It's not that I don't agree but its really frustrating because I do not know how I can achieve a more comprehensive sound. I've been producing for a year now and always had the feeling I am improving but the last month it feels like I'm stuck.

I am thinking of paying for a mixing service so I can learn how I can improve by listening to the mix. But maybe it's in the production stage where I make errors? I wanted to ask some more experienced people where they think the problem lies, so I can produce to improve again ;)

This is an example where my friends tell me the track sounds random. If you have the time I would to maybe get me in the right direction I would really appreciate that. Thanks.

Link:

 

Lower the off-beat HH and the bass (HH more than bass) and bring the vocals up.

 

ur friends have their own taste.

if you need the bass loud, keep it loud, it sounds very interesting being loud. its what you like......(or what your friends like if they are ur client)

 

like the feeling overall, but after one year you are on a good road; also I agree with @No Avenger ...but the kick needs some thump, usually 60hz to 90hz a little boost ...make sure it wont fight with the bass ...use a little compression on final mix, adjust attack on taste ...apply gentle limiting, I think this genre wants to be as dynamic as possible ...so don't exaggerate, unless that is what you desire

 

he's not wrong, kinda accurate assessment I think. you keep that honest friend.

 

The track has a cool vibe but it sounds really mono to me. I'm on headphones and you have some percusion elements on the sides but the rest sound almost dead center. This video is really useful for understanding the concept of depth in sound. Try to apply some of the Dan's tricks here and there to your taste. Try it on those trumpets for example.

You sound great for being only 1 year producing, keep it up!

 

I love this soul funk sample. You did a great job. I also think the hats can come down in the mix.

 

2 choices really,

1. spend more time mixing and sharpening your ears,
or
2. get new friends who don't know shit about mixing.

or c. tell them their mixes really sucked but you were always to polite to mention it, it will make them insecure and they will spend their time trying to fix shit that aint broken, but they'll leave you alone for awhile.

 

you can do all sorts of little tweaks to your levels, etc. Don't rule out re-importing the track back into your DAW by itself. Some of your levels issues could be ironed out with some simple multi-band compression. A lot of people also immediately go to a compressor when they want a "glue effect", but you can do more than just compress. You can stick the entire track inside it's "own space" with a tiny bit of a convolution reverb. This is a style of music that can also go a lo-fi route, and that can open up lots of options for you. It's a very clean and bright sounding file, so you have all the room you need to do some creative things with it. Compression is not the only glue in the toolbox. You might even decide against more compression and put a clipper on it, or some Acustica color boxes. "Glue" can be the result of simply sending the entire mixed track through an effect that is applied to all elements of it at the same time. Sometimes you can even set your compression ratio as low as 1.25:1 and it can go a long way.

it will be a good house music track if you finish it with some formatting. intro percussion 16 bars, intro 32bars, breakdown 32 bars, first drop 64 bars, sort of thing. Whatever you want those segments to be. Some more variety in the percussion parts, maybe a conga part. that hat which is probably too loud, you can stick a lowpass filter on and sweep it with automation. maybe snag some disco strings or alternate bassline sample. it's mixed ok enough for now. but finish the track.

 

Last edited: Apr 10, 2024

Wow did not expect to get this many great tips! I will be diving into Ableton again and experiment with all the details you guys provided me, I am very grateful and feel motivated again to try to better the mix. Feels much better to know what to focus on, I will keep my friends for sure haha I need those critical ears

 

There's some really annoying loud bloopy perc distracting me in the right speaker continuously

Other than that, I'd be happy to be at this stage after a year. No doubt, lots of fixes as mentioned above including better mixing, tightening the kick/bass low end cooperation, learn about dynamic EQs (try ProQ3 or DSEQ3),, but they are not massively major things and you are on the right track I would say.

I do recognise some of the separated observations though, but I think it stems from your use of samples/instruments you like (which makes sense to a beginner early on their path) rather than intelligently choosing samples/instruments that sonically gel and work well together (which comes with experience). For example, if you were choosing a kick you can learn a lot from just their visual waveform, such as length, flabbyness, tail etc, and then compare to the bass you have to ensure they don't clash and that there's space for both to play in the frequency game, or at least that there's enough body left in both when use your cuts, dynamic EQs, and sidechains that they don't then just get lost. And then this principle applies to the entire frequency spectrum across all instruments and samples too.

 

Last edited: Apr 10, 2024

I like a lot about your track, but it is the percussion part that puts me off. I feel it is not cohesive. It is different sounds placed somewhere around the stereo field, but they don't come together to form a solid groove. I think if I was to only listen to the percussion/drums alone, it would not feel like dancing. So to me that would be something that might be called random. You don't know where the next percussive hit will be, and when it happens, it will hijack your attention and distract from the actual track. You are constantly pulled from one place to the next and you lose focus as a listener.

 

Last edited: Apr 10, 2024

Start saturating everything my friend starting with the bass- volume down, drive up until it sits at generally the same output level but will have a lot more colour and body to the bass

 

If anyone is interested I tried to implement most advice and uploaded to SoundCloud. I've probably introduced some more problems but I think it is time for a new project now. Thanks to all for the helpful comments!

 

Better.

 

This edit sounds dope, head bob! props

 

Not my type of music at all, but words that come to mind to describe it are "boring and repetitive". Perhaps this is what your friends mean by "not glued together and random".

For me it's not the mix that's wrong, it's the song structure, or lack of it. Sorry!

 

I do think structure is something I can improve on as well, from what things do you think I can learn

Another thing I can improve on is bassz

 

an important thing to keep in mind as a creative, is who is giving you advice. that person isnt into house music, they said its not their type of music at all. they wouldnt be in the audience for it anyways, so they wouldnt understand what fans of it like about it. that wouldnt be the person to get good advice from

strucutally for the genre its very normal chicago house

 

100% correct. I could easily hear this track, when finished and up to snuff; get played by djs like Derrick Carter, Cajmere, Mark Grant, Gene Farris, Mark Farina, etc. who play this particular style of house. That is, it's their style of track; if not in the level of production quality. Needs more work. But this style house music also doesn't need to be perfect. It can have some lo-fi or vintage vibes. It can sound like it is directly out of an MPC. it's a little more specific style than just filter disco house.

maybe a little less clean and perfect than this mix:

and a little more like this.