Random Production Tips Thread™

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deadly_habit
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Re: Random Production Tips Thread™

Post by deadly_habit » Mon Jul 02, 2012 1:31 pm

Random tip of the day:
never be afraid to take constructive criticism, and always be your harshest critic

crunkedxup
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Re: Random Production Tips Thread™

Post by crunkedxup » Mon Jul 02, 2012 2:48 pm

deadly habit wrote:Random tip of the day:
never be afraid to take constructive criticism, and always be your harshest critic
out of interest, what's your opinion on how an artist should feel about themselves? as in should they be "i'm the shit", "i'm good" or "i can do better"? regardless of whether they're actually good or not, what do you think is the most productive mindset?

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Re: Random Production Tips Thread™

Post by wub » Mon Jul 02, 2012 2:53 pm

crunkedxup wrote:"i can do better" is the most productive mindset
This ^^

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ehbes
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Re: Random Production Tips Thread™

Post by ehbes » Mon Jul 02, 2012 2:56 pm

crunkedxup wrote:
deadly habit wrote:Random tip of the day:
never be afraid to take constructive criticism, and always be your harshest critic
out of interest, what's your opinion on how an artist should feel about themselves? as in should they be "i'm the shit", "i'm good" or "i can do better"? regardless of whether they're actually good or not, what do you think is the most productive mindset?
I take the mindset that I'm so so and can all ways do better.. Just enough confidence to keep doing it but not enough to think I can stop learning. I also rarely heed people's praise.. I care more about what they don't like than what they do like
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NinjaEdit
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Re: Random Production Tips Thread™

Post by NinjaEdit » Mon Jul 02, 2012 4:22 pm

crunkedxup wrote:
deadly habit wrote:Random tip of the day:
never be afraid to take constructive criticism, and always be your harshest critic
out of interest, what's your opinion on how an artist should feel about themselves? as in should they be "i'm the shit", "i'm good" or "i can do better"? regardless of whether they're actually good or not, what do you think is the most productive mindset?
Realistic feedback. "I'm the shit" and "I'm shit" are delusions.

crunkedxup
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Re: Random Production Tips Thread™

Post by crunkedxup » Mon Jul 02, 2012 5:48 pm

ehbrums1 wrote: I take the mindset that I'm so so and can all ways do better.. Just enough confidence to keep doing it but not enough to think I can stop learning. I also rarely heed people's praise.. I care more about what they don't like than what they do like
that's a good outlook, i like that (no pun intended).

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Re: Random Production Tips Thread™

Post by deadly_habit » Mon Jul 02, 2012 7:40 pm

crunkedxup wrote:
deadly habit wrote:Random tip of the day:
never be afraid to take constructive criticism, and always be your harshest critic
out of interest, what's your opinion on how an artist should feel about themselves? as in should they be "i'm the shit", "i'm good" or "i can do better"? regardless of whether they're actually good or not, what do you think is the most productive mindset?
it should be how can i be better, and how can i improve on myself
it shouldn't be i'm shit or this song sucks
it should be ok i share this with someone they critque a bit i should improve that next time
or even you notice something yourself, you shouldn't rewrite that whole part but learn from it for your next tune

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Sonika
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Re: Random Production Tips Thread™

Post by Sonika » Mon Jul 02, 2012 7:41 pm

I really wish I could hate myself more

everyone's always like "my tune's shit" when it's really not, I'm the guy who's like "my tune's THE shit" when it's really just shit

:lol:
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LilWUB
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Re: Random Production Tips Thread™

Post by LilWUB » Mon Jul 02, 2012 8:14 pm

Get over yourself and have fun!

Maybe just an observation I've noticed, but some of my favorite songs include lyrics that I would never write because they're too lovey dovey or corny, basslines that sound crazy simple or wonky, etc.. My greatest creative weapon is to let go, have fun and experiment.

jkardon1992
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Re: Random Production Tips Thread™

Post by jkardon1992 » Tue Jul 24, 2012 4:38 pm

-BE PATIENT WHEN STARTING OUT'

-if you find yourself getting bored of how something sounds, do something else for a bit, even if its just for twenty minutes, get the boring out of your head.

-if you smoke cigarrettes, take smoke breaks often, think and analyze what you want to do next.

-reverb, use it alot, but have the dry wet low.

-take your time, listen to each audio and midi track soloed, and make sure you approve of it.

-did i say take break, TAKE BREAKS.

-get as much feedback as you can

-dont make music for others to listen, make something you would want to listen to, regardless of if others hear it.

-weed helps you come up with ideas, but makes work flow harder and slushy if you arnt very experienced with a daw, smoke to think, start working on the come down, or whatever works for you i dont care. :Q:

-layer the drums, ALOT

-compress everything to the drums so they punch through

-resample if your running low on cpu

-listen to the mix and different forms of audio, shitty macbook speakers, studio quality headphones, car subwoofers, everything you can find.

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antipode
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Re: Random Production Tips Thread™

Post by antipode » Wed Jul 25, 2012 11:32 am

^quite a bit of dodgy advice there
jrkhnds wrote:
and I've never really rated dubstep..
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idontreallygiveashit
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Re: Random Production Tips Thread™

Post by idontreallygiveashit » Wed Jul 25, 2012 12:19 pm

^ nahh mate, smoke weed all day, errday

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ehbes
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Re: Random Production Tips Thread™

Post by ehbes » Wed Jul 25, 2012 1:34 pm

epochalypso wrote:^quite a bit of dodgy advice there
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hasezwei
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Re: Random Production Tips Thread™

Post by hasezwei » Thu Jul 26, 2012 2:36 pm

dont touch the compressor if you dont know what it does

a compressor can be used for many things other than sidechaining and limiting

when in doubt, dont compress

distortion is your friend. distort your drums, distort busses, distort reverbs. dont distort a lot, dont do it 100% wet, use different settings/plugins for different sounds. but if done right it can give life to an otherwise too clinical/polished/boring sounding mix.

personally i'm sick of the current mixdown/mastering standards of mainstream electronic music like dubstep, dnb, OMG MNML TECHNO, house n shit. all sharp topend, ultra clean subs, everythings compressed to hell and back... fuck that.

so my most important piece of advice is: you dont have to sound like the pros cause the pros sound shit.

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Re: Random Production Tips Thread™

Post by wub » Thu Jul 26, 2012 2:39 pm

Sterility makes a good tune cold and a shit tune boring as hell.

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ogunslinger
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Re: Random Production Tips Thread™

Post by ogunslinger » Fri Jul 27, 2012 1:24 am

If something isn't working the way you want it to, take a break. Write down your problem and think about it for a little bit. Come back refreshed and try again, if it's still not working maybe you should retire that idea until you come up with a solution, or just can it altogether. No point in wasting a bunch of time trying to force something that just isn't working right!

Artie_Fufkin
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Re: Random Production Tips Thread™

Post by Artie_Fufkin » Fri Jul 27, 2012 2:14 am

Can you give some examples of these types of mixes that offend you guys? And what is it that's so bad about them?

Living_Tragedy
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Re: Random Production Tips Thread™

Post by Living_Tragedy » Tue Jul 31, 2012 12:49 am

Get Camelcrusher.

Watch remakes of some of your favourite song (I learned a cool technique from watching a remake of Voodoo People).

Resample, especially if you're into crazy, complex dubstep.

Don't give up. So many times I've listened to my tracks and thought, "damn, I'll never be good enough" but I keep learning new things all the time.

Want motivation? Listen to your tracks in chronological order to show yourself that you are learning.

Great speakers help but they aren't a must have. Just make sure you know your speakers well. Listen to your favourite songs on them and take notes on how things sound.

This one's for beginners: Everything will need to be EQ'd. Nothing just magically fits in the mix perfectly.

Don't worry about making your own style. As long as you don't try too hard to sound like someone else, it'll happen eventually.

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Today
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Re: Random Production Tips Thread™

Post by Today » Tue Jul 31, 2012 1:48 am

today's random one............. don't be afraid to automate the volume on some shit when you need it to fit in the mix better
just allowed myself to rely less on compressing and leveling thing. when something sounds great until another section comes, maybe it just needs to be louder or softer for that part
then just do it neatly in a way it sounds natural
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Attila
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Re: Random Production Tips Thread™

Post by Attila » Tue Jul 31, 2012 2:37 am

Living_Tragedy wrote: This one's for beginners: Everything will need to be EQ'd
Noooo it won't. In fact, putting eqs on everything makes my mixes really weak 99% of the time. All the shit you inadvertently cut out that gives your track body will make everything sound weak.

What's helped me a lot recently is to think of eq in phases of desperation.

1: Find/create a sound that gets you at least 90% of the way.
2: If it's not quite there, eq is your last line of defense to make it sound right.
3: If light eqing doesn't do it, your original sound sucks. Choose again.

I know it's not a 100% method, but applying it has helped me so damn much in certain areas, specifically layering drums and percussion design.

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