Dull Beats...

Why do these beats sound dull as shit...http://soundcloud.com/slop-1

not much low end on go get it...

new beater is nice... that upright bass could have some low end... drums are hot, same with the vocal chops. that is a slick beat man.

and my buddy.. well that doesn't seem dull at all ... in fact none of them do IMO


they say sometimes we are our worst critics...

Yeah, you may want to try different drum sounds. What are you using to mix? What audio interface are you using? Do you eq, compressor? Add effects, normalize, record at a highest volume possible.

What monitors are you using? For one, I never liked small monitors in general, because imo, they weren't designed to cover the audio spectrum that well. But they're def good if used to compare mixes with other monitors.

Now if you only have small monitors to work with, then it would be safe to say that a sub is neccessary to cover the bottom end that the monitors can't handle.

Then when you eq and do your mixing, you'll have a better perspective of hearing what it is that needs attention.

Practice... Sampling and editing samples is really an art. Most people use stock sounds (eg: Dj Premier kits etc ) to skip a LOT of the learning process and throw some vinyl sounds (usually free recommended MP3 albums) in the mix to fool folks; there really isn't too many producers digging for drums and samples from wax anymore. Its a lot art, and the few that do it are not quick to give up YEARS of trial and error.
Trust me, a lot of the real producers out here have been doing this for 10+ years or more. When you really know what your doing, your sound will be a signature that no one can duplicate (which is why some producers will NEVER share their drum samples.) It won't happen over night.

dabmeister wrote:What monitors are you using? For one, I never liked small monitors in general, because imo, they weren't designed to cover the audio spectrum that well. But they're def good if used to compare mixes with other monitors.

Now if you only have small monitors to work with, then it would be safe to say that a sub is neccessary to cover the bottom end that the monitors can't handle.

Then when you eq and do your mixing, you'll have a better perspective of hearing what it is that needs attention.

I use Rokit5,,,

First beat has no kick!! not one that I can hear anyway. Good composition though.

New beater is dope.

Okay, please take note that your track is in mono. Sounds like your bouncing to disk. As a result, you lose audio quality, such as low and mid frequencies. Try using an exciter or mastering software to beef up the stereo track-such as iZotope Ozone 4. Sounds like you just need to practice. In some cases having certain hardware and/or software helps. Yet, having the skills to use those tools effectively is the key. Choose the right samples, track, mix and master. All of these steps play a part to delivery the everyday sound we hear on the radio.

artificial.intelligence wrote:Okay, please take note that your track is in mono. Sounds like you just need to practice. In some cases having certain hardware and/or software helps. Yet, having the skills to use those tools effectively is the key. Choose the right samples, track, mix and master.

+1

Practice and reference industry mixes you love or know are hittin! Low end is key. I would also try to bring drums in sooner--15 to 25 seconds is a long time to make a prospective artist or A&R wait, IMHO.

Keep workin, you'll get there!!

roxstar wrote:Practice... Sampling and editing samples is really an art. Most people use stock sounds (eg: Dj Premier kits etc ) to skip a LOT of the learning process and throw some vinyl sounds (usually free recommended MP3 albums) in the mix to fool folks; there really isn't too many producers digging for drums and samples from wax anymore. Its a lot art, and the few that do it are not quick to give up YEARS of trial and error.
Trust me, a lot of the real producers out here have been doing this for 10+ years or more. When you really know what your doing, your sound will be a signature that no one can duplicate (which is why some producers will NEVER share their drum samples.) It won't happen over night.

Apollo Brown (Whom I think is a pretty dope producer) said he has been searching for instruments for 10+ years (like you said roxstar) but one thing about what you said is that some....SOME....producers will point you in the direction on where to find drums and sounds.

I was in a ustream channel where he was just running through beats letting fans hear, and I asked him about his sounds he said he has been search for 10+ years and when I asked him where to look for some dope drums he gave me the name of 3 artists. he also said that although he has a huge library of sounds he has found over the years it's only about 20 he uses on a consistent basis.

Yea, some may, but I don't know if its really necessary for producers to do this anymore. 10+ years ago, we couldn't download breakbeat albums, or compressed break packs with 300+ loops. We did things out of a necessity. We HAD to go record shopping, we HAD to remember Artists names so we knew which records to buy. 10+ years ago, giving out a few album names with breaks was like gold to an aspiring producer that had no clue. I can remember wanting to spend $200 on a Zip disk with vinyl drums just so I could save a few dollars from buying the actual records (never bought it though haha ) but this is how things were back in the days. Today, you can have all the drums I've collected but downloading a few files. No need to know artist names, who the drummer is, or how to chop drums. Everything is too easy now...it takes the fun out the learning process.

Word. ^^^^^ That and you lose the appreciation of the music from which you would have sampled from.

Top City wrote:Word. ^^^^^ That and you lose the appreciation of the music from which you would have sampled from.

I love diggin. My music knowledge has gone up 90% since I started diggin,plus nothing beats the sound of a crackling record. The problem im having is everything sounds great in the mix but once I bounce to disk shit sounds lifeless,drum dont bang and it just sounds dull....frustrated

"The problem im having is everything sounds great in the mix but once I bounce to disk **** sounds lifeless,drum dont bang and it just sounds dull....frustrated"

What MPC do you have? If your using a MPC500/1000/2500/5000, make sure your using the eq/compression in the master fx. If your using an older MPC, you can utilize better eq/compression with free software.

You might try some gentle compression and subtle EQing, but nothing beats getting something professionally mastered.