The Musician's Gig Room Chat V1 - Songwriting and Sound Design for all! - Creationism Corner

pls do collab album then I'll actually have a deadline and deadlines+time pressure turn me into a productivity demon (yay, ADHD!) Also nylon and 12 string guitars are good for more than just 90's boy bands- it works fairly well with melodic dubstep or chillstep type tracks if the wip one i have is any sign. Speaking of which, I actually have some creative work moving for the first time in ages! And I'm using this for the music theory bits of advice too, probably, so I'll finish that and then write that up (it will probably become an article but I'll post it here before I publish it)

Wow found my old launchpad that I was 100% convinced was broken in a closet and it magically works now. Also I guess I would contribute to a comp album. Might be a fun project in between the few eps I'm currently working on.

[QUOTE=splenda;49474565]Idk I have made some quite convincing analogue tones with analog. Like it's not my go to by any means, not even in the software instrument realm, but like it has its place as a semi-decent, low resource intensive, 2-osc VA. I usually use it for super cold pads or as a layering piece. I do agree with operator being wonderful. It's basically ableton's workhorse; it can really fill any role. Tbh the only "stock" Ableton instrument that is basically useless is Tension. Like you can get one good bass sound out of it, and the bouncing hammer exciter is useful for weird sound effects, but other than that it is outclassed by a lot of physical modeling synths. I guess it's more or less a product of its time, and I would love to see Ableton and Applied Acoustic Systems update it, but in it's current state it really has no place. AAS's newer physical modeling synth in Ableton, Collision, is brilliant so I know they can bring Tension to a much better state if they got on it. [editline]6th January 2016[/editline] O also the reason snappy pitch envelopes make drums sound punchier is because it allows your electronic drum to sound much more acoustic. If you ever record say a kick, you will notice the initial strike of the beater is a lot higher pitch then the resulting "thump." Same goes for snares and toms too. Also it allows your kick/snare/whatever to cut through the mix more, because your brain will essentially be like "O wow this part is changing pitch really fast let's focus in on that more," rather than "O this kick is just hitting between 30-500ish Hz, well that is boring." Basically clicky envelopes are a must for drum synthesis, for example without a click, an 808 bass drum sounds dull and boring. [editline]6th January 2016[/editline] Like all the great drum machines of past: the 808,909, cr-78 (my favorite), Linn drum, etc all tried to emulate real drums, some obviously doing better jobs than others. That is basically what you want to strive for in drum synthesis; you want to try to make a real drum, but in a way that it doesn't sound like one if that makes any sense. That actually applies for a lot of things. Arguably the most famous "bass synth" (not counting the minimoog because it wasn't really marketed as a bass synth) is the tb-303, which literally was made to be an accompaniment for an acoustic band as an electric bass emultor.[/QUOTE] Tru dat, though i know their popularity stems from their disparity with drum kits - the cr78 is so far from a real kit but has so much character

[QUOTE=killerteacup;49486703]Tru dat, though i know their popularity stems from their disparity with drum kits - the cr78 is so far from a real kit but has so much character[/QUOTE] That and those things were all cheap and capable of producing usable sounds, the 303 did so shite at first First breakout use of the 808 was Sexual healing btw

[QUOTE=paindoc;49487359]That and those things were all cheap and capable of producing usable sounds, the 303 did so shite at first First breakout use of the 808 was Sexual healing btw[/QUOTE] not true. first single to use the 303 was in 83 - the 303 was released in 82

[QUOTE=chaz13;49485560]I like! Rather long of course, but that's what you were going for so alls good. It's interesting enough for the length so I think you pulled that off. I find the drums a little muffled, if the snare was a little brighter I think it may help. There's a tad too much reverb throughout for my taste. I like the percussion that comes in throughout. Just made a silly trap kinda thing quickly: [URL="https://facepunch.com/"]Listen to Soundcloud recording[/URL] [URL]https://soundcloud.com/prizymmusic/trappy[/URL] [/QUOTE] this sounds fucking awesome. my only concern is the snare seems to be slightly buried in the mix by the bass and all of the other high frequencies slightly masking it. its a bit intense at times Here's a snippet of a shred solo I'm trying to mix (warning, abrupt start): [media]https://soundcloud.com/sourcegamer101/test-mix[/media] theres some parts that im playing in the solo that call for playing runs down low on the neck which are a pain to make sound clearer

So I do a bit of electronic music production from time to time, i'm not very good, but I give it a go anyway [media]http://soundcloud.com/petebound/lostinthought[/media] I'm not too fond of the second half of the 'drop' section or the intro, but it's probably one of the better pieces i've put together as of late, haven't had much of that creative spark recently though I want to do more work with vocal samples but I can never find any that I really feel like using, especially royalty free singing samples eh [editline]9th January 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=inebriaticxp;49465849]i'm in love with this, it's fucking fantastic that fucking steroid line oh christ this is a song i wrote a long ass time ago, some of you might remember me posting it i hated the lyrics and trashed it for years, but now i'm slowly figuring out how to use FL studio, and i wrote new lyrics i don't hate! [media]https://soundcloud.com/sharkalarm/smile-on[/media][/QUOTE] I like the vibe of the melody and the overall feel you're going for, but it seems pretty rough still, but it's not terrible for what it is, like it fits with the vibe, seems to be mixed alright for the most part, I dig it [editline]9th January 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=Hobo4President;49475354]This is pretty cool actually, I really like the guitary lead. Also like the mixing on this, everything is super clean. It gets a bit boring after a while but it does fit the cafe theme perfectly. I really like this, it feels a bit short but the build at the end is fantastic. I don't like the processing on the vocal sample, on headphones it has some ear piercing frequencies. Drum work kind of reminds me of some weird moderat stuff. ___________________________ I haven't really made anything in ages and I finally got the inspiration to open up ableton again [media]https://soundcloud.com/philmaah/prog3[/media][/QUOTE] that's sick, my only criticism is that it wasn't longer

welp i have never touched an audio program in my life and this is what happened after about two minutes of fucking around just high distortion nonsense [media]https://soundcloud.com/noruzenchi86/untitled[/media] [QUOTE=elasticity;49491769]So I do a bit of electronic music production from time to time, i'm not very good, but I give it a go anyway [media]http://soundcloud.com/petebound/lostinthought[/media] I'm not too fond of the second half of the 'drop' section or the intro, but it's probably one of the better pieces i've put together as of late, haven't had much of that creative spark recently though I want to do more work with vocal samples but I can never find any that I really feel like using, especially royalty free singing samples eh[/QUOTE] i think you should add something in the background for the intro to smooth into the song

404

[QUOTE=Tom Solo;49494654]Hey, I'm a Rapper. I record everything on my own using Propellerhead's Record. I am recording with an Akai Professional audio interface and a MXL 990. I am trying to make my music sound a bit more professional but I tend to struggle when it comes to mixing. Feel free to criticize me in any way. Hopefully you guys can give me some feedback that can help me improve. This is my newest song. Just recorded this in my apartment. The beat is actually a song from the game Hotline Miami 2. It is called "Rust" by El Huervo. [media]http://soundcloud.com/tom_the_rapper/insomniac[/media] The beat for this song was actually produced by my DJ. We have a couple other tracks we were/still working on but I moved to another state so its been hard working with him from the other side of the country. [media]http://soundcloud.com/tom_the_rapper/lemons-ft-kajomp[/media] other tracks.. [media]https://soundcloud.com/tom_the_rapper/kiss-my-ass[/media] [media]https://soundcloud.com/tom_the_rapper/comic-books[/media][/QUOTE] hey, thanks for posting your stuff here - generally our rule is however that when asking for feedback on your tracks, you first provide feedback to other people for their tracks. That way people actually listen to the music that's been posted

[QUOTE=Tom Solo;49494654]Hey, I'm a Rapper. I record everything on my own using Propellerhead's Record. I am recording with an Akai Professional audio interface and a MXL 990. I am trying to make my music sound a bit more professional but I tend to struggle when it comes to mixing. Feel free to criticize me in any way. Hopefully you guys can give me some feedback that can help me improve. This is my newest song. Just recorded this in my apartment. The beat is actually a song from the game Hotline Miami 2. It is called "Rust" by El Huervo. [media]http://soundcloud.com/tom_the_rapper/insomniac[/media] The beat for this song was actually produced by my DJ. We have a couple other tracks we were/still working on but I moved to another state so its been hard working with him from the other side of the country. [media]http://soundcloud.com/tom_the_rapper/lemons-ft-kajomp[/media] other tracks.. [media]https://soundcloud.com/tom_the_rapper/kiss-my-ass[/media] [media]https://soundcloud.com/tom_the_rapper/comic-books[/media][/QUOTE] If you want to head professional, this is an excellent book and I'm working through it now. Lots of good info [url]http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0240815807[/url] Also consider watching the video "Fucking Loud Mastering" on YT or getting your best demos you're sending to A&R reps mastered I'm easing off the throttle- I was trying to head professional way too fast I think. I'm going to pick up a cheap/efficient dj controller and use some local links to spin for fun (any dosh is bonus over two summer jobs) and to learn the scene better. And broaden my ideas, maybe find a genre I love.

[QUOTE=killerteacup;49494803]hey, thanks for posting your stuff here - generally our rule is however that when asking for feedback on your tracks, you first provide feedback to other people for their tracks. That way people actually listen to the music that's been posted[/QUOTE] Yeah for sure, sorry I missed that rule. Ill make a post in a bit providing some feedback to some already posted music.

[QUOTE=Tom Solo;49494654]Hey, I'm a Rapper. I record everything on my own using Propellerhead's Record. I am recording with an Akai Professional audio interface and a MXL 990. I am trying to make my music sound a bit more professional but I tend to struggle when it comes to mixing. Feel free to criticize me in any way. Hopefully you guys can give me some feedback that can help me improve. This is my newest song. Just recorded this in my apartment. The beat is actually a song from the game Hotline Miami 2. It is called "Rust" by El Huervo. [media]http://soundcloud.com/tom_the_rapper/insomniac[/media] The beat for this song was actually produced by my DJ. We have a couple other tracks we were/still working on but I moved to another state so its been hard working with him from the other side of the country. [media]http://soundcloud.com/tom_the_rapper/lemons-ft-kajomp[/media] other tracks.. [media]https://soundcloud.com/tom_the_rapper/kiss-my-ass[/media] [media]https://soundcloud.com/tom_the_rapper/comic-books[/media][/QUOTE] I absolutely LOVE all of these! You got real talent dude. And yeah, the mixing/mastering does feel a little off. In the first track for example there's a lot going on in the mid frequencies compared to the lows and highs. Now I'm no professional (a more polite way to say I suck), but I tried my hand at fixing it up a little. There's only so much you can without a track's stems, so I couldn't get around fixing some things, but it's just to give you an idea of what I think it could sound like. Your version plays first, with mine coming in at 0:23 [url]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/71300804/music/insomniac_master_test.mp3[/url] Of course this was just for fun :P

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[QUOTE=Tom Solo;49495325] Thanks man I am glad you enjoyed them. But god damn, your version does sound a lot better. Mind explaining in a little bit more detail how you accomplished that? I am so new to mastering that I don't really understand what I am doing when I am working with a Compressor or Equalizer. I kind of just move things around until it sounds alright... Here is a picture of what I have going on with Insomniac. [IMG]http://i66.tinypic.com/20fvjpl.png[/IMG][/QUOTE] I started off by doing some slight equalization on the mids/highs, followed by saturation, stereo imaging on the high end and multiband compression. It was mostly done within Ozone 6 since I'm used to it, but you can accomplish the same process with different plugins! [editline]10th January 2016[/editline] Oh and don't worry, equalization is easy to learn, though compression can be a little harder. Here's some guides to get you started: [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91qs3fux5HY]Audio Compressors explained #1 - functions[/url] (Very well done) [url=https://youtu.be/2ywHHA-q-wM]Production Basics 3: Mixing and Equalization (EQ)[/url] (This guy is a gold mine for learning stuff!)

[QUOTE=Tom Solo;49495325]This track has a really interesting sound to it. Seems like the background music to a really gritty video game. Definitely like what you have going on here. I agree with you about the intro. It starts out kind of dull, feels like its missing something. But other than that its pretty solid. Good work. Thanks man I am glad you enjoyed them. But god damn, your version does sound a lot better. Mind explaining in a little bit more detail how you accomplished that? I am so new to mastering that I don't really understand what I am doing when I am working with a Compressor or Equalizer. I kind of just move things around until it sounds alright... Here is a picture of what I have going on with Insomniac. [IMG]http://i66.tinypic.com/20fvjpl.png[/IMG][/QUOTE] Read the iZotope mixing guide, it's an excellent quick brush up. Remember that compression is used to lower dynamic range by pushing peaks down near the rest of the track - it makes things quieter but generally makeup gain is applied after the compression to bring up the overall level, but now with less range. Many beginners throw compressors at everything since they appear to make things sound better, since louder pretty much always sounds better Otherwise eq work falls in two categories - technical and artistic. Technical is cutting the useless frequencies from your sounds, like everything under 60hz on most tracks and up from there on a few others. Cutting highs is good too, what I'll usually do when cutting either end is to start raising the cutoff until I hear a difference, than backing it down 10-15%. Artistic eqing generally comes after you've done the rest of your work, and cleaned up the muddy frequencies. This is where you decide what elements you want to emphasize, on both a macro and micro level. Maybe your main synth has some harmonics near a 900hz, so you'd raise that and then check your other layers to make sure nothing else peaks there. If it does, cut that with a notch filter or a slight dip (checking how it sounds ofc). The snare usually has transients around 160-240hz so check there to see where the snare peaks and then emphasize that if you like. Ultimately this structure should only help guide you. The final decision is if it sounds good. What are you using to listen to your music? If you don't have any studio headphones Sony Mdr 7506s are excellent starters along with Audio Technica m40xs. I managed to snag Sennheiser 598s on sale, and those are excellent, but cost quite a bit. Your reference system is important - having one good core item is great, then make sure to check your mix on various systems. I use my iems, my truck speakers, my 598s, ol xbr 500s, and my phone speaker (collapsing to mono to check phase)

[QUOTE=paindoc;49495521]Read the iZotope mixing guide, it's an excellent quick brush up. Remember that compression is used to lower dynamic range by pushing peaks down near the rest of the track - it makes things quieter but generally makeup gain is applied after the compression to bring up the overall level, but now with less range. Many beginners throw compressors at everything since they appear to make things sound better, since louder pretty much always sounds better Otherwise eq work falls in two categories - technical and artistic. Technical is cutting the useless frequencies from your sounds, like everything under 60hz on most tracks and up from there on a few others. Cutting highs is good too, what I'll usually do when cutting either end is to start raising the cutoff until I hear a difference, than backing it down 10-15%. Artistic eqing generally comes after you've done the rest of your work, and cleaned up the muddy frequencies. This is where you decide what elements you want to emphasize, on both a macro and micro level. Maybe your main synth has some harmonics near a 900hz, so you'd raise that and then check your other layers to make sure nothing else peaks there. If it does, cut that with a notch filter or a slight dip (checking how it sounds ofc). The snare usually has transients around 160-240hz so check there to see where the snare peaks and then emphasize that if you like. Ultimately this structure should only help guide you. The final decision is if it sounds good. What are you using to listen to your music? If you don't have any studio headphones Sony Mdr 7506s are excellent starters along with Audio Technica m40xs. I managed to snag Sennheiser 598s on sale, and those are excellent, but cost quite a bit. Your reference system is important - having one good core item is great, then make sure to check your mix on various systems. I use my iems, my truck speakers, my 598s, ol xbr 500s, and my phone speaker (collapsing to mono to check phase)[/QUOTE] to add to this the process of mixing is quite scientific and formulaic in a lot of ways. If you can't mix on various systems I always say mixing on shit speakers does you good because if you can make it sound like other songs sound on shit speakers, the quality of sound is more likely to translate upwards to high quality speakers than it is to translate downwards also fix problem frequencies before compression, change tone after compression. If you're using effects, always send them to an aux track unless they're amp modelling - its easier on the CPU and gives you more control over the effect. Never put reverb as an insert - aaaaaalways send it, same for delays.

[QUOTE=Tom Solo;49494654]Hey, I'm a Rapper. I record everything on my own using Propellerhead's Record. I am recording with an Akai Professional audio interface and a MXL 990. I am trying to make my music sound a bit more professional but I tend to struggle when it comes to mixing. Feel free to criticize me in any way. Hopefully you guys can give me some feedback that can help me improve. This is my newest song. Just recorded this in my apartment. The beat is actually a song from the game Hotline Miami 2. It is called "Rust" by El Huervo. [/QUOTE] Man, these are really great. I'd be interested in working on some tracks with you! Drop me a message if you fancy it :smile: I haven't made any beats in your kind of style in quite a while but you can get the gist of what I've been doing lately here: [url]https://soundcloud.com/prizymmusic[/url]

[QUOTE=killerteacup;49495759]to add to this the process of mixing is quite scientific and formulaic in a lot of ways. If you can't mix on various systems I always say mixing on shit speakers does you good because if you can make it sound like other songs sound on shit speakers, the quality of sound is more likely to translate upwards to high quality speakers than it is to translate downwards also fix problem frequencies before compression, change tone after compression. If you're using effects, always send them to an aux track unless they're amp modelling - its easier on the CPU and gives you more control over the effect. Never put reverb as an insert - aaaaaalways send it, same for delays.[/QUOTE] ohhhh shiit also here's more NEVER FUCKING COMPRESS AFTER REVERB I thought my mastering engineer was going to kill me, when he found out what I was doing. Start using sidechain compression/ducking! I linked an article I wrote for an ableton-based course site earlier, but it covers the general topic I believe. It can be found [URL="https://bassgorilla.com/sidechain-compression-in-ableton-live/"]here[/URL] (also omg I'm on 1st page of google for "sidechain compression ableton") And more of the general technique. What I cover is sidechain compression built for use with French House- so the usage of ghost kicks isn't covered because some of the weird artifacts of my technique add to the sound. With rap, when sidechaining around the kick and snare you should use ghost kicks. These are midi notes that are the exact same as your kick/snare track, but when triggered they play a short transient "click" with damn near no sustain. This becomes the trigger for your sidechain compressor, so that it opens rapidly to duck the audio under the kick and snare's initial hit but then rapidly releases it (since the click doens't contain the rest of the sustain of the kick etc). idk if that made any sense. Also play with dub delay, and filter delay on the vocals. With rap you use less effects work, but maybe try XFER's dimension xpander to widen things out? Its a neat free plugin that helps richen the stereo image. I haven't admittedly listened to your shit, but I'd be glad to in a bit. Also can we pls do an fp album I need a kick in the pants to produce, I've got nothing going on in music mentally and thought of asking around for collabs but don't feel I have enough to creatively contribute. [editline]9th January 2016[/editline] saturation and tube saturation are lovely too. dub-styled analog effects can work pretty well in rap-based music I think.

[QUOTE=chaz13;49496115]Man, these are really great. I'd be interested in working on some tracks with you! Drop me a message if you fancy it :smile: I haven't made any beats in your kind of style in quite a while but you can get the gist of what I've been doing lately here: [url]https://soundcloud.com/prizymmusic[/url][/QUOTE] Just listened, you have some skill man! We should definitely work on something together.

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEq6fUYQHxM[/media] man this song is ripe for sampling! Plunderphonics time! those chords

[QUOTE=Ms. Gyroscope;49497040][media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEq6fUYQHxM[/media] man this song is ripe for sampling! Plunderphonics time! those chords[/QUOTE] I'm curious- how do you use samples in your genre of music? Is it purposefully chosen to work when heavily distorted and sped up, or is it just based on stuff you like? I've never even attempted to produce stuff near your genre so the whole process and sound selection stuff is a complete mystery to me.

[QUOTE=elasticity;49491769]So I do a bit of electronic music production from time to time, i'm not very good, but I give it a go anyway [media]http://soundcloud.com/petebound/lostinthought[/media] I'm not too fond of the second half of the 'drop' section or the intro, but it's probably one of the better pieces i've put together as of late, haven't had much of that creative spark recently though I want to do more work with vocal samples but I can never find any that I really feel like using, especially royalty free singing samples eh [/QUOTE] The drums could use some work imo, but I really like those plucks.

You know what I hate the most other than not being able to finish any tracks? Not being able to sing. Like seriously, I can't work without some vocals in place, even if it's freestyle [editline]10th January 2016[/editline] As of now I have about 9 songs I dig and that I could finish, but they all sound empty and dull without vocals

just gonna drop this here [URL="https://clyp.it/1uhlolzv"](i'm so bad at guitar tablature eugh)[/URL]

I know I'm a bit late on this but I was trying out the new ableton beta update and ableton link is so good it's unreal. Seriously if any of you own ableton and know others who own it as well, along with having basic improv skills, it is a marvel. It syncs automatically with no perceivable latency, and to set it up you just need to be on the same network and turn ableton link on in the options. Everyone is just synced to a clock that has no master, meaning anyone can just change the tempo at will, and people can drop out and in at their own leisure, making it better than any midi clock I have used in the past. Like it is so good I'm starting a few new projects solely based around improv with other users using link.

[QUOTE=TheDrunkenOne;49497958]You know what I hate the most other than not being able to finish any tracks? Not being able to sing. Like seriously, I can't work without some vocals in place, even if it's freestyle [editline]10th January 2016[/editline] As of now I have about 9 songs I dig and that I could finish, but they all sound empty and dull without vocals[/QUOTE] if i had the voice of a kawaii japanese idol girl id never stop making music i'd be an unstoppable music making machine powered by limitless will its my dream to make music with the voices of kawaii japanese girls [editline]10th January 2016[/editline] also, if they sound dull without vocals, maybe add a lead instrument that sounds like its a vocal it usually works just remember that a key part in making something sound like vocals is repeating notes because when u sing a song, a lot of the syllables get repeated also maybe steal vocals from another song like turn it into a remix

Christ you're telling me about the vocals Liquid DnB and Melodic Dubstep are my favorite genres like half that sound is female airy vocals I can't do this shit. Or when I try to produce more upbeat electronic like Haywyre, I can't even get my own voice to sound near presentable even vocoded to hell and back

Just take some vocal lessons guys. Everyone can learn to sing, but it doesn't come naturally to some. [editline]10th January 2016[/editline] I guess paindoc's problem is a little more complicated but you can do the same excersizes people who get gender affirming surgery do where you talk in a falsetto when no one is around to force your voice to be able to hit higher octaves, but then instead of using it up talk you just sing with it.

[QUOTE=paindoc;49497609]I'm curious- how do you use samples in your genre of music? Is it purposefully chosen to work when heavily distorted and sped up, or is it just based on stuff you like? I've never even attempted to produce stuff near your genre so the whole process and sound selection stuff is a complete mystery to me.[/QUOTE] However I want and whatever I want. If I like it Ill fuck with it.