This is before I’ve watched the video, but I’ve watch 2 videos and your ability to describe and explain concepts I’ve pondered for YEARS over, unable to find the right descriptions, and then explain it to me in a format so beautifully put together is phenomenal. Please keep doing your thing!
I write realy very seldom comments on youtube, but my sir your tutorials are just the very best one can find with regard to techno and especially minimal tech house… if you ever happen to be in frankfurt am main, germany please let me know to buy you a beer or two… I have also push 2, maschine mk3, maschine jam and any others keyboards and controllers, so you are always happily invited to jam session 😊
This series permanently added to my required reading list 😂 I’ve spent some serious time examining these details in past work and current projects and this is leveling up the game…. Thanks B 😎🖤🍭
An aha moment for me, thank you! Oh and nice to watch a video that has well balanced voice to music ratio, so often videos have the music really loud and the voice over really quiet.
Hi, hope you are well! I am new to the channel and fairly new to music production I am absolutely loving your no-nonsense approach to everything I have listened to so far! you have helped me massively, especially with this tuning issue of kicks! Makes perfect sense now! Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us!
Why did I think you'd be a classically trained musician. Studying here and there electronic music and music theory as a hobbyist, I haven't learnt so much in such a short time as watching your channel.
What are the downsides of using a droner kick and following the Changing notes of the bass by pitching the kick on midi. Why would that clash with bass frequencies while if the bass was only “on the one”, it wouldn’t clash.
Depends what you want people to dance to! Genres like hard style have done this. But that method will replace the bass though , not follow it typically. Having a kick and bass follow will most likely result in them phase cancelling each other at different points. There can only be one bass instrument in a track, the waveforms are very long and vibrate slowly, so the changes of negative interference in the presence of another bass frequency at the same pitch is high as there is no guarantee of kicking phase unless it's exactly the same waveform. Tracks on the 1 get away with it because they let the kick handle the bass frequencies and the bass above it is filtered. Also Depending how far the notes move but moving it can leave holes in the weight of the track overall if it moves far enough, as there will no longer be a consistent bass frequency. And on any other playback systems than good studio monitors in a good room, you'll get loud and quiet pockets where the bass resonates or cancels in the room. Also you risk loss of quality of bass. As unless the kick is synthesized by a synth, you'll be pitching a sample, which loses quality the further it is pitched from it's source. Without time stretching pitching it higher will shorten it, with time stretching it will be a mess phase-wise, and have unstable bass frequencies. Genres like hard style , despite the aggression are actually very bass light, being extremely fast there isn't much time for the bass to develop anyway. So a kick that has moving pitch is fine for genres that don't rely on big bass. For every other dance genre, bad idea imo.
Hi, just found your channel recently, and liking it. Also particularly liking the metallic lead in the Joey Beltram style track. Can you give some pointers on how to start getting something like that timbre. Thnx
Hey mate, absolutely love your channel! I've seen many many tuts on you tube, but yours are quickly becoming my favourite. Very professional and explain everything in clear, concise detail. So thank you for that! I was wondering if there is a video you have made, or if you are willing to make one, explaining how best to keep the energy of the bassline the same as the notes shift up and down in the melody. What i mean is that when i play a low note on my bassline, it obviously sounds more full, thicker etc. and then when the note a few semitones above is played, it sounds softer, thinner... i hope you understand. I would think there is more to it than simple compression that glues the bassline in as one and keeps the loudness/thickness/energy the same? When i hear my reference tracks, the basslines are usually as thick on one note as they are on the next. How do i keep the sub full/thick no matter what note is being played? Hope that makes sense! Would love some sort of feeback on this if possible :) Thank you so much for your time and effort on these videos regardless.
If you're playing a bass line on synth and not a sample, then the bass should not change in energy certainly not that much just by moving a few notes. A full thick bass can be achieved will a simple completey untreated sine wave that is all you need. (Alongside an appropriate kick of course too) If you hear it change then that indicates a problem somewhere. First check the bass solo'd and watch on some meter software (like Span) as you change notes. You should see that the level does not actually change between notes. If this is the case but you can still HEAR a change, then that points to a problem somewhere in the listening environment. Usually the room. Home setups often suffer from something called "room modes" (might wanna Google it) where the length, width, and height of your room will each happen to equal the same length of a waveform of certain bass note. And when you play a note that is the same it will resonate louder. Some notes may cancel too leaving those weaker. You can verify if this is the case by checking on headphones. Even if the headphones are not "studio" quality with a true flat response, you might hear DIFFERENT notes as strong or weak. if you get a different result on headphones then you can confirm your listening setup needs help. If the phenomena only occurs when the bass is NOT solo'd and ugly happens when inside the full track then you have a masking problem. Some other element (usually kick) will be tuned to the same note of a bass note change, and when the bass moves to that notes it might be either masking it or adding to it. If you DO measure a change on the meters, then that means the synth patch has a problem. Either an oscillator is out of tune, unison is turned on, or there is a chorus effect on, or it has eq or compression on. If your bass line is a sample and not a synth , and you measure it on meters and can see change, then either the sample player or the time stretch algorithm is messing with the phase of the lowest harmonic and causing cancellation. Never rely on compression for volume leveling of electronic parts, electronic sounds rarely have any actual dynamics to level. I don't compress bass parts at all. only live instruments that actually have severe dynamic range, like a vocal, or raw recording or live drums or acoustic guitar. If the reference tracks have truly steady bass and yours don't then you are either hearing a long kick drum and not true sub bass, or your bass has some kind of process on it that is messing with your balance, like compression or eq. You don't need ANYTHING to make an electronic sound even in energy, it already is! Take all effects off and see if it helps. Watch my "key affects bass" and "how I can process bass" and "top tech House bass sounds" videos also that should clear some stuff up. 👊
@@Bthelick Absolutely amazing, thank you yet again for the awesome info! Very much appreciate your time and detailed response. I will certainly watch those videos to help me learn even more. THANK YOU!
@@Bthelick first time I’ve ever subbed on RUclips, is by no means enough for the knowledge you share and the way you deliver it. Watched a few of yours now since the algorithm decided to send it my way. You seem to be the first I’ve seen on YT who actually wants to share knowledge rather than just push plugins and other bits and pieces.
Summary and Guidelines for Kicks from the Videos: "Tuning Kicks: Why & When | Techno House Deep Dance Music" "Tuning Kicks pt2: 10 Tracks and Styles Break Down" "Kicks are a spectrum of "Divers" and "Droners" - Divers are punchy without pitch - Droners have a tail with pitch that can function as a bass "Do you have to pitch a Kick?" - this is preference and genre dependent "Why should you use a pitched kick?" - to stop the kick from interfering with bass or - to blend the kick with the bass "Is the Kick a Bass or a Drum?" depends on the genre, but ask: does the track have bass or not? - Kick = Bass? Yes, use a pitched Kick often on the home note - Kick is not a Bass? Depends on the aesthetic you are looking for; Combining a Diver with Bass is always a viable option "Is the bassline moving a lot?" - Yes, use a diver to not clash with the bassline Remember everything is preference and genre dependent. Those are some rules, time to break them! Much love!
Haha just listened yeah. Mostly because it's the same key. Too hard kicks in the same key , it's a 1/12 chance after all, I'm sure there's plenty more!
@@Bthelick I'll mark it as a win for my pitch recognition! I heard those 2 kicks and that song started playing in my head, haha. Great tutorial (as usual) by the way!
Haha thanks, but THIS is me teaching music. If I was a full time teacher, I wouldn't be a professional at the thing I'm teaching! the fundamental paradox of the current education system. You ever wondered why so many school / collage syllabuses are so out of touch? I make music for a living, that's a rare gift, I won't be swapping that for teacher any time soon sorry! I'm not a fan of how most formal education systems go about teaching art anyway tbh. .
@@Bthelick such a pity, but fully undestand your point and completely agree with you about the education system. I spent a lot of money on it and and came out the other end with more questions than before I started. The reason for that was all the misinformation and rubbish we were fed. It confused the s*it out of us. Thankfully I came across your channel which is beginning to re-educate me and answer some of those questions. Thank you very much.
Thank you so far. Your content is amazing. But:That Video is not as helpful as your content used to be. There is a lack of structure and even the examples of songs you chosen are not relevant for me as a dj. The Songs you pick are not state of the art. Please take artists whose sound we alle try to achieve someday. Thank you
"used to be" ? This is an old video. Do you mean everything since is worse?? 🤣🤔😭 The previous video sets up the science and principle which applies to any music you wish to create. In this follow up video these are just my tracks as examples of said principle practical application (many of which go on to form the plots for the djs I write for) But I have to do this for copyright reasons also. The science is fundamental, and applicable across all the genres. I struggle to imagine that the range of genres I show here apply to no working djs.
This is before I’ve watched the video, but I’ve watch 2 videos and your ability to describe and explain concepts I’ve pondered for YEARS over, unable to find the right descriptions, and then explain it to me in a format so beautifully put together is phenomenal. Please keep doing your thing!
I keep saying this. Thank you. True mentor, teacher. Thank you so much. ❤
I write realy very seldom comments on youtube, but my sir your tutorials are just the very best one can find with regard to techno and especially minimal tech house… if you ever happen to be in frankfurt am main, germany please let me know to buy you a beer or two… I have also push 2, maschine mk3, maschine jam and any others keyboards and controllers, so you are always happily invited to jam session 😊
This series permanently added to my required reading list 😂 I’ve spent some serious time examining these details in past work and current projects and this is leveling up the game…. Thanks B 😎🖤🍭
An aha moment for me, thank you! Oh and nice to watch a video that has well balanced voice to music ratio, so often videos have the music really loud and the voice over really quiet.
Thank you s2
Hi, hope you are well!
I am new to the channel and fairly new to music production I am absolutely loving your no-nonsense approach to everything I have listened to so far! you have helped me massively, especially with this tuning issue of kicks! Makes perfect sense now! Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us!
Great video. I’ve taken a lot away from this 2 parter.
Amazing, thank you!
BOOM BOOM Thank ya man !!
Super professional. Thanks, so many useful things I have learned today!
Damn Bthelik, This is exactly what I was looking for in my next track idea. 😎🥵
Why did I think you'd be a classically trained musician. Studying here and there electronic music and music theory as a hobbyist, I haven't learnt so much in such a short time as watching your channel.
insanely insightful, maybe a video on choosing top sounds? hats, rides, shakers, other percussion?
Very interesting. I used to choose "short" kicks with "long" bass notes and vice versa (that is apart from tuning or not tuning them)
Thank you! Great concept!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge
Thank you Ander for the supporting comment! 👊🙏🤟
What are the downsides of using a droner kick and following the Changing notes of the bass by pitching the kick on midi.
Why would that clash with bass frequencies while if the bass was only “on the one”, it wouldn’t clash.
Depends what you want people to dance to!
Genres like hard style have done this. But that method will replace the bass though , not follow it typically. Having a kick and bass follow will most likely result in them phase cancelling each other at different points.
There can only be one bass instrument in a track, the waveforms are very long and vibrate slowly, so the changes of negative interference in the presence of another bass frequency at the same pitch is high as there is no guarantee of kicking phase unless it's exactly the same waveform.
Tracks on the 1 get away with it because they let the kick handle the bass frequencies and the bass above it is filtered.
Also Depending how far the notes move but moving it can leave holes in the weight of the track overall if it moves far enough, as there will no longer be a consistent bass frequency. And on any other playback systems than good studio monitors in a good room, you'll get loud and quiet pockets where the bass resonates or cancels in the room.
Also you risk loss of quality of bass. As unless the kick is synthesized by a synth, you'll be pitching a sample, which loses quality the further it is pitched from it's source. Without time stretching pitching it higher will shorten it, with time stretching it will be a mess phase-wise, and have unstable bass frequencies.
Genres like hard style , despite the aggression are actually very bass light, being extremely fast there isn't much time for the bass to develop anyway. So a kick that has moving pitch is fine for genres that don't rely on big bass.
For every other dance genre, bad idea imo.
thanks man!
Hi, just found your channel recently, and liking it. Also particularly liking the metallic lead in the Joey Beltram style track. Can you give some pointers on how to start getting something like that timbre. Thnx
do you mean the one from the Energy Crisis Track?
If so I've put a link to the patch in the description 👊
Hey mate, absolutely love your channel! I've seen many many tuts on you tube, but yours are quickly becoming my favourite. Very professional and explain everything in clear, concise detail. So thank you for that!
I was wondering if there is a video you have made, or if you are willing to make one, explaining how best to keep the energy of the bassline the same as the notes shift up and down in the melody. What i mean is that when i play a low note on my bassline, it obviously sounds more full, thicker etc. and then when the note a few semitones above is played, it sounds softer, thinner... i hope you understand. I would think there is more to it than simple compression that glues the bassline in as one and keeps the loudness/thickness/energy the same? When i hear my reference tracks, the basslines are usually as thick on one note as they are on the next. How do i keep the sub full/thick no matter what note is being played?
Hope that makes sense! Would love some sort of feeback on this if possible :) Thank you so much for your time and effort on these videos regardless.
If you're playing a bass line on synth and not a sample, then the bass should not change in energy certainly not that much just by moving a few notes.
A full thick bass can be achieved will a simple completey untreated sine wave that is all you need. (Alongside an appropriate kick of course too)
If you hear it change then that indicates a problem somewhere.
First check the bass solo'd and watch on some meter software (like Span) as you change notes. You should see that the level does not actually change between notes.
If this is the case but you can still HEAR a change, then that points to a problem somewhere in the listening environment.
Usually the room. Home setups often suffer from something called "room modes" (might wanna Google it) where the length, width, and height of your room will each happen to equal the same length of a waveform of certain bass note. And when you play a note that is the same it will resonate louder. Some notes may cancel too leaving those weaker.
You can verify if this is the case by checking on headphones. Even if the headphones are not "studio" quality with a true flat response, you might hear DIFFERENT notes as strong or weak. if you get a different result on headphones then you can confirm your listening setup needs help.
If the phenomena only occurs when the bass is NOT solo'd and ugly happens when inside the full track then you have a masking problem.
Some other element (usually kick) will be tuned to the same note of a bass note change, and when the bass moves to that notes it might be either masking it or adding to it.
If you DO measure a change on the meters,
then that means the synth patch has a problem. Either an oscillator is out of tune, unison is turned on, or there is a chorus effect on, or it has eq or compression on.
If your bass line is a sample and not a synth , and you measure it on meters and can see change, then either the sample player or the time stretch algorithm is messing with the phase of the lowest harmonic and causing cancellation.
Never rely on compression for volume leveling of electronic parts, electronic sounds rarely have any actual dynamics to level. I don't compress bass parts at all.
only live instruments that actually have severe dynamic range, like a vocal, or raw recording or live drums or acoustic guitar.
If the reference tracks have truly steady bass and yours don't then you are either hearing a long kick drum and not true sub bass, or your bass has some kind of process on it that is messing with your balance, like compression or eq.
You don't need ANYTHING to make an electronic sound even in energy, it already is! Take all effects off and see if it helps.
Watch my "key affects bass" and "how I can process bass" and "top tech House bass sounds" videos also that should clear some stuff up. 👊
@@Bthelick Absolutely amazing, thank you yet again for the awesome info! Very much appreciate your time and detailed response. I will certainly watch those videos to help me learn even more.
THANK YOU!
12:00 "Stranger Kicks" 😊
Thanks
Very kind of you Nick thanks
@@Bthelick first time I’ve ever subbed on RUclips, is by no means enough for the knowledge you share and the way you deliver it. Watched a few of yours now since the algorithm decided to send it my way. You seem to be the first I’ve seen on YT who actually wants to share knowledge rather than just push plugins and other bits and pieces.
@@adv8nturenick aw thankyou. Wanna buy a course?? 😜🤣🤣 (Joke I don't have one to sell haha)
@@Bthelick You should do some. 😊
Summary and Guidelines for Kicks from the Videos:
"Tuning Kicks: Why & When | Techno House Deep Dance Music"
"Tuning Kicks pt2: 10 Tracks and Styles Break Down"
"Kicks are a spectrum of "Divers" and "Droners"
- Divers are punchy without pitch
- Droners have a tail with pitch that can function as a bass
"Do you have to pitch a Kick?"
- this is preference and genre dependent
"Why should you use a pitched kick?"
- to stop the kick from interfering with bass
or
- to blend the kick with the bass
"Is the Kick a Bass or a Drum?"
depends on the genre, but ask: does the track have bass or not?
- Kick = Bass? Yes, use a pitched Kick often on the home note
- Kick is not a Bass? Depends on the aesthetic you are looking for;
Combining a Diver with Bass is always a viable option
"Is the bassline moving a lot?"
- Yes, use a diver to not clash with the bassline
Remember everything is preference and genre dependent. Those are some rules, time to break them!
Much love!
Thanks for putting that together 👊
Great summary!
Anyone else hear @ 3:35 Walker & Royce - I Don't Remember ?
Haha just listened yeah. Mostly because it's the same key.
Too hard kicks in the same key , it's a 1/12 chance after all, I'm sure there's plenty more!
@@Bthelick I'll mark it as a win for my pitch recognition! I heard those 2 kicks and that song started playing in my head, haha. Great tutorial (as usual) by the way!
Hate to break it to you but I don’t remember uses a short diver. I know this cause they went over the project of this song in a stream with Justin jay
You should consider teaching music production if you are not doing it already
Haha thanks, but THIS is me teaching music.
If I was a full time teacher, I wouldn't be a professional at the thing I'm teaching! the fundamental paradox of the current education system.
You ever wondered why so many school / collage syllabuses are so out of touch?
I make music for a living, that's a rare gift, I won't be swapping that for teacher any time soon sorry!
I'm not a fan of how most formal education systems go about teaching art anyway tbh. .
@@Bthelick such a pity, but fully undestand your point and completely agree with you about the education system. I spent a lot of money on it and and came out the other end with more questions than before I started. The reason for that was all the misinformation and rubbish we were fed. It confused the s*it out of us. Thankfully I came across your channel which is beginning to re-educate me and answer some of those questions. Thank you very much.
Thank you so far. Your content is amazing. But:That Video is not as helpful as your content used to be. There is a lack of structure and even the examples of songs you chosen are not relevant for me as a dj. The Songs you pick are not state of the art. Please take artists whose sound we alle try to achieve someday. Thank you
"used to be" ? This is an old video. Do you mean everything since is worse?? 🤣🤔😭
The previous video sets up the science and principle which applies to any music you wish to create. In this follow up video these are just my tracks as examples of said principle practical application (many of which go on to form the plots for the djs I write for)
But I have to do this for copyright reasons also.
The science is fundamental, and applicable across all the genres. I struggle to imagine that the range of genres I show here apply to no working djs.