The Initiation

[carbon111]

The Initiation:
http://soundcloud.com/carbon111/the-initiation

Lead Drones are from the SCI Prophet 600, Piano is Nord Stage, Pads are provided by Nord Wave, and Metallic Stabs and Drums are Korg Oasys.

[seamonkey]

Excellent! I really like this one a lot. Very well crafted song, choice of instrumental parts is minimal but tasty and with purpose. I think the mix is right on the money and the drums fit this mood perfectly.
I read the lyrics on another forum, and I like the vocal harmony on the chorus.

One of my favorites that you've done so far.

[carbon111]

Thanks! It came together pretty well.

I only finished it in the wee hours of this morning and wanted to sign off on the mix before my ears went totally wrong.

...I'll probably tweak it jut a little more but wanted to get a feel for people's impressions as it stands.

[carbon111]

Okay, I've revisited the mix a bit now, improving vocal definition and instrument separation.

[carbon111]

Anybody?

I appreciate any criticism people can offer.

[carbon111]

The Listening Lounge is a deserted wasteland.

[Zamise]

Bring up your vocs a bit cause they arn't that bad, pretty good actually, and bring up some of the bass and treb, you've got a hit with me then now dude.

[carbon111]

Thanks Zamise!

I'll bring the vox up just a tad but I'll leave the final EQ to my mastering engineer.

[iphoenix]

Hey James , nice one, yes indeed you are on a roll, I like both your new tracks. Very nice.
My favourite is this one though (The Initiation), though the other track 'Silver Thread 'is also excellent. (lovely dreamy lyrics too)
Great moody dark vibe here.. the vocals & synth sounds blend together perfectly & suit the lyrics. It has an almost 80s 'new romantic' & gothic menacing vibe that I like a lot .I could not fault the mix . I like the vocals , great that they are, mixed back a bit amongst the synths like youve done it. I think thats the one!
May you be happy & well. Paul

[novielo]

very nice track carbon! like zamise suggested, i would also bring up the vocal. while listening to your track i thought that maybe you could try to lower the bit rate of the vocal, or double it with the second with lower bit rate. with the vibe of you song, i think a lower-fi vocal would suite the needs of the song.

i love how the synth "breath" around 2:40

[carbon111]

Thanks again, everybody! Your points are all well-taken!

[th0mas]

Cool track!

Critical feedback:

The lead synth part and the vocals are in the same frequency range. Consider panning or stereo widening one of the parts to add clarity. I do something a lot that people look down on, but it'd sound awesome here: take that lead part, copy it in your DAW, delay the second copy by 10 ms, pan one near hard left and one hard right.

People look down on this because if you mix back to mono you will get phase cancellation, which is completely true. But the effect in stereo is fattening.

[carbon111]

Thanks Thomas for the observation!

I think judicious use of EQ would probably be a more "permanent" fix.

I'm on it now!

[EmptySet]

I'd boost the vox for sure with maybe a little eq boost on 1k-2k. Also, i'd bring down the bongo/conga sounds just a teeny bit. they get a little overbearing to my ears. but only a little. there's also this constant buzzing quality throughout the whole song. not a bad quality, but be careful it doesn't get overdone. all just my opinions of course. good song!