Hi, I'm a newbie in music production,
My biggest challenge has been creating a kickdrum, but also to create a groovy loop. Now, I have created a kickdrum, a bassline and a percussion loop. It's very short, but I just want to know what you guys think about it. Look at it as a intro loop that will build up after a while...

It's probably not a very exciting loop and some of you will maybe laugh, cause it's very simple, but that's okay, I take the chance I'm a newbie

I'm interested in how it sounds technically... should I have more or less low freqs on the kickdrum etc...

http://home.lyse.net/vic20/Test2.wav

thanks for any feedback


Vic20

since yur a n00b im not gonna rip on u for posting a wav... mp3 it, plz... lets see here:

i love the bass... the kick could be fuller, and the hats are kinda week and gheyish.. these percs are great for the ones way in the back, but youll need way more, esp in the mid freq region.. other than that cool loop

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quote:

ALFI - BOHICA - DJ MIX (Stream+Dropbox)

nothing i can complain about really, i dont have a subwoofer here to tell you anything about the bass, but you might want to add some OOM to the kick and some lower freq to the bassline. I usually try to make a nice groove in the lower frequencies that you cant really hear on normal speakers

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Ride the bassline all night long

I don't really know what you're trying to accomplish. I like how ... analog it sounds, but if you want a more housey feel, you could dirty up the kick with something a bit more noisy laid over top.

I would say you need a nice sharp snare in there. The one you have would have a nice ambience to it if you could manage to lengthen it a bit. And sharpen up those hats too. Louder, more mids, compressed.

If you prefer quieter percussion, compress it all. Give it meaning. Right now it just sounds like it's turned down too much.

I would compress the bass and the kick together some more; make it pump a little more.

But again, take all this with a grain of salt, because I like how it sounds, and technically, there's nothing "wrong" with it if that's what you're going for...

[edit]

K, I said sharpen the hats... maybe I should have said add some hats. Those ticks you have goin on need WAY more presence.

Use some open hat sounds, perhaps. If you like the short snappy sound, make the decay on the samples really steep and short.

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Last edited by djglacial on Mar-06-2006 at 20:09

Hi and thanks for the replies! Sorry about the wav...:/

I agree about the perc., it's kind of weak, it should be higher in volume and more presence. I was curios if someone would say it is a bad idea with reverb on the percussion, but no complaints so far

The bassline is a patch I have created on a Waldorf Pulse.

The kick is from a commercial sample CD (it's called "Drum Hum" from Primesounds), which I have processed with some pitch bend and also layered with a TR-808 sample on the end, and some EQ too, I dont remember the settings :/

I have a compressor on the kick channel and then a mulitband compressor on the master channel. Bad idea ?

As for listening, I have a home stereo system with a 15 inch subwoofer, and when I listened I thought it was enough bass, but I guess my living room is not good for monitoring, the bass freq's may jump between walls and give me the wrong impression.


Vic20

I agree about the perc., it's kind of weak, it should be higher in volume and more presence. I was curios if someone would say it is a bad idea with reverb on the percussion, but no complaints so far
Not a bad idea to put reverb on the percussion, unless you want it to sound like crap.


I have a compressor on the kick channel and then a mulitband compressor on the master channel. Bad idea ?

Nope

As for listening, I have a home stereo system with a 15 inch subwoofer, and when I listened I thought it was enough bass, but I guess my living room is not good for monitoring, the bass freq's may jump between walls and give me the wrong impression.

Sounds like it has enough bass to me. Wikkid said he was listening on small speakers. What I think he meant was to find a small frequency band in the low bands to cut out with a bandstop or notch filter. Find a place in your bass and kick where when you cut it, the rest sounds more powerful. It sounds a bit counterintuitive, but it's not. When the unnecessary sound is removed, the rest can become louder.


You also need to listen to it on every medium you can.

What do use for monitoring?

Either way, get some sound foam, and put it behind your speakers and if possible, the closest walls to you. If you have control over your room, get foam for all the walls and bass traps.

... I'm not about to write a sound diffusion tutorial here but...

I got primacoustic stuff. It's the most reasonable I have found... and it litterally reduced reverb in my space by 75%. It makes a huge difference. You can actually hear what your music bloody sounds like in a (nearly) neutral space (though I actually got it for recording vocals).

www.primacoustic.com

It looks effing cool too.

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djglacial.com

quote:

Originally posted by djglacial I agree about the perc., it's kind of weak, it should be higher in volume and more presence. I was curios if someone would say it is a bad idea with reverb on the percussion, but no complaints so far Not a bad idea to put reverb on the percussion, unless you want it to sound like crap.

Ok, but I've heard that some percussion instruments should have reverb, Such as congas, claps, crashcymbals... ? What do you think ?


Vic20

YES. Use reverb.

That's what I said.

Use reverb on your entire kit. Depending on what you want, you might put a heavy, wet 'verbe on claps, congas, whatever.

For hats you definately need a nice dryish reverb. Not too long a decay on it. Bright, but nothing that will compete with your kit. Basically you want the ambience of a recording studio going on. That's so your percussion doesn't sound out of place.

Simulate room acoustics. I try not to go with the overdone rock drum reverb approach. I don't want it to sound like an ACTUAL recording studio, I just want the drums to fit in with the song. Maybe other people do that part differently. I don't know.

Creatively, do whatever you want. Just try to place the drums in the mix. Don't place them two inches from your face by not using any reverb, and likewise, if you use too much on the entire kit, it will sound washed out, muddy, and far away.

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Ok, lol, sorry I misunderstood!


For monitoring I have a pair of Alesis Active One MKII's, but the room is not yet filled with Soundproofing materials...



Vic20

quote:

Originally posted by djglacial YES. Use reverb. That's what I said. Use reverb on your entire kit. Depending on what you want, you might put a heavy, wet 'verbe on claps, congas, whatever. For hats you definately need a nice dryish reverb. Not too long a decay on it. Bright, but nothing that will compete with your kit. Basically you want the ambience of a recording studio going on. That's so your percussion doesn't sound out of place. Simulate room acoustics. I try not to go with the overdone rock drum reverb approach. I don't want it to sound like an ACTUAL recording studio, I just want the drums to fit in with the song. Maybe other people do that part differently. I don't know. Creatively, do whatever you want. Just try to place the drums in the mix. Don't place them two inches from your face by not using any reverb, and likewise, if you use too much on the entire kit, it will sound washed out, muddy, and far away.