Layering Sounds for beats

Start experimenting. Put an 808 kick behind an acoustic kick and adjust the levels until you get a sound that you like. Make sure it doesn't distort. Maybe EQ it a little.

Try layering some claps. Try a clap under a snare. Put an analog bass under an acoustic bass. Try mixing together some different string sections or horn sections. Maybe pan them. The possibilities are endless.
 
take a sound and make that your lead sound ... so that it stands out a little bit more on front of the other sounds ... take a like 1 or 2 more sounds and add them to that lead sound ... add some reverb and pan one sound slightly to the left and the other to the right ... add a few more FX's to all those sounds and play with the EQ and it should sound pretty good ...
 
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remember there's no limit you can layer as much as you want..if you want to layer 15 different snares just to prove a point or to get a certain punch, as long as your workstation can accomodate that ish...do it!
 
I think people think too hard when it comes to layering. Instead of purposely digging into sounds with the intension of layering, just find good sounds. It never fails.

In the end something's gonna be layered over the top of something(basslines commonly ride over kicks, strings often come in over melodies for choruses, rythm guits are used to spice up tracks, ect.), but "layering just for the sake of layering" is an excercise in futility. Alot of people say "layering makes sounds fuller" simply because they've yet to master chords.

I listen to music all day from the 1400s to present, every genre, I don't hear too much "purpose layering". I do hear different instruments hitting in unison, but in order to get the full effect of that, things have to solo out, fade in/out, have variations in melodies, but match up well, ect. Therefore, if it don't sound good on it's own, it won't work.

It's not just about playing 2-4 sounds in unison note for note.
 
deRaNged 4 Phuk'dup said:
I think people think too hard when it comes to layering. Instead of purposely digging into sounds with the intension of layering, just find good sounds. It never fails.

In the end something's gonna be layered over the top of something(basslines commonly ride over kicks, strings often come in over melodies for choruses, rythm guits are used to spice up tracks, ect.), but "layering just for the sake of layering" is an excercise in futility. Alot of people say "layering makes sounds fuller" simply because they've yet to master chords.

I listen to music all day from the 1400s to present, every genre, I don't hear too much "purpose layering". I do hear different instruments hitting in unison, but in order to get the full effect of that, things have to solo out, fade in/out, have variations in melodies, but match up well, ect. Therefore, if it don't sound good on it's own, it won't work.

It's not just about playing 2-4 sounds in unison note for note.
Click to expand...

A friend of mine used to produce like that....one simple melody then a bunch of instruments following that.................sounds decent but amateur most of the time.
 
good advice people...

i guess its just remembering the different kinds of beat you can make. sometimes the bass is the main melody for example and theres just sounds complementing it.
 
I find the main thing that benefits from layering (some of you might disagree) is snares...Just seems like all the greats (in hip hop) have a crazy snare game...I get my better snares from layering a distinct snare with a more generic one. Once pitched correctly they can stand alone, which gives variety but can be hit together for full feel. Other stuff I layer as I see fit.

I have no rules...just guiding principles.
 
"It's not just about playing 2-4 sounds in unison note for note."

I was expanding on that line...don't get all defensive like i'm hating on you man, seriously. I've heard many beats were people will just hit the same notes with about 5 different instruments throughout the entire song(infact i've done it myself while learning to produce).

Chill.
 
Layering basslines? Hmm, I've never noticed songs where I actually hear more than one type of bass in it. Plus, doesn't that cause possible distortion or "muddiness" (for lack of a better word) because two basslines would be fighting for the same frequencies?
 
I think people are doing layering a lot because everyone says "you must layer" because they heard someone say it's important. It's pretty pointless to just put things together so you can say "well yeah I used 168 different snares to get this sound" - the bottom line: layer what you need, when you need it. In time you'll learn to listen when a sound needs more "beef" or "punch" or added high end or whatever, and by starting simple you'll probably avoid a bunch of mixing problems when every sound isn't swallowing up the whole spectrum all the time.
 
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