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electrogen
Average Member
United Kingdom
206 posts
Joined: Feb, 2012
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 Posted - 2013/09/12 : 09:56:03
(Disclaimer) i am by no means an expert in the following post but these tips are just some stuff that i have struggled with for over ten years and am now just getting used to. These tips are meant as a guide for you to take as you will. i would suggest you read them a few times over many days if you dont understand them.
EQ;
You shouldnt need to eq at all during tracking. The only exception is filter eq. Everything except the bass elements (Kick, bass And sub elements need a cutoff of at least 100Hz. Hats and cymbals (Trebble Elements) i usually higs pass at 500HZ twice to make sure there are no bottoms. And the sub elements low pass at 100-250HZ to get rid of any lingering high frequencies. this may seem obvious but if you follow tis to the letter you will find your mixes have better clarity. Once tracking is finished and you move to mixing, then you can add creative eq. IE if something isnt fitting then do a sweep and see what is best. you will know when you hit the sweet spot as another instrument will pop out too.
Bass elements need cutting at 40-50Hz too as we rarely hear sub 50hz just adds too much headroom.
i used to peak my subs but not anymore. theres no need if you follow this. trust me.
Tracking;
I only just this week started tracking first. this is where you get the samples and lay them out to make the basic layout using filter eq as you go along.
Mixing;
once tracking is done, wait a few hours and then start listening to your mix element by element and use creative eq to get your sounds how you like them. After all elements are done do it again but this time use corrective eq to make your sounds stand out. If you use a hihat with more tops than mids reduce eq on tops and increase volume to original.
Mastering;
Mastering is overrated. Mastering is a process of getting a track ready for cd or vinyl. making sure that everything has its own place in the mix and stereo field.
mastering isnt essential these days but it does help either way.
tracks from iTunes etc can sound that good before mastering and tracks have never been mastered.
basically you can get a mastered sounding mix without mastering, straight from your daw.
if anyone has any other tips, feel free to share :)
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cruelcore1
Advanced Member
Croatia (Hrvatska)
1,485 posts
Joined: May, 2010
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Posted - 2013/09/12 : 14:20:56
I would like to add that it is a good idea to use spectrum analyzers, as they will help you with mixing down and EQing. I personally prefer Voxengo SPAN which is free, and it has advanced configuration for the type of equalizer you want.
And do you include Bassdrum in bass elements? Because I wouldn't recommend cutting bassdrums so much. Human hearing can hardly notice frequencies bellow 40Hz, but cutting them still makes important overall difference. If you're producing music such as UK Hardcore or UK Hard Trance, you should avoid cutting low end that much. Just a little, such as setting top frequency of the HP filter to 20Hz can be really useful, but I don't recommend cutting it any more.
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Edited by - cruelcore1 on 2013/09/12 14:30:11 |
electrogen
Average Member
United Kingdom
206 posts
Joined: Feb, 2012
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Posted - 2013/09/12 : 14:47:53
Yeah spectrum analyzer is good. I use the high res as it shows exact fundamentals. Using these you can tell what has harsh tops or bottoms
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electrogen
Average Member
United Kingdom
206 posts
Joined: Feb, 2012
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Posted - 2013/09/12 : 14:49:18
Also do research! Research what you dont know and review what you do. It sounds wierd but i looked up mixing last week. Learned alit these past few months
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DJ_FunDaBounce
Advanced Member
Colombia
1,913 posts
Joined: Nov, 2001
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Posted - 2013/09/12 : 14:54:17
quote:
Originally posted by electrogen:
Also do research! Research what you dont know and review what you do.
QFT
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SmashingTheSirens
Junior Member
United Kingdom
126 posts
Joined: Mar, 2013
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Posted - 2013/09/12 : 16:35:59
I personally think mastering is under rated! But that's just me. Obviously so much has to be right before you get to the mastering stage, but with some nice mastering tools and a little tweaking it can bring so much more out of your track and give it that fullness and energy you just can't get with a mix down :-)
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Hard2Get
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
12,837 posts
Joined: Jun, 2001
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Posted - 2013/09/12 : 18:35:41
It's insignificant compared to good music to begin with though.
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SmashingTheSirens
Junior Member
United Kingdom
126 posts
Joined: Mar, 2013
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Posted - 2013/09/12 : 20:56:02
I did put that a lot has to be right before you master. I just don't agree with saying its over rated. But I agree that you have to have everything set right and sounding spot on before you get to mastering :-)
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electrogen
Average Member
United Kingdom
206 posts
Joined: Feb, 2012
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Posted - 2013/09/12 : 21:58:57
At the end if the day everything that is done in mastering can be done in mixing down stage. Alot of inside producers see it as a magic pill that turns crap into gold but this isnt so. Like i said in op if you use minimal eq everything sits better. It also has to do with sample selection and sounds but even that doesnt ueally matter as you can layer. As long as you fill the spectrum. If you have a pad made up of a sub layer, low mid and high layer then you are filling the spectrum but there is more to this than just that. The layers them selves have to be at least half full. Then remove what you dont really need but by keeping as much sonic character as possible. Like i also said it is possibke to get tracking mixing and mastering done all At once. Mastering used to be used to allow for vinyl tape and radio playback. In a digital world this isnt an issue. There us one real advatage if mastering from stems though. And that is that you are using stems. If you compress a lead somtimes there is a loud attack at start if leads and high transient samples. Exporting thi as a stem you can then remive the transient and you whld never know the attack was there. Also to compress a channel and then its grup and then it master would be too much. But in stages... Different story
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Hard2Get
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
12,837 posts
Joined: Jun, 2001
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Posted - 2013/09/12 : 22:03:09
Edit.
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Edited by - Hard2Get on 2013/09/12 22:03:59 |
Dys7
Advanced Member
United States
1,231 posts
Joined: Nov, 2011
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Posted - 2013/09/12 : 23:54:51
The idea behind your producing is to get it sounding as good at possible. Masters are a way to make it sound better. Yes, the mixdown is the ultimate and most important bread and butter, but to not master is pointless as it is indeed a good way to improve the final character of your piece. Not as a golden pill, but as a real tangible improvement to the song.
Im not 100% sure you've heard the difference between a non-mastered and a well mastered version of a song side-by-side, you can really hear the difference. And these are with professional mixdowns.
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Edited by - Dys7 on 2013/09/12 23:56:16 |
cruelcore1
Advanced Member
Croatia (Hrvatska)
1,485 posts
Joined: May, 2010
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Posted - 2013/09/13 : 00:04:45
Mastering, if well done, improves overall dynamics. It results in compressed envelope keeping qualities of the original, being able to sound louder than unmastered version when pushed to the volume limit. That's why it's important, especially in Hardcore where producers are aiming for a powerful sound.
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Edited by - cruelcore1 on 2013/09/13 00:13:15 |
electrogen
Average Member
United Kingdom
206 posts
Joined: Feb, 2012
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Posted - 2013/09/13 : 05:50:46
I do agree that mastering is a good thing to do but you can get good release quality material without mastering.
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Audio Warfare
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
3,046 posts
Joined: Mar, 2009
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Posted - 2013/09/13 : 07:51:45
"Bass elements need cutting at 40-50Hz too" Wouldn't agree with that myself. A decent club system will certainly hit them frequencies, a mastering engineer will take a bit off the bottom of the overall track if needed. The odd sound will need it if it's got too much presence there but it's not needed most of the time I'd say.
It's good you are trying to help newcomers and all but I think you're trying to hard to work to a rule book, everyone works in different ways. It's fine that you work in this way but you shouldn't lay it out like rules IMO.
Many people do some EQing as they go and that includes professional engineers I've worked with. Mastering is not overrated either, it's essential if you want your track to have power in a club next to all the other super load mastered tracks. A professional master from the right person, with the right tools and mastering environment will really put it a cut above too (provided you have given them a decent mixdown to work with of course).
Sorry, I'm not trying to shoot you down or anything. It's perfectly valid tips if it's written in a "this is how I do it" way. It's just a shame to see so many people working strictly to advice like this they have seen on forums or whatever when really there is near absolute freedom in production.
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Edited by - Audio Warfare on 2013/09/13 08:03:58 |
cruelcore1
Advanced Member
Croatia (Hrvatska)
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Joined: May, 2010
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Posted - 2013/09/13 : 08:53:22
quote:
Originally posted by electrogen:
I do agree that mastering is a good thing to do but you can get good release quality material without mastering.
That depends on the genre and scene you're aiming at. A UK Hardcore track, for example, definitely should be mastered, and some people even overmaster them to get even louder dynamics.
(by overmastering I mean overcompressing and/or adding much gain on the limiter)
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Edited by - cruelcore1 on 2013/09/13 08:55:13 |
Mortis
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
7,493 posts
Joined: May, 2004
341 hardcore releases
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Posted - 2013/09/13 : 09:18:37
quote:
Originally posted by Audio Warfare:
"Bass elements need cutting at 40-50Hz too" Wouldn't agree with that myself. A decent club system will certainly hit them frequencies, a mastering engineer will take a bit off the bottom of the overall track if needed. The odd sound will need it if it's got too much presence there but it's not needed most of the time I'd say.
It's good you are trying to help newcomers and all but I think you're trying to hard to work to a rule book, everyone works in different ways. It's fine that you work in this way but you shouldn't lay it out like rules IMO.
Many people do some EQing as they go and that includes professional engineers I've worked with. Mastering is not overrated either, it's essential if you want your track to have power in a club next to all the other super load mastered tracks. A professional master from the right person, with the right tools and mastering environment will really put it a cut above too (provided you have given them a decent mixdown to work with of course).
Sorry, I'm not trying to shoot you down or anything. It's perfectly valid tips if it's written in a "this is how I do it" way. It's just a shame to see so many people working strictly to advice like this they have seen on forums or whatever when really there is near absolute freedom in production.
Well said.
Also, thanks Electrogen for the tips. I'll have a play with some of them when I start mixing down my next track.
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Edited by - Mortis on 2013/09/13 09:19:00 |
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