What are some of your production tricks and tips?

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phillmeeh

New member
I like to layer multiple different plugins running the same midi notes, eq each individually, and then group them and run more effects.
 
phillmeeh said:
I like to layer multiple different plugins running the same midi notes, eq each individually, and then group them and run more effects.
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you just described layering, super common and I'm pretty sure everyone does it haha. But either way I guess its still a trick.

This ones also common (im assuming, never heard of it before but it seems like something most people would do), put a transient shaper on a parallel send, turn the sustain down, attack up, and there ya go- instant parallel attack you can dial in to help things cut through the mix.
 
One of the best things I use when producing anything with drums and a sub (but can be used to other sounds as well) is making the sidechain hit only a certain range of frequencies. That way you can make your kick and sub don't fight for the low end, but still maintain some of the sub frequencies.
 
I would say, if you're making something like a dance track, try not to overkill everything with sidechain. If you have like a lead synth and some bass chords that are controlled by similar midi notes, cut out the lower bass from the lead synth do you won't have to sidechain it, and therefore you can just put a bit of sidechain on the bass, and leave that in charge of the lows, without having to get any lower frequencies from the lead synth.
 
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I'm sure everyone has heard the whole "high-pass/low-pass everything" approach more times than they can count, and while this is obviously a very valuable practice for achieving clarity and space in a mix I think it can be easy to get carried away with it. I find it's a lot better to "overshoot" your values when doing this (eg. high-pass your pads at around 60 or 80 and then get into some broad bell cuts from there) rather than just throwing an HP at 120 on everything that isn't a low-end sound. It's always a fine line of course, but you don't want to end up cutting the balls off your mix because you were worried about it being too muddy.
 
I actually have been doing that quite a lot lately, even though I don't really consider it very original. Still, every EDM song out there sounds the same, and no one cares.
 
mariansmg said:
I actually have been doing that quite a lot lately, even though I don't really consider it very original. Still, every EDM song out there sounds the same, and no one cares.
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That's why we have thousands of people considering themselves "top notch producers" or "top notch DJs" and only a few can really make it. Same sound.

I'd say, don't copy. Do your own melodies. Experiment. Just as an example, Grammy wasn't won by one of the "big" or "popular" producer/dj nowadays (although many of them say this fella named Aphex Twin inspired them).
 
dont go too mad layering stuff for the sake of it, keep it simple as long as you have decent sounds to play with
 
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