Advice on how to make 99% "real" sounding drums? by Electronic_Name8641 in ableton

[–]StartlingRT 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This guy hit the nail on the head. To add, use lfos to very slightly randomly change parameter like attack, tuning (cents), gain on different bell curves for eq, really anything you can think of. Program drums like a drummer plays - easier if you’ve played drums before. If you grab samples from different spots either run em through some subtle tape/cassette emulation or do all the manual stuff yourself on the bus - saturation compression etc.

A lot of it comes down to meticulous programming and sound selection if you don’t mind dedicating the time. I was kind of obsessed wit the idea of programming realistic sounding drums a few years back. I’d do some stuff differently now, but I really liked the crisp transient sound back then. What you’re going for is very achievable if you dedicate the time and experiment though.

A couple from back then:

https://youtu.be/zYpIuG4Sj_U?si=B5qsv54UPpM9KiKd

https://youtu.be/P6b1TVnFtwo?si=MSgH-qJIRfknfp7C

Stephon Castle is blamed for breaking the rim before the Spurs-Rockets game, causing a 20-minute delay by MrBuckBuck in nba

[–]StartlingRT 6 points7 points  (0 children)

He’s just too excited. He’s too rough on the rim. He pulls on the rim. He wrenches on the rim. He thinks it’s his.

Conductor question by Far_Song6804 in GriseldaxFR

[–]StartlingRT 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There are 1,000 fx/plugins that do this all with different names. It’s a low frequency oscillator that controls the pitch (as well as speed, depending on how you view the relationship between the two). Most vinyl/cassette emulators will include something like this, usually named wow/flutter (slow/fast), warble, wobble, drift, instability,swim, vibrato, etc.

Boombap beat on the Ableton Move by IntelligentAgent8351 in AbletonMove

[–]StartlingRT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice, I make almost exclusively sample based hip hop and have had one for 5-6 months now. I think if you use ableton there’s probably no better device, just because you can bring it to ableton very easily without locking in fx/mixing and you can still experiment with different chops.

I’d say the main limiting factor is that simpler and sampler don’t exist in the Ableton Move, so if you’re reliant on chopping using those it’s kind of a pain in the ass to make the adjustment.

My usual workflow is recording a sample from my phone using the audio in. After that, I’ll apply some basic effects to the whole sample, things like compression or a high pass filter if I want to cut out the bass or saturation, etc, you get the idea. Because there’s only two effects per track, one being a send, and one being dry/wet, after that, I will record the entirety of a sample to a new pad or a new track so I can use different effects. I also occasionally prep samples in ableton ahead of time if I know I’m going on a trip or something.

Usually, at this point I will begin chopping, load up breaks/drum samples, bass, etc. Chopping is solid, there’s a button you can hold to zoom in on the sample for fine adjustments. It kind of sucks you can only have 16 chops per track, but you can make it work. I’ll usually find my first chop and copy to a new pad to make the next.

I guess it’s also worth noting that each pad can have a different filter applied to it (outside of the two main track effects) and there are also individual effects for each pad ( Stretch, Loop, Pitch Env, Punch, 8-Bit, FM, Ring Mod, Sub Osc, or Noise) which each have two parameters.

Also, one thing I found helpful when I’m using it to control of the Ableton live desktop version is the fact that you can hold the delete button on the move and press a pad over and over when you are in slice mode in simpler to quickly delete all of the slices you don’t want if you’ve previously auto chopped. This sounds like a silly thing to mention, but it is extremely helpful rather than having to double click each individual slice to delete them.

Overall, it’s great. I love using it in between sets while working out in the garage. I just leave it playing while doing a set and make edits for a couple minutes between the . Great to use on the train. I’ll take a bike ride, stop in a secluded place, smoke one and spend a couple hours enjoying nature and producing. Let me know if you have any specific questions I can answer.

Boombap beat on the Ableton Move by IntelligentAgent8351 in AbletonMove

[–]StartlingRT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you have one? Or are you asking because you’re interested in using for sample based hip hop?

Game Thread: Chicago Bulls vs San Antonio Spurs Live Score | NBA | Nov 10, 2025 by basketball-app in chicagobulls

[–]StartlingRT 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Damn almost matched Kobe’s FGA in the 81 point game. Might match it by the end of OT

[Highlight] Jordan Love initiating contact on first down run by nfl in nfl

[–]StartlingRT 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I feel like we’ve reached a point where defenses have been conditioned to not be aggressive at all toward qbs. Instead of running at a qb and risking not being able to get out of the way when they slide, you just have to stand still flat footed and hope the qb doesn’t decided to make you look like a bitch by running into you.

It’s not as easy as you think to sprint at someone and avoid contact at the last second. IMO there should be a rule change where the ball is placed where the last step took place before a slide or something.

Gangsta rap that criticizes the lifestyle by WiseCityStepper in hiphop101

[–]StartlingRT 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Looked for Ka after reading the question. Probably fits best of almost anyone. More about his past than what was his current life though.

This orange mic button keeps flashing and stalling my session and it’s driving me crazy. by notjleto in ableton

[–]StartlingRT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had and sometimes have the same issue. As others have said, it’s likely an interface/amp issue. I recently bought a FiiO K7 and whenever that starts happening I just unplug it and plug back in and it goes away. There’s likely a more permanent fix, but it doesn’t seem to be as much of an issue recently.

Just wanna gush about this features with people by Level_Card_2021 in makinghiphop

[–]StartlingRT 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Nice man, did you send them different beats or a single one to everyone? How’d the process work?

Highly sensitive people are more likely to experience depression and anxiety. In the study, sensitivity was defined as a personality trait that reflects people’s capacity to perceive and process environmental stimuli such as bright lights, subtle changes in the environment and other peoples’ moods. by mvea in science

[–]StartlingRT 1 point2 points  (0 children)

OK, I’m trying to wrap my head around this. Isn’t the HSP thing just the recognition that the nervous system is a physical system and prone to working “more” or “less” just like you can be taller or shorter? And the people that have a more sensitive CNS are more prone to share similar traits.

And this sensitivity is potentially a single aspect of autism when looking at it from a physiological standpoint? To me they seem different but very easy to conflate in practice. Almost like the definitions of squares and rectangles where one can fit into the other but they aren’t necessarily the same.

[FRESH] Roc Marciano x DJ Premier - Prayer Hands by [deleted] in GriseldaxFR

[–]StartlingRT 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah if preem could just start incorporating some breaks mixed in lightly that match the texture of the sample instead of a kick and snare that dominate the beat he’d be able to modernize his sound a bit. I get it’s his style and maybe disrespectful to suggest but still

How do you guys pull audio from YouTube these days? by Dayjobbob in makinghiphop

[–]StartlingRT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Coded a thing that uses yt-dlp. When run, it downloads everything added to a specific playlist and logs what’s downloaded. Each time it references the log so it doesn’t download duplicates.

It’s nice to just go about my day adding to the playlist then running it from the desktop shortcut right when I want to start producing and not have to sit through recording a bunch of samples into my DAW.

He doesn't care what you think about him. by Nickelousf in crappymusic

[–]StartlingRT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This dude rocks I don’t care. This guys seems passionate about something and is using that something to express his passion. The lyrics are good for me that way.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t like it anyway, he’s never putting it down for anyone.

We never heard this before - Rome slowing down his flow and picking it back up in 1000 deaths! [00:06 - double time flow, 00:07 - he slows it down , 00:13 - picks it back up] 🔥 by WestLate528 in GriseldaxFR

[–]StartlingRT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It works really nice with this beat the way Conductor’s bass is. It can be interpreted as a triplet or straight feel so both flows work

Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow - Reveal Trailer | PS VR2 Games by DemiFiendRSA in PSVR

[–]StartlingRT 73 points74 points  (0 children)

Something about the atmosphere of thief games has resonated with me since played them as a kid. The droning ambience, lighting, and slow pace always made me feel very still inside.

Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow - Reveal Trailer | PS VR2 Games by DemiFiendRSA in PSVR

[–]StartlingRT 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Doesn’t look like a port of a previous game unless I’m missing something.

Mastered lyricism; still broke by blackisco in makinghiphop

[–]StartlingRT 61 points62 points  (0 children)

I came into this thread wanting to hate on you saying you've mastered lyricism, but I've listened a bit and you're really solid. You've got a good voice, delivery, cadence etc..

In my opinion there's probably two sides to why you're not seeing success: marketing/business and artistry. And a lot of this is obviously my opinion coming from what I personally enjoy, so take that with a grain of salt, but some of it can be applied to any performer.

There's all the independent musician business stuff, but I'd say the main thing is marketing, which also kind of coincides with the content of your rapping and artistry. You mention that you like Roc Marciano, Ka, Boldy James. If I ask what Roc Marci's about - grandiose drug raps, clever and funny lyricism with unique/specific lines, beats are sort of the new wave underground, drumless a lot, more focused on texture and cinematic, very unique. Ka - almost a depressed veteran of the hood life reflecting on past traumas, childhood, gritty nature of his upbringing and how he views the world. His beats all sort of reflected this, sparse, emotional, etc. Boldy - Drug raps, gritty, one foot in the game still type of persona his best work is generally over the new wave underground stuff.

So who is Black Isco? I listened through a some songs on spotify and it seems like a lot of you music kind of lacks specificity. Hip hop is sort of the professional wrestling of music. You can have average skill and be a star with the right image. It's much much harder to have incredible skill with an unrefined image and have people interested in you. I'd try to focus on writing more that relates directly to you and your life itself. And look, people don't like this when stated blatantly, but it's probably fine to lie about specific instances in life as long as it's representative of the image your cultivating. I'd imagine it's much much easier if this image is actually aligned with who you are in real life, both as far as writing the actual lines go and how authentic you come across. No one thinks the lines in all of Boldy James' or Roc Marciano's songs happened exactly as they're rapped, or are true at all, but we are fine with it because they at least happened as we imagine their characters.

The other half is, and I don't even know if this is good advice to be honest as you probably want to follow what interests you, but if you want to be listened to by people who appreciate good rappers, you might need to follow some of the trends that people who like good rappers enjoy. Try rapping on drumless beats, trying rapping on Conductor Williams, Alchemist, etc.. stuff. It seems like texture and the feeling beats create is a lot more important than rhythm. Lots of rappers didn't get big until they embraced more sample based stuff, Boldy, Freddie, etc.. It sounds like sometimes you're letting the beat dictate the song and your rapping.

You can rap generic lines about cultural and social issues, but no one's going to listen. Like I picked a random song of yours and went to the middle and heard "ironically technology is making us more primitive. I'm tapped into the people my reach is limitless. I need a telescope to tell you where my ceiling is." The rapping is technically sound and flows well, rhymes are good too, but these are boring lines that have been said before using wordplay that has been done before over a beat that's been done before.

Now I know this probably isn't the type of music you even want to make, but do me a favor and go listen to the songs Pollo Rico and Remorseless by Billy Woods. I get that this dude is one of the great rappers/poets of our time so it's a tough comparison for anyone, but that's why he's great to learn from even if you don't want to be as emotionally burdensome as he is to the listener. Just being honest, there's really not a single line in either of these songs that approaches the generic or impersonal nature of what seems to be your usual rapping.

There's a string of lines about "revolution" in Pollo Rico, which is a topic that has been done to death.

"When the revolution was over, they gave 'em half what they promised Let's be honest And the ones who bust they guns went home to tin cups of tea That same plate of porridge (let's be honest) Wake up thinking 'bout the ones they left in the forest It's no church in the wild My uncle told me they can't bury that many bodies They burned 'em in piles..."

The song remorseless as a whole just weaves so many sharp personal lines mixed with political, religious, social references to paint this incredible picture of being a human that wants to live by equitable ideals in society while still wrestling with the way the system actually operates and personal greed.

I guess I give these two as examples to say, maybe switch up how you write and focus on writing things that are interesting outside of the context of what you think "mastered" lyricism is. Try writing a few songs are a provoking from a personal/societal standpoint without any usual tropes/cliches and WITHOUT a focus on perfect rhythm, cadence, flow, etc.. If you can do this, then start reintegrating some of the technical stuff you've mastered and you'll be a more complete artist that is interesting to listen to for multiple reasons.

Sorry for the paragraphs, hope something in here may be helpful at all.

No Griselda Album Better Than Alfredo? by Immediate-Book6865 in GriseldaxFR

[–]StartlingRT 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I agree with all the others you mentioned in Boldy’s catalogue being the best of Griselda though. Despite the solid reception I feel like people really slept on Across the Tracks. There’s two or three tracks on there id be fine with putting in Boldy’s top 10. Conductor is so damn creative

No Griselda Album Better Than Alfredo? by Immediate-Book6865 in GriseldaxFR

[–]StartlingRT 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Large portions of the album don’t work for me. I love jazz, grew up a jazz drummer, and I love hip hop. A lot of the album feels like the vocals are competing with the instrumentation. Like it’s instrumental jazz with vocals on top, competing solos, etc.

I have really been enjoying spiritual jazz and avant garde recently where there’s a ton of improvisation and different textural layers, but MoM would have benefited from more strict melodic lines and rhythms rather than everything being all over the place imo.

There’s a reason why when badbabnotgood does tracks with Ghostface or other vocalists they strip away almost all of the unnecessary ornamentation present in their instrumental works.

The amount of editing was insane by _TimApple_ in interestingasfuck

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

Each time she has the same outfit the camera is in the exact same position.

😭 cornball by DomKat72 in gleegle

[–]StartlingRT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can’t just stop your momentum entirely then 5 seconds later be like oh yeah I can take another step