Production techniques

[Mydnyte]

Hi all,

So I've attempted producing with Reason, and I have like eight half-finished ones.  My problem is two-fold:

1. I just can't seem to get Reason to make the sound that's in my head.  I can get it to make plenty of cool sounds, just not the RIGHT ones.  Does anyone else have this problem?
2. It takes sooooooooo bloody long to finish a track.  My tracks are always rather complex anyway (complicated melodies, 4-5 synths running at a time until the middle, when something unique happens, etc) and I get bored and frustrated and never come back to it.

I've noticed that we have a few people on here who have produced something that got pressed, so I was hoping I could get some advice/tips/etc, e.g.
What do you use to produce?
Can you get it to make the sounds that are in your head?
Is it boring/frustrating actually completing a track, and if so, how do you get yourself to complete it?
How do you get in contact with a label?
How does the monetary stuff work with a label?
Anything else?

Thanks!
Myd

[Mark Kane]

Well unfortunately I don't have any answers to your questions, but I have some similar problems. I have ideas in my head but its hard to execute them for several reasons. Here are some:

- I used Fruity Loops when I was producing. I like some of the features that it has, but the interface isn't as easy to understand to me as Reason. I love how the racks are setup in Reason since my background is working with mainly hardware instead of software. Unfortunately it does not support VST's so that's why I never could really use it

- I don't have too many decent drum/perc samples. That makes making original beats hard because of my limited collection.

- Sometimes after trying different things that sound cool when adding them, I feel that they do not sound good later on and then just end up going back to a basic beat , pads, and bass. Then I sometimes give up because I couldn't get anything decent sounding.

- I don't use Windows anymore so my selection of production tools is extremely limited.

I'm sure someone will come along with some suggestions though

-Mark

[Jake]

I use Reason. I think that you're best best is to get more patches for you synths, try working in new samples and get creative with the DR Rex Loop Player.

Ask me some more specific questions and I'll do my best to help you out.