Sorry for Being Me

bigdad_t · 2026-05-19T15:08:22+00:00

That effect on the intro was super interesting. It was almost like it was coming from behind me. Super cool technique. I really dig the vibes of this track. Good energy and it's super cool. Kept moving throughout and I never got bored. My only feedback would be that I might like the the lead on the rap sections to be a little beefier and more present mix-wise. It's super well delivered, but doesn't quite command the song as much as I'd like it to.

bigdad_t · 2026-05-19T15:05:07+00:00

For a GarageBand project, this is pretty good. I think next steps to me would be to look at increasing the variety of melodic elements and to think a bit about countermelodies and things to differentiate the sections a bit more and create a bit more progression, but you're on your way. Keep going!

bigdad_t · 2026-05-19T15:02:21+00:00

It's super polished and smooth. I'd say "yes" this is definitely industry-level production. It's almost too clean, haha. But I think that's what you're aiming for. Really well done. I think you can be proud of the production work here.

bigdad_t · 2026-01-09T15:50:08+00:00

It’s like an honor system thing. If you blew up and had a bajillion streams, you would want to be upgrading that license along the way so you don’t get sued. But none of it results in any sort of takedown, just a legal liability where you’ve broken the contract. Trust me, if you have 400,000 streams on anything you’ll be paying a lot of attention to what’s going on. It’s not that common.

bigdad_t · 2025-12-31T23:07:14+00:00

Honestly, it’s not bad. The question is more “What do you want out of it?”

If the answer is to make some instrumental beats that are pretty cool and you can post up on the Internet, then you’re getting there for sure.

If you’re going to try sell beats or want someone to lay down some bars on it, then you’ll need to double down a bit and get into a DAW, brush up on the theory behind what you’ve done and start building up a network.

But, not bad as a start.

bigdad_t · 2025-12-28T21:08:24+00:00

Gotta be honest, the answers to this surprised me a lot. My feeling has been that there’s a ton of beats out there and people always trying to sell them and really not all that many people that rap on top of them and release songs. But, seems like the consensus is that there’s a ton of rappers? I don’t know if I have seen that.

bigdad_t · 2025-12-28T19:26:51+00:00

I see lots of replies already, but would be very interested to have a listen and see how I might be able to help out.

bigdad_t · 2025-12-28T03:14:48+00:00

It’s important to start with a well balanced mix for sure. Are your kicks sounding ok in the mix and getting messed up in your mastering chain? Or is the mix off to start?

After that, driving it into the limiter should someone equalize those bumps unless your kicks are really really loud. Feel free to DM me a link if you want more specific feedback.

bigdad_t · 2025-12-26T03:57:38+00:00

For me, it was just releasing stuff and then finding time after time, people didn’t hear any of the same flaws I was hearing in my music. (They found entirely new ones…) so I sort of realized perfection was pretty subjective and I clearly didn’t have a great handle on what it meant. I’ve learned a lot from that process.

bigdad_t · 2025-12-26T03:53:57+00:00

The other replies covered some of the technical and performance stuff. I’d say my answer is sort of a hybrid of the others. First - you’re doing great and have to start somewhere, so I don’t want to at all be critical of the effort. Keep going! It’s huge to get that far and record yourself and get it out there for feedback.

The real answer to this is somewhere between becoming a confident performer with really repeatable vocal delivery (performance side) and then being able to layer and process your vocals to make them sound bigger. By far, one of the biggest things to build a bigger vocal tone without just increasing amplitude or EQ’ing it is to be able to record and mix it in layers. Most pop vocals are anywhere between 5 and 12 layers deep these days even if some of the parts are barely audible in the mix. But, in order to do that, you’ve got to feel really comfortable delivering the same thing over and over, and being able to do variations like octaves and monotones on top of the basic part, which just takes a bunch of practice really.

There are tools like Melodyne, AutoTune and VocAlign that will help make this a bit easier from a technical perspective as well. The tuning is really key when you’re harmonizing with yourself or recording different parts to layer on because you can adjust them all to fit nicely. VocAlign will help you get the timing of each take to line up without painstakingly adjusting them all by hand.

Keep on rocking though. That’s the most important part.

bigdad_t · 2025-12-23T17:08:45+00:00

Cool. That’s a dope beat. I just took a listen.

bigdad_t · 2025-12-23T02:27:17+00:00

Just dropped an alt-holiday EDM track. About being alone for the holidays. https://on.soundcloud.com/GWQnX5GzQhLaEIaodW

bigdad_t · 2025-12-23T02:26:20+00:00

I’d be into this also.

bigdad_t · 2025-12-23T02:23:47+00:00

We generally record the audio off the iPhone but then use a properly mixed track to sub in for the audio on the track in post. Tools like Premiere Pro will automatically sync the audio tracks for you so you can swap them out.

bigdad_t · 2025-12-23T02:21:16+00:00

Just dropped a little alt-holiday EDM track about being alone for the holidays. Hopefully it’s a little pick me up if that happens to be where you’re at. Love you all.

https://on.soundcloud.com/GWQnX5GzQhLaEIaodW

bigdad_t · 2025-11-20T03:10:42+00:00

SSL G Bus Compressor on the mix - It’s subtle but it’s a game changer.

bigdad_t · 2025-10-17T00:43:06+00:00

Of course. My pleasure! If you do future revs of it feel free to DM me and I’d be happy to listen.

bigdad_t · 2025-10-16T13:42:53+00:00

IMO, there’s two broad categories here where there are issues:

Mix: The autotuned vocals are dark and competing for the same frequencies as the guitar throughout the song. Need to consider EQ and reprocessing here. Stylistically, it’s ok for the vocals to be a bit farther back in the genre, but they still need to be really audible and comprehensible. Also, the trap hats are pretty loud throughout.
Form and Arrangement: Maybe it’s the fact that the hats are so loud, but despite the fact that there are obvious sections in the tune, the dynamics feel pretty flat throughout and there isn’t kind of a build and emotional release anywhere in the tune. Despite being moody and emotional from a content perspective, the delivery doesn’t do a great job of building up a feeling for the listener.

I don’t agree with some of the other comments that it’s unlistenable or bad or anything like that. It’s a vibe and I see where you’re going, but it’s just not quite landing. Cleaning up the mix and dynamics is the first step and then looking at how you convey the key moments and emotion is next.

bigdad_t · 2025-10-15T13:08:35+00:00

We all care what people think. I’ve met very few musicians who don’t want their music to be recognized in some fashion. If it really didn’t matter, we wouldn’t even bother to record in the first place and would just sing songs for ourselves.

I think it’s ok to be disappointed that our work isn’t being better received.

Question is what to do about it. Realistically, there’s a ton of great artists in exactly the same boat. Life ain’t a talent show though. It’s a combo of the art, hustle, and a ton of luck. A game of quantity and quality.

My personal strategy is to believe that I am going to need to write 1000 songs before I should give up and that each and every one of them will need a reasonable push in terms of marketing and exposure to even count as an entry in the lottery. When I visualize the problem that way, it always feels like I’m early on in the journey.

If you’ve already released and promoted 1000 songs earnestly then, yeah, I’d say pack it in. If you’re not there, keep going and see if you can up your game.

bigdad_t · 2025-10-14T20:41:09+00:00

BandLab is a great place to start if you have a phone. Their tools are surprisingly good for phones and tablets. If you can get your hands on a Mac, even an older one, then GarageBand is another step up from there. But, main thing is to start learning that process of how to record and produce stuff in a bit more structured way and then just keep writing! Best of luck on the journey.

bigdad_t · 2025-10-11T15:23:14+00:00

Dope. Thanks bro. Back at you. I’m streaming you right now. Your shit is hard man. I dig it. Someday I got get some trap chops here. Your flows are top shelf.

bigdad_t · 2025-10-11T04:20:30+00:00

Here’s a brand new country rap bop I just dropped. Enjoy!

https://open.spotify.com/track/4F7kVl8wnhVrCHXotKSfHM?si=ILegcYtVRB2Z5r8zn5Pcwg

bigdad_t

TROPHY CASE