How Do I Get This Sound?

[B.EaZYbeats]

Greetings, everyone;

I've been working on my mixes for a while now, as I'm trying to set up my own website. I'm following different articles/videos I've read on the subject, and I think my mixes overall are decent (good clarity/levels). I tend to just use EQ on my channels and a multi-band compressor and EQ on the master to keep it simple.

However, when I compare my mixes to others on YouTube I've seen (examples: Youtube-Kyle Beats; Youtube-Penacho; Youtube-bowtiebeatz official). Sorry, I can't post hyperlinks yet.

Overall, their stuff sounds more punchy and powerful. What are they doing to achieve this? Is it really just a matter of the sounds they use, or am I missing something?

I'm using FL Studio stock plugins.

Thanks.

 

[Beaches077]

There are a lot of reasons why your mixes are lacking the power/punch you want them to have. It could be the case that their samples or sounds are 'better' in some ways, but the effects and methods you use when you're mixing can have a huge impact on how your music will sound in the end. Although compression can help a sound become louder it will also start to diminish the transient of that particular sound. If you compress a sound enough the transient can become practically nonexistent. One way to resolve is by increasing the attack value of your compressor so that the transient can occur whilst giving the sound a boost in loudness. Also, your brain interprets different frequencies in different ways. Some frequencies will naturally seem to deliver more power and movement. It may be that you're EQing out the frequencies you need to provide this hard-hitting sound. Keeping the mix simple is a good idea, if your samples/sounds are already where you want them to be, don't process them further. Another useful tool is side chain compression. This can tell other signals to duck in volume when a certain sound is played allowing the punchyness to cut through the mix. You should try and experiment with these different concepts to see where it takes your mix. Hope this helps!

 

[B.EaZYbeats]

Thanks, Beaches. This looks like a good starting point.

Do you apply compression to all your sounds? Right now I only use compression on my drums to make them hit harder.

Same question regarding side-chain compression. Right now I only side chain my sub to make the kick stand out more. Should I be applying side-chain to other non-percussive sounds (or perhaps to a non-percussive buss) to make the drums hit harder?

 

[Synapsis]

I have a pet hate for FL... I certainly wouldn't be using the stock plugs that come with it either.. I would use those compressors sparingly, and attenuating fuck all... digital compressors, eq's, etc introduce phase distortion.. and digital phase distortion is not very nice to the ear..

Analogue Eq's, Compressor's etc.. introduce voltage (harmonic) distortion, which sounds good... Some VST plugs, can simulate to some degree a more clear and transparent distortion similar to analogue (warm)...

When you compress drums so they 'hit harder', unless you can hear what the compressor is doing to the sound (other than making it louder), it will generally suffer from some sort of unwanted artifacts associated with sample interpolation and digital distortion.. which builds up the more you introduce using the said compression on different busses...

by the time you have your track getting busy, it may then start getting frequency build up. which will be heavily infected with sample interpolation and digital distortion..

by the time you throw some more of that shit on the master bus to 'make it even louder', the worse it gets...

I tend to go for saturation on the drum bus, and compress very minimal the individual percussive elements on the way to the drum bus for saturation.. and leave the drum buss uncompressed, so it retains dynamics... people go on about 'compressing the drums more' to get them more 'punchy', but really.. if a mix is well balanced and clear, all you need to do is turn the volume up on the stereo....

but it all comes with research and training your ear, playing around with compressors etc to see what they do to the sound etc...

 

[Beaches077]

I don't use compression on every channel because not every sound needs it. I do typically side chain the bass synths to the kicks since their frequency content has a lot of overlap. I also sometimes apply slight side chain comp. to the snare to help 'glue' it to the kick. As for everything else, whether I side chain or not is determined by how the mix sounds. If I think compression should be applied to a particular sound, I will apply some, A/B the channel to see how it affects that sound and from there make a decision. There aren't any rules that say you must compress all of your tracks in the same way. Just experiment with different compressors and different settings. If you think heavy compression sounds good and it achieves the sound you want by all means do that. Another thing you can try is cutting out certain frequencies from some of your channels in order to free up space for your kick or snare. You never want to have a bunch of sounds fighting over the same part of the frequency spectrum. Think of it like a spotlight shining down onto a stage. Only a few people at any given time can fit inside the spot of light on the stage. And if multiple people are under the light they have to occupy different spaces. Think of your sounds the same way when using things like EQ or comp. It's ultimately up to you.