Acid Techno - Technomachy

Hi all,

After a bit of a short break I've completed a techno remix of one of my own tunes, this is my longest track yet and I am reasonably happy with the way it progresses, however when making it I came to the realisation that my workflow sucks! I was jumbling up mastering, mixing and all those other things which should stay separate. I don't think this has broken the track but it was a humbling moment of understanding and meant I wasted a lot of time. PS the transients on those "plucking" synths were doing my head in, but I got there in the end...

Anyway, the result is pretty low end heavy which I have been picked up on here before about, I am listening to others feedback! The track also incorporates my own recordings of bells and weights clanging together, which gave it a slightly industrial tinge.

 
First of all, I usually don't listen to techno TBH so I can mostly give feedback on the mix/effects. I think the synths sounds nice and I think the bells fits well but I would try lowpass them a bit, they are a bit high. The pan in the end of the first break was a bit confusing to me (I thought my headphones broke :D) but maybe it is common in this genre?
 
Thanks for the feedback Madfren, I'll play around with the lowpass on the bells and see what that sounds like. The filter + pan effect I think you are referring to (I didn't really think of it as a break, everything is still bouncing along in the background :) ) is just something I like and believe it fits, and I guess you are right, it does break it up a bit. I'm not too worried about genre conventions; Acid Techno is a kind of rough tag, mostly because it is (loosely) inspired by some of Aphex Twin's earlier stuff which he described that way.
 
Hi, I like it.
What style would you classify this in?
The bass drum did not sound 100%. Not sure what it needs.
I enjoyed the track though.





Cheers.


Help me classify this EP - Megasmall
YouTube
 
Hi Megasmall, glad you enjoyed it. As I say in the title it's a Techno track, tentatively I think it is kind of Acid Techno for the reasons I put in my last post.

Your comment about the bass drum I must admit has me a little stumped. It's nice and clear, powerful, punches through, it's in key... always happy to improve so if it comes to you what the problem is do let me know :D :P
 
Hey mate - first up, the bells and industrial elements are pretty cool - adds a nice contrast to the bass.

As for feedback - I would start with the levels - it's really quiet. The majority of the sound is coming from your kick and sub, but they're still really quiet in comparison to 'techno' tracks a whole. These then overshadow other elements in track.

Have you intentionally not used high hats? could be a nice inclusion to add energy and drive to sections of the track
 
Hi Yellit,

First of all thanks for the detailed feedback, it is really helpful to me. I noticed the quietness issue myself, I think it relates to the mixing/mastering muddle I had happening while I was making the track. There were a lot of FX including LFO on the main drone like effect, and some overlap in terms of frequencies with the plucking synth, which had loads of transients. As a result I struggled to prevent clipping and a better workflow would definitely have helped me maximise the loudness.

As for the hi-hats I suppose the rim shots and claps occupied that space, but on reflection they could have added something extra and if I do revisit the track I will experiment with adding them in. Cheers!
 
Hi Slackoverflow,
If I was you, I'd first focus on the kick. If you want this to sound techno, the most important sound is the kick. When you find/make your techno kick, you don't even need a bassline to come along every time (it actually depends on the release of your kick). Plus, it seems that the relatively long release of your kick "says" something different than your bassline (and some of the other sounds).
Then, drum elements such as open hihats and rides are IMO very important - snare and claps too but it sometimes can be viewed as optional. Once you've got that base, it's time to start playing something like plucked repetitive elements and/or long distant strings. On top of that, sound effects and drum arrangement offer you all the variations a techno track demands, which is never very much, so to speak (well, it's a subtle notion).
I totally agree with the coment of yellit above about the levels in general and the hats (drums in general).
Keep it up, keep grinding!
Here's my latest, maybe it helps : I'm Alive by Chris Van Gills | Free Listening on SoundCloud
 
Hi Dirty32,

Thanks for taking the time to listen and give a detailed critique. I'm not hugely worried about it being 100% production line techno, I tend to favour an experimental edge while still keeping a base of familiar elements. There is one thing I would like to ask you about - the long release of the kick "saying" something different to the bassline? The kick is in-key, I do know to always tune my kick so not entirely sure where you are coming from. Is it that as I've got a long release I probably could dispense with the bassline altogether?

As for hi hats I did add some at one point but it began to feel cluttered so I removed them.
 
Well maybe we're not referring to the same thing when we talk about "bass" which I'm apologizing for (I actually speak french).
I noticed a little stretch around 4:00 where the kick plays without any "sub" added to it (I called it the release in my previous post). This kick has actually a short-release.
So I assume that there is a kick + a sub + a low chord (that I called the bassline in my previous post). And in any case that makes the low frenquencies part of your mix too much crowded.
That's why I'd get rid of the low chord because it is playing (other notes) over the sub but in the same low freq region, which blurry the whole mix and takes out the "pumping" aspect of any genre that is based on the kick.
 
Hi Dirty32, there isn't a low chord on the kick drum, but there is a plugin on it to boost volume, compression and add some overdrive, I'm going to have to go back and listen at 4:00 to see what you mean. I found and added it in response to previous criticism that the kick was too quiet, finding it quite hard to find that sweet spot with the bass frequencies but will try again for the next track. Thanks for taking the time to break it down for me, it is appreciated!
 
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