07-21-2019, 12:14 PM
(07-21-2019, 04:54 AM)Samulis Wrote: Makes me want to stop what I'm doing and play some M&B Warband. XD
Could use a little more quantizing in the area of 0:58 for strings.
In most cases, orchestral recordings are combinations of close (spot), main, and far (room) mics. Compression or other methods of dynamic control are not uncommon, as otherwise quiet portions of orchestral tracks would be unintelligible at a 'comfortable' listening level.
I think the low brass and woodwinds could use a little more low frequencies, same with that bass drum. Additionally, woodwinds generally read as rather dry and clean in recordings due to their placement, and the usual use of mics above/slightly behind the conductor's head, so I might go easy on the reverb on these and slightly exaggerate their panning. Overall I think the instruments in the center could be panned slightly more outward.
Arnold Bax might be a good place to start for a reference with lots of instrumental and dynamic contrast, and because almost all the recordings of his music have been done in the past 20 years-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-gFuNi8Doo
I didn't think that "Moon Wine" was all that Mount & Blade-y; but it's not a bad influence to have sneaking in subconsciously, I suppose!
Interesting you mention the bass. I did cut some of the low end proximity frequencies from the winds to try to set them back a bit. So that won't be too hard to tinker with. The brass and bass drum, being Project SAM, seem to just be very non-bassy samples to begin with. The bass drum has come to life a bit since mixing in some of the close mics with the stage. I'll double check that some onboard bass cut wasn't left on by oversight. Unfortunately said option is not available for the brass. As I understand it, the "stage" mics are in fact a blend of those three positions; but you don't get any control otherwise. I'll mess around a bit and see, though. I'm generally not much for messing with EQ beyond a few cuts here and there.
Good tip on the reverb on the winds, too. I was pushing them quite a bit because they are so dry to begin with; and while I am of the "more reverb!" school of thought, it might be beneficial to dry them up a tad for the sake of depth perception.
Per your point about dynamics. I'm probably not going to be compressing much here. I tend to butcher things that way. I'm still thinking the relative levels of things might need to be less drastic. I know that in reality a trombone section is much louder sound than a solo flute, but I don't know how wise it is to try to emulate that so literally in this context. Is it just me or does volume in this track sound more like it's "stacking" on itself rather than enhancing the sense of depth?
