The art of choosing the right sounds

[Fade]

Something that I have always noticed is how a lot of producers will use what I deem "cheesy" sounds in their beats. Most of the time it's newbies that do it because they don't know any better, but I still hear many people doing it.

For example, when I'm reviewing beats for the Attack of the Beats show, sometimes guys have a great composition, arrangement, etc., but the sounds are not great.

Why do you think that is?

It's like when I first started, I had nothing but the cheese oozing from my Casio keyboard so I used that along with the General MIDI stuff in Cakewalk. But it's just nowadays there's just so many sounds to choose from, why would someone still use the crappy ones?

I'm just hoping it's not some new trend where those wack sounds become the norm.

 

[thedreampolice]

Because people are either lazy or they don't understand how much tone matters. If you want a unique sound that's yours, composition is only half the battle. Only use the stock stuff if you can tweak it and make it your own!

 

[Fade]

Because people are either lazy or they don't understand how much tone matters. If you want a unique sound that's yours, composition is only half the battle. Only use the stock stuff if you can tweak it and make it your own!

Agreed. It's just I see it as all too common today. I keep telling guys to do what they're doing but just switch out the sounds and get something nice. It's like learning how to play the piano with a cheap Casio but eventually you need to play on a Grand Piano.

 

[Steven Cohen]

true stock sounds suck

 

[ApolloMusic]

I think it depends on personal preference really. I'm not really that much into tweaking sound, I mostly use stock presets and tweak them a bit so it matches what's in my head. I kinda compensate by using live guitar in most of my tracks and sometimes recording my own percussion and effects. I think it creates a balance with the stock presets that I use.
So as said, it must be a matter of preference and possibly of musical taste, if you always listen to cheesy music, you're gonna use cheesy sounds.

 

[wrightboy]

using stock sounds, and thinking that the faster you make a beat, the better it is/you are. i don't know when we got to the point that it's cool to brag about making a beat in 10 minutes, or not writing rhymes. that's why music sounds like shit now. nobody's putting in any time or effort.

 

[vaYce]

Most of them probably want to show off to their friends so they try to use sounds that people are familiar with already, I think it's just a beginner stage-type thing that some people stay in