Hip-Hop Instrumental In Need of Experienced Feedback

R

Razeray

New member
Hey guys been really trying to push myself when it comes to producing lately so I made this beat. I want to hear some thoughts on if it sounds good, somethings that could use improvements, and also maybe somethings to keep in mind for future mixes? Im really trying to build my experience and knowledge as a producer and Im still not confident In myself and my skills quite yet thats why I'd really value your feedback so I can keep building towards more professional sounding tracks. Feel free to ask me any questions about the mix as I would love nothing more than to discuss music! I hope you enjoy the track and thanks for your time, Peace! :p

-Ray
 

Attachments

  • I think about it.mp3
    4.4 MB · Views: 14
Hey it seems like you want to do good work in Music Production. Mad Props for your efforts.

When listened to your beat it felt like some of the low frequencies weren't very much there. But the low dribble of bass is very much there. It just needs a raise in volume.

Mixing music for a few years, I consider myself a beginner who is going into the hardened parts of learning music production. So if there's any tips to offer, it would be these:

Try to center some key elements. (Mono them). Not being knowledgeable about monaural, I just practice and realize that some key progressions can be totally stereo and others can be JUST mono. If you're not sure how to do this, I would Google or Bing search: "How to mono 'type your DAW here' manual"

If you decide to do this then you'll notice that some areas of your song will begin to sound more real and others will attenuate or have less impact. That's the point of mono and stereo. If everything is plain mono then the mix comes out to thin and unimaginative. If it's all stereo then the whole beat will come off as sort of confusing. There's exceptions though, like when you record band drums samples in stereo they will always sound good.

Stereo and mono are arguably more important to think about when dealing with your keyboarding and composition tracks.
 
Ok this is really great thanks for taking the time to sit down and type a response. I cut some sub-frequencies when I EQed the kick and other layers because I learned in school those frequencies can accumulate and can sometimes be the culprit of a muddy mix. Maybe i cut too much off, I'm going to go back and open the filter a bit and see if that helps. As for the bass dribble i suspect It was one of the synths I was messing around with. I brought the cutoff back to give it a more bassy feel perhaps that could be causing the problem.

In regards to utilizing mono/stereo outputs, That is a great suggestion. Ill definitely try and get more meticulous and mindful choosing which one of my chord progressions and melodies I want to focus more (mono) or blend out (stereo).

Thanks again for your feedback! Cant wait for you to hear the next one :)
 
Before you worry too much about mixing, EQ, and stereo vs mono I suggest spending more time on composing and arranging. You have a 3 and a half or more minute drum loop that is base simple and never changes. Throw in some fills and breaks. Try to find a melody to play or maybe rap something over those pads. Your thread says hip hop instrumental, but I'm not really hearing any hip hop elements.

Hope that helps.

J
 
Thanks for your feedback, Ill try and add more diversity to my drums as you suggested. Are there any tips you could offer me to help improve my composition and arranging? How can I gauge when to add a fill or a break and when to leave the pattern looping? What more could I add to make my drums less dull and more lively?

Personally, I don't think my production skills are anywhere near the level I think they need to be at to write lyrics to yet. Your words have definitely helped. In your opinion (Other than scratching, rapping, and sampling) what other Hip-Hop elements do you look for in beats? Thanks.

-Ray
 
cheap way to get more sounds ...


get a VST soundfont player,load it into your daw project then load some of the many free soundfonts available on the net into it ... there are some really good ones (and poo ones) out there


few linkies to get you started :)

2,000 Free SoundFonts & Free SoundFont Players

Links to SoundFonts

HammerSound




depending on how techie you are you can copy the best patches into your own banks (build up your own library),or rip the .wav`s out and use them any way you want (also using free software)



edit:- actually thinking about it you might be better off switching to FL studio,tons of produca`s are using it (cos it sounds so darned good right out the box :D ) .. theres a ton of tutes on utube to get you up and running ... worth a thought

https://www.image-line.com/flstudio/

check out that demo

(btw think their dropping/dropped native soundfont support)
 
What was there so far sounded fine. It's just that there's not much there. I'd add a bass to help hold down the low end, just playing the root note of the chords.

But it needs a melody, vocal, something.
 
Razeray said:
Are there any tips you could offer me to help improve my composition and arranging? How can I gauge when to add a fill or a break and when to leave the pattern looping? What more could I add to make my drums less dull and more lively?
Click to expand...

Listen to as many commercial tracks in the style/genre you are interested in and try emulate what they do.

I don't know what DAW or VSTis you are using, but look for a "humanize" control or a "swing" setting - this will adjust the MIDI playback so that every hit is not exactly on the grid. Research "quantization".

In your opinion (Other than scratching, rapping, and sampling) what other Hip-Hop elements do you look for in beats? Thanks.
Click to expand...

A "classic" drum machine sound - even if its just the claps that don't sound like real claps or hi-hats that don't sound like real hi-hats.
 
Thank you for your response! Im glad you feel like it needs lyrics on it but its not the right time for me to be putting down lyrics and recording them when I'm still going through the trial and tribulations of making a good mix. In my twisted perfectionist head I need to have my beat making skills ON POINT before I move onto the next step (writing lyrics). Good looking on the bass tip. But again thank you for posting, knowing people want to hear some lyrics on a beat I produced is definitely a good sign!! God bless brotha
 
This is some real good stuff thanks again for your time you really gave me some good concrete things to work on. Ill definitely be experimenting tonight! :listeningmusic:
 
Razeray said:
Thank you for your response! Im glad you feel like it needs lyrics on it but its not the right time for me to be putting down lyrics and recording them when I'm still going through the trial and tribulations of making a good mix. In my twisted perfectionist head I need to have my beat making skills ON POINT before I move onto the next step (writing lyrics).
Click to expand...

Just know that you can mix lyrics with a track before you get so good at it. You'll learn how vocals work and probably learn about mics and speakers too in the process. That's a must for any good pro. Being on point, you'll appreciate the accumulation of your effort, be it direct, systematic, concerned, or spirited.

Good looking on the bass tip. But again thank you for posting, knowing people want to hear some lyrics on a beat I produced is definitely a good sign!! God bless brotha
Click to expand...

Would like for your to keep posting too. It could be small errors that set you apart from a good soundtrack. That means lots when there's work being put into multiple tracks as a part of a larger project.

Would you mind sparing a comment? Let me know what you think of my current process, any feedback you have for my mix.
Click here
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top