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Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 12:45 pm
by jack sparrow1
ManicMckanic wrote:Very true. Compression can wreck a bassline .. I suppose it's about having it clean and master ready in the first place.
I do layer my basses but haven't got it down perfectly yet.. Then again I don't have monitors. Must get some.
How about cutting your drums through? Any whizz methods?
I recommend alesis m1 active mk2 monitors as a first pair of monitors they are really nice and they are cheap bro.
I mentioned using the focusrite to add warmth to drums,or sampling from old hip hop dj tools. Eq-ing and layering to get perfect drums is well worth the effort.
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 12:48 pm
by jack sparrow1
nowaysj wrote:What is the worst part about producing/making music?
I would say when you really want to make a tune and you sit down and nothing comes out or you end you end up writing lift music or something.
Or losing files due to computer failure,thats got to be the worst part,always back up your tunes.....
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 1:22 pm
by whineo
using the vst as well - I find it quite difficult to keep under control
Do you find this?
you got any tips for taming it?
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 2:53 pm
by jack sparrow1
Whineo wrote:
using the vst as well - I find it quite difficult to keep under control
Do you find this?
you got any tips for taming it?
yeah i found that it was mad to start with.
mostly due to the evolving atmospheres and pads having far too much release and attack.
turn those down and you should be able to make some really nice stabs and pads.
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 9:23 pm
by jack sparrow1
nowaysj wrote:First question, iterated -
How much control do you exercise over a track?
Who/Where is the horse and who/where is the cart?
Do you feel that there is a song that exists, and through your process, you uncover the song?
Or, do you feel that you create the song, that you invent it, that you are the one making the song?
For context - I generally start a track by setting up a pretty generic 2step beat, switch around the sounds on the drums, untill I start to get a vibe. From there I'll jump into a b-line, or atmo, or just work more on the groove of the beat. But through the whole process, I'm just sort of trying stuff out, I don't really hear a bassline in my head and then try to reproduce it. I just start to work w/ sounds & rhythms, and when stuff works, I go with that.
Is that similar for you, or do have a specific vibe, and a specific beat that you want to make, and you make it.
Second question - (actually just a part of the first)
What roll does mood play in your music making process? Do you find that your current mood affects the track that you are working on, or do you adjust your mood to the track? And what happens when you write in one mood, and come back in a different mood?
Wicked question
Manifesting ideas is the bit that makes music so enjoyable for me,the end result of something you had in your head and enjoying it is better than anything.
I feel i know my patches,drums,bass etc very well so i know what they are capable of and what i can do with them so in turn have complete control.
There is always a thought pattern before i sit down and make a beat,usually the style of track not the actual track itself.
I try bring across a level of meloncholy but be uplifting at the same time,thought provoking stuff for the deep types.
I would love to do sound tracks for films that is my ultimate goal in music.
Hopefully when i dj out,people feel happy,sad,angry and warm all at the same time
It's going to sound wierd but i see music as landscape when i produce so i can kinda see what fits or whats going on in the track by looking at the speaker and moving things around.You starting with a beat makes perfect sense because its the anchor for the track at the end of the day,if that flows then the rest should follow.
hope that made sense
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 11:09 pm
by jack sparrow1
Since moving onto logic to produce the album i have noticed how much space you can bring to mixes and how much it frees up the track to add more movement.
Dubstep like any other music can be really obvious and yes some people need that because they are not in tune with the landscape a producer is.
A punter may remember the du du du du doo doooo dooooo dooooo of benga and coki's ''night'' track but i remember the cowbells and atmospheres behind the track thus thinking like a producer not consumer.
Less is more for the majority of dubstep i think and if you can get people listening to the hidden rythm or melodies you create with reverbs or atmoshpere your winning.
By hidden i dont mean anything added but maybe space you have freed up for the listener to let them think while listening.
The audience is invloved in a lot of what i do,everyone has had a ex girlfriend,bad day,euphoric moment or some life experience i try to re create the emotion for.
''for me'' was wrote for my now ex girlfriend but while been a blissed track its got a subtle ''your a bitch vibe''
i reall hope im making sense lol
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 11:38 pm
by jack sparrow1
nowaysj wrote:You are making 97% good sense, which is far far above average
.
I bought logic 4 for the pc, back in the day. It was my first major software buying experience. And it was bad. It was expensive, and extremely buggy. I stuck w/ them and then they dropped the pc, after sitting on hold w/ their tech support countless times for 1/2 hour stints w/ long distance phone rates, I just blew my top, and gave logic the finger.
But now, I am starting to hear the difference in logic tracks. And now the thought is beginning to cross my mind of going back... would require an extremely overpriced mac, and an extremely overpriced logic. Ah never mind. F' that!
http://www.sendspace.com/file/dqzbal
this was the first ever tune i did in logic 8,not the best production mind.
the thing with logic 8 is its so easy to pick up,i reckon you should get back into it man its changed so much.
id urge anyone to make music though because it's best thing in the world.
Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 7:43 am
by brown paper sound system
nowaysj wrote:thought is beginning to cross my mind of going back... would require an extremely overpriced mac, and an extremely overpriced logic. Ah never mind. F' that!
Not necessarily true friend. the Mac Mini is an inexpensive desktop Mac cpu tower that uses the peripherals from your pc (monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc.) instead of being self contained. the cheaper version is only $600!
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/s ... y/mac_mini
And Logic express is only $200!
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MA806LL/A
So to get you back on the wagon (you'll find macs are way more stable for what we're doing & logic is an intuitive pleasure to work with. stuff just makes sense!) would cost you less than a new pioneer cdj. not terribly out of reach for most people.
Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 11:18 am
by legend4ry
jack sparrow1 wrote:Since moving onto logic to produce the album i have noticed how much space you can bring to mixes and how much it frees up the track to add more movement.
Dubstep like any other music can be really obvious and yes some people need that because they are not in tune with the landscape a producer is.
A punter may remember the du du du du doo doooo dooooo dooooo of benga and coki's ''night'' track but i remember the cowbells and atmospheres behind the track thus thinking like a producer not consumer.
Less is more for the majority of dubstep i think and if you can get people listening to the hidden rythm or melodies you create with reverbs or atmoshpere your winning.
By hidden i dont mean anything added but maybe space you have freed up for the listener to let them think while listening.
The audience is invloved in a lot of what i do,everyone has had a ex girlfriend,bad day,euphoric moment or some life experience i try to re create the emotion for.
''for me'' was wrote for my now ex girlfriend but while been a blissed track its got a subtle ''your a bitch vibe''
i reall hope im making sense lol
Bare truth in that quote.
Do you prefer making melody driven tunes or the more bass heavy tunes? And what tune are you most proud of?
Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 1:24 pm
by DZA
Out of the tunes you start, how many of them get finish?
Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 1:53 pm
by jack sparrow1
Legendary wrote:jack sparrow1 wrote:Since moving onto logic to produce the album i have noticed how much space you can bring to mixes and how much it frees up the track to add more movement.
Dubstep like any other music can be really obvious and yes some people need that because they are not in tune with the landscape a producer is.
A punter may remember the du du du du doo doooo dooooo dooooo of benga and coki's ''night'' track but i remember the cowbells and atmospheres behind the track thus thinking like a producer not consumer.
Less is more for the majority of dubstep i think and if you can get people listening to the hidden rythm or melodies you create with reverbs or atmoshpere your winning.
By hidden i dont mean anything added but maybe space you have freed up for the listener to let them think while listening.
The audience is invloved in a lot of what i do,everyone has had a ex girlfriend,bad day,euphoric moment or some life experience i try to re create the emotion for.
''for me'' was wrote for my now ex girlfriend but while been a blissed track its got a subtle ''your a bitch vibe''
i reall hope im making sense lol
Bare truth in that quote.
Do you prefer making melody driven tunes or the more bass heavy tunes? And what tune are you most proud of?
I prefer to make the more musical melodic driven stuff just because its more enjoyable to listen to in the car,home or ipod whatever.
For a club though the deeper melodic stuff can't always work so i need variety. I have managed to stay away from the textbook wobble sound for a while a explore othe ways of moving bass with velocity and side chain and still having that certain darkness or meloncholy sound.
I can't pick a tune i'm most proud of but i can say that they are all very personal and not just churned out.
I do like mixing with ''sniven'' because it has a mddle ground for a set to take your set chilled or aggresive.
Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 1:58 pm
by jack sparrow1
The_Dza88 wrote:Out of the tunes you start, how many of them get finish?
ok since the start of this year i have started 131 tracks, i have finished 12 of those and they are not album things they are remixes and other and dancefloor stuff.
Sometimes i may like a drum pattern but not be inspired to do much else so it will get save so i can return later then ill start something new then maybe starting the new track will inspire me to make the one i saved previous.
Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 7:07 pm
by whineo
jack sparrow1 wrote:
A punter may remember the du du du du doo doooo dooooo dooooo of benga and coki's ''night'' track but i remember the cowbells and atmospheres behind the track
I keep trying to explain this to my mates lol
Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 1:14 am
by mumble
Any general advice/words of wisdom for young producers that you wish you would of known when you first started to produce ?