You've probly heard similar problems and I apologise if you have already answered this but, how can I make my tunes sound less flat and more "real". If I make an OK tune I'll listen to something else after and it'll make mine sound like shit! the quality of the samples obviously makes a difference but what about sounds from synths? is it too do with the mixing or are there tricks you can use straight away? thanks. b
mastering, try and eq/filter your stuff, distord bass maybe some synths too. humanize (so make everything not perfect on the beat like a real artist would sound playing live, do not overdo this though)
if your using fl studio 7+ try and use eq 2.
you can make a sound, sound totally diffrent.
drum samples, maybe use reverb, to give them more depth (just use reverb in a very modest way, so again dont over do it)
diffrences in volume maybe? other guys can help you out more i guess.
hope this helped a bit.
if you split your synth sounds into more layers (with more processing on each layer) or simply use more oscillators this can immediately make it sound more full and textured ofcourse fx processing is also very important (as has been mentioned - reverb, delay, distortion etc etc)
also try experimenting with all the various automations to keep the sound moving, to avoid that flat / static feel
Before mastering there is the mixing and if this is not properly done then you'll master in vain. here is where you make your sounds sound awesome and make them fit with each other to form THE TRACk. you should read some mixing tuts (not necesarily dnb mixing tuts, but also hip-hop,pop etc), written by engineers, and pick some useful tips and then apply them to your music accordingly. you should take a refference track, listen to it a couple of times, see how it transmits the message/the feeling, how various synths are used, then begin to work on yours. don't rush. take your time. let your work marinate from night to the next evening and in the meantime listen to some other tracks, various genres. you will have another point of view next time when you'll sit on your chair and begin working.
don't eq things just for the sake of it. experiment with diff settings as there is no golden rule.
with compression is the same story.
it's so hard to write from mobile else i would have written a whole lot more.
first document yaself and then act. it will be much simpler and less time consuming to 'work with fire rather then discover it'. hope you'll get the point.
thanks you lot. I have tried a few of those things, eq reverb... and it does help but i seem to reach a barrier with them and cant make the sound any better. (obviously cos i don't know how to use it properly). I don't really know much about compression, I've been told different things by different ppl so any help on this would be really good. I've tried using the compressor (in reason) but i cant hear any change in sound. to be honest i have no clue about how to use it properly. and as for humanizing the tracks can some1 tell me how it's done in reason 4. I think i could do it in reason 3 but cant find it in 4. ta. b
Obviously you are applying slight comp since you can't hear it.
to hear how it works try some insane settings like treshold to -30db, ratio somewhere between 4:1 and 16:1, attack to 15 ms, and release to about the same amount. also turn the input gain a quarter to the right meaning more boost to input sounds, thus more compression applied. by now you should hear the bastard working and crunchin your tune but also see it beacuse the green meter next to the treshold will start to fill and jump down as sound passes.
generally, as i read on diff tuts, you apply compression to taste and feel. i can't tell you how you should properly use a comp because i do not know either very well if my method is good so i might teach you wrong. but i can tell you what each thing does. i have in mind posting some articles i had on my pc for a very long time but untill then here goes the first try. The input gain acts like an amplifier. the more you turn it up the more it amplifies the sound pumped through the comp. The treshold is the level where you tell the comp to start intervine.it's like putting your foot on a water hose.to more you squeeze the more water is compressed. so the more you turn the tresh. knob to the left the more dbs of sound will be compressed. the tresh should be set not too high. here comes your ear and taste to work together. The ratio tell the comp how the sound that exceeds the tresh set by you should be reduced. it is expressed as 2:1, 4:1, etc. meaning that for every 2 dbs that exceed the tresh the output level will only be increased by 1 db (for a 2:1 setting if 10 dbs exceed then only 5 will be increased, hope you got the point). The attack is usually how much it takes the comp to start working. you must have worked with attack on synths so basicaly you pretty much know how this works. bigger attack values will let more sound pass through uncompressed. usually an attack of 10 to 30 ms is the best. it leaves the thump of the kick and snare and adds body to the rest. The release sets how long it takes the comp's gain to come back up to normal after the input signal has dropped below the tresh level. if you set it too short the sound will pump. usually 200 to 600 ms is the best. The output knob is also known as make-up gain and the name tells pretty much. after the sound has been compressed it's reduced in level and the amount is shown on the meter.so turn the knob by the amount shown to make it as loud as before.
Hope this helped.
it took me 2 friggin years to understand how this unit works. i read a whole lot of tips and tutorials in this time and nothing helped so take your time. also read the help when you don't understant an instrument. they are explained very good.
also makin your track sound good it's not just about adding few reverbs here and there, compression and eq. it is A LOT MORE. you should take your every instrument and tune it so it fits the track, eq, level, compress, reverb if necessary, chorus, stereo imagery. skilled engineers do it hours (still it's hours), because the are pressed by time (time=money) and they know very much what to do. but you not being pressed by time, to deliver your gold next day, you can take as much as you want to understand what is that you have to do, and flip your track in any way you want. experiment with everything, care less about rules. do what you think sounds good (in comparison with other tracks).
This post has been edited 3 time(s), it was last edited by KILLER_FAN: 10-02-2010 07:34.
rawrr
