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So I'm not sure what struck me as getting the confidence to throw this out there, but here is a song I just made:
http://soundcloud.com/dj-horuku/ucliptic
EDIT: Added layers to the main synth: http://soundcloud.com/dj-horuku/ucliptic-layers
Feel free to critique it as much as you like, because I desperately want to get better and start making more mainstream and great sounding stuff that you would hear from top trance producers (markus schulz, AVB, A&B, etc. I could name a ton but you get the idea).
Keep in mind, soundcloud is terrible and doesn't preserve the local quality of stuff.
I usually think everything I make is utter garbage and monotonous and I get into a rut and don't know how to improve it and thus never want to go and get help. I've steadily gotten better over the past couple years with my mixing, sound production, and arrangements (tension building, when to put what, etc.).
So yah, pulling the gun here, hopefully I'll be able to take all the flames of how much I suck :'). Maybe the local resident master music producer can throw me some pointers :|
If you're bored, also listen to a couple other of my tracks (more recently, Wendingo and King SSI are goodish, though feel free to browse everything I've put up on soundcloud). I've tended to upload them in order of when I've done then, so in general they get better.
http://soundcloud.com/dj-horuku/wendingo
http://soundcloud.com/dj-horuku/king-ssi-1
 
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The intro sounded like generic trance, but the parts at 1:20 where you held out for really long before giving back the bass line and 2:20 through to 3:00 were really exciting. 
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great start, feels old school trance! i think the first minute is great and building up expectations for another layer, something else. If you're asking me and i'm no music maker, add a segment of more Horuku flavor before the fade into softer sounds (1'11). at 1'27 with the BOMp, BOMp, BOMp can add another cracked out layer if you wanna jack the energy back up. all depends on what you want this to feel at this point. if you like chill, this is pretty damn good.
i love the part at 3'03! Perfect time to mix in another layer of high energy if that's what you're going for. at 3'42 you can elevate it again, and from 4'05 is a smooth outtro. Feels good after being throttled. Like i said i'm not sure if you're going for energy or chill this time, so it's just my preference :D
imma go listen to your other stuff. cheers and thanks for the tunes!
gl hfhfhf!
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hey, that sounded pretty good!
i just ordered a midi keyboard (http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0031SCV46/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&qid=1316983324&sr=1-1&condition=used) and am starting to make some music aswell. what programs do you use? also, any advice for someone just starting out? keep up the good work though.
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On October 23 2011 16:31 cAPS wrote:The intro sounded like generic trance, but the parts at 1:20 where you held out for really long before giving back the bass line and 2:20 through to 3:00 were really exciting.
Haha yeah, I tend to make "generic trance" for the intro's and outros, bad habit I guess but a lot of producers do it so that DJ's can easily mix into / out of a track (not that my track is good enough for a live set hehe). Thanks for that though, I definitely tried to make this track the most exciting by incorporating a lot more tension building than usual (all my other older songs are rather bland because I didn't know how to create decent tension).
On October 23 2011 16:43 illKarasu wrote:
great start, feels old school trance! i think the first minute is great and building up expectations for another layer, something else. If you're asking me and i'm no music maker, add a segment of more Horuku flavor before the fade into softer sounds (1'11). at 1'27 with the BOMp, BOMp, BOMp can add another cracked out layer if you wanna jack the energy back up. all depends on what you want this to feel at this point. if you like chill, this is pretty damn good.
i love the part at 3'03! Perfect time to mix in another layer of high energy if that's what you're going for. at 3'42 you can elevate it again, and from 4'05 is a smooth outtro. Feels good after being throttled. Like i said i'm not sure if you're going for energy or chill this time, so it's just my preference :D
imma go listen to your other stuff. cheers and thanks for the tunes!
gl hfhfhf!
Old school trance eh? Well that's good :p. When I first started out it was definitely just random sounds I was throwing together, but definitely been working to try and get better so if it can be compared to old school trance then that's a great start.
Not sure what Horuku flavor is, but I'd definitely like to spice it up a bit more. This track was rather weird, it started out chill for me but then I added in a lot of energy to it. Great tip though, I should try adding in a bit more layers to make it more rich and full sounding.
Don't get your hopes up for my other songs though, a lot of them are pretty bland in my opinion and my mixing skills were rather poor until lately so they sound muddy!
On October 23 2011 16:56 valdor4 wrote:
hey, that sounded pretty good!
i just ordered a midi keyboard (http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0031SCV46/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&qid=1316983324&sr=1-1&condition=used) and am starting to make some music aswell. what programs do you use? also, any advice for someone just starting out? keep up the good work though.
Thanks for the support! I had that midi keyboard for a while, but I found I didn't like how the keys felt too much. I currently just use my computer keyboard to lay down melodies and what not, but I want to either get an Axiom Pro 61 ($500) or get a synth I played on at Guitar Center. I use FL Studios, and haven't been able to transition into Reason or any other DAW because I'm so familiar with FL. I use samples for a lot of my drums, but build my own drum loops. I use Nexus 2 and Z3ta 2 as VSTs for everything else ;-).
There's a ton of information to learn if you're just starting out (I'm still a rookie after casually doing it for 2 years!), but the internet is very handy. When I first started out I followed a lot of youtube tutorials. It sounds bad, but if you can follow along with a tutorial and make something that sounds good, then you can slowly branch out and do your own thing (essentially copying someone else to learn the basics/rules so you can do your own thing). I'd say pick a style that you're interested in and then do a ton of research on it until you can pick a mainstream song and pick apart the various aspects of it. Then it all comes down to being able to recreate each instrument in that song from sound design to mixing it properly.
http://www.amazon.com/Dance-Music-Manual-Second-techniques/dp/product-description/0240521072 was a great book to get a lot of basic knowledge going.
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On October 23 2011 16:56 valdor4 wrote:
hey, that sounded pretty good!
i just ordered a midi keyboard (http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0031SCV46/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&qid=1316983324&sr=1-1&condition=used) and am starting to make some music aswell. what programs do you use? also, any advice for someone just starting out? keep up the good work though.
i've been using FL and various other programs for years now so just PM if you have any questions or want to know how to get a certain effect.
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I think you need to put more work into your synth programming to raise the quality of your sound a bit. Also remember there is linited space in the soundscape when you produce, still you want to fill it out evenly on all frequencies in order to avoid making the production feel empty.
An example - on this track im working on i made an easy way out, having a lead playing in 3 octaves at the same time, thus working as both bass and lead at the same time. Its a really empty production part from that line, some backing tracks, a percussion track and some sweep effects. The variation is mostly made from automation. http://soundcloud.com/kristofferelmqvist/hashtag-this-is-it-first
Some easy tips to clean up a production is a hard low cut EQ-setting around 60-80hz on your bass sounds including the kicks and stuff. You can also lower some midrange on the master if you think that sounds better, its a matter of taste.
Ive made some trance aswell and generally the production process is a bit more demanding. but stuff usually sorts itself out when you get the bassline going. As a starter, try combining 2-3 bass arpeggios, and you might get a pretty cool pop trancy bass sound.
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1:30 to 2:20 or so is great, I love the sound. I think the 1:20ish drop and fade could be blended a little bit. Maybe start that drum beat a touch earlier at a lower volume, but I really enjoyed it. Keep it up.
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On October 23 2011 19:43 Starparty wrote:I think you need to put more work into your synth programming to raise the quality of your sound a bit. Also remember there is linited space in the soundscape when you produce, still you want to fill it out evenly on all frequencies in order to avoid making the production feel empty. An example - on this track im working on i made an easy way out, having a lead playing in 3 octaves at the same time, thus working as both bass and lead at the same time. Its a really empty production part from that line, some backing tracks, a percussion track and some sweep effects. The variation is mostly made from automation. http://soundcloud.com/kristofferelmqvist/hashtag-this-is-it-firstSome easy tips to clean up a production is a hard low cut EQ-setting around 60-80hz on your bass sounds including the kicks and stuff. You can also lower some midrange on the master if you think that sounds better, its a matter of taste. Ive made some trance aswell and generally the production process is a bit more demanding. but stuff usually sorts itself out when you get the bassline going. As a starter, try combining 2-3 bass arpeggios, and you might get a pretty cool pop trancy bass sound.
Thanks for the tips! I tried out a high pass cut on the kick to tighten it up a bit, sounds pretty good. I like to usually leave some down there though to add a deep sounding kick (but at the same time I really want to get that anjunadeep sounding kick going). Not sure if I liked the lowering on the midrange of the master, I'll have to play around with it more.
I probably should have done a layer for the main synth (I usually tend to) to make it sound more full and what not, I might have to go back to that for this track. What do you mean about layering arpeggios for the bass? Like having multiple bass instruments and having each one be a different arp that plays on a different note?
EDIT: I added in layers to the main synth (two other synths playing the same part both are panned out to the left/right to give it room), let me know what you think.
http://soundcloud.com/dj-horuku/ucliptic-layers
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On October 23 2011 18:22 Horuku wrote:Show nested quote +On October 23 2011 16:31 cAPS wrote:The intro sounded like generic trance, but the parts at 1:20 where you held out for really long before giving back the bass line and 2:20 through to 3:00 were really exciting. Haha yeah, I tend to make "generic trance" for the intro's and outros, bad habit I guess but a lot of producers do it so that DJ's can easily mix into / out of a track (not that my track is good enough for a live set hehe). Thanks for that though, I definitely tried to make this track the most exciting by incorporating a lot more tension building than usual (all my other older songs are rather bland because I didn't know how to create decent tension).
Oh I see, very cool. Mixes are how I primarily listen to music (just not trance, typically), and I didn't know that about the intros/outros. Makes sense, haha.
Definitely post any tracks you make in the future!
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On October 24 2011 04:11 Horuku wrote:Show nested quote +On October 23 2011 19:43 Starparty wrote:I think you need to put more work into your synth programming to raise the quality of your sound a bit. Also remember there is linited space in the soundscape when you produce, still you want to fill it out evenly on all frequencies in order to avoid making the production feel empty. An example - on this track im working on i made an easy way out, having a lead playing in 3 octaves at the same time, thus working as both bass and lead at the same time. Its a really empty production part from that line, some backing tracks, a percussion track and some sweep effects. The variation is mostly made from automation. http://soundcloud.com/kristofferelmqvist/hashtag-this-is-it-firstSome easy tips to clean up a production is a hard low cut EQ-setting around 60-80hz on your bass sounds including the kicks and stuff. You can also lower some midrange on the master if you think that sounds better, its a matter of taste. Ive made some trance aswell and generally the production process is a bit more demanding. but stuff usually sorts itself out when you get the bassline going. As a starter, try combining 2-3 bass arpeggios, and you might get a pretty cool pop trancy bass sound. Thanks for the tips! I tried out a high pass cut on the kick to tighten it up a bit, sounds pretty good. I like to usually leave some down there though to add a deep sounding kick (but at the same time I really want to get that anjunadeep sounding kick going). Not sure if I liked the lowering on the midrange of the master, I'll have to play around with it more. I probably should have done a layer for the main synth (I usually tend to) to make it sound more full and what not, I might have to go back to that for this track. What do you mean about layering arpeggios for the bass? Like having multiple bass instruments and having each one be a different arp that plays on a different note? EDIT: I added in layers to the main synth (two other synths playing the same part both are panned out to the left/right to give it room), let me know what you think. http://soundcloud.com/dj-horuku/ucliptic-layers
I wish i could show you somehow what i mean :s
edit: about your update, it sounds alot better than before
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On October 25 2011 05:46 Starparty wrote:Show nested quote +On October 24 2011 04:11 Horuku wrote:On October 23 2011 19:43 Starparty wrote:I think you need to put more work into your synth programming to raise the quality of your sound a bit. Also remember there is linited space in the soundscape when you produce, still you want to fill it out evenly on all frequencies in order to avoid making the production feel empty. An example - on this track im working on i made an easy way out, having a lead playing in 3 octaves at the same time, thus working as both bass and lead at the same time. Its a really empty production part from that line, some backing tracks, a percussion track and some sweep effects. The variation is mostly made from automation. http://soundcloud.com/kristofferelmqvist/hashtag-this-is-it-firstSome easy tips to clean up a production is a hard low cut EQ-setting around 60-80hz on your bass sounds including the kicks and stuff. You can also lower some midrange on the master if you think that sounds better, its a matter of taste. Ive made some trance aswell and generally the production process is a bit more demanding. but stuff usually sorts itself out when you get the bassline going. As a starter, try combining 2-3 bass arpeggios, and you might get a pretty cool pop trancy bass sound. Thanks for the tips! I tried out a high pass cut on the kick to tighten it up a bit, sounds pretty good. I like to usually leave some down there though to add a deep sounding kick (but at the same time I really want to get that anjunadeep sounding kick going). Not sure if I liked the lowering on the midrange of the master, I'll have to play around with it more. I probably should have done a layer for the main synth (I usually tend to) to make it sound more full and what not, I might have to go back to that for this track. What do you mean about layering arpeggios for the bass? Like having multiple bass instruments and having each one be a different arp that plays on a different note? EDIT: I added in layers to the main synth (two other synths playing the same part both are panned out to the left/right to give it room), let me know what you think. http://soundcloud.com/dj-horuku/ucliptic-layers I wish i could show you somehow what i mean :s edit: about your update, it sounds alot better than before
Ah, did you mean making the bass less generic and single note to make it into an arp?
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EPT
