Greetings.
Was wondering if anyone might be able to help me out. There is a kind of magic sound I'm looking for. I'm really happy with the tracks I make, and I fill out the spectrum nicely with good balance between separation and compression. But the overall sound is missing a kind of softness you hear on professional productions. My tracks have a louder, harsher sound. The sound profile I like is one I hear on these French techno records. It must be some kind of overall EQ treatment I guess.

Take a listen at this record:
http://youtu.be/bJnVmI0yLnA

It's really ridiculously simple but beautiful because it has that softness without losing focus. It's not a squashed, saturated sound. The drums and synths stay sounding electronic but they deal gently with the ear. I can't explain it. Music-wise it's no big deal to replicate this track. But the post-production is something else.

Another example:
http://youtu.be/AtU-lGA1-5U

What is the secret? Is it all taking place in a narrow band?

What I would do here is take the song I'm trying to shoot for, put it in an fft frequency analyzer, and then do the same for my own track. I'll just spend some time watching to see the differences in the spectrums, seeing what's missing(or too much of) in mine. I'll also put a HP and LP filter on the professional track (making a kind of bell filter), and try to zero in on all the frequencies a specific sound is taking.

Generally when starting out I found out that I had a lot of spikes in the 1-4k area, while the professional track had a smooth curve along the entire spectrum.

Hey that's not a bad idea. I'll give it a shot.

Don't know what your using to generate your sounds...you don't say...but I would use a Roland TR-808 emulation vst. There are a few good ones out there such as;


http://www.d16.pl/nepheton
They have parameters that allow you to screw with the pitch and envelope.
After you get the sound your after, add eq, a compressor or one that only deals with the transients. Your bound to soften them up doing that.

...and check this freeware out;


http://marvinpavilion.ojaru.jp/en/sound/vst.html
He has one each for hi-hat,snare,and kick....and don't forget to check out his other drum boxes on the same page!

My sounds are recorded into Audacity from hardware (sequencer and synth). I don't process them at all until after I've mixed them down, when I add a touch of compression and put a limiter on the end. The sounds are exactly the way I want them - I'm not after the 808 sound even though that's great. I listened to a lot of strange French records on Youtube and what those guys are doing is closest to my approach. They use unusual hardware synths (or patches on common synths) and drum machines so they have an unfamiliar sound. But they mix and master in such a way they end up with a particular sound profile. It's different from Detroit Techno - it's separated, not very squashed, nothing harsh coming through and the synths have a high resonance.

I guess you just don't get what I said about setting drum hit envelopes.
I will add, on account that you did notice something synthetic about the drum hits...
I believe I recognized modular synths being used....and possibly a properly set 808 snare with a modular white noise hit (sharp attack/longer release) layered over-top of the snare. It seems obvious to me it all about the individual sounds and their envelopes. Using a compressor set to clamp down on the attack very quickly, as in 'hard knee' is what i'm hearing. Using some EQ to cut the very top off the sounds might also be used as well. Experiment with those items. It's not post production in my opinion.

You still don't say what your sounds are...you ignore what I mentioned on compression/EQ and transient specific compression.
Also you say."The sounds are exactly the way I want them." then what do you want?

PS: you say "It's different from Detroit Techno." That's right..it's electro.

It seems obvious to me that you're wrong. Part of the story for why the drum sounds sound the way they do is the envelope shape of the drum sounds. But I was talking about the overall sound profile of those records. As for your hearing a 'properly set 808 snare with a modular/white noise hit'... That's a very specific thing to hear... Good luck to you.

Oh the great technical wizardry of setting the attack slope on a drum sound on a drum machine... Please consider my questions answered and I need nothing more from the great experts at this forum.
How many years does it take at KVR before you can introduce someone to what a compressor is and how it works and how to use it? Arrogant American punk.

Whenever I take a shit I hear an improperly set, distorted 808 cowbell with a slow attack rate, against a circa 1973 Minimoog backdrop. SLOW release. Usually it's a warm, smooth analog sound, the way I like it. Would you like details of what I ate too?