Please Help Me Matt Vander Boegh (Trap Cue Listing)

[ttully]

Hey Rob,

You are correct sir!!!
I'll be at the comedy club tomorrow night!


Tim

[johnnyrowing]

It is very encouraging to see y'all team up and give such focused feedback.

Way to go team!

[TuKatz]

Hello Everyone:

Again, thank you for all of your help with this track.

I have uploaded a revision of the track now at the following link: https://soundcloud.com/charles-a-wilson ... 19/s-rg8XR

I eliminated the intro, edited the entrances of the melody (arp), and changed the bass to (hopefully) something more 808-ish, and as Matt said, "Let her rip!!"

If you have a moment, please feel free to listen and let me know if I am closer.

Thank you everyone, I look forward to your comments.

[Paulie]

Definitely getting there, lots of good elements in here.

A few comments:

• The 808 still seems a little weak. Which DAW are you using? If you use Kontakt I highly recommend you get Urban Warfare made by Producer's Choice. You will not need another 808 once you have that. The 808 today is really the bass part now, lots of Trap tunes actually throw in an actual kick along with it, sometimes doing a different pattern.
• The synth that comes in at 0:54 sounds dated, doesn't fit IMHO. It also gets in the way of what is a good edit point.
• The reverb/delay on the strings that come in at 0:54 are not synced to the tempo... it really becomes noticeable during the breakdown section because it takes the tempo in a different direction making the groove sound loose or wrong.
• Something I've heard more than once and read as well: For each section of your song, think about what instrument you want to be the focus. There should only be one main focus at any time, other instruments need to step out of the way. So, if the Arp joins in a new section, bring the strings down a bit.
• I think the strings are too thick, or get in the way too much for the genre.

Have you compared your mix to any other trap tracks back to back? Trap is often a minimalist style with not a lot going on. The three reference tracks have a lot less going on, they are more ambient sounding. 808/kick, aggressive hi hats, one or two very simply synth patterns that don't change much at all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJLr9mpcY8Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm0wOf6C_II

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQDVaJwtDt4

Something I've done several times to learn a genre is to try and recreate a reference track on my own, figure out every instrument and then reproduce it. When you do that you end up with a nice template that can give you a visual of how complex/simple certain styles are. Also, vocals can be distracting, so I often search for the Karaoke version of a track on YouTube so I can hear musically what's going on.

Keep at it!

Paulie

[jaywilliams]

Hi Charles -

I certainly can't ad anything helpful, but I'm bookmarking this thread for the day I finally get enough courage to tackle Trap!

best of luck!

Jay

[TuKatz]

Hey Paulie:

Thanks for your feedback, you have some great suggestions there, will try to implement some of them. I am using Kontakt, using Battery for most of the drum sounds, maybe just haven't quite found the right 808 (the one I am using right now is a combination of 808 Kick with a separate BD that I have extended the release time, then I have processed it with a little saturation and increased the Sub Frequencies quite a bit, along with some compression). I will look into Urban Warfare, I may just need to add to my library here.

I will relisten again to the samples and re-evaluate. Like I mentioned in a previous post, I have a tendency to put too much into it, so posting here dose really help with trying to get it right (since I don't live the Trap lifestyle---LOL!!!). I am working on a second one right now to see where it will go and trying to put all these ideas in with it as well.

Thank you again Paulie for your comments. Have a great weekend.

[TuKatz]

Hi Charles -

I certainly can't ad anything helpful, but I'm bookmarking this thread for the day I finally get enough courage to tackle Trap!

best of luck!

Jay

Hey Jay:

No Problem. I figured this might be a good thread for everyone, I think this style is a little harder to get right then most people think it is. I have actually submitted to several of these listings in the past only to be returned, I am trying to learn from my previous entries plus what I can learn here, and with people like Matt Vander Boegh here who have had great success with the style, it is a great place to ask (hence the subject line ).

Enjoy the thread Jay (and others). I am glad this could be of help to everyone.

[ttully]

Hey Charles,

You are correct...Trap is definitely not as easy as it sounds!!!
You listen to a trap track and say... simple...I can do that....

But getting everything just right can be extremely challenging.


My 3 1/2 cents worth,
Tim

[TuKatz]

I had to scrap all my trap - crap! Also, I live in a cat flat with neither a cat flap, nor a mouse trap. "Die Maus muss raus aus dem Haus!" Tom

P.S.: I also bookmarked this thread. Thanks for all the comments!

Hey Tom, I like your clever rhyme, good stuff.

On that note I managed to do another cue just right before the deadline, I think it might be a little closer to the actual listing, not quite as epic as this one is. Anyway, I look forward to seeing what the screeners have to say.

Thanks again everyone, I will see you on the other side.