Making nightcore even better?

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Kylor
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Making nightcore even better?

Post by Kylor » October 15th, 2014, 7:01 pm

I have been on this site for a total of about 30 minuets, and I was hoping to find tips for making my nightcore more than just a sped up song, but it appears the threads here are only willing to instruct you on how to change the speed and make the song faster, and that is all fine and dandy, but I feel there should be another level, more of an intermediate skill set, to making nightcore even better than it already is.
A few tips I have found on my own-
1) If you bring the pitch back down, you can make the song even faster without it sounding like a mouse on crack.
2) Some songs sound good if you bump up the bass, but if you do that it makes the track quiet, so amplify it afterwards.
3) One of my favorite things to do is add underlays or effects that are not in the original song. sometimes adding tones or quiet underlays can sound amazing in the song. Two examples are here:
This one is my 2nd nightcore, the effects got a little out of hand and made the audio get really loud randomly, that is something you have to try to avoid, remember to always test your work with and without headphones. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFAOn7n ... hkP0kBMODn
And here:
I added tones and underlays here and they didn't alter the original sound, sometimes playing around with effects can help you understand how to use them better, never forget this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cE6f_R ... Dn&index=6.
If you have any other tips or tricks you would like to share, please leave it in the comments, it would be greatly appreciated, please feel free to add examples as well, it could up your view count.
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emilemil1
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Re: Making nightcore even better?

Post by emilemil1 » October 15th, 2014, 8:54 pm

First I should say that Nightcore is defined as precisely and only an increase in speed. If you want to add other things to your track that's fine, but it will no longer be just a Nightcore. It'll be a bass-boosted Nightcore, or something like that depending on what else you add.

Secondly, I'll share these links with you because if I don't, someone else will.

http://nightcoreuniverse.net/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=4939
http://nightcoreuniverse.net/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=930

Onto your suggestions:

1) You're describing an increase in tempo, which if increased separate from the pitch (an effect called Time-Stretching) will cause smearing and other corruptions. It's really not something you should be doing unless it's in very small amounts, and even then it's almost always better to accept that you'll rarely get both perfect tempo and perfect pitch. The reduction in quality from adjusting them separately just ain't worth it.

2) I personally don't like bass-boosting as it changes the intended proportions of the track, messes with the mastering that's already been done to suit as many sound systems as possible, and it doesn't play well with other features that listeners may be using on their end (which normally assume that tracks aren't bass-boosted). However, if you want to bass-boost there are some thing you should keep in mind.
  • Always reduce the volume of the track before you boost, otherwise the bass will clip and cause distortion. Keep an eye on your waveform so this doesn't happen.
  • The boosted track will be lower volume, there's no way to get around this. Well... unless you're editing an unmastered, lossless track and have access to/know how to use a compressor. Don't attempt to simply amplify a boosted track as it will cause the clipping and distortion mentioned above.
  • Be conservative. A super loud bass may sound good on your headphones/speakers, but it won't sound good on all systems. The boost in your linked videos is for example quite overpowering on my headphones.
3) This is, even more than frequency-boosting, significantly altering the characteristics of the song, and should therefore be separated from the Nightcore term. (which, again, refers strictly to the speed up of the song)
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rsslayersr
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Re: Making nightcore even better?

Post by rsslayersr » October 16th, 2014, 8:53 am

If your track sounds like a mouse on crack, you're probably doing it wrong.
Suggestion 3 seems to be a popular misconception I've seen in youtube comment boxes. The 'Nightcore Remix. People who remix songs and Nightcore them'. I've not encountered one before, though.

http://www.di.fm/nightcore This radio station might give you a good indication to what Nightcore sounds like.
I hope this helped you out~

You could try to find out how other channels on youtube sound though.
Maikel's Channel
HandzUp's Channel
NInjaah's Channel
Inari's Channel

These are some of the more popular channels. Mostly all video's, to put it bluntly, sound well.
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NightcoreSlax
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Re: Making nightcore even better?

Post by NightcoreSlax » October 16th, 2014, 9:35 am

Emil already answered perfectly but I want to precise this fact:
speeding up raises every frequency (even the low ones) so the nightcore will feel less bassy and less punchy than the original track. At this point you don't have to super bass boost everything because you're boosting even where you don't need to. What I usually do is some sort of re-mastering (that is not mastering). It's basically re-EQing the track to preserve its original mastering quality and versatility. Every track needs its own re-EQing depending on how it has been mastered and what feeling you want to give to it, so there's not a general rule and you learn as you try and try. Of course you have to know how to use an equalizer.
Just a nerdy thing I wanted to share :p
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rsslayersr
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Re: Making nightcore even better?

Post by rsslayersr » October 16th, 2014, 9:41 am

It's been noted by many people that Nightcore always seemed a bit more jumpy in it's bass then other Hardcore tracks. Not that I would've noticed the difference :c
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Re: Making nightcore even better?

Post by LonelyLittleAngel » October 16th, 2014, 12:23 pm

A lot of this will make the song quality very badly. Please experiment with it first then post the song
sorry quotes from me are illegal in other people's signatures sry
Jumpcore thats what the bass is for.
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emilemil1
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Re: Making nightcore even better?

Post by emilemil1 » October 16th, 2014, 1:20 pm

Another note is that after the speed up, all instruments will have moved higher on the frequency scale (as Slax said), which means that frequencies below 20Hz, which were previously impossible to hear by a human ear, will be pushed up above 20Hz and become audible (as sub-bass). These frequencies may sound flawed as they're not exactly taken into account by the producer or mastering engineer, and boosting the bass will consequently bring out those flaws. It may also be that these frequencies help retain the bass lost by the speed up.

Also, some mastering engineers will simply cut off everything below 20Hz, which means that you'll essentially be boosting nothing but background noise and artifacts introduced by the mp3 compression. You can't boost what's not there.

Similarly, regardless of which frequency you try to boost, you'll actually be boosting the instruments that originally were below that frequency, sometimes instruments that were originally down-EQd in mastering because they sounded bad. Tread carefully.
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Re: Making nightcore even better?

Post by Angelcore » October 16th, 2014, 8:31 pm

Well I don't think it can be improved beyond what it is without changing it into a spinoff, like nightstep.
Now Idk if you guys will like this but I wanted to take the Nightcore concept and give it my own spin, I'd like to think its better, I did more than just speed it up but I kept the same basic high sound. I found it works best with country and "twangy" rock songs. Ladies and Gents, angels and demons, I present Angelcore!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45tPaM2 ... qCos2JsHJw
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rsslayersr
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Re: Making nightcore even better?

Post by rsslayersr » October 16th, 2014, 8:43 pm

The thing is, this Forum isn't made for another sped up movement other than Nightcore. We don't really support anything else on here, which has been made clear in the rules.
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Re: Making nightcore even better?

Post by Angelcore » October 16th, 2014, 8:47 pm

I dont consider it to be something to compete with nightcore, but rather a subgenra, like nightstep. I think while we shouldnt misslabel things we shouldnt discourage creativity either.
Last edited by Angelcore on October 16th, 2014, 8:49 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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rsslayersr
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Re: Making nightcore even better?

Post by rsslayersr » October 16th, 2014, 8:48 pm

And we don't support Nightstep on here too, really. This place is meant only for Nightcore.
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Re: Making nightcore even better?

Post by emilemil1 » October 16th, 2014, 10:11 pm

Nightstep isn't supported on this forum either.

Edit: beaten to it
Kylor
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Re: Making nightcore even better?

Post by Kylor » October 18th, 2014, 10:01 pm

So basically, what you guys are telling me is that all the songs I listen to under the "nightcore" title are actually remix knockoffs that the "true nightcore" fans don't like (By the way I did like that agelcore ^.^) so we, as a group of people who are affiliated with nighcore in misconception and name only, should come up with a different name that will get fewer searches and fewer views? It's not too far of a stretch, seeing as it would help people like me who want more of an edited feel than just a faster version of a song, but it seems like something that wouldn't ever take off. (but then again, look at nightcore.) aslo, regarding the bass boost that everybody has problems with, the "flaws" that seem to be causing the most trouble actually sound pretty good to me, but everybody is different in their taste. it makes me think of when I edited "Angel" by aerosmith (mostly as a joke) and there where parts of the bass track that I loved that I had never heard before, (then I ruined the whole song by adding an echo that just turned out crappy when I took my headphones off... we all make mistakes, right? ;-;) In any case, I suppose I have been labeled wrong and thus found myself in a situation that turned out much more hostile than I had expected, perhaps somebody (maybe a web developer such as myself) should create a form and try to make something such as "Angelcore" a popular spinoff? shall we discuss?
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Re: Making nightcore even better?

Post by rsslayersr » October 18th, 2014, 10:15 pm

Kylor wrote:So basically, what you guys are telling me is that all the songs I listen to under the "nightcore" title are actually remix knockoffs that the "true nightcore" fans don't like
That sums it up for the most of us here, yes.
Kylor wrote:so we, as a group of people who are affiliated with nighcore in misconception and name only, should come up with a different name that will get fewer searches and fewer views?

Indeed. It's because it's so popular, that we can't contain it anymore. Which is why we only strive to get this forum purely nightcore, and not the whole internet.
But if you're only doing it for the views, I think most people on here would look down on you. If it's all a popularity contest for you, then you wouldn't be able to get those views from here, sorry.
Kylor wrote:In any case, I suppose I have been labeled wrong and thus found myself in a situation that turned out much more hostile than I had expected, perhaps somebody (maybe a web developer such as myself) should create a form and try to make something such as "Angelcore" a popular spinoff? shall we discuss?
How can we make an NIght[insert] more popular?

I guess it all starts with catchy names and logic.

I guess Nightrock, Nightpop or Nightstep would work for its logical genres attached. It seems like Nightstep, something someone came up with on this forum to annoy the admins and mods on this website, has been quite succesful.

Get someone big to use those titles, and people will probably leave the ignorance they've been locked into all these years.

As for more remixing of the song, I guess a Night[insert] Remix would work for that. It would be really helpful if people called their video's for what they are, instead of naming them ambiguous. Leave that for the original content creators.
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emilemil1
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Re: Making nightcore even better?

Post by emilemil1 » October 18th, 2014, 10:29 pm

There are some popular definitions of Nightcore, but the edit thingy you're describing is quite far from all of them, so a new term would probably need to be made to avoid confusion.

You know, with all the changes you're doing, wouldn't it be better for you to just learn how to make actual remixes? That, to me, kinda seems like what you actually want to do.
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Re: Making nightcore even better?

Post by Kylor » October 18th, 2014, 10:30 pm

[quote="rsslayersr"]
But if you're only doing it for the views, I think most people on here would look down on you. If it's all a popularity contest for you, then you wouldn't be able to get those views from here, sorry.
quote]

no no, I was simply using that example because that is how most people on youtube thing, I like a lot of views, but I would much rather label my video correctly, thank you.
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Re: Making nightcore even better?

Post by Kylor » October 18th, 2014, 10:32 pm

1- my quote broke... lol darn...

2- actual remixes sound fun, but I have never really been big into the music industry, and my changes are usually small enough to be overlooked, I do appreciate the advice, and I will think about that, but for now I will focus on what to do to make my form of night[something] into something that won't be confused with nightcore, I appreciate all your help.
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rsslayersr
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Re: Making nightcore even better?

Post by rsslayersr » October 18th, 2014, 10:35 pm

What emile says though, is that those edits you make are significant enough to be looked at.
I think you would get a bit more recognition if you made clear you did more than only post a speed edit.
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Re: Making nightcore even better?

Post by emilemil1 » October 18th, 2014, 10:42 pm

You might even put people off by naming them Night-whatever, as that would imply that it's a simple speed up of something, which obviously isn't what they're going to get when they watch the video.
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Re: Making nightcore even better?

Post by Kylor » October 18th, 2014, 10:43 pm

You guys have been really helpful here, thanks as I said, I plan to try and find others who do what I do and come up with a name that can be searched, I want to, again, thank you for your help and advice. ^.^ and I am sorry for any inconvenience I have caused on this wonderful site.
Kylor
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Re: Making nightcore even better?

Post by Kylor » October 18th, 2014, 10:44 pm

emilemil1 wrote:You might even put people off by naming them Night-whatever, as that would imply that it's a simple speed up of something, which obviously isn't what they're going to get when they watch the video.
I was thinking something that would go along the lines of [insert] core, perhaps darkcore? seeing as most of the songs I edit are rock/emo? idk what emo music is so I can't say that XD gotta love living in the south.
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rsslayersr
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Re: Making nightcore even better?

Post by rsslayersr » October 18th, 2014, 10:51 pm

http://nightcoreuniverse.net/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=4837

I'll leave this here in the meantime.
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Re: Making nightcore even better?

Post by HFUNightcore » October 19th, 2014, 3:24 am

Make something new out of nightcore? The only thing you could do new is invent a new sub genre for Techno/Dance/Trance which fits and speed it up because speeding up a eurotrance/eurodance song is nightcore and there is not much to change. If you really want to remix something then make a huge difference otherwise it will get confused with nightcore. As slayer and emil said come up with a new name. And if you translated your good idea into action you could make a breakthrough. But it depends on how professionally you do it.

If you ask my personal opinion about the future of nightcore I can only say there should be more artists who create nightcore music. With the possibilties that you have as a producer you can do alot. Thats why I planned to become a producer since there are almost no artists who produce eurotrance/eurodance anymore. And nightcore is also important in this case.
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Re: Making nightcore even better?

Post by Kylor » October 19th, 2014, 6:29 pm

I want to thank you all again and tell you that I have made a new forum that I would hope you might check out, another member of this site and I decided to call our new genre Darkcore and describe it as the "Open Canvas" version of nightcore (we added a much more professional description, of course)

darkcore.freeforums.org
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Re: Making nightcore even better?

Post by LonelyLittleAngel » October 19th, 2014, 9:48 pm

*request to lock this thread.*
sorry quotes from me are illegal in other people's signatures sry
Jumpcore thats what the bass is for.
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Re: Making nightcore even better?

Post by 3nvade » November 17th, 2014, 7:12 pm

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