"Three Tears" - EMO TRAP any closer?

[jaywilliams]

hey guys lemme see if this is any closer to what its supposed to sound like?

https://s.disco.ac/arrmenqymxrp

going for this EMO TRAP listing with a deadline of Wednesday night

any/all feedback welcome

thank youuuuu

Jay

//
Lots of EMOTIONAL TRAP (EMO-TRAP) INSTRUMENTAL CUES are needed by a new division of a Music Licensing Company that gets tons of placements in TV Shows and is now expanding!
NOTE: They’re currently building a few new catalogs, so this is a killer opportunity to start a relationship with an awesome company!
They're looking for Mid-to-Up-Tempo Instrumental Cues in the general stylistic wheelhouse of the following references:
“Lucid Dreams (Instrumental)” by Juice WRLD
“SAD! (Instrumental)” by XXXTENTACION
“Betrayed (Instrumental)” by Lil Xan
Give them well-crafted Trap Instrumental Cues that effectively deliver a sad and/or melancholy mood and feel. Your submissions should be rhythmically engaging from start to finish and have contemporary Trap elements.
Stick to a central motif throughout, and give your Cues a developmental arc that gives the editors some options!
Hint: That will increase your chances of getting your Cues used more often!
TAXI Tip: Please be sure your virtual instruments and samples sound current (not dated), and are of high quality!
All submissions should be around 90 seconds to 2 minutes in length (give or take). Non-faded, Buttoned/Stinger endings will work best. Please do NOT copy the referenced material in any way, shape or form. Use them only as a general guide for tempo, texture, tone, and overall vibe. Do NOT submit any material with unauthorized samples of other artists’ music, sounds or any form of media. Broadcast Quality is needed.
This company offers an EXCLUSIVE deal. You’ll split any upfront sync fees 50/50. They’ll get 100% of the Publisher’s share, and you’ll get 100% of the Writer’s share. You must own or control 100% of your Master and Copyright. Since this is an EXCLUSIVE deal, please be sure the material you submit for this pitch is NOT already signed with other Libraries or Catalogs.
Please submit as many Instrumental Cues as you'd like, online or per CD. All submissions will be screened and critiqued by a TAXI Screener who also works for the Licensing Company! Sweet - you'll get heard by one of the "deciders." Submissions must be received no later than 11:59 PM (PDT) on Wednesday, April 15th, 2020. TAXI # S200415ET

[WhiteKix]

Hi Jay,
I think you are getting closer, but I few tweaks I would recommend are:

Hi-hats - at some point you have to bring in the typical trap hi-hat on every 8th note (I think it is 8th note). Then you can can very the pattern and don't forget to add some hi-hat rolls where the volume/velocity ramps up (or down).

808 - You have a cool bass sound in there, but there is no hard hitting 808 bass with punch. Just listen to the 808 in Lucid Dreams, it hits hard (I am having a hard time getting that sound as well).

Piano - The other two reference tracks have a little more ambient sounding synth/pianos in them. I would suggest you apply some processing on your piano to make a little more atmospheric. Some reverb, delay, saturation, etc.. would make it sound more like the references.

Good Luck,
Scott

[jaywilliams]

Hi Jay,
I think you are getting closer, but I few tweaks I would recommend are:

Hi-hats - at some point you have to bring in the typical trap hi-hat on every 8th note (I think it is 8th note). Then you can can very the pattern and don't forget to add some hi-hat rolls where the volume/velocity ramps up (or down).

808 - You have a cool bass sound in there, but there is no hard hitting 808 bass with punch. Just listen to the 808 in Lucid Dreams, it hits hard (I am having a hard time getting that sound as well).

Piano - The other two reference tracks have a little more ambient sounding synth/pianos in them. I would suggest you apply some processing on your piano to make a little more atmospheric. Some reverb, delay, saturation, etc.. would make it sound more like the references.

Good Luck,
Scott

Greatly appreciate your suggestions Scott, thank you so much!

Yeah I've definitely been hunting through all my samples to find the right sounding synth lead for these trap tracks.

They seem to use a lot of pitch shifting or phasing to create different sounds which is a technique I haven't played with much.

Funny you should suggest more delay or reverb, I specifically made this track dryer after CTFM called me out for my tracks always sounding so wet.

lol

I'm pulling myself in multiple directions at once right now so it's unlikely that I'll get these dialed in in time for the current listing, but nothing like a real life opportunity (that I'll be missing, dangit!) to help me get focused.

Thanks again for your help Scott I truly appreciate you!

Jay

[WhiteKix]

Jay,
This tutorial was helpful for me on getting the 808 bass sound. It is for Reason, but you can either apply the techniques to your DAW/Synth of choice or I am sure there are some good tutorials to create the sound in your DAW.
https://youtu.be/kzRiE3OQKTE

[AlanHall]

Jay,
This tutorial was helpful for me on getting the 808 bass sound. It is for Reason, but you can either apply the techniques to your DAW/Synth of choice or I am sure there are some good tutorials to create the sound in your DAW.
https://youtu.be/kzRiE3OQKTE

From someone entirely unfamiliar with this style, I think these videos are great! Now I
1) know what an 808 is (other than a reference to a drum machine), and
2) that I can make this sound without a specific sample library or software package.
Thanks for sharing!

[WhiteKix]

I should have included this link as well. Again, a Reason video, but covers the basics of Trap drums, and is can be applied across all DAWs.
https://youtu.be/0HhTTdhtbO8

[AlanHall]

I should have included this link as well. Again, a Reason video, but covers the basics of Trap drums, and is can be applied across all DAWs.
https://youtu.be/0HhTTdhtbO8

nice!