Adding effects/fx to tracks

DjCartel

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Yo, i'm beginning to notice a lot of the feedback guys on here give me about my tunes, and other people tunes, is that more FX will help during the drop. Now, with the exception of white noise which is pretty easy to fit in to a track, how do people go about putting effects in there tracks?

I find that when i add them it takes away the impact of the drop, and the whole track seems to lose its vibes. ive tried all sorts of effects, and put modulated filtering on them etc, but cant seem to get anywhere.

Pretty broad question i know, but any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Safe
 
well how can they shouldn't take away impact from the drop but just during the mainpart especially in darker dnb to get some variation you add background fx, just put some reverb on them and don't let them overpower anything, obviously the effect has to somewhat fit the mood of the track, not entirely sure what your problem is (just that the fx that you used somehow didn't fit to your track despite trying a lot of stuff with them?)
 
well how can they shouldn't take away impact from the drop but just during the mainpart especially in darker dnb to get some variation you add background fx, just put some reverb on them and don't let them overpower anything, obviously the effect has to somewhat fit the mood of the track, not entirely sure what your problem is (just that the fx that you used somehow didn't fit to your track despite trying a lot of stuff with them?)

yeah i mean ive tried going through various sample packs auditioning loads of samples, and they just never seem to fit. if you listen to something like xenomorph by spy, he has those stuttery white noisey sounds that come at the end of a bar sometimes, i try mimicing that sort of stuff and it just doesnt fit. maybe i just need to keep fucking around

and yeah, mr ape they are all in key
 
Don't use the samples as you hear them when auditioned, twist em up! Drop em an octave, reverse em, layer em, resample em, add delay, reverse again, pitch down another octave and add reverb etc etc.
 
It might be obvious but look at your mix and see where there is space, then find samples that sit in that area and/or eq out parts that mask your bass/drums. Sidechain pads or drones to your other elements to make them pulse rhythmically along with the tune. I find it hard too, but it can make a tune.
 
Effects is a pretty broad term, just about anything can be used as an "effect".

I tend to spend a lot of time on effects in my tunes, what I'm looking for are sounds that complement or distract from the different movements in my main instruments, building tension and release. So; say I'm high passing all my drums in a part, filtering them out with automation, in my mind it's like they're disappearing upwards and your brain expects - especially if you're filtering out all the audible sounds at the time - the sound's going to come "back down" again, ie the HP to open up and the drums to become more and more audible through the high frequencies down to the lows, but if you smack a low passed something or other into the mix it's like you're riding a new rising wave, but where the first sound (in this example the drums) seemed to disappear from the "surface" of the track (ie no filtering) into the air (HP) the new sound comes in with an opening low pass filter, so it rises, but from "below" and when fully open it emerges, so to speak, and then you might bring the drums right back in again, with no filter and you've created a little moment of surprise. (The sounds disappeared upwards, then new sounds appeared from below to suddenly be joined by the old sounds again.)

Did any of that make sense?

I think the most important thing to think about is in what direction the different layers of the tune are heading, I'm kind of hung up on these filter sweeps and things at the moment, all the time trying to direct the listeners' attention at different elements, surprising them and really taking them on a proper journey through the tune - sometimes at expense of actual musical fidelity and mixdown, but as long as I'm learning something along the way I'm happy every tune doesn't sound just right - at least I've got some new tricks up my sleeve for when I make the next one, maybe experimenting less and being able to focus on making it a proper tune.

Hope that was of any help at all.
 
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So, i had a listen to a few of your tracks, and am first off really impressed.
When it comes to the drops, i can understand the trouble's you're having with finding the right samples, because your tracks wouldnt really allow for just any FX.

I have to suggest trying our some resampling with some impacts. So, find a few impacts you think might work, then filter out the majority of the <150 and 2k>. Audition it at a low level, and put an enveloper to take out most of the decay. Then give it some low-mix high feedback synced delay and pinch of reverb.

I guess thats one method of adding extra small elements to the drop and chorus, which is what a lot of known producers do, which I'm sure you know. You're right when you say you need to keep fucking around.
One thing i did notice with your drops is that the was a lack of stuff hitting the midrange, so maybe try out some samples hitting the mids more
 
thanks for all the tips guys. i think the fact that when i audition them there too loud and not subtle. seem to be getting the hang of it. as you said fletch, twisting fx is like bass manipulation, resampling and revrsign chopping etc seem to be the way forward! and apecat, i mean actual samples opposed to filtering, but thanks for the detailed post, some good tips in there. nice one gents
 
yeah i mean FX not plugins on the channels. Things like bleeps, swoosh noises, stabs, etc

I can see what you mean about being detrimental to the vibe of a track. A lot of effects have an unmusical almost dissonant quality that can ruin a track. I've heard a couple of heavy tracks that have a generic ragga sample thrown in that just makes the tune sound like a joke.

I make most of my effects out of the bass itself. I'll bounce down the bass track and mangle it with granular synthesis or whatever and stick it in where I deem fit.
The best thing about making effects out of sounds that already exist within the track is that there is a sense of coherency that is sometimes unnoticeable
 
I make most of my effects out of the bass itself. I'll bounce down the bass track and mangle it with granular synthesis or whatever and stick it in where I deem fit.
The best thing about making effects out of sounds that already exist within the track is that there is a sense of coherency that is sometimes unnoticeable

Very good point! never though of that before
 
I can see what you mean about being detrimental to the vibe of a track. A lot of effects have an unmusical almost dissonant quality that can ruin a track. I've heard a couple of heavy tracks that have a generic ragga sample thrown in that just makes the tune sound like a joke.

I make most of my effects out of the bass itself. I'll bounce down the bass track and mangle it with granular synthesis or whatever and stick it in where I deem fit.
The best thing about making effects out of sounds that already exist within the track is that there is a sense of coherency that is sometimes unnoticeable

seems to simple but i would of never thought of that...

thanks
 
Something else to try is to skim through some of the "FX" labeled presets in your synths. This will not only help you brainstorm different sonic ideas, but any FX that originate from the synth will be able to be played in key/time with your tune. Then you can further mangle the FX via automation of synth parameters and/or FX inserts.

Massive and Z3ta2 have some nice patches to get you started...as does Absynth–cue Dugg Funnie. :cool:
 
Effects is a pretty broad term, just about anything can be used as an "effect".

I tend to spend a lot of time on effects in my tunes, what I'm looking for are sounds that complement or distract from the different movements in my main instruments, building tension and release. So; say I'm high passing all my drums in a part, filtering them out with automation, in my mind it's like they're disappearing upwards and your brain expects - especially if you're filtering out all the audible sounds at the time - the sound's going to come "back down" again, ie the HP to open up and the drums to become more and more audible through the high frequencies down to the lows, but if you smack a low passed something or other into the mix it's like you're riding a new rising wave, but where the first sound (in this example the drums) seemed to disappear from the "surface" of the track (ie no filtering) into the air (HP) the new sound comes in with an opening low pass filter, so it rises, but from "below" and when fully open it emerges, so to speak, and then you might bring the drums right back in again, with no filter and you've created a little moment of surprise. (The sounds disappeared upwards, then new sounds appeared from below to suddenly be joined by the old sounds again.)

Did any of that make sense?

I think the most important thing to think about is in what direction the different layers of the tune are heading, I'm kind of hung up on these filter sweeps and things at the moment, all the time trying to direct the listeners' attention at different elements, surprising them and really taking them on a proper journey through the tune - sometimes at expense of actual musical fidelity and mixdown, but as long as I'm learning something along the way I'm happy every tune doesn't sound just right - at least I've got some new tricks up my sleeve for when I make the next one, maybe experimenting less and being able to focus on making it a proper tune.

Hope that was of any help at all.
I hope you write a book someday on this, it's proper good advice.

In fact there's a lot of good advice in this thread already OP, there's not much I can add that you haven't already been told. Just always keep the feeling of your track in mind always and work with the music, don't force it to work for you. Feel it out,..and have some technical know-how obviously ;)
 
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