Hi Everyone, I am quite new to Audio Jungle and I’ve had my first couple of tracks rejected. The last one was rejected as it said it did not reach the general commercial quality standard. I am unsure what they mean by this.
I’d appreciate any feedback or guidance you can offer me.
You can hear my track here:
Hi, first of all there is a lack of quality of Sounds you used. You will need better sample libraries, especially the strings, orchestral hits and the lead guitar sounding like artificial standard gm sounds. There are also disharmonics in the composition. You will also need to improve your mixing and mastering skills.
Thank you for your reply FOXYAudio, much appreciated.
I thought I was using good sample libraries as I use Albion One & Metropolis ARK 1. The guitars were strummed acoustic 2. I also used cinematic strings 2. Could you please advise other libraries I should be looking at.
Could you also elaborate a bit more on the disharmonics in the composition. I’m a bit unsure what this means.
I am addressing the mixing and mastering skills issue as I am aware this is an area where I need to improve.
Again thank you for your honest feedback. I need constructive advice such as this in order to improve.
Best regards,
Paul.
At 0:45 for example I hear 2 or 3 tones of the lead that doesn’t fit. NI strummed guitars & Cinematic strings are good libraries. But you must make them sounding “alive” by using more articulations and playing around with the velocity. The strings are too present in the mix, it makes them sounding cheap. For ochestral music I would recommend the Orchestral Essentials by Project Sam. Sounds awesome and covers up a wide range of instruments.
1:04 Why “Harp” plays the wrong note? Very “dissonant”. not a bad idea , but you need to change the tools and eliminate the “MIDI” effect. GLWS. 
Thank you for your feedback. Much appreciated 
Looks like I need to do a lot more work and learning before I’ll achieve any sales though.
Hi Paul, just had a shuffty at your track. I like it. I also quite like those quirky notes on the harp too. (very Renaissance!) although I understand where Foxy and Evgen are coming from about those. Perhaps they aren’t good for a commercial track.
I think the main issues with the track are not with the libraries themselves, but with the implementation of them. I don’t know about Cine Strings or Albion One, but if they are anything like the amazing Orchestral Tools libraries, there will be a lot of midi programming involved to get the best out of them. It’s worth investing some time to learn how string instruments are played and how all the different articulations and dynamics can enhance the orchestral sound that you are trying to achieve.
On that topic, I found this video on YouTube that showcases Metropolis Ark 1. The style of music is different, but it’s worth a skim through, because a lot of the techniques he uses are golden, and his results are top drawer.
Your harp could do with a good rework. In all honesty, it sounds like the harp preset of a Casio keyboard that I had when I was a nipper. It’s wonderfully nostalgic, but the track deserves something more classy.
I got Strummed Acoustic with the Komplete bundle, and to be honest, I never really got on with it (although I haven’t tried Strummed Acoustic 2). I remember having to f@ck about with it a lot to get it to sound real. In the end, I figured it was less trouble to mic up a guitar and play it in, but I guess it’s useful if you’re not a guitarist. The odd mix of country style strumming and orchestral sounds at the end isn’t really working for me.
I recommend focusing on getting the right sounds out of your libraries before tackling the mix. Obviously mixing is important, but even the best mix engineer would struggle to get a good sound if the instruments sound poor to begin with.
Having said that, for really useful mixing techniques, have a look at this online resource. The guy shares his wealth of knowledge of mixing across all popular music genres for free!
Good luck with your music. You’ll be producing awesome sounding tracks before you know it.
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Everything @criskcracker said, plus pay attention to your quantization as well. There were a few spots like a 0:40 where your instruments are a little “off” and it gives a jarring effect. Not saying everything needs to be hard quantized, but they need to be together however you do it.
The actual strings sound pretty good as the piece moves on and the idea is solid, i think what ruins it out of the gate is that repeating eighth note guitar or whatever it is that just sounds straight out of an old casio. Listen to everything you do critically and ask yourself… would i believe this is real? do i really like this?
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Thank you for your feedback. I’ll check those links out that you shared.
Best regards,
Paul.
Thank you for your feedback. I need to start thinking differently when writing a track.
Cheers,
Paul.
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