AFL – Synthwave first attempt

[AFL]

Hey all, here is my first piece to post to the new forum!

It’s been a bit of a dry spell for me with making music lately but I’ve recently gotten into Synthwave music and felt inspired to try making my own track.

This is after a day of making a 8bar loop and then working on arrangement and some basic automations. I still want to work more on some transitions and fx, maybe a vocal of some sort but I think it’s a good start.

https://soundcloud.com/afl-wips/synthwave-attempt-15/s-KFRCbTDRzG1

 

 

 

[AFL]

I posted this from mobile and the link doesn’t seem to be working for me so let me know if I need to change it.

I’ll check on the computer tomorrow.

[PR23]

the link is not there….

[DEHN]

I tried a copy/paste of the link and the track was not there. So I actually think something went wrong in the copy/paste

This track was not found. Maybe it has been removed Learn more

[AFL]

Yeah I removed it this morning when I woke up, worked on it some more and have a new upload now.

99bpm
E minor

Try this:

https://soundcloud.com/afl-wips/synthwave-attempt-1/s-4l9BVOasu78?si=bd075a31bbe04b18944aba6db4ccc9df&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

 

[SCHEPPERZ]

Hey John, what I love the most is that nasty growling bassline. But foremost I do think the track were rendered with some sort of of automation, filter or something else. The entire mix is almost mono. 

Especially that synth feels too far away (almost like sounding through a cabinet). But apart from that I really like the theme and the percs. Length is ok for that track and could be even a bit shorter. First impression though, hope that helps.

[AFL]

Thanks Schepz! Appreciate the listen, I’ll take a look at that. I had only listened in headphones so far lol I had also thought it could be a little shorter, I had extended it slightly but I think I’ll shorten the first half by a few bars and see how it flows.

I’ll also look at what I can do for the low end as per your comment below.

Cheers!

[AFL]

Lmao yeah so for whatever reason “convert to mono” was selected on my export options.

[AFL]

Lmao yeah so for whatever reason “convert to mono” was selected on my export options.

[SCHEPPERZ]

P.S. The low end needs more punch. Maybe more sidechaining on the bass.

[AFL]

Ok I’ve now bounced in all it’s stereo goodness lol

https://soundcloud.com/afl-wips/synthwave-attempt-15/s-KFRCbTDRzG1?si=cf2333a6a9e642ba9145056af6975ac4&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

[AFL]

First thing I notice is there is too much sizzle in the high frequency of the opening pad. Gotta tame some shit there

[Denats]

Sounding good, there was a lot of “crunch” in the bassline that jumped out at me, I’d dial that back a bit. Agree also with AFL that the pad needed to be tamed a little.  It also wasn’t sitting that well against the other lead item between 2:55 and 3:10ish.

Nice overall vibe though, enjoyed it

[AFL]

Thanks for listening man!

[Ben Hunt]

Really cool vibe. I think the drums could come up and the bass could come down a touch, and also the bass felt really wide so maybe dial the stereo width back a bit.

Might be nice to have more of a buildup before the breakdown, risers and opening filters etc. and personally I’d like it to be a longer stripping things back for an outro as it seemed to end quite abruptly, but digging where this is heading.

[SCHEPPERZ]

Yeah, what a difference in stereo lol 🙂 This track has the potential (at least for me) to run in an endless loop – it’s just so fucking good. Totally reminder, somehow, to Stranger Things. Love it. I second what has been said about the bass’ stereo width. More to the mids and less to the sides. Also bring those percs up a bit, especially the clap/snare.  The bass is great but in that loudness masks all the other super elements. I do also think the tracks’ flow could also benefit if the bass would get a better transition / fade out (e.g. at 1:56) and not that abrupt. Killer track John!

 

[mr_melvis]

Good Morning!  I like what you are doing – the drums are being overridden by the bass – less aggression on the bass tone would help.  It also has a ‘floppy’ feel to the bass…maybe something a little ‘tighter’.  Like the melody, like the arrangement, just needs some work to bring it to full potential.  Keep going!

[AFL]

Thanks for listening man, I’ll see what I can do to tighten up that bass on the next run through

[AFL]

I’m having a snow day at home today so here is a new update!

Tamed pad frequencies
Dropped pad after second break for a few bars
Narrowed bassline sound and dropped volume a bit
Brought up snare and perc
Added 4/4 kick pattern to last half
Messed around with Arp to make it sit better in mix and added a small variation to it every few bars in the first half, not sure how I feel about it yet.
Added more transition sounds

https://soundcloud.com/afl-wips/synthwave-v2/s-JQH6DmwyWtR?si=65dd881c5aef46fc9a95b594c1c7332e&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

 

 

[AFL]

Very very slight changes between v2 and v2.1. Added a few instances of SmartEQ3 by Sonible to tame the harsh frequencies on the pad and add some balance between the synths and bass.

 

https://soundcloud.com/afl-wips/synthwave-v21/s-YpcXP9Lx9Hl?si=1cf103ed4149463782170b137ad56342&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

[DJWhaters]

Ok I am digging this from the offset, the stabs seem a tad too ear-piercing for me, however, the synth itself seems a tad bright, love the breakdown at 1,18, then floating straight back in, bass is just lush 😀 break at 1,56 still think the synths are a tad bright and need taming, 2,36 those hits were on point!

The whole track is fantastic, my fav however is 2.15 onward it has so much depth and movement and ear candy

Really good work John

[AFL]

Thanks Ian! Yeah I’m still finding some of the upper frequencies to be a lot on the synths so I’ll keep plugging on those.

 

 

[PR23]

lush pads at the start

0.20 good bass, like it.

love the synths swirling around.

1.17 great melody synth line

1.56 good break

2.32 nice change on the bass, keeps it flowing.

ok, cool track, mix sounds good.

 

[Author]

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