First full length track.

STΞRΞO.NΞT

Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2014
Finally finished and uploaded a full track that I've had a clip up for. Not really drum and bass, just a little experiment with different tempos and 96 BPM seemed to be what I stuck with. I've been told that would be around half-time breakcore, so I guess it's downtempo breakcore? Well anyways hope you guys enjoy it and definitely looking for advice on making my next track even better.

https://soundcloud.com/stereo_net/stront-subject371t50h-full-version
 
Some very nice ideas in there, I can hear what you wanted it to sound like and I like the idea.

Also some fairly major things that need improving :D
One thing is that usually, tracks are divided into sections that are 8, 16, 32 etc bars long. Occasionally you get a 12 or 24, and I did discover a jazz tune divided into 10 bar sections the other day, but it sounded weird. Stick to multiples of 2.

Also, don't pan your entire bass about. The bass frequencies should be kept in mono to avoid phasing, and any stereo effects are applied to the higher frequencies.

I'm sure other people will point out other things.

I don't like to define genre by tempo, I think it's a stupid way to do things. But, then again, I think dubstep and dnb are the same genre, so most people won't agree with my views on genres.
 
Yea the 12 bar sections are from adding the pauses and the 24 bar section was supposed to be two sections (2nd verse and build). I ran into a lot of problems with the structure mostly because the original one had no structure and was about 7 minutes long, and had decided I needed to cut a good bit out of it.

The bass has been side processed though, everything under 400hz has been cut out of the sides. So would you suggest frequency splitting the bass and placing the low end on mono. Using ableton the quickest way I can think to do this is an instrument rack with multi-bands soloed for low, mid, and highs and using a utility to mono the low end? What would be the difference in doing something like that and doing mid/side processing on the master chain?
 
You have a complete 12 bars, then you have a bar with the evil laugh in, which means that effectively, that section feels like 13 bars.

Also, something goes wrong structurally in the middle:
Your main growly panning bass comes in, if I'm right (I am getting a bit confused, so bear with me here) on bars 1, 3, 5, the second half of bar 6, then bar 8, bar 10 and bar 12 of the drop.
It should be on all the odd number bars.
I hope my counting is right... I've been sitting here playing that section through about 10 times trying to work out where you go off.
 
It may have been the drum pattern that is causing it as well. Never intended it to be anything played in a club or anything. Really just how it flowed for me.
 
yes i would have to agree with smoothassilk, very true. i think your synthwork is savage, got a dark overall feel, and the riffs are badass.
i just feel that particular massive preset is so very played out, but you make good use of it. did you do the old mackie/dylan trick-a-roo, and sample horror film trailers? if not, that trick is legit, and its a tip. dont be afraid to sound good, its different from using vengance and massive, sampling horror trailers is allowed.
(least i think so. it is far as im concerned haha)
i take it this is one of your earliest finished tunes, and as such i think you done a good job, you got the style down and seem very dedicated to getting your ideas across. its just a matter of putting the hours in now, think your tunes will get better with every one you finish. i dont particularly find this one good, but like i said, its just a matter of puitting the time in.
 
Thanks man. Definitely takes time, and like you said they'll get better down the road. Always learning new things.

I'm not exactly sure which portion you are referring to with sampling horror films, and I haven't heard of the mackie/Dylan trick. Could you send me a link or something? Always looking for more tricks to fill up my bag.
 
i cant put my finger on it, but i seem to recall reading mackie saying that he gladly samples 'saw" trailers for exampkle. i was thinking about the stab in the intro of your tune, but you probably made that one yourself? there was a period when like resonant evil and raiden were literally running tings, and you would get alot of dark atmos sounding like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCZp5v8V-94 but i cant name a song, as such, nor do i mean to say that they fell off. still great artists, its just i havent been paying attention for a while.

but yeah, trawl through the saw film trailers, silent hill, etc. easy to find meaty stabs, fx, and atmosphere. you could of course get the entire films, but the trailers are maximized efficiency, if you see what i mean
 
I gotcha the sound in the intro that is the slow warping growl (best I can describe it) was something I made. It was actually an accidental gem I made. Think it was from overly time stretching a stab I made. Don't quite remember though haha
 
Might be because I used triplets?
Don't think so, fairly sure that you've added one too many bars or taken one away somewhere. It's hard to keep track when you have a lot of fills.

In the tune in my sig, I did a similar thing at 1.37 which I should probably go and fix at some point. I made a triplety bass fill for a bar followed by a bar of piano solo, but instead of these being bars 7+8, (the last two bars), they're actually bars 1+2 of the next 16 bar section, which you can hear messes with the flow.
 
Yea the next one I do I'm going to try to cut down on fills and take a more minimalistic approach, and I'll definitely pay more attention to the structure.

I must be a bit off in the head, because I listened to the track on your signature and loved it. Haha
 
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