Ncore - Sanity Check/Wasted [Hardstyle]

[Ncore]

Well to start things off, here are my lastest 2 tracks:

http://soundcloud.com/dj-ncore-1/ncore-wasted
http://soundcloud.com/dj-ncore-1/ncore-sanity-check

I hope to get some feedback, and most of all i hope you enjoy

[tenko]

Hi Ncore,

Imo the intro and outro were the best parts to be in the first song. It went into what seemed to be the main melody with another version of it using another instrument so I thought it ok at least.

I'm not feeling the second song, and don't like the kick. Was the sample in that from the movie "Red Dragon"? I'm not a Hardstyle producer and haven't officially tried my first track but I do like Hardstyle. Nice to see more artist in that genre. Thanks for sharing!

[Ncore]

Hey Tenko,

Thanks for the feedback! In Sanity Check i used samples from sillence of the lambs Thought it matched the dark/crazy atmosphere i was trying to create in that track, although the quality of the samples where kind of bad but ahwell

[The Void]

Hi Ncore!

I'm just going to generalise my points of both tracks into one so that you don't have to read the same thing twice. I'm also going to tell you lots on what to improve on since I am a hardstyle producer so these tips will help you.

Main thing I notice in both tracks is the structure of the tracks. The way that the tracks are built up need a lot more work. There are not many percussion elements in your tracks so you need to get more of them in. Snares help to build up the energy before the drop of the climax or intro and so on. Claps keep the rhythm of the track going and keeps the energy up. Rides help to sustain the feeling in the track when used correctly. Crashes are good for drops & hihats can build up a nice rhythm. You should also try to use more sounds to keep the the tracks interesting. When the track stays with the same patterns for more than 8 bars they start to get boring so you need to filter in new sounds, take out others , make different patterns of the existing sounds or add some percussion to it. To help with the main structuring of tracks you should take some of your favourite hardstyle tracks (Full versions, not radio edits or rips from youtube) and listen to how the producer has used the sounds and how they have kept the track interesting! This is the best way to learn how to structure a track.

The next thing is the mixdown of your tracks. The balance of the sounds is very important in every genre of music so you need to make sure you get that right. The balance of the sounds is done through EQ, Panning, Reverb & Volume. The EQ is to make sure that the sounds fit together well and the frequencies do not clash. By lowering the mid range of a sound you generally are moving the sound further back in the mix, whilst when you raise the mids it moves closer. The panning leaves more room in the track for other sounds to go. So if you pan something left this will free up the right so you can add an additional sound there. However you should never pan the kick drum or any bass sounds. The reverb can change how far back in the mix a sound is. Lots of reverb moves the sound back. Every sound should have some reverb on it.

The next thing is to work on your own sound design. This makes the tracks more unique to you & more individual. To make leads & screeches I would recommend: Sylenth1, Dune, Zebra2.5, Z3ta+2 & NI Massive. For FX sounds I would use: Sylenth1 & NI Massive. You should also play around with distortion, filters & phasers when making sounds.

The kicks in your tracks need a lot more eq & the punch in the first one needs replaced completely. The lead sounds are also too thin so you need to add extra layers & raise the mids. Also be careful with how much bass you cut from the lead. If you cut too much it gets thin, too little & it will clash with the kick.

You do have some nice ideas in the track & it is always nice to see new people picking up hardstyle. So hopefully my feedback will help you to improve. (Sorry for mainly negative comments but I find I learn better when people actually tell me what's wrong with a track)

So don't give up & persevere. You don't suddenly become an amazing producer. In most cases it takes several years before you get good recognition. So things will happen slowly but you will be able to tell

Regards
The Void