Tips for fattening up layers.

[Any Good Username?]

When i hear my song, it feels like something is missing.

Any tips for fattening up layers?

[manducator]

Subtle delays, reverbs and chorus, parallel processed.

Less subtle; copy the midi to an octave higher or lower.

[MKojo]

Increase the stereo width of the higher frequencies,this gives it more space.
keep the bass mono,for more punch.

With the individual sounds,you could have certain instruments play chords and others play individual notes,making the overall sound much bigger.

[matchene]

something i especially enjoy doing with my tracks is finding what area of the frequency spectrum a specific part of my song is missing (use a notch filter and a spectrum analyzer, and move it around in your track until you find a "dead" area), and create a slightly quieter synth that plays either the chord progression, the melody, or even a counter point melody. another thing that tends to sound nice is layering either perfect 4ths or 5ths above and/or below the melody (use the same midi just transposed here), whichever one sounds the best is the one you should use.

[Entropy Factory]

This might be obvious, but compression and/or saturation can both really beef up a track. Another good way to add beef is just to clone your synthesizer (assuming this is MIDI-based) and have it play the same thing, just adjust the waveforms a bit. Detuning can also make stuff sound huge.

It might help if you were a bit more specific as to what you're trying to layer.

[Aleatoriac]

Cool tip matchene! I used to be able to hear well enough to do this, but now I have to use spectrum analyzers. Old age... is a killer

I like to use mid side EQ and boost highs (or cut lows) only on side channel for a lot of things.

Double midi an octave higher, and another option is to actually play in left and right parts separately (manual double tracking) with slightly different sounds. Maybe.

[ImNotDedYet]

If it's MIDI and not sample-based, duplicate the track and go into the synth that produced the sound. Modify the amp envelope and modulate filter cutoff/resonance, or just change some parameters within the oscillator/filter cutoff/resonance. Then mix the two tracks volume wise for the "main" to take focus and the "background sound" to sit in the back a bit.

[zethus909]

random lfo pans

[Tarekith]

Sometimes it sounds counter-intuitive, but use less sounds. When everything is fighting each other for space, it's easy to blend it to the point of being one-dimensional. When you strip it back to the core sounds, you give each sound more space to take up, so you don't need to potentially EQ out so many conficts. Listen to the instrumentation in a lot of "big" tracks, often its not a lot.

[PatchAdamz]

ARRANGEMENT is everything.

Don't think so much about doubling parts, think about adding parts that are tonally complimentary to other parts.

Example:

Add a guitar part that answers a "call and response" from another instrument.
Record it in a different range so the parts don't compete.

This allows you to fill in sections both tonally, lyrically and rhythmically.

Think outside the box but with the goal to "fill in" tonal ranges.

[robinw]

Sometimes it can be helpful to (i.e.) put a delay at the end of the verse that fades into a bridge or the chorus part and then slightly fades out. Or you can do a similar thing with a noise layer that plays along certain parts of your song, filtered in and out. I'm often hearing this in electronic music, where it gives me the feeling that there is something "going on" in that track. Try it, sometimes this will make a song sounding richer.