Not gonna lie to myself; sonically my beats sound terrible,

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Not gonna lie to myself; sonically my beats sound terrible,

By MK25toLife Mon Dec 11, 2006 9:07 pm
I think I have some pretty good beats in my catalog, however, they just sound so low, dull and lifeless. Granted, I don't mix any of them and most of them are straight two-tracked, but still I feel like they should be hitting much harder, especially my drums. I use an MPC 1000 by the way. All in all, I feel like I need to step my game up sonically, b/c if I did that my beats would be a problem. I don't want to have to rely on someone mixing them on the back end to give them life. Can anyone give me some advice on how I can make my beats bang from the very jump?
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By Dj Pound Mon Dec 11, 2006 9:10 pm
doesnt the 1000 have built in 4 band EQ? Utilize that feature homie!
For the most part thats the answer to all your muffled problems.
I wish my 2KXL had that sh*t built in.
And your 1000 has a compressor, compress the sh*t out your basslines and drums.
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By TheFirstJimBo Mon Dec 11, 2006 11:52 pm
Dj Pound wrote:... compress the sh*t out your basslines and drums.


bad advice
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By jonathan morris Tue Dec 12, 2006 12:37 am
it's all about spending time getting your sounds right before the go into the mpc. i used to rush through trying to get an idea down without taking the time to get my kick to knock, isolating frequencies of my chops, etc.

at the end of the day it's how it sounds, so you gotta take time to get your shit straight before using the sound. i can't stress this enough.

are you sampling from vinyl? if you are you should/ could run through a mixer, dj or otherwise, to give you more control over your eq. i'm a hardware guy, so i gotta have knobs to twist, i run through a dj mixer and a multi channel mixer before i sample.

do you have monitors? when i got monitors my sound quality stepped up big time. actually being able to hear what you're working with is half the battle.

spend time mixing, it's worth it.
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By krang Tue Dec 12, 2006 12:40 am
TheFirstJimBo wrote:
Dj Pound wrote:... compress the sh*t out your basslines and drums.


bad advice


sometimes i compress certain sounds individually. Then usually use a lot of compression on the entire mix.

http://www.breakbeat-cafe.net/eq_pri.htm here is some suggestions on eq. Remember this chart doesn't know the sounds you are working with, so use your ears. Also remember that something can sound good on big @ss stereo speakers but can sound like a lump of sh*t when played on cheap boom box speakers,. so try listening to it on various speakers

By sleepersriddle Tue Dec 12, 2006 3:05 am
imho,

picking sounds that co-operate well and don't clash frequencies is a big one...

getting and learning decent monitors is huge...

and learn to properly mix, eq, and a little compression..

its just the basics, really, but its harder than it seems.

also, dull and lifeless? maybe put in some more dynamics, with different velocities and some swing and subtle timing shifts.
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By Lampdog Tue Dec 12, 2006 4:10 am
TheFirstJimBo wrote:
Dj Pound wrote:... compress the sh*t out your basslines and drums.


bad advice

By fader-pro Tue Dec 12, 2006 4:13 pm
If they sound bad and you dont mix, why not mix em and add appropriate eq, dynamics processors and pan??
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By Dj Pound Tue Dec 12, 2006 6:46 pm
like they say though you cant polish a turd, so start out with good sounds...and tweak the highs/mids/lows until you come with something desirable.
IMO without compression your drum sounds and bass will simply drown in the mix, so to speak.....just speaking from my own experience.

But whatever, do you
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Re: Not gonna lie to myself; sonically my beats sound terrib

By RealWorldDealings Tue Dec 12, 2006 7:07 pm
MK25toLife wrote:I think I have some pretty good beats in my catalog, however, they just sound so low, dull and lifeless. Granted, I don't mix any of them and most of them are straight two-tracked, but still I feel like they should be hitting much harder, especially my drums. I use an MPC 1000 by the way. All in all, I feel like I need to step my game up sonically, b/c if I did that my beats would be a problem. I don't want to have to rely on someone mixing them on the back end to give them life. Can anyone give me some advice on how I can make my beats bang from the very jump?


Trust me, when I first got my MPC, I went through the same shcit...It will take you time to learn how to properly get that "thump" out of your drums...LOTS of experimenting with all the features on my MPC and other gear helped me out tremendously...Its not as easy as just loading up a kick and "ok lets rock"...patience and practice....
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By Lampdog Tue Dec 12, 2006 8:10 pm
LOTS of experimenting with all the features on my MPC and other gear helped me out tremendously
Most cats aren't patient enough to do that.

so start out with good sounds...and tweak the highs/mids/lows until you come with something desirable.
Some cats just jump into it and start with whatever without prepping their sounds/samples at firtst.. And again, they are impatient.



@ MK25toLife, have patience, get more into your mixing skills and take a moment away from actually making beats and get into the mixing more. Get into your effects and play with stuff to see what happens.
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By Jacpot Tue Dec 12, 2006 8:34 pm
I dont mix my shyt either. I just find good sounds
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By jonathan morris Tue Dec 12, 2006 11:04 pm
thats why you're "BBBBAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLIIIIINNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!"
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By Jacpot Wed Dec 13, 2006 12:40 am
jonathan morris wrote:thats why you're "BBBBAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLIIIIINNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!"
LOL
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By Lampdog Wed Dec 13, 2006 2:38 am
Jacpot wrote:
jonathan morris wrote:thats why you're "BBBBAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLIIIIINNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!"
LOL
LOL
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