DECONSTRUCTED: Metro Boomin's 'Too Many Nights' (FLP+STEMS+SF2)

What's up Patrons!

Aiden here. Back again with another exclusive breakdown just for you, this time from Metro Boomin's 'HEROES & VILLAINS'. Let's dive in.

IMPORTANT: In the attachments you will find SF2 files. These are 'soundfonts'. If you don't use FL Studio OR any of the VST's I used in this breakdown, these SF2 files are UNIVERSALLY COMPATIBLE alternatives! You can open these instruments in FL Studio's SoundFont player (mono-only) or Directwave (stereo-compatible). If you don't have those plugins, there are many free SF2 players available such as Sforzando Player.

As per usual, I attacked this remake with such ferocity that would make any mortal remaker quiver. And here we are. Every element was carefully crafted with reference to the original, ensuring spectral, imaging and waveform alignment. Madness.

Under the microscope, I've located all of the original samples and presets, and you can access these files below. This is some serious sauce, so if you're looking to expand your collection, I highly recommend checking it out.

The track was produced by 3 juggernauts in the industry: Metro Boomin, Honorable C.N.O.T.E., and Allen Ritter. Metro mainly worked on the drums and bass, while the melodic elements were handled by Ritter and C.N.O.T.E.

Quick breakdown as I want to get this video out ASAP.

INTRO:

Here's some super sauce. The intro to the song was created with only one preset: 'Into the Night' from Arturia's Synclavier V.

Bring up oscillator 2 by 1 octave and you'll find that this preset contains all elements in the intro. It was a nice find, no one else knows this but you and I (and the OG producers). It's crucial that you add Valhalla Shimmer to the effect chain to get that sparkly, spacious feel in the treble. More info to come in the full video.

SINE OCTAVES:

Possibly the most notorious sound from the track is the soft pad that plays a catchy riff throughout the song. To replicate this exactly, we're using XFer's Serum 2 (if you have Serum 1 you can update for free here). Simple preset, just 2 sine oscillators, 1 pitched up by 2 octaves and add some reverb in the FX.

Regarding the melody, I picked up on something BIG that every other remake missed.

Each note in the melody plays TWICE! The second time is a very short lead-in note to the next. This could be due to added delay in the effect chain, but each note varies in length, so programming this manually was the most precise option.

GUITAR:

The electric guitar (and bass guitar) were likely added by Allen Ritter, who, through my research, often uses Kontakt banks for his guitar lines. The exact presets are:

Electric guitar from Session Guitarist - Electric Sunburst, and is the Ibiza preset.

For the bass, the original preset is the Scarbee Rickenbacker Bass.

SYNTH PAD:

Allen Ritter also likes to use the VST "S.K.Y KEYS", and he added a couple presets in this song too.

The synth pad is the About Time preset. "About Time" is also how I feel right now, I hope you find this remake worth the wait. 💪💪

DRUMS:

Here we go. Exact drums:KICK is the Rack Kick. Shocker. Pitched down -150 cents for some reason, I guess it fit better in the mix. Also add... chorus? It was SUPER weird, but all the bass elements in this song were, bizarrely, stereoized. Absolutely crazy, but you'll see this if you isolate the side audio in the instrumental.

Hihat is the Redd Hat. I believe these drums were programmed by Metro, who really likes D. Rich/Shawty Redd style samples such as this one.

Metro was creative with programming the velocity of this hihat. The pattern alternates in volume to add more bounce to the drums. Worked well for this track and was a big take away for my own production.

Hihat 2 can be found in a reddit pack called 'Memphis Drum Archive' (link). It's Hi Hat(116).

Openhat is another Shawty Redd sample, the Redd Open hat, panned to the right.SNARECLAP was difficult to find, being a combo of sounds. The exact sounds are the Pyrex Snare (pitched -250 cents) and Luger Slap Clap (pitched -200 cents, sample start @8%).

The slap clap was then layered a second time, and hits on the four with added reverb. Very nice touch in my opinion.

COWBELL is a classic cowbell sample that originates from the TR-808, a sample you'll find in many hip-hop songs.

Very unique though, the sample rolls up on every bar, with added chorus and reverb for a spacey effect.

Speaking of chorus, in the chorus, we're adding in a ride sample. A real challenge to locate, but here it is: BWB MINI EDM RIDE (3). This sample originates from the 'Alesis HR16A' drum machine. And being a hip-hop remake, I'm sure you can appreciate just how hard it was to pinpoint this EDM sample as the exact match (which is was! Let's goo!!)

The 808 used was the Lex Siz 808, with added distortion and... STEREOIZED? using Ozone Imager.

I used Trackspacer to side chain the 808 to the kick and bass, which gave much needed room to the low-end. But it does this subtly, as Trackspacer allows for frequency-specific sidechaining.

CHORUS BASS comes from Spectrasonics 'Trilian', a bass library that Metro has mentioned is his go-to bass VST on multiple occasions.

The bass preset is the 'Clicky Juno 60 Reso Square'. Like in the original song, the preset comes with resonance and chorus, which you can adjust inside Trilian, so I'm confident that this was the exact preset used. Definitely check out Trilian if you have the means and you're looking to up your bass game.

PIANO came from Allen Ritter once again, playing some nice chords with a soft melody on top.

You can find this preset in Addictive Keys, it's 'Studio Grand - Close Hard' preset.

LEAD 2 comes from Ritter again, beefing up the piano melody with flute preset from S.K.Y. Keys.

Exact preset is the Process Flute. Add some reverb/chorus and you're good to go.

Look, there's a few more presets from Serum/Omnisphere/Pigments to go through in the FLP for the chorus/outro, but I shall leave that for you to check out if you're interested!

Once again, the soundfonts/stems will be a great alternative if you don't have any of the VSTs mentioned.

Hope you found this useful, and keep your eyes peeled for this remake on YouTube in the next couple of weeks.

As always, really appreciate your support, and catch you guys soon!

Aiden