Author Topic: How do you define overproducing? (Read 14784 times)

FarleyCZ · « **on:** February 05, 2016, 07:42:39 pm »

With music that is based on some kind of instrumental or vocal performance, it's quite simple. It's overproduced when the performance is not the main thing anymore.
But the same question is much more interesting in electronic music world. That reference point is gone, so everyone has to invent their own. What's yours?

How do you find out that you're trying too much?

I suppose the main answer will be: "It's overproducing when I'm hurting the song." ...but that's too vague. Where do you look exactly to evaluate this?

For me, It's usually when the feeling of the very first thing that "made the song" is starting the disappear. When that piece of melody or rythm that made me continue with the track is getting away. That's when I start to be a bit worried about overproducing the track. You?

Bertie South · « **Reply #1 on:** February 05, 2016, 08:06:54 pm »

Don't think I've ever encountered this. There have been times when I've fiddled with something more and more to make it work, when the problem was that what I started with just wasn't good in the first place, but that's not the same.

Do you have any examples of stuff that you think sounds overproduced?

FarleyCZ · « **Reply #2 on:** February 05, 2016, 08:20:28 pm »

That's actually the point. I don't. ...but it feels wrong. It feels wrong to just suppose there isn't such a thing in electronic music. When listening to some IDM stuff I sometimes think that some of the stuff they do is too complex for my taste, but probably wasn't for theirs.

Theoretically do you think there is a complexity level for a track where it would become evident that producer crossed some line?

Cosmic Fugue · « **Reply #3 on:** February 05, 2016, 10:32:12 pm »

Well, "overproduced" isn't something I say about electronic music much, but there are things like "Simply Being Loved" by BT where he was literally trying to break the record for most audio edits used in a song... the vocals are so glitched it's technically impressive but definitely loses some of the "hook" the vocals would have had.

For my own music, the thing I watch out for is if I'm working harder and harder to "fix" a track I don't like. It ends up overworked and muddy but the fundamental problem is still there. So I try to make sure I have some good melodies, chords, and sounds that work together before I start adding effects.

cryophonik · « **Reply #4 on:** February 05, 2016, 11:38:33 pm »

Yes, I think that this problem is all too common with beginning producers (and even some very experienced ones) who spend way too much time trying make their mix sound "pro", when the 7-minute song itself has nothing musically interesting in it to keep my attention for more than 20 seconds. Songs that go nowhere, have no melody, and, hell, often not even a chord change, but, the mix actually sounds pretty good - I find this to be the case more often than not on production forums. IMO, the primary purpose of the production part of music-making is to bring out the musical ideas, but too many people think that they can get away with skipping the hard part of creating great musical ideas simply by having a stellar production. IOW, yes, you certainly can polish a musical turd, but it just leaves you with a shinier (overproduced) turd.

FarleyCZ · « **Reply #5 on:** February 05, 2016, 11:41:04 pm »

Quote from: cryophonik on February 05, 2016, 11:38:33 pm

Yes, I think that this problem is all too common with beginning producers (and even some very experienced ones) who spend way too much time trying make their mix sound "pro", when the 7-minute song itself has nothing musically interesting in it to keep my attention for more than 20 seconds. Songs that go nowhere, have no melody, and, hell, often not even a chord change, but, the mix actually sounds pretty good - I find this to be the case more often than not on production forums. IMO, the primary purpose of the production part of music-making is to bring out the musical ideas, but too many people think that they can get away with skipping the hard part of creating great musical ideas simply by having a stellar production. IOW, yes, you certainly can polish a musical turd, but it just leaves you with a shinier (overproduced) turd.

Agreed with every single word.

manducator · « **Reply #6 on:** February 06, 2016, 09:33:44 am »

Overproducing to me is changing things in your arrangement/mix/master that the average listenener would notice anyway. That's the time when your song is finished.

Mussar · « **Reply #7 on:** February 06, 2016, 04:43:18 pm »

If you're trying to force a square peg into a round hole by using crappy samples or crappy sound design and slapping a ton of processing effects on top of it, you're probably overproducing.

If you're only adding effects to a sound to give it flavor and not because that sound or your song needs that effect, you're probably overproducing.

If you can remove an effect or a sound without your track feeling like it's empty or it's missing something, you're probably overproducing.

If you're just trying to make something good sound perfect instead of trying to make something bad sound good, you're probably overproducing.

thanksbird! · « **Reply #8 on:** February 07, 2016, 09:07:38 pm »

To me overproducing is when you don't release a song because you spend all of your time producing it and never deciding where to stop.

xp · « **Reply #9 on:** February 08, 2016, 12:37:32 am »

Quote from: thanksbird! on February 07, 2016, 09:07:38 pm

To me overproducing is when you don't release a song because you spend all of your time producing it and never deciding where to stop.

Eh, I just think it's where you release a song that has way too much in it at one time.

Lost Coast · « **Reply #10 on:** February 09, 2016, 07:27:50 pm »

Quote from: FarleyCZ on February 05, 2016, 07:42:39 pm

With music that is based on some kind of instrumental or vocal performance, it's quite simple. It's overproduced when the performance is not the main thing anymore.
But the same question is much more interesting in electronic music world. That reference point is gone, so everyone has to invent their own. What's yours? How do you find out that you're trying too much?

I'm actually not sure that it's so different in electronic music. In vocal or instrumental music, that performance is the core of the song, and I think generally there's a similar "core" to any electronic production, be it the melody, the bass line, the groove, etc. You're starting to overproduce in the same way when the things you add start to obfuscate the core of your song. When there's so many details that your attention is dragged away from the core sound and it no longer stands out, you've done too much.

Cosmic Fugue · « **Reply #11 on:** February 10, 2016, 12:12:49 pm »

Yeah, sometimes I catch myself thinking "I don't like this particular sound/melody/loop. I'll just turn the volume down on it and let it be a background thing."

If it doesn't add something GOOD to the track... it shouldn't be there.

Bizo · « **Reply #12 on:** February 17, 2016, 09:04:21 pm »

Overproducing for me is adding little elements/details to the track which the common listener wouldn't notice or add nothing to the track itself

Midge · « **Reply #13 on:** February 21, 2016, 01:41:45 pm »

overproducing for me is simply doing shit for the sake of it when it doesn't actually make your music sonically better.

A fine example of this is people not understanding how compressors work and just slapping compressors on sounds then assuming because its louder that it is sonically better.
Or another example is 'Eqing out' frequencies that aren't even present anyway. Little things like that are over producing if you ask me.

Every action you take when making music should in some way enhance the music you make. Processing should have a specific purpose.

FarleyCZ · « **Reply #14 on:** February 21, 2016, 08:39:32 pm »

^ This is a good one.

Author Topic: How do you define overproducing? (Read 14784 times)

FarleyCZ

How do you define overproducing?

Bertie South

Re: How do YOU define overproducing?

FarleyCZ

Re: How do you define overproducing?

Cosmic Fugue

Re: How do you define overproducing?

cryophonik

Re: How do you define overproducing?

FarleyCZ

Re: How do you define overproducing?

manducator

Re: How do you define overproducing?

Mussar

Re: How do you define overproducing?

thanksbird!

Re: How do you define overproducing?

xp

Re: How do you define overproducing?

Lost Coast

Re: How do you define overproducing?

Cosmic Fugue

Re: How do you define overproducing?

Bizo

Re: How do you define overproducing?

Midge

Re: How do you define overproducing?

FarleyCZ

Re: How do you define overproducing?