Hip Hop Production Thread Part Deux

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > No More Drake > Musician's Lounge > Hip Hop Production Thread Part Deux

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whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

i like this idea

# ¿ Dec 19, 2012 02:01

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# ¿ May 15, 2024 13:32

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

Chwoka posted:

anyone complete garbage at rapping, pls rap over this

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/41287478/Music/sleepwillcome.mp3

turn up the snares and the guitar bits are a little too dissonant imo -- if you do i'll try to write something on it

# ¿ Dec 19, 2012 18:21

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

dude, my honest advice here is that I've released poo poo that is no where near as good as the stuff I have now, but releasing the poo poo you do have means you can get solid critiques and commentary from this thread. I started out on an iPad with a headset mic and now I am not entirely terrible and I attribute that completely to this thread.

if you're really an artist you can't stop doing it and you can't shut up that voice inside you that tells you that you can always further purify and master your art. so just loving release cause real artists ship and realize that there is always another step higher than the one you are on.

# ¿ Dec 20, 2012 04:43

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

im shittin on these old school thread hoes (jk love you too Jay)

EDIT: also as an addendum to my previous post ashgromnies, your poo poo may sound worse than everyone else's cause of something as simple as your master compression being mis-set and there's no way for us to know unless you post something

also Tahm Bwady i only poo poo on you because i care. if you get real equipment i will be glad to toss a beat at your rear end

whoknew fucked around with this message at 05:42 on Dec 20, 2012

# ¿ Dec 20, 2012 05:36

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

Your composition isn't terrible, but your mix/master needs a lot of help. Try listening to some songs you consider well mastered and try to approximate the sound. Figure out what's loudest, how things are panned, etc. I agree that it needs more dirt too.

# ¿ Dec 20, 2012 15:27

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

ashgromnies posted:

I have literally no idea how to master. Do you just apply EQ to the whole track? I just use Maschine right now. For mixing I EQ the individual tracks but I usually don't like the way it comes out in the mids and highs. I can usually make a bassline knock ok but I have trouble making the top cohesive without being muddy

Edit: http://audio.tutsplus.com/tutorials/mixing-mastering/how-to-master-a-track-in-15-minutes-or-less/ looks like it would be a good start

yeah that is a pretty good start. don't dither your poo poo for no reason unless it's going on a CD

EDIT: if you have money this poo poo is like magic http://www.izotope.com/products/audio/ozone/

whoknew fucked around with this message at 17:28 on Dec 20, 2012

# ¿ Dec 20, 2012 17:24

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

THNDRTHF posted:

dude

also i think most of you (as terrible as you all are) could do a better job than this so why aren't you rich yet you bunch of shirtless dummmies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeT3pL4QdWI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I'm too smooth to grind.

# ¿ Dec 21, 2012 23:25

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

ashgromnies posted:

OK here is a thing I did https://soundcloud.com/seesub-1/thesemoments

I tried to focus on the mix more.

edit: did remix and changed url woops

Good work man. Here's some tips:

* get a better snare sample, alter the velocity a little more note to note. sample from your favorite songs if you can get a clean hit or these are good (imo): http://www.goldbaby.co.nz/products.html

* use stuff like reverb, delay, stereo spreading, stereo imaging, etc. to make it sound like you're hearing these noises in a place and stuff like hard limiting, compression, distortion and tape overdrive/saturation to give your cerebral cortex some more complexity to chew on

* definitely need at least a little reverb and delay on that YEAH sample

* not sure what it is but there's something that doesn't sound quite on beat, it might be the sample or drums or whatever, also the pad-kinda sounding sample or beat or loop or whatever is off-key i think

# ¿ Dec 22, 2012 23:28

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

Chwoka posted:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/41287478/Music/sleepwillcome2.mp3

Son of Thunderbeast posted:

on it

Let's each do a verse or whatever? i'd also be glad to do some final mix/mastering of the vocals if you're cool with that chwoka

whoknew fucked around with this message at 00:25 on Dec 23, 2012

# ¿ Dec 22, 2012 23:35

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

Son of Thunderbeast posted:

that feel when you work hard on a verse for a collab and then they mix it so you can't even understand 1/3 of the lyrics in your own drat verse when you memorized the drat thing

yeah a lot of people overdo it on the voice. gotta be restrained

# ¿ Dec 26, 2012 21:30

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

Shovelbearer posted:

If anyone listened to the last thing I posted, any thoughts on the kick/snare levels or if the piano was too bitcrushed?

Sounds good to me.

# ¿ Dec 28, 2012 00:00

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

the illusionati are proud to release

(click it)

thanks so much to everyone who has ever commented on or critiqued my music in this thread, i owe a lot to you guys. hope yall enjoy.

# ¿ Jan 7, 2013 01:49

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

ashgromnies posted:

Ghastly started and I thought it was going to wind up being like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7QLouuDbUQ

I didn't like the sample you ended the intro with. I really like the synth sounds except for 1:50 on, that sounds like a cruddy preset...

Where do you guys get your synthesized drums from? Make your own or samples? I use the 808 samples that came with Maschine as well as some drum sounds I came up with in Massive but I'm looking to switch it up a bit...

duude! Very nice.

These are pretty drat good imo: http://goldbaby.co.nz/products.html

thanks for listening! we worked on it really hard, hope it shows.

# ¿ Jan 11, 2013 05:54

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

yo here is a beat. is good?

https://soundcloud.com/doubl-e/weed-n-water/s-7jzFI
https://soundcloud.com/doubl-e/weed-n-water/s-7jzFI

# ¿ Jan 13, 2013 03:57

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

The Doo Do Chasers posted:

is good! it needs a better sounding snare though, something tighter. i like the synth stab and guitar a lot though

Thanks dude. Here is that beat with a better snare and some scratch rap verses + a mix/master.

https://soundcloud.com/doubl-e/clouds/s-smqzk

whoknew fucked around with this message at 18:20 on Jan 13, 2013

# ¿ Jan 13, 2013 18:16

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

Miyamotos RGB NES posted:

Over the years I have, through an odd series of events, managed to become friends with some rappers and rap groups, and I was always able to pick their brains about beats/sampling because it has been a huge interest of mine, ever since I figured out that Gravediggaz' "Diary of a Madman"; an incredibly hardcore and horrifying song/beat was sampled from something as cookie-cutter as Johnny Mathis:

http://www.whosampled.com/sample/vi...is-No%20Love%20(But%20Your%20Love)/

Anyway, I have been picking out samples for a few months now, simply by listening to the most obscure crap I can find on Youtube (movie soundtracks, records form the 30s-60s no one owned, etc.) in hopes that I am also finding stuff others haven't already sampled.

I gave Ableton Live a try and so far I like it. I find that I will be able to get good at this if at first I learn how to sample a song I am already familiar with. This way I can figure out what the process is. This video helped a lot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBIreLu0PWQ
(sidenote: that Chubby Checker sample is genius...drat DJ Muggs is a prodigy)

Anyway, I asked one of the guys I know why he still uses an MPC 2000XL when all this great software is available, and he said the following: because you can capture any little snare, high-hat, drum loop, bass, etc. and using the pads, make the beat yourself instead of relying on finding a drum loop that matches your sample perfectly, which can be hard. The pads allow you to have physical user input rather than looking at a waveform".

Makes sense, but it seems like a HUGE waste of money for me to go find a working MPC 2000XL just to use the pads for drums and such. Is there a much cheaper option that could work for me? I feel like something with just some pads that allows samples to be loaded to each one is something I can make with a soldering iron and a used computer keyboard.

Is he using an MPC 2000XL still just because he's used it forever now and is stuck in that mindset? Or would that really make a difference or make this easier? Do you Windows users recommend something instead of Ableton Live? What do you guys "dig" for to find samples; or is that a trade secret you wouldn't want to reveal? I'm personally just doing this as a hobby, so any info would be really appreciated!

edit: sorry if this is the wrong thread for advice since it seems like everyone is posting stuff; if this is in the wrong place let me know and I will

Nah, that's not true. As far as I am concerned, sampling/chopping something into an EXS-24 sampler in logic pro is way easier than learning some obscure machine. You just need a controller if you want to hit the pads. But honestly usually I end up drawing notes.

# ¿ Jan 14, 2013 17:15

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

Some guys in this thread like Maschine, I use a M-Audio Axiom Pro keyboard which has 8 (pretty lovely) pads on the top right of the keyboard. Whether you get a USB device or a MIDI device (which you will plug into a USB MIDI interface, most likely), you'll be using MIDI to control your DAW. MIDI is a musical control protocol, it can trigger any kind of instrument, sample, or effect. MIDI files contain MIDI data but that doesn't mean that your system's synthesizer is the only thing that can be played by MIDI.

# ¿ Jan 14, 2013 18:44

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

Chwoka posted:

i found some norwegian prog rock and in the middle of it they just broke into yodeling. so obviously i went and built a track around it:

Haha, I thought I knew what song you were talking about before I even listened. Hocus Pocus. Nice.

# ¿ Jan 15, 2013 04:24

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

I don't have irrational confidence in what I do, but I don't sabotage my own work by presenting it in a manner that sets someone up to think it's bad, either. It's good to think you're doing your best, but there's always better...

# ¿ Jan 15, 2013 06:07

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

Miyamotos RGB NES posted:

Wow; this shows how truly dense I am. I even Googled for images of the back of the MK2, and saw what I thought were audio input and output jacks because they look very similar if not identical to the jacks a professional microphone I used to have also has. I didn't realize those were just MIDI jacks because I kind of thought all MIDI jacks were the ones my old sound cards used to have for game controllers .

Also I read while researching this thing that it has several gigs of onboard space and has tons of drum samples already on it. I guess I read it wrong and the unit doesn't actually have any samples on the physical unit itself.

I'm a gigantic nerdlord so I'm in front of the computer all the time anyway; I just thought it would have been nice to load pad 1 with one sample (obviously this part would require a PC) and load pad 2 with another sample and so on and so on and not have to be at the computer/gently caress with software to experiment with beats

It doesn't have a memory. The whatever gigs of samples it comes with are on a DVD you install on your computer. One of the advantages of maschine is in fact that you can use a computer (w/mouse and keyboard) when you want, and bang pads when you want. It is the best of both worlds.

This is all really making me want a maschine.

# ¿ Jan 16, 2013 16:45

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

THNDRTHF posted:

whos doctor octogon

so jealous of that loving video/track so loving good

# ¿ Jan 21, 2013 18:59

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

FYI yall can be #1 musicians from your bedroom now without a label deal.

http://www.billboard.com/news/mackl...008110862.story

EDIT: you might have to leave your bedroom once or twice

whoknew fucked around with this message at 18:17 on Jan 24, 2013

# ¿ Jan 24, 2013 18:12

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

I love to hear goons doin' poo poo together. Production is good, I like the lyrics and poo poo. Sounds kinda like you're holding back a little bit but I temper that with the fact that I'm pretty sure it's also a stylistic choice? You need to be louder in the mix, too, and you need more reverb and EQ and vocal production period. Other than that stuff, imo, good work and keep it up.

# ¿ Feb 2, 2013 00:42

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

THNDRTHF posted:

not allowed to say any names yet but 2 different artists that you know about are getting some of my beats played for them by a&r tomorrow

also I dropped biz cards on Meech and Juice both seperately from Flatbush Zombies last week at a private invite only A$AP Rocky show in Brooklyn - I got trapped in a hallway with them for a second and I was like "Yo I make beats" and Meech was all cool and was like "ok word"

I will provide an update as it becomes legal to discuss

excited for you bro, good luck

# ¿ Feb 25, 2013 16:48

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

new beat since I haven't dropped content for a while

rerisen

# ¿ Mar 1, 2013 04:26

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

The Doo Do Chasers posted:

Snippet of an Enya flip in progress https://soundcloud.com/grungerdude91/blue-carribean

Me and my friend got hosed up the other day and decided that we were going to make an EP of Enya, Enigma and Deep Forest samples. I hope it pans out.

No poo poo I had this idea a few months ago but I never did it. Good luck!

# ¿ Apr 1, 2013 23:45

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

THNDRTHF posted:

me and jam master jays son did a cracker trap remix of "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe"

e: they hosed my name up in the artwork lol

I am the first, the last, the thunderth.

# ¿ Apr 13, 2013 20:19

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

Hello prod threead. It has been a while. Here is a noise for you.

http://snd.sc/ZlNYS0

Also listen to this track from my last mixtape because maybe you haven't heard it:

https://soundcloud.com/illusionati/power-move

whoknew fucked around with this message at 06:19 on Jun 2, 2013

# ¿ Jun 2, 2013 06:09

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

THNDRTHF posted:

let's start a goon rap crew / comp album and call it "third eyebrow"

starting now who's in

# ¿ Jun 8, 2013 13:21

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

THNDRTHF posted:

ok which one of you is this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unRldLdllZ8

after i watched the first 30 seconds of this i said "good bye" out loud and closed the window.

also i may actually do something with that sharp like a sharkstooth beat so watch out

# ¿ Jun 11, 2013 16:10

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

Successful goon collab! Proud to be on this man, great work

# ¿ Jun 14, 2013 22:53

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

JCW posted:

withoutyou isn't me that poo poo's cool but a little too rough for me. here's something one you chillers can use though https://soundcloud.com/jcwbeats/tearcracker/s-2IIiT

Dibs on this? I am really feelin it. Probly gonna just rap on it and post something tonight cause gently caress it

# ¿ Jun 29, 2013 01:17

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

whoknew posted:

Dibs on this? I am really feelin it. Probly gonna just rap on it and post something tonight cause gently caress it

wow this is pretty rare someone in this thread actually delivering on something (which i am very guilty of as well)

https://soundcloud.com/doubl-e/life-of-the-party/s-sZ6ew

also if anyone wants to hop in and record a verse over my freestyle interpretive babbling in the place the second verse probably should have gone, please feel free

whoknew fucked around with this message at 02:56 on Jun 29, 2013

# ¿ Jun 29, 2013 02:51

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

Jesus H Nyce posted:

I would like to hear a better mastered version of this (vocals are quiet as it has been mentioned), but this is dope.

It's like our little whoknew is growing up before our eyes.

yeah it is fairly low. i kinda just got hosed up and did it in like an hour so i didn't bother to plug in my monitors. also i did actually just move as i say in the "raps" (if you will) and my monitors aren't over here yet so i can't do it yet. anyone want a logic project to fux witit? also still would think it cool if someone also hopped on and did the second verse... unless you're chicken bawk bawk

# ¿ Jul 3, 2013 23:05

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

whooooo https://www.apple.com/logic-pro/whats-new/ only $199 now

# ¿ Jul 16, 2013 15:48

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

THNDRTHF posted:

this settles iit

@JustBlaze: Sample a toilet flushing I don't care. Just make it good. “@salutations07: @Me What's the importance of sampling a vinyl vs regular wav ”

Also Izotope has an awesome free vinyl plugin soooo

# ¿ Jul 21, 2013 14:49

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

Thoogsby posted:

whys the rap thread in nmd so terrible

goons.

# ¿ Aug 18, 2013 03:42

whoknew: Sep 18, 2004; oh shit
im lit

THNDRTHF posted:

my boy XP dropped a new video yesterday

he is going on world tour with macklemore in like 2 weeks

for those of you that have met me you might spot me in here a couple of times

http://djbooth.net/index/tracks/review/xperience-new-religion