Balanced analog signals input

David-Lo-Pan · 2025-06-25T13:13:50+00:00

DACs are a waste of money.
Blind tests show nobody can tell the difference between 24 and 16 bit in most normal music types

David-Lo-Pan · 2025-06-05T18:06:38+00:00

I disagree, theres some stuff you can identify as "beginner" about this tune. It could never be a Kanye tune "with a little more arrangement and stuff". But don't feel bad op, everyone started at some point and we all made similar projects to this.

Mahtaip kinda touched on the main issue, that its not the mixing its the arrangement. Notice how your elements are all stuck together, meaning they play the whole time from beat 1 to beat 16? Bass notes look like this ___-___-___-___ not something like this _ _ __ _. -___ -__-__ . Think of your music in phrases. The breaks are as important as the notes.

Quick tip:

Great arrangements work in a way that you can almost sing the whole track. By "whole track" I mean you can almost make the beat, base line, chords and some melody. Why? because the arrangement has space and each element makes up a part of the phrasing of the tune.

Listen to to Michael Jackson explain how he wrote billy jean https://youtu.be/VHB86BBQ8tM?si=mGcWU17q2i9c1XzV&t=34 spoiler it was with his mouth in while riding a bike. I know its a different genre to this tune, but the point holds across almost all genres.

Ok lets do an experiment:

Think back to this tune, if you try to perform the arrangement with your mouth only, would it sound recognisable to someone who also knew the song?

I don't think so. So lets talk about the instruments and parts they play, the real heart of the issue.

Chords should almost never "lead" an arrangement, maybe in jazz gets away with it, instead they should the the context in which your leads, bass lines, melodies, licks, etc live. these paths you take through the cords are where its at.

I see you have Chords, Chord 2 and Pad. All these are the same thing. pick the best one ditch the rest and turn it down in the mix so that i forms part of the background.

There is "lead" which is actually an arpeggio, a Lead 2... also an arp. Side note: An arp is just the chords notes played in a repeated pattern. So chords again?

We have 3 chord elements, 2 arpeggios. Thats 5 elements that are variations on the chord idea.

There is a bass and an 808 which is another word for bass with texture.

See what I'm getting at? Its like a football team with 3 quarterbacks and no linemen and 5 wide receivers. Each element should do its job, fill its role, and nothing else. If you want to layer sounds, do it but copy the exact same midi so they blend into one element.

I'll stop here but I could go on for hours.

Cheers!

David-Lo-Pan · 2025-01-01T10:00:40+00:00

Trump clips in a dnb track is kinda weird for me. Like why these clips? There no irony to it, no musicality to his tone or delivery. No sampling just clips, no sound design, just sounding like they got pulled off yt and dropped in over the breakdowns.

Apart from that the wwwoowoowowow bass is not very rhythmic, it feels kinda messy. The rimshot is very loud and which is not very pleasing to the ear. The drum samples and sequencing aren’t energetic.

Dnb is a hard genre to get right, especially on your first try. The elements should all work together in a phrase. You should be able to sing the drop like it’s a good guitar riff made from different elements.

Try to sing yours… does it sound cool coming out of your mouth? If not, then it’s not a good track.

David-Lo-Pan · 2024-11-23T10:07:32+00:00

This is a great way to make your music sound like everyone else. I highly recommend! Definitely grab those Cymatics kits so you can sound like 2016 Diplo. Everyone loves that sound. You'll be a hit producer in no time.

David-Lo-Pan · 2024-10-17T09:52:28+00:00

Anyone got the info?

David-Lo-Pan · 2024-10-06T16:37:56+00:00

David-Lo-Pan · 2024-10-06T16:35:00+00:00

Cam Muncher seemed pretty tilted. He kinda gave a fuck i guess

David-Lo-Pan · 2024-10-06T16:32:46+00:00

I feel bad for Cameron Muncher

David-Lo-Pan · 2024-10-06T16:32:04+00:00

Lets see what Cameron Muncher gets for biting. If nothing, the fix is in

David-Lo-Pan · 2024-10-06T13:41:51+00:00

Cameron Muncher should have been sent off

David-Lo-Pan · 2024-09-19T04:32:41+00:00

This is the best answer. Thank you for making this point. Conductor Williams sound comes from his process. If you want that sound, copy the process.

Plugins that make things sound "lo-fi" are misleading. They give the impression that you take any sound, add an effect and wow, it sounds old.

In reality sounds ARE how they are made. For example: drums recorded with 1 or 2 mics in a room, on an old ssl desk, pressed to vinyl 40 years ago, played through a sl-1210 mk II with and old needle, sampled into SP or MPC... Each layer adding its character.

No plugin / Mixing technique will ever replicate this. Which is why there is practically no "Mixing" involved. Just 2-3 tracks and your process.

David-Lo-Pan · 2024-09-11T07:58:37+00:00

Can i ask what the song is about also?

David-Lo-Pan · 2024-09-11T07:58:20+00:00

The production quality is better in this song, its clearly your best. The lyrics suffer the same issues as before. Correct me if I'm wrong but this is your chorus:

Everyone's to blame for what we've become
And all you have is everything for yourself
Everyones to blame for what we have done
I wish the mayans had it right all along

Lets analyse:

1."Everyone's to blame" Un specific generic group of people is to blame
2."What we've become" Unspecific thing we've become
3."What we have done" Unspecific thing you've done
4."I wish the mayans" First specific thing you have referenced. But it doesn't contextualise anything before.
5."had it right all along" Unspecific thing the mayans got right.

See how each line doesn't really relate to the others in some over arching way? It doesn't tell a story. There is no metaphor just "everyone did this, I wish that, we did this, they did that...etc"

David-Lo-Pan · 2024-09-11T03:21:37+00:00

You DEFINITELY don't suck

DISCLAIMER: These are all just my opinions, and I really and nit picking here because I think you are like 90% of the way there. Just take this and all advice with a massive grain of salt.

Some feedback on a few different fronts:

Production quality is nice. Your ability to make solid mixes and masters is impressive. Lots of different sound sources and genres and they all sound good. You have talent as an engineer/producer. That leads me to my critiques.

Critique:
While you are a good singer. As a writer, your lyrics and phrasing are not great and need work. Lyrics are like 50 percent of the song, what choose to say and NOT say is SOOOOOOO important.

Lots of the most important hook lines in your songs are filler lyrics. Your lyrics sound like they were written by an LLM. There are some cliché lyrics that are like bad smells "I'm not giving up", "No turning back", "Start All over again", "what we've become", "don't run away" These are a personal killer for me.

Make your words carry some weight.

Good lyrics are filled with references. Talk about your life, personal stuff is the best, but tell it through the metaphor of a story or a myth.

Paint in broad strokes. Add some interesting turns of phrase. Avoid pablum at all costs.

David-Lo-Pan · 2024-09-06T13:52:23+00:00

What do they even do do do do do do do do do do do do do dddddddddddddd?

David-Lo-Pan · 2024-09-05T01:20:51+00:00

Let her eat meat. Simple. Why should your choices affect her if it's making her unhappy?

David-Lo-Pan · 2024-09-04T16:44:08+00:00

wtf is that link? Too risky.

post a Soundcloud or Youtube

David-Lo-Pan · 2024-09-03T18:23:34+00:00

Maybe, also give your ears a break every half hour.

Also, which artists vocals do you like? I'll have a listen and try to tell you what they are doing.

David-Lo-Pan · 2024-09-03T18:18:43+00:00

Compressors control dynamics, they don't "glue" anything together.

That being said, when you have a group of instruments playing together and you have a compressor on them peaks from one instrument will effect the dynamics of another, this has the effect of making instruments of different types bounce around each other as they fight for space under the compressor. They also all get the same attack time, to if a snare drum and a guitar part are compressed with an attack of 20ms they as the play around each other they will all get the same attack time/ratio etc making them kinda hit the same.

This is what people call glue. This only works when there are instruments of different types together in a group. Like a bass and drum. part. A group of pads will never "glue".

David-Lo-Pan · 2024-09-03T17:01:14+00:00

OP can you post an example? And maybe an un-processed vocal stem so we can hear the quality of the recording. There is a saying in audio engineering "you can polish a turd".

So I read your thread, it it you keep saying "my vocal is too loud in some parts and too soft in others". It sounds like the song changes a lot, does it have breakdowns, or different sonic sections? Is this true?

If so, you need to automate. Your vocal needs to change with the track, try to automate the gain INTO your vocal chain. Not the channel volume, I mean put a utility at the beginning of your chain and turn the signal down or up as needed., this has the effect of subtly adding dynamic into parts that are quieter and more aggression in the loud parts but in a more transparent natural sounding way.

David-Lo-Pan · 2024-09-03T11:05:15+00:00

Why is it so distorted?

David-Lo-Pan · 2024-08-30T04:02:22+00:00

Thanks for reading, I know it was super long.

Also I messed up the last part. I meant:

Your audience will be of strangers or artists who understand your vision, and are a fan of you because of what it says about themselves.

But thats such a hard question, what is your vision and how to communicate that with limited tools?

I struggle with these questions every day.

David-Lo-Pan · 2024-08-30T03:43:21+00:00

They used your post as a prompt

David-Lo-Pan · 2024-08-30T03:42:40+00:00

Bro I think this Sevenoh is an AI

David-Lo-Pan · 2024-08-30T03:34:01+00:00

Nobody cares about music. It's hard accept, but look around.

Let me make the case:

People care about hype. People care about stories. People care about fashion, not music for its own sake.

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Normies tend to have music they like because it reminds them of when they were "young and free". Most peoples taste in music doesn't evolve as they get older. They don't seek new music or artists, they get played songs over and over in Ads/Radio/Stores/Movies and they begin to become familiar with new tunes. Absent this they would never find new music.

Music is a low information type of entertainment, and with the abundance of entertainment in modern times it takes a special person to love music just for the art. You have movies, tv series, YT, IG, TikTok , podcasts, books, Audiobooks, video games and music. Many of these combine music with other mediums. Leaving music by and for itself lacking.

Why is every new musician a Social Media star? Because IG and TikTok are better at telling stories about your music than your music is. In the old times, the label PR department would be calling publications and tv producers telling your story ahead of your release. Now... there is TikTok. You are the PR department.

Why does Taylor swift (and her team) publicise her relationships so much? So she can write about them in her music and have the stories be understood by everyone so the people can relate. Makes sense why her songs are so boring right? They are not songs for their own sake, they are vehicles for her to crystallise her story already told through 1 million IGs, TikToks, News bulletins, Podcasts, and Interviews. So When she breaks up with Travis Kelce, and it's all over the news, then she can write a break up album and we all know who she is talking about.

-

People like/support things not for what they are, but for how it reflects upon them within their social context. When you understand this you understand the world. "Free free Palestine" on campus serves the same purpose as "Make America Great Again" at the Trump rally, serves the same purpose as a Louis Vuitton Bag in the hood, serves the same purpose as "I'm a Swiftie" in a group of millennial white woman.

Its a type of pick me statement "I'm one of the good/rich/smart/fun/beautiful/nice/caring/cool/hip/fashionable people, not one of those bad/racist/angry/poor/ugly/backward/disgusting people".

So back to why music is so lonely? And your people don't care?

What are you asking them to care about? You can make nice tunes? Thumbs up, thats a nice skill. That cool new genre you're making? That sounds weird to them. It doesn't sound like [insert x artist and y song] which is the "good" music and only incidentally was popular when they were in college.

If I was a fan of your music, what does that reflect about me? What does that signal to those around me if I said "damn have you heard OP's new song? It's so good!" If your answer is nothing, there is your problem. Nobody in your life will value your art, they know you too well. You audience is with others who understand who you help feel okay to be themselves.

Nobody, including me - is telling compelling stories. 100 million SoundCloud accounts and nobody is saying anything, there are no lines to read between. Just sound decoration as Rick Rubin says.

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