttenuationHz said, I'm not really a fan of the way that LANDR masters things. It tends towards a less sophisticated push everything to the max approach which I find gives everything a really brittle and flat sound. I reckon you could probably do a better job yourself if you're prepared to settle for a quieter end product. That's what I generally do as I can't master for toffee :P

There's definitely a great track under the LANDR master though. Good job :)
Blep

User avatar
mbfrancis
Posts: 648
Joined: 02 Feb 2015
Location: Orange County, CA
Contact:

26 Jul 2017

logicalpocket wrote:
26 Jul 2017
Really like this track, it's got a really cool funky vibe to it.

Like @AttenuationHz said, I'm not really a fan of the way that LANDR masters things. It tends towards a less sophisticated push everything to the max approach which I find gives everything a really brittle and flat sound. I reckon you could probably do a better job yourself if you're prepared to settle for a quieter end product. That's what I generally do as I can't master for toffee :P

There's definitely a great track under the LANDR master though. Good job :)
Thanks!
Well the original is still up if you're interested - I just think it's weak on the low end, and LANDR brought it up closer to standard:
Producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist. I make indie pop as Port Streets, 90s/shoegaze as Swooner, and Electro as Yours Mine.

User avatar
AttenuationHz
Posts: 2048
Joined: 20 Mar 2015
Location: Back of the Rack-1

26 Jul 2017

mbfrancis wrote:
26 Jul 2017
logicalpocket wrote:
26 Jul 2017
Really like this track, it's got a really cool funky vibe to it.

Like @AttenuationHz said, I'm not really a fan of the way that LANDR masters things. It tends towards a less sophisticated push everything to the max approach which I find gives everything a really brittle and flat sound. I reckon you could probably do a better job yourself if you're prepared to settle for a quieter end product. That's what I generally do as I can't master for toffee :P

There's definitely a great track under the LANDR master though. Good job :)
Thanks!
Well the original is still up if you're interested - I just think it's weak on the low end, and LANDR brought it up closer to standard:
What are you listening/mixing on? Headphones/Monitor speakers? What make.
It is not too much of an ask for people or things to be the best version of itself!

User avatar
logicalpocket
Posts: 147
Joined: 27 Jan 2015

26 Jul 2017

mbfrancis wrote:
26 Jul 2017
logicalpocket wrote:
26 Jul 2017
Really like this track, it's got a really cool funky vibe to it.

Like @AttenuationHz said, I'm not really a fan of the way that LANDR masters things. It tends towards a less sophisticated push everything to the max approach which I find gives everything a really brittle and flat sound. I reckon you could probably do a better job yourself if you're prepared to settle for a quieter end product. That's what I generally do as I can't master for toffee :P

There's definitely a great track under the LANDR master though. Good job :)
Thanks!
Well the original is still up if you're interested - I just think it's weak on the low end, and LANDR brought it up closer to standard:
Yeah the original sounds great. The bass sounds really warm on my monitors. It's good where it's sitting in the mix in your version but I agree with AttenuationHz that if you want it to be louder that some precision frequency cuts combined with some limiting will end up sounding better. Definitely prefer your version either way :)
Blep

User avatar
mbfrancis
Posts: 648
Joined: 02 Feb 2015
Location: Orange County, CA
Contact:

28 Jul 2017

logicalpocket wrote:
26 Jul 2017
Yeah the original sounds great. The bass sounds really warm on my monitors. It's good where it's sitting in the mix in your version but I agree with AttenuationHz that if you want it to be louder that some precision frequency cuts combined with some limiting will end up sounding better. Definitely prefer your version either way :)
From all the feedback, feels like this needs a new mix - I've tweaked the lyric so will be remixing in a couple of weeks after we re-record and I'll repost.
Producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist. I make indie pop as Port Streets, 90s/shoegaze as Swooner, and Electro as Yours Mine.


User avatar
raymondh
Posts: 1776
Joined: 15 Jan 2015

28 Jul 2017

AttenuationHz wrote:
24 Jul 2017
Very good track Although I'm not too sure of the LANDR master myself I have to say. The vocals seem pushed to much in that version. Had a listen to the original and I think you could get better results either getting it mastered by an end user or doing it yourself.

I would probably take a good notch out of the bass for two reason.

Bass Atten..JPG

1. You'll get a snappier/pluckier bass when you run it trough a Maximiser/Limiter at the end of the chain.
2. Make room for the bass of the male vox which also could do with a slight 2-3dB reduction at the same frequency.

Both these attenuations will balance the female vox in the process. Making that stand out a lot more. The female vox would be very complimenting to the male.

The piano seems too bass heavy also at that frequency.

Might do with some gentle compression also before a maximiser as well as bus compression on the master although only let the needle move slightly.

I usually use the Mclass 1.65 ratio about 20db threshold between 57-66ms attack and a fast adaptive release around 165ms then adjust the gain to suite if done right you should not need to go over 1.65dB on the gain but between 1-1.3db is usually the sweet spot.

You'll probably want to slam the bass with a 6.5db ratio on an mclass to get it pluckier about 20 threshold no gain change or A/R after the eq notch. When its maximised on the master chain it might stand out better.

I'm a fan of duets myself its like aural tennis.
What awesome feedback - good on you for taking the time. I'm going to have to pick your brains at some stage - using compressors still seems a black art to me!!

User avatar
AttenuationHz
Posts: 2048
Joined: 20 Mar 2015
Location: Back of the Rack-1

28 Jul 2017

raymondh wrote:
28 Jul 2017
AttenuationHz wrote:
24 Jul 2017
Very good track Although I'm not too sure of the LANDR master myself I have to say. The vocals seem pushed to much in that version. Had a listen to the original and I think you could get better results either getting it mastered by an end user or doing it yourself.

I would probably take a good notch out of the bass for two reason.

Bass Atten..JPG

1. You'll get a snappier/pluckier bass when you run it trough a Maximiser/Limiter at the end of the chain.
2. Make room for the bass of the male vox which also could do with a slight 2-3dB reduction at the same frequency.

Both these attenuations will balance the female vox in the process. Making that stand out a lot more. The female vox would be very complimenting to the male.

The piano seems too bass heavy also at that frequency.

Might do with some gentle compression also before a maximiser as well as bus compression on the master although only let the needle move slightly.

I usually use the Mclass 1.65 ratio about 20db threshold between 57-66ms attack and a fast adaptive release around 165ms then adjust the gain to suite if done right you should not need to go over 1.65dB on the gain but between 1-1.3db is usually the sweet spot.

You'll probably want to slam the bass with a 6.5db ratio on an mclass to get it pluckier about 20 threshold no gain change or A/R after the eq notch. When its maximised on the master chain it might stand out better.

I'm a fan of duets myself its like aural tennis.
What awesome feedback - good on you for taking the time. I'm going to have to pick your brains at some stage - using compressors still seems a black art to me!!
There's simple trick to a compressor you should not be able to hear what its doing to a track when you bypass it to compare! If you stick a 2:1 ratio on any track your threshold is set correct when you see 2db of gain reduction your output gain should be also set to +2dB to compensate. Attack lets more transients/peaks in, release is the time it takes to release the compression (hold is the time held after attack but before release) not too much to it really! ;)
It is not too much of an ask for people or things to be the best version of itself!

User avatar
raymondh
Posts: 1776
Joined: 15 Jan 2015

28 Jul 2017

AttenuationHz wrote:
28 Jul 2017
raymondh wrote:
28 Jul 2017


What awesome feedback - good on you for taking the time. I'm going to have to pick your brains at some stage - using compressors still seems a black art to me!!
There's simple trick to a compressor you should not be able to hear what its doing to a track when you bypass it to compare! If you stick a 2:1 ratio on any track your threshold is set correct when you see 2db of gain reduction your output gain should be also set to +2dB to compensate. Attack lets more transients/peaks in, release is the time it takes to release the compression (hold is the time held after attack but before release) not too much to it really! ;)
good advice - thanks!

User avatar
aeox
Competition Winner
Posts: 3222
Joined: 23 Feb 2017
Location: Oregon

29 Jul 2017

Figured I'd comment again since you are remixing anyway. Been listening to this track quite a bit, just love it!

If you ever have any problems with the way it's sounding, it's always best to go back to the mix. Not that any of the issues mentioned in the thread can't be fixed in the mastering stage, they can to a degree. You will just get much better results fixing the issues in the mix.

I actually recorded a section of the non-LANDR track from soundcloud in audacity and gave a whack at it.

Along with the things that others mentioned, I think it could use some stereo imaging (but perhaps this is just a preference) Also I noticed the hats are a bit Lo-Fi sounding, for lack of a better description. They have this very high pitched ringing quality to them, if this was your intention then forget I mentioned it :P

User avatar
mbfrancis
Posts: 648
Joined: 02 Feb 2015
Location: Orange County, CA
Contact:

30 Jul 2017

aeox wrote:
29 Jul 2017
Figured I'd comment again since you are remixing anyway. Been listening to this track quite a bit, just love it!

If you ever have any problems with the way it's sounding, it's always best to go back to the mix. Not that any of the issues mentioned in the thread can't be fixed in the mastering stage, they can to a degree. You will just get much better results fixing the issues in the mix.

I actually recorded a section of the non-LANDR track from soundcloud in audacity and gave a whack at it.

Along with the things that others mentioned, I think it could use some stereo imaging (but perhaps this is just a preference) Also I noticed the hats are a bit Lo-Fi sounding, for lack of a better description. They have this very high pitched ringing quality to them, if this was your intention then forget I mentioned it :P
This is great feedback - yeah I think it definitely needs a new mix. The HHs are a loop, I think the LANDR master distorted them a bit, I can try to clean them up. I will post a new mix here when I do it -- thanks everyone for all the great feedback!
Producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist. I make indie pop as Port Streets, 90s/shoegaze as Swooner, and Electro as Yours Mine.

Post Reply
  • Information
  • Who is online

    Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 8 guests