Production Tips

[Hymnz]

as the title might suggest
list some of your tips if you are willing to share.

i will start:
*everytime you start a new beat, dont use the same samples or pattern for your drums.
*lay down the bassline after the drums. doing this will give it a nice melodic base which will inspire better synthetic/sample-based melodies. *dont force creativity. do something else for a day or two (or whatever time you need) and regularly exercise. when you feel that inspiration in you, jump on your setup and spark some shit up :thumb:

lets hope there's enough producers on this forum to keep this thread alive for a couple of days.

 

[DJ Harris]

thanks for the tips started learnin shit last week! Pz

 

[Preach]

i always start with a completely basic drumbeat. boom, clat, boom, clat, a hi-hat every 8th of a bar. i find it easier to create shit with a basic drumbeat, especially if i'm chopping samples. i like to make a melody and some times the whole beat before i fix up unique drums and percussion. that way i can, say, make the kick hit so that it fits the melody. like 50's "in da club", that's a good example. the kick hits when the strings do. it's a matter of preference i would say.

make sure you don't have a tv on and that there isn't much other noise in the room. right now i have a temporary desk cause my old one was old and about to break down so i switched it with this new temporary one before it did. anyway, the point is i have the computer cabinet on the desk next to the monitor, and although it doesn't make a lot of noise, that alone is enough to mess with my hearing. every beat i work on sounds real crowded and i never can seem to get the levels right so right now i can't work on anything lol. maybe i'm crazy.

this isn't so much a tip as a neccesity: learn about the arts of compression and limiting and USE THEM!

don't go crazy on the effects in your beats. while lots of reverb might sound awesome, trust me, it does not lol.

listen to your beats on several systems. this is more so a rule of thumb for a studio engineer than a producer, but if you're not a fully paid professional producer, you don't have the luxery of having a studio engineer mix your track, and more often than not you're not gonna get what you want if you don't mix the track yourself. the point is that a beat is supposed to sound tight on every sound system, not just the speakers on your computer or your headphones.

be careful with stereo effects. convert your beat to mono in cool edit or the likes and make sure no instruments "disappear".

i'm at work right now. these weren't really production tips per se but hey. i'll post more later.

 

[Preach]

i always start with a completely basic drumbeat. boom, clat, boom, clat, a hi-hat every 8th of a bar. i find it easier to create shit with a basic drumbeat, especially if i'm chopping samples. i like to make a melody and some times the whole beat before i fix up unique drums and percussion. that way i can, say, make the kick hit so that it fits the melody. like 50's "in da club", that's a good example. the kick hits when the strings do. it's a matter of preference i would say.

make sure you don't have a tv on and that there isn't much other noise in the room. right now i have a temporary desk cause my old one was old and about to break down so i switched it with this new temporary one before it did. anyway, the point is i have the computer cabinet on the desk next to the monitor, and although it doesn't make a lot of noise, that alone is enough to mess with my hearing. every beat i work on sounds real crowded and i never can seem to get the levels right so right now i can't work on anything lol. maybe i'm crazy.

this isn't so much a tip as a neccesity: learn about the arts of compression and limiting and USE THEM!

don't go crazy on the effects in your beats. while lots of reverb might sound awesome, trust me, it does not lol.

listen to your beats on several systems. this is more so a rule of thumb for a studio engineer than a producer, but if you're not a fully paid professional producer, you don't have the luxery of having a studio engineer mix your track, and more often than not you're not gonna get what you want if you don't mix the track yourself. the point is that a beat is supposed to sound tight on every sound system, not just the speakers on your computer or your headphones.

be careful with stereo effects. convert your beat to mono in cool edit or the likes and make sure no instruments "disappear".

i'm at work right now. these weren't really production tips per se but hey. i'll post more later.

 

[Hymnz]

some good words there Rizzle

 

[Preach]

indeedy there, hymnzie

i think you and me are gonna be the only people posting in this thread lol

 

[Hymnz]

damn thats a shame! either people dont have tips or are not willing to share ...
i will post up some cool stuff here in a couple hours when i get back from work.

 

[Hymnz]

just something quick:
list of solutions to producer's block

Get some exercise

Listen to someone else's music (your favourite producers' work maybe)

Do something else until you are longing to make some music

Make a style you don't normally do.

Make a fresh set of sounds.

Make a song with presets then change the sounds everytime you start.

Dont worry about the intricates, just splurge out ideas and select after.

Don't panic.

Think of someone else, imagine what they would do and try to write from there perspective.

When it's flowing, stick with it if you can.

Get up early and write then.

Learn something new.

Start with overall structure then work towards detail.

now for general tips by me (im just writing shit off the top of my head for the purposes of this topic):

if you plan to ever have your work mastered, do not try to master yourself! giving the mastering engineer dry layers (apart from effects like reverb) will benefit your piece.
to make some really nice melodies, imitate one you have heard on a hot beat and once you get it, note the keys used (dont use melodies that have multiple chord progressions, it will become confusing for most of you). now just play around with those keys and use a different instrument and you might develop a nice tune. remember - for commercial hiphop, its all about the melody (although some nice drums are considered an advantage too)
use switchups in the drum pattern and synth presence in your beat to give it that edge. also, structurally, you should NOT use the same beat for all bars of a verse. this is lame now. you wanna have like 8 bars and then introduce a new synth or synth switchup leading up to a climax right before the chorus or something, and then have a slightly different beat again before going back to the verse. at the start of the second verse, have something SLIGHTLY different, like a sound that is not noticably dominant. have it interact again with the switchup after the 8th bar or something. just work out your own structure. maybe get some thoughts from analyzing the beats that are topping the charts. use a combination and develop your own style. and finally,
dont use too much fucking automation you fucking faggot. go back to dance, shit...

thats all from me :laugh:

 

[DJ Harris]

Tried and Tested method:

Don't HIt the Keyboard Randomly Attempting to create a good tune............. it doesnt work!!!!

 

[Preach]

^^
lmao

 

[Preach]

some more tips:

- if you use software for your production (fruityloops or reason for instance), make sure you build yourself a library of one-hit wav drum samples. i have some 2000 drum samples sorted into kick drums, snare drums, rimsticks, claps, tambourines, hihats, open hihats, ride cymbals, crash cymbals, percussion, etc. there's a few usable samples in reason and fruityloops but most are trash. king dizzy used to always complain that my snare drums were wack cause they sounded so digital and after having used what i like to think of as snare samples that sound like "real" drums, i've grown to hate stuff like 808 synth snares and such. i have heard a bunch of industry tracks use them (hail mary comes to mind, maybe not 808 snares but digital-sounding snares). i don't like how they sound at all. matter of taste though, people who make crunk down south shit seem to use a lot of 808 snares and claps.

- try layering 2-X snares. some times i have up to six or seven different snare samples hit at the same time to make interesting-sounding snares.

- do NOT limit yourself to using drum sets like "dr dre drum set" or "neptunes drum kit" and whatever people call them. using drums from a dre drum kit won't make your beats sound like dr dre's beats. don't try to imitate someone's sound, create your own. i personally HATE stuff like a neptunes drum kit.

- for the love of god, dont ever ask what preset scott storch used for the candy shop strings. why do you want to use a sample that scott used? it's not gonna make your beats sound like scott's. once again, create your own sound or you're never gonna get a serious name for yourself.

- hiphop is, and always has been about sampling. while most non-professional producers who dont make a bunch of money selling beats to industry artists might not sample a lot because most underground emcees dont want to pay for clearing a bunch of samples, like i said, sampling has always been an important part of hiphop. try to vary your style so you dont always sample, and so you dont always create your own melodies. i do it like 50-50.

and here's some general tips that dont really apply to production, but are nice to keep in mind nevertheless:

- be confident but be humble. if you post up your beats for feedback on a messageboard, dont name your thread "new beat HOT SHIT EXCLUSIVE BY YOUR MAN". that makes you sound like a cocky faggot. at the same time, have confidence in yourself. you should be able to tell if your beats sound "okay compared to how long you've been doing it", "pretty good" or if they're wack. if you're selling a beat, don't overprice it thinking you're the shit, but don't hand it over for nothing because you're afraid it's not as hot as you happen to think it is.

- if you show a rapper a beat and he likes it and wants to put it on a real album thats gonna be released in stores, instead of charging for the beat its a good idea to ask for royalties instead. that makes you seem generous while at the same time your earn a little bit off of it. all you need is that lucky right-place-at-the-right-time situation and the track recorded over your beat gets some nice feedback and some spins. i'm not there yet but this is something that's been passed down to me by people that are - all you need is for some semi-famous or famous rapper to hear your beat and like it and you might be able to earn quite some cash off of your beats. in short - get a name for yourself before you start charging serious cash for your beats.

more to come.

 

[Diaz]

Nice tips Rizzle.

Heres some basic tips from me.

When looking for equipment, don't go "zzOMG, that c0st$ teh most, tats waT im Savin foR!". Price doesnt matter, look for what you think fits you. Depending on sound, ease of use, look and feel, etc.

On the software/hardware battle, don't take anyones word. Try both of them and then YOU decide which one is better. I personally prefer the feel of working with hardware.

When you make a beat, think "Would 2Pac sound good on this?". If 2Pac doesnt sound good on it, its not good. :thumb:

 

[Hymnz]

some more tips:

- if you use software for your production (fruityloops or reason for instance), make sure you build yourself a library of one-hit wav drum samples. i have some 2000 drum samples sorted into kick drums, snare drums, rimsticks, claps, tambourines, hihats, open hihats, ride cymbals, crash cymbals, percussion, etc. there's a few usable samples in reason and fruityloops but most are trash. king dizzy used to always complain that my snare drums were wack cause they sounded so digital and after having used what i like to think of as snare samples that sound like "real" drums, i've grown to hate stuff like 808 synth snares and such. i have heard a bunch of industry tracks use them (hail mary comes to mind, maybe not 808 snares but digital-sounding snares). i don't like how they sound at all. matter of taste though, people who make crunk down south shit seem to use a lot of 808 snares and claps.

i agree, synthetic drum hits suck!

- do NOT limit yourself to using drum sets like "dr dre drum set" or "neptunes drum kit" and whatever people call them. using drums from a dre drum kit won't make your beats sound like dr dre's beats. don't try to imitate someone's sound, create your own. i personally HATE stuff like a neptunes drum kit.

completely right, most of the samples still have so many sounds layered on top from the song they were sampled from that it will clash with frequencies in YOUR final mix.

- for the love of god, dont ever ask what preset scott storch used for the candy shop strings. why do you want to use a sample that scott used? it's not gonna make your beats sound like scott's. once again, create your own sound or you're never gonna get a serious name for yourself.

true, although you must remember that storch didnt do ANYTHING to his strings, the man just has creativity. he used a dry string patch off the strings card for the xv5050.

- if you show a rapper a beat and he likes it and wants to put it on a real album thats gonna be released in stores, instead of charging for the beat its a good idea to ask for royalties instead. that makes you seem generous while at the same time your earn a little bit off of it. all you need is that lucky right-place-at-the-right-time situation and the track recorded over your beat gets some nice feedback and some spins. i'm not there yet but this is something that's been passed down to me by people that are - all you need is for some semi-famous or famous rapper to hear your beat and like it and you might be able to earn quite some cash off of your beats. in short - get a name for yourself before you start charging serious cash for your beats.

very well said.
i would never charge anybody for a beat...
firstly, if you have heard my beat, you are obviously somebody who i want to hear it. if you get your name out there, then you can start charging for shit, because you have bargaining power.
if you can spend 50 hours working on your best beat and absolutely perfect it, and then have somebody that has some level of fame to put it on his album, you have done 80% of what you need to get paid by this shiznit. do what you need to network your material.

and dont think small time producers can get their stuff heard?
theres a guy over at FutureProducers.com who produced for David Banner's last album and he got paid $10,000 for his beat. all he basically used was a workstation keyboard (triton which sucks IMO) and a couple modules (obviously because the triton sucks IMO).

 

[Hymnz]

oh but i need to say one more thingy -

most of us here (including me) are not familiar with producing. we are only beat makers, so if you ever get your stuff out there (to a REAL artist) then make sure you are familiar with Pro-Tools if you need to take all your shit with you into a real studio. You will need to be able to do quick modifications to your beat and adjuts levels etc and fit the beat around the rapper. or he could be in the studio with the beat (but not the equipment) and then just telling you where he wants dropouts or whatever, and how many bars he wants (i know most do 16 but biggie has done 20 many times) and then you can do your shit at home. and most of the time some guy (the recording engineer) will be there anyway to help you out with the system they got, like when he does his final recording on the final beat etc.
you just need to know how to modify your beat when it comes to getting studio action. never delete your customised patches on your synths after you have recorded and processed (pre-master) your 'final' beat!

 

[Preach]

^^
explain the difference between a producer and a beatmaker for me please, lol, i sorta use the two terms for anyone who creates hiphop instrumentals at some level or another.

 

[KAMIKAZI]

^^
explain the difference between a producer and a beatmaker for me please, lol, i sorta use the two terms for anyone who creates hiphop instrumentals at some level or another.

I always looked at "beatmaker" the same as producer, just a stupider way to say it. Like I have a friend that calls turntables "scratchpads". roofle

 

[Ant]

Right, first off...

-Know your equipment. Whatever it is you use, learn it and make that shit an extension of your hand. Get what you mean to go on using and know it. There is no need in buying the new 'in' piece of machinery if you're going to be shit is their? It's not nesacerilly what you use, but how you use it. If you cop an MPC 60, you do NOT BECOME PREMO. It is your craft that wil get you where you're going, not the machines.

-Don't try and be someone else. Do your own thing. Yes, take influence from others, do NOT straight bite others. Some fast tutorials be telling people how to 'Do a Dre beat' or 'Do a lil' John beat (why the fuck would you want to?)', fuck those tutorials. There is no quick fix to music production. It takes time and time and time to hone your skills and your style. If you're not prepared to put in the time and energy that this requires, get out.

-Don't loop an obvious sample and throw it around as your beat. Anyone that matters will not be fooled.

-Compression is your friend if you know how to use it. If you don't know how to use it, learn to before you tarnish any final product with it. A sound cannot be uncompressed.

All I can think of right now...

 

[Hymnz]

-Don't try and be someone else. Do your own thing. Yes, take influence from others, do NOT straight bite others. Some fast tutorials be telling people how to 'Do a Dre beat' or 'Do a lil' John beat (why the fuck would you want to?)', fuck those tutorials. There is no quick fix to music production. It takes time and time and time to hone your skills and your style. If you're not prepared to put in the time and energy that this requires, get out.

yes everybody should have their own style, you have got that right..
however, i really discourage anything too different from what you hear from top producers. to get your name out there, its ok to do similar beats. when you are out there, you can try different shit but stick to what works for now. step into the uncertain when you have that power. but whatever works for people is fine i guess...

^^
explain the difference between a producer and a beatmaker for me please, lol, i sorta use the two terms for anyone who creates hiphop instrumentals at some level or another.

a beat maker just makes beats... a producer goes further by being able to modify his work to fit around the rapper, like dropouts in the song, temporary switch ups for effect, number of verses, bars in the chorus etc and also to record the actual verses and put together the final product. the producer is there for the whole thing to make sure the rapper gets exactly what he wants. thats why you always need to back up all elements of your song in case you need it... nobody wants shit they cant change.
when labels buy your stuff they might pay you 3000 (if its fucking magnificent...) but they will also need to hire a producer to go through all the steps and redo the beat (they are just paying for your creativity) so he can change the levels and shit on his interpretation and modify it as aforementioned.
they dont want someone that has only worked with FL or something (disregard the exceptions of 9th wonder etc (etc being nobody else i know)). if you can, you gotta get Pro Tools. as much as i hate it, just about every professional studio has it and if you want ALL of the moola, you will know Pro Tools and have spent some time in studios.

with knowledge of Pro Tools and minimal time in the presence of proper setups (its not that hard when you have used your own equipment to make the beat already) you can label yourself a producer on your resume AND get like 10000 instead of 3000 for a beat thats gotta be redone by another producer who has had experience. (this is if the beat is real nice...)

 

[Hymnz]

so yeah if you have customised a beat for anyone Rizzle, you are a producer in theory.