/prod/ - Music Production General

LAST THREAD
>>73396177

Talk about music production, composition, and audio engineering.

Upload WIPs on https://clyp.it/

GIVE and RECEIVE feedback.

>ATTENTION!
DO NOT post Soundcloud, YouTube or any links where you are not anonymous. That is considered self promotion and will result in bad feedback.

>LEARNING RESOURCES

>The Art of Mixing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEjOdqZFvhY

>Intro to Synthesis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atvtBE6t48M&list=RDatvtBE6t48M#t=1764

YouTube channels that you should subscribe to:

>Point Blank Music School
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIWNozFjO8yVdJFsGKVmPgg

>Pensado's Place
https://www.youtube.com/user/PensadosPlace

>SeamlessR (Music production and sound design tutorials, based on FL Studio)
https://www.youtube.com/user/SeamlessR

>BusyWorksBeats
https://www.youtube.com/user/busyworksbeats

>ADSR Music Production Tutorials
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf5UKh_cj2_5pUomhyswWYQ

>Justin Omoi
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMnmXvv9JHJPsrrob-gEn5A

>WarBeats
https://www.youtube.com/user/nfxbeats/videos

>Samori Coles
https://www.youtube.com/user/homestudiotutor/videos

>Modern Mixing
https://www.youtube.com/user/ModernMixing/videos

>Image Line Tutorials
https://www.youtube.com/user/imageline/playlists

>Music Theory: The TL;DR Version (Music Theory geared toward electronic)
http://www54.zippyshare.com/v/pUN8e0km/file.html

>Adam Neely (Music Theory and bass)
https://www.youtube.com/user/havic5/videos

>SamuraiGuitarist (Music Theory and guitar, ignore the blogging)
https://www.youtube.com/user/samuraiguit/videos

>Holistic Songwriting (Music Theory, Branding, and "Making It")
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLtD67ljlaeXQMV4sb-YzNA/videos

>Michael New (Music Theory and piano)
https://www.youtube.com/user/Rhaptapsody/videos

>READ THIS BEFORE ASKING ANYTHING

>Production Resources:
>Pastebin - Links, books, videos, articles, tutorials and stuff
http://pastebin.com/pYGCLu6q

>>73416343
>Michael Pitluk (Music Theory on piano and production and mixing tips)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwagS434ieZhHv1dCzaR4MA/videos

>Hit Songs Deconstructed (Arrangement based on what's current)
https://www.youtube.com/user/HSDeconstructed/videos

>Our Worship Sound (Music Theory and piano, religious focus but useful)
https://www.youtube.com/user/OurWorshipSound/videos

If you sample keys or strings or anything, watch this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8TxHm__FZ8

It's about how you can change chords / reharmonize other instruments with your choice of bass notes as they become the new root due to being the lowest note.

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how do i into music like this? https://youtu.be/0gzU8dGFG9s?t=5m36s

the smooth synth, the subdued kick, pretty much everything about it. no idea how to get the sounds.

>>73416508
Don't use your big house kick samples.

Y'all gotta get Pianoteq, Pianoteq 2.3 has a proper crack the new ones don't, and try composing a song on that. Just a quick way to sketch without loading some 5GB sample library. Real CPU friendly too.

>>73417074
Writing music is way easy when you can just, you know, write. Worry about synths later I got chords and shit to put down.

Like 20 minutes, 10 of it sketching 10 of it adapting to different synths.

https://clyp.it/ttpemtrq

It's so freeing.

optimal LUFS to master to?

>>73418002
>https://clyp.it/ttpemtrq
lol thats why i dont try to write songs

>>73418280
crank everything to -0.1db

https://clyp.it/34xsvrjf

was working on this track but then overplayed it during the whole process and got bored and eventually hated it. Does this happen to you, if so, do you think it's worth it to release it to fresh ears who may enjoy it? Or should you just shelf it and focus on new tracks.

>>73418483
sounds done

https://clyp.it/0om3awfk

Been trying more organic types of songs, thoughts?

Is it possible to combine a usb soundcard with a different usb midi controller in ableton? I know its not possible to use multiple soundcards, so thats why Im asking.

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hey guys i wanted to ask and see if i could get help here. i downloaded Keyscape and already have Omnisphere 2 working and all up to date, and Keyscape will load and the sounds will show up, but when i select them they won't play, this error pops up with all of them. anyone know what i could do?

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Any advice on where to pick up synths for cheap?

There's a Korg Minilogue at my local Sam Ash and I fucking love it but 500 dollars is a little out of my price range. I've tried Craigslist and Reverb but no luck yet

>>73416508
it's piano, pads, and acoustic guitars in a bunch of reverb, are you new?

>>73418002
do whatever works for you lol

starting from sound design inspires in a different way

>>73419192
boring bb sorry, more so the first minute

drums sound incorporate without making the piano a lot louder

>>73419628
did you already check the comment section of wherever you torrented from?

>>73418483
personally I really wish producers would stop releasing demos and any tracks they're not 100% done and satisfied with- takes longer to sort through new music and honestly if i hear something like that on somebodys page i don't bother with the rest

while I like your song it doesn't at all sound fulfilled to what it could be. the vocal samples need to be placed in a new space/reverb every section and only having that one main synth (or extremely similiar sounding) in that same range makes the arrangement grow stale desu

Background percussion needs work, those claps are on the right track but they're not audible enough. The drums could groove a lot more with the velocity actually, but especially the claps.

It's mostly that, the mixing, and I think you could do some layering just to make the arrangement more interesting

>>73419932
waiting game friendo. only other place would be guitarcenter but they sell broken shit all the time lol

>>73415967
Fucking Audacity is not a DAW.

How many fucking times do I have to tell you?

>>73419376

You can use more than one MIDI controller if that's what you're meaning? Ableton's MIDI preferences panel expands to accommodate as many MIDI devices as you have installed, and that in turn would be limited by the number of USB ports you have, assuming that all of your MIDI devices are USB.

Even if you have a combined audio/MIDI USB interface you'll be able to use another USB MIDI device if you like - Ableton (and your OS) sees audio devices and MIDI devices as separate items with their own drivers, even if your device is a combined type with a single driver installer application.

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>>73420188
ok, thats cool. thanks.

>>73419980
yeah i already checked the torrent comments, but none say anything about this error.

>>73419980
i'm new to producing, yeah. i know a lot of music theory and how to use classical instruments, know almost nothing about synths.

Anyone playing with GNU/Linux DAWs?

What's the best setup?
Ardour with Hydrogen looks nice but the whole Jack thing confuses the hell out of me.

What about LMMS? How functional is it really?

>>73420451
anything at your disposal already?

i'd say pick up a keyboard if you can play alread and learn enough guitar to get by

i haven't tried it but supposedly omnisphere is good at pads....

kontakt and fm8 will probably do you well too, if it's in your budget komplete is totally worth the price even when it's not on sale.

>>73420600
its been a long time since ive used linux for this but i always felt ardour was the better daw

Posted this right before last thread closed.
can someone give me some advice on how to make this bass synth that starts at :49? ive tried a low passed filtered detuned saw with a stepper controlling the filter cut off. I get some what close results(not really) by directing the LP filter into a BP filter but still doesn't sound anywhere close.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ28SypAk80 [Open]

Looking for some feedback, finally managed to finish and mix a track, but this is the first time I've mastered something. Any feedback would be appreciated!

Mixed:
https://clyp.it/cusdwjjw?token=2d27e9bd515507f9240831c6b1134c3d

Mastered:
https://clyp.it/apuwk3wu?token=6ce6968da41ce09bcbd0dc5476e84088

>>73420802
i play piano well and I have it hooked up to my PC. just don't know where, or how, to get the sounds I need.

>>73421348
>>73420802
>>73420451
>>73416508
https://clyp.it/hd5fu2nq
i made this a few weeks back, it's almost there but not quite.

>>73421515
guitar is way too quite and muffled, could use some reverb and high frequencies. also the drum machine is awkwardly panned.

>>73420974
i'd add some bit crushing and another lowpass at the end of what you're doing already. massive has a formant mode that could help, other popular synths probably have something similiar

>>73421348
it's not midi is it?

>>73421515
mmmmm, keep learning

>>73419192
>https://clyp.it/0om3awfk
I like the idea, try adding more instruments in the progression too.

>>73419980
>>73419192
Whats boring about it?

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>>73416343
>>73416343
>>73416343

UPDATE THE PASTEBIN

AUDIO ENGINEERING BUNDLE
https://mega.nz/#!tU1CnSoA!3PH2i4T-AIUDKCJoQynQdifCeRH7XbR7oCyWm_xoDPI

>>73421762
Ye i plan to

>>73422206
practicing like you would with any other instrument, learn to keep up with a metronome

>>73422206
lmao that's like half of what you need to know

if you actually want to play piano go for it, but if you're just learning theory i think you've got it covered, unless there are just gaps in your musical intution like what a triplet sounds like

you know your intervals already? those plus more complicated chords and cadences are worth knowing

>>73421809
uhh fuck. that's kind of hard to explain

also i meant inappropriate not incorporate lol

the whole piano line and the vocal harmonies are completely consonant and playing off that same root the entire time.

even when the bass came in you had a chance to make it interesting (I HEAR IT GO A# C F AND THEN START THE NEXT SECTION ON G PLAYING 16THS WITH AN INCREASINGLY LOUD SNARE INTO A BIG SECTION TRUST ME IT'LL BE COOL)

I'm so incapable of writing lyrics
How do yall do it?
I start with instrumentational rhythm
then create a melody that fits ontop of it
then cram words into that melody
and it sucks
But what's the alternative?
write down a whole bunch of shit and nonchelauntly use whatever fits the melody retroactively?

>>73422558
>write down a whole bunch of shit and nonchelauntly use whatever fits the melody retroactively?

HOLLLLLY SHIT YES

that's literally what you're supposed to do. change preexisting lyrics for your songs dude lol. break apart and hold syllables and take out/replace words as needed, it's pretty easy

>>73422619
curious...

>>73422639
pretty sure that and adlibbing to your song until something sticks that isn't stupid are really the only ways that people do it lol

>>73422682
I've spent months writing a single song
I tried this one, and bashed out like three, fuck I'm never going back to the old bullshit cheers senpai

>>73422768
you got it? <.<

happy writing :))))

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been working on this for a while now, i think its kind of almost there now, would appreciate any sort of feedback

https://clyp.it/vdcbpbbt

>>73422558
>write down a whole bunch of shit and nonchelauntly use whatever fits the melody retroactively?
basically
when writing a song around a certain topic or emotion, lets say something trivial, like being rejected
write down all your thoughts and feelins regarding the subject, examples of times you were rejected and the emotions surrounding it etc
and then basically cram it into your music.
As for choosing what lines ot pout where, it can be a pain, but most people just forc it in and torture the way you pronounce things to make it fit.

>>73422359
Hmm thats the second person who has said my melodies are too consanant haha kidna stuck tho

>>73422558
try cut up, then change words that don't fit for synonims or whatever one fits and "kind of" makes sense

this has a at least 3 of pros:
1 - your lyrics are free from your own mental hangups
2 - the universe literally wrote your lyric so any meaning that appears from the randomness is mystical in nature
3 - your lyrics will be completely ambiguous and surrealistic and people will think they are deep

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cut-up_technique

also recommend pairing that up with this
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranoiac-critical_method

>>73423248
>read William Burroughs and do drugs

Thanks bb

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how to make choruses pop!

>>73422883
Nice intro, just delete all that faggy tekno darude sandstorm shit after the intro and make some real music this time

>>73423463
>not making a song that is only choruses

>>73423500
what tekno darude sandstorm shit faggot

>>73423500
That was mean but I lol'd out loud :^(

>>73423509
>making choruses at all

>>73423509
>>73423463
Not making the entire song a slow buildup with no payoff

>>73423442
i didn't tell you to read burroughs or do drugs i told you to do cutup

>>73423463
Smooth transition from verse
Claps on the 2nd and 4th beat
16th note hihats
Tripled vocals

>not doing everything in your power to avoid verse/chorus/verse

>>73423549
I do all those things and they work though!

(I wasn't the original anon lol)

>>73419980

>>73418483 here
thanks so much for the feedback
literally every point you mentioned is what bothers me about the track, i need more variance in those vocal samples and percussion especially. I have made a few more synths since then so maybe i should try and swap/later differently in sections.

I never really thought it was release ready, and like you said I feel the same way with people releasing tracks that they don't think are finished/good enough. First impressions can break you so fast with how much content is out there and how fast you can just get skipped. I have about 7 songs although not similar, but about the same % "finished". I haven't released anything due to getting annoyed of them and wanting to move on. Any tips?

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How do I mix this better?

https://clyp.it/f2p0m35o

I feel like the kick gets lost in the sub bass in the first three quarters of the clip and there is some funkiness in the last quarter near the end I cant put my finger on.

>>73424560
I've been there several times man

Honestly you just gotta get in there and push through once you identify exactly what's missing

Once you've got everything down I find it helps to take off any unnecessary effects and bounce everything to mix in a dedicated session.

https://clyp.it/rjnqxyx2
im very productive pls kill me

new /bleep/ here

https://clyp.it/kispjzre

>>73420974
Sounds like a sampled sustained synth bass tone, with an ADSR with a short decay modulating a highly resonant lopass filter with keyboard tracking turned up, in mono portamento mode with slight portamento which is also making the filter glide and that sound going through something like filterfreak with a step rhythm modulating a bandpass filter and the wet/dry set to 50%

>>73415967
WIP, roast me https://clyp.it/opcrm0tg

>>73426333
>https://clyp.it/kispjzre
bretty cool anon, I'd mess around with the mix again and see how your synths sit with your hi-hat. Hat's don't need to be that loud to be audible.

>>73426144
>https://clyp.it/rjnqxyx2
ouch my dude

>>73424610
no real advice here, makes me think of playing CounterStrike source for some reason

>>73426712
me
>>73422883
I'm not really feeling this very much anon, what kind of music do you listen to/do you play an instrument? The drums do sound pretty good though but I agree that this has the Youtube copyright music vibe. If that's what you're going for you succeeded.

I have some hardware synths/drum machines (ms20mini, korg poly 800, etc) and want to record them into a daw, probably ableton, while I'm triggering them via midi. I just want a easier way to record stuff and combine digital effects with hardware synths and VSTs.

What's a good, medium price piece of hardware to record synths into my computer?

>>73426873
Medium price being..?

Id22 apollo twin etc and above is the medium in interface works imo

I just want to make some French House. What's some stuff I should learn, assuming I know nothing about music theory and don't know how to use FL Studio?

The links at the top are too much.

>>73427028
>too much
I've got some bad news buddy


Sorry you have to learn everything or you're going to suck. Start with theory and learning how to use your daw. You should learn to use your synths eventually but that can wait

>>73427161
What would you recommend to learn music theory enough to be able to write some simple house songs?

>>73427175
you don't really need music theory for simple songs, dunno what this guy is on. if you know the basics of how a chord is made then that's about all you need.

>>73427568
And then what? I tried making a song once, and it went horribly wrong. Ended up with a shitty sounding circus song.

>>73427568
>you don't need to know music theory
>you need to know the basics of music theory

>>73427600
You need to know at least the basics of music theory. Hit up the tl;dr guide on music theory to get your vocab and then the videos will make sense. That's a big draw of knowing music theory, being able to communicate ideas. Beyond that it's understanding why what you or someone else made sounds good and how to do it again.

So to reiterate, the videos are basically speaking in a language you don't understand, but you will once you read the relatively quick tl;dr music theory pdf.

>>73427568
Lol if he wants to make entire songs with one chord and constantly have to guess and check trying to match notes to whatever he's sampling then fine

It's not a whole lot to learn

>>73427758
Thanks. I'll read it.

>>73427764
forgot about samples, i guess you'd need key signatures for those

>>73427175
learn how chords work together and know what each interval sounds like so you can write a decent melody

>>73427914
there is a program frankjavcee has a video over that keys your samples.


also I finished the wip I posted a few hours ago. This is my first serious attempt at house, so dont rip my asshole too far apart now

https://clyp.it/e2j1x2ys

>>73428220
Thanks. I liked the first part of the song, but the rest not so much.

>>73426781
i like ambienty shit, play the drums

> I agree that this has the Youtube copyright music vibe
i have no clue what this means

>If that's what you're going for you succeeded.
i was going for something more rounded up than the last track, that i did

>>73426712
i don't have a lot to say, i really liked it and it sounds very polished, i guess its just a section of a longer thing? if not it needs some more structure, or at least a breakdown, that would "make it" imo

>>73428220
needs more dynamics man, your heart is in the right place but the sounds are too static, kind of sounds overly sequenced/looped, add tails, automate stuff

>>73428491
>>73426712
hey its me, glad you liked it. It's really unfinished thing just noodling with chopping up my voice. I started adding more structure with the 'breakdown' bit at 1:03.

>>73428660
your voice sounds nice

did you make the rest of the sounds too?

>at 1:03
yep looks like the perfect place, just before you come back at it a notch up

would you care to explain to me what "youtube copyright music vibe" is?
shit music sold to video makers to not infringe copyright?
uncopyrighted eps posted by the millions with anime pics as covers?

>>73428715
The farty brass synth chords are my yamaha DX7, and the Bass is an 808 I found online and distorted. All the other drum parts are distorted 808 sampled with my acoustic drum kit mixed in super super quiet.

By youtube copyright music I mean this type of trance that was popular a few years ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WPCLda_erI

I get that vibe a bit from your bass and the way the track thumps along. Your drum programming is much nicer than these types of tracks though. I'm speaking more along the lines of sound design.

>>73428992
aah yeah i can see it, the lazy saw bass overtly side chained with the kick, simple melodies, and the high-pass fills

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Not a DAW and definitely not free, but are there any modular folks out there?

https://clyp.it/nphzkop0
i have no idea why i'm posting this shit

>>73426712
>mix again

fuck, I learned I fucking suck at mixing
anytime I record something, even on the guitar, all volume levels are fucked up

could it be because I always use headphones instead of speakers?

thanks for the advice


about your stuff: I kinda like the chillstep-vibe to it, IMHO the beat should start sometime earlier it's a nice uptempo

>>73432764
mixing on headphones is always a compromise, but it doesn't make too big of a difference in terms of basic things like getting the levels right
check your workflow, maybe watch some tutorials to get some inspiration how to structure your mixes so you can spot and avoid simple mistakes like that easier

>list midi controllers for prices i feel are reasonable
>first replies are always "CAN I GIVE U HALF OF THAT AMOUNT???"
every god damn time

>buy midi keyboard
>While it's being sent in my headphones break
>Now all I have are my shitty laptop speakers cause I'm a poorfag
>Can't produce shit
FUCK

>>73434618
how do you break headphones?

>>73433007
thanks for the tip, will do

is there any way in studio one 3 to automatically delete song folders if I didn't save?
I have my song folder full of empty folders

>>73429993
No but that looks beautiful

I have nothing useful to add

looking for some mix advice on this, I want to send it off to be mastered but want to get rid of any glaring errors first

It's sort of pop/edm so won't be to most of /mu/'s taste

https://clyp.it/0kh2tmls?token=28b21ab24e16156adceec431a9dd0fe2

>>73429993
Also a eurorackfag, I might switch over to 5U though since I was never into those esoteric modules.

>>73419192
i love long season too!

>>73423463
not making a 10 verse chorus-less diatribe

How do I avoid autism flareup when tweaking knobs? My brain goes all 'metallic' feeling with all the options and I lose any vibe I had going

>>73433312
list em way higher, make em think they haggled you down

>>73436963
quit touchin shit dog, compose with presets or a piano or something and then when you're done bring in the synth tweaking. devote time to composition and sound design independently and don't cross them until the end.

>>73437455
then i just get no responses lol buncha broke-asses around here

>>73437696
don't need to sell it immediately do you

>>73437713
thankfully no lol, listed all this shit multiple times already

jesus christ how is there no vst that does what slicex does?
these sampling jews i swear god

is this worth trying to flesh out into a longer song?

https://clyp.it/eamzvqqy

also is there anywhere to learn the basics of creating drum rhythms from scratch?

Where's the best/safest place to torrent FL studio?

I promise I'll buy it when I have the money, but I don't right now ;_;

>>73422558
Please collab with me I write really great poetry/song lyrics but I'm too intimidated to get gud at music production

I-I can sing too

>>73435903
5U is fantastic. I prefer MOTM, but I don't have any yet. Just a bunch of Synthesis Technology eurorack stuff.

https://clyp.it/tzhj0lqz

need some help with this. an idea i'm working on and not sure where to take it

>>73440348
maybe some accents here and there, like a little riff on some drums, to keep attention

>>73426873
You'll want something you can grown with if you are using gear. Get an audio interface with plenty of in/out. Or at a minimum something, with an optical input so you can add 8ch of audio when you are ready for more.

Track16 is good for the price.

this is the first and only thing I've ever written that I kinda like: https://soundcloud.com/mintegral/playing-with-synths

Now several years later I want to seriously get into music production

Anyone wanna critique that lil 30 second song so I have somewhere to start?