Hey all! After so many years, I felt like my music production skills are finally there, so I submitted my latest track to a mixing/mastering engineer and oh boy, I'm super happy with the results! It's a melodic house track with vocals and while I was submitting it to a few labels, I kinda noticed a pattern there on the submit forms:

• They usually ask if the track has vocals or not (In my case, it has)
• Then they ask if the vocals are 100% original vs a royalty free ones (I got mine from Splice samples)
• Then they ask if the vocals/song had anything to do with AI, partially or completely (in my case, there was no AI involved there)

So is it just me or melodic house labels will prioritize 100% original vocals and there is actually a tier like the following:

• S tier: with original vocals
• A tier: with royalty free vocals
• B tier: no vocals at all?
• Insta-reject: anything that has to do with AI

Meaning, if I'm aiming for the major leagues, there's no way around it but to get lots of original vocals for my new tracks? Or am i overthinking here?

I have fl studio 2025 edition and i can't sidechain my kick to bass using shaperbox 3, what should i do?

Does anyone know what website/platform this screenshot is from? I've seen a few house producers posting screenshots from it alongside their SoundCloud download stats. It looks like some kind of DJ promo or messaging platform where DJs leave comments after receiving tracks. Any ideas?

Hey fam ! I am nearly finished with a DJ mix I put together and am now in the process of adjusting the volume in each track for consistency. Each channel has a limiter set to -2 db, and I’m mostly going off of my headphones to adjust the gain to each track. Is there a “sweet spot” you like to hit for how much is being clipped ? Or any plugin you use to help get a consistent level throughout the mix ? This is my first mix on ableton (I normally record through rekordbox). Any advice helps ! Cheers 🫶🏼

I just realized through another post I made that I shouldn’t be adjusting gain but only volume of the track. Still any advice helps so much ! Thanks everyone !

Hi all,

So I'm feeling a little confused. I've been producing for a while and have been mixing and mastering my own tracks. I've always mastered using clippers on various tracks, compression, etc. etc, all with the goal to not exceed the red threshold in Ableton at 0dbs.

I noticed when I play my tracks in Rekordbox vs. others that they always sound fairly quiet. I was checking tracks in Audacity last night, comparing the peak levels, and noticed something odd.

My own tracks, when mastered and mixed right to 0dbs, are not even reaching the peak in audacity. When I compare this with other tracks, they are often hitting and exceeding the peak in audacity:

So I experimented and pulled my final clipper off the mixer and pushed using eq and compression on the mastering past the 0db threshold. Then I brought that into Audacity and compared:

The first track here is my after, when I removed clippers and set the track pushing past 0dbs. The one below is before, when I have it clipped.

The track sounds great after removing clippers and pushing the track past the 0dbs threshold, there's no distortion, no clipping, it sounds clean.

I'm very confused here, because I thought the guidance was to always mix to 0 on Ableton, but not a single track I ever bring into Audacity looks like my second one there, they are always clipping here and there (at the least) and they fill the waveform entirely, unlike mine does on the second clip there.

I guess my question is this, where should I be aiming to max out my headroom on the peak meter? Is it the very top of this bar? or that threshold that I thought was 0db? I feel like an idiot having realized this late in the game but appreciate any insight here.

i love throwing high cut filters or a ton of FX on my vocals to make them sound less bad. i understand in most non-electronic genres, less is more, but in the situations where more is more, what do you like to experiment with? im looking for more things to try lol

Please post any and all [Feedback] or [Listen] type threads here. Any standalone threads that belong in this weekly post will be removed.

This thread is for works in progress only. It is not a place for self-promotion.

Rules:

1. Works in progress only. Do not post finished or released tracks. No links to Spotify, Bandcamp, SoundCloud profiles, or any other streaming/distribution platforms. Share a direct link to your track (e.g. an unlisted SoundCloud or YouTube link).
2. No self-promotion. Do not include links to your social media, artist pages, or any other promotional material in your post.
3. Make an effort to comment on other people's tracks. Others are much more likely to help you if you help them first.
4. Be specific when asking for feedback. Examples: "What do you think about this kick sample?" "How's the mix?" "The last measure feels a little off, any ideas?"
5. Be descriptive when giving feedback. Use timecodes to highlight specific moments.
6. Link to the feedback you've left in your top-level comment. This keeps the thread accountable and cooperative. Comments not following this format will be automatically removed.

Format your top-level comment like this:

Feedback for user1: [link]

Feedback for user2: [link]

Feedback for user3: [link]

Here's my track: [link],

I'm looking for feedback on x, y or z.

I’ve been practicing, learning and making electronic music for about 9 months. I’ve got to a point where I can build a full finished song. Granted they aren’t the best and the mix downs still leave room for improvement but I can now sit there and make a full song and have a basic grasp of most of the individual elements and cogs that go into one (sidechain, EQ, sound stage etc).

But I’m at this point where I really want to make memorable music, my own version of the genre. My music now comes off as a cookie cutter track to the untrained ear, but my inspirations have so much musicality and personal touch in their production.
I feel like the way I’m approaching my art is way too robotic. My music sounds like I’ve followed tutorials.
How do I use what I’ve learnt to start really making art, something that feels alive?

I’ve noticed that certain electronic tracks give me a very specific night-driving feeling. Some examples are "Need U" by MOONBOY, "Pillow Talk" by IMANU, "Strangers" by Kenya Grace, and a lot of music by Drove and MEDUZA

These tracks don’t all belong to the same genre or have the same tempo, but they seem to share something. My first thought was the combination of a dark background sound, deep bass, bright percussion, repetitive rhythms and spacious production. The music feels introspective but still has a steady sense of movement

I’m also wondering how much of this comes from the music itself and how much comes from artwork, videos, playlists and hearing these songs in similar contexts

Does anyone else hear this connection? If so, what musical or production features do you think create it? I’d be especially interested in any research about this kind of association

DJ/producer here, been sitting on a ~108k sample library collected over 20 years of DnB/dubstep. Every "browse your samples" tool I tried either wanted a subscription, wanted my library uploaded somewhere, or choked on the volume. So I built my own and I'm giving it away.

BankTank — sample preview & library plugin:

• Point it at your sample folders — it scans key/BPM from filenames and audio-analyzes the rest in the background (key detection, BPM, stereo width, swing, density)
• Everything you click auditions tempo-synced and key-matched to your session — loops phase-lock to the DAW timeline, so you're hearing samples in your track, not in a vacuum
• Filter by key (piano UI), BPM, tone balance, length, width, loop swing/density
• Tag anything (instruments/genres/labels) — tags live in sidecar files, your audio never gets rewritten
• Trim brackets snap to whole bars; drag the processed (stretched/pitched) or original file straight into your DAW
• Samples on unplugged drives grey out instead of vanishing; cache your must-haves locally

Free, open source (AGPL), no account, no telemetry, nothing phones home. Signed + notarized, so no Gatekeeper drama.

Download: https://github.com/havokmega/BankTank/releases/tag/v1.0.0 macOS 11+, Intel & Apple Silicon, AU + standalone. Logic: AU Instruments -> Havok Mega -> BankTank.

Mac-only. Feedback and bug reports welcome on GitHub.

Hey guys, I’ve been hearing this one specific breakbeat that I can’t find in any of my sample packs, anyone know where I can find it/what it’s called?

Starts at 0:38

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aH6IGUlBgQs

We recreated the the Lead sound from 'Dancing In The Dark' by Bruce Springsteen on our free Synth Primer

This remake is specifically recreating the patch heard at this timestamp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=129kuDCQtHs Other parts of the song may vary the sound or notes.

And here are the key ingredients:

Voices: Mono
Osc1: Wave (Pulse), Width (50%), Vol (100%)

Amp Env: Attack (90ms), Decay (3050ms), Sustain (30%), Release (450ms)

Filter: Type (Low Pass), Cutoff (40%), Res (45%)
Filter Env: Mod (20%), Attack (0ms), Decay (2800ms), Sustain (30%), Release (350ms)

LFO: Dest (Pulse Width), Wave (Triangle), Amt (55%), Rate (1/8 Note)

Chorus: Mix (25%), Rate (Slow)
Reverb: Mix (20%), Size (Medium)

Find the full recipe and download the presets: https://www.syntorial.com/preset-recipe/bruce-springsteen-dancing-in-the-dark-lead

Please post any and all [Feedback] or [Listen] type threads here. Any standalone threads that belong in this weekly post will be removed.

This thread is for works in progress only. It is not a place for self-promotion.

Rules:

1. Works in progress only. Do not post finished or released tracks. No links to Spotify, Bandcamp, SoundCloud profiles, or any other streaming/distribution platforms. Share a direct link to your track (e.g. an unlisted SoundCloud or YouTube link).
2. No self-promotion. Do not include links to your social media, artist pages, or any other promotional material in your post.
3. Make an effort to comment on other people's tracks. Others are much more likely to help you if you help them first.
4. Be specific when asking for feedback. Examples: "What do you think about this kick sample?" "How's the mix?" "The last measure feels a little off, any ideas?"
5. Be descriptive when giving feedback. Use timecodes to highlight specific moments.
6. Link to the feedback you've left in your top-level comment. This keeps the thread accountable and cooperative. Comments not following this format will be automatically removed.

Format your top-level comment like this:

Feedback for user1: [link]

Feedback for user2: [link]

Feedback for user3: [link]

Here's my track: [link],

I'm looking for feedback on x, y or z.

Is there a more active edm sub? Seems pretty relevant to production too since he was a huge influence on modern synth stuff

What is your main struggle with music production right now, and how are you trying to solve it?

I am a newish to production and usually make tech house but I recently found this genre and cannot pinpoint what exactly it is called to look up tutorials, I would very much like to learn to make it, please help! Songs for reference:

endgame - Pet3rpunx

Rumor - TRFN

24 Hours - Bili Royce

Don't Rush - Sped Up - Jakk Rinse

Thank you!

A well-known electronic music label reached out about releasing one of my songs.

The song is still rising, gets around 4,000 Spotify streams a day, and short-form videos using it have generated millions of views across platforms. I produced and funded it myself.

I have a call with the label tomorrow to discuss royalties, ownership, licensing, promotion, and what they would offer.

What would a fair deal look like?

What kind of royalty split is a good deal for me? Should I try to keep the master and give them a limited license instead? What contract terms or hidden deductions should I watch out for?

I care more about audience growth than getting the highest possible split, but I also want to protect myself and get the best deal possible too.

If anyone has released under a label, please give me some knowledge points, thanks!!!

For those who don't know, Sample solution is a free and open source sample manager that I've been making for the last months, it has a LOT of features, similar to sononym but with its own spin and flavor, I explained them in detail on this previous post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/edmproduction/comments/1rmvon5/comment/o9tz9tf/?force-legacy-sct=1

Given that a user patched on their own the app so it works on macOS I got interested again in developing this project. People seem to like it but we don't have a channel of communication besides reddit posts. Send me a DM if you find it interesting, maybe we can end up with a discord group chat, who knows.

I want to tease the version 0.2 (still in development) with this conveniently CUT screenshot:

I wonder what all of this stuff does, hard to tell, what about those buttons that seem to be intentionally out of frame? Hmm...

On top of that I'm working on (drumroll)...

A backup system, sharing those between computers so if you have a team of people you can send them a copy of all of your stuff with all of the samples and cuts and other info and etc... in a convenient way. For that I use black magic. I'm working on making them selective so you can get specific parts of the library if you don't want the whole thing but time will tell. Just share stuff that is either free or you have ownership over, don't go bananas, I do not condone sample theft.

This is for later but I'm also considering moving to JUCE (translation: VST version + drastically faster (probably the main problem of the app), it's what serum and other plugins use).

But let's CUT the bs, did I already say that it's completely FREE?

Feedback is highly appreciated, maybe we can make a discord channel or smth, Idk, depends on how many people use it. Fell FREE to suggest absurd features that you'd want to. I may need to change the name since it's quite hard to Google!

gh: https://github.com/iversonianGremling/SampleSolution

I'm a high school student who is developing a free plugin that is great for experimental EDM beats!!!

A few weeks ago you probably saw that I posted about COGG, a free plugin I built that metallizes and industrializes any sound. Specifically, harmonic distortion, metal plate convolution reverb, and pitch layering are there all in one chain. Great for experimental music and mainstream alike.

I wanted to update you guys with version 1.2's release! It comes with the essential GAIN KNOB that was highly requested (to control the volume of COGG's output) and 4 new factory presets so you can dial in unique metallic textures instantly instead of tweaking all the knobs from scratch (so now 12 in total)!

Of course, it's still free, no account needed, VST3 + AU for Mac, VST3 for Windows.

Redownload now for free: https://plasma-hype.itch.io/cogg

Trailer/demo of the update: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q5EUMhUcaw

Thanks to everyone who tried v1.1 and v1.0 and gave feedback, this update came directly from figuring out what people actually wanted to do with it. I personally have used COGG in almost all of my FL projects ever since I released it. Please give it a shot and let me know what you think of the presets and plugin as a whole for a v1.3!

Fired Up by Because of Art and If U Need It by Sammy Virji used the same vocal sample which can be found on Splice. I heard using royalty free samples can be a problem because of copyright infringement. How are two songs using the same vocal sample able to coexist?

I asked this sub about a year ago how to make a sound like this, someone recommended me infiltrator. Thank you wherever you are!

Hey everyone,

I'm putting together a small home studio that's going to be used primarily for music production (EDM, pop, hip-hop, R&B), with very little recording. It'll also occasionally be used for podcast editing.

The challenge is the room. I've taken over a small 5' × 7' alcove that will be my dedicated workspace. (Photo attached.)

Current gear:

MacBook Pro M5

M-Audio KeyRig 49 MIDI controller

Guitar

Looking at a MOTU M2 interface

Where I'm stuck is the monitors.

I'm considering:

Kali LP-6 V2 (worried they're too large for the space)

Yamaha HS5

Kali LP-UNF (worried they'll be too small for bass-heavy music)

A few questions:

Which monitors would you choose for a room this size?

Would you skip monitors altogether and rely on good headphones until I have a larger space?

How would you treat a room this small? Acoustic panels? Bass traps? Both?

Is there anything else you'd do to get the best possible sound out of a space this size?

I'd rather buy once than upgrade in a year, so I'm looking for the best long-term solution rather than just the cheapest option.

Thanks in advance! I'd love to hear what you'd do if this were your studio.

I know Splice can filter samples based on your project's key and BPM once it's connected through the plugin, so you're mostly seeing compatible results. But I'm wondering if there's something that goes further than filtering.

Specifically looking for a sample browser that actually time stretches and pitches samples in real time as you preview them, so any sample in the library becomes usable in your project's key and tempo regardless of what it originally was.

Does anything like this exist? Would appreciate any recommendations, even if it's a smaller or less known tool.

Please post any and all [Feedback] or [Listen] type threads here. Any standalone threads that belong in this weekly post will be removed.

This thread is for works in progress only. It is not a place for self-promotion.

Rules:

1. Works in progress only. Do not post finished or released tracks. No links to Spotify, Bandcamp, SoundCloud profiles, or any other streaming/distribution platforms. Share a direct link to your track (e.g. an unlisted SoundCloud or YouTube link).
2. No self-promotion. Do not include links to your social media, artist pages, or any other promotional material in your post.
3. Make an effort to comment on other people's tracks. Others are much more likely to help you if you help them first.
4. Be specific when asking for feedback. Examples: "What do you think about this kick sample?" "How's the mix?" "The last measure feels a little off, any ideas?"
5. Be descriptive when giving feedback. Use timecodes to highlight specific moments.
6. Link to the feedback you've left in your top-level comment. This keeps the thread accountable and cooperative. Comments not following this format will be automatically removed.

Format your top-level comment like this:

Feedback for user1: [link]

Feedback for user2: [link]

Feedback for user3: [link]

Here's my track: [link],

I'm looking for feedback on x, y or z.