One of my Halloween tracks has recently been rejected, but (as usual) I’m not sure why.
They said: “This submission does not meet AudioJungle’s commercial production (samples/recording/mixing/mastering) standard, unfortunately.” but I’ve spent a long time working on the production and think it’s one of my most polished tracks yet. Seems like the more time I spend on production the more chance there is it’ll be rejected!
What do you think is wrong with it? I’d appreciate any and all feedback.
Nice track. I’m not entirely sure why the track was rejected. It might be down to the saxophone, which may be a little too prominent and distracting - but this is my opinion only. Try lowering the levels of the saxophone or maybe even replace it with another instrument.
The mix is good. Probably the only thing I’d say would be to centre pan the double bass and any low frequency instruments. Maybe hard pan the hi hats or another instrument to balance out the soundstage. Other than that, nothing out of place, so I think it must be down to the instrumentation, and mainly the saxophone.
Keep working on it and make sure to keep us posted. Good luck
Thanks for the feedback! I didn’t know about putting the double bass in the centre, but I’ll do that from now on. Is there a reason for this? Most (non-stock) music tracks I know have the bass panned either left or right, and I was trying to give the sense of a “live space” to the track. Is it to do with Mono? I’m still learning about mixing.
I agree the sax is probably the weakest point. It’s one of the Kontakt Factory Library ones. But that said, I don’t think it sounds too unrealistic and is quite suited to the track. I’ll try remixing it but unfortunately, being hard rejected, I can’t resubmit unless big changes have been made.
It’s common practise to keep the low frequencies centred. I always go by the rule of thumb that the higher the frequency, the harder it can be panned. For example, bass should be kept centred, mids can be mildly panned (with the exception of vocals or lead instruments), and the highs can be hard panned (100% left or right) to give a crisp and spatial mix.
Make sure there is balance though, as there is nothing more annoying and distracting than an off-balance mix. With every pan left, make sure something is there on the right to balance it out, and vice versa.
I reckon once the bass is dealt with and the saxophone is modified / replaced, you could hand it in and it has a good chance of being accepted.
Keep working on it and make sure you post the new track before resubmitting so I can have a listen
Agreed. Sometimes I felt the drums were off time. However it was not distracting, nor a reason for rejection in my opinion. If you can though, maybe tighten up the drums a bit.
What kind of music? Pretty much all modern productions have the bass in the middle. In a classic orchestral setting you would have cello and bass to the right but in modern cinematic hybrid music it’s usually in the middle. It sounds a bit strange and dated (1960s) to have something “heavy” not centered.
I like the track though, it’s quirky and humorous, but I must agree there are timing issues. It sounds like a live band that’s a little too sloppy and all instruments could use some tweaking. Sometimes there’s much more swing, sometimes less etc.
That’s interesting. I’ll need to have a listen to more hybrid stuff. I always just assumed it was panned like a live orchestra. Do you mean you’d pan all bass instruments (cellos, basses, trombones, tubas, bass drum, bassoons, bass synths, etc.) to the centre? I have more experience dealing with live instruments and live recordings, so this is kinda new to me.
Glad you like the track. I’ll look into the timing issues too. It was all played in, and I didn’t want to tidy it up too much as I wanted a live feel. But I wanted a GOOD live feel, not a sloppy one, so I’ll tidy it up. Thanks for the feedback.
Well, not necessarily, I would just try to make it sound evenly weighted in total. Cellos can still be to the right but the heavy bass would come from a synth and I would want that in the middle. The bassoons would collect dust in the basement. I would also use a stereo imaging tool to make sure the low frequencies are centered. In your track the bass is the only thing down there so it feels like the mix is leaning to the right.
Great toe tapping piece! I agree with most of the comments. One idea for the sax is instead use a woodwind ensemble, set back a little in the mix, to give it a bit softer lead. This should fit nicely when all the other instruments are added throughout the piece. I like it!
OKAY everybody back the hell up!! Holy Mary and Joseph on a bagel!! The bass is to the right!
so get it centered and it should get accepted Everything else is great, and changes to it would only be a matter of different peoples taste, and not a issue IMO.
Thanks for all the feedback, guys! Glad you like the track. I’ll tidy up the rhythm a bit, change the lead and centre the bass. I’ll let you know how I get on after I resubmit.
Everything else is great, and changes to it would only be a matter of different peoples taste, and not a issue IMO.