KVR Audio

rachmiel · Post by **rachmiel** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 3:33 pm

i'm thinking starting point for something dubstep-ish:

http://rachmiel.org/xfer/beat_test-3.mp3
or
http://rachmiel.org/xfer/beat_test-3b.mp3

when it came time to make music i'd add delay, reverb, perhaps distortion, etc.

1. which "wins?"

2. keepers or bleepers ... and why?

thanks. :-)

rachmiel · Post by **rachmiel** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 3:34 pm

(not that anyone should care, but) ... can anyone tell me what meter (time signature) this is in? ;-)

kryptonaut · Post by **kryptonaut** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 4:46 pm

Interesting! I prefer the second, because of the slightly delayed beat near the end of the loop - makes you sit up and take notice, before the 'extra' beat surprises you again. Does that make sense?

My guess on the time sig would be something like 17/8 ?

jancivil · Post by **jancivil** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 4:50 pm

rachmiel wrote:(not that anyone should care, but) ... can anyone tell me what meter (time signature) this is in?

17/8

the first one is far preferable to me. the syncope [snare hit] in #2 isn't all it's cracked up to be IMO.

HA! I see an opposite POV! Go figure.

jopy · Post by **jopy** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 4:58 pm

yes, 17/8 here as well. i liked the first one better, but i think it depends on the context of what comes next. i could think of more things to add with the first one, i guess.

also, smack off? did you mean smack down? because, smack off sounds like something else altogether, if you know what i mean.

rachmiel · Post by **rachmiel** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 5:15 pm

thanks, guys. :-)

my CM boss prefers the first one, but says keep the second for occasional variation.

he also says raise the tempo from 108 to 140 if i want to sound "contemporary":

http://rachmiel.org/xfer/beat_test-3-140.mp3

i prefer the slower one, gives me way more room to play with it, add dub echoes, etc., without it starting to sound like overkill.

do you guys prefer 108, 140, or something in-between?

jancivil · Post by **jancivil** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 5:36 pm

it's cheesier at 140. I like slower tempi.

it's all so relative. Now the 108 seems real slow. I also like that in-the-middle-of-a-triplet syncope in #2 a lot more. as a basis could be too tricky for teenbeat consumption.

rachmiel · Post by **rachmiel** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 6:18 pm

i upped the tempo quite a bit and added a short bass drop that leads back to 1:

http://rachmiel.org/xfer/beat_test-3-132.mp3

better? too fast now? does the bass drop add anything (good)?

jancivil · Post by **jancivil** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 9:04 pm

well, leading back to one is what has to happen sho nuff...

I still have no idea what dubstep is. it has 'wobble bass' AND 'drops'?

ThoughtExperiment · Post by **ThoughtExperiment** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 10:14 pm

I still prefer the 108BPM version (the very first one). The bass drop does add something, but maybe every other cycle(or something more random), rather than every cycle. I'm glad that someone else has admitted to not 'getting' dubstep...as a genre, it does nothing for me either. That doesn't mean I don't want to hear your take on it, though

rachmiel · Post by **rachmiel** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 12:22 am

i like both of the most recent versions: 108 and 132. in different ways. not sure which version i'll end up using yet. i need time ... :-)

Beauty is in the ear of the beholder, yes?

i always liked dubstep (Burial, in particular) -- which is FAR from the case for me for most electronica genres -- but i only started really liking it recently. of all popular electronic-music genres i've heard, it resonates most strongly on a deep emotional level for me. (some ambient and drone stuff gets there too, but usually not as powerfully.) it reminds me why i got into composing in the first place ... way back when most of you were in yer diapers! ;-)

ThoughtExperiment · Post by **ThoughtExperiment** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 10:34 pm

That's a really interesting remark. I did buy Burial's first album, and I quite like it I suppose, but it doesn't connect to me in the same way as it evidently does for you. And yet I'd guess we're probably about the same age (I'm 53 - hope I'm not being impolite here

).

The (electronic) music that has an equivalent effect on me is Detroit Techno - why, I can't really say, in its heyday I was already past the age at which I should've been seen clubbing

, I just bought the records - but nevertheless it has a special place in my heart. It's just interesting to contemplate - what is it in music that does this to people?

Once again, you've got me thinking...

JJBiener · Post by **JJBiener** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 10:47 pm

My favorite is the first beat at 108, but the 132 with the bass drop sounds good as well. What is interesting to me is how people can hear different things in the same loop. You hear dubstep. I hear it under a comtemporary jazz piece. I say it is a keeper. There is definitely some stuff there that is usable and interesting. I think you could also come up with some cool variations.

seismic1 · Post by **seismic1** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 11:50 pm

The first one at 108 was the most "natural" and had me tapping my foot. The second sounded awkward on its own, but I bet it would improve if judiciously interspersed with the basic groove. The 132 and 140 didn't work for me, but when I sped the 108 up to 119, it felt comfortable.

rachmiel · Post by **rachmiel** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 1:59 am

mikusan wrote:And yet I'd guess we're probably about the same age (I'm 53 - hope I'm not being impolite here :) ).

guess i'll have to think of you as my kid brother. ;-)

beat loop smack-off