alot of folks productions sound so f'n clean on this board

jolly wailer · Post by **jolly wailer** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 11:48 pm

...what is it? I peep the dubs here and they are just so nice and clean...

is it mastering software? tasteful use of the volume control? not too much reverb on everything? ill studio monitors?

I'm using Logic and I feel like I jack up my volumes and add distortion to everything in order to get the track properly smackin - like hitting me in the face - but then shit just seems overly washed out by the time its all mixed down and bounced to track...

is prudence with the volume knob the way to go?

I guess this question goes out to people like the misk cause your shit sounds nice and heady 320 - and my 320's sound like 96's

I know this is a production board question but I'd rather ask the forum of people making the shiny dubs rather than the ones learning how produce... even though here I am learning to engineer....

justin case · Post by **justin case** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 11:58 pm

Start with good, clean, high-quality samples. That's the best idea. Get good speakers.

But samples that are kickin' are the way to start.

Good. Clean. Hi-Quality.

Learn it, live it, love it

justin case · Post by **justin case** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 12:13 am

And also dude ... just experience. KEep working at it and you'll get better and better. I've been doing it since 1997 ... I know a lot of other guys who've been doing it for a long time too, and a lot of their early stuff isn't great. It just takes time

... there's really no magic formula.

jolly wailer · Post by **jolly wailer** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 12:14 am

spectrum analysis??? not too much compression???? tectonic diodes implanted into your cat's vagina??

I want to make some shit people will want to cop on this board - it just comes out either too limpwristed and quiet or overdriven and taxing the speakers... fAck!

justin case · Post by **justin case** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 12:16 am

So try to write a song that's not distorted or compressed.

Try writing a song using only high-quality samples and no effects.

It'd be a good challenge for you.

djshiva · Post by **djshiva** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 12:33 am

EQing is your friend. when i say that, i mean learning how to keep different instrument frequencies from clashing. that will really make your tunes sound like muck.

plus yeah, high quality sounds helps...

abZ · Post by **abZ** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 1:20 am

Subtractive EQing is your friend. Along with everyone elses advice I'd say get your mix down as good as you can, you can really ruin a tune if you try to "fix" the tune in the mastering stages. I think my tunes sometimes don't sound as loud as some other peoples but thats ok, if you get a proper release the mastering will be dealt with by the pro's.

djshiva · Post by **djshiva** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 2:22 am

abZ wrote:Subtractive EQing is your friend. Along with everyone elses advice I'd say get your mix down as good as you can, you can really ruin a tune if you try to "fix" the tune in the mastering stages. I think my tunes sometimes don't sound as loud as some other peoples but thats ok, if you get a proper release the mastering will be dealt with by the pro's.

yeah i forgot to mention that subractive eqing was what i meant.

misk · Post by **misk** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 5:04 am

heh, wow dude, thanks for the compliment

I gotta agree with what everyone else has been saying about EQ. it really is the best tool in your arsenal, and out of all the available plug-ins, a good EQ is definitely indispensible!

Also, as far as mixdowns go, try to get a good mixdown, and then bounce the tune down to wav and listen to it in your car, or any other place you listen to music regularly (besides ipod headphones!) so you can get a good idea of what the tune in question sounds like.

practice by making tunes all the time, and constantly ask yourself when adding a new element or timbre to a tune "is this new part really necessary, or am i just cluttering up the mix?" Its my personal opinion that the best tracks are the ones that have few elements in them, but the have such a great groove/melody/whatever, that makes them so cohesive, that they dont need all that extra over-production. Work with what you have, and dont smother your track.

oh, also, renoise is dope, and it renders cleaner than anything else i've used. if you can grasp the drastically different interface of a tracker, then get renoise for the sound engine alone. sort of a little commercial there.

misk · Post by **misk** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 5:06 am

oh, and speakers/monitors do make a HUGE difference. I've got KRK V6's that i LOVE, but, for the record, my right one is rather blown right now, so i have to turn the volume way down, and i still seem to get good mixdowns. If you can dry wet hands in front of the bassport of your monitors from all the air, its a good sign you've got a heavy bass... as long as it isnt distorting.

gen75 · Post by **gen75** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 6:27 am

i guess you just need to know how your speakers/monitors have to sound, compare your tunes to some you like to sound-a-like,
and - eq as much as you have to get a clean sound and as less as you have to keep the sound warm ´n phat

thats the two things i´ve learned last few years, too much eqing makes a tune clean but thin and aseptic

hope i could help

flippo · Post by **flippo** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 7:41 am

I here what you are saying there gen75. I kinda like my tunes a little dirtier than most I think. there is a fine line between warm/natural, and muddy though.[/list]

municiple · Post by **municiple** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 2:01 pm

I agree, eqing and multitracking. I usually write the track, eq it, bounce the whole ting to wav, layer that below the individual tracks at a lowe level, then bounce it to wave again to bring up the girth of the track a bit.

wascal · Post by **wascal** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 2:55 pm

sapphic_beats wrote:EQing is your friend. when i say that, i mean learning how to keep different instrument frequencies from clashing. that will really make your tunes sound like muck.

plus yeah, high quality sounds helps...

I agree.

On the flipside, theres always a place for low quality 70's & 80's funk & rare groove breaks: http://virb.com/wascal

pr0fessor · Post by **pr0fessor** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 3:19 pm

also, take breaks. your ears will get fatigued. going long stints without pulling away from the gear will cause you to 'get used' to the way something sounds and let problem stuff slide.

don't forget your stereo field or 5.1 field if you are brave. sounds should be PUT in their place... when YOU decide where they go, they tend to sound better.

put some thought into what you actually are trying to do... if you want it bowel moving and distorted, you can still get there and be crisp, as long as it sounds intentional. volume, eq, compression, distortion, saturation, pan... these are your friends.

that's my 2 cents.

happy noodling.

alot of folks productions sound so f'n clean on this board

alot of folks productions sound so f'n clean on this board

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