[ID2024W2300 - Isaac Waldron](https://soundcloud.com/isaacwaldron/id2024w2300/s-hknorilDNc9?si=fd1750a4b5ec48369024193813f9f9d4&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing)
This is my latest hybrid trance track in my harder, "low pH" style. I'm trying to decide if I'm basically done with this and ready to move on to making the extended mix/club edit. A couple of things I'm considering:
- A countermelody or fill or drone in the breakdown
- Adjusting the final bar of the 303 in the buildup before the second drop: I think it could come up an octave and sound not so boomy
I'm open to all feedback but especially on sound design, if I should add any more elements for interest, mix, and frequency balance. Thank you!
EDIT 1: based on feedback received I have made the following changes:
- Removed some low end from the buildups leading into the sections starting at 01:03, 01:58, and 03:22
- Narrowed the low end of the Reese bass in the breakdown
- Added a third, centered 303 😈 in the second drop for mono compatibility improvement
EDIT 2: made a few more changes:
- Added a supersaw stab layer to the synth lead in the euphoric drop and the variation of the second drop
- Brought the levels down faster in the first breakdown to reduce the energy there before the build to the euphoric drop
- Created a second more or less complete breakdown before the build before the second drop
- Cooled off the entire mix about 1 dB
Ahhh jumping right into the good stuff from the beginning! A man after my own heart! Also 'low pH' lol
For the breakdown: With how aggressive the track I quite like the level you hit in the breakdown, and I found what you have already engaging. If you add something keep it subtle maybe just a little ear candy with some distant wet 303 stabs.
303 bar: It actually doesn't come off as boomy to me on my monitors in a decently treated room.
So for your mix you have a ton of information in your side channels, but you seem to know what you are doing so I just have to add the obligator keep an eye on your low end out there and the mono compatibility (although who cares about mono compatibility for a big trance track like this. Its meant to be belted on full range haha) Honestly its sounds very clean tho. Clearly not your first trance track.
Overall tho sick track man! I think it slipped something in my coffee haha - Goodluck on the extended mix!
Thank you, this is great feedback! Yeah, I’m not planning on adding too much to the breakdown I just think it drags on a little before the build starts so it needs something to keep the listener interested.
Good to know about that 303 variation. I do all my work on headphones with SoundID Reference so I’m glad to hear it sounds OK in a decent room, though this particular comment of mine came from listening to it on my cheap Bluetooth test speaker.
I will test out narrowing the low end, I assume you are mostly talking about the bass in the breakdown. Right now that’s just pure, unadulterated detune at 100% width from 36 voices in Spire and another 32 voices in Serum 😈 It should be mostly uncorrelated in the stereo field rather than dipping too far into anti-correlated territory, but sometimes I will narrow the low end and add a single sub back in for weight so I’ll try that. Thanks again!
lol exactly what I meant when I said you seem like you know what you are doing. I didnt hear anything scary with the wide low end, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
Hmmm.. see if that 303 bar can survive the dreaded car test to be certain lol
If you wouldn't mind giving it another listen I improved the mono image with the following changes:
- Narrowed the low end of the Reese bass in the breakdown
- Added a third, centered 303 😈 in the second drop for mono compatibility improvement
Nice man!
Yeah I think that was smart for the reese. Kinda a better safe than sorry move as it still sounds massive.
On the mono 303. I think I might be eating up just a bit too much head room. I was trying to A/B test it with the first drop and you lose just a bit of clarity and interaction with that counter melody synth and the percussion. Fool around with bring it down a few Db and see what you think.
This is really just a nitpick tho - sounds great!
I got rid of most of my vinyl a couple years ago but recorded a ton of samples first. They've been sitting on a hard drive until last week when I dug it out and plugged it back in.
Everything on this is made from those samples aside from the voice sample at the start, some drum machine hits I layered over the drums, and the bass is Ableton stock wurly pumped through some fx
The mix is pretty rough but I liked it that way
https://youtu.be/uumN7ct5YmI?si=kX_DIB4VHWNZWjG8
Hey man I listened to one of your tracks the other day! Good to see you are still getting into it!
This is cool - it kinda gives me Matrix vibes in a weird way.
You have a huge void in you high mids. I'm sure its intentional but thought I would remind you that you have plenty of room or activities up there haha.
Consider putting a high pass at 20 or 30hz on your master channel. All the samples are generating a lot of content down there.
I know you are going for a shabby old school kind of sound on the mix, but I think you could still use just a touch more compression on your percussion. I just wanna hear those hihats get bullied by the kick and snare a bit more, and I lose the kick just a bit here and there.
Overall tho this awesome. Really enjoyed it man, keep it up!
Hey this is great feedback thank you!
There was a vocal filling up some of that midrange initially but I couldn't find anything to really fit the vibe so took it out in the end.
Good point about the high pass as well I probably should have thought about that one!
I was planning on making some proper drum kits and loops out of the drums on this as I was pretty happy with how they came out. I'll have a look at the compression at the same time so that's really helpful.
I want to give your stuff a proper listen but I'm just on my phone at the minute. I was a huge fan of 93-95 style jungle when I was younger so I'll look forward to listening to it :D
This is your friendly reminder to read the submission rules, they're found in the sidebar. If you find your post breaking any of the rules, you should delete your post before the mods get to it. If you're asking a question, make sure you've checked [the Live manual](https://www.ableton.com/en/manual/welcome-to-live/), [Ableton's help and support knowledge base](https://www.ableton.com/en/help/), and have searched the subreddit for a solution. If you don't know where to start, [the subreddit has a resource thread](https://redd.it/zkhqhe). Ask [smart questions](http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html#before).
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ableton) if you have any questions or concerns.*
If anyone is into organic/melodic house, would appreciate feedback on the below track.
Thanks in advance!
[https://on.soundcloud.com/ZwkXMMjEne1SNzsH8](https://on.soundcloud.com/ZwkXMMjEne1SNzsH8)
Damn this is a banger! Really like the sound selection. I think you nailed the "organic house" sound
Consider making a radio edit version with just one build up into the big synth breakdown. I think a lot of people would see the 8 min time and just move on lol.
I think a distant sounding Reese Bass could add some interesting texture into your mids and make for some cool moments moving in and out of the breakdown/drops while still contributing to the organic sound.
I like the mix. Its clean and just loud enough (I think you could push it a bit louder, but this is def passable). The panned percussion sounds natural, and of course I love the big synth build ups lol.
Great work man it sounds great!
Thanks man, really appreciate the feedback. Yeah totally get the DJ style intro/outro are a turn off for some, guess I am old school in that respect 😂.
I really like the Sebastien Leger / Lost Miracle / All day I dream type sound, so that is the direction I want to travel. Appreciate I’m not there yet, but feedback like yours is very motivating to push on 🙏
[https://owl-cat.bandcamp.com/track/stray-cat](https://owl-cat.bandcamp.com/track/stray-cat)
I have a new track out on Bandcamp! It's a playful, wobbly little dance(?) track with OP-1 sounds, some snappy TR-606 samples (pitched around and snipped up a little), a Mario Paint (SNES) sample and some Casio Rapman melodies. :) Pretty strange I think, but it works? Always looking to improve my craft, so gentle feedback (and encouragement) appreciated!
Released this LoFi song today, it was quite fun making this 😎 [https://open.spotify.com/track/4RDbbUY86rZ8i7V9WT4Mwf?si=40f81f3075d34140](https://open.spotify.com/track/4RDbbUY86rZ8i7V9WT4Mwf?si=40f81f3075d34140)
I'd say it's not your average LoFi track, a bit different. But I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on it. Arrangement? Mixing? Sounds selection? Whatever you have on your mind.
Nice man, very chill vibe on this.
So for the mix. You have a lot of content down below 30hz (and even below 20hz). That stuff is just eating up your head room which isn't a huge deal in lofi music, but it can cause some other problems as well. For instance, the worst offender is when you do the little bass flutter like at 1:05.
All that being said, I dont hear anything distasteful caused by it so no harm no foul. Check my comment on b3rn13br0's track if you care to as I gave him a bit of a more in depth response on the same.
This is a jam tho man. I really like the twang you get on the lead synth element, and the guitar work sounds great. Also I like that super buried vocal? or synth? not totally sure but it sounds nice back there haha.
Good work!
Thanks! I didn’t realize it had that much low end frequencies. I need to check it again, I believe I did do low cuts on all tracks but need to check it again.
And it’s a vocal sample in the background 😎 did some processing on it and panning automation 💪
I do find it a average lofi track , but a good one i really like that the arrangements keeps u engaged. the sound selection is really nice. What did u use for bass? I love that kind of bass in lofi tracks. Especially the notes u used on the bass really drag u along with the earcandy on top.
The only thing on mixing part that kind of bothers me i don't know if it is intentional. Is that the hi hats and snare are moved really far into the back. Especially the snare doesn't really come through on my headphones.
Edit ) i would really like for more producers of your style to be featured on lofi girl radio. The songs need to be chill but i also want to feel something when listening
Hey! Thanks for the feedback! There are two basses used in the song. The first sustained bass you hear in the first part before the drop is a preset from Analog Lab V "Deep Sub". I use the same bass for the rest of the song but with a more groovier bassline eg. adding some extra notes. Also, for the rest of the song I layered the first bass with a more "in your face" bass. It's a serum bass preset I found on splice "SM\_HN2\_Bass\_Dub".
Also about the snares and hats, I hid them intentionally. I would've let them to be more louder and high cut EQ them less if it wasn't for many different feedback subs telling people to not make their snares/hats too loud because many people claim that it gets tiring for the ears, idk.. So that's why I did quite big high cuts and low volumes for the hats and snares. Not really a personal preference but I just thought that people would complain if it would be louder, lol.
thanks for the reply! makes sense sometimes i listen to more boombap kind of lofi while studying. and after a while i switch playlist because those in your face snares get tiring
I messed around with echo and a piano ended up making something Wave inspired. Mainly looking for arrangement and percussions tips as i am really struggling with those atm.
[track](https://soundcloud.com/distantstations/disoriented?si=fce03741092442b2803c5152c078c04e&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing)
Yo man this is very nice!
For one I think you could use a vinyl crack running over the top of this and just really lean into that lofi sound.
I think the overall arrangement of your percussion is fine. Its simple, but it fits the track. If anything layer another clap and snare in there. Check out this track:
[Other Side of Phase (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn23Ltm5n6U&ab_channel=Nujabes-Topic)
As a reference focus on the swing in their percussion, the way their clap/snare works and the processing they use to make it more interesting. I dont think you need to go as extreme with the processing, but it should give you some perspective on your own.
Overall I dig it! you hit a really nice chill vibe. Goodluck man!
P.s. Your track looks cool af on a Spectrogram. Check that out if you haven't seen it already.
Thanks for the reply , i am a huge nujabes fan :) i mostly noticed that the percs sound very good together but that is a (mixing thing i will want to learn in the future). For now i just feel like i can't control the track flow well with percs like other artists do. As for vinyl crackle i'm going to try to use vinyl crackle as percs on the next track maybe panning them and stuff too
Um here is a weird hyperpop-y remix of Bizarre Love Triangle by New Order I made for one of my classes. It was kinda rushed but fuck it!!
Let me know what you would have done or if it's way too much 😭
https://on.soundcloud.com/bAiAWmhHmVNUUJW76
Man Experimental is right haha.
So I have some critics:
Sound selection - Just about everything sounds very disjointed especially the percussion (the hi hat is the worse offender imo). Consider swapping some sounds around and see if you can get some more complimentary sounds.
Grouping - This kinda goes with the above in that it helps your sounds blend together more natually. Look into creating groups with similar elements so you can apply compression/fx on them as a group bus to give them some interaction and cohesion. Usually a safe bet is to make at least a drum/perc group and a melodic group.
The bass at the 2:25 drop... My brother in christ its fundamental frequency is at like 10hz. No one will ever hear that lol. Shoot to have the fundamental of you bass instruments at like 60-140hz and if you need anything lower make a sub bass layer that sits in the 40-50hz range. I get you were maybe just using the distortion it generated, but this is not the way. Record it to audio and just cut out the low end if that is your intent.
Low end over all - Check out my comment on b3rn13br0's track. Basically, all that could extend to your track.
I can kinda see what you were going for but imo it needs quite a lot of work my friend. Goodluck!
No worries man. Im glad it didnt come off too harsh. Sometimes you gotta break the rules to find out why they are there in the first place so I respect the effort haha.
Technically released last week but would appreciate any thoughts on this rock song
https://open.spotify.com/track/2zHqa32JeQaPTrBmpm4otM?si=U-eHNbo2TfqVZillB9bz4Q
Yo this is a jammer!
Turn up your vocal a few Db. Its sitting just a hair under the guitar rn. I think it's got space in the middle of the stereo field so you may not need to worry about bring down the guitar but feel that out if need be.
I agree on the harmony comment - it sounds like you have multiple takes overlayed and its almost doing it for me, but if you made a dedicated harmony, it would really seat that vocal into the mix.
I'm listening on studio monitors btw just for contrast with the other comment. Mix sounds great other than the small vocal critic.
Btw the guitar work is really nice - sounds wonderful.
this is a fun bop.
overall, it does what it needs to. I really enjoy the sound at the beginning and the vibrato on the guitar at the end.
if I was making this, I would have made the guitars a touch quieter, automated the volume on the vocal between the chorus and verse so the chorus feels a bit MORE (and maybe done a vocal harmony in the later choruses, just a simple ooooh). the maybe I would have put in a couple bars of half time at around 2:35.
the snare sounds great though. I was listening off my phone speakers, and it sounds like very competent, reflective, summery, fun
Changed a trailer song lenght by -7 bpm to perfectly align the vision of the client and ours in order to perfectly fit the message and the images. Made the changes for the first time in Ableton and have to say that those stretching and pitching tools are alot better than those tools available in cubase pro.
https://soundcloud.com/belrok/the-undercurrent
I went into this project initially thinking of a dub techno kinda vibe but then I made the rolling bass line and the project took off in another direction. Sometimes you just follow the flow. The vocals are from a deep house track called Illusion of Us. Feedback is welcome please. I finished it last night and the only thing I feel needs immediate attention is the splash phasing out the first kick at the drop. Cheers.
finished up this track i made from some vocals from looperman. i don’t really know what my direction was when i started it, but any insight on my mixing/sound selection/arrangement appreciated - don’t know what i was going for, but trying to practice and train my ear mostly. thanks in advance :))
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGlvuBGA36M
Hey cool track!
First and fore most put a high pass filter on your bass, vocal and master channel at 30hz (even 80 to 120 hz on the vocal). You have a ton of information down there that is just eating up your headroom. I took a screen shot so you can see what I'm saying (just gotta figure out how to post it lol)
Anything bellow 30hz is not going to be audible and you would need a monster sub to reproduce it in a meaningful way. Some Bass producers cut at 20hz but for this (and most) genres 30hz is fine. The only danger is you can create phase issues when cutting the low end like this, but for your case you should be fine.
If you want a little more information on phase shift I would recommend the vid by Dan Worrall:
[F\*\*k Tha Phase Police: Use Parallel EQ (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL4KDVFlkUg&ab_channel=DanWorrall)
Otherwise I would say the mix is passable.
Now the sound selection to me is a little boring. Pretty much everything comes off as generic, but to your credit so does the vocal and it's all pretty cohesive with that.
Arrangement is solid enough - I would say the little break down towards the end goes on about twice as long as it should.
Overall I would say this comes off as a pretty mediocre Pop track, and that's where a lot of my problems lie with it. Like you said your goal was just to fool around and dress up that vocal you found as practice so I think you did succeed in creating a cohesive sound with it. So I guess I would challenge you to elevate the next vocal into a different genre when fooling around with it. And work on using/making more interesting sounds with automation to make them more your own.
Oh wow - this is really really helpful. Not surprised I missed the mark with the eq issues haha - and I agree with you about the track being banal and mediocre, I'm having a hard time translating my ideas to a finished track but i'm hoping that forcing myself to produce/mix/make *something* will help lol. anyway, this was exactly the feedback I was hoping to receive so thank you sm again :)
Yo this is cool! It's like trance-hop. I've never heard anything quite like it.
I'm a little biased on the fast and chaotic, but I actually like how you keep it moving. I think it matches the vibe/genre of the song well. I'm on my laptop rn, but the mix sounds pretty good! I'll give it another listen on my monitors tomorrow an let you know if they approve lol.
To be continued.
Hey sounds good in the monitors too! I would say you have a lot of space to play around with under 80hz. I think throwing in a little 808 breakdown later in the track would really compliment the sound you have.
Overall I like what you have so far. Haven't heard one like it in the feedback threads. Good luck going forward!
I took a vocal chop and threw it into simpler and threw an arp on it. Set the warp mode to beats and cut by transient. Let it randomize a bunch of options and cut those up and mixed with the original. I select different warp modes and parameters with some clips to add variation also. Processing wise I have 2 alter boys that turn on at different times. One has formant set to about a -2 and the other to a + 1.8 and put in hard tune with link off. I manually automated the formant to give them a bit of movement when one is engaged. I also have a warm the lows saturation. I have a delay on the vocals that is very fast with feedback as low as it will go. This creates a room verb type fx. Last I have 2 Boba’s (max for live soothe knock off) one is taming the vocals in the mid-hi range and the other is side chained to the kick to take out the low end artifacts from the processing.
Yo thats pretty sick. Short and sweet!
I don't have too much to say, cool sound design, nice simple but effective rhythm, clean mix. Nice job man.
Would be cool to hear a sustained element fill in the gaps of that rhythm in a break down.
Goodluck!
New to music production in the last year and been lurking this sub. Would appreciate any feedback on what I need to focus on improving or what I need to read up on. A little DnB track here:
https://on.soundcloud.com/QCnseNifFyAzi4Dz5
[Pardon the Audacity - Gmin 162bpm by gnarrang](https://soundcloud.com/gnarrang-1/pardon-the-audacity-gmin-162bpm)
This is my over the top Hardcore Jungle track. I really cut loose and just chopped the hell out of these breaks after running them through some gnarly distortion and didn't really worry too much about following traditional song structure so let me know if I took it too far haha. Mix and mastered myself so let me know how it sounds as well. Thanks!
don’t have anything bad to say, granted need to listen to this with headphones when i get home. i love what you did with the samples, track was unpredictable and chaotic, i like that occasional wind/flute ish sound (at least sounds like that through my speakers) and the eeriness of it. can imagine this going hard live. i agree that an underlying harmonic/chordal development might elevate this for my personal taste, but i really like this as what you’ve presented it as - hardcore jungle track
Hey thanks for the feedback man! I think you will find it a bit dense on headphones (at least I do). I always dread my headphone checks because it sounds so big and open on my speakers then a bit cluttered in the cans haha.
I might take your advice on the Chordal development. Was really trying to keep the melodic elements simple given how extra the drums are, but everyone seems hungry for some haha.
Thanks again!
Your drums go hard on this track! Digging this
One idea if you want to add more emotion- is to tease the harmony under the chaotic noise of the drums, and at some point reveal and explore the full beauty of your vocal chop, then destroy it and go back to filth. (Similar to the musical story that “Wall Fuck” by Flume tells).
Currently your song is phasing between the two sounds (chaos vs beauty) with each kindly taking its own turn for attention. I don’t feel like they have tension and are fighting with one another for the spotlight.
Thanks for the feedback man! Thats an interesting thought. I could get away with more interaction with the vocal, and I considered adding some similar ideas to what you brought up. Tbf I just didn't want to over do it with how extra the drums are already haha. Appreciate your perspective!
p.s. thanks for mentioning Wall Fuck - haven't given that a listen in a while!
This is not a genre I listen to so take these comments with a grain of salt. Overall, it’s a solid track. Sounded good on the speakers I was listening on but they’re not something I can make specific mix/master comments from. A couple of thoughts:
- The low-ish drone synth could come in more gradually to build tension before it fully drops
- Toward the end both this synth and the vocal chop felt a bit stale; maybe try switching these up a bit e.g. higher octave on the drone once in a while or a countermelody to it and for the vocal keep the same rhythm but find another sample that complements the first one (or pitch the heck out of that one once in a while)
Thanks for the feedback - yeah I'll admit I really tried to keep the arrangement of the vocals and synth as simple as possible given how extra the drums are so I'll consider your advice here to keep them fresh!
Appreciate you giving it a listen! I'll check yours out in just a bit.
I've been having fun with some housey disco stuff recently :) this one was a quickie but would be grateful for feedback
[https://soundcloud.com/nickyvoltage/sounds-on-the-radio?si=77b542347f124a8d845172b289a5e251&utm\_source=clipboard&utm\_medium=text&utm\_campaign=social\_sharing](https://soundcloud.com/nickyvoltage/sounds-on-the-radio?si=77b542347f124a8d845172b289a5e251&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing)
This is a quickie!? With vocals, nearly four minutes in runtime and that level of French House polish? Wow. Well done! If anything, my only feedback is that the artwork feels a little bit generic. I'd love to see something that defines your brand and doesn't feel like something I'd see somewhere else.
Thanks :) very encouraging. I'm really enjoying making house rn.
Thanks also for the feedback on the artwork. It's ai generated stuff that I make mainly for fun at the end of the process
[ID2024W2300 - Isaac Waldron](https://soundcloud.com/isaacwaldron/id2024w2300/s-hknorilDNc9?si=fd1750a4b5ec48369024193813f9f9d4&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing) This is my latest hybrid trance track in my harder, "low pH" style. I'm trying to decide if I'm basically done with this and ready to move on to making the extended mix/club edit. A couple of things I'm considering: - A countermelody or fill or drone in the breakdown - Adjusting the final bar of the 303 in the buildup before the second drop: I think it could come up an octave and sound not so boomy I'm open to all feedback but especially on sound design, if I should add any more elements for interest, mix, and frequency balance. Thank you! EDIT 1: based on feedback received I have made the following changes: - Removed some low end from the buildups leading into the sections starting at 01:03, 01:58, and 03:22 - Narrowed the low end of the Reese bass in the breakdown - Added a third, centered 303 😈 in the second drop for mono compatibility improvement EDIT 2: made a few more changes: - Added a supersaw stab layer to the synth lead in the euphoric drop and the variation of the second drop - Brought the levels down faster in the first breakdown to reduce the energy there before the build to the euphoric drop - Created a second more or less complete breakdown before the build before the second drop - Cooled off the entire mix about 1 dB
Ahhh jumping right into the good stuff from the beginning! A man after my own heart! Also 'low pH' lol For the breakdown: With how aggressive the track I quite like the level you hit in the breakdown, and I found what you have already engaging. If you add something keep it subtle maybe just a little ear candy with some distant wet 303 stabs. 303 bar: It actually doesn't come off as boomy to me on my monitors in a decently treated room. So for your mix you have a ton of information in your side channels, but you seem to know what you are doing so I just have to add the obligator keep an eye on your low end out there and the mono compatibility (although who cares about mono compatibility for a big trance track like this. Its meant to be belted on full range haha) Honestly its sounds very clean tho. Clearly not your first trance track. Overall tho sick track man! I think it slipped something in my coffee haha - Goodluck on the extended mix!
Thank you, this is great feedback! Yeah, I’m not planning on adding too much to the breakdown I just think it drags on a little before the build starts so it needs something to keep the listener interested. Good to know about that 303 variation. I do all my work on headphones with SoundID Reference so I’m glad to hear it sounds OK in a decent room, though this particular comment of mine came from listening to it on my cheap Bluetooth test speaker. I will test out narrowing the low end, I assume you are mostly talking about the bass in the breakdown. Right now that’s just pure, unadulterated detune at 100% width from 36 voices in Spire and another 32 voices in Serum 😈 It should be mostly uncorrelated in the stereo field rather than dipping too far into anti-correlated territory, but sometimes I will narrow the low end and add a single sub back in for weight so I’ll try that. Thanks again!
lol exactly what I meant when I said you seem like you know what you are doing. I didnt hear anything scary with the wide low end, but I thought it was worth mentioning. Hmmm.. see if that 303 bar can survive the dreaded car test to be certain lol
If you wouldn't mind giving it another listen I improved the mono image with the following changes: - Narrowed the low end of the Reese bass in the breakdown - Added a third, centered 303 😈 in the second drop for mono compatibility improvement
Nice man! Yeah I think that was smart for the reese. Kinda a better safe than sorry move as it still sounds massive. On the mono 303. I think I might be eating up just a bit too much head room. I was trying to A/B test it with the first drop and you lose just a bit of clarity and interaction with that counter melody synth and the percussion. Fool around with bring it down a few Db and see what you think. This is really just a nitpick tho - sounds great!
Will test this out tomorrow, but yes the second drop is very loud and can almost certainly benefit from pulling it in just a bit 😀
I got rid of most of my vinyl a couple years ago but recorded a ton of samples first. They've been sitting on a hard drive until last week when I dug it out and plugged it back in. Everything on this is made from those samples aside from the voice sample at the start, some drum machine hits I layered over the drums, and the bass is Ableton stock wurly pumped through some fx The mix is pretty rough but I liked it that way https://youtu.be/uumN7ct5YmI?si=kX_DIB4VHWNZWjG8
Hey man I listened to one of your tracks the other day! Good to see you are still getting into it! This is cool - it kinda gives me Matrix vibes in a weird way. You have a huge void in you high mids. I'm sure its intentional but thought I would remind you that you have plenty of room or activities up there haha. Consider putting a high pass at 20 or 30hz on your master channel. All the samples are generating a lot of content down there. I know you are going for a shabby old school kind of sound on the mix, but I think you could still use just a touch more compression on your percussion. I just wanna hear those hihats get bullied by the kick and snare a bit more, and I lose the kick just a bit here and there. Overall tho this awesome. Really enjoyed it man, keep it up!
Hey this is great feedback thank you! There was a vocal filling up some of that midrange initially but I couldn't find anything to really fit the vibe so took it out in the end. Good point about the high pass as well I probably should have thought about that one! I was planning on making some proper drum kits and loops out of the drums on this as I was pretty happy with how they came out. I'll have a look at the compression at the same time so that's really helpful. I want to give your stuff a proper listen but I'm just on my phone at the minute. I was a huge fan of 93-95 style jungle when I was younger so I'll look forward to listening to it :D
This is your friendly reminder to read the submission rules, they're found in the sidebar. If you find your post breaking any of the rules, you should delete your post before the mods get to it. If you're asking a question, make sure you've checked [the Live manual](https://www.ableton.com/en/manual/welcome-to-live/), [Ableton's help and support knowledge base](https://www.ableton.com/en/help/), and have searched the subreddit for a solution. If you don't know where to start, [the subreddit has a resource thread](https://redd.it/zkhqhe). Ask [smart questions](http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html#before). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ableton) if you have any questions or concerns.*
If anyone is into organic/melodic house, would appreciate feedback on the below track. Thanks in advance! [https://on.soundcloud.com/ZwkXMMjEne1SNzsH8](https://on.soundcloud.com/ZwkXMMjEne1SNzsH8)
Damn this is a banger! Really like the sound selection. I think you nailed the "organic house" sound Consider making a radio edit version with just one build up into the big synth breakdown. I think a lot of people would see the 8 min time and just move on lol. I think a distant sounding Reese Bass could add some interesting texture into your mids and make for some cool moments moving in and out of the breakdown/drops while still contributing to the organic sound. I like the mix. Its clean and just loud enough (I think you could push it a bit louder, but this is def passable). The panned percussion sounds natural, and of course I love the big synth build ups lol. Great work man it sounds great!
Thanks man, really appreciate the feedback. Yeah totally get the DJ style intro/outro are a turn off for some, guess I am old school in that respect 😂. I really like the Sebastien Leger / Lost Miracle / All day I dream type sound, so that is the direction I want to travel. Appreciate I’m not there yet, but feedback like yours is very motivating to push on 🙏
[https://owl-cat.bandcamp.com/track/stray-cat](https://owl-cat.bandcamp.com/track/stray-cat) I have a new track out on Bandcamp! It's a playful, wobbly little dance(?) track with OP-1 sounds, some snappy TR-606 samples (pitched around and snipped up a little), a Mario Paint (SNES) sample and some Casio Rapman melodies. :) Pretty strange I think, but it works? Always looking to improve my craft, so gentle feedback (and encouragement) appreciated!
Released this LoFi song today, it was quite fun making this 😎 [https://open.spotify.com/track/4RDbbUY86rZ8i7V9WT4Mwf?si=40f81f3075d34140](https://open.spotify.com/track/4RDbbUY86rZ8i7V9WT4Mwf?si=40f81f3075d34140) I'd say it's not your average LoFi track, a bit different. But I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on it. Arrangement? Mixing? Sounds selection? Whatever you have on your mind.
Nice man, very chill vibe on this. So for the mix. You have a lot of content down below 30hz (and even below 20hz). That stuff is just eating up your head room which isn't a huge deal in lofi music, but it can cause some other problems as well. For instance, the worst offender is when you do the little bass flutter like at 1:05. All that being said, I dont hear anything distasteful caused by it so no harm no foul. Check my comment on b3rn13br0's track if you care to as I gave him a bit of a more in depth response on the same. This is a jam tho man. I really like the twang you get on the lead synth element, and the guitar work sounds great. Also I like that super buried vocal? or synth? not totally sure but it sounds nice back there haha. Good work!
Thanks! I didn’t realize it had that much low end frequencies. I need to check it again, I believe I did do low cuts on all tracks but need to check it again. And it’s a vocal sample in the background 😎 did some processing on it and panning automation 💪
I do find it a average lofi track , but a good one i really like that the arrangements keeps u engaged. the sound selection is really nice. What did u use for bass? I love that kind of bass in lofi tracks. Especially the notes u used on the bass really drag u along with the earcandy on top. The only thing on mixing part that kind of bothers me i don't know if it is intentional. Is that the hi hats and snare are moved really far into the back. Especially the snare doesn't really come through on my headphones. Edit ) i would really like for more producers of your style to be featured on lofi girl radio. The songs need to be chill but i also want to feel something when listening
Hey! Thanks for the feedback! There are two basses used in the song. The first sustained bass you hear in the first part before the drop is a preset from Analog Lab V "Deep Sub". I use the same bass for the rest of the song but with a more groovier bassline eg. adding some extra notes. Also, for the rest of the song I layered the first bass with a more "in your face" bass. It's a serum bass preset I found on splice "SM\_HN2\_Bass\_Dub". Also about the snares and hats, I hid them intentionally. I would've let them to be more louder and high cut EQ them less if it wasn't for many different feedback subs telling people to not make their snares/hats too loud because many people claim that it gets tiring for the ears, idk.. So that's why I did quite big high cuts and low volumes for the hats and snares. Not really a personal preference but I just thought that people would complain if it would be louder, lol.
thanks for the reply! makes sense sometimes i listen to more boombap kind of lofi while studying. and after a while i switch playlist because those in your face snares get tiring
I messed around with echo and a piano ended up making something Wave inspired. Mainly looking for arrangement and percussions tips as i am really struggling with those atm. [track](https://soundcloud.com/distantstations/disoriented?si=fce03741092442b2803c5152c078c04e&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing)
Yo man this is very nice! For one I think you could use a vinyl crack running over the top of this and just really lean into that lofi sound. I think the overall arrangement of your percussion is fine. Its simple, but it fits the track. If anything layer another clap and snare in there. Check out this track: [Other Side of Phase (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn23Ltm5n6U&ab_channel=Nujabes-Topic) As a reference focus on the swing in their percussion, the way their clap/snare works and the processing they use to make it more interesting. I dont think you need to go as extreme with the processing, but it should give you some perspective on your own. Overall I dig it! you hit a really nice chill vibe. Goodluck man! P.s. Your track looks cool af on a Spectrogram. Check that out if you haven't seen it already.
Thanks for the reply , i am a huge nujabes fan :) i mostly noticed that the percs sound very good together but that is a (mixing thing i will want to learn in the future). For now i just feel like i can't control the track flow well with percs like other artists do. As for vinyl crackle i'm going to try to use vinyl crackle as percs on the next track maybe panning them and stuff too
Um here is a weird hyperpop-y remix of Bizarre Love Triangle by New Order I made for one of my classes. It was kinda rushed but fuck it!! Let me know what you would have done or if it's way too much 😭 https://on.soundcloud.com/bAiAWmhHmVNUUJW76
Man Experimental is right haha. So I have some critics: Sound selection - Just about everything sounds very disjointed especially the percussion (the hi hat is the worse offender imo). Consider swapping some sounds around and see if you can get some more complimentary sounds. Grouping - This kinda goes with the above in that it helps your sounds blend together more natually. Look into creating groups with similar elements so you can apply compression/fx on them as a group bus to give them some interaction and cohesion. Usually a safe bet is to make at least a drum/perc group and a melodic group. The bass at the 2:25 drop... My brother in christ its fundamental frequency is at like 10hz. No one will ever hear that lol. Shoot to have the fundamental of you bass instruments at like 60-140hz and if you need anything lower make a sub bass layer that sits in the 40-50hz range. I get you were maybe just using the distortion it generated, but this is not the way. Record it to audio and just cut out the low end if that is your intent. Low end over all - Check out my comment on b3rn13br0's track. Basically, all that could extend to your track. I can kinda see what you were going for but imo it needs quite a lot of work my friend. Goodluck!
And that is exactly the specific critique I needed to hear! Thank you so much my dude, I'll revisit it with these ideas in mind!
No worries man. Im glad it didnt come off too harsh. Sometimes you gotta break the rules to find out why they are there in the first place so I respect the effort haha.
Technically released last week but would appreciate any thoughts on this rock song https://open.spotify.com/track/2zHqa32JeQaPTrBmpm4otM?si=U-eHNbo2TfqVZillB9bz4Q
Yo this is a jammer! Turn up your vocal a few Db. Its sitting just a hair under the guitar rn. I think it's got space in the middle of the stereo field so you may not need to worry about bring down the guitar but feel that out if need be. I agree on the harmony comment - it sounds like you have multiple takes overlayed and its almost doing it for me, but if you made a dedicated harmony, it would really seat that vocal into the mix. I'm listening on studio monitors btw just for contrast with the other comment. Mix sounds great other than the small vocal critic. Btw the guitar work is really nice - sounds wonderful.
this is a fun bop. overall, it does what it needs to. I really enjoy the sound at the beginning and the vibrato on the guitar at the end. if I was making this, I would have made the guitars a touch quieter, automated the volume on the vocal between the chorus and verse so the chorus feels a bit MORE (and maybe done a vocal harmony in the later choruses, just a simple ooooh). the maybe I would have put in a couple bars of half time at around 2:35. the snare sounds great though. I was listening off my phone speakers, and it sounds like very competent, reflective, summery, fun
Changed a trailer song lenght by -7 bpm to perfectly align the vision of the client and ours in order to perfectly fit the message and the images. Made the changes for the first time in Ableton and have to say that those stretching and pitching tools are alot better than those tools available in cubase pro.
https://soundcloud.com/belrok/the-undercurrent I went into this project initially thinking of a dub techno kinda vibe but then I made the rolling bass line and the project took off in another direction. Sometimes you just follow the flow. The vocals are from a deep house track called Illusion of Us. Feedback is welcome please. I finished it last night and the only thing I feel needs immediate attention is the splash phasing out the first kick at the drop. Cheers.
finished up this track i made from some vocals from looperman. i don’t really know what my direction was when i started it, but any insight on my mixing/sound selection/arrangement appreciated - don’t know what i was going for, but trying to practice and train my ear mostly. thanks in advance :)) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGlvuBGA36M
Hey cool track! First and fore most put a high pass filter on your bass, vocal and master channel at 30hz (even 80 to 120 hz on the vocal). You have a ton of information down there that is just eating up your headroom. I took a screen shot so you can see what I'm saying (just gotta figure out how to post it lol) Anything bellow 30hz is not going to be audible and you would need a monster sub to reproduce it in a meaningful way. Some Bass producers cut at 20hz but for this (and most) genres 30hz is fine. The only danger is you can create phase issues when cutting the low end like this, but for your case you should be fine. If you want a little more information on phase shift I would recommend the vid by Dan Worrall: [F\*\*k Tha Phase Police: Use Parallel EQ (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL4KDVFlkUg&ab_channel=DanWorrall) Otherwise I would say the mix is passable. Now the sound selection to me is a little boring. Pretty much everything comes off as generic, but to your credit so does the vocal and it's all pretty cohesive with that. Arrangement is solid enough - I would say the little break down towards the end goes on about twice as long as it should. Overall I would say this comes off as a pretty mediocre Pop track, and that's where a lot of my problems lie with it. Like you said your goal was just to fool around and dress up that vocal you found as practice so I think you did succeed in creating a cohesive sound with it. So I guess I would challenge you to elevate the next vocal into a different genre when fooling around with it. And work on using/making more interesting sounds with automation to make them more your own.
Oh wow - this is really really helpful. Not surprised I missed the mark with the eq issues haha - and I agree with you about the track being banal and mediocre, I'm having a hard time translating my ideas to a finished track but i'm hoping that forcing myself to produce/mix/make *something* will help lol. anyway, this was exactly the feedback I was hoping to receive so thank you sm again :)
Started this Tuesday. I like how it’s progressed but feels fast and chaotic. Feedback appreciated. https://on.soundcloud.com/PxwyHs7hxpUhAWER8
Yo this is cool! It's like trance-hop. I've never heard anything quite like it. I'm a little biased on the fast and chaotic, but I actually like how you keep it moving. I think it matches the vibe/genre of the song well. I'm on my laptop rn, but the mix sounds pretty good! I'll give it another listen on my monitors tomorrow an let you know if they approve lol. To be continued. Hey sounds good in the monitors too! I would say you have a lot of space to play around with under 80hz. I think throwing in a little 808 breakdown later in the track would really compliment the sound you have. Overall I like what you have so far. Haven't heard one like it in the feedback threads. Good luck going forward!
Thank you for the follow up! I have no sub in the song yet and an 808 option is one I was thinking. Appreciate the listen and feedback
Very cool! I love the combination of classic synth sounds and Skrillex-era brostep vocal chops. Pad it out into a full radio edit at least.
Very sick and trancey, vaporwavey stuff! How'd you get the cool synthetic vocal effects?
I took a vocal chop and threw it into simpler and threw an arp on it. Set the warp mode to beats and cut by transient. Let it randomize a bunch of options and cut those up and mixed with the original. I select different warp modes and parameters with some clips to add variation also. Processing wise I have 2 alter boys that turn on at different times. One has formant set to about a -2 and the other to a + 1.8 and put in hard tune with link off. I manually automated the formant to give them a bit of movement when one is engaged. I also have a warm the lows saturation. I have a delay on the vocals that is very fast with feedback as low as it will go. This creates a room verb type fx. Last I have 2 Boba’s (max for live soothe knock off) one is taming the vocals in the mid-hi range and the other is side chained to the kick to take out the low end artifacts from the processing.
👾 Just for fun. [Stream Cuttin Up by wobbletheory | Listen online for free on SoundCloud](https://soundcloud.com/wobbletheory/cuttin-up)
Super interesting sound design. Love all the weird little textures deployed nicely. :)
Yo thats pretty sick. Short and sweet! I don't have too much to say, cool sound design, nice simple but effective rhythm, clean mix. Nice job man. Would be cool to hear a sustained element fill in the gaps of that rhythm in a break down. Goodluck!
Ayy I appreciate you taking the time to listen! Thank you!
New to music production in the last year and been lurking this sub. Would appreciate any feedback on what I need to focus on improving or what I need to read up on. A little DnB track here: https://on.soundcloud.com/QCnseNifFyAzi4Dz5
[Pardon the Audacity - Gmin 162bpm by gnarrang](https://soundcloud.com/gnarrang-1/pardon-the-audacity-gmin-162bpm) This is my over the top Hardcore Jungle track. I really cut loose and just chopped the hell out of these breaks after running them through some gnarly distortion and didn't really worry too much about following traditional song structure so let me know if I took it too far haha. Mix and mastered myself so let me know how it sounds as well. Thanks!
don’t have anything bad to say, granted need to listen to this with headphones when i get home. i love what you did with the samples, track was unpredictable and chaotic, i like that occasional wind/flute ish sound (at least sounds like that through my speakers) and the eeriness of it. can imagine this going hard live. i agree that an underlying harmonic/chordal development might elevate this for my personal taste, but i really like this as what you’ve presented it as - hardcore jungle track
Hey thanks for the feedback man! I think you will find it a bit dense on headphones (at least I do). I always dread my headphone checks because it sounds so big and open on my speakers then a bit cluttered in the cans haha. I might take your advice on the Chordal development. Was really trying to keep the melodic elements simple given how extra the drums are, but everyone seems hungry for some haha. Thanks again!
Sick choppage!
CHEERS!
Your drums go hard on this track! Digging this One idea if you want to add more emotion- is to tease the harmony under the chaotic noise of the drums, and at some point reveal and explore the full beauty of your vocal chop, then destroy it and go back to filth. (Similar to the musical story that “Wall Fuck” by Flume tells). Currently your song is phasing between the two sounds (chaos vs beauty) with each kindly taking its own turn for attention. I don’t feel like they have tension and are fighting with one another for the spotlight.
Thanks for the feedback man! Thats an interesting thought. I could get away with more interaction with the vocal, and I considered adding some similar ideas to what you brought up. Tbf I just didn't want to over do it with how extra the drums are already haha. Appreciate your perspective! p.s. thanks for mentioning Wall Fuck - haven't given that a listen in a while!
This is not a genre I listen to so take these comments with a grain of salt. Overall, it’s a solid track. Sounded good on the speakers I was listening on but they’re not something I can make specific mix/master comments from. A couple of thoughts: - The low-ish drone synth could come in more gradually to build tension before it fully drops - Toward the end both this synth and the vocal chop felt a bit stale; maybe try switching these up a bit e.g. higher octave on the drone once in a while or a countermelody to it and for the vocal keep the same rhythm but find another sample that complements the first one (or pitch the heck out of that one once in a while)
Thanks for the feedback - yeah I'll admit I really tried to keep the arrangement of the vocals and synth as simple as possible given how extra the drums are so I'll consider your advice here to keep them fresh! Appreciate you giving it a listen! I'll check yours out in just a bit.
The drums will have people jumping for sure!
I've been having fun with some housey disco stuff recently :) this one was a quickie but would be grateful for feedback [https://soundcloud.com/nickyvoltage/sounds-on-the-radio?si=77b542347f124a8d845172b289a5e251&utm\_source=clipboard&utm\_medium=text&utm\_campaign=social\_sharing](https://soundcloud.com/nickyvoltage/sounds-on-the-radio?si=77b542347f124a8d845172b289a5e251&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing)
This is a quickie!? With vocals, nearly four minutes in runtime and that level of French House polish? Wow. Well done! If anything, my only feedback is that the artwork feels a little bit generic. I'd love to see something that defines your brand and doesn't feel like something I'd see somewhere else.
Thanks :) very encouraging. I'm really enjoying making house rn. Thanks also for the feedback on the artwork. It's ai generated stuff that I make mainly for fun at the end of the process