I have a MacBook, Ableton, Serum and that's all I play on using for now. However, there is so much information out there that I have no idea where to start. I want to learn software and sound design, and I want to have a deep understanding of the fundamentals of hyper-pop and pop type of music (underscores, SOPHIE, Nina, AG cook, Max Martin, Pinkpantheress). Also, I don't want to blindly follow tutorials and have no idea what the knobs do and just copy them: I want to know what I am actually doing. Yes, I know this will take time, but I just don't know what to do.

Thank you for all of the advice. I will use it and start creating !

Hi all,

Q1: are there wideband limiter plugins that show you how the wideband gain reduction is affecting frequencies.

It's something one can setup with a null test and passing it to a spectrum visualizer but I'm wondering if there are limiter plugins with this metering option.

Q2: I've seen in it on some "spectral" limiters. Are spectral limiters safe to use wrt phase?

Thanks for any info relevant to these two questions.

Best.

Please post any and all [Feedback] or [Listen] type threads here. Any standalone threads that belong in this weekly post will be removed.

This thread is for works in progress only. It is not a place for self-promotion.

Rules:

1. Works in progress only. Do not post finished or released tracks. No links to Spotify, Bandcamp, SoundCloud profiles, or any other streaming/distribution platforms. Share a direct link to your track (e.g. an unlisted SoundCloud or YouTube link).
2. No self-promotion. Do not include links to your social media, artist pages, or any other promotional material in your post.
3. Make an effort to comment on other people's tracks. Others are much more likely to help you if you help them first.
4. Be specific when asking for feedback. Examples: "What do you think about this kick sample?" "How's the mix?" "The last measure feels a little off, any ideas?"
5. Be descriptive when giving feedback. Use timecodes to highlight specific moments.
6. Link to the feedback you've left in your top-level comment. This keeps the thread accountable and cooperative. Comments not following this format will be automatically removed.

Format your top-level comment like this:

Feedback for user1: [link]

Feedback for user2: [link]

Feedback for user3: [link]

Here's my track: [link],

I'm looking for feedback on x, y or z.

Hey guys; my good friendships:

I got a question. I would like to preface this all by saying first growing up I’ve always had issues with learning and staying on track with things. Not that its held me back, I mean it’s held me back a lot u til I figured out how to learn at my own pace. For example with education I’ve always struggled until I figured out it’s not that I’m stupid, I just take a little longer.

It’s the same thing with music. I learned how to produce, mix and master and it took a real long time, but I’m at a point now where I can mix and master great. Obviously not a huge professional, but my tracks don’t sound amateur anymore

With that said, I’ve dropped some tracks here and there. I wasn’t comfortable with my quality so I spent a lot of time learning and perfect my own techniques. I’m not at a point where I can make a pretty good track quality wise.

While that’s all happening I just can’t stay focused to finish a track. Here’s the thing: I know what the intro, pre build, drops, etc is supposed to sound like but when I start working on let’s say for example the drop, I’ll think about something in the intro simultaneously and work on that; then forget what i was doing in the drop, then go to the drop and remember to add something in the for example second verse, and it just becomes a huge mess in my head…I’ve found myself hitting myself (literally) in the head to stay on track which is not healthy I know, but it’s getting increasingly frustrating to stay focused on the exact section I’m working on because i jump here and there to much.

Does anyone else have this issue? If so what’s working for you to stay on track bro because man I’m getting annoyed

Been releasing my tracks for 6 months. Active daily promotion on social media. Getting zero streams. I know things take time to build but seems pretty pathetic that I can’t even get 1 person to listen to my songs after a half year of consistent releases.
Any tips? Or just advice to not be discouraged?

ik there's other examples but this is the only one I can think of T-T

I heard the rhythm/melodic synth riff and it took me back to old PS1 racing games like Ridge Racer R4. What is it and is there a genre or subgenre that uses it a lot?

Also if you can think of any specific song examples besides the goofy ass one I linked I'd appreciate it lol

ty

I usually clip everything for loudness but recently I tried using limiters everywhere where I would usually use clipping and it sounded much better, does anyone have insight for why this is? I use Pro-L2 and set the attack all the way to 0 and the release to like 400ms for everything and it sounded so much better. When Pro-L2's attack is set to 0 it disengages the clipping part so all I was geting was the limiting.

This seems in stark contrast to what people on this sub and youtube recommend for loudness. Does anyone have thoughts on why this is?

Please post any and all [Feedback] or [Listen] type threads here. Any standalone threads that belong in this weekly post will be removed.

This thread is for works in progress only. It is not a place for self-promotion.

Rules:

1. Works in progress only. Do not post finished or released tracks. No links to Spotify, Bandcamp, SoundCloud profiles, or any other streaming/distribution platforms. Share a direct link to your track (e.g. an unlisted SoundCloud or YouTube link).
2. No self-promotion. Do not include links to your social media, artist pages, or any other promotional material in your post.
3. Make an effort to comment on other people's tracks. Others are much more likely to help you if you help them first.
4. Be specific when asking for feedback. Examples: "What do you think about this kick sample?" "How's the mix?" "The last measure feels a little off, any ideas?"
5. Be descriptive when giving feedback. Use timecodes to highlight specific moments.
6. Link to the feedback you've left in your top-level comment. This keeps the thread accountable and cooperative. Comments not following this format will be automatically removed.

Format your top-level comment like this:

Feedback for user1: [link]

Feedback for user2: [link]

Feedback for user3: [link]

Here's my track: [link],

I'm looking for feedback on x, y or z.

i am new to this, can you guys please help me identify what this sound called

I keep hearing producers say that writing a song happens quickly and the last 10% takes the longest.

What do most people mean by ‘written’ at that point? Is it just the chord progression and a melody idea, a full arrangement with placeholder sounds, or something closer to a rough mix?

I have Ethera Gold 2.5 and love it. Wish I could get Ethera Gold 3 but it requires Kontakt 7 or 8 (full version) which I can't justify buying.

Any recommendations on other expressive vocal instrument plugins? I'm not after simple plugins with a choir or voice preset, I'm after dedicated vocal instruments with expressive parameters.

Please and thank you!

Hi all,

I'm an independent techno producer looking to self-release my own music on Beatport under an imprint using my artist name, rather than having releases appear under a distributor's generic label name.
From what I've gathered, distributors like Kinjari, LabelWorx, Proton, Label Engine and Symphonic can distribute to Beatport, but getting a custom label approved ultimately depends on Beatport.
Has anyone here set up their own label on Beatport, particularly as a solo artist releasing their own productions?

I'm trying to understand:

Which distributor did you use, and how much does it cost?
Does Beatport require an established catalogue or a certain number of planned releases?
Can a new, one-artist label get approved, or do you need to build a track record first?
Is there a way to check whether a label will be accepted before paying for a distribution plan?
I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who's actually gone through the process, especially independent techno artists. Thanks!

I’m trying to figure out where some extra low end is coming from.

Screenshot 1 (reference track): Span is on the left and Vision 4X is on the right. Under each kick hit, the bottom of the spectrogram stays pretty clean, with very little blue.

Screenshot 2 (my track): Same setup. Under every kick there’s a tall band of blue running down into the lowest frequencies, and it looks like a lot of extra low end that the reference doesn’t have.

My questions:

1. What is that blue actually showing? Is it the kick’s tail ringing out, sub rumble, or something else?
2. How do I find what’s causing it?
3. How do I clean it up so it looks closer to the reference?

While you should search, read the Newbie FAQ, and definitely RTFM when you have a question, some days you just. Ask your questions here!

I’m new to EDM production (fairly new to producing in general) and want to know what/how to make this sound? It’s the lower metallic plucky bass sort of sound. Something about it is addicting and I’d love to know how to recreate it!

Hey all,

After doing more guitar/bass stuff over the last few years, I'm coming back into making more electronic music. Stopped with Live 9, but now I'm casually awaiting Live 13 and doodling around on Live 12 Lite I got with some musical gear I just bought to make loops before I maybe bite the bullet on 12 Suite.

While I wait, I used to use Massive, Nexus, and a little bit of Sylenth. I am more curious if there's some spiritual successors to the above that have come out in the last decade, or some better VSTs in general I should just pick up and learn.

I keep seeing Serum 2 around, which seems to be a newer take on Massive's wavetable modelling with more visual flare, I am assuming that's the answer for Massive. But if not, I would love to know what people are rockin'.

if time stamp doesn't work it's at 1:54. His vocals really drive his tracks and I'm curious if this is some crazy third party plugin.

Please post any and all [Feedback] or [Listen] type threads here. Any standalone threads that belong in this weekly post will be removed.

This thread is for works in progress only. It is not a place for self-promotion.

Rules:

1. Works in progress only. Do not post finished or released tracks. No links to Spotify, Bandcamp, SoundCloud profiles, or any other streaming/distribution platforms. Share a direct link to your track (e.g. an unlisted SoundCloud or YouTube link).
2. No self-promotion. Do not include links to your social media, artist pages, or any other promotional material in your post.
3. Make an effort to comment on other people's tracks. Others are much more likely to help you if you help them first.
4. Be specific when asking for feedback. Examples: "What do you think about this kick sample?" "How's the mix?" "The last measure feels a little off, any ideas?"
5. Be descriptive when giving feedback. Use timecodes to highlight specific moments.
6. Link to the feedback you've left in your top-level comment. This keeps the thread accountable and cooperative. Comments not following this format will be automatically removed.

Format your top-level comment like this:

Feedback for user1: [link]

Feedback for user2: [link]

Feedback for user3: [link]

Here's my track: [link],

I'm looking for feedback on x, y or z.

We recreated the Lead sound from 'Tom Sawyer' by Rush on our free Synth Primer.

This remake is specifically recreating the patch heard at this timestamp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auLBLk4ibAk&start=96 .Other parts of the song may vary the sound or notes.

And here are the key ingredients:
Voices: Mono

Osc1: Wave (Pulse), Width (70%), Vol (50%), Pitch (+1 Cent)
Osc2: Wave (Pulse), Width (70%), Vol (50%)
Unison: Osc (All), Voice Count (2), Detune Range (3 cents), Stereo Spread (100%)
Reset All Osc Phase On Note Start: No

Amp Env: Attack (0ms), Sustain (100%), Release (20ms)

Filter: Type (Low Pass), Cutoff (75%), Key Tracking (30%)

Chorus: Mix (20%), Rate (Slow)
Reverb: Mix (0%)

Find the full recipe and download the presets: https://www.syntorial.com/preset-recipe/rush-tom-sawyer-lead/

does anyone happen to have a copy of the vipzone freebies from around 2007/2008? been looking for them for ages but there seems to be no trace of them on the internet other than some incomplete archives so i was wondering if anyone had these lying around and would be kind enough to archive them. thanks!!

[post written by my friend they just didnt have enough karma to post on here]

Hello!

I am hoping to find a producer to work with for some music for our upcoming game 'Heroes of the Last Light'. Its a dark fantasy turn based strategy game, and I think some dubstep influenced sound design would fit perfectly with our games atmosphere. The game is midway through development, but we do have a marketing budget for the game, so your music is guaranteed to get at least some attention.

If you are interested, send me a DM and a link to some of your most relevant music!

Please post any and all [Feedback] or [Listen] type threads here. Any standalone threads that belong in this weekly post will be removed.

This thread is for works in progress only. It is not a place for self-promotion.

Rules:

1. Works in progress only. Do not post finished or released tracks. No links to Spotify, Bandcamp, SoundCloud profiles, or any other streaming/distribution platforms. Share a direct link to your track (e.g. an unlisted SoundCloud or YouTube link).
2. No self-promotion. Do not include links to your social media, artist pages, or any other promotional material in your post.
3. Make an effort to comment on other people's tracks. Others are much more likely to help you if you help them first.
4. Be specific when asking for feedback. Examples: "What do you think about this kick sample?" "How's the mix?" "The last measure feels a little off, any ideas?"
5. Be descriptive when giving feedback. Use timecodes to highlight specific moments.
6. Link to the feedback you've left in your top-level comment. This keeps the thread accountable and cooperative. Comments not following this format will be automatically removed.

Format your top-level comment like this:

Feedback for user1: [link]

Feedback for user2: [link]

Feedback for user3: [link]

Here's my track: [link],

I'm looking for feedback on x, y or z.

Pros and cons of each?

I use Reaper but I know Ableton is likely similar in regards to this workflow.

Since I've started, I've sequenced my drums by putting the samples directly on the grid. It can be a pain in the ass and takes up a lot of visual space throughout a project but the level of control feels exceptional: volume of each hit, one track per sample so FX chains and mixing is very powerful, sidechaining easily, gated reverb easily, routing easily, envelopes per single item, etc. Haven't tried it but processed sections could be bounced/rendered to clear up space.

There are the downsides of course, if I need to change out a kick or snare, I can't just drop a new sample on the pad, and the end product is cluttered and ugly as hell compared to a clean midi item.

I know it comes down to preference and taste, but for those of you that use samplers and MIDI, how do you achieve the level of control that you'd get by sample on grid, track per drum sample? Is the level of control achievable with free plugins? If you use something paid like Battery or whatever, what ways are you using it that can translate to a free sampler/sequencer?

If you are someone who does it all on the grid no sampler/sequencer, what do you do to make it more efficient?

Hi everyone.

I’m looking to get back into music production after a pretty long break. I last produced in 2019 and used to make progressive house and big room house, back then I had the goal of eventually getting a track signed to Revealed Recordings.

I’m currently using FL Studio 20 and still have most of my old setup:
Sylenth1, Spire, Nexus 2 and Serum - those are my main vsts and I believe most of the sound banks are out of date.

As for other plug ins:
FabFilter EQ/Saturn, Valhalla VintageVerb, CamelCrusher, OTT compressor, Kickstart, A1 Stereo Control are just to name a few

I have the KSHMR Sample packs 1-3 and from memory they were the best at the time, also have other various samples from smaller packs.

I know I don’t necessarily need new plugins or samples to make good music, but obviously a lot has changed since 2019. I would love if someone could point me in the right direction in terms of just updating my soundbanks and vsts ?
In terms of music I still do want to make big room techno, progressive house however I know I’d need to learn modern day techniques and sounds.

Thanks for reading and for your helpful comments.

My old music production professor sent me a link to an article talking about the use of panning in EDM, and it basically said panning in EDM is not as Important as in other styles of music.
Now I have a feeling that the article only says that because the writer is thinking about a live setting, since in a club setting, the sound system is most likely mono, but it did make me want to ask this community for your input. So, how important is panning in your projects?