I'm no expert with this kind of stuff but I don't see much wrong with it for what it is. Nothing stands out as being overly problematic. You've done a good job!

I think the bells (in the mid range) is a bit loud. I get what you are doing. Just lower it a tad.
Also, listen to this and that part really really soft. Does the bell appear to be too loud then?

Like the piece.

@hello - thank you for the listen and the feedback

@Bbd - Yep, it's the bells that are troubling me too. If I simply lower the level they seem to lose impact which is why I tried the compressor. Maybe I need to go back to the beginning and tweak the velocities of the notes (my playing leaves something to be desired ) Thanks for the feedback.

Hey...Nice one. I agree about the bells...pull them back a bit. I would like to hear more of those kool synths come to the front a bit. Also, just a personal taste: Maybe about 30-60 seconds shorter.

Hi Jon,

everything sounds fine when you tame the bells a bit. Apart from that it's a nice tune.

Chris, Oliver

Thank you for the listen and the feedback

It's always good to get opinions from others .. Time for a re-mix!

Second attempt following useful feedback above. (I tried to shorten it too but it wasn't working for me )

If anyone can spare the time to listen again I'd appreciate feedback on the bell levels now

Thanks

Yep this is a nice song.
Flows really well with good change-ups.

My input about the mix is only this:
At 0:18-0:32 the 'piano' sounds harsh.
But at 0:33 you drop the register and it fits my ear better.
Again at 0:51-1:05 & 2:10-2:25 it gets harsh to my ear again.
I'd think some EQ tweaks (or possibly the PreSonus "Multi-band Dynamics" plug) would smooth it out, not a lower volume.

Scotty, thank you for the listen and the feedback. I'm a little confused by your reference to the harsh 'piano'. I think what you are referring to is the 'bell' that I am having issues with? I'll look at using the mult-band to tame it a little and see if that helps It's a shame because I really like the sound (as anyone who listens to any of my stuff will have noticed) but sometimes it does seem to get a bit 'harsh' in the mix as this particular patch is very velocity sensitive it seems.

Thanks again

Well it's the main melody instrument that I'm referring to.
Which sounds like a piano with effects to me.

I did read the whole chain and anything resembling a bell (of a cymbal or church tower) seemed it was an underlying sound.
But with VI's I'm no expert at identifying the instrument type.

Sorry if I'm confused.

I decided to take a listen, before reading any comments. Even before reading your description of what you're going for. In fact, I turned off my "mixing engineer" module of my brain entirely.
From that perspective, having listened just to enjoy some new music, I didn't hear anything "wrong" whatsoever.
Then I activated my nitpick audio engineer module in my brain, and...
I still really couldn't find any significant fault with the mix, but....

The overall vibe is expansive, and has that certain lushness in space... an ambience. But the snare and toms could use some more late reverb, to my ear. They seem to be in a smaller space than everything else. I probably would use Studio One's Open Air reverb on the snare, with emphasis on late reverb tail (not so much the early reflections.....those might not mesh with the ambience).

So, to my ear (as a perpetual newbie/hobbyist)... getting the percussion to sound more in the same space as everything else would be the thing to adjust.

But still, it's really good as is!

scottyo7 wrote
Sorry if I'm confused.

Scotty - no problem .. it's not a real instrument so I'm probably at fault even calling it a bell in the first place lol !

sirmonkey wroteThe overall vibe is expansive, and has that certain lushness in space... an ambience. But the snare and toms could use some more late reverb, to my ear. They seem to be in a smaller space than everything else. I probably would use Studio One's Open Air reverb on the snare, with emphasis on late reverb tail (not so much the early reflections.....those might not mesh with the ambience).

So, to my ear (as a perpetual newbie/hobbyist)... getting the percussion to sound more in the same space as everything else would be the thing to adjust.

But still, it's really good as is!

Sirmonkey - thank you for the listen and the feedback I have to say 'well spotted' ! This is the first time I've used Battery in anger and you're right, there is a definite mis-match of reverb on the various percussion parts (especially the snare). Now you have mentioned it, it sticks out to me like a sore thumb when I listen again. I will definitely go back and look at that.

As always, great feedback from people here. I learn something new every time I post it seems

Hey Jon, really nice tune. Very cinematic, well balanced, and lot's of interesting elements and transitions. Reading through the comments as I listened and I think @sirmonkey is right on. Big dramatic and expansive drums would add lots to this already very good piece.

Hi Mike .. thank you for the listen and the feedback

Have you not listened to what I usually post in here? I don't do 'dramatic' lol .. I think I already pushed my envelope on percussion with this piece Saying that though, I do get what you mean. I've just 'discovered' Battery, (which I have had for ages but never used), and am quite impressed with it .. so .. who knows .. next time I may push my percussive envelope even further!

Thanks again.
Jon

Oh, I didn't mean to change them up at all. I was really just echoing sirmonkey's observation. They're good as they are!

miked7 wroteOh, I didn't mean to change them up at all. I was really just echoing sirmonkey's observation. They're good as they are!

Ah .. sorry Mike .. phew, I was getting a bit worried about having to get more dramatic lol