Submit your beats to our regular battles - the winner starts the next battle!

Best beat?

1
33%
2
67%
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By saltmcgault Wed Dec 30, 2020 7:35 pm
Voting will go for 2 days. Don't vote for yourself. Feel free to let them know what you thought of their entries.
Can the winner message pk1, psych, or me a sample and rule by Saturday morning Jan 2nd 2021.
Good luck!!




Elpimpo




NearTao
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By NearTao Wed Dec 30, 2020 9:52 pm
El Pimpo... dig your flip! It might be worth trying to speed up the tempo a bit and then pitching down the results a few semitones to help darken the track some... or maybe a hint of LP filter on the drums to remove a bit of the sparkle and sheen, nothing to get carried away with but might help settle the drums with the flipped sample a little bit.
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By Elpimpo Sat Jan 02, 2021 11:42 am
TAO, Good Job! :worthy:
BTW when you posted your submission after I did, I immediately knew I had to change it. But it was too late, the submission period ended.
When you posted them tips I took them and worked my submission again.

NearTao wrote:El Pimpo... dig your flip! It might be worth trying to speed up the tempo a bit and then pitching down the results a few semitones to help darken the track some... or maybe a hint of LP filter on the drums to remove a bit of the sparkle and sheen, nothing to get carried away with but might help settle the drums with the flipped sample a little bit.


I changed it up bit, but it was AFTER I already uploaded my submission, didn't want to break any rules.

This is what I came up with: re mixed the song, Processed the drums so they're easier to listen to, changed the song structure (intro, chorus [8 bar],Verse [16 bar], chorus, verse etc. So its still pretty long but more organized and seems like it moves more. Easier to rap on.

PLEASE LMK what you think, critiques is how we all get better.
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By NearTao Sat Jan 02, 2021 3:47 pm
Just a few notes/thoughts...

Listened to the track a few times and it's definitely got some ear bug quality to it... definitely something that stands out.

The intro is much better starting on the flip! I also think whatever you did whether, Low Pass Filter, Saturation... whatever it was helped glue the sound together for the drums and the sample better... +1 there.

The drum structure drags a little for me... just a few thoughts that came to mind... and if you spend some time here I think you'll be feeling even better about your tracks
1) All the hits feel the same to me... not sure if you're using full velocity or just hitting the pads hard, but varying velocity on even just the hats could make a world of difference here. My advice is to make sure if you're using a single sample for a sound, and it is playing more regularly than every quarter note, you have to vary something... pitch, filter, velocity... something to not wear out the listener. Kick and Snare are almost always fine... but try listening to them rapid fire the same hit every quarter note for 2 bars... then make a version where you vary something... you'll immediately feel some relief :D
2) It feels too rigid in where the hits land... you might try playing with swing of 58 or 66 and see if you like it more, might help it feel less robotic. I also like to just play stuff out by ear to get a groove with timing correct off sometimes, even if it is just on hats or something. Yeah, it's easy to get bored and miss some hits when doing this, but a wonky hit here or there can add some interest and never hurt anybody. Plus it's just good practice because eventually you'll want to play something a groove that you cannot hit with swing... and the practice can help you go from thinking off the grid sounds bad, to appreciating the samples you are flipping and building a drum structure that supports it.
3) You're missing something to help the listener know that you've transitioned sections... I'd almost like to hear a reverse symbol or take your melody at the end of a measure and play the last note or two backwards maybe... heck something as simple as just changing your hat pattern on the last measure can work wonders
4) You've got a wood block sound in there... and it's literally doing no work... I didn't count how many hits... but it's either not enough or too much... from a rhythmic standpoint it felt sporadic and I wasn't sure what it was doing to help glue the rhythm together