1 Topic by bleakprospects

(0 replies, posted in Constructive Criticism)

Recently I've been amusing myself by trying some chiptune plugins for FL studio and tinkering around with the sounds. I can't stand chip drums, so I've been using MIDI mostly. I've also thrown in a few non-chip pads here and there for atmospherics.

Here are a few that are similar stylistically. I was going for some laid-back disasterpeace-inspired stuff:
King Phillip
Sleep, Monster
Tree House

Here I was going for a more raw sound and trying to do some slides:
30th St. Station
Gnome

Go to forum: Constructive Criticism

2 Reply by bleakprospects

(4 replies, posted in Constructive Criticism)

1st song: intense, reminds me a lot of some old boss battle music. It's all very well put together. My only criticism is the lead is maybe too harsh, but hey that's your style.

3rd: leads are very loud. They are interfering with each other a bit harmonically. Song gets really awesome around 1:24, very nice harmonies. Song takes me on a melodic journey, really sweet!

Go to forum: Constructive Criticism

3 Reply by bleakprospects

(1 replies, posted in Constructive Criticism)

Standard dance beat loop. Chords are basic Cmin Eflat B Cmin or something like it. Melodies are a bit uninspired. Bass beat is just up and down eighths in octaves. Songs fade out at the end. Takk ras is definitely the best of them.

I'm not sure what advice to give. Just try to branch out more with your melodies/chord structures more, and try to avoid looping when you can. Just try 4-6 bars in one beat, switch to something different, and switch back. Insert elements/hooks/harmonies that only occur every other bar, or to accent the melody. Look into the blues scale and more complex chords. Try doing drops and periods with less instrumentation.

As far as the sounds go, I think the ones you've chosen are okay, but they could be balanced and composed better. For one, they shouldn't be all legato, try inserting some little breaks between your notes, or have some instruments with a quick percussive decay. For the drums, add a few fills and transitions here and there instead of the same beat again and again.

Go to forum: Constructive Criticism

4 Reply by bleakprospects

(4 replies, posted in Constructive Criticism)

I listened to the first song, skimmed through the rest. It's good. On tones: I like all the leads, they're very soft and slidy. Your choice of bass tones is a bit harsh, and the bass is all a bit too loud. I think the bass just needs to be rounder and spread a bit more.  I like that you use chords instead of arps. Drums are typical 8-bit, nothing to like or hate about them honestly.

On composition: good all round, coherent. The songs are not too loopy.

But the songs all sound quite similar. That probably has a lot to do with the instrumentation, but the tempo and style is also quite similar. Basically: loud, centered bass doing 8ths on octaves, a thing going up and down scales on the left and right, and then a slidy melody. Not bad, just needs a bit of variation.

Go to forum: Constructive Criticism