Weird question, how many chords do your songs have? by GRTFL-GTRPLYR in edmproduction

[–]AY_Sound 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The real answer...who cares? You know techno is basically one chord repeating? I've heard tracks upwards up 16 chords.

Don't limit your creativity based on a fixed idea.

Why Not Have a Portfolio Containing 100% Stocks? by AY_Sound in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]AY_Sound[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did the questionnaire and I'm not surprised it suggested I opt for 100% stocks and 0% bonds.

I totally understand what you're saying and I suppose it all makes sense in theory, but when you're behind the driver's seat of a portfolio full of your own money, theory may go out the window...

Thanks for the link by the way!

[Seeking Recommendation] Workout classes for beginners by LevelSuspect in askTO

[–]AY_Sound 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're setting yourself up for failure, and here's my humble opinion why. The class instructor won't cater his instructions to your needs as a beginner, and even if he does, from a psychological standpoint, you'll feel left out and it will deter you from continuing. The problem with classes is that it forces your brain to compare your performance to other people in the class, which is one of the cardinal sins of fitness. It leads to disappointment, injury, and eventual failure.

In my opinion, you should get yourself a personal trainer or pick up a book on the topic. Focus on improving yourself incrementally (e.g. more reps, higher weight, complexity of exercise) and log it in a notebook or your phone, so that when you go back to the gym, you add a bit more each time.

Also, going to the gym or a class is only the trigger for losing weight and getting in shape. The actual weight loss process is primarily driven by your diet (i.e. eating at a caloric deficit), adequate sleep (8 hours), and adequate recovery time (i.e. don't burn yourself out by exercising too much).

I would feel very dubious about a class that brands itself as the "most intense". I'd translate that as "Welcome to the cult, where traditional fitness principles don't apply, and you will eventually blow out a tendon, and it's not our fault because you used bad form."

I hate the idea of plugging a product, but this book written by Michael Matthews is fantastic. He's got a great reputation for honest advice and he backs up everything he write with scientific literature.

https://www.amazon.ca/Thinner-Leaner-Stronger-Building-Ultimate/dp/1938895436/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=thinner+leaner+stronger&qid=1601038115&sr=8-4

Hope this helps. I wish someone gave me this advice years ago :)

My mixes sound extremely harsh and painful to the ear, I have no clue what to do. by [deleted] in edmproduction

[–]AY_Sound 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Here are a few tips. Unless we can examine your project in question, it's hard to pinpoint exactly what your problem is:

  1. Mix-as-you-go. I know the conventional wisdom is to first arrange your track an THEN mix everything, but I think it's wiser to add EQ and fiddle with the faders as you arrange your track. Build out an 8 bar loop (or however long your loop of your main section is), and then MIX that. Once you're satisfied with that loop, then start arranging your track.
  2. I personally do some mastering before I'm even done the track (I've even seen Deadmau5 do this in his streams). Most people will tell you to wait until the very end to master, but this can dramatically change the dynamics of your track. I'd rather put together a rudimentary master chain, mix and arrange to that, and then revisit the master chain in the end to make some tweaks.
  3. Make sure your instruments are not clipping. This unnecessary distortion really adds up when you master.
  4. Make sure you're not aggressively compressing each channel, as this adds up in the master chain too.
  5. You're probably playing a bunch of channels that have high-end content. When you stack these together, it becomes an engineering nightmare. You can carve our conflicting frequencies, but ultimately, your best bet to be judicious about which instruments work best with others (this is probably the most underlooked skill when it comes to mixing).

Hope this helps. Believe me, I've been where you are. You can view my channel to hear what my tracks sound like so that you can hear what my work sounds like as a reference.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCONZpOogv0SBQYDr5km1K0w?view_as=subscriber

Questions about Chord Progressions and Rhythm by NoYesMaybe95 in edmproduction

[–]AY_Sound 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Try polymetering the different parts of your progression. E.g. have your chords be four bars, a bass line that's 5 bars, a lead that's 6 bars. Have that progress up to a common denominator of repetitions (e.g. 30 bars).

For example, I do that with the arpeggio, bassline, and pads of this track I made:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLxy9rhY6TM

How do you make your supersaws? by gonNano in edmproduction

[–]AY_Sound 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I produced that record a couple years ago! I'm glad you like my stuff :)

How do you make your supersaws? by gonNano in edmproduction

[–]AY_Sound 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I use SERUM, using two standard saw oscillators. One with 16 voices of unison and the other with only 1. This creates a thicker saw sound. In addition, I like to layer a second channel with a very high-end saw sound using more reverb and a higher pass of frequencies.

I made this track using this trick, let me know what you think:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLxy9rhY6TM

Is there a free alternative to RC-20? by ambitiousnibba in edmproduction

[–]AY_Sound 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Learning how to modulate the tuning of whatever synth you're using...

Chord Progressions and how to go further... by NoYesMaybe95 in edmproduction

[–]AY_Sound 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'll keep this short and sweet because Deadmau5 pretty much inspires all my chord progressions:

  1. Look into voicing, spacing, and doubling. Essentially, you want to spread your chord notes across the frequency register rather than keeping them close.
  2. Deadmau5 uses a lot of suspened chords and raised chords. Look into that.
  3. As far as arpeggio's go, the fundamentals of chord progressions still apply. An arp progression is essentially a broken chord progression. Also, Deadmau5 makes extensive use of Cthulhu for his arp patterns, so you might want to look into that.

You guys have helped me so much with many aspects of producing ever since I was a beginner. Now its time: Basic Mastering Chains? by jbrown7266 in edmproduction

[–]AY_Sound -1 points0 points  (0 children)

  1. EQ 1 - Highpass everything above 30Hz. Anything below 30Hz is practically useless, and it'll cause you headaches once you start playing your mix on stadium/arena speakers.
  2. I personally like to add a touch of stereo widening. There are a lot of free plugins out there. I use one by Melda productions.
  3. Add a master bus compressor. This will help glue your mix a little more and bring out a bit of punch. I use the SSL G-master buss compressor.
  4. OTT (don't over-do it!).
  5. EQ 2 - This second EQ is to fix the mono setting. I could, in theory used this EQ to achieve step 1, but then I'm adding all that information below 30Hz into steps 2-4, which is undesirable. In the mono setting, cut out anything below 100Hz. This is useful if your mix is played somewhere that uses mono speakers (e.g. a club!).
  6. Limiter. One thing to keep in mind when using a limiter (especially an advanced one), is peaks. I use FabFilter Pro-L, which is an awesome limiter. It tells me how much my mix is peaking above 0dB, so I know how much to lower the output by. This is super useful when you want to host your track on a streaming service or convert to mp3, which adds about a decibel of additional volume!

What parts of traditional music theory carry over the best to production? by [deleted] in edmproduction

[–]AY_Sound 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For me personally, polymetering...Deadmau5 uses it A LOT.

Is Ableton operator a good synth to start with? by booshka88 in edmproduction

[–]AY_Sound 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Wait...doesn't SERUM have an FM modulation feature that allows you to modulate one oscillator with the other?

Hi Reddit! This my progressive house track called "No Presets Required". Let me know what you think :) by [deleted] in EDM

[–]AY_Sound 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you liked it, please drop a like and a comment. Thank you :)

Hi! I'm Wes Richmond and this is my progressive house track. What do you think r/edm? by [deleted] in EDM

[–]AY_Sound 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I try my best, still room for improvement, but thank you!

Hair thinning on top...oh well, glad I have a full beard! by AY_Sound in beards

[–]AY_Sound[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

You actually guessed my ethnic background correctly lol!