New Producer Looking for tips and Advice / Introduction

[EnBeez the EmCee]

I got sent over here by Drethe5th and a few others from gear slutz when I was asking questions about production.

I've been rapping since I was about 16 and I'm 21 now, Never really jumped in to the world of producing but recently I decided to take the Jump to push myself to work harder and take my music a bit more seriously. I built A studio in my spare room over the past few months and I'm very happy with the outcome of the Gear and acoustic treatment I have put up.

So now I have my whole mixing desk all set up how I want I decided to Purchase the MPK249 as well to jump in to the world of beats, I also upgraded logic 9 to logic X Because I wanted to learn on the latest and greatest. I've been told other programs are easier to learn on but In my mind if I start out with the hardest program it only gets easier from there.....I think lol

So I've messed around a little bit and have two beats that I'm happy-ish with and wanted some critiquing on things I can do to improve and step my game up.

Watched a fair share of Youtube videos to get started in Logic X and went from there. They are sample based beats as I don't really know any music theory so really I'm just mashing keys and buttons and hoping it sounds good lol. I would like to learn how to make a beat from scratch but I really don't know where to start.

So the first beat I made is called "Dilated" Which I have half a verse on it and the chorus done (Vocals by me) and i really like how my voice sits on the track, I'm also very new to mixing and what not so I did the best I can but In the end I like how it sounds (It's still Unfinished)

BUT....

Now I finished this other beat and I sort of liked how it came out, But when I put my vocals on it they just sound..... Out of place. I'm not sure if this is due to the fact of it being to busy or what. So I want you guys to help me out whether you think the beat has too much going on... Maybe the levels ... Maybe the beat just sucks? lol ... And any other tips you could throw to a newbie would be helpful too..

Posted links to the beats below, thanks guys

View attachment EnBeez - Dilated (FInal BeatXvox).mp3
View attachment EnBeez - The world is yours (Beat).mp3

Edit: And in the terms of sampling, Am I on the right track? The first one I looped a large portion of the song and kept the tempo as the original.

whereas the second one I looped 2 bars and then layered violins and drums and such and changed the tempo.

 

[B Side Producer]

This is totally not in my ballpark. I don't make sample based beats, but I do know the basics of it. Also, I don't work with vocals much, but do know some theory. As no one has replied to you yet ( probably a bit patch of txt scares ppl away, maybe because you posted a showcase your music post in the wrong section) I'll throw in my 2 cents .
First off , creatively, stuff sounds good to me. I like your flow, I definitely like the sample(s) (i'm a saxophone player ), I love sample based beats in how they glitch they're repetitions, if you get what I mean. Like putting chords under your pads or keys and cutting the chords short and such. Premier being one of the obvious examples.

On your theory. Work on it Not having much experience with sample based beats myself doesn't mean I don't listen to them and have a good idea on what they're doing and how they're doing it. Your definitely on the right track here. Judging to your piece of text here, I probably can assume you still need to work up on your theory. This means all theory. Vocal placement, instrument placement, music theory in general, how you create space, layering, eq'ing, mixing, mastering if it's something you're gonna get into (which is a good thing to skip when still learning all the other stuff), compression, and there's tons of other stuff.
Youtube is a major friend in this. Google helps a ton. Some books are marvelous as well. I rather do it with DVD courses. There's tons of good ones out there. They do cost money, but come in handy packages with everything in it instead of having to gather all the bits through the net. FP forum is a gem as well. Lot's of ppl that can help you with questions, but, make sure to start off with the sticky posts. If your really keen on doing it proper and are not afraid of some heavy reading, check out Band Coach - Philosophies in teaching, composition and life in general . He is also present on the forum and probably can answer any question if others haven't already.
Check those stickies in different sections and make sure to click the links in there.
More on your question. The first beat you made, sounds more balanced. It has better placement of instruments and a better balance between the drums and the other instruments. Sax, guitar. It sounds less messy compared to your second beat. If you lay down your vocals on top of it without knowing how to properly mix in your vocals, your first beat clearly will give you the least amount of problems.
With your second beat, it's a lot more 'restless'. The balance between the drums and the instruments is more messy. That could be better with a bit of better placement. Where do you make the drums sit, the instruments, etc. If you lay down your vocals on top if it, it'll compete for spacing (and probably volumes and frequencies as well) with other instruments, probably. The bit that kicks in at 22 seconds make it harder to just lay down your vocals on top of it without properly mixing it in.
The flow of the first beat, the balance and the lack of restlessness that the 2nd beat has, probably make it easier for you to lay down vocals on top of it and mixing it in with the skills you have.
So it's probably a combination of mixing skills and the beat. At least, this last bit is what I'd think, with my lack of experience working with sample based beats and vocals.
Hopefully, someone else will give you some other tips as well.