Advice on filling out a tune more?

[iamjoey]

Okay so I have this one tune I've been working on for a little over 2 weeks maybe (here's a short clip from after it drops):

http://soundcloud.com/nautilusdnb/outlaw

right now i'm liking how the drums/bass sound, but the flaw that really stands out to me right now is simply it isn't sounding full enough.. and as i'm only half a year or so into serious production I don't really have the experience/know how to properly fill it out nicely. So I'm keen for any advice/ideas you fellas could offer! I've tried a few things.. layering a pad behind the bass, having short bass fills in between the long bass notes, but not really happy with the results.. so yeah, any advice would be great

Also, general feedback on the track would also be appreciated. I think the levels are okay right now as far as i'm concerned, maybe the snare is hitting too hard/compressed too much? But this is my first ever tune I've really got this far into drum & bass wise, so i'm happy with it so far.

Cheers!

[bulletstorm]

I would put some synth stabs or percussion in the spaces between the bass.
something like three stabs in a nice pattern to fill it up.

[richie_stix]

mixdown mate... this is all stuff you will learn.

first things first, the drums need to punch through the mix... once you got them punching, you can bring other elements up too

secondly, this tune is all muddy in the mids (where people often try to 'thicken' tunes) and needs the highs bring out, brighten that mix up nicely

keep working at it, you'll get there (but probs not with this tune), keep cranking the tunes out and it will happen

[Tone1304]

Hmm I think the snare is okay but the kick definitly needs to be brought up a bit more, as for filling out the track.i wouldn't use pads. Maybe just by adding some more hats or/and percussive instruments will help. And another synth that is similar maybe duplicate the synth being used and just change a waveform or a few parameters and use it on the end of every other phrase, that will help add some variation too

[iamjoey]

Thanks for the advice guys, definitely taking it all on board!

here's a quick V2:

http://soundcloud.com/nautilusdnb/the-outlaw-v2

really didn't notice how muddy the bass sounded until someone pointed it out.. thanks for that!

[mistasfx]

the drum sreally need to punch through on it. search on here and you'll get many helpful tips but the one thing that will help you is.... time

[iamjoey]

the drum sreally need to punch through on it. search on here and you'll get many helpful tips but the one thing that will help you is.... time

here's the problem I think.. to me the drums sound like they're punching through pretty well. it's probably because i'm only using average speakers I guess.

but thanks! gunna go away and work on the drums lots.. and look into coming up with some interesting stabs.

[Russla-DJ]

how many track is this btw? Just wondered cos it sounds like a shed load of elements are missing if you really want a proper full sound. Or is supposed to be minimal?

[Neomind]

how many track is this btw? Just wondered cos it sounds like a shed load of elements are missing if you really want a proper full sound. Or is supposed to be minimal?

On this kind of, if you want a propper full sound (not a roller, not a minimal one) hi-hats will make the most out of it and an ongoing lead synth stabbing each X bars or beats will make it sound fuller.

It's drum and bass, if you lack from the drums it's just bass! and i can only hear clear 2 diff. hi-hats.
If more info on the hi-hats topic in dnb I wrote a little post here: http://www.facebook.com/NeomindDnb/p...90173354424259 [nothing technical tho]

[iamjoey]

how many track is this btw? Just wondered cos it sounds like a shed load of elements are missing if you really want a proper full sound. Or is supposed to be minimal?

there's definitely not a lot going on.. but that's kinda the point of this thread really, wanting to get advice on what else to have going on. I plan to have more stabs and maybe a few cymbals going off, that kind of stuff. but at the same time I was kind of aiming for a more minimal track.. kind of a critical records type vibe.

On this kind of, if you want a propper full sound (not a roller, not a minimal one) hi-hats will make the most out of it and an ongoing lead synth stabbing each X bars or beats will make it sound fuller.

It's drum and bass, if you lack from the drums it's just bass! and i can only hear clear 2 diff. hi-hats.
If more info on the hi-hats topic in dnb I wrote a little post here: http://www.facebook.com/NeomindDnb/p...90173354424259 [nothing technical tho]

Yep, only two hi-hats,and a really basic pattern at that! same velocity on each hit too.. Definitely plan to switch that up more once I had solid foundations down. Thanks for the link, will give it a read.

[D-Jhepz]

i think filling out with purcussion is a really good idea, especially anything you've already used in the mix already... eg like the laugh - chuck a massive reverb on it and play with the pitch, pan and volume so its wobblying about and shit and then just loop the tail after every x hit of x instrument for rthym

[duckstep]

Should get some new drum samples, its hard to make it sound good with shit samples. Add a break to the drums aswell to give the beat a bit more rhytm, hihats alone sounds

[Eternaloptimist]

http://www.sonicacademy.com/free+vid...rentvideo=5225

http://www.sonicacademy.com/free+vid...rentvideo=5226

those 2 vids will get u going