So, any experienced remixer willing to share FL Studio tips?

Discuss tips, tricks, and the creative process of music creation. Post HELP threads here

So, any experienced remixer willing to share FL Studio tips?

Postby Biff0r » 03 Dec 2011 02:44

Hey everyone, just registered :)

I'm a bit afraid of this huge, amazing remixing scene, so I delayed my registration for as long as possible and just lurked around, once in a while, but currently I'm reaching kind of a no-progress point in FL Studio. I just finished a piece of game music or a 'remix', then listen to other, new cool stuff on Youtube and.. well, feel quite bad about my tries.
Not in terms of composing itself - that's something I can live with, I know it's my fault - but the general sound of it, it just sounds bland and thin and totally lacks the high-production sound of pretty much all other remixes.

So I now thought I might as well just ask around: Can you guys help me out here? Any valuable hints, tipps or tricks I should know of? Anything I might have missed completely so far?

http://www.youtube.com/user/Biff0r is my Youtube Channel, you probably won't know a lot of those ^^
Image
User avatar
Biff0r
 
Posts: 32
Joined: 03 Dec 2011 02:34
Location: Hamburg, Germany

Re: So, any experienced remixer willing to share FL Studio t

Postby X-Trav » 03 Dec 2011 05:28

You're welcome to ask me anything at all, I've used Fl studio for a number of years.

As for tips I can give now.

Read read read read read read READ the manual, memorize shortcuts, and dont stop making music.
Long time pianist and mediocrity extraordinaire.

Current Projects:
Manestream media
    EOE003
Call of The Crusaders
Album
User avatar
X-Trav
 
Posts: 185
Joined: 10 Aug 2011 21:11
Location: Florida

Re: So, any experienced remixer willing to share FL Studio t

Postby Mundius » 03 Dec 2011 07:33

Sadly, this is the ONE thing I never figured out in FL.
User avatar
Mundius
 
Posts: 400
Joined: 30 Jun 2011 13:36
OS: Horse OS
Primary: Not yet specified.
Cutie Mark: Blank flank

Re: So, any experienced remixer willing to share FL Studio t

Postby Facade » 03 Dec 2011 07:40

X-Trav wrote:You're welcome to ask me anything at all, I've used Fl studio for a number of years.

As for tips I can give now.

Read read read read read read READ the manual, memorize shortcuts, and dont stop making music.

since when are manuals use full? *opens fl manual*
oh i see o.O
https://facadeofages.bandcamp.com/album ... o-the-dark
Spoiler Quotes:
DerpyGrooves wrote:The secret to a good song has everything to do with the relationship of the verse and the chorus to one another


ONEHOODASSPONY wrote:Image
User avatar
Facade
 
Posts: 2316
Joined: 22 Aug 2011 18:26
Location: Anywhere
OS: Windows 7
Primary: Fl11 + Lsdj
Cutie Mark: None

Re: So, any experienced remixer willing to share FL Studio t

Postby Freewave » 03 Dec 2011 09:32

There are a LOT of good videos on youtube for FL Studios from production to composing. It's such a powerful program but it sure is difficult to master w/o a lot of practice. Keep practicing, read the manual, and see if some of those videos could be of help. Sounds like you should focus on production skills more than anything right now. Keep in mind that the default projects come with that limiter effect which can be a blessing or a curse.
Links for my music: YouTube, Bandcamp, and Tumblr
Check out the Brony Music Directory and FimMusic. A portal for all pony music
Image
Support the 20+ Musician Maressey Project currently underway.
User avatar
Freewave
 
Posts: 3193
Joined: 29 Nov 2011 12:33
Location: Denver
OS: Windows 7
Primary: Fl Studio 10
Cutie Mark: X$X

Re: So, any experienced remixer willing to share FL Studio t

Postby Biff0r » 03 Dec 2011 12:53

DJ-Pon3 wrote:. Keep in mind that the default projects come with that limiter effect which can be a blessing or a curse.

Actually, I totally forgot about that. Will keep it in mind.

X-Trav: For starters: How can I make a track sound more, I don't know, present. You know, which effects are totally obligatory for a music track, to make it sound professional and balanced?

I'll totally check out the manual again, didn't bother much with shortcuts so far, but will if you say so. Also, if someone can send me in the right direction for some actually helpful tutorials (Youtube is flooded with them, most of them are way too specific for my needs right now), I'd be thankful, too :)
Image
User avatar
Biff0r
 
Posts: 32
Joined: 03 Dec 2011 02:34
Location: Hamburg, Germany

Re: So, any experienced remixer willing to share FL Studio t

Postby Freewave » 03 Dec 2011 14:13

sure np i looked up my favorite FL tuturial youtube channels i had bookmarked and they were

AcePincter
Warbeats
both should be helpful. *brohoof*
Links for my music: YouTube, Bandcamp, and Tumblr
Check out the Brony Music Directory and FimMusic. A portal for all pony music
Image
Support the 20+ Musician Maressey Project currently underway.
User avatar
Freewave
 
Posts: 3193
Joined: 29 Nov 2011 12:33
Location: Denver
OS: Windows 7
Primary: Fl Studio 10
Cutie Mark: X$X

Re: So, any experienced remixer willing to share FL Studio t

Postby X-Trav » 03 Dec 2011 17:48

Biff0r wrote:X-Trav: For starters: How can I make a track sound more, I don't know, present. You know, which effects are totally obligatory for a music track, to make it sound professional and balanced?


There is nothing "obligatory" music is an art form. Though clichés anyway all depend on the genre your using. When I make techno stuff i usually always have reverb or delay, with vocals I have EQ, Reverb, limiters, and Soundgoodizer.

Classical music usually needs reverb to give the feeling of preforming in a hall.

Again it all depends on what your doing.


Biff0r wrote:I'll totally check out the manual again, didn't bother much with shortcuts so far, but will if you say so. Also, if someone can send me in the right direction for some actually helpful tutorials (Youtube is flooded with them, most of them are way too specific for my needs right now), I'd be thankful, too :)


this is an offical blog. WATCH every video.

FL Studio Guru
Long time pianist and mediocrity extraordinaire.

Current Projects:
Manestream media
    EOE003
Call of The Crusaders
Album
User avatar
X-Trav
 
Posts: 185
Joined: 10 Aug 2011 21:11
Location: Florida

Re: So, any experienced remixer willing to share FL Studio t

Postby Versilaryan » 03 Dec 2011 22:11

Listening to your stuff really quick, it definitely seems like that all your troubles are in mixing and arranging, not in how to use FL Studio. For starters, when you write your tunes, make sure there's a bass voice whenever you want it to sound full. It sounds like you have a melody and some mid voices, but the bass is supplied entirely by your kick. Having a bass voice (bass guitar, contrabass/double bass, or some synth that sounds cool in the lower registers) will /really/ make something sound a lot fuller.

Typically, the fewer mid/bass voices you have, the emptier your arrangement will sound. Moving lines will sound a lot thicker than non-moving lines. So listen to all your favorite artists and pay attention to how they layer their instruments to create textures. Oftentimes, there will be plenty of moving lines that aren't the melody, and there will almost always be a bass voice filling up the low end and supporting the whole song.

Next, when you mix, make sure everything is present. The first thing you want to get down is making balances right. So volume-wise, make sure vocals/melody > drums > everything else, assuming pop (especially electro-pop). Pay really close attention to to what's actually supposed to be the focus. Something that was the focus at one point might not be the focus anymore. (Like in your Winter Wrap Up remix, where you have the repeating vocal line. Twilight starts as the focal point, but then fades into the background as the WWU melody comes in. But you don't lower Twilight's volume, or introduce the new line at a higher volume. Then, you end up with a lot of vocals conflicting with each other even though they shouldn't.)

Now, past all the basics, you have a plethora of different effects to mess with to make a song sound better. The two biggest ones are compressors and EQ. Start with the EQ. Something that you should keep in mind is to cut; don't boost! If something would sound better with a tiny bit of a boost here and there, that's fine. But for the most part, you want to cut offending frequencies from the sound. There are some guidelines to follow (like, highpass /everything/ as much as possible save for the bass, kick drum, etc.), but for the most part, this is entirely up to you to figure out. Mess with the EQ, figure out what frequencies sound bad, and then lower them. This one isn't too hard to get the hang of.

Then, compressors. They're really hard to learn, mostly because it's so hard to hear their effects at first. Read this thread on them, 'cause it explains compressors far better than I can.

I'll be making a video soon explaining basic mixing/mastering topics, so watch out for that! ^.^ </shameless self-plug>
User avatar
Versilaryan
 
Posts: 453
Joined: 03 Jul 2011 17:58

Re: So, any experienced remixer willing to share FL Studio t

Postby TaisiKP » 05 Dec 2011 16:31

Where's the FL Studio Manual at? >.>;
TaisiKP
 
Posts: 54
Joined: 04 Nov 2011 09:14


Return to Technique



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest