What makes a great instrumental/beat?

L

LeftSide91

New member
I noticed several producers that are great at making beats with minimum use of instruments or tracks. For example "Jake One"
I love how he is able to create such an incredible beat but when I try to recreate something similar, my beats sound like they are lacking life and boring. In other words it sounds like i need to add more instruments to keep it interesting but i don't want to over due it. I obviously know that mixing plays a big part..but i want my beats to sound interesting and not so repetitive and boring. any tips or ideas on how i can over come this phase?
 
First of all I wouldn't worry to much about it. Without hearing any examples it's kinda hard to give you any real feedback, but it's most likely two things. First one is your mix, part of wat makes great sounding beat sound great is the mix. Ofcourse you can't turn trash to treasure with just the mix, but a good mix can take you a long way. Second is the details, in simplistic beats the real strength of the beat is usually in the details. Things like percussion, vocal samples and sound fx can make a beat sound a lot less boring.

My general advice would be to get a good groove going and then listen to what else the beat needs.
 
this is my example

Thanx for the reply. Here is an example of my type of style...it is not finished but for the purpose of this thread i figured i show you guys what i make, there is something missing in this beat...I just cant figure it out. It sounds very boring in my opinion. I tired automation and soloing some tracks to give it some bounce but i am just not satisfied with the results....A lead? strings? pad? IDK....
 
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LeftSide91 said:
Thanx for the reply. Here is an example of my type of style...it is not finished but for the purpose of this thread i figured i show you guys what i make, there is something missing in this beat...I just cant figure it out. It sounds very boring in my opinion. I tired automation and soloing some tracks to give it some bounce but i am just not satisfied with the results....A lead? strings? pad? IDK....
Click to expand...

I'd say your mix could use some improvement, just simple volume levelling could do the trick. Turn up the sample (maybe add some reverb to it) and i think you're golden.
 
LeftSide91 said:
Thanx for the reply. Here is an example of my type of style...it is not finished but for the purpose of this thread i figured i show you guys what i make, there is something missing in this beat...I just cant figure it out. It sounds very boring in my opinion. I tired automation and soloing some tracks to give it some bounce but i am just not satisfied with the results....A lead? strings? pad? IDK....
Click to expand...

your beat isn't even bad at all dude.. just some parts way too quiet than others. same goes for frequency ranges... turn up that sample in the back. make the hihats cut thru nicer, the snare maybe crack a little more... i dunno if your sidechaining compressors, if not i would start especially to bring some low midrange frequencies in there but not letting them swallow everything up. also parrallel compression will help bring some frequencies out that you're missing, or just turnt down. of course level everything right before you parallel compress. just get more and more used to leveling, the beat itself is dope i'm not gonna act. i used to and still have similar problems.. i used to make my basslines too loud and i'd cut way too many mids or turn them down too much. i used to have my drum beats way too loud. i just try to work on it with every beat/mix
 
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As a producer, I've come to notice that the percussion really gives subtle depth to the song. Many times the kick and the snare get a little old and boring as the song goes on. I would suggest really keeping it diverse with your hi-hats. That is, every 8 beats or so change the hi-hat pattern. Although someone may not even be able to notice that you changed up the sequence, it will make a difference to them in the end because their brain will detect that something is different. Using various hi-hats and cymbals in a subtle (but not too overpowering way) can really make the change from a "boring" to an "exciting" beat. If you aren't a fan of hi-hats, then just make sure you keep your drum sequence in general on the constant move.
 
Great Stuff guys. I will for sure take into consideration for my future beats. I will post the finish product on this thread if anybody is interested. Also check out my other instrumentals on youtube. https://youtu.be/7JE192I2MsY
Thank you everyone for responding.
 
(OFF TOPIC)>>>Hey your from Texas!! :cheers: by any chance are you from Houston??? as far as my hihats i can definitely be more creative with them. I totally agree with you.

chopz makes beats said:
your beat isn't even bad at all dude.. just some parts way too quiet than others. same goes for frequency ranges... turn up that sample in the back. make the hihats cut thru nicer, the snare maybe crack a little more... i dunno if your sidechaining compressors, if not i would start especially to bring some low midrange frequencies in there but not letting them swallow everything up. also parrallel compression will help bring some frequencies out that you're missing, or just turnt down. of course level everything right before you parallel compress. just get more and more used to leveling, the beat itself is dope i'm not gonna act. i used to and still have similar problems.. i used to make my basslines too loud and i'd cut way too many mids or turn them down too much. i used to have my drum beats way too loud. i just try to work on it with every beat/mix
Click to expand...
Compression is my worst enemy. To be honest I still haven't gotten the hang of using it properly. lol But I will definitely level my tracks out better. Thank you once again.
 
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Hi LeftSide91, I am from San Antonio! I was just in Houston a couple of weeks ago though performing at the Springboard South Music Festival!
That's so coincidental haha
 
the question varies from beat to beat.. it's about the overall feel of the beat.. make sure it feels good... and the vibe/feeel can't really be described in words.. you just know
 
What type of vsts?

LeftSide91 said:
Thanx for the reply. Here is an example of my type of style...it is not finished but for the purpose of this thread i figured i show you guys what i make, there is something missing in this beat...I just cant figure it out. It sounds very boring in my opinion. I tired automation and soloing some tracks to give it some bounce but i am just not satisfied with the results....A lead? strings? pad? IDK....
Click to expand...

What type of vst plugins do you have?
 
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