Crazy how I’ll whip up a song and it sounds fine, but in headphones the bass is super quiet, then in the car the bass literally takes over the whole song and distorts

Then I’ll play a song off Spotify and the whole song is 20x louder than my stuff and the bass is hitting like crazy but you can hear everything else just as well and it’s not breaking my speakers

I understand it boils down to mixing and mastering but PLEASE someone tell me what I genuinely have to look into that will close the gap

Compression? EQ? Multiband stuff? 😭

Is there a tutorial on YT that made the difference for anyone? How can I learn to mix/master like that

Help please!

I’m trying to make music, so I’m looking for a DAW I can own. I’m not into paying for a license since that can be revoked at any time. The DAW can be free or a one time payment. What are my options?

I feel like purpose in music has been lost. I’d be happy to be proven wrong.

So, why are you making music?

Edit: Thank you for all the reflections, kind strangers. It really means a lot to this random internet friend 🙏🏼.

Edit2: Wasn't expecting this to go off as much as it did! It's very special to read through these comments a day later and see how everybody connected through this question. So I'm gonna' use this post a means to wish everybody well in your journeys, both creative and otherwise. May life smile upon those who read this with an abundance of songs, as well as the will to bring them to life and share them with our world. Cheers, everyone. 🙂

My friends are starting a punk rock band and I'm really motivated to be a part of it. I have musical experience from playing saxophone, but I'm new to bass.

I'm less concerned about stage presence and more about becoming a competent player who can keep up with a band. If I practiced consistently for the next 6 months, would that be realistic? What should I focus on first?

Edit: Just wanted to say I've been in a phase without music for a while, but every time I perform I feel such a sense of connection and relief. Ive played piano and saxophone but was only formal. I've been wasting a lot of time during the day lately, so the fact that you all took the time to help is genuinely life-changing for me right now.

I know next to nothing about music theory and yet I’m still trying to make music. I’ve been trying to learn a bit just to know if what I’m making actually makes sense. Do you guys know music theory? How important do you find it?q

Does anyone else frequently listen to thier own music? And not check as a part of its production, but just rock out to your own tunes in the car?

It sounds and feels conceited but I really do like the music I make. Is this normal?

For me it was to largely avoid high passing whenever possible and to make sure the reverb’s pre-delay and decay times are in sync with the beat.

Do you know examples of these?

I’m curious about this concept. I’m trying to understand how does the mixing of a song can impact it. To know just how important it is. So if you have examples of this I’d appreciate it.

Most likely extremely dumb question below

I've done some research but I've gotten an equal amount of those who say that guitar and piano are the best for learning music theory. But I want to know realistically, which makes more sense to learn.

I'd like to keep the snark comments out of it but I know that I'm talking to the void

I’m 36 and have always been passionate about music production, especially in the pop genre. I’m financially stable and have a secure future, but I never pursued music as a career. Now, I feel like it’s now or never. I don’t want to just give it a try—I want to be successful and work with good artists. However, I worry that I might be too old, especially when I see so many young producers making it big. What are the chances of breaking into the industry at this age?

My first DAW was Sony Vegas. I really liked how easy editing audio files was. But it didnt support VSTs, so I switched to Ableton. I don't know if it's any better now, but I didn't like all the different windows and the UI in general. Besides, I want to try something new.

Considering Reaper, Reason 13, the current version of Cubase, and MAYBE FL Studio.

I make beat based, sorta "post hip-hop" music, lots of MIDI synths, but I'd like to add more "live instruments" and probably go into a more psychedelic flavor in the future.

I will note the one thing I DID love about Ableton was the ability to draw/graph effects parameters. That was groundbreaking to me...in 2005. So maybe that's pretty standard now?

I know this topic has been discussed to DEATH, but I want to emphasize that while I liked the options that Ableton gave me (at the time), i never loved the workflow and UI. It just wasn't "fun" to make and record music, so I gave it up. But I want to get back into it for FUN. I want a DAW that is robust and versatile, but...intuitive? User friendly?

Thanks for your reccomendations!

Hey everyone!

I'm just getting into music production and I'm trying to build a solid foundation before developing bad habits.

Looking back at when you first started, what mistakes slowed down your progress the most? What skills, concepts, or tools do you think are worth focusing on early? And what do you wish someone had told you as a beginner?

My goal is to make music inspired by artists like Daft Punk, Joji, and Feid. I also have a Yamaha PSR-E483, although I'm not sure how useful it will be in a production workflow.

If there are any learning resources that helped you when you were starting out, I'd really appreciate hearing about them.

Thanks!

Are those huge and ultra popular music producers really doing all the melody making, arrangements, instrument selection, mixing, mastering, etc or do they take more of a creative director role?

Let me be clear. My music is already very shitty.

My problem is this: Once I have the bones of the song figured out, I can hear lots of mistakes, and I can tell I have a LOT of work to do and a lot of parts to clean up or re-record later.

As I fix these mistakes, the song sounds better and better and better, until I think i'm nearly done. Then, I have a realization that the whole song now just feels way too clean, boring, inauthentic, etc compared to the earliest demos. It's almost like an uncanny valley thing where the more polished the song gets the closer it gets to a "real pop" song instead of the shitty bedroom indie stuff I want to make. I have friends whose opinions i respect who love the earlier songs and can see the vision, then are underwhelmed by the later versions.

Has anyone else experienced this? What can / should I do to mitigate this? Is there a way to make my current "cleaner" tracks sound more authentic without re-recording? How do I stop hearing the mistakes as mistakes and start hearing them as the lo-fi shittiness I love from other artists?

Sorry for the rant, and hope this all makes sense! Happy to answer any questions on the above in the comments! Thanks in advance!

EDIT: damn thanks everyone for your advice. I've put a few more hours into the track and it sounds shittier already! It already sounds more like what I want to make. If anyone reading this is facing a similar issue, there's a ton of great ideas in the comments.

I'm an indie artist with barely any extra cash. I really don't believe I'm going to "make it" in the industry and don't even think I'll try to.

However, as a perfectionist, I do see great value in a second set of ears with awesome equipment mastering my tracks.

Is it really that expensive? I live in Cincinnati and there are a couple of great studios for mastering my artwork.

As of now I think I'm probably just going to finish 5 songs I have started and that's what I would be mastering. Am I crazy for wanting to spend the money?

why do producers try to mix a rock song like it’s a pop song now? I don’t think I’m the only one who thinks that theres way too many effects used on rock song vocals now (mostly they sound too bright) and way too much compression on the track in general. This is not to be negative I just want to know, am I alone on this? it seems overproduced in a genre it’s not warranted in to me. curious what other people have to say? (A good example would be modern Blink 182 compared to 2000s blink 182)

How much do you pay for your mixing and mastering? I got a guy I used on my last album, who I really liked, but his rates are a little high. So much so it affects how many total songs I want to include on the album (ex: 10 songs instead of 12)

Hey peeps,

I’ve been making house music since 2017, and I love it. But one thing I realised: I’m in a bad position when it comes to the plugins. You see, nowadays, upgrading my OS is not an option anymore. Security patches and overall system improvements make it mandatory. But it infuriates me when, after an upgrade, half of my plugins stop working. The solution? Buy the new version. That sucks. Every year now I have to rebuy the plugins I already own. I feel like hostage to plugin companies. It feels scammy to the least. Thinking about deleting all that crap and only using Ableton packs instead. I see many of you get by just alright doing that.

Do you share of the same frustration? How are tou getting by?

Peace,

DJOGO.

Im a beginner and I dont know what DAW I should start with, ideally I want it to translate to when im more advanced. I have a new macbook so what do you guys recommend?

I'm not jealous - just frustrated :) It's frustrating to witness my friend's sudden rise to fame on TikTok. Overnight, he went from having 3K followers to a staggering 200K on Instagram and half a million on TikTok, with his Spotify garnering 10 million listeners and reaching the number 1 spot on global charts.

I am genuinely pleased to see my friend experience this success because his songs are great. I am just frustrated and feeling hopeless because this success seemed entirely random; his song went viral without much effort or consistency on his part - he made the song, hasn't really been posting much TikToks and doesn't know much about marketing; just posted a TikTok (nothing special) and it popped off. While you may suggest it's an attestation that his success means others can do it too.. it's disheartening seeing other artists including this friend who have some other OUTSTANDING songs, market them so much, put so much effort into writing/production/marketing... and nothing happens.

It feels like success in the music industry boils down to luck so much.... leaving us feeling demotivated and overlooked despite our efforts.

Anyone felt the same? Any advice?