Things you wish you knew when you started producing?

[paravrais]

That Reason is shite for mixdowns and that Record really didn't improve on the mixing abilities that much. Coulda saved me a lot of time and money.

tell me more- the eqs do seem a bit awkward- are other programmes better?

Personally when I moved to Ableton within the first week I was already making tunes that sounded a thousand times clearer than anything I ever made in Reason. Not saying you can't make good mixes in Reason if you know the program well but it makes it really hard for you because the Mclass stuff is all total trash. The biggest let downs are the EQ and compressor. They really, really let the team down.

[wizeguy]

that i would never finish anything

[Dankstep]

I can't believe I forgot this... if you get nothing else out of this thread, BACK UP YOUR HARD DRIVE! Invest in a 1tb or more hard drive. I've been seriously depressed for weeks before because I lost EVERYTHING. And make sure you back it up right. If you're hard drive goes out, it really sucks to figure out why samples are missing, and why certain plugins wont work, why certain songs wont open, etc.

And

If you're going to buy gear, research it VERY thoroughly. Impluse buys can be expensive mistakes,

Any external harddrives you recommend? i've been hesitant about buying one after reading some offputting reviews on newegg, just dont wanna end up with a brick that takes forever to backup and causes computer lag.

-
-drugs don't make your music "better" or "worse," they just make it different.

what exactly do you mean by this? i think i get what you're saying but just wanted to clarify..

[ogunslinger]

I can't believe I forgot this... if you get nothing else out of this thread, BACK UP YOUR HARD DRIVE! Invest in a 1tb or more hard drive. I've been seriously depressed for weeks before because I lost EVERYTHING. And make sure you back it up right. If you're hard drive goes out, it really sucks to figure out why samples are missing, and why certain plugins wont work, why certain songs wont open, etc.

And

If you're going to buy gear, research it VERY thoroughly. Impluse buys can be expensive mistakes,

Any external harddrives you recommend? i've been hesitant about buying one after reading some offputting reviews on newegg, just dont wanna end up with a brick that takes forever to backup and causes computer lag.

-
-drugs don't make your music "better" or "worse," they just make it different.

what exactly do you mean by this? i think i get what you're saying but just wanted to clarify..

I have the Iomega 1TB and it's firewire and runs great, I had a western digital that died on me, but my other one works fine and it's pretty ancient.

Lost all my project files twice from my old shitty Dell. Finally invested in one and haven't had an issue since

[hutyluty]

That Reason is shite for mixdowns and that Record really didn't improve on the mixing abilities that much. Coulda saved me a lot of time and money.

tell me more- the eqs do seem a bit awkward- are other programmes better?

Personally when I moved to Ableton within the first week I was already making tunes that sounded a thousand times clearer than anything I ever made in Reason. Not saying you can't make good mixes in Reason if you know the program well but it makes it really hard for you because the Mclass stuff is all total trash. The biggest let downs are the EQ and compressor. They really, really let the team down.

hmm, food for thought definitely- i suppose you dont know till you try something new, thanks!

[Manic Harmonic]

I can't believe I forgot this... if you get nothing else out of this thread, BACK UP YOUR HARD DRIVE! Invest in a 1tb or more hard drive. I've been seriously depressed for weeks before because I lost EVERYTHING. And make sure you back it up right. If you're hard drive goes out, it really sucks to figure out why samples are missing, and why certain plugins wont work, why certain songs wont open, etc.

And

If you're going to buy gear, research it VERY thoroughly. Impluse buys can be expensive mistakes,

Any external harddrives you recommend? i've been hesitant about buying one after reading some offputting reviews on newegg, just dont wanna end up with a brick that takes forever to backup and causes computer lag.

-
-drugs don't make your music "better" or "worse," they just make it different.

what exactly do you mean by this? i think i get what you're saying but just wanted to clarify..

i use a glyph 1.5 terrabyte firewire hard drive and back it up with time machine pretty much every day, it backs up the entire hard drive so everything is in the right place. i also used carbon copy cloner software to clone my old hard drive when i got a bigger one, it copied everything exactly as it was, i installed it in my computer and it worked perfectly.

and as far as the drugs thing, i used to think that i had to do drugs to be creative. they ended up taking me down the wrong path, and i had trouble at first writing music because i had this conception that i couldn't be creative when i was sober and taking meds for bipolar, but after a while i discovered that wasn't true. on the other hand, a lot of people have this conception that doing drugs clouds your mind so much that everything you make is shit. after listening to my older songs, and newer songs, the newer ones are no better or worse arrangement-wise than the old ones, although my production technique has gotten better as time goes by. basically all i'm saying is that you don't have to do drugs to be creative, but doing drugs doesn't necessarily make you less creative, you're just in a different state of mind which leads to different ways of thinking. i think used in moderation is ideal. hope that makes sense.

[Dankstep]

alright, so i guess firewire would be the way to go for externals? maybe one that supports usb 3.0 as well for when that becomes more standard. regardless ill definitely be looking into getting one after i get monitors. which brings me to another question. i've been thinking about getting some krk rokit 6's since they seem pretty renowned and they cost 400 which is about what im looking to spend. i dont really want to have to get a sub which is why i decided not to go with rokit 5s because i've read their bass is sort of lacking (apparently thats the case with any 5" speakers). so would i be fine mixing on purely krk rokit 6s? and i should be getting powered ones correct? liiiike http://www.guitarcenter.com/KRK-Rokit-P ... 1401613.gc

another dubstep production tip i wish i knew from the getgo is to make sub bass lines (i'm still not even satisfied with where i'm at with sub bass). i didnt when i started out and would wonder why my bass seemed so lacking in the low area. OH AND split your bass into low/mid/high frequencies using a multiband compressor! and use different effects on mid/high etc to make it more interesting.

oh and the drugs, i see what you're saying now. thought i think it largely depends on what the drug is as well. what was it that you used to think made you better if you dont mind me asking? ive been kinda going through something similar regarding adderall.. but thats stimulants.. might not directly effect creativity but i can definitely get a lot more done and stay focused. i just dont want to feel like i have to take something just to produce, thatll just end up being self destructive.

[.onelove.]

Is compression necessary? I only ever apply tiny bits to my kick drum to make it hold it's own in the mix more....

What benefit would it be to synths or samples?

[Shum]

Is compression necessary? I only ever apply tiny bits to my kick drum to make it hold it's own in the mix more....

What benefit would it be to synths or samples?

[zerbaman]

Is compression necessary? I only ever apply tiny bits to my kick drum to make it hold it's own in the mix more....

What benefit would it be to synths or samples?

It's relative really, some times it works, sometimes it doesn't. I use it a lot, on my sub, all my drums etc

I also use it as a form of limiting some sounds.

Some people never use it

[Phase Down]

1. Your equalizer or spectrum meter are your best friend when it comes to producing a song. If you don’t have a spectrum meter plug-in you can cross reference your song by playing it in any music program like winamp http://www.winamp.com By analyzing the EQ and its responses. Find the frequency range that is not jumping very high and fill it with sounds of the appropriate frequency. You should also use your eq to pump these missing frequencies if they are coming in too low.

2. Do not mud up your song by putting to many sounds of the same frequency range this will not produce a desirable effect, keep your song clean sounding. Take an overview of your song and what you are using to fill these specific frequency ranges. Get rid of any sounds that are causing complications in the mix they will only make it sound worse.

3. Clearly label all of your sounds, FX, and anything that you can about the song you are writing because chances are you’ll eventually come back to it without a clue of where you left off. If you work on one song at a time sticky notes and/or masking tape for your mixer and monitor will do the trick quite nicely.

4. Save your song as new versions, as it progresses, so that if it starts sounding worse than the previous work you can go back to its basic structure and re-write it.

5. Hearing the same riffs over and over can start to numb your ears of its catchy sound. Go back to what you are working on after a nights sleep its always better to have a listen with fresh ears.

6. Keep the volume at a reasonable level while you are working in your studio and only turn it up once and a while. This will help yourself from going deaf and will help maintain your interest in the song while you are producing it.

7. I have said it before and I will say it again, save a back up file of your work, hard drives randomly crash without warning, it’s better to sort through a bunch of files on CDs than to loose your song.

8. Experiment as much as you can, as long as you have back-ups you can always go back. Producing music is all about stretching the boundaries outside of the mainstream.

9. Keep all of your files in order sometimes this can help when going into the songs final mix down. and really helps when backing up all of your songs rough work for any future re mixes to come.

10. Continue to produce lots of music, you will always learn something after writing every song. Its all about finding that one good sample/sound that catches your ears attention, and sticks in your head for the rest of the day.

These are all great things to know as a beginner or for anyone who wants to better their workflow, the only point I do not fully agree on is 5, definitely take break’s and stay fresh but sometimes you really lose your feel on that song after a night’s sleep and becomes another one of many unfinished work, scattered around your hard disk.

literally just posted that somewhere else, then saw this thread and hope someone will benefit from it.

[.onelove.]

Is compression necessary? I only ever apply tiny bits to my kick drum to make it hold it's own in the mix more....

What benefit would it be to synths or samples?

It's relative really, some times it works, sometimes it doesn't. I use it a lot, on my sub, all my drums etc

I also use it as a form of limiting some sounds.

Some people never use it

Oh, maybe I should try it more than to add a bit of weight, lot of my tracks sound quite flimsy at the moment.

Call me naive but I'd have thought most synth leads and basses wouldn't have much of a dynamic range anyway

[Shum]

Is compression necessary? I only ever apply tiny bits to my kick drum to make it hold it's own in the mix more....

What benefit would it be to synths or samples?

It's relative really, some times it works, sometimes it doesn't. I use it a lot, on my sub, all my drums etc

I also use it as a form of limiting some sounds.

Some people never use it

Oh, maybe I should try it more than to add a bit of weight, lot of my tracks sound quite flimsy at the moment.

Call me naive but I'd have thought most synth leads and basses wouldn't have much of a dynamic range anyway

Compression won't add weight, it will take existing bottom end and bring it up in the mix assuming it's done properly.

[3za]

Is compression necessary? I only ever apply tiny bits to my kick drum to make it hold it's own in the mix more....

What benefit would it be to synths or samples?

It's relative really, some times it works, sometimes it doesn't. I use it a lot, on my sub, all my drums etc

I also use it as a form of limiting some sounds.

Some people never use it

Oh, maybe I should try it more than to add a bit of weight, lot of my tracks sound quite flimsy at the moment.

Call me naive but I'd have thought most synth leads and basses wouldn't have much of a dynamic range anyway

Compression won't add weight, it will take existing bottom end and bring it up in the mix assuming it's done properly.

What do you mean by "bottom end"???

[Shum]

Is compression necessary? I only ever apply tiny bits to my kick drum to make it hold it's own in the mix more....

What benefit would it be to synths or samples?

It's relative really, some times it works, sometimes it doesn't. I use it a lot, on my sub, all my drums etc

I also use it as a form of limiting some sounds.

Some people never use it

Oh, maybe I should try it more than to add a bit of weight, lot of my tracks sound quite flimsy at the moment.

Call me naive but I'd have thought most synth leads and basses wouldn't have much of a dynamic range anyway

Compression won't add weight, it will take existing bottom end and bring it up in the mix assuming it's done properly.

What do you mean by "bottom end"???

bass and that.

[3za]

Compression won't add weight, it will take existing bottom end and bring it up in the mix assuming it's done properly.

What do you mean by "bottom end"???

bass and that.

So you use dynamic compression, to make the bottum end louder?
And weight is not the same thing as, bottum end?

[paravrais]

Compression won't add weight, it will take existing bottom end and bring it up in the mix assuming it's done properly.

What do you mean by "bottom end"???

bass and that.

You think compression takes the low frequencies of a sound and raises them in the mix?

[Shum]

Compression won't add weight, it will take existing bottom end and bring it up in the mix assuming it's done properly.

What do you mean by "bottom end"???

bass and that.

You think compression takes the low frequencies of a sound and raises them in the mix?

It isn't just limited to lower frequencies (bass/bottom end/whatever you want to call it). Roughly speaking, compression acts as an automated volume knob, the goal of which is to average out the levels on an input by turning down sounds that are too loud (ie. above your threshold), shaping the response of such actions with your attack and release and some possible compensation of level with gain.

My point way back can be explained as follows, say I have a weak kick sound for example, a 707 kick. No amount of compression will ever get this in the realm of an 808 kick. However, it can take your 707 kick and give it a bit more power.

[Dankstep]

Great post phase down appreciate that, some good tips i didnt think of in there. but yeah compressions really important imo, i use it on drums synth and bass mainly. makes everything sound nice and big, and clear in the mix. and how it tidys up sounds seems to make mixing easier too, stuff isnt as all over the place. sidechain/parallel compression etc are all things that should be looked into.

[Manic Harmonic]

oh and the drugs, i see what you're saying now. thought i think it largely depends on what the drug is as well. what was it that you used to think made you better if you dont mind me asking? ive been kinda going through something similar regarding adderall.. but thats stimulants.. might not directly effect creativity but i can definitely get a lot more done and stay focused. i just dont want to feel like i have to take something just to produce, thatll just end up being self destructive.

yes, it does, and it depends on how the drug affects that particular person as well. i was pretty much doing everything and anything. the only thing i didn't touch was meth or crack. adderall is a tough one, because it makes you so good at EVERYTHING. however it does have a benefit, which is that, if used every once in a while, you can learn something new quickly and easily on it, and then remember how to do that. that's why people use it to study. so if you're going to use it at all that would be the way to go. oh, and DON'T put it up your nose. it clogs your sinuses like crazy and then you won't be able to hear right and your mixes will end up having obnoxiously piercing treble frequencies.