Can't sound profissional. Why?

B

BVBitz

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Everytime I listen to this mainstream hip hop tracks I hear this amazing sounds that I could never find on this crappy soundbanks I have. I got Albino, Nexus, Sylenth1, Massive (learning sound design in it), Sampletank for acoustic samples and Omnisphere... the last one has thousands of amazing sounds for EDM but I can count on my fingers the number of presets in it that I could use in a professional-level hip hop production. One thing that happens all the time is that I create a tight and nice sounding drum pattern but then I get frustrated while searching for a dope sound for the melody. What's the trick for achieving professional sounds? Paying $1000/hour for an engineer to create them for you? Cuz I don't have Timbaland's net worth.

References: Jay Rock's "Easy Bake", Schoolboy Q's "Collard Greens", The Game's "Drug Test", Jay Z's "Dirt Off You Shoulder"
 
It's not always the sound itself but how you process and then place that sound within the mix.
You have a boatload of mix tools in your DAW (and plenty more 3rd party and free 3rd party) - reverb, compression, EQs, gate, limiters, exciters and filters to name just a few - you need to get into them - work out what they can do and when their use is applicable (and when they should be avoided - sometimes less is more).
 
You have all the sounds you need. What it comes down to is having an ear, knowing how to mix and practice. Sounds are rarely ever used in their raw state, they are mostly processed
 
Agree with both posts above me. Practice makes perfect. Try studying some flow states or just read amazing facts about the universe and the mind then i usually get pretty pumped and feel like i can do anything. Being good at making music is a process you have to be consistent within. So use your neuroplasticity to make it easier for yourself.
 
And how can I know which mixing tools do I have to use do achieve certain sound? For example: I tried once to make a track similar Tinashe's "Cold Sweat" (https://youtu.be/QXQPDNuOUCo) and altough the result was a nice instrumental, I couldn't hear this in used by a singer in a professional level. Here it is:



A friend of mine recommended Izotope Ozone for mixing, what are your thoughts on this plugin? 'Til this day I just have FL Studio and Ableton mixing plugins.
 
you have ears mate, listen. you have to LEARN what a good mix is. to understand what a good mix is means u have to understand the fundamentality of how frequencies work on speakers, when or not to use stereo separation, monoing certain sounds, taking out certain peaks. for each track this will be different and there is no certain tool or golden way that people do it. you have to create your own way. i use 80% fruitys standard plugins and i get the sound i want.

edit: i listened to the track u posted above aswell.. and it seems you havent come that far musically yet, you need to experiment more man. read the manual understand what knobs do what. thats how u navigate quickly in the program and get faster workflow.
 
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i also forgot the point of your question(damn weed makes me forget) so here are my suggestions:
maximus in FL studio (i guess your using that) its a great multiband compressor which i think is what makes for a clear mix. i use it on individual synths aswell as basses and the master channel. lets me center each mixer track and space them individually to become more phat or or thinner e.t.c
 
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I appreciate all the tips, folks. That was great... I think I'll stop creating for a while to spend more of my time studying mixing and sound design deeply.

@Bato
I heard your stuff in Soundcloud. Those 3 tracks sounds real dope, dude. Which synthesizer do you use to create those sounds? I could count at least 7~8 different synths in each track. I hope that one day I'll achieve that kind of knowledge :p
 
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