bloodstar - dead in plastic [in progress]

[BloodStar]

hi guys,

this is my first track after moving to new flat. i must get used to new accoustics and feeling of the room. it's one of first mixes from ableton. needs more work, tho.

http://www.shadowdistrict.net/mp3/bl...plastic_v1.mp3

[DannyBlack]

Listening now matey. :-)

[DannyBlack]

Bloody marvelous, the dave clarke-esque kick (What was her name) is tidy. Great atmospheric track, the title really lends itself to the dark eerie feeling you have going on there. That old school feeling synth was totally unexpected and slots perfectly in there too.

Top notch work skin.

[rhythmtech]

sounds good.. very eerie like danny said.

the track as a whole is a little over compressed which is adding too much pump to the overall mix (not talking about the side-chaining on the synth) not sure whats causing this without being able to see the mix but i suspect its the kick. it feels very very subby but without the impact and the large amounts of sub could be causing the compressor to react in this way and in turn losing the kick in the mix in places.

also the drums could be a bit louder in the mix.

good job overall that can be easily made better.

really like the little funky bit in the break :-)

[BloodStar]

cheers guys.

yes, you're right Baz, there is way too much compression. :) I have got 3 sub groups in there. I think the problem is in drum buss, where not all channels which are coming in are treated as good as they should be. first i will check the kick, eq it, and maybe layer another punchy one for more presence.

will also try how it sounds with lower compression on separate groups as I went too wild on those Abbey Road limiters :D

cheers ;-)

[rhythmtech]

cheers guys.

yes, you're right Baz, there is way too much compression. :) I have got 3 sub groups in there. I think the problem is in drum buss, where not all channels which are coming in are treated as good as they should be. first i will check the kick, eq it, and maybe layer another punchy one for more presence.

will also try how it sounds with lower compression on separate groups as I went too wild on those Abbey Road limiters :D

cheers ;-)

yeah those abbey road limiters are a little touchy!!

another thing im just noticing is the release on the limiter is set way too long. i understand the style you're going for when the kick isnt in the track. i love that myself where the music lifts up and then gets sucked back down when the kick comes back but your limiter release is set way to high and the music slowly lifts in volume which sounds odd.

also on your sub groups try minimal compression. remember that a lot of small amounts of compression thru-out the chain is much better than fewer heavy compressions.

[BloodStar]

hehe, yeah those limiters are the main problem in there. i will bypass them and see how it sounds. normally i am using compressors subtly, ussually with gain reduction not bigger than 2 or 3 dBs,.

will revise all fx chains and make new mixage.

thanks for proper advice!

[rhythmtech]

try the new sonalksis maxlimit. its not very transparent but adds a lovely vibe to a track. ive remastered my power_plant track with it and posted it in here.

you can get a 30 day demo from their site..

[BloodStar]

saw it the other day on KVR. will grab a demo from their site and give it a try. cheers

[Jay Pace]

Allo mate

I liked this man, but i thought the compression and sidechaining was waay OTT. I'm not massively into this side of things these days, but in plenty of places in the track, it sounded like you'd laid down some pretty funky arrangements, bass and synth combos and perc that were just getting lost by the compressors sucking around the kick. This might have been what you were going for so if so ignore my dumb ass, but for me it felt like stuff was just getting buried under over aggressive sidechaining, and the constant sucking of the synth parts distracted me from what was going on, until I couldn't really focus on anything else.

I'll give it another couple of goes on different systems, might sound different on speakers (jus on headphones sadly) but might be something to look at.

Sounded like a really cool track man, I liked the change in styles, the offbeat kicks and the rhythmic changes but to me it just felt like everything you had going on was being drowned out by over compressed synths being sucked into the mix around the kicks.

[BloodStar]

hi Jay, thanks for comment. Yeah, the track is overcompressed. in fact, there is no sidechaining at all, but I guess it sounds like it, as both subgroups are way too overcompressed so they are fighting one against the other. I will work on it during weekend. First, I will bypass compressors, and then will see, hehe.

cheers.

[stjohn]

yoyo.. like they said.. everything is bit mashed!! but the track itself sounds nice.. would love to hear it without compression on the busses tho!! ;)

[ORIS]

Love the track, but I can't wait for the un-compressed version.

Good stuff mate!

[dirty_bass]

Word up Vlasta

Lemme dig right into the compression.

Firstly, for bussing and overall mix compression, never use limiters, as a rule, to achieve dynamic effect.
Limiters are too hard, don`t act musically, and generally have horrible attack and release behaviour for this kind of thing. They generally are too abrupt in behaviour and make things very flat and mechanical.
Use limiters for controlling peaks and transients.

Now a good rule of thumb when you have overcompression like this, you can hear how the compression has sucked the life out of the kick, letting just a sharp "click" thorugh and then some sub?
If you begin to back off the compression attack the kick will start to sound more rounded as the "nose" of the kick starts to poke through.
This is a good way to get that heavy compression sound without killing the kick.

For this kind of super pumped mix I would use 2 compressors on the mix bus.
One giving the pump, and then a second smoothing things out just a little, post pump.

COmpression is very important in techno, but it`s all in the attack and release, and esepcially the attack and release behaviour of the compressors you are using.
Trial and error...........

I like the guitar that comes into this later on, totally unexpected!

Great sounds and ideas overall but it`s hard to comment properly until the compression madness is sorted out.

[StoQ]

feelin this shite, u'll fix it and have nice track.

[vinvanman]

No advise for yea, just like to say i like the track and the ideas you got going, love the synths nice funky feel to it, good tune.

[BloodStar]

cheers mate. glad you like it.

i must give it final touch, once i am not too busy :/

[BRADLEE]

Hey Vlasta, want me to remix this one too? Be like the olds days....

Kick is a little bit clicky homie.....But sounding like a cool concept for sure.

[platform1]

love the track mate... that heavy pumping works really well the the glitch percussion and the side chained pad sound... a well good track

[Little_Fella!]

Tell you what I'm bumping this post because the compression tips are bang on... you laid this up in October!

thing is it's better to have a good example of how a track can not be quite right (max respect Vlasta! ;) so we can listen and 'see' what's wrong

Like the track n can see that (back in October!) your strtetching out - - good work this Vlasta n I'm glad you are infusing a little crazy touch to your stuff...