That is one of my latest works in dnb genre, feedback, advices and other things appreciated

 

Works like this leave me conflicted.
On one hand, the creator is obviously new to this, trying as hard as they can at the moment and are proud of their work. And I remember myself at this stage all too well.
On the other hand, there's so, *so* much wrong, I don't even know where to start untangling it.
Let me say two things.
1) You have to create 100 turds before you create one serviceable thing, and you have to create 100 serviceable things before you can create a single good one. This is how acquiring skill works. Don't feel discouraged by criticism. Remember that you're still going forward and people criticizing you don't know what happens in your mind.
2) Try to put fewer plugins and understand what and why you're putting them. Do everything consciously and deliberately. Do random stuff to experiment and learn but try to always understand what happens and why. Read the manuals, learn the underlying principles instead of surface-level actions.
Keep it up, you won't even notice when you get better.

 

Welcome to the forum, @Sourcednb

From a production standpoint, it can definitely use some work. I don't know what plugins youre using or how many but I'll mirror what @justwannadownload stated and say that less is more. Keep it simple especially starting out. You'll get more out of using one eq, a compressor and panning than anything else. Also understanding how and why to eq/compress/pan is probably the most important thing you'll need to nail down before you can produce mixes with power and weight.

Some things I did notice which you could improve on:

1. The initial loop you start with gets cut abruptly which sounds off. I would consider extending the tail end of the loop with a sampler, maybe looping the last note and adjusting the release on the amp envelope enough to extend past the loop point. Another way is to add some reverb or delay at the last bar just to extend the loop enough so you can blend it in better.
2. There's a lack of low end up until the drop comes in at 1:17. From the beginning up until that point the mix sounds thin, I would consider not rolling the low end off as much and try building more tension using sub bass up until the drop.
3. The energy you built up until 0:55 immediately gets lost with the odd break down that comes in right after it. Get rid of that, keeping the 1 bar release before you bring in the drop and that transition will be much more effective and have way more impact.
4. The track does get a little repetitive, I would consider a middle 8 at 2:00 before you start building it up again. Doesn't have to be anything crazy, just 8 bars that takes the track somewhere different to switch things up and keep the listener interested before you bring it all back.

Thanks for posting your mix, I'm not sure how long you've been making tunes but keep at it, it's a journey for all of us and like @justwannadownload said, don't get discouraged, keep learning, keep grinding and you'll continue to improve.

 

Last edited: Jan 14, 2024

There are not so much plugins as u think. I prefer making sounds ( bass, pad) in VSTi, so often my sound may be too strange ( that is a hard work to get unique and good sound after so many producers pass this way) I can't use unison saw + distortion because countless number of producers used that many years ago. And often my experiments give controversial sound.

 

Production sounds fine, but like @aymat said, it's a bit repetitive and doesn't go anywhere, sounds like a Ghost Syndicate demo track or something. For 'Drum and Bass' there isn't a lot happening with either the drums or the bass..

Disclaimer though, I'm not a fan of modern day 'DnB' and think most of it is uninspired and boring as hell, Im still a diehard "junglist" after 30 something years. If it aint Tech Itch or something from Future Retro records, I'm just pulling out an old Tom and Jerry or Source Direct record instead. The sounds and mix were fine, but it needs more movement, more chaos, us GenX ADHD raver kids loved that manic energy of jungle. All this new stuff is too 'safe' sounding, there was nothing 'controversial' in there at all..

PS - Aint nothing wrong with a good old unison saw overdriven to hell as long as it works in the track and gets the listener where they need to go. Don't stunt your growth with that 'Im a controversial otherworldly producer' junk until you're actually at that level. Even Aphex Twin had to work to get to where he is today, he didn't come out the gates ready to do the RDJ album or Syro..

 

The mid-bass is too front and center, unbalances the mix, mids are too prevalent.
Subs are underpronounced.
The snare is too bright compared to high percussion that sounds distant and muffled.
Side-chaining is too noticeable, especially with how overcompressed and overly loud the central bass is.
The kick has too much mids, isn't tuned to not be in dissonance with the bass, the tail is too long. Too loud overall. Doesn't interact with the bass and subs, instead fighting them. Due to sidechain, kick and snare kind of exist in a different space than bass. Actually, high percussion exists in yet another space.

No issue with the bass' sounddesign itself, other than it does feel a little unimaginative, but maybe that's because of the arrangement.

 

Disclaimer - I was listening to it on a pair of $20 Logitechs hooked up to my Mac mini.
The misses was still asleep so it was too early to turn on the Focals and the Soundcraft hahaha.

 

hard sidechain has been in fashion for a long time, I didn’t believe that this was a mistake, rather a matter of taste

 

Yeah, but first, they're used with more, iunno, snatchy kind of bass, cause otherwise it doesn't feel like a groove, but like an interruption, and second, you're not doing it right anyways, cause kick and bass don't work together, aren't balanced against each other and the sidechain itself leaves too much empty time, magnifying the feeling of interruption. Which is also too off-beat cause the kick itself is too long.

 

Yes BUT you need to be careful on the attack/release on the compressor or you get short gaps of silence like you have in your sub and reese around the drums.

You only really need to sidechain around a short transient of each to let them punch through - if you sidechain off the whole kick and snare without a really short release you get the effect you have which doesn't sound quite right.