Yeah I do get that, and I do end up drawing the line with it all but its just something I do otherwise Im not happy with the results. Yes its probably over obsessive but I think it makes a difference overall.
Beatflux
quote:
Originally posted by Mr.Mystery
The thing is, the average listener isn't going to care about the snare sound you choose. It's very easy to fall into an endless tweaking loop. It's more important to have everything just right in relation with other sounds rather than having one sound exactly right. Think about the bigger picture.
They won't care about the particular snare, but they will care how professional the song sounds and how much it grooves.
Next to the kick, the snare/clap is the second most important instrument.
EddieZilker
quote:
Originally posted by Beatflux
Next to the kick, the snare/clap is the second most important instrument.
Almost sig worthy.
EliPsE
I think your melody ideas are fine, but you really need to choose the correct samples. Starting out with the right sounds makes everything a lot easier to see the bigger picture IMO.
Richard Butler
quote:
Originally posted by Mr.Mystery
A bit obsessive, no?
Timbaland takes weeks on percussion alone. If you don't get why this is, you don't get production. On Friday night I turned on the free TV music channels at home. Why is it my kids reacted with an excitement overburst just on hearing the kick and a synth at the start of certain tracks - something about certain sounds makes them react like this. We can brush it off as 'just a kick, just a synth' but there's way more going on deep in the Human mind.
A million bedroom producers can throw together some samples - no value in that. A single paint stroke can break a picture.
None of this is to imply that I think I'm any better than anyone else, I'm not, but I do value work which took sweat and thought.
Only a small percentage of released tracks have a kick that hits a nerve deep inside. It's hard to explain tbh.
DJRYAN™
Good God.. Sometimes I get so involved that I don't look up from my computer for hours.. Its fun.. especially when stuff like this comes about..
I think this edit is probably one of the best.. I still don't have an intro, nor am I past the chorus, verse, and the second chorus.. Anyways.. I shrunk that long ass break.. I changed around some of the sounds.. and eq'd a little bit.. but its still LOUD!
So please, you guys have been friggin awesome, listening, and providing feedback. I'm sort of anxious to hear what you guys think of this edit.
the average listener isn't going to care about the snare sound you choose.
Your'e right to the extent they won't care about a snare sound / a reverb, they won't even be able to engage with such a thought.
But this is the same as saying the average diner isn't going to care about the exact proportion of seasoning used by the chef, but none the less they will know when something seems exceptional / average or poor.
Richard Butler
Just finished listening to a BBC Radio4 documentary about the recording studio. It ended with Trevor Horn and other famous producers explaining the recording process itself in thier opine is the most important part, above the song writing - now bare min mind these guys have written some of the biggest selling tracks of all time.
One of them said the hi hat sound in Grace Jones 'Slave to the rythmn' cost as much as a Ferrari to get right. I presume he mean't cost of mics, compressors and time etc.
So in summary, plenty of top producers actualy do think getting the sound right over weeks or even months is what makes some recordings stand out and last.
They also said that most tracks now have no logevity and are forgetable as they don't capture an organic esscence. Trevor Horn said even on his all electroni tracks in the 1980's he always spent weeks trying to get the thing to sound organic.
Sorry Ryan for going off at a tangent on your thread, but it is pertinent to what it is your'e trying to achieve.
DJRYAN™
first thing that stood out in the video is that both the ride and the cymbal crash seem super processed. I also noticed reverb on and then reverb off on the horn right at the start. So I guess your point is that this track, in its era, and even now as an oldie, stands out as a billboard chart topper. There's probably a reason for that. The amount time it took to process everything in order to make it perfect. I get it.
Beatflux
quote:
Originally posted by Richard Butler
Timbaland takes weeks on percussion alone. If you don't get why this is, you don't get production.
I think he just bought an Xbox...
DJ RANN
quote:
Originally posted by Richard Butler
Just finished listening to a BBC Radio4 documentary about the recording studio. It ended with Trevor Horn and other famous producers explaining the recording process itself in thier opine is the most important part, above the song writing - now bare min mind these guys have written some of the biggest selling tracks of all time.
One of them said the hi hat sound in Grace Jones 'Slave to the rythmn' cost as much as a Ferrari to get right. I presume he mean't cost of mics, compressors and time etc.
So in summary, plenty of top producers actualy do think getting the sound right over weeks or even months is what makes some recordings stand out and last.
They also said that most tracks now have no logevity and are forgetable as they don't capture an organic esscence. Trevor Horn said even on his all electroni tracks in the 1980's he always spent weeks trying to get the thing to sound organic.
Sorry Ryan for going off at a tangent on your thread, but it is pertinent to what it is your'e trying to achieve.
I can't find it now, but in a old issue of popbitch, there's the legendary tale of Tevor Horn trying to write the music for Frankie Goes To Hollywood's "Two Tribes". Basically, he starts a session by getting stoned out of his mind lying the on the floor while the guitarist plays basslines all night long and the record them. At the end of the session Elvis Costello in the next studio bumps in to Horn as he's leaving and goes "hey what ou up to in there?", to which Horn responds "oh just writing the bassline".
Fast forward a month worth of intense daily sessions and Elvis bumps in to him again; "Hey how's it going. What are you owrking on now?"
"the bassline".
Apparently, one day he goes back in to the studio gets obliterated again, and plays back what he thought was the last recording. and goes "that's it!, that's the bassline". Turns out is was one of the first basslines they played during that first session.
He took six months just to mix that song and in the end the bassline
that was recorded, got sampled, cut up in to individual notes and resequenced back into the original bass notes arrangement.
It's great if you've got that sort of time on your hands, and there's no doubt he's a musical genius, but seriously, the days of having record companies pay for studios for a whole 6 months are long gone.
Another crazy story about trevor horn:
Apparently Seal's "Kiss from a rose" was actually made up from over 100 full length vocal takes. He then did over 4000 edits for a 4 minute song, nearly all mid syllable to make the vocal track, which didn't (arrangement wise) sound anything like any of the takes that Seal had done.
Back on topic @ DJRAYAN - I'm not going to comment on arrangement or melody, but your perc is made up of poor sample choices. Sorry to be blunt but that kick is so squished and mid that it makes not want to listen to the song. There's not cohesion between it and the rest of the track, and the rest of the perc only just sits lsightly better.
Swap the kick out for something with less mid content, bring the kick and hi perc down in volume, use a small amount of reverb that suits the new sounds, and group bus the perc to subtle compressor to glue them together. That will make a world of difference to both the drive and overall sound of the track.
evo8
quote:
Originally posted by Beatflux
They won't care about the particular snare, but they will care how professional the song sounds and how much it grooves.
Next to the kick, the snare/clap is the second most important instrument.
