Is there someone who makes phonk music?

Discussion in 'Mixing and Mastering' started by loy1004, Oct 7, 2025 at 8:42 PM.

  1. loy1004

    loy1004 Member

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    Is there someone who makes phonk music? Because I have a few questions about mixing.
     
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  3. PulseWave

    PulseWave Audiosexual

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    Phonk Music 2023
     
  4. loy1004

    loy1004 Member

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    Here’s the track I’m basing myself on: I mean its sound — how it rasps and how dirty it is


    and here is my track, done quickly, just to show my doubts.

    My first question: is it okay that the kick and 808 go beyond scale (i.e. clip) on the master? Of course there is a soft clipper but both the kick and the mix bus are going into the red.
    Is that the right way to get such a sound — or am I doing it totally wrong? Maybe in phonk you must do that?
    I’m in the mood to make phonk but I have no idea if this is correct… Because if I turn down the master, the whole dirt and rasp vanish automatically. The kick sounds weak, the 808 too, and all that magic disappears.
     
  5. shinyzen

    shinyzen Audiosexual

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    Clip the shit out of a sub-master that has everything except the kick and snare. Part of the "rasp" is the cowbell, hat and vocal are being saturated with the sub. Then clip the master even more, just a little less, so that the kick and snare still have punch, at the master stage you are clipping for glue. You can still go heavy with it, just not so much that you lose the kick and snare. You can also try injecting actual noise, something like Devious machines Texture, or the noise module from shaperbox. Inject it into the cowbell or vocal or both. Sidechain as well as ringmod sidechain everything to the kick and snare. Shorten the decay / sustain on your 808. Your sub sustains too long. Especially when compared to your reference.
     
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  6. loy1004

    loy1004 Member

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    This is very helpful — thank you so much for these pointers. Tomorrow I’ll start implementing them into my mix, so I’m not closing the thread yet. If any problems come up I’ll ask more. And if anyone has additional tips, tricks, or advice about phonk production, mixing or mastering — I’d love to read them.
     
  7. Grape Ape

    Grape Ape Audiosexual

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    i definitely know a lot of 90s Memphis hip-hop which it comes from, which might help your understanding of it artistically to make something dope: since Phonk pulls almost exclusively from that; from the samples to the lo-fi dirty quality. youll hear all the stuff that makes Phonk in 90s Memphis rap

    it has that harsh distorted quality because in its early stages like with early Three 6 Mafia, Memphis hip-hop was horrorcore rap. so it adds stylistically to that horror and imagery of the lyrics, the sound design and tones were suppose to match that. like this came out in 1995 but its a good example if you listen to the synth, its the tone selection more than how the song is mixed


    whats evident the more you listen too 90s memphis rap, the sound selection is very important. also the way something was recorded, like this was intentionally tracked with cheap recording gear in the 90s to get that dirty sound


    - so basically the essence of it is captured in the tones, not trying to make it sound Phonk during the mix. also TikTok's Drfit Phonk and Brazilian Phonk are not the same as Phonk, theres a very clear distinction to be aware of when making Phonk
     
  8. loy1004

    loy1004 Member

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    I remember hearing about PHONK probably 2 or 3 years ago. Back then, I was creating Hybrid Trap music and even asked on this forum how to make that kind of vocal sound
    . At that time, I had no idea it was a Memphis vocal. Of course, the helpful people on this forum pointed me in the right direction, and since then, I've been absorbing knowledge about this genre. So, I understand everything you're saying and am aware of it.

    However, that's not my problem. I'm so passionate about this genre that I can create any Brazilian Drift, Memphis, Rap Wave, or Phonk track—every single one. In fact, I already have over 100 Phonk projects, and I feel deep down that I could dominate the scene from within. That's how it is.

    But my problem is that I'm still learning how to mix. For example, when I create a Phonk track and like how it sounds, there's always that damn mix. I don't know if the kick is too loud compared to the 808, and then when I try to lower it to leave room for mastering, it all falls apart. The punchiness is gone, and the whole vibe evaporates. I'm a visual learner, so if someone showed me how they mix a Phonk track and talked with me about it, I'd understand it the same day. That's why I wrote on the forum, hoping to learn something, but I need someone who makes this music and understands it all.

    I'm from Poland, and my English is very basic, so it's even harder for me to understand many things when I watch tutorials on how to mix Phonk. And in general, there’s practically nothing about mixing Phonk. When I do find something, it's quick materials always showing the same thing—creating melodies, cowbells, bass, etc.—but no one shows how they mix such a track. I can't find anything like that.
     
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2025 at 1:45 AM
  9. KORG3R

    KORG3R Platinum Record

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    (philosophy..)
    Mix wise, this sounds a bit cleaner, but still sample "quality" dictates everything, that fine line when clipping is everything or a sweetspot, pushing busses and lastly master clipping with a smooth fader, until one does "head bob", "crip walk", "stank face" it is not good basically.

    If i remember, doing clipping without saturators, once you get it to sound flat and phat, you have saturators on and start pushing it more, small moves..

    edit:
    my go at nasty trap, stock fruity soft clipper, 808s are too big, no kicks but you get the point
    https://pixeldrain.com/u/62Mb3YaE
    I mean...id depends on your workflow, if you need a lot of work after the initiall production most of the time we lose it, everybody is like that, nothing wrong there, analytical mixing vs feel.
    I would advise avoiding clipping the plugins other than clippers, so having a good gainstage keeping the samples clean. First step clipping busses and a bit of master to see where you at, after you can do saturation/tape/etc., and again do final balance after that.
    If this makes any sense.

    Can you link a track?
     
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2025 at 2:41 AM
  10. shinyzen

    shinyzen Audiosexual

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    You know. I actually forgot to mention in my first post that your kick is a bit too loud. It could come down a bit, maybe 3-5 db, i think the sub/808 as well. Clipping more on the sub-master, and clipping less on the master will help you keep the kick punchy.
     
  11. peezy666

    peezy666 Ultrasonic

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    I've been sampled a hundreds of times by phonk artists
     
  12. loy1004

    loy1004 Member

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