Hi, just finished this track used the ANA synth on quite a few channels, and think it makes quite a nice sound. Constructive criticism would be gratefully received (always room for improvements!). Thanks Ian
It’s sounding good already - I think you could try using a splash of reverb on those instruments to see how that sounds
Thanks Bryan, I see what you mean, it did sound a tad dry when I listen to it again after a few days gap. I’ll have a tweak and let you know how I get on.
Cheers
Ian
PS I think your tutorials are great, it’s a shame you don’t do more, even if you’re revisiting the same genre from time to time. Good advice and always funny to listen to the banter between you and Chris! All the best
Hi Bryan - just had chance to take another look at the track I created. It’s amazing what a bit of reverb can do!!
https://soundcloud.com/blacklift/aella-v2
Cheers
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good work sounds well
drums have maybe fallen a little bit far back in the mix and lost their bite, but its not far away
You could also try sidechaining the reverb with the main riff. this helps to only have reverb on the tail and keeps the riff upfront but still adds a sence of space. we use this in Trance 2.0
Trance 2.0 Supersaws Its about 17 mins in
Good job mate I like the overall tune! Can’t really hear the mix I’m in my phone at the minute ha! 
Third time Lucky!?
Hello, and thanks for your comments, they do help.
Well, I had another listen, and decided to try again.
The first one was too dry and the the second a bit murky. So, I stripped out all the plugins and re-eq’ed the whole track. It sounded much better and apart from a few instances of overdrive and BX digital’s refinement plugin on some parts i’ve left it at that. Maybe a case of less is more.
I didn’t want the kick to be too dominant so i’ve left it back a bit, but I bet if it was pumped up on a big system it would still thump enough (clarification needed here, I can’t have it too loud in my house, or else the neighbours might be paying me a visit!!). I’ve also tried to incorporate some of that side chain reverb on the riff, it’s quite tricky to tame but it does add an interesting effect and generally helped to thicken out the part!
Three mixes that all sound quite different…
Here’s the link to the third, which I do think sounds much better than the previous two.
https://soundcloud.com/blacklift/aella-v3
Thanks, and all the best
Ian
Definitely sounding better.
I do think the drums/bass could do with more oomph… Ive attached version i did where i added a slightly stronger kick and some hat/clap layers from Ultimate drums Vol 2 Prog House. for the Bass I have 3 Layers… BA Movements and Dance Clarinet from ANA Vol 8 and Bass Pluck from Vol 3. Ive also attached the Kick too. Its from Kick 2 
Aslo the top line melody sounds like it needs quantised
Hi Phil
Thanks for doing this, you’ve made it sound much punchier! and it really makes the riff and lead part bounce along, which is what I was aiming for. Am I right in thinking you analysed the bass part, reprogrammed the part, then cut out 250 hz or so down then replaced it with your parts as well as sticking a nice skippy hat line over the top? If yes, then I appreciate you taking the time, Thanks!.
Incidentally are your referring to Ost & Meyers Kick 2 presets. I have this and wondered what preset it was, I guess you might have tweaked it slightly, if you did would you mind forwarding me the preset so I can see how you did it. The biggest problem I have ( and I guess it’s the same for a lot of novice edm musicians ) is tweaking or making presets that don’t turn the whole mix into mud.
So, ANA volume 8 & 3 eh…
Thanks again
Ian
I just Grabbed the riff from the break… and yeah a bit of filtering to get rid of the Bass.
The Kick is from Kick v2 which we are currently beta testing… but you could just use the sample for now until its released.
I think the way you had the snare and clap on very other beat was slowing it down a bit. for the hats i tend to layer 3-4 hat loops, it can give you more intricacies and vibe.
…cool, i’ll give it a go over the week end.
Cheers
Hello again Phil
It’s taken me a few goes, but I think i’ve had better success at setting the levels on this one. Probably not the greatest prog trance track going but I really think i’ve made some progress on the production side. I haven’t done a version four just replaced version three…
https://soundcloud.com/blacklift/aella-v3
Also as I was so amazed by the difference in the level setting to my normal stuff I tried it on another track. Progressive house this time, sorry if it borrows heavily from your Pryda house tutorial, but you gotta start somewhere!!
https://soundcloud.com/blacklift/switch
Cheers and thanks for the help!
Ian
Defo much more vibey mix… sounds very belivable… only thing in the first track i would say is on my system the kick sub sounds a bit woody… maybe just notch out a bit around 120k not much just enough for it to sit down in the mix a little.