http://soundcloud.com/amani-waldron/the-anthem-prod-by-amani

i had posted two beats on here awhile back, and got alot of feedback, i feel that we have learned alot of things since then, and we have taken our music production to a new level with this one.
Please comment and give me some feedback, positive or negative.

 

hello, Amani (if this is correct),

are these drum sounds temporary, or will you still change them?
if you will change them, try to search (or make) sounds that can better sit in the mix, for me, these are not enough organic (in this context).
also, i would play around with more variation in the patterns, lower the level of the hihats (or the high spectrum), because these are standing out more than needed (at least in my room with my system, for my ears).
the song builds up smoothly, grade a for that.

keep up the work, i will look for more about this...

 

yea, we might swap the drums, by organic do u mean not your typical hip hop drums, because i'm not to familiar with music terminology ,
oh and thx for letting me know about the level of the high hats, its good to know how it sounds in someone else sound system, because i mixed this in my headphones and wasn't able to check it somewhere else
thanks for the feedback

 

hello, Amani,

with (by) organic i mean not working in harmony with the other instruments, with the arrangement (however, this also might be some concept), with the (intended or felt) genre of the song.
also, it is quite possible, that your headphones can not translate the transients correctly, that is why the rhythm section stands so out (for me, of course), but i would rather say the used sounds are the culprits.
as for the hihats (or the higher part of the audible spectrum), i usually try to mix (level, filter from under, from above, equalise, every track) the drums, percussions, etc. in one pass (as, for example, at some live sound check), then when it sounds approximately workable, test it with the rest (usually needs some decrease in the higher part).
there are (as far as my sponge in my head remembers) very good ideas in the manual of native instruments' battery (somewhere at the end, may be as tips, suggestions), worth the reading.

again, keep up the good work, i am looking forward to hear about the project...

 

I don't know about your 2 previous beats but this sounds decent!!

 

the drums stand out too much *yes*

now you decide how to fix it - yes maybe you should switch out for new drums, but it's up to you how to fix it.

 

For Hip Hop, the drum levels seem ok to me.... The kick might be a little loud but it's not too far off.

The best thing to do is to reference your favorite records and try to balance the sounds in a similar way...

By balance I mean the balance of the levels between all the different parts of the song. Overall sounding like you're headed in the right direction...

 

hello, all,

if the kick is some sample, try to give it a low pass filter, pull it down until it "quiets" itself, if it is snthesized, try to lower the starting frequency, with both methods the "weight" of the kick stays around the needed, but the attack part will "swim more leisurely" with the rest (at least this is what i would try)...

tell if all this is too much from me, i will shut up...

looking forward, etc...

 

all right (hopefully), the last one,

you could give the kick some compressor, with (say between five to ten to fifteen milliseconds) attack setting, eating up the attack part of the kick...

all the best...

 

ooooops,

> all right (hopefully), the last one
^^^^^
i hope there was no misunderstanding, i meant this just so that i hopefully will not forget any other thing or idea...

all the best...

 

Sounds good, but I have to agree the drums need replaced. The clap/snare just don't blend with the mood very well for me. At very least the snare needs some high end maybe reverb or chorus to go with the spacey feel of the track.

The bass drum could be less grungy too.

But other than the drums the track is hot.

 

Thanks so much everyone for the detailed feedback, i will take it all into consideration, i am going through my library right now looking for some some new kicks n' snares, and i am going to try to get this tracked mixed properly in a studio, as we are going to have my friend rap on this track, he is really sick u should all check him out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua45-v_wBtg&context=C3c3a93cADOEgsToPDskJuMe59H-7RxbC2fcANlzFY