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here's a song I was workin on, I was trying to make a french filter house type of thing... I think it turned out ok, but by god am I having trouble mixing. http://soundcloud.com/thevandalsquad/the-one-i-want Are you supposed to mixdown so the volume is really low, and then through mastering make it louder? I've read through this thread from beginning to end, but I am still having trouble  any feedback would be great.
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Mar 3, 2010 03:10
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this is the most 2-step thing ive ever done, think i pretty much got the drums down (without making them completely flat) http://soundcloud.com/stranger-song/graupel-stranger-song-vip
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Mar 3, 2010 03:24
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GbrushTwood posted:here's a song I was workin on, I was trying to make a french filter house type of thing... I think it turned out ok, but by god am I having trouble mixing. Bahahah holy poo poo, when I first went to the link, soundcloud was having trouble displaying the waveform, so for the time it just showed up as solid gray (as in you had compressed it literally as much as was physically possible) and I was really really impressed cause I've done some horrid mixdowns but that would top it, but then the proper image displayed, and its not really that bad. Personally, I throw a mono on the master channel, mute everything, and turn everything down all the way, then one by one starting usually with the percs and bass working my way to rhythm and vox unmute then bring it up till the volume sounds about right, aiming for -3 to 0 db at your peaks. Plus after listening like this for a few minutes, when you take off the mono it'll sound absolutely awesome in comparison.
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Mar 3, 2010 05:25
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Haha, oh man, I think I'd have to stop making music altogether if it was that bad. Thanks for the advice mezzir, after getting the peaks to be at about that level, what do you usually do afterwards? The volume, while mixed a little more properly now, is still fairly low, and I don't know if I should throw more compressors over the master, or bounce the track and then try to start a master chain with effects. I'm using Ableton 8.1 if that helps any, and I am in the process of picking up T-racks.
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Mar 3, 2010 05:40
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GbrushTwood posted:here's a song I was workin on, I was trying to make a french filter house type of thing... I think it turned out ok, but by god am I having trouble mixing. Fun stuff 
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Mar 3, 2010 13:07
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GbrushTwood posted:Haha, oh man, I think I'd have to stop making music altogether if it was that bad. Thanks for the advice mezzir, after getting the peaks to be at about that level, what do you usually do afterwards? The volume, while mixed a little more properly now, is still fairly low, and I don't know if I should throw more compressors over the master, or bounce the track and then try to start a master chain with effects. compress your tracks not the master. dont compress the master. just dont.
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Mar 3, 2010 13:29
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Hey I need some advice on picking out an audio/midi interface. My budget is about 150-200 bucks and I'm pretty much recording vocals only. No real usb/firewire preference but given that I'll probably have only 1 vocal channel at a given time there isn't a huge need for firewire. So far these seem like good options, any recommendations? Tascam US-144 USB 2.0 Audio and MIDI Interface Tascam USB 2.0 Audio.midi Interface (Is there any difference between this one and the one before it, besides the lack of line out? Is that particularly important?) Presonus 2x2 Recording System M-Audio Fast Track US44010 USB Audio Interface That last one has some freebie "GT recording software" which looks like crap and makes me suspicious that the hardware it goes with isn't as good, but I dunno. Has anybody who's used any of these had a good/bad experience? Or are there better ones out there in my price range I haven't seen yet? tia
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Mar 3, 2010 18:01
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SpecialAgentCooper posted:stuff You can find a Focusrite Saffire 6 for around $200 and the converters/preamps in that will wipe the floor with M-Audio or Tascam. I use a Focusrite Saffire (different model) at home and it rocks. Also check out the Cakewalk/Edirol UA25EX or EMU 0404 in that price range.
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Mar 3, 2010 18:49
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Quincy Smallvoice posted:compress your tracks not the master. dont compress the master. just dont. compressing the master is probably the most common technique used to make tracks really slam, i have no idea what you mean with that? also, abletons compressors blow a dick compared to some other nicer plugins. they dont use hardly any cpu and they sidechain real easy but they dont sound good either. i bought the T*racks suite with their nice rear end compressors and just switching the plugins with the ableton ones made a good noticeable difference in sound quality. and then i put the limiter on master(thats what its for so compress the master) and its pretty loud and sounds good on a PA. but, it is very easy to over do it and just get whompy buzzing bass sounds from the PA
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Mar 3, 2010 20:15
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I think I've learned more reading here in the past week than the past three months of studying elsewhere. Here's something I've always wondered - what makes certain VSTi's sound better than others? For example, why would I be so compelled to get NI Massive over the free Synth1?
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Mar 3, 2010 23:03
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Been toying with the idea of a solo album of instrumentals aside from all the remixin I do, first effort/sketch: opinions?
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Mar 3, 2010 23:12
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E1M5 posted:I think I've learned more reading here in the past week than the past three months of studying elsewhere. It's not just a matter of "sounding better" (Synth 1 sounds quite solid and musically useful for what it is), a lot of it has to do with the complexity of the synth's architecture -- some synths are capable of more multilayered, evolving sounds compared to others. This could be something like a one-key soundscape, or something more subtle; I was playing around with a "violin" preset in Absynth the other day and was really impressed with how playing a regular note gave a nice clear tone, but then as I gradually applied pitch bend, it added an element of "scrape", like from a rosined bow, to the sound. You need more than just a couple of simple oscillators and filters to do something like that. More complex synths can offer more sophisticated modulation capabilities, more elaborate envelopes, onboard effects, built in arpeggiators or sequencers, support for different tunings, etc. And some just have better quality filters and tone generators. And there are different methods of synthesis (like FM / additive synthesis) which are a wholly different approach and good at different types of sounds. Of course the flip side to this is that more sophisticated synths can be a lot more challenging to program -- there's a lot more involved in making good use of them than just twiddling a single panel's worth of knobs.
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Mar 3, 2010 23:22
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GbrushTwood posted:here's a song I was workin on, I was trying to make a french filter house type of thing... I think it turned out ok, but by god am I having trouble mixing. I enjoyed this a lot. needs something to be totally unique and awesome. Like a little synth line. A tad of more cutup moments. I really like the filters, the choice of samples, and the drifting bongo player. Good stuff man.
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Mar 4, 2010 03:31
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GbrushTwood posted:here's a song I was workin on, I was trying to make a french filter house type of thing... I think it turned out ok, but by god am I having trouble mixing. Hey, I figured I'd offer some advice since this is kind of my forte - you've got a good sample here, but there's some really glaring issues that make it kind of dull. Your first loop suffers from vinyl drift, so the kick is off is some spots, making it sound pretty sloppy. Your snare sounds pretty out of place in the mix, so you may want to spend some time working with the disco loop and the snare by themselves. A lot of producers generally go with a percussion sample that sounds like it's a part of the original sample, or a "complimentary" snare that is decidedly different sounding, but still good. I'd try and find something that fits into either of those. Your second session is mixed pretty poorly - there sounds like there's almost no bass after the first break. That's when you want to come in hard, but you're working with a completely new loop, so you're going to need to do more with it if you want it to knock. The shakers, at that point, sound completely out of place because they're fighting for stereo space with the loop. As far as the overall sound, it sounds like you need more control over the loop and where it sits in the mix. Take some time to create at least three different submixes for your disco loops - a bass channel, a mids channel, and a shine channel. Use modulation to give it some flavor and stereo effect. Keep working on it and you'll nail it down in no time.
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Mar 4, 2010 03:56
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Man, thanks for the advice Melee, I'll start using them on my next track. I actually messaged you on Facebook about your gig with my buddy at Risque! I was gonna stick around and chat with you but I had to drive my drunk friends back home. So the best way to go about mixing, is to mix quietly with separate compression on the individual tracks, and then make them louder with a limiter on the master? So many conflicting ideologies on mixing  , but I guess that comes with the territory.
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Mar 4, 2010 04:28
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GbrushTwood posted:Man, thanks for the advice Melee, I'll start using them on my next track. I actually messaged you on Facebook about your gig with my buddy at Risque! I was gonna stick around and chat with you but I had to drive my drunk friends back home. Oh cool! Did you say hi? A lot of people were coming up to me during my set, it was hard to hold a conversation in the middle of mixing, haha.. You have to experiment with what sounds good - a lot of people will give you advice, but the majority of them aren't working with disco or funk or 80s loops as the primary focus of their productions. Disco loops are very dynamic in their elements and how they're mastered, then how they're ripped from vinyl - this makes them very, very hard to predict. The best way is to wrangle the sample in and get as much control over it as possible while getting it loud and clear across the spectrum. After that, you want to bring in percussion that doesn't interfere with that submix you've created, and create a nice texture to the track.
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Mar 4, 2010 04:41
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Sorry if this has been asked many times but I haven't seen it in the past few pages so I'll just ask... For club mixes/DJ'ing, what is the best preference for a song to start and end? Like as in what do DJ's prefer if given the option? -Immediate solo drums intro / fade out? -Slow synth/instrument intro / end with drum solo? -NO fades, just start with drums / end with synth/vocals -Solo drum intro / end with quick instrument solo outro? ETC.... I'm doing a club remix, it's sounding good, just not sure what would be the most optimal way to start end. I've always assumed it's best to start off right into it with the full on beat, and then faded looped outro. edit. this is a song of my own so I still have multitracks and it's fully sequenced & tweekable. Just curious as I've never actually DJ'd before and I'm sure most dj's have a generic preference when it comes to club mixes? The Cleaner fucked around with this message at 05:01 on Mar 4, 2010 |
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Mar 4, 2010 04:52
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The Cleaner posted:For club mixes/DJ'ing, what is the best preference for a song to start and end? Like as in what do DJ's prefer if given the option? Are you going to be mixing immediately into / out of another DJ's set? If I'm mixing in from another DJ's set, I'll pick a track with plenty of junk in its trunk, that carries on the last DJs vibe but still with enough personality to catch people's attention. If I'm starting out the night, I'll usually build from ground zero with a few slow/minimal tracks, and build things up slow. But really one of the biggest parts of being a good DJ/performer is being able to read the room and knowing what kind of vibe to throw down at what time.
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Mar 4, 2010 05:26
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Meatsplosion posted:You can find a Focusrite Saffire 6 for around $200 and the converters/preamps in that will wipe the floor with M-Audio or Tascam. I use a Focusrite Saffire (different model) at home and it rocks. Also check out the Cakewalk/Edirol UA25EX or EMU 0404 in that price range. Yes, I am indeed on PC. My setup is mostly based around Reason (and now) Record so I'm looking for something to complement my midi work. It looks like all of these have phantom power etc, so, cool, but what about the preamps? Does one have more "sonic characteristics" (I know nothing about this specifically) or are they all transparent or what? Anybody else have a preference for this kind of use?
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Mar 4, 2010 06:39
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SpecialAgentCooper posted:Yes, I am indeed on PC. My setup is mostly based around Reason (and now) Record so I'm looking for something to complement my midi work. It looks like all of these have phantom power etc, so, cool, but what about the preamps? Does one have more "sonic characteristics" (I know nothing about this specifically) or are they all transparent or what? Echoing this, kind of. I don't need more preamps but better quality than the Fast Track Pro. The cheaper the better, obviously. This issues has never been really resolved and I'm not too happy with the FTP. Want some closure.
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Mar 4, 2010 07:26
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h_double posted:Are you going to be mixing immediately into / out of another DJ's set? Sorry no, I don't mean I'm DJing. What I mean is I am remixing and sequencing an electronic song I made into a club mix. Anyway I was just told by a DJ friend of mine it's most optimal to have a "32 count" intro and outro.. Does this mean NO instruments should kick and and nothing should change at all for those 32 bars?
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Mar 4, 2010 18:42
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The Cleaner posted:Does this mean NO instruments should kick and and nothing should change at all for those 32 bars? 8 bars, 32 counts...in 4/4 that is
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Mar 4, 2010 18:47
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The Cleaner posted:Sorry no, I don't mean I'm DJing. What I mean is I am remixing and sequencing an electronic song I made into a club mix. My bad, I thought you were talking about doing a live PA or something. I'd say 8 bars / 32 count is pretty much the minimum, and sort of on the short side, but I mostly spin house, which is all about long evolving transitions. Something like 8 bars of mostly hi-hats and maybe a simple high synth, then gradually bring in a simple kick and bassline over the next 8-16 bars, then a buildup with a snare roll and drop into your main groove full force. You want something to let the DJ beatmatch, that will establish your song's identity, but still be sparse enough that it's not going to crowd into another track. Download a few songs from Juno or Beatport in a similar style, and make a little chart of how their intros/buildups are structured, and copy that basic template.
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Mar 4, 2010 19:04
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edit. Got it, thanks guy!
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Mar 4, 2010 19:05
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The Cleaner posted:Sorry no, I don't mean I'm DJing. What I mean is I am remixing and sequencing an electronic song I made into a club mix. It really really depends on the style you're making. If you're making a drum and bass song or a 2step garage song, no one's going to be able to mix it if the intro is too busy. But the intro really sells the drop 95% of the time. You can't just half rear end it, start with the drums, add in your instruments and just build it up. It takes a little more nuance and creativity than that. 32 bars is probably about right for an intro. You could do more no problem, but probably don't do much less. But the outro IS mechanical like that. DJs aren't going to be playing your track until it runs out. If you're really club centric, be nice and give them a predictable outro. That's that kinda situation where you'll simply break down the song and run the drums solo for like 8-16 bars.
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Mar 4, 2010 20:57
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I don't know exactly why I spent the time to do this Anyway, here's the actual song  (Which is a reworking of this one)
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Mar 4, 2010 21:50
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cowboy
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 God drat, I might have to do a full EP of missy elliot remixes. Missy gets dirty or something, cause god drat. She's fuckin fun to gently caress with edit: newer version 
mezzir fucked around with this message at 19:45 on Mar 5, 2010 |
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Mar 5, 2010 07:55
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 Some of you may remember my TERRIBLE attempt at dubstep when I had no loving idea what dubstep really was. Well, thank yourself that this isn't dubstep. I've started learning the intricacies of the synth I'm using (NI Pro-53) which is goddamn awesome and so yeah, I came up with this ...disco-ish thing. Any and all criticisms are welcome, I won't really know how to get better if people don't tell me where I'm loving up Edit: Oh yeah, it's not finished, it kinda just cuts off in the middle of it all. I always get halfway through a song and then get a massive case of writers block. SwissDonkey fucked around with this message at 14:00 on Mar 5, 2010 |
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Mar 5, 2010 13:57
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Mezzir that remix is the coolest. Swiss Donkey, it seems like you have a good idea of how music works in terms of structure, composition etc, but the instrumental side of the song lacks considerably what one could call "musicality." That is to say, the notes that are being played by your synth and the structure of the beat work well, but the sounds themselves don't mesh all that well. For example, the bass line and the main lead take up some of the same frequency ranges, which is initially confusing to the listener until they sort out what's going on mentally. On a similar note, sounds like the ones you are using for the bass and lead need a little bit of effect work to sound engaging and exciting to a listener. There needs to be some sort of modulation to keep things fresh, because a dry synth can and will get very boring over the length of a track. It's a good attempt, especially if its one of your first, but needs something to sound fresher. I was going to post this anyway, but it might help you out, actually. This is a track I've been working on which utilizes some very similar synth and bass sounds to the song you posted, but with lots of effects and dynamic modulation to boost the musicality rather than just the volume.  Some info for anyone wanting to comment/critique (please do!): Made in Logic 9, most synths/sounds from independence free: http://www.yellowtools.com/ (go download this now. its free!) and the rest from logic's built in audio units. Mastered with Ozone. If anyone knows how to use this thing seriously, i'd appreciate some pointers. There's so much STUFF it does, i don't even really know where to start. unSavory fucked around with this message at 03:33 on Mar 6, 2010 |
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Mar 6, 2010 03:15
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I keep varying on this drum theme but I like it so v v
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Mar 6, 2010 04:12
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unSavory posted:Mezzir that remix is the coolest. Yeah I know I've really got to work on mixing, I have absolutely no idea where to start with it to be honest. Any pointers? Thanks for the crit anyway, it was quite helpful Edit: I think my biggest problem is figuring out the automation on effects parameter controls. I'm using FL studio 9 for reference. SwissDonkey fucked around with this message at 07:23 on Mar 6, 2010 |
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Mar 6, 2010 07:20
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Honestly, I would save the automation for things like buildups breakdowns, wide volume and eq changes and other things that effect the actual tone of your sounds. What I would focus on instead are effects that don't need automation (so to speak) to make your sounds play more nicely with each other. The easiest to start with would be a compressor with a sidechain functionality (which flstudio has if I remember correctly) that can be set up so that when one sound (the prominent one, like your lead synth) plays, another sound in the same frequency range is minimized slightly in volume. There's a more in depth explaination of this in the OP and it's a good place to start, but there are alot of things you can do without manually dragging the volume automation around whenever you need something to stick out or sit back in the mix. VVVVVV Also this.  VVVVVV
unSavory fucked around with this message at 19:55 on Mar 6, 2010 |
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Mar 6, 2010 10:44
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unSavory posted:Honestly, I would save the automation for things like buildups breakdowns, wide volume and eq changes and other things that effect the actual tone of your sounds. I think it'd make more sense to start with the synth itself, and add more modulations to the sounds (envelopes, velocity, LFOs etc.)
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Mar 6, 2010 12:41
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mezzir posted:
Rules as usual. I love the plucky synth line that comes in during the second verse.
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Mar 6, 2010 17:22
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I started working on a DnB track today. I'm still toying around with the arrangement, and I'm not fully satisfied with the mix and mastering. Any advice you guys can throw me I really appreciate. I like how this came out, and want to make it as sonically pleasing as possible.
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Mar 7, 2010 01:34
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What should I use to split a MIDI file into its instrument chunks? I've got a file here, but when I drop it into Live, it takes it as one track instead of multiple tracks with the individual instruments. File in question
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Mar 7, 2010 12:20
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The Dark Wind posted:I started working on a DnB track today. I'm still toying around with the arrangement, and I'm not fully satisfied with the mix and mastering. Any advice you guys can throw me I really appreciate. I like how this came out, and want to make it as sonically pleasing as possible. I don't think it hits hard enough from the into to main part of the song. It's like a looping intro. I think the part where that deep saw comes in after the intro should instead be a break in the middle of the song, and you should go into the main verse immediately after your shortened intro. It feels to me like you've got a trance-like structure of building up the intro, when DnB is more like a zero to sixty kind of genre where it hits with everything all at once, very quickly. The pacing just feels off to me.
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Mar 7, 2010 12:55
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first thing i made with my new monitors 
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Mar 8, 2010 08:49
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trill rear end posted:first thing i made with my new monitors Digging this one, trill rear end. I thought I'd post and let you know that I played your 'feb2nd' track out last week. I know it wasn't necessarily finished but I couldn't resist, from where i was standing it sounded solid too. Are you going to finish that tune?
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Mar 8, 2010 14:44
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redpint posted:Digging this one, trill rear end. id say im pretty done with it 
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Mar 8, 2010 17:33
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