[Songwriting] The How's and Wow's

[SpicyDuck]

I've been using and learning Fruity Loops for some years now. Slowly getting to grips with the lingo of electronic music production, techniques and everything else that is vital.

But then I listen to bands like Daft Punk, Justice and Nine Inch Nails and I just cannot replicate that level of production. I guess one way of explaining it, is that their music sounds a lot more 'free' and open - like there is still room for more. Whereas, everything I write and produce sounds cluttered and, I'll be honest, nowhere near as natural.

Yeh, it's electronic, so I know it can't sound totally natural. But compare my stuff to the electronic sounds in Radioheads' songs and it just doesn't match.

To help you better understand, I've very quickly put together a song I started but didn't finish during my time in China which I wrote purely for the feelings and surrounding of poor Industrial workers from small towns, in the big cities. I guess I wanted it to represent China's growth, from the perspective of the poor people who build it.

Anyway, less explanation and more to the point. Download the song and actually hear the problems I'm having.

I know myself that this piece 'sounds' ok. Like, I can hear the potential within the music, but the production just simply kills it. It sounds very messy, cluttered and generally quite horrible. I guess it's like listening to a song you really like, but with poor production values.

I'd appreciate any insight or advice regarding these problems. If you don't write music yourself, then I'd appreciate what you think anyway, in terms of production, where it is lacking, etc.

Thanks chaps.

 

[Smiley Man]

do you compress and EQ all of your layers? i found that spending ages tweaking EQs for different layers and making sure they were all compressed together (sometimes sidechained) preventeed any muddy mashing together of sounds

also dont be afraid to spend hours working on element, like taking 3 or 4 kickdrums and EQing them and filtering out bits then putting it all together to make one final drum

also if you're using samples make sure they are high quality

 

[simisker]

EQ. It's that simple.

Okay, it's not that simple but it's the single most important weapon in the mixer's arsenal.

When mixing, it's not a case of using it to make every solo'd track sound as good as it possibly can - it's a case of using it to make every track fit in to your overall 'vision' and create a pleasing ensemble. As an example, take the string pad in that musical snippet. It occupies a broad range of frequencies. The thing is, not all of those frequencies are necessary to give that string pad it's recognisable 'stringness'. I'd look at rolling off high frequencies and applying a high-pass filter; it'll still sound like a string pad, but it won't be fighting with the big lead synth. In short: use EQ to remove frequencies for each track that don't add anything to the mix.

Another easy EQ mixing trick is to attenuate the high frequencies [in combination with stereo positioning] to give the illusion of depth, space and distance - bright, high-frequency timbres [especially the ones most modern synths/sound modules kick out] are very much 'in your face' and up close; you only need a few tracks with these kinds of sounds on and you've got yourself a battle for attention. Roll off the top end of bright instruments and not only do they sound more natural, but they'll also create more room for the other tracks to breathe. In short: bright=close, dull=far away.

Reverb - related to my first point, a common mistake when people add reverb to tracks - other than applying too much - is that they either send or return a full-spectrum reverb. While a reverb of some kind is pretty much essential for adding liveliness to a mix, what you don't want is all those low-frequency reverberations adding nothing but mushiness to the low end. So apply a high-pass filter to your reverb so that only the life and sparkle is kept. Again, it's just a case of keeping only the relevant frequencies.

Hope that helps. Don't get me wrong, mixing is an art in itself, and I'm far from an expert, but I found the above tips made a dramatic difference when I was starting out all those years ago.

 

[SexyGreyFox]

Personally I thought the drum sound was so weak that it left all the other instruments out on a limb.
I think a stronger drum sound would have pulled it all together better.

 

[AngeluiMorte]

Personally I thought the drum sound was so weak that it left all the other instruments out on a limb.
I think a stronger drum sound would have pulled it all together better.

I agree the drum sound deffinitly sounds weak to me and really does stand out as a weakness in the flow of the track. Meshing the drum sound better IMO would give it a more natual sound and flow.

 

[NickK]

Anyway, less explanation and more to the point. Download the song and actually hear the problems I'm having.

Ok, firstly - sonic space. Reverb, positioning and "stereofication". My feeling is that it's all squashed on top because there's no space for the instruments to work.
The piano needs to be clearer, give it some space with reverb.

You'll laugh when I suggest this but listen to Abba Super Trooper. Listen to the use of switching EQ and closed-mono then stereo to make it feel euphoric then back to closed stereo in the chorus to really place emphasis.

Reason has a set of EQ rack tools for this purpose.

Lastly - the best drummers actually use their drums as an instrument. Letting the other instruments work on their beat. Embellish with chinese bells, cymbals or tom toms just to give a difference to straight back beat.
This is the first thing I started to appreciate one I started learning drums and listening to drummers properly.

You could also use stutter too on the main guitar riff to add a different feel to areas without the synth.

Oh... you need a big gong in there too Give it plenty of space and sustain without the other instruments playing - music as about silence as well as notes!

I'd love to hear some remixes to hear your experimentation.

 

[OzZie]

Try gated reverb on the drums once you have EQ'd them a little.

 

[SpicyDuck]

Wow, so many suggestions. I've gotten to grips with the mixer and I'll post a new and improved version shortly.

Thanks guys. *back to work*

 

[SpicyDuck]

I was working on the update to this piece, and it was just so confusing due to the fact that I wrote it all in confusing and differing ways about a year ago, so I've re-organised it all, added some reverb, a wee bit of panning and some compression.

What do you think of it now? I can still hear a lot of room for improvements to be honest, but it sounds a little better. I especially think the 'break' without the distorted guitar sounds very clean and open. I like that bit.

Download

 

[SexyGreyFox]

Either remove the drums or change them.