First Drum and Bass Effort

Chakan

New Member
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Hi, been lurking around for a while, came on here to find production tips basically as i've been making music a while but never got my head round drum and bass. well i've finally found a handful of tips on percussion so had a go and here is what i've arrived at.

I'm looking for any tips on anything, getting the mixdown any better, making things sit together in a more smooth fashion. basically anything that'll help me improve. i've really enjoyed making the track and wish i'd sat down and tried years ago rather than getting scared of anything that wasn't kickdrum led.
as i said, i have been making music a while so i have a basic knowledge of things, but i'm always looking to learn so anyone who has any pointers is most welcome.
even if its just to say 'that's crap' or 'bass needs to be better', it all helps.

anyway, thanks for looking and also, ignore the volume drops in the track, they're there so (and this might sound waaay too hopeful) no one will try and play it before it's finished.

wow, that's long, so here it is.

 
Snare needs tightening. It sounds really disco. Try pitching it up a little bit. Also, Volume envelopes are great for that.
 
Thanks visions, I will have a play with the snare.
And the volume dips are there because it's not finished, old habits I guess? Whenever I've put up works in progress I've always put the volume cuts in so that it's not played (on the off chance someone might want to) in an unfinished state, except for in instances like this where I'm asking for feedback. That way I can put up pretty much full length tracks rather than a two minute clip, which usually results in more in depth feedback and suggestions. But thanks for taking the time to give it a listen.
Once I've finished it the full length version will be up for download.
 
A sick effort, I'd say that because of the general feel of the tune, you need the notes of the sound behind your chords (at the beginning) to be one that sounds more in key, and less out of tune. Also when your drop comes in and you have the trumpet loop repeated, dont be afraid to change a couple of notes here and there each time it comes round (or even make the loops longer) to add some variation. No doubt it's like that because it's not finished.
Have you got into compression yet? either way, with help with the mix, try and turn your speakers or headphone down a lot, and see which sounds rise a little too high above the rest.
I like what youve done with the percussion, the first drop sounds a bit too high passed, maybe automate so that the individual hits become bassier until they allow in the drop, sort of as a teaser into wahts to come, or just to lead into it smoothly, and on the trumpet shots before the drop try layering each one with a bass to increase excitement along with your riser. I really like how youve arranged it.
 
Thanks for all the feedback, I'll take another look and implement the suggestions.
Cynical hippy - the background sound on the intro is definitely not in key, I started the track in a different key and forgot to transpose that line! I was going for a slightly darker sound then the trumpet melody came to me and completely changed the style.
I'll take a look at varying the melodies, everything's kept quite simple as I didn't want to run before I could walk, so to speak. The main aim was to get a solid track in terms of the mix and sounds used then either take it from there or use what I've learnt on a new track.
And the highpass, I've actually taken down a bit already since I posted this so I'm on that.
Thanks to everyone for their help, new version will be up soon.
Cheers
 
Thanks for all the feedback, I'll take another look and implement the suggestions.
Cynical hippy - the background sound on the intro is definitely not in key, I started the track in a different key and forgot to transpose that line! I was going for a slightly darker sound then the trumpet melody came to me and completely changed the style.
I'll take a look at varying the melodies, everything's kept quite simple as I didn't want to run before I could walk, so to speak. The main aim was to get a solid track in terms of the mix and sounds used then either take it from there or use what I've learnt on a new track.
And the highpass, I've actually taken down a bit already since I posted this so I'm on that.
Thanks to everyone for their help, new version will be up soon.
Cheers

That's awesome Chakan, it'll be little things like that that will stop happening all at once and you'll be smashing out track after track, you took criticism very well so I'll be putting your rep up. If you could feedback on my track I'd be very appreciative:

 
Take the lows down and boost the mids. Really like the arrangement and all melodies though, make sure you hold on to the project so you can come back to it when you're big and famous ;)
 
Cheers for all the suggestions, feedback, and those who just took the time to listen, been busy over the last few weeks so not had much time to do any music, but I've got an hour to try some of the suggestions so will post the new full track up later today. It'll probably still need things doing but I'll get it as good as I can and hope a few of you enjoy it. Thanks again, this forum has been a huge help.
 
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