"Intense" Example

[quartz3d]

Hey all, I've written this short little "intense" piece in hopes of getting a battle atmosphere. After writing it (haven't put in percussion yet) I realized that it just didn't have the right feel to it... seemed dry, but when I added more reverb it just seemed to get muddled. It also doesn't quite have the edge that I'm looking for. I've included the link below. What do you guys think about it, and what do you think could be done to improve the quality of sound? Thanks everyone for your help. http://homepage.mac.com/salchert/.Public/31/Intense.mp3

[vincentlpratte]

Hi,

I might not be the greatest expert, but you could try increasing the lower frequencies. Reverb seems ok to me, I say don't put in more. I think we are missing your lower strings, so adding a little bit of bass to your sound might do it.

Nice little piece by the way.

Vincent

[Meyo]

First off, it is good work.  I listened to it several times; I'd like to hear it when you put in the percussion.  I agree with Vincent's comments and would add the following:

Your string section that comes in at around 7 sec and persists till about 20 sec or so sounds like a keyboard.

Then at about 20 sec everything settles in and the sound is really nice.

At around 1:01 those background strings come in and sound like a string machine.

[quartz3d]

Thanks guys, these are really helpful suggestions. I'll try manipulating the EQ a bit and working the violin parts so they sound more authentic, and I'll repost soon with the changes.

[quartz3d]

I've tweaked it a bit and reposted the updated file. What do you guys think? http://homepage.mac.com/salchert/.Public/31/Intense.mp3

[Meyo]

The reverb's tail is a little strong now on my system and you've lost some crispness.  But on the other hand you're getting better forward drive from the low strings.  Maybe you should also experiment with compression on the low strings; e.g. put back some highs and get more low presence with compression.  If you're going to put in percussion, you need to get it in before continuing with tweaking this intermediate version.  The background strings in the early part jumped out at me the first time I listened to it, but then on the next go, it seemed better; but still not quite there.  The background strings at the end are definitely better.

J.

[quartz3d]

I cut down the reverb tail a bit and redid the compression to add some more crispness to the mix. This is really starting to sound like what I was looking for. Thanks everyone for your help.