"It's no Joke" my second track I ever finished

[livefortoday]

...wich means there must be a LOT the bash!

I wasn't sure to put it in the rock or in the electronic section, because it does have two recorded guitars and mostly "organic" MIDI instruments except for the lead pad, so correct me if it's in the wrong place here.

The two guitars are recorded (clean signal) and use guitar amp emulators from Guitar Rig 3. The rest is all MIDI. After the mix was done I added some compression in Soundforge, offcourse to be able to make the bix a bit louder.
The drums at the "main melody" (the one it starts with) are supposed to be drum 'n' bass like, but at the moment I don't feel like it has enough balls (it's just normal drum kit samples without effects), and I wouldn't know how or where to get that drum 'n' bass sound. I did use a reverb with a compressor over it on the drums at the middle part though.

For the rest, I'm sure this wouldn't be played on the radio (sound-wise) and I'm sure you must think so too so bash it to the ground please

[Dinaiz]

I like the production :-) . About the mix, I think it sounds a little bit "computer made" if you see what I mean, especially the drums. Maybe you could solve that by using another VST or different samples ? Or add by randomizing a little bit the velocity, to simulate a real drummer? I dunno but I think there's room for improvement on the drums. Also I don't hear any hi-hats or cymbals whatsoever, except around 1:45 - 1:55 is this intended ?

Well I'm learning to mix as you ave noticed, so I can't give you too much advice. But I think the production itself is very good and interesting !

[fHumble fHingaz]

Very interesting & original mix of styles you've got here - I could envision this being a movie or TV theme - It could work, but it won't be any easy job combining these disparate elements... It seems like you're going for a variation on the Drums'n'bass theme, & herein lies the biggest weakness in your mix: The drums and bass are very small sounding - they need to be the feature, then you can build the rest of the mix around them. Eq. wise you need to sculpt & shave the other elements of the mix (ie. the lead & the orchestral stuff) to fit in around the D & B, while not reducing or detracting from them in any way. For example, the lead sound is HUGE & fat, but it's hogging a lot of the frequency spectrum down low, making the drums & bass appear small by comparison. Parallel compression across drums & bass can sometimes be very helpful in maintaining a big presence in a mix, so you might want to explore that. Good to hear someone trying to push the envelope with original ideas & different approaches - keep it up!

[livefortoday]

Thanks for the commentary I'll look into this parallel compression thing! And Dinaiz you had a point with the robotic thing, I actually hadn't heard that before, but now I just got out of bed and I heard it freshly. I never "needed" cymbals in the sound except for the hi-hat at 1:45-1:55, in my head the bass and snare drum just did it, but now I'm going to look to add some cymbals. Not before I've got the drum n bass sound right though, maybe then I don't need them anymore.

[Dinaiz]

If you find the right drum'n bass sound, please share, cause I'm struggeling with that too, and I'd bet we're not the only ones ;-)

[demonkingjj]

Awesome. Definitely reminds me of MUSE in some parts. It does sound very fake though. And I'm not a fan of the brass, but other than that it's really cool.

[Vanan]

Sounds like an alternate theme song to the Kill Bill series. Can see it being used in a Tarantino movie. Cool idea man. I don't think there *needs* to be cymbals. Unless you're going for a more organic drum feel or more emphasis on the rock aspect and not the drum n bass aspect of this track. The lead part in the beginning seems a lil too much in the foreground. Seems to fit better in the mix later on.

Nice!

[livefortoday]

Thanks for the compliments. I agree with the fake sound, I mean I think you mean the drums at the first part, but especially on the orchestra at the beginning right? I'll try some more reverb over that last one, especially to "smudge" the strings section a bit, hope that works.