So this track has been soft rejected because of soft clipping??? I studied the wave file and it looks no different to any of my other pieces. Everything looks dynamically sound without any squaring or tops cut of and fits under a -1 threshold.
Then, the same reviewer soft rejects this track because the drums are apparently off the beat and need quantizing (what? I want it to be natural sounding) and the drum samples are out of date (what, for a medieval pageant?) Has it ever occurred that I might want them to sound medieval, simple and dated?
At times like these, I donât think authors should be reviewing other authors tracks.
For the first track I believe itâs the first lead instrument that has issues. Otherwise, interesting composition.
Regarding the second track, they didnât have samples in the Middle Ages (I think) so itâs not about the MUSIC being dated. Itâs about the SAMPLES not sounding real. Like real instruments would have sounded back then. The drums sound very fake unfortunately, but interesting and very nice composition.
Thanks for the feedback Flumen. Fair enough for the second track but Iâm still trying to work out what the âsoft clippingâ issue is with the first. Am I being a bit dense or the reviewer a bit pedantic? I think the reviewer needs to qualify âexactlyâ what is wrong. Itâs too vague. I canât make corrections if I donât know exactly what the issue is.
Iâm not entirely sure what they meant about the soft clipping, but there is a noticeable click sound at the start of each note of the lead instrument (as if the sample were cut off short). There are also rather dissonant string phrases from 0:27 - 0:42 which the reviewers might not have liked - though that would usually result in a hard reject.
There is what sounds like some very slight peaking on the right channel at 0:58 and 1:31 - might be due to MP3 compression on YouTube, but if itâs on the original then this might have been what they were talking about.
Thanks for taking the time AurusAudio. I must be going deaf at 50 though, because quite frankly, I donât hear any of those clicks and more importantlyâŚwould a buyer? Arenât they more interested in the actual music? The reviewer didnât mention any of these things either, it just says âsoft clippingâ issues needed to be addressed. Whatever they might be!
Iâm not sure if what I heard is classed as âsoft clippingâ, but there is very slight peaking on the right channel at exactly 58 seconds and 1:31 (Mystery House) - itâs either that or an artifact that sounds like very slight distortion - only on the right channel, and it lasts for about a second.
Either way, youâre right - itâs a minor issue, but I had a soft reject a while back due to some strange clipping in one of my older tracks. Iâm not sure what else is âsoft clippingâ in the track, so if it wasnât that I have no clue.
What I would consider looking at though, is the lead instrument starting from 0:09 - there is a slight click / pop noise at the start of every note.
Yep - oboe. Iâm listening now on monitors and itâs a lot harder to hear, but with headphones, itâs still fairly noticeable. Itâs a high frequency click.
To answer your second question - maybe. Granted many buyers wonât notice (nor care), but I suspect there will be a couple who do notice it, and probably wonât like it - a bit like having a dead pixel or two on your monitor - once you notice it, it can become an annoyance.
The quality standards are always going up (which is a good thing), so I suspect things like that will usually be picked up by the review team.
After a bit of remixing and remastered, a new âimprovedâ version of Medieval Pageant has now been approved (by a different reviewer though, I might add)
Yep, definitely a huge amount of clacking noise from about 0:08-0:30, might be part of the sample library. I know for example that Spitfireâs BML Solo Flute has a huge amount of flute clacking noise that sounds like clipping, but is really just part of the instrument/performerâs sound. Any sound that is percussive, short, and high pitched enough these days will be interpreted by âaudioâ people (and especially the reviewers) as âsoft clipping,â even if thatâs not really the caseâŚ
For this track I decided to use a different Oboe from Miroslav Philharmonikâs just for a change. I think its called âStereo Oboe Ethan Nando soundfontâ but Iâd have to check on another computer. Obviously that idea backfired.
