How do i get my beats to sound complete

Right folks, ive been making beats a few months now and i think some of my beats are ok but still when i finish a beat it doesn't sound well FINISHED. My beats sound the same as they do if i made them in front of you. Check my sh!t to see what i mean right here

http://soundcloud.com/the-riot

What im aiming for is for my finished beats to sound like this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8ey9hpOyTw

listen to his beat when its finished, it sounds complete, my beats don't i know its all about mixing but how do i get my beats to sound finished.

Many thanks

Do you work with mostly samples or do you play out your ideas (which IMO gives you more control over the outcome of your project)?

I sample and compose pal and i have an idea in my head, its just the mixing aspect i dont know what effect to add on what instrument

TheRiot wrote:I sample and compose pal and i have an idea in my head, its just the mixing aspect i dont know what effect to add on what instrument

Reverb is one commonly used efx that gets used on most instrument sound sources. I find that most of your premier keyboards have that ready made sound. However, some may need a little tweaking to bring them up to par, but that seems to be rare with most of the newer models that are out now.

I guess EQ would fall under mixing but that's something that will kill your sound if not properly administered.

What keyboard sources are you working with?

I just midi into logic the same set up thats in the video plus an MPC but ive been using logic on its own far more recently.

A tip about sampling that helped improving my 'finished' sound:
Always record a full, rich sounding sample. This can be achieved by selecting a sample source of good quality and proper recording with enough gain.

Poor sample=poor sound quality of the final outcome.

Im not on about samples mate but thanks anyway

theres alot of things you need to cover to get that sound
1. good A/D converteres, proper monitors
2. like menco said proper gain stageing
3. belive it or not the shape of your room and whats in it plays apart
4.compression, EQ, reverb

get this right youl already be goin a long way

Here's what I've got that makes my music sound like it does:

Mixer: currently using my old tascam 688 because of space restraints (normally use a behringer mx8000/mackie 24.8 clone).

Daw: 2 echo layla 24/96 interfaces (110/115 dB dynamic range), apogee big ben, steinberg cubase sx/nuendo 3, sony soundforge 8, waves platinum bundle and a host of others.

Keyboards/sound modules: roland a-70 controller, korg triton rack, roland jv1080 expanded, kurzweil k2500rs, yamaha motif es rack, ensoniq asr10, tc helicon voice prism.

Drum machine: akai mpc 4000.

These are my choice of weapons to get that good "in your ear presence".

And like J T stated, it's what you're using to capture your sounds (ie: quality of the ad/da converters) as well as your sound sources that make a difference.

i read somewhere that what some people do is work on PANNING. dont keep everything right down the middle. pan sum shit left and right just enough to "fill the gaps" and give that "full sound" effect.

and also reverb lights shit up and know what EQ to lay down on which instruments.

TheRiot wrote:I sample and compose pal and i have an idea in my head, its just the mixing aspect i dont know what effect to add on what instrument

There are no rules as to what effects you should and shouldn't use. Experiment, you might come up with something completely new. They're only tools to shape sounds.

Work on layering up your hits. For example take a couple of kicks, EQ them individually so you get the sound from each of them that you want, send them to a group channel, and then EQ the overall sound to make them gel together. Perhaps a little bit of compression.

One word of warning with reverb is that it can muddy up a mix very quickly, so unless that's the sound you're aiming for use it carefully. Don't forget to EQ the reverb.

Panning is debateable. A lot of people keep their beats in mono straight down the middle because obviously it helps them punch through the mix. Particularly people who are playing their tunes out, as I believe a lot of club systems are in mono, so you'd lose the impact of any hard panned elements.

Don't worry about having top end bits of equipment. There's an infinite amount of amazing producers who have/had the bare minimum through choice or circumstance that turned out some amazing work. Just learn you monitors.

TheRiot wrote:Right folks, ive been making beats a few months now

TheRiot wrote:my beats are ok but

TheRiot wrote:when i finish a beat it doesn't sound well FINISHED.

Nothing personal BUT Slow down you're expecting too much too fast.
-stop making beats make songs
-then start making better songs
-than work on your engineering skills
-then learn how to build the mix as you work instead of when you finish by making things better on the front as you create

The days of selling beats are long gone, I haven't come across an artist since at least 2004 that wasn't looking for something more structured than a beat.
Now even the wannabe's looking for free stuff want structure to write to because a hot track will make them the next Jeezy.

Always remember the best place to start when looking to improve something is the mirror.
That's the area where you will always have the most control.

Also your sound is only going to be as finished or polished as your tools and skill level will allow.
Pick good tools and learn them.

Menco wrote:A tip about sampling that helped improving my 'finished' sound:
Always record a full, rich sounding sample. This can be achieved by selecting a sample source of good quality and proper recording with enough gain.

Poor sample=poor sound quality of the final outcome.

yeah, gotta agree with this. its like picking nice ingredients when you cooking, instead of just using whatever.

if the same cook made the same meal, but one with crap ingredients and the other with quality hand picked ingredients, the second would definately taste better.

ntalec wrote:

TheRiot wrote:Right folks, ive been making beats a few months now

TheRiot wrote:my beats are ok but

TheRiot wrote:when i finish a beat it doesn't sound well FINISHED.

Nothing personal BUT Slow down you're expecting too much too fast.
-stop making beats make songs
-then start making better songs
-than work on your engineering skills
-then learn how to build the mix as you work instead of when you finish by making things better on the front as you create

The days of selling beats are long gone, I haven't come across an artist since at least 2004 that wasn't looking for something more structured than a beat.
Now even the wannabe's looking for free stuff want structure to write to because a hot track will make them the next Jeezy.

Always remember the best place to start when looking to improve something is the mirror.
That's the area where you will always have the most control.

Also your sound is only going to be as finished or polished as your tools and skill level will allow.
Pick good tools and learn them.

He speaks truth.. thats real. I would like to add to it.
Start investing in studio time. Most studios are more than happy to help someone who is pYing there dues.. yes lotts of dues to be paid in this bizz. You can learn so much just by watching a few trackinfew tracking sessions. Prolly offer a to book a 4 hour block to just nerd out with the engineer. Most will charge 100 or so on a slow day just to teach as they have been taught. Then send him beats as a wav to critique and sound check lecels for reference. He will at some point tell u your demographic based on your style. That will help you develop ur style. Then listen to artists in your target demographic range. Chex the trends kits paterns so u can build hot tracks. Then ask if ur track compares to ur demographic. U moght like crunk or down south.. but you make better hyphie music. Let the muaic define you. Lastly. Emulate your favorite producer. Remix his tracks. Try to copy his track from scratch. It is the best school ever. To copy it even 75% right would take thought a good ear and work ethic. Then you will develop a formula for making tracks with ease.. good luck and never ever stop reinventing yourself.