The IC Beatmaking/Producing Thread

[Go figure]

Anybody care to share their process when making a beat?

Step 1 to done

i started off watching a bunch of tutorials these days there are so many its easy to pull ideas. Look up Behind the Beats on youtube and just start watching any of em. Songs/producers u never heard of...or arent even into...every vid has a lot to offer for example


1) pick a lead sound for your melody (sample, keys, synths, whatever you're feeling at the moment)

2) compose a bassline

3) add drums

thats the most basic way to put it...once you have the core beat u can start adding variations for the hook (maybe just a different drum pattern, or one extra sound to complement the beat and make it stand out), snare build ups or kick patterns leading into chorus..stripping bassline out of certain parts of the beat, etc. u will learn to change it up with more experience.

in my personal opinion u can have a great melody/bassline but if the drums are wack you're wasting the beat. when u listen to your fav songs now start analyzing it and paying attention to how the producer changes things up....listen for effects u like then find out how to do them yourself, etc. Thats about it for now but watch those videos theres A LOT to learn

 

[Go figure]

and dont be discouraged if you're struggling it takes a lot of time and patience. I think Zaytoven said he was doing 5 beats a day for years n didnt stop til they were completely finished even when he didnt feel like it. He also said his own fav beats aren't the ones that rappers pick that became hits.

Also u will have a lot of meh beats to one great beat but if u treat the shit like a job you're passionate about the improvements will come. Sometimes ill take forever on one beat and not be that satisfied with it and sometimes the beat comes to me with little effort and its one of my favs.

 

[Go figure]

Heres another behind the beat for Kendrick's Money Trees i could be wrong but i think this might've been posted in this thread before...props to @Peezy_Jenkins btw cuz him uploading vids in here put me on to some of these

 

[LUClEN]

The melody for this beat came to me while taking a shit
https://soundcloud.com/elrawdz/toilet-beat

 

[LUClEN]

https://soundcloud.com/elrawdz/craziness-snippet

 

[(ob)Scene]

Anybody use waves SSL bundle ? Or the Native instruments one? Which is better

Love the Waves SSL Bundle. I use the SSL Compresser on every master buss.

The high end on the SSLEQ is beautiful as well for broad strokes but that specifically I utilize more for vocals as opposed to beats.

In regards to what's better is a personal preference. You can get whatever sound you're looking for with any of the tools you have available to you if you know how to work them. But PERSONALLY I'd take WAVES plugins over NI plugins any day of the week.

NI all day though if you're talking about virtual instruments.

 

[Peezy_Jenkins]

C/s everything go figure said, just keep practicing the improvement gon come in time

 

[Peezy_Jenkins]

Oh and all these major producers gon say they make beats in 10-15 mins but I wouldnt even worry about that, I'm kinda ocd plus I got mix myself so I'll end up spending hours on a beat. Some of them dudes prolly don't even mix or sequence they just lay the skeleton down n come back to it later

 

[R.D.]

Anybody care to share their process when making a beat?

Step 1 to done

i started off watching a bunch of tutorials these days there are so many its easy to pull ideas. Look up Behind the Beats on youtube and just start watching any of em. Songs/producers u never heard of...or arent even into...every vid has a lot to offer for example


1) pick a lead sound for your melody (sample, keys, synths, whatever you're feeling at the moment)

2) compose a bassline

3) add drums

thats the most basic way to put it...once you have the core beat u can start adding variations for the hook (maybe just a different drum pattern, or one extra sound to complement the beat and make it stand out), snare build ups or kick patterns leading into chorus..stripping bassline out of certain parts of the beat, etc. u will learn to change it up with more experience.

in my personal opinion u can have a great melody/bassline but if the drums are wack you're wasting the beat. when u listen to your fav songs now start analyzing it and paying attention to how the producer changes things up....listen for effects u like then find out how to do them yourself, etc. Thats about it for now but watch those videos theres A LOT to learn

I would GOAT if my shit wasn't messing up

Precise it bro

 

[Peezy_Jenkins]

havent checked one of these in a while


I didn't even know u could set tempo like that, n I agree about putting all sounds in one pattern i did that when I first started but after a lil bit I put one sound per pattern

 

[RXMasked]

Anybody care to share their process when making a beat?

Step 1 to done

The process never starts off the same. It could be a drum pattern, a sample/break sample, playing a melody/chord, other beatmakers/musicians, or beatbox that could ignite the process.

Lately I've been doing this.

1. Find sample, get everything measured up/timed, chop into pieces Or find a chord progression that I like. If its solid to me then I record it.

2. Once it tracked, I throw drums on it. I try to make the drums as dynamic as I can so it sounds organic and of course not boring.

3. Once drum pattern is down, I try to put the bass on it. For me I always bite bass techniques from anywhere and put it to my music. So if I can't put anything to it, I'll look at a victor wooten video.

4. After bass, maybe piano and/or a imitation of a guitar, or i'll find someone to play guitar. Again, I'll steal techniques by looking at videos or listening to songs.

5. I'll put strings to top of it off, or a lead synth, or something really odd. SFX of course.

6. Try to mix it a little bit, I'm not a mixer so I only do what I can.

7. Even if it sounds alright or finish, I'll sit on the beat and hopefully another idea will come to mind so I can add more to it. There's been plenty of times where I go back to a beat I made weeks or months ago and add a little more of something.

 

[Roster Player #99]

Anybody use waves SSL bundle ? Or the Native instruments one? Which is better

Love the Waves SSL Bundle. I use the SSL Compresser on every master buss.

The high end on the SSLEQ is beautiful as well for broad strokes but that specifically I utilize more for vocals as opposed to beats.

In regards to what's better is a personal preference. You can get whatever sound you're looking for with any of the tools you have available to you if you know how to work them. But PERSONALLY I'd take WAVES plugins over NI plugins any day of the week.

NI all day though if you're talking about virtual instruments.

Only thing outta waves SSL bundle that I like is the compressor. Using it on every mix tho, idk. SSL emus have a specific sound to them, in summation, snappier than most. Thats not necessarily a sound I go for on all tracks. Waves does have a better variety of emus than a lot of other suites, but they can be too aggressive. So having a balanced mix of the right plugins helps. NI's SSL works differently for some strange reason, not in a bad way, but not how many hardware SSL busses work. Their console emu sounds like a mix between an EMI buss 50% and an SSL @ 50 too. A little more round in its edges.

 

[Go figure]

new beat
https://soundcloud.com/rickcity/blunted

 

[Fosheezy]

Anybody use waves SSL bundle ? Or the Native instruments one? Which is better

Love the Waves SSL Bundle. I use the SSL Compresser on every master buss.

The high end on the SSLEQ is beautiful as well for broad strokes but that specifically I utilize more for vocals as opposed to beats.

In regards to what's better is a personal preference. You can get whatever sound you're looking for with any of the tools you have available to you if you know how to work them. But PERSONALLY I'd take WAVES plugins over NI plugins any day of the week.

NI all day though if you're talking about virtual instruments.

know where I can get hook up for windows 10? Even though I know how to use what I have I wanna check out that bundle for efficiency and quality.

 

[Fosheezy]

Anybody use waves SSL bundle ? Or the Native instruments one? Which is better

Love the Waves SSL Bundle. I use the SSL Compresser on every master buss.

The high end on the SSLEQ is beautiful as well for broad strokes but that specifically I utilize more for vocals as opposed to beats.

In regards to what's better is a personal preference. You can get whatever sound you're looking for with any of the tools you have available to you if you know how to work them. But PERSONALLY I'd take WAVES plugins over NI plugins any day of the week.

NI all day though if you're talking about virtual instruments.

Only thing outta waves SSL bundle that I like is the compressor. Using it on every mix tho, idk. SSL emus have a specific sound to them, in summation, snappier than most. Thats not necessarily a sound I go for on all tracks. Waves does have a better variety of emus than a lot of other suites, but they can be too aggressive. So having a balanced mix of the right plugins helps. NI's SSL works differently for some strange reason, not in a bad way, but not how many hardware SSL busses work. Their console emu sounds like a mix between an EMI buss 50% and an SSL @ 50 too. A little more round in its edges.

Hows the EQ ?

 

[Roster Player #99]

Anybody use waves SSL bundle ? Or the Native instruments one? Which is better

Love the Waves SSL Bundle. I use the SSL Compresser on every master buss.

The high end on the SSLEQ is beautiful as well for broad strokes but that specifically I utilize more for vocals as opposed to beats.

In regards to what's better is a personal preference. You can get whatever sound you're looking for with any of the tools you have available to you if you know how to work them. But PERSONALLY I'd take WAVES plugins over NI plugins any day of the week.

NI all day though if you're talking about virtual instruments.

Only thing outta waves SSL bundle that I like is the compressor. Using it on every mix tho, idk. SSL emus have a specific sound to them, in summation, snappier than most. Thats not necessarily a sound I go for on all tracks. Waves does have a better variety of emus than a lot of other suites, but they can be too aggressive. So having a balanced mix of the right plugins helps. NI's SSL works differently for some strange reason, not in a bad way, but not how many hardware SSL busses work. Their console emu sounds like a mix between an EMI buss 50% and an SSL @ 50 too. A little more round in its edges.

Hows the EQ ?

depends on what you're trying to do. Is it surgical? No. But it has good range and special character about itself. The best I recommend is to get what you think you want, learn how to use it inside out until you find the need to move on. Don't fall thru the black hole known as which plugin is best.

 

[Fosheezy]

Anybody use waves SSL bundle ? Or the Native instruments one? Which is better

Love the Waves SSL Bundle. I use the SSL Compresser on every master buss.

The high end on the SSLEQ is beautiful as well for broad strokes but that specifically I utilize more for vocals as opposed to beats.

In regards to what's better is a personal preference. You can get whatever sound you're looking for with any of the tools you have available to you if you know how to work them. But PERSONALLY I'd take WAVES plugins over NI plugins any day of the week.

NI all day though if you're talking about virtual instruments.

Only thing outta waves SSL bundle that I like is the compressor. Using it on every mix tho, idk. SSL emus have a specific sound to them, in summation, snappier than most. Thats not necessarily a sound I go for on all tracks. Waves does have a better variety of emus than a lot of other suites, but they can be too aggressive. So having a balanced mix of the right plugins helps. NI's SSL works differently for some strange reason, not in a bad way, but not how many hardware SSL busses work. Their console emu sounds like a mix between an EMI buss 50% and an SSL @ 50 too. A little more round in its edges.

Hows the EQ ?

depends on what you're trying to do. Is it surgical? No. But it has good range and special character about itself. The best I recommend is to get what you think you want, learn how to use it inside out until you find the need to move on. Don't fall thru the black hole known as which plugin is best.

all the above points answered the question it for me, thanks

 

[Lab Baby]

Anybody care to share their process when making a beat?

Step 1 to done

I've been making beats for over 12 years, so my process has changed to the point that I don't even have one anymore. I have so many projects I'm working on right now it's hard to keep up with what I'm actually doing til I focus on it. A lot of times i just draft a concept (a sample chop, a chord progression, a melody or a drum sequence), save it and forget about it forever. But in the moment I decide to finish it...

1. Finish the concept I started. If it's a sample chop, I search the song to find as much pieces as I can to add more structure to it. If it's a melody or a chord progression, I build around it by writing a(nother) melody that harmonizes with the original idea, and if need be compose a hook or bridge, etc.

2. I actually choose the instruments and sounds at this point instead of before so I don't have to restrict myself when writing a draft (I usually draft a beat with a piano or the first synth I find). I use this time to mess around with the controls of the preset sound of whatever I'm using, picking the drums, premixing the sounds, and add more layers to the beat.

3. (This is the part where I continue if someone wants the beat or I have a concept of my own). I do some final composition based on the concept, take away or add more sounds, make different drum patterns and add them to the beat, and mix down everything.

The beat is never done at that point until it gets released, and even from there I find myself working more and harder on it than anything else. The process isn't all that descriptive, but for the most part that's how I get from point A to point B.

 

[Go figure]

Everyone in this thread should drop a beat or somethin theyre working on this week

 

[young luka]

https://soundcloud.com/lukasicks/listen-to-what-i-say