What are you worst at?

[Triphosphate]

Finishing stuff. I love the excitement of starting a new piece but lose enthusiasm over time. Rinse and repeat.

When you've reached the 'excitement life cycle' with a particular piece, bounce the track out as 4/8 bar stems for each element. That way if, for example, you had a quality percussion line, you have a copy of it saved and ready to drop into a new project if required.

Can also benefit the creative process to go back and 'remix' your own tracks from time to time using this process, for example substituting the percussion line (again using this example) of one track for another etc.

This is gold.

- Synth lead sound design

I use canned lead sounds all the time. I'm initially way more concerned with what my lead is doing than how it sounds, and I'll frequently program it in and worry about the sound later. Even then, a lot of the time I end up making minor tweaks, or layering it to make it my own. Then sometimes, I think it sounds so right in the context of the song I don't change it at all.

On the other hand, I've always been a sucker for very simple lead sounds. I feel like a lead's magic comes in with automated parameters like vibrato and reverb that intensify as the end of each 'phrase' is reached, and spot delays. I treat leads a lot like I would a vocalist.

Personally, my biggest pitfall is probably loopitis. I almost always start my work with a loop, be it intro or drop, whatever. Then comes a certain point where I begin to arrange... and 7 out of 10 projects don't make it past this process, they fall short of my expectations. Sometimes, though, the song takes a life of it's own and finishing it is almost like a run downhill.

[nameless133]

Wobbles. So I don't make wobbles.

[JockMCPlop]

detailed forum posts

[ljk32]

Big ups wub! Will probably be hitting up one of the sample comps soon as well, that should spice things up.

[Samuel_L_Damnson]

Getting round to finishing tunes.

[123kidd]

quality post wub.
I suck at making melodies. They end up sounding very cheesy and ametureish.
Arrangement and keeping interest
Sound design

to the op about using autofilter, are you on ableton? i find that the default settings on the autofilter tends to have the resonance up there.Try using eq8 instead.

[Kit Fysto]

I suck at not playing Halo 4 team slayer when I should be working, but oh well. I honestly work way harder under pressure of a deadline and come up with stuff I actually like a lot more. It's always been like that for me.

[ehbes]

i suck at getting the tape distortion right on my drum bus without making them sound too dull or lowpassed

[Hircine]

i suck at getting the tape distortion right on my drum bus without making them sound too dull or lowpassed

It's not the tape, it's the drums.

[ehbes]

i suck at getting the tape distortion right on my drum bus without making them sound too dull or lowpassed

It's not the tape, it's the drums.

nah cuz when i take it off it sounds good, just not the sound i want

[Ficticious]

1. Health - I produce over like 18 hours straight when I'm at it.
2- Not rushing work - I tend to want to release something but whenever I go back to it and pick away at it for a long time it comes out pretty nice (I suck but still)
3. Working on reverb. Always tough to get right.
4. Keeping it somewhat simple so it's easy to follow. I'm a bit crazy with my shit.

[Still Young]

i guess mixdown, since sound is something that comes with experience
and everytime you look at some tune u made like a year ago the mixdown will sound bad compared to your latest stuff

[ill mindset]

Creating riffs with a synth. I might get a cool sound but turning it into a loop that flows and works with the beat and sounds anything like a releasable tune is troublesome. I end up relying too much on samplebanks.

[Artie_Fufkin]

3. picking up some random dollar bin records and sampling them (even though they probably wont contain any good samples) is going to make you a better producer than downloading an mp3 of something you heard before and already know what you're going to do with it.

I guess you would be more persuaded to put what you paid for to use, but I have to agree with virtualmark. I've found lots of great random stuff on archive.org.

-I'm worst at finishing stuff. I enjoy experimenting way more than composition/arrangement.
-Being bogged down by the possibilities a daw affords. I keep disabled effects in my effects chain in case I want to go back and see how it sounds with that thing turned back on when I really just scrapped that after a few minutes. And what if I set that to this instead of that.
-Cluttered/crap/unused hidden gem samples in my sample folder. I rely on F3 a lot
-Being impractical and indecisive in most regards, really
-And I feel like I don't have much to show for half of the things I do.

This thread feels like a group therapy session or something lol

[Turnipish_Thoughts]

Once you've got a decent 4/8/16/32/whatever bar loop, save it, save a new version of it and on that new version immediately try and turn it into a song as though you had those elements and nothing else to work with. Spread the elements out, have them build in quietly and then fade out. Doesn't have to be the most exciting track ever, but finish it with what you have and step back and look at it. Now focus on the arrangement and ask how you would change it if you could, or what element it needs to make it just a bit better.

I never thank you enough wub. You're like a fucking Jedi master sometimes! Shit like this is so simple but so overlooked. I've been crippled in not finishing anything I start recently purely due to arrangement issues. This is a really fresh way of looking at it, nice one!

[Electric_Head]

Wub's advise above is pretty much how I was able to change my workflow to be able to complete tracks.
I write in 16 bar loops generally.
Expand it quickly and focus on arrangement with a complete tune essentially.

[ill mindset]

Wub's advise above is pretty much how I was able to change my workflow to be able to complete tracks.
I write in 16 bar loops generally.
Expand it quickly and focus on arrangement with a complete tune essentially.

Thats the formula that I think most of the big names use. Its also how I work. I used to be a much more prolific producer until these huge complex sounds started coming from more recent artists. I compare my patches to the heavy hitters and never can feel good about one. It has really inspired/forced me to step my synthesis game up. The learning curve is brutal when you're trying to teach yourself to program a synth. I wish to god I could sit in on a few sessions with the pros.

[Electric_Head]

I agree that synthesis is essential but I'm also from the school of quality music.
If you can produce a great track with minimum technological experience, you are 1 step closer than lots of people.
Some folks get caught up in the tiny elements rather than remembering what we all want from music.
Producing good music is really what it's all about.

[wub]

Doubting that I will ever improve beyond the level I'm at

Listen to an old track from when you first started producing. How does it sound vs. a recent piece? You have to remember, when we all started producing our standards were much lower as we didn't know as much as we do now, so we had lower expectations on what could be produced 'well'. As your knowledge increases and your learn more, you will inevitably be raising the bar for what you can do in terms of production.

This is a positive thing, it strives you to push yourself.

Getting through a full song, usually I get half way and then stop with arrangement and work on sound design, which in turn stops my creative flow and I have a half done song that sounds pretty good

Try splitting your sessions. For the first half, do nothing but sound design. Then for the second half, do nothing but arrangement of the sounds you have created. As you focus on arrangement, you will notice shortcomings in your sound design that you can make a note of and address when you're next doing sound design work.

Synth lead sound design

Find a preset on a synth you like and backward engineer it from to a blank/empty patch, then rebuild it again. The first time I got Massive, I think I spent a day doing this with Brutal Electro

Using reverb, delay, and stereo width to make my tracks sound full

Try mixing all your elements dry, and just using EQ/panning to get the full sound. Once you've pushed it as far as you think it can go, take a 10min break, grab a cup of coffee (to reset your ears), then come and listen to the dry playback. Make notes on where the 'gaps' are in the mix, then think about how you would fill them.

Synthesis. I refuse to use non drum samples and feel like I have to create everything myself. It's rewarding once I get it right, but my skills just are not good enough to always get the sound I'm after.

Get your synthesised sounds up to a decent standard then layer them with samples to cover any shortfallings. Then use the shortcoming samples as a basis to work on future synthesis. For example, say you've got a drum sound you've made with a lot of pop but not much thud, use an existing sample to give it some thud.

Then next synthesis session, work solely on getting your sound to thud, and layer with a pop. Once you've got a synthesis pop and a synthesis thud, layer them together yourself and remove the samples entirely. Repeat until you've got a bank of your own samples already created that you can use as ready to run drum sounds.

This is an organic process...as you create more drums sounds yourself you'll build up your library, and as you build up your library you'll identify gaps in your sound bank that you can then work on creating, at which point you go to the start of the process again.

@ everyone who says they never feel like they are going to get better. I remember reading an article with Marty Friedman (guitar player/ex-Megadeth) saying that its a completely natural as a guitar player to feel that you're skills are never good enough.

I do play guitar and every time I felt shitty about my playing I always thought about that quote. Obviously you don't need to play guitar to take inspiration from that. Basically just stick with whatever you're doing and you'll eventually get better.

Complacency is a terrible trait to have. As long as you think you've got room for improvement you will push yourself to improve. If you think you're awesome already, then where have you left to go?

Personally, my biggest pitfall is probably loopitis. I almost always start my work with a loop, be it intro or drop, whatever. Then comes a certain point where I begin to arrange... and 7 out of 10 projects don't make it past this process, they fall short of my expectations. Sometimes, though, the song takes a life of it's own and finishing it is almost like a run downhill.

So don't start with the loop. Start with the breakdown, start with the weird 70s filtered guitar line, start with the swell of the melody. Get the 'hook' for the track running then construct your loop around it. Then stretch out the arrangement as per previous post techique.

Wobbles. So I don't make wobbles.

Not necessarily a bad thing

detailed forum posts

Overrated IMO

Big ups wub! Will probably be hitting up one of the sample comps soon as well, that should spice things up.

Next sample pack should be on it's way shortly, though given the festive period and all probably won't be run until the new year...

Getting round to finishing tunes.

Force yourself to focus on arrangement more and using the technique re; creating a full track arrangement with the minimum amount of elements you have. Ideally, if you can you should try and 'finish' a tune at least once per session, no matter how basic it is. Dump the WAVs/MP3s you've bounced out onto an MP3 player or a CD for the car, then have a listen and critically think about what you would've done to the arrangement/elements if you had more time.

Then revisit the make the changes. This method also helps with the aforementioned catalogue building as you're generating;

- samples
- sound design patches
- Loops (assuming you bounce out your individual stems as well
- back catalogue of tunes for a year or so down the line when you feel you're not improving

It's an organic process.

I suck at making melodies. They end up sounding very cheesy and ametureish.

In addition to the notes above re; copying existing MIDI file notations and then messing around with them, have a read through this;

Idiots Guide To Music Theory*

Does what it says, fairly concise if you're approaching from a beginners POV.

(* Yes, this is copyrighted material so there isn't a direct link however it shouldn't be hard to find via Google )

Arrangement and keeping interest

See above re; arrangement notes.

In terms of 'keeping it interesting' try ignoring the norms associated with electronic music. Start a piece with the drop, have all the elements blare out for 4 bars then drop into nothing but the percussion line and have things slowly filter back in over 13mins building for a crescendo. Brian Eno's Oblique Strategies are great for this sort of thing (and most other things TBH);

http://music.hyperreal.org/artists/bria ... lique.html

Sound design

See above notes. If it's a preset you like, deconstruct it. If it's drums you're building, layer with an existing sample to cover their shortfallings whilst you work on them.

Additionally, make crazy ass effects chains for your mixer and save them so you can load them whenever you need. Run your drum break/midrange wobble through a Reverb>Delay>Different Reverb>Bitcrusher>Retrigger>Delay>Reverb. Hit keys randomly, record the output, chop it up, stretch it out to 50x it's normal length, EQ it til it sounds like a pad, sidechain it.

Piss around really. Some of the best sounds come from things you weren't expecting to happen.

I suck at not playing Halo 4 team slayer when I should be working, but oh well.

Turn off the Internet for at least one day a week. Seriously.

I honestly work way harder under pressure of a deadline and come up with stuff I actually like a lot more. It's always been like that for me.

Set deadlines for yourself. Enter the 48hr contest. Start a thread on here telling people you're going to make 3 tunes in 3hrs and see what support you get (true story ). Challenge random people over PM to a 24hr tune battle. If you work better to deadlines, start creating them for yourself. If it's done in public view, all the better as the shame of not completing your entry/submission is a great catalyst.

i suck at getting the tape distortion right on my drum bus without making them sound too dull or lowpassed

Apply parallel compression to the drum bus so you've got both a wet and a dry signal. Mix them together and EQ out the bits on each that you don't like.

1. Health - I produce over like 18 hours straight when I'm at it.

Take regular breaks (45mins on, 15mins off) to both reset your ears, stretch your legs and rest your eyes. Keep a bottle of water next to you and take regular swigs. Try a healthy studio snack - cherry tomatoes, blueberries, grapes, whatever.

2- Not rushing work - I tend to want to release something but whenever I go back to it and pick away at it for a long time it comes out pretty nice (I suck but still)

See above notes re; deadlines. Alternatively, set yourself a release schedule of one finished tune per month/fortnight/week. Stick to it as best you can, and push yourself to finish things when you tell yourself your going to.

This is another one of those ideas that benefits from outsider knowledge. If I tell my mates that I'll have a track finished over the weekend, or tell the missus that I'll play her that remix I've been working on when she gets home from work, I'm more likely to complete the task as I've got someone else who is aware of what I'm doing, and who will know if I don't do it.

This might work, it might not. It depends on the individual. Think about what motivates you and tailor your incentives to fit.

3. Working on reverb. Always tough to get right.

1) Try mixing dry and working on panning to create space
2) Learn your reverbs. You probably have more than you need, so reduce it down to maybe one/two and learn them and how to program them. At moment I use soley Fruity Reverb2 and TAL Reverb2, and have the knowledge (and custom patches already made) to know how to get the best out of them.
3) Try mixing a wet reverb'd element with it's dry counterpart, EQ the two together to get the desired sound.

4. Keeping it somewhat simple so it's easy to follow. I'm a bit crazy with my shit.

Anytime you think you've got too many elements, stop what you're doing, save a new version of the project file and mute the even/odd number tracks in the mixer. Now try and work on an arrangement with just those elements and nothing else. Is the track still crazy and confusing? Could it take something else? Awesome, pick a random mixer track, unmute it and reintroduce it to the mix. Repeat to taste.

i guess mixdown, since sound is something that comes with experience
and everytime you look at some tune u made like a year ago the mixdown will sound bad compared to your latest stuff

Mixing down is a skill in itself, and it does come in time. Always great to keep your old tunes for exactly this reason. And if you've got at least one person with a really nice set of speakers, always worth asking if you can pop round with a CD sometime and listen to your tracks.

Creating riffs with a synth. I might get a cool sound but turning it into a loop that flows and works with the beat and sounds anything like a releasable tune is troublesome. I end up relying too much on samplebanks.

See above notes re; melody/pattern programming. This site is great for MIDI files;

http://www.nonstop2k.com/community/

Download one of a tune you like, load it up, move the notes around etc etc.

I'm worst at finishing stuff. I enjoy experimenting way more than composition/arrangement.

Never a bad thing. I hardly ever sit down at my computer and think "Okay, I'm going to make a tune". Nearly all of the time it's a case of having a sound design piss around session and seeing what comes of it. If I hit upon a great loop somehow, I'll save and develop a tune around it. Sometimes it work out, sometimes it doesn't.

If it's not happening, I'll bounce out whatever I've got for future soundbank use, have a cup of coffee then start again.

Being bogged down by the possibilities a daw affords. I keep disabled effects in my effects chain in case I want to go back and see how it sounds with that thing turned back on when I really just scrapped that after a few minutes. And what if I set that to this instead of that.

Try saving a new version of your project, and then instantly bouncing all your stems as they are, with whatever effects are in place. Now you have 'wet' stems that are locked in position and you can't take off what is already on them? Awesome. Work on the rest of the tune with what you have. Once you've closed off the possibility of making further alterations to a wet stem (new processing not withstanding) you're freeing yourself up to focus on other elements of the piece.

Cluttered/crap/unused hidden gem samples in my sample folder. I rely on F3 a lot

Take a weekend off to go through them and sort it out. It'll do the world of good. There are numerous mass rename programs/backups/directory tree organising freeware available to assist.

Or just delete the lot (after backing up to an ext HDD) and start again from scratch. No samples, no presets, nothing. Go through the ext HDD and listen to everything, only copying it back onto your computer if it's again good.

This is self fulfiling, as in order to get samples you're forcing yourself to listen to what you've removed from the machine already.

Being impractical and indecisive in most regards, really

Commit more. Force yourself to bounce loops after a certain amount of time and work with just those loops. How does it change your workflow, and moreover what does it highlight about the workflow that has come before?

And I feel like I don't have much to show for half of the things I do.

Keep a catalogue of all your pieces organised chronologically by month. Listen back periodically and chuckle to yourself on how bad you used to sound.

[Electric_Head]

Wall of text.