What makes a track sound professional?

dizkojockey

New member
What makes a track sound professional? I often see on Youtube people have produced tracks with all the elements and automation and everything is in place and organised but they just still don't sound professional. I mean none of the sounds are clashing or anything but I can listen to them and get a instant feeling that they sound very good but not REALLY good. Some tracks I've heard are very basic with little going on but they sound very very good in terms of quality. What is the main determining factor in making a track where people would immediately think it sounds professional?
 
A good track to start with.
A good arrangement of the parts like verse, hook, breaks etc.... sounds coming in, or out, panning, automation etc.....

Most importantly - a great mix.
 
shit in -> best gear in the world -> infinite time and budget -> shit out

aka you can't polish a turd

put another way unless the underlying music is great it is hard to make it sound great

part of the shit in phase is also about recording to the best your gear can - i.e. if you cannot capture the very best performances then it really won't make much difference
 
shit in -> best gear in the world -> infinite time and budget -> shit out

ALSO:

awesomeness in -> best gear in the world -> infinite time and budget -> UNSKILLED WRITER/ARRANGER/PRODUCER/MIXER -> shit out
 
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I think a big thing in what you described is also sound selection and layering. You can take a simple sound and play a simple melody but if its layered right it can still be engaging and interesting to the listener, on the flip side of that you can have 5 tracks playing different things and it can sound thin and unorganized. On top of that, transitions, drops and layout of the track play a big part, not to mention the other things already stated above by others.
 
Well it depends on who's track your referring too. It could be thousands of $$$ worth of gear, synths and converters and top mastering facilities, or it could be someone who has okay gear, understands there gear and limitations and makes the best out there situation and moves on from there.

just comes to thought Tycho-Awake is a great album that had some money behind it and it sounds like garbage cause they limited the hell out of it.
just sayin
 
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