The "how do I make electronic/club/DJ music" Megathread!

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ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

IanTheM posted:

Made a bit of a b-more song (that is to say, I sampled Think (About It)). Just wanted some commentary on the general production (kicks layered alright?) and if there's enough general excitement in the track.

the first time you drop the think break, it sounds way thin and not as driving as it probably should. Your kicks don't help. the second drop about 2 thirds through the song where you make the second "WHOOO" come in a little earlier is WAAAAAAAAAAY better. maybe you might wanna have something like that be your actual drop, cuz as it stands now, there's really no tension. you gotta tease it, and then drop in to the think break with the 4 on the floor kicks.

So the pieces are alright, but the overall structure could use some work. I think cutting and varying the break a little bit will help you out, too.

# ¿ Jan 9, 2009 15:32

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# ¿ May 14, 2024 14:12

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

IanTheM posted:

Made some of the changes suggested, broke up the Think break into something interesting, still a couple issues in it, especially figuring out the arrangement (gonna have to cut a few bits out), but I'd like feedback on the changes I've made.

i don't know why you keep half blowing your load half-dropping the think break, but this is a much better song. lots of variation in the synths helped. nice job

# ¿ Jan 12, 2009 15:46

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

Do you get those stutters when not using ASIO? If I had to guess the culprit, its ASIO4all or whatever you're doing to get your soundblaster card working as ASIO.

# ¿ Jan 22, 2009 20:36

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

Rkelly posted:

I read this 3 times now. I'm gonna make eq flash cards for the frequencies I need to know for what instrument and how it effects what part of the waveform. This is a good resource combined with sound on sound stuff.

Once you get what's going on and you can really start to hear the whole frequency range of the instrument, you'll want to do it by feeling much more than "oh i know a I should cut this at 300hz"

# ¿ Feb 13, 2009 19:35

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

A MIRACLE posted:

I figured out the second bass thing too.. thanks.. this is really cool! My song sounds like a Skream song now haha. I'll post it l8r..

Don't forget a little to moderate amount of resonance on the low pass.

# ¿ Mar 12, 2009 19:10

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

mezzir posted:

Remix I'm workin on of Blackalicious - Make You Feel That Way

kinda riding on deadmau5's style a bit much for my taste but nothing else I've tried has been working. Any opinions anyone?

i like it, but i think you gotta cut the horns harder or do SOMETHING to make it seem like more than just a blend. now it just seems like a dj trick and you're playing both songs at the same time. i REALLY like how the horns sound with your beat. nice and spacey, but i think the whole thing needs more of an edge.

that's a way general and unhelpful suggestion, i know, but i think if you sit on this for a day or two and come back to it, you'll be able to take it to that next level.

# ¿ Mar 17, 2009 17:23

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

IanTheM posted:

http://dl-client.getdropbox.com/u/71572/Goodbye.mp3
Starts off fast, but I had a mid-song writing process epiphany and made a chilled out track instead.

I like it, but I think the kicks after the drop are too steady. They need to fall on some other beats so its not so plodding. It doesn't really roll right now. I really like it, but the kicks just gotta stop being so "1-2-3-4". And the snare that falls on the 2 and 4 needs to snap better. Raise the upper mids/lower his a bit to make it crack a little more distinctly.

quote:

http://dl-client.getdropbox.com/u/71572/Phantom%20%28Prof.%20Emp.%20Dub%29.mp3
Remixed my favourite Justice song so that I could use it at my next gig, easy song to remix I think.

I think you gotta cut this one way harder. By that, I mean, you gotta mix up the intro. Make it come off different. Cut those samples shorter, space um out, rearrange the melody. It just comes off kinda lame right now. I don't mean to be insulting, its just falls flat.

Maybe I was expecting a dubstep remix, though. I hear it, but I think this could be a next level remix if you sold that bassline. Dubstep's all about the drop dude, and that bass just comes in kinda unexpected. I think you just gotta sit with this track for a while and come back to it. I think adding a bunch variation to the cut up of the Justice synths would be a big step in that direction cuz right now it just sounds like Phantom with crazier drums on it.

quote:

http://dl-client.getdropbox.com/u/71572/Medium%20Cool.mp3
More burial-esque playing with vocal samples but, the synths are kinda weak and there's still work todo.

Even though that atmospheric dubstep style isn't my favorite, this is a solid one. The vocals are very pleasant, I like them a lot. Solid track, keep at it. I'd say, open up the lowpass on the bass synth a little bit. Its so squished, to needs to breathe a little more. Could just be my crappy headphones, though.

That snare roll thing towards the end is insane though I don't know what to say about that.

# ¿ Apr 8, 2009 16:16

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

mezzir posted:

So yeah, really my new(ish) favorite thing is remixing r&b. Don't know why, but Craig David - Fill Me In last week, and now Blu Cantrell - Hit Em Up Style

I love it, dog. Even if there's a glut of pop dnb remxes, its just so much fun to do.

# ¿ Apr 9, 2009 15:07

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

Pretty good, dog. Obviously not my style, but you're the man.

Maybe something to think about: Its so lush and heavy out of the gates. I think I liked that 2nd drop way more. Maybe I'm just being too much of a jungalist, but I think I'd be more down for a subdued intro in to that drop, then it starts firing on all cylinders. But on the other hand, its such a full song, you may have to gradually sell it like you already do.

# ¿ Apr 16, 2009 20:59

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

mezzir posted:

Busta Rhymes over nudisco. Idk, but I kinda like it. I kinda just want to work on the instrumental but without vocals it just sounds god drat empty.

That acapella has been used SOOOOOOOO much, that I think you gotta come fresher with this. Its a weird one, and people always cut some phrases short to make the next line fall on the beat. You got some real obvious cuts that I think detract from the track.

I had an idea that if you maybe just used to hook, or cut up the verses just SOMETHING where you weren't playing the whole song over this other song.

The backing track is way tight, but it is thin and needs that something the vox give it. But I think you really need to come at it again.

# ¿ Apr 27, 2009 21:59

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

cubicle gangster posted:

I'm not sure i'd want to do it that way, i'm just after a quick way to get a synth in my track to audio because i've got 6 reverbs and distortion on a silly patch in massive and it's killing my cpu.

I'm not 100% sure, but doesn't freezing a track supposed to be the solution to that?

# ¿ May 1, 2009 14:41

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

Stux posted:

Yes Danger does sound like rear end. Oh also, just for comparison, this is a track from squarepushers latest EP that was released earlier this year

In conclusion gently caress you.

Ya, he doesn't make hard music anymore. He's made 30-something graphic designer music for the last like 6 years on WARP RECORDS, of course its not gonna have a gnarly wavesform.

Not trying to defend Danger (who's not popular anywhere but on SA i don't get why he gets name dropped all the time), far from it.

# ¿ Jun 2, 2009 23:00

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

Ya, I don't know what I was saying cuz squarepusher always had had really clean, well defined production even on his jungle stuff. But I think talking about any like aphex or squarepusher or those kinda dudes isn't gonna really elucidate that much about electronic music in general cuz those dudes are doing their own thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7hzN-I0Xjo

ManoliIsFat fucked around with this message at 23:36 on Jun 2, 2009

# ¿ Jun 2, 2009 23:32

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

Afro Thunder posted:

Any users of Audiomulch? I watched a video of girl talk using adobe audition with it for clip DJing.

I've been using the demo of Ableton Live Suite 8 so far and I like it. However I'm not sure which route I want to go since I plan on using it mostly to clip DJ.

That's an awful idea and don't do it. That only makes sense if you like making life hard for yourself and you can intuitively calculate between bpm and length in seconds and its just a big hassle for no reason. Audiomulch is basically the same thing as Max/MSP. You can see how it wouldn't be easiest thing to do for mashups.

Using Ableton for playing a bunch of clips will be way easier and less time consuming and frustrating.

# ¿ Jun 23, 2009 18:38

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

ProdigalSon posted:

Why would girl talk opt for it if this is the case?

He's a nerd. Also he used to make bleep-blorp experimental glitchy beats before he made mashups and Audiomulch is (was? i haven't used that program in almost a decade) perfect for that.

And h_double is right on the money. If you have an established workflow, that's how you're gonna make music for a long time.

# ¿ Jun 23, 2009 21:12

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

cubicle gangster posted:

I've not made any music in over 4 weeks Need to sort this out stat.

Pushin 2 months for me. If you don't keep it up, you lose it!

# ¿ Jun 24, 2009 15:53

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

trill rear end posted:

finished i think

All the real dubby vibes you sell at the start are not well served by that main melody. Too easy, too mindlessly wobbly. The track doesn't skank at all. Maybe ride the LFO speed through the song or something, it just sounds too gross and huge right now. This track can groove so much harder. Its hard to explain, but that bass is just too locked in to the beat.

You need to add some more off-beat kicks in there too. Triplets or whatever you call them. I wanna dance to this like a reggae/garage/dnb song, not a house song!

There's no space on the track, really detracting from what makes those dub elements you have work in dubstep track. I bet if you slowed down by even like 3-5 bpm, it'd rock a little more.

The main melody and everything else is excellent melodically, I just think you could take the track to the next level if you took another crack at the song.

Like check this track: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVKboRPgu0U see how much more sparse it is? That's the kinda treatment I think this song could benefit from a bunch.

# ¿ Jul 7, 2009 21:23

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

trill rear end posted:

perhaps me and dubstep are not meant to be

Ya man, I didn't mean for it to come off like that. You just gotta keep banging out tracks.

Kai was taken posted:

Off topic, but this drives me up a wall. Maybe it's just because of my background, but I can't count the number of people I meet who show me an album or whatever that they "produced", only to find out that they're the artist on the album.

"I'm a producer."
"Oh yeah? Who have you produced?"
"Well, my new single just got released...."

I know it's commonly misused, but it still annoys the hell out of me when I'm trying to figure out what people actually do.

People use "producer" in that way so much I don't think you can call it a misuse. Its a pretty accepted definition.

ManoliIsFat fucked around with this message at 15:41 on Jul 8, 2009

# ¿ Jul 8, 2009 15:37

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

trill rear end posted:

ok tried extra hard to make it lurch and swing and have space

feedback pls

ps this is just a draft, gonna change the siren and the lfo rate for a lot of it

yaaaaaaa bro. that is so sick. so nasty. i like the hats. you could probably do a couple more rolls with them here and there in the intro. heaaaaaaaaaaaaaavvvvvvvy drop. and that is so glitchy and nasty. you could put some more of those offbeat bassnotes on beat, but the idea is solid. like the first measure, do it all hosed up, fall on the beat with some of the notes the 2nd time.

its great. nice and crazy.

# ¿ Jul 8, 2009 23:24

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

Naw its totally normal. Amens weren't always sped up so they crack with that breakneck speed. I'd think about raising the pitch just a little. Might make it snap a little better. You could stand rolling back the reverb on the snare. I like it a bunch, though. I think its great how messy the samples sound.

e:actually, now that i think about it, is there a slight delay before your kick? could just be me being crazy, something's not locking in right. Double check all the hit's starting points.

ManoliIsFat fucked around with this message at 16:19 on Jul 23, 2009

# ¿ Jul 23, 2009 16:17

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

the wizards beard posted:

yeah but there isnt a ton of low end in the song, I think droppin pitch would sound cool

that's very true. the drums just have to change, they can't stay like they are.

# ¿ Jul 23, 2009 17:24

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

mr_package posted:

I like its lazy feel though.

It just makes it sound dated and messy to me. It sounds like a Shut Up & Dance track the way it is, but I don't think the rest of the instrumentation vibes with that.

Maybe its me though, I just pretty consistently speed up or just pitch my amens. I may have been too harsh it could stay the way it is and be cool.

ManoliIsFat fucked around with this message at 00:43 on Jul 24, 2009

# ¿ Jul 24, 2009 00:40

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

Quincy Smallvoice posted:

why the gently caress did goons go bananas with shuffled hats and percussion all at the same time?

They listen to a lot of dubstep now but don't really "get" 2step hats?

Quincy Smallvoice posted:

Did I miss some sort of meeting on this?

lol (e: not lolling at you, but at the explosion of dubstep beats in here)

Ian, you're trying to go for like a spacey dubstep techno vibe or something, right? Pull back on the hats. A couple of them do have to be on beat for the offbeat ones to work. I'd pull the reverb on the hats back a little. Make it a little more crispy. Nice sounds, though.

ManoliIsFat fucked around with this message at 15:35 on Jul 28, 2009

# ¿ Jul 28, 2009 15:07

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

IanTheM posted:

Maybe I'm permanently hosed in the head by the current generation of w*nky/post-Dilla/anti-beat music, but I'm so used to things being off a bit that they become part of the entire sound. Swinging between fast and tripping up almost seems natural sometimes, and at least my kicks are in synch. Anyway, to illustrate my point:

I feel you dude, I know what you're going for and I struggle with it all the time in my productions. My garage drums STILL don't sound 100% right, but yours are off by like perfect half beats all the time. It just sounds sloppy, and not in the way I'm totally on the same page with you about. I think if you just changed some hits here or there, it'd help.

# ¿ Jul 28, 2009 21:02

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

squidgee posted:

why does everyone all of a sudden want to copy Flylo, Burial, and their ilk?

2step-inspired music is a little deeper than that. Sure, listening to a lot of beats on here you might not know it, but I think he's pretty obviously going for a different vibe than those two artists.

I really like the end of track, maybe you shouldn't wait so long for the stabs. Do your funky, too-shuffled hihat beats at first but I say it should fall in to a more steady beat sooner, and the stabs kinda make it all fit together a lot better. Make it more like a grime instrumental it so badly wants to be and less like a track with a labored buildup.

The "ha"s are way classy, I like it. The sounds of all your drums are pretty on point.

# ¿ Aug 5, 2009 05:33

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

JGTheSpy posted:

Someone should tell that to everyone else who makes dubstep so that they can stop making bland rear end poo poo.

LOL you gotta go back a year and stop all the 15 year old british girls from liking it.

# ¿ Aug 7, 2009 17:48

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

IanTheM posted:

The dubstep thread is like 80% boring poo poo by the way . . .

edit: interesting stuff:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m61eF8yozvs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCsoJCW-Gzk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RY9mKY8puA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JqJAJPyi9M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmN785spyDE

You could probably come away with a "this is still spacey and boring" vibe from these youtubes.

To me, I like harder dubstep, much more grimey, more rude. More skank and swagger. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtG5IOZp8Qs

# ¿ Aug 8, 2009 00:14

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

trill rear end posted:

this sound a lil better?

ps its hard in the streets when you have no monitors and only headphones

Sounds just like an electro dude making dubstep.

You've got a lot of talent and you bang out lots of tracks really well. You got chops. I think you did a really great job with the stutters and weirdness with this one. Your variation is noticeable and making me go "oooooh" without being overly weird and distracting. That's a really hard thing to have happen, and it really helps develop the track.

# ¿ Aug 8, 2009 00:17

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

Mannex posted:

Also everyone please stop ripping off Burial's echo-ey subway tunnel shuffles. It was boring when he did it on every track and is still boring.

lol There's lots of people besides him doing it, you might as well call tracks with breaks in them boring. Its electronic music, genres having a lot of easily identifiable features par for the course.

# ¿ Aug 13, 2009 19:03

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

IanTheM posted:

Actual studio? Pretty dope, it's necessary sometimes, but I almost fear the idea of building a cave in which you have to be creative.

Its got its upsides, too. Psychologically, when you're in your "studio", you just know you're in the mindframe to do work. It helps me sometimes because that's my biggest problem, sticking with a song and actually doing all the nitty-gritty work part. It definitely does stiffle spontaneity, though. You go in there with the intent to work.

# ¿ Aug 17, 2009 16:15

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

Merkin Muffley posted:

and I've finally stopped making "give no gently caress" breakcore type stuff....

!!! yet another one

Merkin Muffley posted:

This is the first rock/electro/whateva sketch I've managed to turn in to a full song. I've got about 10,000 more sketches along the same lines that I'll be finishing in the next few weeks (I had to take the vacation hours i racked up in the kitchen I work in, god bless those corporate bastards...) I'm looking for feedback on the composition more than anything, but if anyone wants to comment on the mix, thats pretty ok too...

The second guitar part is just an "RSE" track from Guitar Pro, my MBox is freaking out on me, so I'm stuck with it for the time-being. Everything else was done in Reason and Guitar Rig 3. I'm pretty happy with the track, but I'd rather get some advice/criticism than leave it as is...

I really really REALLY am not down at all with this music. It sounds like it belongs on a Madden soundtrack and dudes with spiked hair would be in the band. It so completely unexciting.

I wanted to give substantive criticism, because even though I'm a hater, I'm a producer first and can always find something I enjoy about a track. But this was all such a thin, Reasony-preset sounding dull mess.

Maybe post another sketch. This on just totally didn't do it for me in any way. Vocals could only add to how ridiculous is.

BREAKCORE, BRO! FEEL IT INSIDE YOU! REDISCOVER THAT HATE AND DEEP SENSE OF IRONY!

ManoliIsFat fucked around with this message at 19:11 on Aug 21, 2009

# ¿ Aug 21, 2009 19:05

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

duggimon posted:

Speaking of which, does anyone here use Renoise? Is it worth getting?

If you're a nerd, its TOTALLY worth it. Its the most polished tracker I've ever used. You'll be destroying amens in a matter of minutes.

# ¿ Aug 21, 2009 19:12

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

duggimon posted:

Not really a nerd but good with computery type things so should be able to get somewhere with it.

Ahah I was using it self deprecatingly, but I'm a computer programmer so I'm pretty comfortable with it. You can even switch between hex/dec numbers in renoise, it really is the easiest one you'll find. Its really about thinking about music in the way a computer programmer would. It's not about the ease of the interface, it's about this abstract, numbers based, bare bones representation of what's going on with all the instruments. That's what I mean to say it's great if you're a nerd. Once you're comfortable with the environment and it all clicks, the interface won't really be as much of an impediment. You'll start to understand the type of stuff trackers are good for, and what they're not good for, and you'll probably use it as a part of your arsenal, utilizing it when appropriate.

I never tried to rewire it in to ableton, i used to mainly just chop up breaks and do drums to bounce and then import to fl. i'll have to try that. i DID get two computers midi slaved to eachother once and me and my bro had a tracker battle thing, that was crazy.

And of COURSE I started using trackers cuz I thought snares was so sick.

# ¿ Aug 22, 2009 00:21

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

Merkin Muffley posted:

loving ouch, I thought we were cool crabhat.

It's not that I don't like breakcore, I loving love it, and I loving love making it, i just think its time for me to do somethin different. I blame most of it on the fact that I started collaborating with two loving near-gutter punk guys that thought chopping up an amen and doing lines of ketamine off of turntables was the only to to make music. That's probably just me lookin for a scapegoat, but my stuff was getting stale and boring. Sometimes a guy just has wants to play crappy rock songs on his guitar and start cleaning his room and actually worrying about his job and future and stuff, man.

I'm sorry about being so confrontational. I don't make breakcore anymore either

I like can't do it. Every time I try, I just shut down FL in disugst like "uhhh, how did I used to have good ideas!?!"

quote:

Like I said, this is my first foray into (actually almost finishing) a more "traditional" song, so I'm not expecting to crap gold out of nowhere or anything. I did use some preset for the lead synth (and that CHUGCHUG CHUGCHUG CHUGGACHUGGACHUGGA guitar riff), but I built the bass and drums from the ground up, and I'm pretty fuckin happy with them. Other than "everything," what is so lovely about it? The Madden thing is scarily accurate, but I know there's somethin there that doesn't make you want to get through the press-start screen as fast as you can

Its hard to explain. Sometimes with a song, everything that's there is fine together, but it just never clicks. It such a standard, straight up broey song, its just no good. The drums are fine, the bass is fine. But the high synth lead is just so lame, I don't know what to say. Like this is the same reason I hated new Pendulum tracks, they're just such straight up rock songs with kinda roboty sounds going on, its sounds like its from the late 90s. Like there should be a turntabalist in your band. There's nothing really wrong with it, it just comes off as uninspired.

It could just be that its not my type of music and I got emotional problems that cause me to hate way to hard. But for me its just so mainstream broey, its like every dude I hated in Southern California's soundtrack.

# ¿ Aug 22, 2009 15:57

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

IanTheM posted:

http://soundcloud.com/stranger-song/deft

New choon, work in progress, still exploring that 135 bpm 2step.

Is your swing ever up even a little in these tracks? Something about them sounds just a LITTLE off. A lot cleaner then they've been in the past, but the hats don't really roll, they're a little stilted. I've got the EXACT same problem is why I notice it so often I think. Like I really think yo need to add one extra hat in there in every second measure. On the 4-and, the last upbeat. I think you'll it'll flow a little smoother.

(This is so hard to communicate over text if I was like in the room with you this would be so easy to explain.)

# ¿ Aug 22, 2009 16:01

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

Exactly dude I completely feel you. I think this mix works really nice, the hats sound tight and the breathy part is sick. Let's collabo

# ¿ Aug 22, 2009 21:42

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

prom candy posted:

Sounds like someone else has been listening to the Nintendo Mixtape lately! I dig this a lot. Every time I try to make hip hop tracks I can't get my beat to match the acapella, even (especially?) if I warp the acapella. Anyone have any tips for that?

Rap is really easy. Like really, most every accapella usually works.and A kick on the one, a snare in the 2 and the 4 (or the 3), and it should work.

Its really hard to explain, but you're obviouslly doing something wrong. Try playing the original track, vox and ur remix at the same time, line up the vox and original song, then line up the new and old song, then play the vox over ur new song. That helped me in a pinch a lot when I couldn't make the vox lock in.

# ¿ Aug 24, 2009 22:00

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

Ya it really is loving tough to build that really clean yet heavy, punchy and just subby enough. Its a craft. Sometimes you just gotta use a sample.

# ¿ Sep 9, 2009 23:41

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

melee beats posted:

http://www.mediafire.com/?lwllxmndywn

amazing

# ¿ Nov 12, 2009 19:13

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# ¿ May 14, 2024 14:12

ManoliIsFat: Oct 4, 2002

It really depends on your style of playing and comfort. In my view, if you can actually play piano and are used to playing with 2 hands, get the 49, because you'll be so frustrated with the smaller one. You can buy another box with a bunch of knobs on it or a trigger finger if you want pads.

If you're just banging out monophonic synth lines, stick with the 25.

# ¿ Nov 27, 2009 22:36

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > No More Drake > Musician's Lounge > The "how do I make electronic/club/DJ music" Megathread!

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