Dubstepforum.com

A lot of my tracks I've been making sound quite empty in my opinion, so I've been trying to use samples (like rain or radio chatter) back in the mix just to give it a bit more depth, but it all sounds very contrived.

Can anyone give me any tips on first selecting samples which would fit with what I'm trying to do and then how to place them within a song structure? Thankyou and apologies if this has been posted before

Light percussion is good. Can wet that up with some delay business too.

pads quite low in the mix with lots of verb, incidentals, short stabs with lots of verb. Try some panning on elements in your track to space them out more. Filtering white noise with lots of res to make a wind effect.

The easiest way to go is to use breakbeats layered in there. Not always what you want tho. I like taking nasty dirty samples and even... I haven't tried it yet but I was going to record my final mix out of my monitors onto my phone and then layer that underneath the original mix. Could get some phasing problems that way but it's being creative. I am sure I can find away to make it work. But yeah that very sterile sound can lead to a very boring tune. Need incidentals.

in general i think using musical elements to fill up space results in a cluttered, unfocused mix. work on your arrangement, specific reverbs & delays more than anything else.

Mala's "City Cycle" came on an old mix today as i was out & about-- that's a pretty fantastic example of what i'm talking about.

IMO less is more with the atmospheres. In my sig track, i was desperately trying to figure out how to fill the voids, and it turned out that one hat pattern and a 4 note progression that looped was all it needed. (strings with bass, hats before drop to be specific) but it all depends on what you are going for. but Sharmaji is right.

Pads combined with a sound with sharp attack (like a bell) and lots delay so it echoes over the par.

Its good to keep things interesting though, so they key is to try new things. I find that a track feeling empty means there is a groove missing, as putting spaces in the right place is what makes the groove, if you get my drift.

Someone said somewhere, its not the sounds that make a good track, its the spaces between them, and I'd like to think he was right. Anyhoo best of luck, I'm off to rave

Thanks for the help guys!

if ur gonna use rain and crowd noises hi cut it and keep it low in the mix, maybe sidechain it to a rhythmic part of ur track, doesn't have to be a compressor, try a gate for a more obvious effect.

You have too space in your track? Holllly cow. I've always had waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too little.

nowaysj wrote:You have too space in your track? Holllly cow. I've always had waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too little.

Yeah well, it's all down to personal preference I suppose, but yeah ive never been into those tunes which are "thin" if you know what i mean- i like some texture