Knut - 2 new techno tracks

[Little_Fella!]

Hello mate...

Well i must say that I like these two drum tracks as they are hard in nature but have got that rounded edge .. which I think is a good move from a commercial perspective... :;

Nice structure for each which belays the repetitiveness - nice choice of sounds and good placing of elements .. how long have you been producing? .. juss so I for one am not mentioning stuff you already know - and two to look at your progression as far as the learning curve is concerned...

right .. on the production side of things .. initial impact is that everything is too cloudy - this is caused by too much reverb on everything - reign it all back so that everything is sounding clear - and also if you are using verb on your sends>> eq these as well so that only the frequencies you want from that particular element are left in the mix -

plus there is combined muddiness - think in both tracks .. strip this out using a parametric eq - 6db at like around 250hz - 400hz .. @ Q high ratio of like 20 say .. play with this .. try the eq on your bass only first - if no good then insert to your master bus

>>>>>>>

[Little_Fella!]

Do the above mentioned and that pulse you are panning very effectively will shine thro more... .. try n think what it would sound like on a rig - as this quite literally amplifies everything that is wrong .... which is a buggar (!)

Alot of your sounds are low-mid so therefore they are fighting for space in the mix - the elements are good - you just need to adjust one so that it sits in the more high-mid area .. this will free space up in the mix and you will hear your elements breath better .. solo each n have a listen - then try each element with one other (on there own) listen to the frequency ranges each is attributed with...

I must say here that I remember Steve saying to me that the best rule when approaching a track is to pick your elements in relation to their frequencies wisely... as soon as I did this my production quality rose dramatically - why? .. because I was making life much easier for myself when it came to eq'ing .. I wasn't having to chip n chopp so much trying to get things to fit - and also tus weakening my elements coz I am stripping away frequencies that make the whole... in fact the less eq you apply the better and a good mix is indicated by just the odd nudge of eq 1 db or so just to add top end lightness n brightness to compensate for the overall compression on the master bus...

[Little_Fella!]

aaaand finally... sorry this is quite a long assessment

you definitely do need more sparkle on your top end .. the shaker tikka tikka needs to be more prickly - use this KVR: Smart Electronix Cyanide - Virtual Effect

It is called Cyanide and its free - which I use for my hats n claps if I want them to be crisp as f*ck .. not sure why your top end is so dead .. there might be some filter on a preset that you havn't noticed or something .. adding more sparkle will balance this track out quite nicely..

aaaand .. I'm not sure whether you are listening to the general consensus within the higher echelons of techno/ that adding a hat n a ride these days is sacrilege/ or cheating in order to get the crowd moving .. bollocks is what I say .. the ride balances the mix top to bottom and the hat provides counter point to the kick .. crowds love this .. hats and rides that are well crafted and used intelligently provide the final touch .. fair play on the viewpoint that you should get the track working without them -- which is why folk say not to use them coz the crowd should be rockin' anyways..

Like in the first track run a nice sharp hat from 2:03 - 2:29 or so n see what you think...

One final ask is that you go and listen to other's who have posted here and try to give them feedback - this not only helps them but it helps you to to be more objective about whats going on and this will accelerate your learning curve...

Try all them bits n bobs n you will notice the difference straight away ...

[Little_Fella!]

One last and final piece of advice, which I would say to all in this position, is to tidy the tracks up using the techniques mentioned >> listen to the change >> and then go and make something new straight away >> don't fight with these ones for too long as it wastes time and energy .. take what you have learnt and create from there...

Good drum tracks n love the elements (!) so I look forward to your next tunage...

[knut]

blimey, quite the reply there mate, many thanks for taking the time out to do it! Have read what you've written and have taken it on board, especially about more top end percussion, i think its my ears I find sounds in high khz really annoying haha.

I do have a rig to test tunes on and know exactly what you mean!

thanks again mate