Just cut one hit out of the Hihat loop and sequence it.
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This is probably not what you are going for but here’s an experiment if you like…
After the little build-up at 2:43 it would be interesting if the kick turned into a subtle Gabba kick, or if just a middle-eight was using the gabba kick?
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That’s a fun suggestion! I’m gonna give that a try as well.
Perahaps… Some theme to the intro / outro, a break somewhere in the middle to reinforce the theme.
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Thanks Jek! A little melodic motif that ties it all together is an excellent idea. I’ll give it a try, though I’m running out of time to work on this track.
@Garf it became not exactly a gabba kick, but a massively distorted one nonetheless. And it takes over for only a moment. Yet it totally works wonders for the forward momentum / energy of the track! Thanks!!
@lilith I still need to try the polyrhythmic thing. It’s difficult for technical reasons. The recording is suffering from sync issues. As in, the BPM isn’t 100% steady as it supposed to be. So it requires a lot of manual alignment to make things fit. Luckily the recorded tracks from the jam are consistent with each other. But layering new things in is a hassle.
Hence also why I can’t simply replace the hihats with humanised ones. So I’ve thought up a neat little workaround, if I do say so myself. Though I doubt very much I am the first to discover this:
I moved the hihats slightly ahead in time and added a delay. Set it to 100% wet, no dry signal. And I’m using a LFO to modulate the delay time. This gives me some subtle variation in their timing. Will try the same idea with volume next. Think it indeed helps the track. Thanks again Lilith!!
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I post WIP videos to TikTok sometimes and I have a long video of what I am working on from yesterday
I am just making what I want to hear, really, but I am interested if others catch the vibe or just hear noise. Vocals are a possibility if I think of lyrics.
Edit: the video doesn’t display on Firefox (it does on Chrome) so here is the link but with a “DELETE” in the middle (Copy, delete the “DELETE”, and paste) so the link shows https://www.tiktok.com/@eettee_/vidDELETEeo/7317010272487542047
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You’re getting there. Es dreht sich immer noch!
It is! The kick just feels cutted because it’s so damn short. Yes, you need a short kick for that kind of beat, but it could be a tad longer than that. It almost feels like a zap, but this is a kick that should kick asses. 
Much better! Now the drums feel like drums and the “mash” of sounds is unscrambled a little. To improve the track I would mix in mono and ensure that all those synths are more in the foreground, too. Currently they’re a little too much in the background and almost get lost in the mix imo.
You’re referring to this snippet? I cannot catch a vibe of a snippet and need to hear more. But this snippet isn’t just “noise” for me, it has a groove. But you could easily turn it into noise if you’d add Breakcore beat stuff and/or glitches to it. Of course personally I would prefer rhythm and groove. You mentioned House, and indeed I can imagine this one becoming a House track. Btw, your video is running flawlessly in Firefox, it just needs a fast forward function like on Soundcloud, Youtube and whatever.
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Groove is exactly the word I was looking for and I am glad to hear that you can hear it! I am not going to turn it too glitchy, maybe just choppier for variation like garage music or dubstep. I am big on rhythm and Renoise, with the adjustable block sections, helps me find funny ones that aren’t in 4/4. What I’m making does not have a consistant time signature (the catchiest part goes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 repeating and then later alternates with parts that go the normal 4/4 so it becomes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8) so it will be glitchy in that sense, but I like the feeling that it evokes to do that. I don’t have an end goal in mind genre wise other than to add the level of care to the production that my favorite producers do and also make something that I am excited to play and after it’s done. A DJ edit may fun to make to see what a 4/4 version would be like.
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The main hook part goes “20 lines + 20 lines + 10 lines + 20 lines + 20 lines”. I’d just remove the 10 line section from all of those parts.
The part with 10 removed is already in the song, it’s what alternates with the first loop when the melody begins changing. I agree it would be shorter, but that doesn’t matter too much if that is what you mean by proportional.
I guess more info is that the sample is retriggered every 20 line section, I think. So unless I get unlucky and the 10 lines part is continous for these 1 or 2 important samples (or filters I guess), it should work out ok. Worst case it would just sound a little different and I’d have to settle for calling it a VIP, having to admit that I could not do the edit. However, I was debating between the 4/4 version and what I have now with the same melody and I remember hearing it loop similarly, just without the little section in the middle.
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Glad I could! I love tracker music for this reason
Here is another track I could use some feedback on, if I may ask. Any comments on mixing and in general are much appreciated. Is the track too eclectic to follow, what is the style, what are the weak points?
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@hai_nguyen_dinh Cool sounds, cool ideas. The drums are loud & aggressive. I think they could come down a bit in volume. They feel a tad overpowering to me.
You have the opening percussion phrase starting around 3 seconds. Immediately followed by a variation of that pattern. I think that is kind of weak. I feel it is undermining the power of the first phrase. I would suggest sticking with that first phrase. Save the variation for when you need it. And maybe you won’t need it at all.Overall I think that part can be repeated a few times more. Extending that section. Cause right now it’s not long enough for me to start feeling the groove it has.
Simplicity & repetition is key to (electronic) music. But it is hard to to get exactly right, I know. I struggle with it all the time.
Around 40 seconds in you have a little bell melody with string-ish sounds in the background. The sounds are great. The melody is decent. But I find it stays in place too much. Maybe it needs is a fast, throbbing bassline that propels the tune forward?
The melody & strings stay pretty much the same through out the track. But I don’t think they are strong enough to do that. Think the problem is mostly that it lacks a clear direction and inherent tension. They are not pushing each other forward.
Check out this piano cover of Hans Zimmer’s Interstellar theme. It’s a different genre and Hans Zimmer is a master of his craft. But listen how his tune keeps moving forward while revolving around a simple idea. It is incredibly hard to write a piece of music like that. But I recommend you study it and try to apply the lessons to your own melody & strings. Give them a clear direction. Much easier said than done, I know all too well.
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That is much appreciated, @eretsua! I will look into that stuff you mention 
I have lowered the drums a little already.
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You got it.
The man who comes from the same town than me often switches octaves in this one and likes to play with additional notes around “main notes” now and then. Nice video, I like the visuals. 
As you already noticed mixing-wise the drums are way too loud. Composition-wise the question is where you wanna go. Hard hitting or just nice, focus on danceability or easy listening or whatever. If you’re looking for danceability more structure would be an improvement, if you’re looking for something that’s just nice listening to more variation in terms of instruments would help. Currently the mood or let’s say the “tension” always remains the same, despite the breaks/transitions all over the place and the small variations in terms of notes after those breaks/transitions. It needs something to “break the tension” now and then. But there’s one big issue imho, and that’s the fact that you’re using two more or less equally strong kicks. If you’re using two kicks, the first one should be the powerful main kick that “hits hard” and sets the pace, and the second one should be “softer and weaker” (with less low ends) and considered as the “support kick” because it only needs to support rhythm and beat, but doesn’t “hit hard”. Two equally strong kicks just don’t work. Furthermore in case of your song the kick that I assume is considered to be the main kick seems to be naturally weaker than the second kick. Even if you seemingly pushed that kick, it still sounds kinda like a door knocking type of kick. The second kick sounds dulled, but it seems to have more depth and just needs a supporting push to unfold its power. You just have to pay attention to its strong click. In other words: I would exchange the kicks and adapt the beat in that manner. And I would highly recommend listening to your song through speakers if you’re using several kicks in one song. It’s a big difference in comparison to headphones, but crucial.
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That is great, TNT, thanks I think from here I will try to make it as structured and dancy as I can, gonna think a little about it. I have swapped the kicks for two that are more similiar to each others. Gonna try to change the background synth in the “verse” too.
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How’s the mix of this?
I think the kick is too strong, but I didn’t listen in the car yet.
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Yo, that’s loud and aggressive, no doubt. I think “Human Junk” fits very well to the sound. I’m thinking about producing something similar with a similar intention for a while now, because it’s currently acute.
I think the high ends are less harsh than usual in this one. Have you changed something in the process?
Not necessarily. I think it’s a good mix overall, but especially in the second half almost every second hit of the kick seems to be softer than the first one. It’s kinda like the second hit is getting eaten up by the other sounds. Which also means the first hit of the kick seems to be a little loud. If you manage to fix this, the mix is almost done. Maybe bring some sounds that are in the back more in front, too. I like the mood of your tune, and I especially like the chord, that brings some mid to late 90s vibes. I also like the “Plastikman Acid sound” in the second half.
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