Phil / Bryan, any chance of casting your ears over this

Can you give me your critical input on this , need some pointers on where to improve…br
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https://soundcloud.com/richard-hepworth-1/h-e-p-ryda/s-7EY5vbr
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You seem to have a decent understanding of what sounds need to be where and how they should be arranged.br
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I think you need to focus more on what they are playing.br
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upi to the break its not bad although it feels like there could be a bit more groove… to much stuff on 4,8,16. try moving more percussion in to 5,7,9,15 etbr
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The main riff is where it really starts to go wrong for me.br
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The chords are not really working with the bass or arp… it started off great i liked the riff you had coming in but then the bass note was off… it created a suspended chord which gives too much instability at the start of the riff… suspended chords are best left to the end of the progression then when it comes back to bar 1 your first “strong” chord becomes the resolve.br
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This should be pretty easily resolved with different bass notes.br
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just check that everything is in key. if you need more info watch the music theory videos.br

Thanks for the quick response Phil.br
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Noted re the groove, I tried to put some swing across the percussive elements but you’re right it’s is very much on 4,8,16br
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Music theory is certainly not my strong point, I just try to go with what sounds right to me. Obviously not working in this case! I will revisit all the bass, pads and arp and try and get them working together better.br
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What about the general production mix? listening back, I keep wondering whether it’s a bit lacking in the mids

Yeah the mix is a bit of… im guessing you are on smallish speakers… the mix seems to be all bunched up in the lower mids as if you are trying to get more bass out of your speakers or something.br
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I would try to shift the kick boom down from the 100-200 range to 60-80 range. it sound quite muddy.br
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or maybe dry a different kick. im loving the first kick in the Ultimate drums prog pack at the minute. have it on everything.br
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all your production touches and FX sound great… nice atmosphere etc. just think you need to get the kick/bass/claps combo a bit more solid and modern.br
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Yeah that makes sense, I’ve got some dynaudio monitors, which are good, but I generally have to do everything in my headphones which are excellent in terms of hearing everything in the mix, but they’re not great on the low end.br
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Even when I do listen through the monitors the room I’m in is awful, smallish, standing waves all over the shop!br
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Cheers for the advice, it’s much appreciated, will get there in the end…

if you do updates post them and im happy to try to help.