"top mistakes people made when they first started producing" Sun Nov-23-08 05:30 AM by NefariousProd
AKA the shit you used to do but now you dont cause you sucked post.
lets try to make a list.
I would have to say buying equipment you dont need and i used to get all of my samples from ultragraphik (site full of used samples) back in my FL days haha.
3. "RE: top mistakes people made when they first started producing" In response to Reply # 0
i made SO many mistakes, but i think that was a good thing, cuz i was focusing purely on the creative part instead of thinking about rules
i didnt record to proper levels like someone said above, and i had no idea about compression and limiters, so practically all my beats were clipping horribly
i had no concept of tempo, i exported loops i made in fl studio and draged the wave files to acid music studio and just lined them up regardless of the default 120 tempo i just decided the tempo by ear,
i would try to copy a lot of producers, but by the time i finished it sounded nothing like what producer i was goin for (which is was actually a good thing IMO)
4. "Definitely copping stupid equipment" In response to Reply # 0
Not understanding the difference between a "drum machine" and a sampler. Copped one of those DR-880's prematurely, then figured out that it wasn't SHIT like an MPC, lol.
Do your research, or you'll end up spending totally unnecessary money.
5. "RE: top mistakes people made when they first started producing" In response to Reply # 0
tryin to sell your shyt before u actually have a style! for a year i waited to let anyone even hear a joint, now im more confident and wiser about a "dope" beat v a "dope" song
...having your software set up to jus tthey way you like it... Having the loop on track one....kick on 2, snare on 3 etc...
i would open the program with the factor presets and have to configure it to my liking everytime i opened it... sounds obvious, but my creating a template and saving it..each time i opened my program its just how i want it to be...that saves soooo much time....alot of times i'd come with ideas, but by time i set up the program...they're gone or i don't feel like anymor
Also assigning as many different sounds to their own track as possible...as long as your cpu and handle it...spreading sounds over the 'board' gives alto more control...
"investing" in mid range equipment.... I'm realizing that buying middle range equipment...if you're serious makes no sense..... They don't last long and they actually cost you to replace....if i'm not buying somehting ridiculously cheap (that can be replaced without putting a big dent in the pocket) i'm investing in some top quality ish.........bought me a m audio axiom 49 the other day....less than 6 months...it's not working.....better to invest in a more expensive piece that won't die out on you...
8. "Not having an idea for lyrics or a hook to go along with my beats" In response to Reply # 0
everybody has beats not everybody has lyrics, I learned that the lyrics can turn your beats to a better direction especially if you become stuck to the point that its just an instrumental.
12. "RE: ^^^" In response to Reply # 11 Tue Nov-25-08 03:35 AM by RightMined
FL has some WHACK drums! There's this snare that I've been hearing used a lot that I know for a fact comes with FL Studio. It's like a shitty synth clap over a high pitched snare. That shit's been used in so many garbage radio tracks this past year.
------------------------------------------------- I bake 'em as fresh as I can make 'em.
15. "if you talkinbout a snare in the hip hop folder...u might be surprised.." In response to Reply # 12 Tue Nov-25-08 02:18 PM by Seven
>FL has some WHACK drums! There's this snare that I've been >hearing used a lot that I know for a fact comes with FL >Studio. It's like a shitty synth clap over a high pitched >snare. That shit's been used in so many garbage radio tracks >this past year.
what do you think of the monitors in your avi? i got the 8's, theyre pretty nice but sometimes its hard to pick out mid to bottom end. btw your remix of criminal was dope to me
16. "RE: top mistakes people made when they first started producing" In response to Reply # 0
My mistakes were more in breaking the unwritten rules. Like, I'd sample a drum break off of a hip hop record and not know who it was or where it came from. (Skull Snaps for example)
myspace.com/djdawhud Suckas get read like CHAOS AND BLACK STEAL!!!
42. "lolz." In response to Reply # 16 Sun Feb-01-09 01:14 PM by promise pseudo
I remember showing my DJ a beat and he tells me, "I love that Apache break..." and I was like "WTF???" FAIL. I also never paid attention to my tempo when I first started making beats, so I'd be trying to make a nice lil 84 bpm slumper over a 120 bpm grid.
That and trying to sequence drums before I understood the basics of timing... The snare on the 1 was a bad look for young grasshopper.
>My mistakes were more in breaking the unwritten rules. Like, >I'd sample a drum break off of a hip hop record and not know >who it was or where it came from. (Skull Snaps for example)
...I always used to make long sessions and my ears got so used to the sounds, that I didn't realize, how bad I leveled them and stuff like that. When I listened to beat the next morning I was shocked how shitty it sounded. It always sounded better in my head after a while...so making a quick break and listening to the beat with "neutral" ears is real helpful for me!
------ got more so(u)l(e) than a sock with a hole...
27. "One thing I would always" In response to Reply # 25
do was compress everything... and I mean everything.. I dont know why... for some reason everything seemed to loud to me so I would throw "compression" on it thinking it would even the sound out
33. "i think i was the opposite" In response to Reply # 27
this was before i knew anything about compression shit man, i would make beats in reference to 0db, but when i heard my beats werent as loud as commercial songs, i just loaded the wav into fl studio and jacked upthe volume and saved it as an mp3 clipping was EVERYWHERE im just now starting to learn some diy mastering, but i mostly dont bother, the rapper's guna get his shit mastered anyway so might as well let a professional do it right
34. "not trimming my samples/drums appropriately." In response to Reply # 0
i used to have way too much space before the actual sound...it threw my programming off. when i finally learned my machine, i was able to go back and salvage some of those early beats.
37. "RE: Fucking around with too many DAW's and plugins and toys" In response to Reply # 35
^^^No doubt. So many people get caught up in a d!ck measuring contest with what gear they have. You can make dope ish with very little, so just figure out how to make your ish work... then step up to something else.
myspace.com/djdawhud Suckas get read like CHAOS AND BLACK STEAL!!!
38. "being afraid to push certain buttons/functions" In response to Reply # 0
lol
there were things on my mpc I wouldn't even press cuz i thought they'd fuck something up permanently or i didn't want to open up some shit i knew absolutely nothing about
there's still probably a whole bunch of functions i haven't fucked around with properly
but...
if you're new to making beats, i'd recommend just messing around as much as possible, seeing what every little thing does
_______________________________________
you have sexually transmitted crazy mouth...DEALBREAKER!
39. "Using any type of exciter, enhancer or harmonic distortion unit" In response to Reply # 0
without actually knowing the basics of EQ'ing first. I would think that's a step worse then boosting before cutting. Some would say screw all that type of stuff altogether, but if you know how to EQ you will at least be able to tell if it's REALLY helping or hurting.
Another funny one, I just recently stopped using sharp slopes on hp/lp filters. Just because that info between 0hz to 20hz might not be useful doesn't mean you should pick the filter curve that is cutting 36 decibels by the time it hits 14hz. At least not on the digital Eq's I use anyway.
Have you guys been watching the Olympics? Sean Price: Nah. I ain’t with that shit. I see the clips, man. But every time I turn… Rock: Word, the Clipse performing there? Sean Price: No, the clips on TV. Rock: My bad. Fuck.
41. "I've been reinforcing that one recently (sharp EQ slopes)" In response to Reply # 39 Mon Feb-28-11 04:26 PM by Soon
It makes great mathematical sense to cut out all the extraneous data...but sometimes it just sounds better letting some of it hang around for the sake of not hurting the part you CAN hear.
46. "listening to niggas that are either TOO tuned-in to industry shit" In response to Reply # 0
or don't know shit except what they hear on the radio
__________________________________________ CHOP-THESE-BITCHES!!!! ------------------------------------ Garhart Ivanhoe Poppwell Un-OK'd moderator for The Lesson and Make The Music (yes, I do's work up in here, and in your asscrease if you run foul of this
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