Hello,
Just got hard rejection for the following track:
Do you mind sharing your opinion on this decision of the AJ reviewer’s?
Any feedback is appreciated! Thank you.
Hi, AJ reviewers are very professional, I can’t complain about the decision but is this a trumpet staccato panned left to right and do you play violin/string instruments?. 
if you intend to write an orchestral track. pls make it as organic as possible. When it comes to orchestra, EQ should be about corrective surgical edits like removing rumble, adding more bite and presence etc. It seems like you killed the body of piano, brass and strings because those instruments sound thin. Also it’s pretty weird to apply panning automation to an orchestral track in my opinion.
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mixing problems, and as Rainforest said, panning a violin is weird.
Maybe it would not be weird if you did similar edits to the sustains strings. they sound too static and monophonic.
Mix has a lot of rumble, you need to make it cleaner, also the sustain strings which play throughout the song and in the end, they sound too hifi, they don’t have low end, they have too aggressive highs etc.
some instruments are overpowering the song, like the big drums which play also at the end, looks like you used a lot of saturation
Thank you for taking time to give feedback RainforestAudio! Yeah, turns out panning violin staccato wasn’t the best choice 
What libraries/VSTs do you recommend and/or you typically use? I think I lost most of the dynamics when I exported my tracks for mixing.
Thank you for the feedback Pandocrator! I appreciate it!
you need to make it cleaner,
Yeah, I think this is where I struggle most. Can you please share what libraries typically you use for a piece in such a genre? Are there any mixing tips, recommended plugins for EQ/mastering etc.?
rubmle in a mix is by lots of distortion and maybe low mid frequencies that add up. 110 to 250+ Hz
just listen to the whole mix from a different perspective to spot the mistakes.
also having the channels too loud can cause overload in the whole mix, try to bring them down
or maybe its the mastering’s falt?
having too many instruments that have all of them boosted highs or mids or anything, they add up. try to be subtle with the plugins and eqs
cause if you boost one channel by a lot of dBs for example in highs, then you will want to add highs to many more sounds.
HI,
I agree with all the comments below. The composition is great and I’m sure that’s not the reason for rejection. It’s definitely the mix. Have a look at “surgical EQ” to take out those nasty frequencies, there are some great youtube tutorials on that.
It definitely sounds too “thin.” It sounds like you’ve boosted the frequencies too much.
If you’re looking for good libraries, I’d recommend Spitfire Strings, it doesn’t have to be the super expensive one. I also use BBC Symphonic Core. It’s £49 and the samples are excellent!
Good luck.
G
Hi. When it comes to orchestral music tracks there are lots of things to pay attention to.My advice is to listen ( and watch) as many live concerts as possible.Basically, its almost impossible to make it sound 100% authentic. Too many elements involved.Live instruments performed by real musicians creates an unique vibe which cannot be emulate with programmed library.The sound also.The sympathetic resonance is another thing that cannot be faked.But, there are things that you can achieve in order to improve your track.Performing.Try to PLAY EACH track.Do not copy parts.1st and 2nd violins, violas,cellos and basses, same for horns ensemble.If you are using kontakt instrument try to use micro tuning between intruments.Not much.It will make them lively.Pay attention to the positioning of the instruments.Most of the sound of the orchestra is coming from 4-6 microphones.Rarely ,close up microphones are ending up in the mix.Just to emphasise some burried elements or to increase the proximity.The ostinatos.Ostinatos does not refer strictly to strings. Any repetitive sequence is an ostinato.Tends to make everything sound mechanical. Do not quantize them, or use partial quantization.Nuances.Anything orchestral has immense dynamic range.Microdynamic is imperative.Use the dynamics variation of the instruments in order to achieve nuances.Lastly mixing.Mixing orchestral is totally different than pop. Really small moves, get rid of obvious resonances and boost on sections.Unless is absolutely necessary to boost on individual tracks.Try to glue everything applying reverbs on sections.( or better on master bus) . That will help you achieve cohesivity ( glue) and space.Hope that helps.
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I agree with soundtrickz and other authors here. I would say I find no problem with your vsts. I’m sure they’re good, just lack of expression. your main problem is mixing and mastering. so it would be better for you to invest more on skills. I use real instruments to add textures and leads except ensemble instruments, still using old vsts and stock plugins yet still fine. just remember, real orchestra has fullness. too bright makes it sound fake because most of instruments are rich in low-mid frequency, your track is not. for instance, C2 to C4 keys of piano, doublebass, cello, brass etc are registered in those area. your task is to hit the right notes at the same time and blend them properly. Do not EQ boost wrong instruments like EQing violin, trumpet, flute ensemble in low frequency or vice versa, this is wrong and would only give you rumble!. To add fullness, use the right instruments instead and only use EQ for corrective surgical edits. Mixing orchestral tracks is not the same with other acoustic and electronic tracks! Too much edits make it sound unnatural.
I want to thank everybody who took their time to post this thread! Your comments have been helpful! Thank you all!