Totally grooving and moving whole time I am listening to this. Mix is clean, the beats are tight and the groove and movement is fantastic. I don't think you EQ'd the life out of your pads - sometimes a pad is a lead, but when a pad is a pad, that's what it is - it's "padding" the other sounds - and by definition doesn't need a whole lot of definition lol. See what I did there? Either way they sound great and every now and then you have that bit of Juno-esque resonant pad flare and it's delightful.

Reverb - it sounds good here, so I wouldn't worry, and 90% of the time reverb is about sounding "good enough" and just not sounding "bad", and it's clear you know the difference. I find it useful in electronic music to think of reverb as having a function - is it making a hat a little wetter and extending its sizzle, softening its transient? Is it a shimmer verb picking up where the notes of an arp leave off pitch-wise, and making those notes take flight into the shimmer sound? Is it just there to make a rumble-kick? Giving some vocals some space so they sound less raw? All of this can inform how you EQ the verb on instruments, how long the decay is, the pre-delay, and what kind of verb you use. I tend to make reverb do one thing for EDM stuff in that respect, and then if that's working, maybe make it do other things.

By contrast more "real space" music aka guitars, drums, vocals, etc... can still use reverb to shape a sound like that, but more often it's about situating those instruments into a space - the same space - and modulating the mood and effect the reverb of that space creates. I think there's examples of similar things working in electronic music - lofi stuff for example - but regardless, both situations, the shape, tone and application of the reverb is still servicing a purpose.

So I think your reverb sounds great and is "good enough" and that's a million times better than "bad", but if you did want to work with more intent and purpose, start asking "okay, for this high hat, what's the one thing a reverb could do for it?" and sorta go from there.

And that's my wall of text for the evening lol. Fantastic track as always, was seriously grooving to it while I ran around the house just now listening

Totally grooving and moving whole time I am listening to this. Mix is clean, the beats are tight and the groove and movement is fantastic. I don't think you EQ'd the life out of your pads - sometimes a pad is a lead, but when a pad is a pad, that's what it is - it's "padding" the other sounds - and by definition doesn't need a whole lot of definition lol. See what I did there? Either way they sound great and every now and then you have that bit of Juno-esque resonant pad flare and it's delightful. Reverb - it sounds good here, so I wouldn't worry, and 90% of the time reverb is about sounding "good enough" and just not sounding "bad", and it's clear you know the difference. I find it useful in electronic music to think of reverb as having a function - is it making a hat a little wetter and extending its sizzle, softening its transient? Is it a shimmer verb picking up where the notes of an arp leave off pitch-wise, and making those notes take flight into the shimmer sound? Is it just there to make a rumble-kick? Giving some vocals some space so they sound less raw? All of this can inform how you EQ the verb on instruments, how long the decay is, the pre-delay, and what kind of verb you use. I tend to make reverb do one thing for EDM stuff in that respect, and then if that's working, maybe make it do other things. By contrast more "real space" music aka guitars, drums, vocals, etc... can still use reverb to shape a sound like that, but more often it's about situating those instruments into a space - the same space - and modulating the mood and effect the reverb of that space creates. I think there's examples of similar things working in electronic music - lofi stuff for example - but regardless, both situations, the shape, tone and application of the reverb is still servicing a purpose. So I think your reverb sounds great and is "good enough" and that's a million times better than "bad", but if you did want to work with more intent and purpose, start asking "okay, for this high hat, what's the one thing a reverb could do for it?" and sorta go from there. And that's my wall of text for the evening lol. Fantastic track as always, was seriously grooving to it while I ran around the house just now listening <3

Cheers. I appreciate the deeper feedback. I'm always afraid I am going to second guess myself into paralysis.

[quote=neon liminal]Totally grooving and moving whole time I am listening to this. Mix is clean, the beats are tight and the groove and movement is fantastic. I don't think you EQ'd the life out of your pads - sometimes a pad is a lead, but when a pad is a pad, that's what it is - it's "padding" the other sounds - and by definition doesn't need a whole lot of definition lol. See what I did there? Either way they sound great and every now and then you have that bit of Juno-esque resonant pad flare and it's delightful. Reverb - it sounds good here, so I wouldn't worry, and 90% of the time reverb is about sounding "good enough" and just not sounding "bad", and it's clear you know the difference. I find it useful in electronic music to think of reverb as having a function - is it making a hat a little wetter and extending its sizzle, softening its transient? Is it a shimmer verb picking up where the notes of an arp leave off pitch-wise, and making those notes take flight into the shimmer sound? Is it just there to make a rumble-kick? Giving some vocals some space so they sound less raw? All of this can inform how you EQ the verb on instruments, how long the decay is, the pre-delay, and what kind of verb you use. I tend to make reverb do one thing for EDM stuff in that respect, and then if that's working, maybe make it do other things. By contrast more "real space" music aka guitars, drums, vocals, etc... can still use reverb to shape a sound like that, but more often it's about situating those instruments into a space - the same space - and modulating the mood and effect the reverb of that space creates. I think there's examples of similar things working in electronic music - lofi stuff for example - but regardless, both situations, the shape, tone and application of the reverb is still servicing a purpose. So I think your reverb sounds great and is "good enough" and that's a million times better than "bad", but if you did want to work with more intent and purpose, start asking "okay, for this high hat, what's the one thing a reverb could do for it?" and sorta go from there. And that's my wall of text for the evening lol. Fantastic track as always, was seriously grooving to it while I ran around the house just now listening <3[/quote] Cheers. I appreciate the deeper feedback. I'm always afraid I am going to second guess myself into paralysis. :)

Indeed the beat to this sounds awesome.  The bass and lead synths percolate and bounce with the beat.  Mix sounds great to me Those lil extra drum fills are especially appreciated.  Well done!

Indeed the beat to this sounds awesome. The bass and lead synths percolate and bounce with the beat. Mix sounds great to me :) Those lil extra drum fills are especially appreciated. Well done!

The drums don't need more variation if they're this 🔥🔥. Seriously this whole track glistens. It's something I'd have obsessed over back at uni (and might have to listen to a few times now). It's tight, yet expansive, and everything sounds great.

The drums don't need more variation if they're this 🔥🔥. Seriously this whole track glistens. It's something I'd have obsessed over back at uni (and might have to listen to a few times now). It's tight, yet expansive, and everything sounds great.

yeah this is gonna be my morning theme song today. so good!

yeah this is gonna be my morning theme song today. so good!

Sick beat! Love the guiro. Those pads and harmonies are breathtaking when they kick in.

Sick beat! Love the guiro. Those pads and harmonies are breathtaking when they kick in. :D

Very nice! This track gives me a bit of an 80s feel, I think due to the drums, the sound of the bass and the sweeping synth sounds. I also like the arrangement!

Very nice! This track gives me a bit of an 80s feel, I think due to the drums, the sound of the bass and the sweeping synth sounds. I also like the arrangement!

This opens so hard. Those drums are mixed perfect and have amazing punch. Echoing what Neon Liminal (blessed brother) said this bops. You're definitely overthinking and this is dynamite. Great great work.

This opens so hard. Those drums are mixed perfect and have amazing punch. Echoing what Neon Liminal (blessed brother) said this bops. You're definitely overthinking and this is dynamite. Great great work.

Love the drums on this! I can still track the bass line the whole way through too. Can relate on the comment about reverb, I just sort of know I like it but couldn't say why I use it when I do (it's sort of like salt or sugar on a whole thing). Will ponder that more myself!

Love the drums on this! I can still track the bass line the whole way through too. Can relate on the comment about reverb, I just sort of know I like it but couldn't say why I use it when I do (it's sort of like salt or sugar on a whole thing). Will ponder that more myself!

Digging it! Very clean track that knows exactly what it’s doing. Sounds like the backing for a fire future pop track, someone like the weekend. To me the whole time it was begging for a lead vocalist to do their thing. It’s a great track, and don’t beat up on the details in the mix, honestly they sound good to me

Digging it! Very clean track that knows exactly what it’s doing. Sounds like the backing for a fire future pop track, someone like the weekend. To me the whole time it was begging for a lead vocalist to do their thing. It’s a great track, and don’t beat up on the details in the mix, honestly they sound good to me