Here it is in all its glory. Criticism and suggestions for improvement welcome.
EDIT: I’ve edited / remastered the track! Hits QUITE a bit harder, sounds much more polished and finished. Have another listen:
The overall mix is great - you’ve got a nice bass coming through and the top end is well balanced. You’re builds are excellent - they really work well to create expectation over extended periods of the track which are brilliant.
My only criticism is that the drops that happen after your two big rises are lacking that extra punch and drive to make them really standout moments. Maybe adding some extra compressed ‘boomy’ drop FX at the key moments and some additional melodic phrases here would help. Once they’ve been sorted I think you’ve got a killer track here. Good stuff!
I hope that nice lady finds her clothes soon as well. She looks very unhappy about everything.
I think its a great track. One thing I disliked was one of your risers has too much low in it… Definately drowns out a lot of whats going on around it.
Well done!
Thanks for the feedback, guys! Spent a lot of time on it. So pumped to hear positive feedback.
Also, Michael Brun (on Hardwell’s label!!) actually sent me some feedback saying the mix was a bit cluttered. Do you agree?
Wickedged: Not sure what you mean by “the drops that happen after your big rises” – do you mean during the driving section of the track, the little breaks between phrases?
I also agree that it needs SOMETHING additional melodically in these sections. I played with it a lot and couldn’t find a melody / rhythm that worked like I wanted; layering multiple melodies is one of the things I struggle most with.
MistroPain: Was the riser with too much low during one of the build ups, or at the end of the driving sections before the breakdown? Will check this out.
Very cool arrangement and sound design! Also, i think the boomy riser is the one that starts at 2:45. There seems to be a LOT of low end which kind of muddies up that section. May want to EQ it out since the ‘beef’ of the riser rests in the upper mid-range.
Don’t have a sub – definitely can’t hear that. But will go in and clean it up. Thanks for the heads up guys.
Gonna give it a bit more polishing and then repost the updated version for critique.
Listening again vs. some big name progressive / electro house tracks. Noticing some issues, but maybe my ears deceive me:
- Mix seems a bit muddy overall, but especially in the low end.
- Mix isn’t quite as “bright” as larger releases – high end seems to need a little brightening / sparkle?
- Overall loudness is a little lacking.
Thoughts?
I liked it, synths sound good but it does lack a bit or airy brightness. and the overall volume could be a bit louder. I liked the cowbell break too 
sounds pretty nice to me , really like the vibe and energy in this one. I think you just have to eq a bit the high end and it’s perfect.
Nice work! I’ve enjoyed it even though I don’t listen to this kind of music 
Yeah, that’s the feeling I get every time I listen to it – just a little muddy and flat. Needs tightening and sparkle.
Time to go back through some SA tutorials to get it just right.
Thanks for the feedback. Will post again once it’s a bit more polished.
OK boys and girls! I’ve edited / remastered the track!
Hits QUITE a bit harder, sounds much more polished and finished! :w00t: Have another listen:
It definately hits harder but that might be cause I have a new soundcard 
Mixdown wise I think maybe if you sidechained the bass a little more the kick it’d do better cause at the moment when the track goes full energy the kick is overpowered by the bass. Its thump is noticeable though, its just I cant hear it all too well?
Yep – turns out I had accidentally turned the side chain compressor for the bass off, so it was running willy nilly.
I actually fixed that and reuploaded again. Have another; should be better.
Wow I really enjoyed that good job thegeek
The new mix sounds much better - great job!
Thanks – still not quite happy when I compare to the big Electro House names. Just doesn’t have that “melt your face off” factor.
But… I happened to meet Darth & Vader on Saturday night after he played a show here, so maybe he’ll be able to share some pro tips, and maybe even help me get it signed if I schmooze him up right.
Thanks again for the feedback everyone. A completely insane Moombahcore / Ghetto Bass track is next.
Definately sounds better, everything seems audible and the kick is much better now!
Hey mate, it’s a really good track. Though you’re right about the ‘melt your face off factor’.
I don’t produce this genre so I don’t know exactly what’s needed. I’d say that the lead synths need to a little harsher/more saturate perhaps to make them really pop out of the mix.
There’s nothing wrong with this track at all it just needs a little insider production knowledge/polish to give it 110% factor.
Yep, totally – if you compare it to recent releases of this type by the big names, it just doesn’t “pop.” For example, compare the track to this:
SoundCloud - Hear the world’s sounds
When you listen to the track (I have the .AIFF file from Beatport, so it’s not an MP3 thing), there’s a lot more midrange grit on nearly every sound, and the synths just sort of “sing” more. The kicks are shorter and tighter, not quite as loud, but really punchy. Overall, though, the track has less low end.
As far as what you were saying about my track – I spent ENDLESS amounts of time trying to get the synths to have that bite. They are already REALLY heavily saturated, but maybe some more EQ adjustments will get them there.
My gut is telling me that the issue on my track is that the low end is too heavy and I’m overdoing the compression in that frequency range, leaving less room in the mix for mid / highs to give it that bite. I probably need to back off on the overall limiting on the track, pull back the low end some, and get agressive with the synth EQs. I have a feeling once I do that it’ll really go off.
OK…ONE more pass at it and then I’m going to move on as it’s taken enough of my time. I’ve already written and COMPLETED another entire track in WAY less than the time I spent on mastering “Chains”!!! :w00t:
OK, spent a little more time on it and uploaded it. Pulled the bass compression back a bit, brightened synths a touch, played with snares, and EQ’d out some serious mud in the low midrange. Tightened the kick quite a bit, too.
I think it sounds a lot nicer. Let me know what you guys think.