02 Dec Pro-tip: Nobody really wants to hear that music made on a computer is made on a computer.
One of the biggest challenges facing all producers (especially new ones) is surmounting the problem of getting music made entirely in software to sound pleasing to the ear; even though we make electronic music, our ears like things a little imperfect.
Drums: distort things up, saturate them, add harmonics and grit to them, reverb them, detune them and layer samples to bring some life into your loops.
Pads: detune them, filter them, delay and reverb them but perhaps most importantly, add slight variations in filter/detuning/delay modulations (including send/FX track automation).
Basses: detune, distort tastefully, add texture with more oscillators, reverb them, but most importantly (once again) use variations. If you have a bass playing the same note/phrase every two bars, make sure something in the patch changes erratically or manually add in slight variations in filter cutoffs or modulations.
It takes time to train your ear to hear what subtle variations and controlled flaws things need to sound finessed but it’s these details that truly add the devil’s touch to things.