Dubstepforum.com

hi everybody ,
my name 's Lisa , i am new to the forum , but been reading a lot of interesting on this forum already
i have a huge problem though
i can do a tune base in a few days , with cool elements etc , but tune sound too "plastic" , "rigid" or not "full".
i tried to add loads of things like reverse crashes , fxs, or adding rythmic elements (ides , shakers, etc)
but it doesn't make the tune full , more a mess than something else :/

that is why i decided to ask to the forum guys if they could help me by telling me what i could add to make my tune fuller !
many thanks in advance !
Lisa

Sounds like you are new to producing. If so just give it time and keep producing. Alot of times adding atmospherics or pads in the background will help a tune sound fuller.

First off, welcome

Best way to make a track sound full is sample selection, need to be using the best samples you can find. Weedy drums etc just wont do, and are where most people go wrong and end up scratching their heads wondering why the song sounds flat.

two things you might want to do are:

1) read the moneyshot thread, having a good mix is going to make your track sound much better
2) try adding some very subtle white noise to the section that you want to sound fuller

Post examples of your tunes so we can get and idea of where you are going wrong what be advisable.We can throw loads of terms and techniques your way but if you are new to producing your will probably get lost.
Only advice i can think without hearing anything is if you say it sounds empty it's probably because you are not filling out the whole of the spectrum,things like background pads and effects like reverb or delay are great at really filling things out but again it all depends on how you tracks are constructed,things can get messy and to busy very quickly without proper caution.
Anyway welcome to the forum there is plenty of info within this madhouse to get you on your way.

thanks for your quick replies
no problems concerning the main drum elements , i mean kick / snare / hats
i think it's more melody / music wise about problems
what do you usually add ? i have the main bass , i think it's full enough , but i don't know what to add when the bass is done ?
DAPT mentionned atmospherics , but where can i find these kind of sounds please ?
an exemple or 2 would be great
he mentionned pads too , but is it little notes , long notes that never change of notes (if that makes sense ) or chords ?

tyvm for your answers , i know i ask a lot but i am really motivated )

what they said plus, layer your sounds, layering your melodies and basses always help, also try learn more about atmosphere and what it takes to create interesting ones. I do this little trick to make my drops a bit more 'alive' by taking any sample (doesn't really matter what) placing a loooong reverb on it, then only recording a second of that reverb fx (and not the sample) then placing that tiny pattern of white noise/reverb throughout your drops, it actually helps imo
also you should pan your melodies slightly to the L or R to create a wider stereo image

Welcome Lisa,

Alot of what you've mentioned your adding to the tune to make it fuller is all high up in the frequency range.
To thicken a tune up, you've got to cover the frequency spectrum so you'll need to learn about EQ techniques.
Also layering sounds with different frequencies on top of one another will make your tunes sound "fuller".

lloydy wrote:We can throw loads of terms and techniques your way but if you are new to producing your will probably get lost.

no worries , i am not new to producing , i am just new to dubstep
dis techno music before , for a few years

Ok no worries.The cleanest fullest mix i completed was a dnb tune,i found it sounded clean because everything was pitched rite and held its own space in the spectrum really well.Also the mixdown was easy because nothing clashed,i didn't pick up on it till i finished my next track and cluttered the lower mids which you can guess is a pain in the arse to sort out when trying to mix and i still haven't got it rite yet to the point of i'm thinking of letting somebody else take a stab at it.
I can't advise enough on layering,it really is an artform.Even down to just simply layering a snare,you can turn a really dull snare into a beast with just one more layer.I watched a pendulum production video a few years back and they had i think 4-5 layers to one snare.

do you layer same notes synth wise ? (to get full sound) or play with diferent notes to get it harmonic wise ?
someone mentionned "atmospheric sounds" but what is it please ?
thx Lloydy

what ill do is take the midi notes and duplicate it up an octave and down an octave, atmospheric sounds would be like pads and time stretched audio samples

Good thing for atmospherics is to do with vocals,i won't take credit for this because my man hircine posted it a few weeks back and i'm all over that technique now.Shamless plug check the mind in pieces track in my sig,what you do is get you vocals and reverse all of them now add reverb,bounce this file down and place back in your daw now reverse again,you now have the vocals drenched in reversed reverb and it really does make the vocals sound more dreamy.
You could use this technique on pads,drums.....whatever you like as long as it sounds good.
Also another good technique i got from the ctrl z master class was to buss your vocals,on the buss set up a delay and them a compressor,sidechain the compressor with the vocal track you bussed now every time the vocal hits a quiet
part the delay signal will boost.This is a wicked technique that i use a lot because i love delay and it's great for adding atmosphere but can get messy and fill your mix out to much so this technique is quality for keeping a tight leash on things.
There is a unlimited wealth of knowledge in the mater classes,this is the part you need wub to post the link.

Yeah harmony's are great and all but so is dissonance when used correctly.Out of tune can sound just as good as in tune when used in the proper context.
For me dissonance gives a feel of really dark emotion,think horror films how many times do you here music in a scene where it's all about harmony.Dissonance used properly can give some real dark vibes.

If you're looking for great pads, z3ta+ 2 is a good synth as far as presets. If you are making them, try to stick to smooth sounding wave forms. The most important part is making the release high and lots of reverb(usually). Also, a slow attack is typical on pads. You can either either play chords with the pad or single notes it doesn't really matter just EQ it so it sits in the spaces of your mix. Also, I would pan it or if you have a stereo widener plugin that'll do the trick. BASICALLY, the sound you want is a slow evolving(LFO's) sounds that fill up your mix.

I love how as soon as a girl joins up to dsf everyone becomes the nicest most helpful person ever
Percussion deffinitly helps filling up the track, after a bit of practise you will naturally start getting to know what sounds good for you and what is going to help fill up the frequency spectrum. When making synths think before hand what the track is missing and how it will conflict or compliment other parts of your track; if theres clashing you can use eq to help. Theres lots of great threads on this forum so have a browse round

lloydy wrote:Yeah harmony's are great and all but so is dissonance when used correctly.Out of tune can sound just as good as in tune when used in the proper context.
For me dissonance gives a feel of really dark emotion,think horror films how many times do you here music in a scene where it's all about harmony.Dissonance used properly can give some real dark vibes.

Its nice to learn something new. I didn't really think of that before - apart from reeses everthing i do i aim to get in perfect tune and harmony. I'm going to experiment with dissonance a bit more and make some dark pads.

JTMMusicuk wrote:I love how as soon as a girl joins up to dsf everyone becomes the nicest most helpful person ever

I think it's because she's asking a valid question, which is a change for the production forum

Lisa get back to your........









































DAW

Also PICS......



































Of your set-up go in this thread http://www.dubstepforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=10542

Hopfully I scared her away, so we can get back to where we were