5 Things Every Pro-Level Production Has | Make Pop Music

In this video, Austin shows you 5 tips, techniques, and tricks that you should be using in your production process. These will transform any boring or stale idea into an interesting, professional, and dynamic production!
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Affiliate Links To My Favorite Gear and Plugins!
Auto-Tune Unlimited: bit.ly/3krYaWI
DAW / Program I Use:
new.steinberg.net/cubase​​​​​​
Vocal Chain:
Mic - Lauten Audio LT-386 Eden
Preamp +Heritage EQ - Audio HA81A
Compressor - AudioScape 76D
I/O - RME UFX ii
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Make Pop Music is the #1 resource for independent pop producers, writers, and artists. Thank you for being a subscriber!
My Gear:
DAW: Cubase 12 Pro
Desk: AZ Studio Workstations
Main Microphone: Lauten Audio LT-386 Eden, Lewitt LCT1040
Voiceover Mic: Lauten LS-208
Monitors: Focal Shape 65s with Focal Sub6
Interface: RME UFX ii
Compressor: AudioScape 76D
MIDI Keyboard: M-Audio Code 61
Keyboards: Roland Juno DS88, Roland Juno 106, Arturia PolyBrute
Guitars: Fender American Professional Stratocaster, Gibson Les Paul Studio, Taylor 214 CE Plus
Preamps: Heritage Audio HA81A & Audient ASP800
Extra Microphones: Advanced Audio 251, Slate ML-1, Shure SM7B, JZ BH-1, JZ V67, Lauten Audio LA-320, Lauten Audio LA-220, Lauten Audio LA-120, AKG P170, Sterling ST59
Camera: Sony A7iv
Lens: Sony 24-70mm f2.4
Camera Lights: Aperture Amaran 100Xs
Timestamps:
Intro 0:00
Special Announcement 0:30
The Rough Idea We Start With 1:07
Simplify Your Arrangement 1:30
Nailing Sound Design and Sound Selection 4:26
Use Layering To Enhance Your Production 9:56
Spice Up Your Track With Ear Candy 16:22
Creatively Use Automation To Create Dynamics 20:55
Final Track 24:08
Outro and Sale Info 25:28

[@mohitk_]

10 mins with this guy feels like 2 years jump in my career 😍.

[@TheRealSandman]

Simplifying your song is always such an underrated way to make your song feel & sound better. I used to try to add as many layers as possible, but once I learnt to take away what isn't necessary & make the sounds you have sound better, it changed it

[@brentdavidcole]

This is one of the best videos I've seen on taking productions from intermediate to pro. Awesome presentation and detail, thanks for this!

[@Jay-eg9mv]

The most important takeaway is how he managed to do all his stuff while still leaving room for an artist to hop on

[@ThreeBelowZero]

Reall love watching this man talking about his process. The vibe he has is just like his music.

[@JonDeth]

Very well done. The original kick sounded like it was in the high school band room. You switched to the style of kick I use a lot for metal lol, but also find myself using it in other genres. You called it in general, the excessive layering, clustered reinforcement sounds, and turning it into a more open feel brought out a better sense of musicians on instruments vs samples and sequences. *I use so much staccato all over the place it's easy to end up with too many layers tarnishing it.*

[@Symeon-Shawn]

Another great video! Another great Friday, thank you for all the great content!

[@SephRusso]

Awesome video! The section on layering felt especially helpful.

[@joelebenezer_]

This is what I needed Mahn,thank you so much

[@defaziojeremy6775]

It's amazing instructive ! Big Thx !!! ♥

[@alinenunez4270]

gold tutorials my dude. thank you so much for sharing this. this is amazing

[@hey_maurice]

I could watch a thousand versions of this video. Fascinating.

[@dereksimke9117]

Happy Fri-yay! Well done Austin! Curious of what before and after vocals would sound like on each version of this track?

[@cekirdekci32]

Austin really is good. Sound selection is so important.

[@parabot2]

This Man is a genius , totally brilliant .

[@Jasmine-cn4wc]

very clear and straightforward👍 a bit scared to try it myself but I definitely will!

[@tobebuilds]

This was incredibly intricate. I definitely feel like I have a ton of tools available to me as an artist to make my songs better now. Thanks!

[@nja8830]

Btw I wish you showed more of what you did in the pre chorus with the synths and loops.. was awesome too I hope in a next video :(

[@johnathankaner4365]

I love Lush and Sweet Tooth, I wrote 3 Full track in the past 2 days because Ive been so inspired by the sounds! Love this vid, and please...... .....more TSwift content 🙏

[@cekirdekci32]

I got Omnisphere to do similar stuff but this pack really really sounds fire guys.

[@mariusbergseth219]

I really appreciate your videos mate. Thank you for sharing valuable insight and your philosophy on producing music. I do wish you would speak a bit slower though, your high tempo gives off a stressful vibe. I'm sure people wouldn't mind watching slightly longer videos that feel more laid-back and gives time for reflection. Have a good one!

[@riharrds]

Thank you! :)

[@histakes12]

Great job!

[@thrillblurrr73]

hey Austin, hope you're having a good day. I have a special request. let's imagine you have an idea for a song, you want it to be emotional. You have the lyrics in your head, although it's not fully complete but you already have an idea of how you want the song to sound. Please i would appreciate if you could make a tutorial about how you would go about transforming that idea into a real song. Especially when it comes to making the beat(instrumentals). I really want you to shed more light on the instrumentals, i mean things like chord progressions, melodies, counter melodies and all that good stuff. Lets imagine you dont have a keyboard, how would you start your chord progressions..... The reason i ask this is because sometimes i have an idea of how i want my song to sound but when it comes to laying down those chord progressions and knowing what root notes i should use, i always struggle with that so i end up not making exactly what i want..... So i would really appreciate if you could give us a tutorial on this. Remember you dont have a keyboard, so you have to use the piano roll in your daw. If you dont understand what i'm saying please let me know

[@prodjxnas]

Thx for your great content. Also what do you think of the new design of Cubase? Personally I think it looks a bit flat and 2 dimensional in comparison to the version before..

[@DanielWithTheBalance]

Aww the elements removed were giving it a really cool Hyperpop feel, they were my favorite parts

[@mrmattyd]

😮 The piano and the arp were the best parts! 🤷‍♂😄

[@DodaGarcia]

Woohoo havent even started the video yet and already excited. Oh and I got the Sweet Tooth pack, it's awesome!!

[@MakePopMusic]

Thank you so much!!

[@nukenoly8751]

Thank you for the Cubase 13 demo track

[@kcjaymes]

I do not want to buy packs… I’m tempted to buy your pack just because I appreciate your help so much….

[@lukasz4781]

hi, one question because i learn about syncopation i start wondering about this added loops with percs, hats etc - because i know syncopation means accents offbeat moments, when we add loops some under main groove with syncopation - but they not shine in mix, this is still syncopation?

[@juliogarcia9738]

MakePopMusic RULES!!!!!!!!!!!

[@daviddeperez358]

thanks brethren

[@livclarkmusic]

Bro!! As a female music producer trying to get better at Production generally, your videos are truly incredible!! So so helpful! Please never stop making them because you’re incredibly talented and you have a way of explaining things that just make sense to me!! This was incredible! I do have a question about your sweet tooth pack though, if you were to use this on your productions, would you need a licence or approval of usage by yourself to use these if you had your song placed in a TV show or Movie?

[@MakePopMusic]

Thank you so much!! All of our packs are 100% royalty free and you can use them in any commercial works (including sync and placements) 😁

[@livclarkmusic]

@@MakePopMusic No worries! Aw amazing thank you! :D can’t wait to watch your next video! :)

[@Asian_Import]

I honestly feel like 90% of what makes/breaks a track is sound selection. You can modulate, add effects, and add ear candy as much as you want, but if the base sample or preset is bad the overall track will suffer.

[@subtoshinjescraw]

What is this BR-Roll End that you are using here 24:42 ?

[@MakePopMusic]

It’s a patch from our new preset pack Lush!

[@fhulunari]

🔥

[@nja8830]

How did you made the sweet tooth audio man? Was awesome !!

[@MakePopMusic]

Spent months making this sample pack! Used dozens of different sound design techniques and processes to make the pack! It's 50% off right now if you wanna go check it out!

[@champL]

Please make a video on creating a pop/contemporary country song like dan + shay, morgan wallen, thomas rhett etc.

[@Cbamuzic]

i mean the og version was still pretty good lmao

[@cecilia_mackie]

That’s brilliant! Let’s stay in touch :)

[@ConquerMedia]

Great video! Would be awesome to have a subscriber submit a song for your review and revision!

[@user-ew8jf4sq2q]

No1🫵

[@cecilia_mackie]

I love you! Reach out to me.

[@reyfortea6090]

TBH the original was pretty great

[@cecilia_mackie]

That’s incredible! Let’s connect?