Dubstepforum.com

Instead of trying to fix my last track i ended up starting a new one
I think this is my best one up to now, im not sure about the ending though or if i have structured it properly

I took advice from my last post and played around with some compression on my kicks and some other things and also added one to the master
Hopefully you will like it anyway i know its nothing special

http://soundcloud.com/twigge/fmj

Cheers for any feedback

Compression is a great thing, but it has ruined your track. Learn how to use it and only use it if it really makes a difference for the better.
The kick needs to have a lot more body. Same for the snare. It should have that certain "snap" to it, right now it sounds more like a short white noise stab.

The mid-bass is incredibly overpowering, most probably due to overcompression again. There are no individual sounds in the mix. Some are more up front, others are on the background, but they always complement each other. Keep that in mind when you mix.

You seem to have the general idea about what you're doing, but now is the time to actually learn "what's this knob do." Read a lot, experiment a lot, you'll get the hang of it in no time.

Thanks for the reply mate, and your spot on about needing to learn "what this knob does" because at the moment i dont know what they do im just experimenting with them and finding sounds that i like.

So i should basically take off the compression i have put on and have another go at it?
I dont fully understand what you mean by there are no individual sounds in the mix?

& i will be working on getting the kicks and snare sounding perfect tonight then i think
how do you go about giving your kicks "more body" ? and snares too...

Thanks again for the feedback

Yeah, definitely redo the whole compression thing. Just learn what it does and how it works first.

By "there are no individual sounds in the mix," I mean you can have the best damn sound in the world, but if it doesn't fit in the mix, you do not use it. Individual sounds are not important. What's important, is how all the sounds work together in the mix. Lay the beat down, build a bass that really works with it and balances it, start mixing everything else around that base. The energy of the track comes from the bass. The bass is also what keeps the mix together. If the bass is out of place, everything just falls apart.

With the percussion, I'm not sure if it's the compression that ruined it or if you just have bad samples.

If I was to find a decent example....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJcm4uoCzW8 - 1:22. Compare the sound of the percussion to yours and you should clearly hear the difference.

Honestly mate really appreciate your help thats gunna help me out a lot tonight and give me something to work on.

I am really struggling with making a nice sub bass to go with my tracks, so i think tonight ill start again with making the drums and snares sounding perfect
and then move onto making my sub bass sounding better. Once i have done that then i can put all my sounds i have made back into it and hopefully i will end up with a nicer sounding track

Cheers again mate, very helpful

Looking forward to hearing the outcome.

As for a sub bass... Go with a single triangle wave, keep it around 50-55Hz... Compress it (not OVERcompress, mind you ) with a very fast attack and relatively fast release. Try setting the threshold to 0dB and turn down the volume in the mixer. Balance it out with gain. Could give good results, could give bad results; just try various things and something is bound to work for you.

Well thanks again mate, and i forgot to point out your right about it being crappy samples i dont have many good ones and snares too.
I keep asking a friend of mine to let me record him on his drum kit but it never happens.

Im gunna get working on the track now anyway so hopefully i will be back with a decent tune