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Forum : Producing Help : *** mixing tips, links & tutorials ***
*************************************************************
********** THIS THREAD IS NOT ABOUT DJ-MIXING CD'S/VINYL *****
*************************************************************
This video is very good:
www.udma.com.ua/academy/index.php?path=ANDIVAX-MixingSecrets_Video_Tutorial/
links to mixing tutorials:
lehomestudio.free.fr/mixage/ (french)
members.tripod.com/%7EPullpud/mixing.html
forum.isratrance.com/the-mother-of-all-mixing-techniques-thread/
www.archive.org/details/GuideToMixing
We already had a thread about the difference between mastering and mixing here:
www.electrobel.be/forum/4/5939,Differences_Mastering__Mix,1#
About eq'ing & frequencies:
independentrecording.net/irn/resources/freqchart/main_display.htm
EQ TYPES
You’ll
encounter several kinds of EQs in both hardware or software
environments so it’s important to understand the various EQ types and
which is best suited to address whatever miserable mistake you’re
trying to fix, mix-wise.
Shelving. Applies equal
gain change for all frequencies above/below a certain frequency. These
can be useful for general shaping — adding brightness or beef to a
sound.
Lowpass/highpass. With lowpass EQ,
frequencies above a certain point, commonly referred to as the cutoff
frequency, are attenuated while frequencies below the cutoff pass
through unimpeded, hence the name “lowpass.” Likewise, highpass EQ
attenuates frequencies below the cutoff, allowing frequencies above it
to pass through untouched.
The rate at which frequencies are
attenuated is called the slope, and is represented as a ratio
(e.g.,12dB/octave). (See Figure 1).
Peak. The
peak EQ boosts frequencies at, and around, the center frequency. This
type of EQ allows you to accentuate or emphasize a limited slice of the
frequency spectrum without dramatically affecting the general tonal
quality. Often, you can control how wide or narrow the “slice” is
(called bandwidth), for broader or more focused changes. (See Figure 2.)
Notch.
Similarly, notch EQ is used to “notch out” or cut a narrow band of
frequencies. Use this to reduce computer noise, ground hum, and so on.
It can also help get rid of ringing drum tones, or take the “point” off
electric guitars, snares, and other piercing mid-frequency sources.
In most DAWs, peak and notch EQs are often combined as one type, giving you the choice of cutting or boosting from one EQ.
Parametric.
Parametrics are so called because they offer parameters for adjusting
the EQ’s frequency, bandwidth, and gain. Most DAWs combine several EQ
types into one “multi-band” parametric EQ (e.g., 4-band, 5-band, and so
forth), where you can choose the type (lowpass, peak/notch, high-shelf)
for each band.
Fixing Common Mix Problems
The
combination of tracks and the way they interact can cause frequency
ranges to build up, resulting in a dull or uneven mix (e.g., too
boomy). Additionally, some tracks may “jump out” at certain
frequencies.
A well-balanced mix where no single instrument or
frequency range consumes too much sonic space may require a fair amount
of nipping and tucking. Often, individual tracks need to be massaged to
blend better with others, which requires close scrutiny to hear problem
areas. To zero-in on these offending frequencies, it helps to use a
peak EQ with considerable gain (10dB or more) and sweep this across the
frequency spectrum. You won’t use this EQ in the final mix, but as you
sweep the center frequency, you’ll be able to hear which frequencies
help define the track’s tone, and which ones are problematic.
Experiment
with this to find the “center” of various instruments — it’s an
exercise that will pay off big when you run up against mixes that are:
Muddy.
Possible cause:
Build-up of low and low-mid information as a result of the proximity
effect from cardioid mics, too many tracks with extended low-frequency
material, or poor room acoustics.
Solution: Highpass EQ
on any track that isn’t supposed to sit in the low frequency range
(percussion, vocals, guitars, strings) to make room for bass guitar and
kick drum. Start somewhere between 100–200Hz, with a semi-steep slope.
You can sometimes get away with a higher center frequency, provided you
use a more gentle slope, which will make the EQ less obvious, but still
clear out space in the low end.
Possible cause: Similar-sounding instruments competing for space in the midrange.
Solution:
Separate similar tracks by using peak EQs to emphasize different
frequencies, while cutting others, so that sounds complement and fill
in around each other. On double-tracked guitars, for example, try
boosting one at around 1.5kHz, cutting at 600Hz, and rolling off some
of the highs starting at 3kHz. Conversely, reduce the other track by
2–3dB around 1–1.5kHz, and use a high-shelving EQ starting at around
3–4kHz to bring out more of its highs. This will allow both tracks more
space, and create a better blend.
Dull.
Possible cause:
Midrange-heavy tracks masking and crowding high-frequency material
(strummed, driving acoustic guitars, tambourines and shakers, vocals).
Solution:
Apply lowpass starting around 5–6kHz on tracks that don’t need to
“sparkle,” making space for high-frequency tracks to shine.
Additionally, if mid-frequency tracks are still getting in the way, you
can try cutting around 1–2kHz. You can also use shelving EQ (1–2dB of
gain) to brighten similar tracks, such as grouped background vocals and
guitars.
Shrill.
Possible cause: High frequencies being accentuated by one or more tracks.
Solution:
Apply lowpass with a gentle slope to strident, overly bright tracks. If
this isn’t enough, try making a slight dip in the 4–5kHz range.
Piercing.
Possible cause:
Ringing drum tones; resonant frequencies from room acoustics picked up
by the microphone, or from the instruments and vocalists themselves.
Solution: Notch EQ with narrow bandwidth to reduce or completely cut out unwanted frequencies.
ZOOMING OUT
During
mixdown, EQ shouldn’t be limited to track-specific changes — feel free
to make more “global” tonal changes, too. I often use EQ sparingly to
treat the overall mix. I may use a little high-shelving starting at
around 7–8kHz to add “air,” or cut out some of the low-mids with a
gentle dip around 400Hz, which also helps to de-mud.
However, if
you make radical EQ changes to an entire mix, it’s likely there’s
something wrong on a micro level. Go back and solo each track, paying
close attention to whether anything is adding too much bass or high
frequency material, then adjust accordingly.
With practice,
you’ll reach the point of quickly recognizing EQ-related problems, and
how to fix them. Just remember to use your ears, not your eyes, and
whenever possible, reference on several systems. This will help uncover
any trouble spots, and ensure that your mix translates well to other
playback systems. Your listeners will thank you for it.
source: www.eqmag.com/article/can-you-eq/Jan-05/2434
Will add more later.
Let's keep this thread clean & handy
=================================================.
==> Only links & info can be posted, all other posts will be deleted. <==
====================================================
For specific questions: add a specific thread
********** THIS THREAD IS NOT ABOUT DJ-MIXING CD'S/VINYL *****
*************************************************************
This video is very good:
www.udma.com.ua/academy/index.php?path=ANDIVAX-MixingSecrets_Video_Tutorial/
links to mixing tutorials:
lehomestudio.free.fr/mixage/ (french)
members.tripod.com/%7EPullpud/mixing.html
forum.isratrance.com/the-mother-of-all-mixing-techniques-thread/
www.archive.org/details/GuideToMixing
We already had a thread about the difference between mastering and mixing here:
www.electrobel.be/forum/4/5939,Differences_Mastering__Mix,1#
About eq'ing & frequencies:
independentrecording.net/irn/resources/freqchart/main_display.htm
EQ TYPES
You’ll
encounter several kinds of EQs in both hardware or software
environments so it’s important to understand the various EQ types and
which is best suited to address whatever miserable mistake you’re
trying to fix, mix-wise.
Shelving. Applies equal
gain change for all frequencies above/below a certain frequency. These
can be useful for general shaping — adding brightness or beef to a
sound.
Lowpass/highpass. With lowpass EQ,
frequencies above a certain point, commonly referred to as the cutoff
frequency, are attenuated while frequencies below the cutoff pass
through unimpeded, hence the name “lowpass.” Likewise, highpass EQ
attenuates frequencies below the cutoff, allowing frequencies above it
to pass through untouched.
The rate at which frequencies are
attenuated is called the slope, and is represented as a ratio
(e.g.,12dB/octave). (See Figure 1).
Peak. The
peak EQ boosts frequencies at, and around, the center frequency. This
type of EQ allows you to accentuate or emphasize a limited slice of the
frequency spectrum without dramatically affecting the general tonal
quality. Often, you can control how wide or narrow the “slice” is
(called bandwidth), for broader or more focused changes. (See Figure 2.)
Notch.
Similarly, notch EQ is used to “notch out” or cut a narrow band of
frequencies. Use this to reduce computer noise, ground hum, and so on.
It can also help get rid of ringing drum tones, or take the “point” off
electric guitars, snares, and other piercing mid-frequency sources.
In most DAWs, peak and notch EQs are often combined as one type, giving you the choice of cutting or boosting from one EQ.
Parametric.
Parametrics are so called because they offer parameters for adjusting
the EQ’s frequency, bandwidth, and gain. Most DAWs combine several EQ
types into one “multi-band” parametric EQ (e.g., 4-band, 5-band, and so
forth), where you can choose the type (lowpass, peak/notch, high-shelf)
for each band.
Fixing Common Mix Problems
The
combination of tracks and the way they interact can cause frequency
ranges to build up, resulting in a dull or uneven mix (e.g., too
boomy). Additionally, some tracks may “jump out” at certain
frequencies.
A well-balanced mix where no single instrument or
frequency range consumes too much sonic space may require a fair amount
of nipping and tucking. Often, individual tracks need to be massaged to
blend better with others, which requires close scrutiny to hear problem
areas. To zero-in on these offending frequencies, it helps to use a
peak EQ with considerable gain (10dB or more) and sweep this across the
frequency spectrum. You won’t use this EQ in the final mix, but as you
sweep the center frequency, you’ll be able to hear which frequencies
help define the track’s tone, and which ones are problematic.
Experiment
with this to find the “center” of various instruments — it’s an
exercise that will pay off big when you run up against mixes that are:
Muddy.
Possible cause:
Build-up of low and low-mid information as a result of the proximity
effect from cardioid mics, too many tracks with extended low-frequency
material, or poor room acoustics.
Solution: Highpass EQ
on any track that isn’t supposed to sit in the low frequency range
(percussion, vocals, guitars, strings) to make room for bass guitar and
kick drum. Start somewhere between 100–200Hz, with a semi-steep slope.
You can sometimes get away with a higher center frequency, provided you
use a more gentle slope, which will make the EQ less obvious, but still
clear out space in the low end.
Possible cause: Similar-sounding instruments competing for space in the midrange.
Solution:
Separate similar tracks by using peak EQs to emphasize different
frequencies, while cutting others, so that sounds complement and fill
in around each other. On double-tracked guitars, for example, try
boosting one at around 1.5kHz, cutting at 600Hz, and rolling off some
of the highs starting at 3kHz. Conversely, reduce the other track by
2–3dB around 1–1.5kHz, and use a high-shelving EQ starting at around
3–4kHz to bring out more of its highs. This will allow both tracks more
space, and create a better blend.
Dull.
Possible cause:
Midrange-heavy tracks masking and crowding high-frequency material
(strummed, driving acoustic guitars, tambourines and shakers, vocals).
Solution:
Apply lowpass starting around 5–6kHz on tracks that don’t need to
“sparkle,” making space for high-frequency tracks to shine.
Additionally, if mid-frequency tracks are still getting in the way, you
can try cutting around 1–2kHz. You can also use shelving EQ (1–2dB of
gain) to brighten similar tracks, such as grouped background vocals and
guitars.
Shrill.
Possible cause: High frequencies being accentuated by one or more tracks.
Solution:
Apply lowpass with a gentle slope to strident, overly bright tracks. If
this isn’t enough, try making a slight dip in the 4–5kHz range.
Piercing.
Possible cause:
Ringing drum tones; resonant frequencies from room acoustics picked up
by the microphone, or from the instruments and vocalists themselves.
Solution: Notch EQ with narrow bandwidth to reduce or completely cut out unwanted frequencies.
ZOOMING OUT
During
mixdown, EQ shouldn’t be limited to track-specific changes — feel free
to make more “global” tonal changes, too. I often use EQ sparingly to
treat the overall mix. I may use a little high-shelving starting at
around 7–8kHz to add “air,” or cut out some of the low-mids with a
gentle dip around 400Hz, which also helps to de-mud.
However, if
you make radical EQ changes to an entire mix, it’s likely there’s
something wrong on a micro level. Go back and solo each track, paying
close attention to whether anything is adding too much bass or high
frequency material, then adjust accordingly.
With practice,
you’ll reach the point of quickly recognizing EQ-related problems, and
how to fix them. Just remember to use your ears, not your eyes, and
whenever possible, reference on several systems. This will help uncover
any trouble spots, and ensure that your mix translates well to other
playback systems. Your listeners will thank you for it.
source: www.eqmag.com/article/can-you-eq/Jan-05/2434
Will add more later.
Let's keep this thread clean & handy
=================================================.
==> Only links & info can be posted, all other posts will be deleted. <==
====================================================
For specific questions: add a specific thread
hi,
1st: thanx man!
2nd:
www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun98/articles/20tips.html: okay, colours on this site are crap, but content is good!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W8LihlkAYs: quite good, also check out the users other vids...
Multiband Compressor: A multiband compressor splits its input into several frequency bands (such as lows, lower midrange, upper midrange, and highs), then compresses each band individually. With a standard compressor, something like a thumping kick drum may trigger compression that affects all frequencies, which you might not want; using a multiband compressor will restrict the kick’s compression to the low frequencies, and leave higher bands untouched. (from: www.keyboardmag.com/article/top-10-mixing/Sep-05/13054)
Cheers!
EP
1st: thanx man!
2nd:
www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun98/articles/20tips.html: okay, colours on this site are crap, but content is good!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W8LihlkAYs: quite good, also check out the users other vids...
Multiband Compressor: A multiband compressor splits its input into several frequency bands (such as lows, lower midrange, upper midrange, and highs), then compresses each band individually. With a standard compressor, something like a thumping kick drum may trigger compression that affects all frequencies, which you might not want; using a multiband compressor will restrict the kick’s compression to the low frequencies, and leave higher bands untouched. (from: www.keyboardmag.com/article/top-10-mixing/Sep-05/13054)
Cheers!
EP
Ableton live advanced tutorial video's (select low quality for free download):
www.cosm.co.nz/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=24&Itemid=94
www.cosm.co.nz/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=24&Itemid=94
Brilliant post on how to start/evolve with/in electronic music:
forum.isratrance.com/beginners-guide-for-eletronic-music-production/
But you are not a beginner?<!-- incode End -->
You are not? I screw the knobs in a homestudio since I am 15 (I am
27 now). I released some songs on small trance/house/techno - labels,
nothing big. I worked together with other people in the studio and
alone, my studiogear has grown to something you could call a small but
powerfull homelineup after many many years. I am not a pro by myself, I
am still new to many things, there is so much out there to learn and
there are many things I still discover every day at my daw. I am at the
point now, where things are going more stable, where I know what I have
to do, to make my sound and know what I have to do with it. After so
many time, I feel realy comfortable with me today and beeing thankfull
to the world, I want to share with you what I have learned about beeing
a "bedroom-producer" so far, which might help someone out there and
because I sometimes need to write down a part of my mind into paper.
<!-- incode Start -->1. Gear<!-- incode End -->
There will be no electronic music without electronic maschines. You
need some kind of stuff and I will try to explain you what is
important. It is possible to make good sound where people gonna talk
about with the very crappiest setup in the world. I once made a song on
a damaged and therefore heavily unbalanced home hifi, with an absolute
crappy pc where you could hardly run more than 16 audiotracks without
crashing, not to mention using effects. This song somehow got into the
hands of a nice Dj and I listened to this track on Voov (realy big
festival) later together with thousands of other people. So, it is
possible to do music if you have a lucky day on a crappy setup but
generelly this is just luck. It is pure luck when your mix will fit
together if you mix it on a broken hifi. You will need some money to
get yourself some stuff. Face it. I am not talking about beeing a
casual homemusican forever, I am talking to you, if you want to make
your sound going people crazy about it, constantly. Means: You want to
improve and getting better.
<!-- incode Start -->1.1 Do not:<!-- incode End -->
1.1.1 Buy not something "blind". Read reviews about the gear you
want to have - the internet is full of them, ask people, test it if you
can. Thoose maschine eat a lot of money. Choose wisely. Dont get crazy
because of some good marketing. Many maschines out there are just
useless. And only very small percent of them will fit to your personal
setup and needs realy! Choose wisely what is optimal for you. Every
niche and every need has a lot of stuff to offer.
1.1.2 Not do get yourself 10.000 dollars and spend it into 6
maschines instantly because you have heared good things about them,
thinking you have a killer homestudio and therefore you would make
great sound. You will fail only. Dont even buy 2 maschines together.
You can do that if you are experienced after many years and exactly
know what to do. If you get all this stuff as an beginner you wont
understand anything about how they work. It would be just too much.
Learning what a compressor does takes 5 minutes. Learning how to
use it technically correct may take a few days. Learning how to mix
creative with a compressor takes maybe a year. But learning how to
tweak the compression magically takes a whole lifetime. If you get 5
different maschines at one time, you will not able to learn the proper
usage of them, you will just get stressed by it and someday you gonna
sell this stuff without one finished track (this is by the way nothing
realy unusuall and happend many people). Dont not overload your
learning process.
Buy one thing, learn it. Get the even best out of it. Be it, live
it! If you fully understand one maschine, then you can get the next one
maybe. As more you focus on one component of your studio as sooner you
will deeply understand and therefore do the correct things with it. At
the end you will got more out of everything! You will be amazed how
much you can make out of the even "crapiest setup" out there if you
know, what to do with it.
<!-- incode Start -->1.2 Do:<!-- incode End -->
1.2.1 As allready mentioned: Learn your maschines deeply. Dream
from it. Go into bed with it. Look through it. Feel it. Then one day
you will exactly know, what they do. And then - and only then - you
will now what they can not do for you. Then you will now what is going
to be your next improvement. You will get a perfectly suited setup for
your individual needs and advantages then. The studio needs to grow
with you. And it will make pleasent gifts for you If you take your time
to melt it together with you. Choose wisely!
1.2.2 You can be sure that you want to sell maschines sometimes to
get yourself another one. Always keep that in mind. Dont crash them,
they are something like a capital for your next investments. They also
have a very stable second-hand prices usually and some of them are even
getting more and more valuable as time passes! Be good to them!
<!-- incode Start -->1.3 What to buy first?<!-- incode End -->
Somehow you want to make electronic music. Maybe you allready got a
daw like cubase a nice PC with an audiointerface and some freaky
plugins. This is allready a lot. If you want to make realy cool music
at home, yeah... buy what ever you want. But if you want to get
serious, get yourself monitors. And I mean goooooood monitors. This is
maybe a point where many people would disargue, but in my deepest
opinion monitors are the most important things in studiosetup.
Why?
You cannot hear without a brain, the brain cannot interpret signals
without an ear, the ear cannot listen to music without monitors.
Hopefully your brain isnt damaged, your ear is not damaged, and
hopefully you got good monitors otherwise the best mix and song will go
to hell because you will never hear that it is good. You can have the
best maschines out there, you will simple not gonna hear what they do.
You can have a very crappy mix out of your 10.000 dollar maschines ,
and consider it to be great because your bad monitors tells your good
brain that this song is a killer. Yes. it might be a very good song.
But no one can hear it, because on every other soundsystem it sounds
totally different, no one will hear your superb century song. On good
monitors your songs will sound exactly the same on every different
soundsystem. Ok the sound itself will differ with the system, but the
overall picture will constantly stay! On good monitors you will learn
how to mix fast, and mixing is very important today, Since composing
and mixing is nearly one procedure in electronic music. Trust me, get
yourself monitors at first if you want to spend the money into
something after your PC/DAW with audiointerface.
And dont buy cheap ones! Good monitors from my experiences are made
by Dynaudio, Genelec and maybe Yamaha (NS10 is a classic). Ask the
community! There are monitors at round about 300-600 EUR, but its still
hard to make right decisions about bass-frequences on them (bass is
important for our music!). You should aim for a pair for about 800-1000
EUR or more. This sounds heavy, I know. But besides of that and a daw
with a few plugins your gate will be open to make world hits then. You
maximize your full potential. You hear what you do. Your will be in
advantage compared to many others who spend tons of money into the
craziest maschines but mix on medium or even crappy monitors. They go
for the luck only. Sounds hard, but put their tunes out of the studio
into your car/ his car/ hifi /ghettoblaster /party pa. The sound will
differ like crazy. Its like playing roulette. You want the label and
all the people to hear you mix exactly like you did it!
<!-- incode Start -->1.4 What to buy second.<!-- incode End -->
Nothing. Until you realy need something where you are 100% sure it
will fit perfectly with your workflow. Choose wisely! Basic components
you want to get are:
Monitors, PC/Mac with a Daw or Music Software, Audiointerface,
Midi-Interface, maybe Midi-Controller, some cables. Next step is maybe
a hardware-synthesizer (they are always worth it!)
Some tips about midi controllers: Should have a keyboard, some
knobs to screw, mabye some faders. Edirol makes great and cheap ones.
Midi-Interface: I made good experiences with M-Audio others with Motu, also cheap and stable. But there are many other very good companies out there. Ask the community!
2. Learning<!-- incode End -->
<!-- incode Start -->2.1 Vocabulary<!-- incode End -->
Someone said we are not here to learn, but to remember. In a less
esoteric view, you need to learn many things if you want to be good
someday. Everywhere you have this strange cryptic parameters called:
Attack, ADHSR, Envelope, Saw, Pitch, Time, Treshhold or ATC, REL, SUS,
SAW,... the list goes on. The community is using words like: Comp, Tut,
Hats, 1176, NY, daw, bottom-end,... etc. p.p.
I can say you, there are all not as much as they look like at the
beginning. They are all repeating each other. Very Often its all about
waves and their shape, since many effects and sources are time-based
and are using a kind of wave-based application. So learning all of this
names and their meanings is not realy hard. Read the manuals, read the
internet, ask the community! There are answers to every question
everywhere. And everything is repeating each other: a Compressor is a
limitier is a brickwall is an enveloper is an expander is a
transienshaper is a multiband for example. You can get an overview very
quikly, take your time for it. You will be learn what the maschines do
very quikly then.
<!-- incode Start -->2.2 The internet is a great<!-- incode End -->
There are tons of community-sites out there. Forums are great! On
Youtube there are tons of video tutorials for every kind of technic or
trick and even inspiration. Just search for it, you will find answers
for everything. And read the manuals of your maschines by the way, you
will wonder what functions you would miss even if you are a superpro.
<!-- incode Start -->2.3 Where to focus on<!-- incode End -->
Since electronic music is often made by people which doesnt know
anything about musictheory. An even bigger part goes to mixing and
audioengineering. There are good books out there and DVDs which teach
you a very professional way of working at home. Mixing theory is very
important! A lot of Books/DVDs are made by people who got big through
rock-music-mixing, like Rob Katz, Bobby Owsinsky, Charles Dye to
mention a few very famous ones. You will often find yourself a lot
about guitar mixing or vocals. There can be many informations which are
usefull and others can be useless for you. But you will get a lot of
many important things you need to know, there can be nothing wrong to
learn how a rock-mix is build.
You will learn what is important for rock only and what is
important for every genre. You will also be able to find secrets and
tricks which doesnt fit with your style, but can work amazingly if you
modify concepts on your own. For example they do a lot of autofading in
rock mixing. In electronic music, many productions are very stable and
therefore a bit roboticlike within their makro-dynamics. More
autofading adds live to your sound, not many people do that. Many of
the very best ones do it a lot. The NY-compression is found and
described by a lot of rock-engineers and is matching great at
percussiveintensive electronic dancemusic. So, if you read that stuff
about guitars and vocals etc. get used to it - its the basic school.
Go out and collect everything you can get, see what works for you
- throw the rest away. And often you gonna pick it up again later.
I find myself reading the same tutorial twice a few years after
the first time. I often learn something from a source I had considered
to by useless for me before. But after all this, the best teacher is
yourself. Practice, practice, practice. In germany we use to say:
Practice makes the master! This is true. Talent and theory is maybe 20%
only. The rest is experience through a lot of work.
<!-- incode Start -->2.4 Finish the Track<!-- incode End -->
On Practice the best way to learn things is finishing a track.
Finish it! Do you know how many homeproducers spend tons of money and
tons of time into their work and all they have is a harddisc full of 2
minutes-jamsessions and NOT ONE finished track? Bet my grandmother that
I hit a lot of peoples heads with that point. Just make yourself a nice
big step into the only true direction: Finish your tracks. I could
write letters what you will learn then, but you need find it out by
yourself.
3. Psychology<!-- incode End -->
<!-- incode Start -->3.1Getting Social<!-- incode End -->
If you know people which share your need to make music. Connect
with them, help each other. Meet often. You will learn a lot from each
one of them, even they from you. Everyone has his own niche where he is
the best. One is better in mixing, the other one is better in making
killer basslines. You can learn from everyone. And you will always have
an advantage if you are going to SHARE ALL you know with everyone,
because it will make people socialising with you and around you. Its
like energy sent in, sent back. Record and play. Humans are crowds.
Humans are not one-man-heros. Every big musician out there is just the
peak point of a big team, a big network of inspiration and progression
of music and creativity. No one is alone. Understanding this rule,
beeing just a part of all who are a part of music will just kick you
far more ahead than anyone who wants to do anything just on their own,
sharing nothing. There is no great human in this world who did anything
great alone only! Together you will be far more stronger, you doesnt
need to produce with them, just share, take and communicate. Share the
plans and the goals, work together!
<!-- incode Start -->3.2 Two Devils inside<!-- incode End -->
Making music especially at the beginning is often frustrating and
hard. You just have to go through it. Every superstar musician has gone
trough it. There are 2 big thinks which you will face like everyone
else once faced. After a few years of experience its easy for you to
deal with that, but its better you know what is going to happen to you.
]3.2.1 The frustration: Your sound is pure crap, a waste of time.
You are just to silly to make good sound. Everytime you put your
favourite band into desk, your song can never stay against it. All the
money that was spend was wasted. Since 2 weeks you search for that
kick, and it wont come out of your monitors. Forget about all that.
Just go on, search a half year for your kick if it needs to, but go on.
You can use this kick for the next 10 years if necessary because it is
so good. Tweak the synthesizer to hell, go go. Never give up. Behind
the dark clouds of hard work, is the light, always, sooner or later.
You will learn things, many things. Keep in mind: Most of the
homeproducers who have given up, where punched down by this! Just go
through it, its realy easy. Keep on working, this is the only trick.
3.2.2. The illusion: Your sound is the very best stuff out there
which has ever made. This mindset is a bit tricky, generelly it is very
good. If your sound is going to burn and you know it - then there is
nothing wrong about it. It is by the way ok to say: My sound is great.
Do not be too shy if you know that. It is ok to love. It is ok to love
the world and other people, and offcourse its ok to love what you do by
yourself and say that - You will be very successfull if you start to
trust in yourself.
But sometimes if the human minds discovers to much frustration, it
will become a bit crazy and wants to believe things which are not
there. Be carefull for that mindset, it overcomes you after frustration
sometimes, you will think a bad sounding element is "ok" or "great" but
deep inside of you know that it does not, but your mind doesnt wants to
face it because it doesnt wants to see more frustration or even hard
work. Just be carefull of that, its a realy big trap sometimes. When I
start to dance behind my daw, then I know - its going to be real.
Through the working you often become crossideas from your mind.
There is a moment where you think "oh that hihat there is nothing realy
good at this bar." Its easy to put this hint from your mind just away
and go on. But: Listen to it. Making great music is often eleminating
details that you dont like. Listen carefully. On the other side listen
to small ideas which pop up sometimes, even if the are totally
different. Do not ignore them, use them! This is your inner expression
which comes to the working flow. It sometimes has a very quit noise,
but it is there, you just have to listen to yourself.
<!-- incode Start -->3.3 Style<!-- incode End -->
At the beginning just copy your favourite artists, learn their
technics, apply it by yourself. Reproduce it. Its a realy great
fundament to learn how to make music. You always know where you have to
go and what is wrong. Later if you are good at what you do enough. Try
to be yourself, every human is different. Make experiments, express
what is within you. Do no try to be what others want from you. Be
yourself, because you can be yourself only AND you are the best in it.
This doenst mean that you need to create your own totally new style of
music. This means that you add your flavour, your special note, your
own experience and tricks to the world. Some musicians have totally
switched genres as they had come to that point of self-expression and
they didnt followed what their label, friends, fans said what they have
to do. Bob Dylan for example was one of them. Listen to Jimmy Hendrix
solos, this is pure "letting it all out". Get this feeling, let out
whats within.
<!-- incode Start -->3.4 Open your mind<!-- incode End -->
Listen to other genres. Even if you dont like thim that much. You
can get a massive input and ideas you can modify to your own style.
Listening the same over and over again doesnt leads to new ideas. Look
outside of the window. Be open minded. If you are not, try to be.
Listen to the music in the supermarket you hate. Try to catch which
element the engineer mixed dominantly to stick out of the
supermarkets-background noise. Listen how he did it. Listen to the
piano in the bar which notes lead to this special mood. Listen to how
much more dynamic and alive every song played by instruments sounds
compared to electronic music. Try to find out why. Make the solution
improving your music.
4. Sending demos<!-- incode End -->
<!-- incode Start -->4.1 Sending demos to where?<!-- incode End -->
Things are changing. A label today differs from a label like before
10 years. Maybe in 10 years labels doesnt exist anymore. The internet
is getting very important. Djs are getting more important than labels
anyway compared to earlier times. Sending demos to a dj is never a bad
idea. Your track can be a world hit within very short time in the hand
of the right dj - as long as it has the potential. This can offer you
new important contacts for your career. Sometimes you even dont need to
send a demo, a myspace account and things can go automaticly sometimes.
A good track can make realy crazy ways around the globe, its the best
promotion for you and gives you peoples attention.
<!-- incode Start -->4.2 Preparing your demo<!-- incode End -->
Today there is a lot going via scype etc. Sending demos if you
allready have your contacts is not more like burning a cd and going to
the post office and then hoping for an answer. You have them in your
scype and upload a fresh 320-mp3 thats it. But if you dont have this
contacts and have to jump into business, I have a little guidline for
you:
- Sending a CD with Artist sheet: A nice picture from you and a
little text about your projects, style history etc. +
Adress/Email/Scype/Phone etc.
- Only finished good sounding music
- If the sound is compressed on the mainbus, make some hints on the
artistsheet, that you used it. This will prevent the labelmanager to
send the CD directly to mastering if he totally freaks out to your
super sound.
<!-- incode Start -->4.3 Money & Business<!-- incode End -->
Forget about money. Take what you can get but focus on promotion
with releases not on making money. Money comes later or from somewhere
else. Then: Play gigs maybe. Make the electromusic community a gift and
try to be truly live as possible for you, please!
About business: Always try to be fair. Dont promise one track 2
different persons. Always play with open cards. Good partnership comes
from trust and loyality, this includes both sides. But if you think
something goes wrong, dont by too shy to make a cut. But stay fair,
allways.
<!-- incode Start -->Hope this helps, I think for some it will do. Was a nice write down anyway and remember: Never give up!<!-- incode End -->
The author:
myspace.com/mantikmusic
forum.isratrance.com/beginners-guide-for-eletronic-music-production/
But you are not a beginner?<!-- incode End -->
You are not? I screw the knobs in a homestudio since I am 15 (I am
27 now). I released some songs on small trance/house/techno - labels,
nothing big. I worked together with other people in the studio and
alone, my studiogear has grown to something you could call a small but
powerfull homelineup after many many years. I am not a pro by myself, I
am still new to many things, there is so much out there to learn and
there are many things I still discover every day at my daw. I am at the
point now, where things are going more stable, where I know what I have
to do, to make my sound and know what I have to do with it. After so
many time, I feel realy comfortable with me today and beeing thankfull
to the world, I want to share with you what I have learned about beeing
a "bedroom-producer" so far, which might help someone out there and
because I sometimes need to write down a part of my mind into paper.
<!-- incode Start -->1. Gear<!-- incode End -->
There will be no electronic music without electronic maschines. You
need some kind of stuff and I will try to explain you what is
important. It is possible to make good sound where people gonna talk
about with the very crappiest setup in the world. I once made a song on
a damaged and therefore heavily unbalanced home hifi, with an absolute
crappy pc where you could hardly run more than 16 audiotracks without
crashing, not to mention using effects. This song somehow got into the
hands of a nice Dj and I listened to this track on Voov (realy big
festival) later together with thousands of other people. So, it is
possible to do music if you have a lucky day on a crappy setup but
generelly this is just luck. It is pure luck when your mix will fit
together if you mix it on a broken hifi. You will need some money to
get yourself some stuff. Face it. I am not talking about beeing a
casual homemusican forever, I am talking to you, if you want to make
your sound going people crazy about it, constantly. Means: You want to
improve and getting better.
<!-- incode Start -->1.1 Do not:<!-- incode End -->
1.1.1 Buy not something "blind". Read reviews about the gear you
want to have - the internet is full of them, ask people, test it if you
can. Thoose maschine eat a lot of money. Choose wisely. Dont get crazy
because of some good marketing. Many maschines out there are just
useless. And only very small percent of them will fit to your personal
setup and needs realy! Choose wisely what is optimal for you. Every
niche and every need has a lot of stuff to offer.
1.1.2 Not do get yourself 10.000 dollars and spend it into 6
maschines instantly because you have heared good things about them,
thinking you have a killer homestudio and therefore you would make
great sound. You will fail only. Dont even buy 2 maschines together.
You can do that if you are experienced after many years and exactly
know what to do. If you get all this stuff as an beginner you wont
understand anything about how they work. It would be just too much.
Learning what a compressor does takes 5 minutes. Learning how to
use it technically correct may take a few days. Learning how to mix
creative with a compressor takes maybe a year. But learning how to
tweak the compression magically takes a whole lifetime. If you get 5
different maschines at one time, you will not able to learn the proper
usage of them, you will just get stressed by it and someday you gonna
sell this stuff without one finished track (this is by the way nothing
realy unusuall and happend many people). Dont not overload your
learning process.
Buy one thing, learn it. Get the even best out of it. Be it, live
it! If you fully understand one maschine, then you can get the next one
maybe. As more you focus on one component of your studio as sooner you
will deeply understand and therefore do the correct things with it. At
the end you will got more out of everything! You will be amazed how
much you can make out of the even "crapiest setup" out there if you
know, what to do with it.
<!-- incode Start -->1.2 Do:<!-- incode End -->
1.2.1 As allready mentioned: Learn your maschines deeply. Dream
from it. Go into bed with it. Look through it. Feel it. Then one day
you will exactly know, what they do. And then - and only then - you
will now what they can not do for you. Then you will now what is going
to be your next improvement. You will get a perfectly suited setup for
your individual needs and advantages then. The studio needs to grow
with you. And it will make pleasent gifts for you If you take your time
to melt it together with you. Choose wisely!
1.2.2 You can be sure that you want to sell maschines sometimes to
get yourself another one. Always keep that in mind. Dont crash them,
they are something like a capital for your next investments. They also
have a very stable second-hand prices usually and some of them are even
getting more and more valuable as time passes! Be good to them!
<!-- incode Start -->1.3 What to buy first?<!-- incode End -->
Somehow you want to make electronic music. Maybe you allready got a
daw like cubase a nice PC with an audiointerface and some freaky
plugins. This is allready a lot. If you want to make realy cool music
at home, yeah... buy what ever you want. But if you want to get
serious, get yourself monitors. And I mean goooooood monitors. This is
maybe a point where many people would disargue, but in my deepest
opinion monitors are the most important things in studiosetup.
Why?
You cannot hear without a brain, the brain cannot interpret signals
without an ear, the ear cannot listen to music without monitors.
Hopefully your brain isnt damaged, your ear is not damaged, and
hopefully you got good monitors otherwise the best mix and song will go
to hell because you will never hear that it is good. You can have the
best maschines out there, you will simple not gonna hear what they do.
You can have a very crappy mix out of your 10.000 dollar maschines ,
and consider it to be great because your bad monitors tells your good
brain that this song is a killer. Yes. it might be a very good song.
But no one can hear it, because on every other soundsystem it sounds
totally different, no one will hear your superb century song. On good
monitors your songs will sound exactly the same on every different
soundsystem. Ok the sound itself will differ with the system, but the
overall picture will constantly stay! On good monitors you will learn
how to mix fast, and mixing is very important today, Since composing
and mixing is nearly one procedure in electronic music. Trust me, get
yourself monitors at first if you want to spend the money into
something after your PC/DAW with audiointerface.
And dont buy cheap ones! Good monitors from my experiences are made
by Dynaudio, Genelec and maybe Yamaha (NS10 is a classic). Ask the
community! There are monitors at round about 300-600 EUR, but its still
hard to make right decisions about bass-frequences on them (bass is
important for our music!). You should aim for a pair for about 800-1000
EUR or more. This sounds heavy, I know. But besides of that and a daw
with a few plugins your gate will be open to make world hits then. You
maximize your full potential. You hear what you do. Your will be in
advantage compared to many others who spend tons of money into the
craziest maschines but mix on medium or even crappy monitors. They go
for the luck only. Sounds hard, but put their tunes out of the studio
into your car/ his car/ hifi /ghettoblaster /party pa. The sound will
differ like crazy. Its like playing roulette. You want the label and
all the people to hear you mix exactly like you did it!
<!-- incode Start -->1.4 What to buy second.<!-- incode End -->
Nothing. Until you realy need something where you are 100% sure it
will fit perfectly with your workflow. Choose wisely! Basic components
you want to get are:
Monitors, PC/Mac with a Daw or Music Software, Audiointerface,
Midi-Interface, maybe Midi-Controller, some cables. Next step is maybe
a hardware-synthesizer (they are always worth it!)
Some tips about midi controllers: Should have a keyboard, some
knobs to screw, mabye some faders. Edirol makes great and cheap ones.
Midi-Interface: I made good experiences with M-Audio others with Motu, also cheap and stable. But there are many other very good companies out there. Ask the community!
2. Learning<!-- incode End -->
<!-- incode Start -->2.1 Vocabulary<!-- incode End -->
Someone said we are not here to learn, but to remember. In a less
esoteric view, you need to learn many things if you want to be good
someday. Everywhere you have this strange cryptic parameters called:
Attack, ADHSR, Envelope, Saw, Pitch, Time, Treshhold or ATC, REL, SUS,
SAW,... the list goes on. The community is using words like: Comp, Tut,
Hats, 1176, NY, daw, bottom-end,... etc. p.p.
I can say you, there are all not as much as they look like at the
beginning. They are all repeating each other. Very Often its all about
waves and their shape, since many effects and sources are time-based
and are using a kind of wave-based application. So learning all of this
names and their meanings is not realy hard. Read the manuals, read the
internet, ask the community! There are answers to every question
everywhere. And everything is repeating each other: a Compressor is a
limitier is a brickwall is an enveloper is an expander is a
transienshaper is a multiband for example. You can get an overview very
quikly, take your time for it. You will be learn what the maschines do
very quikly then.
<!-- incode Start -->2.2 The internet is a great<!-- incode End -->
There are tons of community-sites out there. Forums are great! On
Youtube there are tons of video tutorials for every kind of technic or
trick and even inspiration. Just search for it, you will find answers
for everything. And read the manuals of your maschines by the way, you
will wonder what functions you would miss even if you are a superpro.
<!-- incode Start -->2.3 Where to focus on<!-- incode End -->
Since electronic music is often made by people which doesnt know
anything about musictheory. An even bigger part goes to mixing and
audioengineering. There are good books out there and DVDs which teach
you a very professional way of working at home. Mixing theory is very
important! A lot of Books/DVDs are made by people who got big through
rock-music-mixing, like Rob Katz, Bobby Owsinsky, Charles Dye to
mention a few very famous ones. You will often find yourself a lot
about guitar mixing or vocals. There can be many informations which are
usefull and others can be useless for you. But you will get a lot of
many important things you need to know, there can be nothing wrong to
learn how a rock-mix is build.
You will learn what is important for rock only and what is
important for every genre. You will also be able to find secrets and
tricks which doesnt fit with your style, but can work amazingly if you
modify concepts on your own. For example they do a lot of autofading in
rock mixing. In electronic music, many productions are very stable and
therefore a bit roboticlike within their makro-dynamics. More
autofading adds live to your sound, not many people do that. Many of
the very best ones do it a lot. The NY-compression is found and
described by a lot of rock-engineers and is matching great at
percussiveintensive electronic dancemusic. So, if you read that stuff
about guitars and vocals etc. get used to it - its the basic school.
Go out and collect everything you can get, see what works for you
- throw the rest away. And often you gonna pick it up again later.
I find myself reading the same tutorial twice a few years after
the first time. I often learn something from a source I had considered
to by useless for me before. But after all this, the best teacher is
yourself. Practice, practice, practice. In germany we use to say:
Practice makes the master! This is true. Talent and theory is maybe 20%
only. The rest is experience through a lot of work.
<!-- incode Start -->2.4 Finish the Track<!-- incode End -->
On Practice the best way to learn things is finishing a track.
Finish it! Do you know how many homeproducers spend tons of money and
tons of time into their work and all they have is a harddisc full of 2
minutes-jamsessions and NOT ONE finished track? Bet my grandmother that
I hit a lot of peoples heads with that point. Just make yourself a nice
big step into the only true direction: Finish your tracks. I could
write letters what you will learn then, but you need find it out by
yourself.
3. Psychology<!-- incode End -->
<!-- incode Start -->3.1Getting Social<!-- incode End -->
If you know people which share your need to make music. Connect
with them, help each other. Meet often. You will learn a lot from each
one of them, even they from you. Everyone has his own niche where he is
the best. One is better in mixing, the other one is better in making
killer basslines. You can learn from everyone. And you will always have
an advantage if you are going to SHARE ALL you know with everyone,
because it will make people socialising with you and around you. Its
like energy sent in, sent back. Record and play. Humans are crowds.
Humans are not one-man-heros. Every big musician out there is just the
peak point of a big team, a big network of inspiration and progression
of music and creativity. No one is alone. Understanding this rule,
beeing just a part of all who are a part of music will just kick you
far more ahead than anyone who wants to do anything just on their own,
sharing nothing. There is no great human in this world who did anything
great alone only! Together you will be far more stronger, you doesnt
need to produce with them, just share, take and communicate. Share the
plans and the goals, work together!
<!-- incode Start -->3.2 Two Devils inside<!-- incode End -->
Making music especially at the beginning is often frustrating and
hard. You just have to go through it. Every superstar musician has gone
trough it. There are 2 big thinks which you will face like everyone
else once faced. After a few years of experience its easy for you to
deal with that, but its better you know what is going to happen to you.
]3.2.1 The frustration: Your sound is pure crap, a waste of time.
You are just to silly to make good sound. Everytime you put your
favourite band into desk, your song can never stay against it. All the
money that was spend was wasted. Since 2 weeks you search for that
kick, and it wont come out of your monitors. Forget about all that.
Just go on, search a half year for your kick if it needs to, but go on.
You can use this kick for the next 10 years if necessary because it is
so good. Tweak the synthesizer to hell, go go. Never give up. Behind
the dark clouds of hard work, is the light, always, sooner or later.
You will learn things, many things. Keep in mind: Most of the
homeproducers who have given up, where punched down by this! Just go
through it, its realy easy. Keep on working, this is the only trick.
3.2.2. The illusion: Your sound is the very best stuff out there
which has ever made. This mindset is a bit tricky, generelly it is very
good. If your sound is going to burn and you know it - then there is
nothing wrong about it. It is by the way ok to say: My sound is great.
Do not be too shy if you know that. It is ok to love. It is ok to love
the world and other people, and offcourse its ok to love what you do by
yourself and say that - You will be very successfull if you start to
trust in yourself.
But sometimes if the human minds discovers to much frustration, it
will become a bit crazy and wants to believe things which are not
there. Be carefull for that mindset, it overcomes you after frustration
sometimes, you will think a bad sounding element is "ok" or "great" but
deep inside of you know that it does not, but your mind doesnt wants to
face it because it doesnt wants to see more frustration or even hard
work. Just be carefull of that, its a realy big trap sometimes. When I
start to dance behind my daw, then I know - its going to be real.
Through the working you often become crossideas from your mind.
There is a moment where you think "oh that hihat there is nothing realy
good at this bar." Its easy to put this hint from your mind just away
and go on. But: Listen to it. Making great music is often eleminating
details that you dont like. Listen carefully. On the other side listen
to small ideas which pop up sometimes, even if the are totally
different. Do not ignore them, use them! This is your inner expression
which comes to the working flow. It sometimes has a very quit noise,
but it is there, you just have to listen to yourself.
<!-- incode Start -->3.3 Style<!-- incode End -->
At the beginning just copy your favourite artists, learn their
technics, apply it by yourself. Reproduce it. Its a realy great
fundament to learn how to make music. You always know where you have to
go and what is wrong. Later if you are good at what you do enough. Try
to be yourself, every human is different. Make experiments, express
what is within you. Do no try to be what others want from you. Be
yourself, because you can be yourself only AND you are the best in it.
This doenst mean that you need to create your own totally new style of
music. This means that you add your flavour, your special note, your
own experience and tricks to the world. Some musicians have totally
switched genres as they had come to that point of self-expression and
they didnt followed what their label, friends, fans said what they have
to do. Bob Dylan for example was one of them. Listen to Jimmy Hendrix
solos, this is pure "letting it all out". Get this feeling, let out
whats within.
<!-- incode Start -->3.4 Open your mind<!-- incode End -->
Listen to other genres. Even if you dont like thim that much. You
can get a massive input and ideas you can modify to your own style.
Listening the same over and over again doesnt leads to new ideas. Look
outside of the window. Be open minded. If you are not, try to be.
Listen to the music in the supermarket you hate. Try to catch which
element the engineer mixed dominantly to stick out of the
supermarkets-background noise. Listen how he did it. Listen to the
piano in the bar which notes lead to this special mood. Listen to how
much more dynamic and alive every song played by instruments sounds
compared to electronic music. Try to find out why. Make the solution
improving your music.
4. Sending demos<!-- incode End -->
<!-- incode Start -->4.1 Sending demos to where?<!-- incode End -->
Things are changing. A label today differs from a label like before
10 years. Maybe in 10 years labels doesnt exist anymore. The internet
is getting very important. Djs are getting more important than labels
anyway compared to earlier times. Sending demos to a dj is never a bad
idea. Your track can be a world hit within very short time in the hand
of the right dj - as long as it has the potential. This can offer you
new important contacts for your career. Sometimes you even dont need to
send a demo, a myspace account and things can go automaticly sometimes.
A good track can make realy crazy ways around the globe, its the best
promotion for you and gives you peoples attention.
<!-- incode Start -->4.2 Preparing your demo<!-- incode End -->
Today there is a lot going via scype etc. Sending demos if you
allready have your contacts is not more like burning a cd and going to
the post office and then hoping for an answer. You have them in your
scype and upload a fresh 320-mp3 thats it. But if you dont have this
contacts and have to jump into business, I have a little guidline for
you:
- Sending a CD with Artist sheet: A nice picture from you and a
little text about your projects, style history etc. +
Adress/Email/Scype/Phone etc.
- Only finished good sounding music
- If the sound is compressed on the mainbus, make some hints on the
artistsheet, that you used it. This will prevent the labelmanager to
send the CD directly to mastering if he totally freaks out to your
super sound.
<!-- incode Start -->4.3 Money & Business<!-- incode End -->
Forget about money. Take what you can get but focus on promotion
with releases not on making money. Money comes later or from somewhere
else. Then: Play gigs maybe. Make the electromusic community a gift and
try to be truly live as possible for you, please!
About business: Always try to be fair. Dont promise one track 2
different persons. Always play with open cards. Good partnership comes
from trust and loyality, this includes both sides. But if you think
something goes wrong, dont by too shy to make a cut. But stay fair,
allways.
<!-- incode Start -->Hope this helps, I think for some it will do. Was a nice write down anyway and remember: Never give up!<!-- incode End -->
The author:
myspace.com/mantikmusic
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvV1FLrjmck&feature=related
Very, very cool trick in fruity loops piano roll, shows you how to skip 10 years of piano classes, which perfect for lazy bastards like me
That guy makes some nice fruity loops tutorials, worth checking out im
website on chords and stuff www.angelfire.com/fl4/moneychords/
Very, very cool trick in fruity loops piano roll, shows you how to skip 10 years of piano classes, which perfect for lazy bastards like me
That guy makes some nice fruity loops tutorials, worth checking out im
website on chords and stuff www.angelfire.com/fl4/moneychords/
BEGINNERS GUIDE TO ELECTRONIC MUSIC PRODUCTION
www.subconsciousmind.ch/workshops/basics/how-to-start
www.subconsciousmind.ch/workshops/basics/how-to-start
Quite clear and structural explanation on reverb and the spaceiousness of a mix:
kimlajoie.wordpress.com/tag/depth/
kimlajoie.wordpress.com/tag/depth/
SAE info on mixing, hardware (studiomaterial), room acoustics etc... www.sae.edu/reference_material/audio/pages/fullindex.htm
Givichy tutorial on producing in reason: www.electrobel.be/forum/2/6923,Givichy_Tutorial_1,0
Excellent thread, very much appreciated!