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Weird BIAS posted:It's technically in G Major but pulling chords from other scales. Most notably G minor the B#m (Cm, the fourth chord of G minor), Am7 b5 (i'm assuming they mean flat 5, the second chord of G minor). Cool thanks.  The last time I did any serious theory book learnin' was high school jazz band.
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Jun 13, 2017 06:32
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A common critique I hear on my electronic tracks is that my drums aren't loud enough, lack punch, are set too far back in the mix. I know there's probably not a "one-size-fits all" answer, but anybody know some quick "rules of thumb" for appropriate mixes on electronic drums? Like, the drums should typically be [x level] compared to your lead instruments, should always be panned to such-and-such position, or something like that? (An example of the type of music I'm making garnering the critique: https://soundcloud.com/eric-zak/jade-city-remix)
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Jun 27, 2017 18:19
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Drink-Mix Man posted:A common critique I hear on my electronic tracks is that my drums aren't loud enough, lack punch, are set too far back in the mix. I know there's probably not a "one-size-fits all" answer, but anybody know some quick "rules of thumb" for appropriate mixes on electronic drums? Like, the drums should typically be [x level] compared to your lead instruments, should always be panned to such-and-such position, or something like that? I listened to the track and agree about the drums being too dialed back. During the mixing process, what is the volume for the "loudest" track set to? To allow for enough headroom on the Master, I try not to go any higher than -6dB or so. Based on that, my loudest track will be at -6dB and then I base everything around that. Generally in electronic music, you want the kick to punch through and be prominent so I will usually set the kick at -6dB or close to that as a starting point, and then adjust the other instrument levels from there. Once you have the right levels for your drums, you can add punch through a variety of ways. Making sure the drum track occupies its own frequency range can help it pop. Using a transient designer on drum tracks can also help them cut through the mix.
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Jun 27, 2017 19:20
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Drink-Mix Man posted:A common critique I hear on my electronic tracks is that my drums aren't loud enough, lack punch, are set too far back in the mix. I know there's probably not a "one-size-fits all" answer, but anybody know some quick "rules of thumb" for appropriate mixes on electronic drums? Like, the drums should typically be [x level] compared to your lead instruments, should always be panned to such-and-such position, or something like that? Yeah like MrSargent said, try and mix everything around your drums. Those zappy kicks have a lot of high and low end so you'll need to carve out space in the upper and lower freqs to make them stand out. It doesn't sound like there's any sidechaning on the bass, that would be a good place to start, doesn't have to be the extreme WHOMP WHOMP WHOMP of a club track but having the bass dip by a couple of db with each kick should bring them to the front a bit more. I also love parallel compression with drums, bounce your drums to a new track and compress/distort the hell out of it, then fade it up behind the original drum track to beef it up.
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Jun 28, 2017 05:50
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The how do I recreate a sound thread disappeared into the archives. How can I get this 80s dance snare/laser/pop sound? I know they used an E-mu SP-12, Prophet 2000, and Akai S-900 but I don't know which sample set it would be from. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fkn2kay5Q-I&t=16s
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Jul 1, 2017 03:20
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I'm repainting a guitar and having trouble getting an even color coat. The paint is going on flat (no runs), but there are some sections that are ending up shinier or duller than others, giving a striped or spotted appearance. I've tried making the coats a little wetter, and that has helped some, but even with the whole surface uniform looking after spraying, once it dries it will be no longer consistent. Will the clear coat cover this up? Should I just lightly sand everything to an even dull finish, then clear?
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Jul 1, 2017 20:53
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Before I put any actual effort into this project can anyone tell me if I accidentally plagiarized this riff from somewhere? That's a thing I'm prone to doing. https://soundcloud.com/animereference/thxok-mainriff It sounds familiar but that could just be a result of it being generic as hell.
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Jul 11, 2017 03:03
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It does remind me of things without sounding like anything specific, but honestly just go with it and make your own thing, it'll turn out different! Having something you're into is the important thing (And if you later find out you just unconsciously remade a song, you'll have come up with some ideas you can run with in a slightly different direction. Play a melody line differently and change the riff to follow that, lean into some rhythmic thing you did, write some completely new part that definitely isn't from the other song and run with that as a theme... You'll come up with something)
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Jul 11, 2017 03:23
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When side chaining OTB is it better to record initially though the compressor or to feed the recorded track through after the fact? Its synth bass if it matters but I've been wondering in general
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Jul 14, 2017 05:29
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JamesKPolk posted:When side chaining OTB is it better to record initially though the compressor or to feed the recorded track through after the fact? I like recording clean and applying compressors etc afterwards, gives a lot more flexibility if you need to adjust any of the compressor settings afterwards. Best way would be to record two tracks from the same synth bass source, one through your compressor setup to capture the vibe of what you're playing and the other one leave unprocessed so you can experiment later on without entirely losing sight of what you had going earlier.
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Jul 22, 2017 04:36
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Yeah, I forgot to this time but I'll usually do a reference track of just my mixer out with basic effects and stuff for the whole track, for exactly that reason. I did get both takes of the bass, at least! Gym Leader Barack posted:I like recording clean and applying compressors etc afterwards I'm trying to do this more as I keep regretting effects choices when I mix... but I had thought (incorrectly, I'm guessing) that you wanted to record through compressors in general? But I'm not sure why, thinking about it.
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Jul 27, 2017 04:28
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Bought a mic at the swap meet and its broken. But if I slap it you can kind of hear it through the amp. I believe these mics are relatively simple. Is there an easy troubleshooting step I can try? I don't mind having a go at opening it up and fiddling with something. 
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Jul 27, 2017 05:11
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JamesKPolk posted:Yeah, I forgot to this time but I'll usually do a reference track of just my mixer out with basic effects and stuff for the whole track, for exactly that reason. I did get both takes of the bass, at least!
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Jul 27, 2017 05:28
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I'm looking to pick up a violin to learn to play again, I used to play as a kid, but I'm in the dark of what I should be looking for price wise and brand wise for basically a started outfit. Does anyone have any recommendations?
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Aug 9, 2017 13:33
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I have to move to Australia from the States. How can I safely get my home setup (mostly desktop synths and pedals, a few 25-37 keyboards and rack modules) over there, and can I get by putting converters on all my power strips?
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Aug 11, 2017 20:09
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So Math posted:I have to move to Australia from the States. How can I safely get my home setup (mostly desktop synths and pedals, a few 25-37 keyboards and rack modules) over there, and can I get by putting converters on all my power strips? Congratulations, Australia's loving great! I'm an American who lived in Australia for the past five years (now Japan, soon Germany). I liked Oz so much I got my citizenship, and am keeping my eyes peeled for jobs back there in my field. Easiest thing to do is look at the back of all of your gear and see what the range of accepted voltages is for each device. A whole lot of music gear can take anything from 100 to 240 or thereabouts, because manufacturers don't want to make different gear for different countries. That being the case, you can often just swap out cables and go on about your business with no real adjustments necessary. Basically almost anything that has this sort of plug:  Can usually be replaced with this sort of plug in Oz:  But definitely check the voltage requirements and look to see if there's a 110-220 switch. For things that can't handle Australia's 220v, you can get a stepdown transformer on Ebay. They're not super expensive usually, but anything that draws a significant amount of power will require you to have a fairly large stepdown transformer, and those actually make a bit of noise. If you have gear that requires wall warts, check the wall warts themselves to see if they can handle Australian voltages. If so, you just need a plug adapter, not a stepdown transformer. Those look like this:  They're cheap as dirt, the only problem being that they often leave your wall wart standing off of the wall by an inch or so, which can be unstable. Trig Discipline fucked around with this message at 23:51 on Aug 11, 2017 |
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Aug 11, 2017 23:48
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I don't know if this is a good thread for this question or not, if someone wants to point me into a better spot feel free. I recently bought a high resolution music player, yes I'm the grandpa who still wants a dedicated mp3/flac player. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EN3Z1RQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 With headphones it sounds incredible. When I use the lineout to my car it sounds like absolute poo poo. My Zune mp3 player that this is replacing sounded great in my car, so I don't think it's an issue with my car's speakers/system. Is the equalizer on my car system clashing with the equalizer on my music player? All of the equalizer options from my music player sounded like poo poo. Should I match my car equalizer to my music player or set my car equalizer to off/even? The other question involves volume, which is also how I noticed how lovely it sounded in my car. The louder I had the volume in my car the worse it sounded. My music player has the option of the lineout volume being fixed or adjustable. Do I want to leave it at it's fixed volume and continue using the volume adjust of my car, or leave the car at a lower volume and use my devices audio adjustment?
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Aug 12, 2017 00:20
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This was really helpful, thanks! Now that I think of it, a number of my desktop boxes came in with interchangeable prongs for their wall warts. Still need to check the warts for my pedals. Still curious if anyone can recommend a shipping company.
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Aug 12, 2017 05:10
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katkillad2 posted:I don't know if this is a good thread for this question or not, if someone wants to point me into a better spot feel free. Sounds like poo poo in what way? If it's all woofy and crackly it could be coming in way too hot, try setting it to the adjustable line out setting and have it right down low and use the volume controls on the car stereo to increase it. A high res music player might be expecting high impedance headphones and pushing out a hotter signal to compensate, which would end up much louder than the zune at similar volume settings.
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Aug 12, 2017 05:16
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So Math posted:This was really helpful, thanks! Now that I think of it, a number of my desktop boxes came in with interchangeable prongs for their wall warts. Still need to check the warts for my pedals. Oh yeah, forgot about that bit. I used UPakWeShip. It's not cheap, but none of them are. It's also not very fast, but again none of them are. Everyone I know who's made the move (sample size of maybe a half dozen) has had shipping times of eight to twelve weeks. Shipping companies will regularly tell you that it'll be a month or so, but that's just a flat-out lie. I paid about $2500 to ship a giant pack-it-yourself crate that was about the size of a small car five years ago. It's really only worth doing if you have some stuff that's difficult or expensive to replace; anything that's not valuable enough or is easy to just sell in the USA and re-buy in Oz you should just get rid of. e: And a related consideration is that, given shipping time, you should realize that there's some poo poo that you're going to have to re-buy anyway. You're probably not going to want to spend a couple of months without silverware, towels, etc. Not that you shouldn't ship any of that stuff, but realize that you will definitely be buying more before your crate arrives from the USA. Trig Discipline fucked around with this message at 07:23 on Aug 12, 2017 |
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Aug 12, 2017 07:16
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katkillad2 posted:The other question involves volume, which is also how I noticed how lovely it sounded in my car. The louder I had the volume in my car the worse it sounded. My music player has the option of the lineout volume being fixed or adjustable. Do I want to leave it at it's fixed volume and continue using the volume adjust of my car, or leave the car at a lower volume and use my devices audio adjustment? This is from their FAQ quote:2.The X5 2nd gen/X3 2nd gen/X3/X5's line out outputs an unamplified signal to e.g. amplifiers, receivers, headphone amplifiers, car audio inputs, etc. The fact that it's an "unamplified signal" can be misleading however. The line level signal of the X5 2nd gen/X3 2nd gen/X3/X5 is of a higher voltage than the headphone out at all but the highest volumes and can damage headphones if you connect them directly to the line out. Please keep the line out port covered (e.g. using the provided silicone case or port covers) when not in use to prevent accidental insertion. It's up to you if you double EQ or not, it makes more sense (especially if it's a great player) to let it output a pure signal and let your car EQ shape it for the 'room' as usual. That way you don't have to mess with different EQ profiles for different sources, but it depends on what you're actually doing and if the player EQ is way better I guess
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Aug 12, 2017 13:53
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Switching to the headphone jack in my car fixed everything, thanks friends.
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Aug 12, 2017 18:26
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I'm glad you're enjoying your X5 2nd gen/X3 2nd gen/X3/X5 on the road!
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Aug 13, 2017 01:40
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Guys, I feel so stupid. I can't figure out the 4th chord in a four-chord progression song. Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZ8xgWlyAHo I'm pretty much it's in Eb minor and it's just same four chords all throughout. The intro (before the bass kicks in) is four bars , one chord each. I think the first three are just: Eb minor, Bb minor and back to Eb minor, so: i - v - i - ??? But what the fourth chord is? For the death of me, I can't put my finger on it, even though it doesn't sound exotic or weird in any way at all. Could you guys help me out?
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Aug 14, 2017 01:05
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Red Garland posted:Guys, I feel so stupid. I can't figure out the 4th chord in a four-chord progression song. Here it is: Sounds like C#maj
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Aug 14, 2017 05:09
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My stepbrother (dad's second wife) has used up all the time he's been allotted to rent his trumpet at his junior high. As such, my dad has tasked me with the job of finding an "intermediate" one for him to step up to. Everything that I have found largely says, "save your money, buy a pro", and "the player really needs to get hands-on time before you pull the trigger", which is a real kick in the balls, because he needs one *now*. As I have *zero* experience with brass instruments (I played piano in my younger days... guess dad didn't feel like shelling out for another upright. =P) what should I be looking for that will let me know that I'm not looking at another beginner instrument?
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Sep 1, 2017 20:00
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Honestly there are a ton of questions I want to ask here. First off do you know what he was using before? Rental instruments from schools can range from beginner to intermediate with the rare semi-pro level ones so knowing what he had before is going to make a difference in what would be a step up. Usually with brass I tend to put things into 5 categories, junk, beginner, intermediate, semi-pro and professional. If he's going to play into high school and is enjoying it an intermediate or semi-pro model would be worth looking at. Using Yamaha as an example, an intermediate trumpet would be something like this: https://ca.yamaha.com/en/products/musical_instruments/winds/trumpets/bb_trumpets/ytr-4335gii/index.html Semi-Pro would be something like this: https://ca.yamaha.com/en/products/musical_instruments/winds/trumpets/bb_trumpets/ytr-6335/index.html Bach would probably be the other brand I'd recommend in trumpets. They are usually more likely to be used by professionals although their semi-pro models are still good too. I'd honestly recommend going to a music store that specializes in this stuff and having him try things out though because it really does make a big difference. Also email the teacher of the school for recommendations as they will have a pulse on these things (hopefully).
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Sep 1, 2017 22:47
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Regrettably, I do not have answers to any of these questions here. Did I mention how this got foisted off onto me by my dad, because he knows even less about music in general than I do, and how he has zero ability to research using the internet? As for the music store, Guitar Center, yea or nay for the trying, then buying online? Is there a particular tuning I should be looking for? Bb, C, Eb/D, etc? (I knew it couldn't possibly be as easy as "get him a Yamaha YTR-2330".) SwissArmyDruid fucked around with this message at 23:07 on Sep 1, 2017 |
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Sep 1, 2017 23:03
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Bb only. Everything else is for specific literature or orchestra playing. Buying new from an online store is one thing. Buying used online or off craigslist/kijiji can be a crapshoot and may require repairs in addition to what you paid. Sometimes you can get a good deal but unless you know what to look for you're likely to get burnt. Being Canadian I don't have a lot of experience with Guitar Center for wind band instruments. If you are just going to go for a brand new instrument anyways that's say a 2330 or 4335 you can probably get away without testing it out. If it's anything other than a yamaha or a bach the chances are the quality isn't there. Lastly 2330 are good junior high instruments. I sold them to band programs for their rentals and they were the things we rented from our store because they are good quality instruments. The only reason I pointed to the 4335 is because if he's already been playing a 2330 or worse and will be going into high school band in the next year or two then an intermediate is going to be able to do more of the literature that is played in those bands.
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Sep 1, 2017 23:19
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Guess I'll take him to test things this weekend, and see what he likes. Just.... https://www.thomannmusic.com/yamaha_ytr_4335_gii.htm Why the everloving gently caress does this cost me an extra $500 in America?
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Sep 1, 2017 23:36
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Because Yamaha. Dude usually I'm all about the "try a bunch of instruments and find the right one for you" but seriously, just buy a Mack Brass trumpet, they kick butt and they are cheap as hell: http://www.mackbrass.com/MACK-TPT410L_Bb_Trumpet.html I freaking love mine.
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Sep 2, 2017 03:43
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I know I'm going to get made fun of for this one. I recorded an album and I think it's really good, but I don't know what to *do* with it. Like, yeah I can post it to Facebook or Bandcamp or whatever, but I would like to try sending it "around" and get a proper release through a record company, I guess? I don't really know how the industry works, and I understand it's not that simple, but I still want to know what my options are. It took a lot of time and effort to complete, and it would be a bit anti-climactic to only have some friends and family members hear it.
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Sep 7, 2017 19:07
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LargeHadron posted:I know I'm going to get made fun of for this one. This is second-hand advice but I have been told that nowadays, labels or record companies are inundated with people sending them emails or social media messages and don't have the time nor desire to sift through most of the poo poo. That isn't to say it CAN'T happen this way, but it is a long-shot because it is so hard to stand out and make a connection when you are sending something electronically. I am not sure where you live or what genre the album is but my recommendation would be to try and make a human connection with people in the industry. In addition, it will make you stand out if you not only come with the music, but a finished product (album artwork is a big one that can make you stand out). Give someone something physical they can hold on to and they will be way more likely to give it a listen than E-mail #456,987. Also, the less work a label has to do to sell something, the more likely they are to pick it up.
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Sep 7, 2017 20:09
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MrSargent posted:This is second-hand advice but I have been told that nowadays, labels or record companies are inundated with people sending them emails or social media messages and don't have the time nor desire to sift through most of the poo poo. That isn't to say it CAN'T happen this way, but it is a long-shot because it is so hard to stand out and make a connection when you are sending something electronically. I am not sure where you live or what genre the album is but my recommendation would be to try and make a human connection with people in the industry. In addition, it will make you stand out if you not only come with the music, but a finished product (album artwork is a big one that can make you stand out). Give someone something physical they can hold on to and they will be way more likely to give it a listen than E-mail #456,987. Also, the less work a label has to do to sell something, the more likely they are to pick it up. That helps - thanks!
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Sep 7, 2017 20:18
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A record label isn't going to pick you up so just squash that right now. If you want to get their attention, the only way is touring, playing festivals, and having your record pick up steam. Even then it's a long shot. Are you willing to tour for the next few years? Because thats kinda bare minimum at this point.
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Sep 7, 2017 21:19
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So, then, how exactly does one get their record to pick up steam? Curious especially for my situation, where I'm a solo composer who doesn't even have a live act.
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Sep 7, 2017 23:06
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Drink-Mix Man posted:So, then, how exactly does one get their record to pick up steam? It isn't easy...you are going to have to do some serious legwork to reach out to some blogs/ local music media that cover your style of music and promote artists. What style of music are we talking? If it is club/dj music, you should make relationships with local DJs so that they play your stuff. Edit: I feel like in today's world, it is hard for music alone to generate enough buzz for a completely unknown artist. You almost need some semblance of a brand or image that people can connect to that will actually pull them into a project and get them curious about it. That is where stuff like a cohesive artistic message between music, visuals, and live performance is really important in generating hype or buzz. MrSargent fucked around with this message at 23:58 on Sep 7, 2017 |
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Sep 7, 2017 23:55
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Drink-Mix Man posted:So, then, how exactly does one get their record to pick up steam? Its kinda like trying to make something go viral, you can't, you just have to put it out there best you can, and hope people find it. Also talking to composers you respect, and being a part of the community at large will help with not only exposure, but most likely your output in general.
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Sep 8, 2017 00:11
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You make a website, get 10000 followers on youtube, facebook and twitter and soundcloud, constantly promote yourself, be charming, funny and interesting, network with people at gigs to hell and back, particularly those organizing them. You make free remixes or covers and post them to the original artists on twitter sparingly, hoping to piggyback on their retweets. Maybe hassle popular youtubers to use your music in the background of their videos. Do goddamn press releases. All without coming across pushy or desperate. Basically take on a second and third unpaid, fulltime job managing your presence like a business with your music as a loss leader and maybe you get noticed by someone. All assuming your music is any good to begin with. You perform in front of a public any time you can, even if it costs you money to get there and hopefully after a while there's maybe ten-fifteen faces you start to recognise. These are the people who will repost your new releases to their friends. From that point on it's a lottery. With lottery-like odds. You need ambition like someone wanting to become an astronaut and you're equally as likely to be forced to settle along the way, because you're just not good enough and more importantly, not lucky enough and don't know the right people. If none of this comes naturally to you, learn to enjoy making music for the sake of it would be my advice.
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Sep 8, 2017 00:36
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Harsh but fair Flipp haha. He's right though, to gain even a modest following, you have to have some serious loving dedication to your project. I like calling it a project because it HAS to be more than the music if it is going to gain traction. The music is most important for sure but there is plenty of good music that never goes anywhere. I produce music as a hobby and have been watching a lot of youtube videos of interviews with well-known producers in hip-hop and electronic music. The one common theme for literally all of them is that they put in absolutely insane amounts of hours into their craft and I am constantly shocked as to the lengths some of them went to when they were coming up. One of Young Thug's producers remembers literally living out of his production studio for the better part of 2 years because he never stopped working.
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Sep 8, 2017 01:13
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