question about electronic producing

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mcloughlinmusic

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Hi guys,

I'm a singer songwriter in the electronic pop genres who has had some decent success in the music industry, having recently been offered a singles deal through a major label. One of my biggest issues thus far has been finding quality production for my songwriting and singing, and I've decided to try and work on producing my own beats since I have a clear sense of what i'm going for.

The biggest issue i've seen in other producer's beats (like seen on beat websites like soundclick.com) is that the quality of the instruments sounds cheesy. the synths lack the power and energy of the good electronic instrumentals you hear on the radio (like Dr. Luke's and Max Martin's stuff, Taio Cruz Dynamite and Usher's "DJ Got Us Falling in Love,") and I'm wondering if this comes from a poor keyboard. Does the issue with beats I find on beat sites like soundclick.com stem from poor instrumental pre-sets in logic or whatever, or is it because their keyboard is crappy? Why do Dr. Luke's synths have so much power and clean, refined yet interesting sounds to them?

This brings me to my 2nd question. I am currently using a logic Mbox 2 set up on my home recording, which is clearly basic but I was wondering if I should buy a keyboard in an effort to begin making my own instrumentals. I'm wondering if my abilities will be capped however because my "sounds," im using through the logic pre-sets just aren't professional enough. Hopefully you guys can give me some insight, thanks for responding.
 
First thing comes to mind is alot of these producers dont mix very well. Not only that, most of the beats you here have been compressed to all hell. There has always been that battle for loudness and you see it alot more clearly with these producers. I hate saying this kind of stuff to but all that stuff your hearing on the radio is engineered and mixed by experienced professionals. Most of these "producers" throw some stuff together and max the volume and thats it.

As far as the keyboard goes, thats totally up to you. I myself still use a triton but also use NI Maschine as software. Most software you get will give you decent sounds. Also the packs available are endless. A keyboard is not neccessary to achieve what you are looking to do, but a know-how on how to achieve it is. Hope it helps a little. Good luck.
 
literally. 2cents. CONGRATS on your contract deal! Feel like taking up a side job as a manager - let me know!! You can certainly get a good percentage off of anything I can generate, once they throw me one of those deals you got!!!
----now to our regularly scheduled program--
mixing is going to have a whole lot to do with the final product and like stealth said - a lot of times, veterans are doing the major mixing . . . not that one should rely on movies for an understanding of every day life. but in Get Shorty2 (i believe) there was a real good storyline/scene on how Cedric the Entertainer came in as a producer/mixologist and added his wizzardry to what was already a good recorded song and just took it to THAT other level. yea it was a movie, but it was a good illustration on how different people in the studio can do such DIFFERENT things to a track to really bring that song to places the original artist may never have thought of . . but its still the same song.
hope this helped. if not. i owe u 2 pennies. whats your mailing address?
 
I agree with Gully it's all about the production. There are some highly skilled production people working for the record companies. Studio production is an art and requires a skillset just by itself. Most of the sounds you hear on songs are the same crappy sounds everyone is using. What makes them sound so different are the tools that the guys use to enhance the sounds. If you are thinking about doing it on your own I would just do the basic flat recording of all the tracks individually... which would be called stem files. I would turn the stems over to a professional for mixing and mastering. I would only worry myself with the creative part of the production. Although sometimes that special delay you added or that special reverb adds character to the song.. I wouldn't put alot of extra effort into trying to learn something that could take a lifetime to learn. Most of us on this board are still learning and it's really difficult because everyone has a different setup and there are a ton of tools available. Congrats on your deal... and good luck.
 
Most synths do sound thin and cheesy out of the box compared to the ones on commercial recordings. You really wouldn't want them to sound too "produced" in their natural state because then they probably wouldn't fit well in your own mixes.
 
no most of the soft synths you have out there are actually excellent..I have a mixture of outboard (dirt cheap) and soft synths and its not about the quality of the product half the time its about learning about synthesis and how you are using effects

decent musicians would seldom use a preset on anything yet people using keys feel quite happy to use a patch unadulterated..its exactly the same deal...most patches are crap..or at least need some work

when you need a lead use a saw...play exactly the same a couple of cents off...then another an octave down...now listen to it...that thin digital lead will be transformed to a mix filling monster...learn about envelopes..make your own

I dont have a bassline that isnt covered by another two parts..work it...fill the space..people using synths can be so fucking lazy sometimes, yet guitarists waste/spend hours finding a tone
 
kcearl said:
people using synths can be so fucking lazy sometimes, yet guitarists waste/spend hours finding a tone
Click to expand...

QFT.

Tone can't be "fixed in the mix" - it comes from the source. Garbage in - garbage out.
 
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