....whut?

Well, it cant be in regards to studio, because everyone knows the quality of your tunes directly correlates with how much money you've spent on gear.....

alot of newbs cram their tracks with layers and layers of shit to try and make it sound better. this is bad, instead you should have less elements, but make sure they are really good. for example, back in the old days i used to put tonnes of "background" drum loops in my songs, because it makes the percussion sound more full... but this is crap. these days i'll use a very simple kit and pan and compress stuff better, to get the same effect.

in regards to tools, the general idea is to have a few good ones and learn them inside out, rather than have tonnes of synths etc and just whore the presets.

quote:

Originally posted by echosystm alot of newbs cram their tracks with layers and layers of shit to try and make it sound better. this is bad, instead you should have less elements, but make sure they are really good. for example, back in the old days i used to put tonnes of "background" drum loops in my songs, because it makes the percussion sound more full... but this is crap. these days i'll use a very simple kit and pan and compress stuff better, to get the same effect. in regards to tools, the general idea is to have a few good ones and learn them inside out, rather than have tonnes of synths etc and just whore the presets.

I don't see a problem with using a lot of layers to make music.

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Originally posted by meDina I don't see a problem with using a lot of layers to make music.

+1. It just leaves you with two different types of songs.

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quote:

Originally posted by echosystm alot of newbs cram their tracks with layers and layers of shit to try and make it sound better. this is bad, instead you should have less elements, but make sure they are really good. for example, back in the old days i used to put tonnes of "background" drum loops in my songs, because it makes the percussion sound more full... but this is crap. these days i'll use a very simple kit and pan and compress stuff better, to get the same effect. in regards to tools, the general idea is to have a few good ones and learn them inside out, rather than have tonnes of synths etc and just whore the presets.

yeah i also don't see the harm in using multi layers, i like to make uplifting and that genre is packed fulll of FX and background sounds. the new tracks that are coming out these dats seem to be replacing the "saw" with the pluck. i still think this sounds great and as long as producers keep making rocking uplifting riffs, I'm IN !!

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Originally posted by pwnage1 +1. It just leaves you with two different types of songs.

when i make beats i offten like to use a pluck synth for chord melody, and then start to layer the saw melody over it. from the first time i tried it i loved it.

so yes technically, yes you are using layers of synths whitch can get heavy very quick. Almost a classic of mine is to layer the pluck with a saw, even a mellow one , just to give it that extra "flying feeling"

But I also agree on "over producing"/ Re-working a song until the end, you can kill the life out of a song by trying to much. I honestly think it soundls like nervousness when you feel you need to add so much to a track just beacuase you aren't 100% about it yet, I have offten feel for this one, i feel i need to step the song up every 16 measures, and have a fill every 8.

Less is more because u can get away with using very few elements in a track.

10 Great sounding layers will sound better than 20 Good sounding layers.

Ive used as much as 50 layers in some of my tracks, and as little as 15-20

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imo "less is more" is not something you can say as a general rule.
There are no rules. Only in certain instances will "less be more".



But I obviously understand that some people use too much reverb, too much compression etc.
I myself tend to put too much reverb on, because I personally think it sounds cool.
It can sometimes stuff the mix up badly. Trial and error.

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Originally posted by Subtle Less is more because u can get away with using very few elements in a track. 10 Great sounding layers will sound better than 20 Good sounding layers. Ive used as much as 50 layers in some of my tracks, and as little as 15-20

It's better to use 20 layers that sound good solo and great together than 10 layers that sound great solo and good together.

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Originally posted by Beyer imo "less is more" is not something you can say as a general rule. There are no rules. Only in certain instances will "less be more"

+1
Like many other things, the "less is more" bit is just another thing to keep in mind.

Comes down to taste, I think. Personally I love the "spare" quality of a lot of older tracks with maybe ten to twenty layers. They feel like they have more breathing room, more "space" in them. A lot of new stuff feels really "noisy" to me, a quality exaggerated by the fact that lots of people put a compressor on everything.

But that's just me. I know plenty of people who prefer the heavily-layered, more compressed style.