Official beatmakers/producers tips and tricks open question thread

[KushSkywalker]

Presets aren't universal. But they can actually be a good reference point. Not every snare needs the same eq or compression but using a preset may help you get in the ballpark.

Using presets can also help you understand how and what the plug in is actually doing. And help you experiment.

Is def more helpful to understand WHAT each knob and setting does though. I just think the never use presets rhetoric can be a bit overblown sometimes. I've actually heard Chris lord Alger. Dave Pensado. And JJP all admit to occasionally using presets to help them learn a new tool.

 

[Propaganda]

sorry, i guess i wasn't clear...but when i wrote presets, i was referring more to how people came up with certain settings that they always use on the kick and stuff like that...not the stock presets the plug came with.

ie. you don't want to put a compressor with the same 3:1 ratio, 30 ms attack, 80 release, etc. on the kick of every track you make.

 

[KushSkywalker]

sorry, i guess i wasn't clear...but when i wrote presets, i was referring more to how people came up with certain settings that they always use on the kick and stuff like that...not the stock presets the plug came with.

ie. you don't want to put a compressor with the same 3:1 ratio, 30 ms attack, 80 release, etc. on the kick of every track you make.

 

[BlackDroog]

Question: A few people have called my round 1 beat "choppy"...I don't really know how to fix that because i'm not sure what that means. or if it was the result of something i intended to do but didn't do well.

I like dirty and grimey beats. Those are always the kind of beats I love so that's what I try to make. regardless, i still want to be polished and mixed properly but not "over produced" and too clean. and at this point Mixing is my biggest issue. Any advice?

 

[KushSkywalker]

Question: A few people have called my round 1 beat "choppy"...I don't really know how to fix that because i'm not sure what that means. or if it was the result of something i intended to do but didn't do well.

I like dirty and grimey beats. Those are always the kind of beats I love so that's what I try to make. regardless, i still want to be polished and mixed properly but not "over produced" and too clean. and at this point Mixing is my biggest issue. Any advice?

- Pensado's Place - YouTube

Subscribe homie, this dudes one of the best and he says his average mix takes about 16 hours

So it can be a lot of work lol

 

[ItWasWritten]

Question: A few people have called my round 1 beat "choppy"...I don't really know how to fix that because i'm not sure what that means. or if it was the result of something i intended to do but didn't do well.

I like dirty and grimey beats. Those are always the kind of beats I love so that's what I try to make. regardless, i still want to be polished and mixed properly but not "over produced" and too clean. and at this point Mixing is my biggest issue. Any advice?

Are they saying ...they can hear where you chopped it up...too obvious?, if you can adjust your samples to where they dont cut each other off mpc style...and let it ride to the other.. kind of like cross fading.

 

[KushSkywalker]

Are they saying ...they can hear where you chopped it up...too obvious?, if you can adjust your samples to where they dont cut each other off mpc style...and let it ride to the other.. kind of like cross fading.

This, you may want to make sure the tempos are right with the chops verses you're sequencer. A lot of times Ill loop a main portion of the sample, say 8 bars, just to get a rough tempo, then the other chops sit better.

Also play with raising the attack and release envelopes on the samples.

 

[BlackDroog]

Are they saying ...they can hear where you chopped it up...too obvious?, if you can adjust your samples to where they dont cut each other off mpc style...and let it ride to the other.. kind of like cross fading.

good point. I never thought about doing it that way before. Great advice. Thanks homie.

 

[Deafheaven]

to make sure samples don't sound choppy I take my base verse sample, get the time for that for example lets say its 4 seconds. every other chop would be divisible by that, so 1, 2, 8 second chops and so on.

 

[BlackDroog]

This, you may want to make sure the tempos are right with the chops verses you're sequencer. A lot of times Ill loop a main portion of the sample, say 8 bars, just to get a rough tempo, then the other chops sit better.

Also play with raising the attack and release envelopes on the samples.

True. I usually stick to one tempo and try to make everything fit instead of adjusting the tempo for the sample...that's why I don't do vocal samples much at all. I end up abandoning what could have been a good sample when it doesn't sound right or i can't get it to fit the way i like. adjusting the pitch helps sometimes. But i think my workflow is backwards...I always do my basic kick and snare pattern first and build everything else around it.

 

[Deafheaven]

True. I usually stick to one tempo and try to make everything fit instead of adjusting the tempo for the sample...that's why I don't do vocal samples much at all. I end up abandoning what could have been a good sample when it doesn't sound right or i can't get it to fit the way i like. adjusting the pitch helps sometimes. But i think my workflow is backwards...I always do my basic kick and snare pattern first and build everything else around it.

I usually find the sample first and build offa that. I've made a few from the basic pattern though. I think thats more for composing and not sampling tho

 

[ItWasWritten]

True. I usually stick to one tempo and try to make everything fit instead of adjusting the tempo for the sample...that's why I don't do vocal samples much at all. I end up abandoning what could have been a good sample when it doesn't sound right or i can't get it to fit the way i like. adjusting the pitch helps sometimes. But i think my workflow is backwards...I always do my basic kick and snare pattern first and build everything else around it.

I usually find the sample first and build offa that. I've made a few from the basic pattern though. I think thats more for composing and not sampling tho

there are pros and cons to both..

You kind of have to see what works best with the beat

Here is what I would call a choppy sample that was a number one hit so...





you can hear the individual chops start and stop... no one was complaining when it came out tho hahah

 

[KushSkywalker]

there are pros and cons to both..

You kind of have to see what works best with the beat

Here is what I would call a choppy sample that was a number one hit so...


Drake - Best I Ever Had Instrumental - YouTube


you can hear the individual chops start and stop... no one was complaining when it came out tho hahah

I always thought htis beat was hard as fukk for some reason

 

[BlackDroog]

there are pros and cons to both..

You kind of have to see what works best with the beat

Here is what I would call a choppy sample that was a number one hit so...


Drake - Best I Ever Had Instrumental - YouTube


you can hear the individual chops start and stop... no one was complaining when it came out tho hahah

Sometimes that's not a bad thing at all.

 

[Ghpstface]

I always thought htis beat was hard as fukk for some reason

because it is hard as fukk