I've used the same piano loops in a few of my songs. you were much more creative than I was in using them to make a hip-hop beat. good ideas.
-yNot

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I'm not really a fan of the type of distortion you use here on this song. Distortion is a funny thing ... some of it can be pleasant sounding, some aggressive sounding, and some is just overloading that sounds annoying.

You might be interested in what I did with the same loop that is the basis for this song.
Check out this MJ posting:
http://www.macjams.com/song/32792



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The distortion in this song is NOT intentional, it is just the way it came out when I exported it. For some reason, exporting GarageBand songs on my computer always adds distortion to the bass.

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If the bass is distorted, it is because the overall level of the song is too hot. Garage band works at the 24 bit level internally which gives it a lot more headroom before distortion when listening in the program. But Itunes wants the song at the CD quality of 16 bits and that truncation to the lower bit level can lead to distortion. A quick tip would be to reduce all the tracks by the same level. If you have not used the automation to change the level, just use the fader on each channel and pull the level down by the same amount. You could reduce the master level as well. Stay out of the red in the master level meters and you should be able to eliminate the distortion on mixdown. You might also investigate using the AU multiband dynamics controller. on the master track. I like to use the "analog" setting and then turn the input down so that only a few deciBels of compression happens on each band (less than halfway up the meter on the compression. Then I control the output of the multiband as well trying to keep the overall level from showing any red "overs". I tell my students that in the digital recording world ... in general "RED IS BAD".
Hope this helps. Ask me anything.

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Thanks for the tip. I just released a new song that takes advantage of that technique you told me.

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