Hey everyone!

This is my first song ever uploaded for listening on the net.  Any tips/suggestions are welcome.  I am still going to revise the song, but I am putting it out here to see what you all think. 

#url-removed

Hmm for a first track it's not the worst ever. I can't really say much here as it sounds quite similar to my first track, quite random with several changes in percussion etc. You've defo got the right idea tho. Experience is one of the most important things in producing, particularly with FL as it has many features that you only discover after lots of usage (such as grouping + automating controls on the VST's).

I look forward to more tracks by you.

Dude,

My respect for you is growing.  You have been nothing but nice to me since I have joined this forum.  Thanks!  Alright, enough mushy crap. 

That was really a nice way to say I have a lot of work to do, which I do know.  I have noticed that the song sounded different in that link than it did on my pc.  Also, the bass was too loud.  Furthermore, I lost some volume on some of the drum rolls somehow. 

Is this what is referred to as mastering?  ( Making the sounds have good volumes comparatively )

One more thing...I don't think I had a trance lead in that one.  I have stuggled so far with a good sounding lead.  It will start to sound good.  But, as soon as I add other instruments, it sounds bad.  I guess that is part of the learning curve.

It is fun indeed though :-)

Thanks again..oh, and if you have any tips, that is cool too.  ( Unless this song is so jacked up that tips will come when my songs get better later, that is cool if that is the case...lol )

Later,
Tim.

Originally posted by toolmania1

I have noticed that the song sounded different in that link than it did on my pc.  Also, the bass was too loud.  Furthermore, I lost some volume on some of the drum rolls somehow. 

Is this what is referred to as mastering?  ( Making the sounds have good volumes comparatively )

Mastering would be the last resort, when the mix is already nice, and consistency still has something left to be desired. Getting the right balance have much more to do with the mixing. In fact, you might find yourself spending more time mixing than anything else. But that would be from my experience, anyway.

Originally posted by toolmania1

One more thing...I don't think I had a trance lead in that one.  I have stuggled so far with a good sounding lead.  It will start to sound good.  But, as soon as I add other instruments, it sounds bad.  I guess that is part of the learning curve.

It is fun indeed though :-)

This is also part of tricks in mixing, which I think with a little push you will really easily catch on. If you haven't yet, you might want to do a little research with regards to equalization and mixing. You see, the instruments sound different when mixed together because they are trying to get into each others' frequency spectrum. In fact, some tracks, for example, the bass, do not need the higher frequencies, so maybe you can take the upper frequencies of the bass track down so that it will leave room for the treble. It's really a matter of providing space for each of the instruments. So, it might also help to be familiar with the common areas certain instruments might find themselves in the frequency spectrum. You'll get the hang of these things in time.

Anyway, to be honest, I have not listened to your track yet. I will listen to it some time when I have produced something myself. I am actually working on tracks for my project, Andrei Concept.

Very cool man. 

Ya, I think I follow with the frequency spectrum.  I did not really think to cut out what was not needed for each instrument.  It makes sense though.

I have been toying with that song some already.  We’ll see pretty soon.  

Can't believe I missed this! Thanks a lot Tim, that's a really great thing to hear. And it's no problem, I know how confusing it is starting off producing using FL Studio. However when you get into it proper it's a great neat program.

And yeah tips will probably come in more useful when you've made some more tracks. Just keep experimenting and you'll understand more about song layering/structure and how they should be composed.

Ben

Btw if it says edited by Ben under your post, it's cos I accidently edited your post originally instead of posting a new reply. LOL.

I have an updated version
http://www.myspace.com/toolmania1

I had some issues before with myspace.  But, now it is working for me.  So, I posted my newest version.  I have learned some about mixing and such over the past few weeks, so this version sounds a little cleaner/tighter.  Anyone who would like to leave feedback, thanks in advance.  It would really help me out. 
http://www.myspace.com/toolmania1

Ok! This is pretty long, so I apologize in advance LOL

Perhaps I'm being Captain Obvious (or maybe Captain Ignorant), the song has a very ragtime feel to it. So it may be a little hard for me to decide how to go about improving it. I have to say that the idea of blending jazz with trance seems really new to me. Maybe you've heard of Jean-Michel Jarre? I find that some of his work seems to be similar to what you're perhaps after. Not only that, he's one of the earliest and most influential pioneers of electronic music, so he may be someone to research for ideas as well.

There's nothing particularly "wrong" which stands out. I do think your main kick is a little quiet and this is partly because your other percussion sounds are overwhelming it. The kick doesn't have to be really flagrant, but it does help to make it stand out more. I'm also not too big on the snare sample(s) you're using, just as a matter of personal taste.

I think your piano melody could be improved if you used some chords and added longer sustain times so they sound off for a longer time and keep up the atmosphere. The lead you enter after the break seems to be too loud as well, which also drowns out your percussion sounds. Also, the lead seems to be phasing. At times, it sounds really loud and then suddenly becomes real quiet again, and then gets louder. Is that intentional? May I ask how you made the lead?

When you enter that lead just before the 3-minute mark, the melodies of that and the horn-like sound seem to clash in some parts, at least in each 4th measure. This also seems to be the case during the piano melody at the end of the song. Are you using any particular music scale? Or maybe that's intentional given the nature of the music you're going for? I know that ragtime or other forms of jazz music can seem to clash melodies to add a more chaotic element. I'm just trying to better understand what you're aiming for.

But overall, I think you have some right ideas here. Again, I have to say that this is  a very interesting concept you're doing by mixing pieces of trance and forms of jazz. I hope this helps you along. Please forgive me if I sounded too harsh or anything at any point.