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Steps To Making A Complete & Full Track

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 5:57 pm
by RAN
Start adding stuff in people. Just copy the latest post and add your own. DONT FORGET TO COPY ALL OF THE LAST ONE

*EDIT* Here are the html codes to make it easy to copy. I hope you will follow my word processing template. Very easy using the buttons above the text input boxes for those that dont know. Once your done, please past code into notepad and upload the file to zippyshare or similar file sharing site.

http://www18.zippyshare.com/v/39982776/file.html

Hopefully the latest post will have a detailed list of all the components to making a full track and more.

Of course, most tracks wouldn't need all the components. But anyone, if they're stuck on a track and don't know where to go, will be able to come here and this will help them jump-start the process.
This will also be good for people just starting out and want to follow some sort of guide to speed up their learning curve.
Or just for someone who wants to make the biggest track ever, implementing every technique you could imagine into one tune... me for example :D

List broad and general techniques and everything you can think of.

Be clinical, try not to add opinions or "single ways" to do something like numerical settings or Freq values. Be very very general. I have put some examples in to help guide the process.
Feel free to add new categories, although be careful not to be too specific. If you think you can put your technique into a category already there, do it!

Obviously, techniques can contradict others, that is the beauty of music production :4:

Hope everyone gets it and can cooperate and help create a pretty cool thread :)


Bass:

Sub:

- Send Sub to Sub Group Bus pre fader for good mixdown control later. Reduce this tracks volume to nil.

Mid Range:

Percussion:

Crash:

Hi Hats:

Toms/Bleeps/Bloops/Block:

Snare:

Kick:

- Send the Kick channel to the Lo Kick and Hi Kick Fx Channels pre fader. This means you will able to split the kick into low and high frequency bands for greater control. Reduce this tracks volume to nil.

Leads:

Pads:

Melody:

Stabs:

FX:

Noise:

Sound FX:

Risers:

VOX:

Vocals:

Vocal Hits:

FX Channels:

Lo Kick:

- Add an EQ tool to this track and cut away the hi end until all you have is a nice low end punch around where the sub sits. Copy this freq location and apply it to the Hi Kick channels EQ tool.

- Send Lo Kick to the side chain on the Sub Group pre fader so every time the lo end of the kick hits you can control how much the subs volume decreases. This allows for a balance between the low end of your kick amplitude and the sub. This is good when you have a really low end kick or a sub track which uses higher notes.

- Insert a compressor into the fx chain of Lo Kick and apply side chain. Send the Sub Group channel to this pre fader and adjust accordingly. This is a reverse method of the above mentioned technique.

- Send to the Percussion Group pre fader for greater mixdown control and reduce volume on this track to nil.

Hi Kick:

- Add an EQ tool to this track and cut away the lo end until all you have is a nice hi end punch removing all sub. Copy this freq location and apply it to the Hi Kick channels EQ tool. Make sure you blend the two well, otherwise you will remove the punch from the sum of these parts.

- Send to the Percussion Group pre fader for greater mixdown control and reduce volume on this track to nil.

Snare:

- Send to the Percussion Group pre fader for greater mixdown control and reduce volume on this track to nil.

- Send to Reverb (Snare) pre fader for greater wet/dry mixing control.

Reverb (Snare):

- Insert an EQ tool and remove lo end freqs to stop reverb clashing with lo end sounds.

- Insert a quality reverb which has a nice tail.

- Send to Reverb Group pre fader for greater mixdown control and reduce volume on this track to nil.

Delay (1/4):

Distortion:

Flanger:

Phaser:

Filters:

Group Buses:

Sub:

- Insert a compressor into the fx chain of this fx channel and apply side chain. Once you have sent the lo end of your kick here, adjust accordingly for a good amplitude balance between the two.

- Send to the compressor on the Lo Kick channel to remove to low end of the kick whenever the sub plays. This is a reverse alternative to the above mentioned technique.

Percussion:

Mid Bass:

Hi Hats:

Leads:

Vox:

Reverb:

FX:

Re: Steps To Making A Complete & Full Track

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2012 2:52 pm
by RAN
Any takers? :?
I know my example was pretty lame, but maybe you can provide it with something awesome :)

Feel free to comment about techniques ect.

Re: Steps To Making A Complete & Full Track

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2012 3:18 pm
by JTMMusicuk
some interesting ideas in here, hopefully this thread will be a good one and not get derailed
not got anything to add just yet like

Re: Steps To Making A Complete & Full Track

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2012 4:05 pm
by legend4ry
Thats pretty much how I build my tracks apart from laying is bounce and re-imported during pre-mix down stage so I am working with single audio files opposed to 93849208.

Re: Steps To Making A Complete & Full Track

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2012 4:11 pm
by Pay No Mind
Does routing everything to a bus improve sound quality or somthing? Whats wrong with puttin all your effects onto the drum rack itself? Im not trying to sound arrogant, im actually curious (: please explain!!

Soundcloud

Re: Steps To Making A Complete & Full Track

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2012 4:32 pm
by JTMMusicuk
Pay No Mind wrote:Does routing everything to a bus improve sound quality or somthing? Whats wrong with puttin all your effects onto the drum rack itself? Im not trying to sound arrogant, im actually curious (: please explain!!

Soundcloud
Cpu and also when your routing multiple things into a bus they are all 'coloured' in the same way making it easier to get your sounds to fit together.
Makes it easier to mixdown aswell

Re: Steps To Making A Complete & Full Track

Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 1:39 pm
by RAN
Summing tracks is one of several ways to mix.

These are merely categories, nothing is set in stone and if you are a producer who doesn't sum your tracks it doesn't matter, just put in your processing techniques in the track you would use. If it's not there, add your own :)

You can even put in tips on sound design in each categories, or just your philosophies on getting a good flow going ect.
Please use red font color if your alluding to a category and follow my word processing template.

I might add some more stuff soon when I have enough free time.

Thanks everyone for checking it out so far, let's see if we can get some more stuff in there.

*EDIT* Supplied HTML codes above for easy copying :) Once your done, please supply your own updated code in a link to make it easy for the next person.

Re: Steps To Making A Complete & Full Track

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 4:37 am
by bmills
Wow great idea for a thread! Don't have time now but I'll definitely throw my 2 cents when I get a chance.

Re: Steps To Making A Complete & Full Track

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 4:46 am
by mikeyp
i think this should focus more on creativity and workflow rather than routing and using the mixer.

Re: Steps To Making A Complete & Full Track

Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 4:06 am
by RAN
@mikeyp;

It's called "Steps To Making A Complete & Full Track"

This indeed includes creativity and workflow.

Eg; Got any ideas on how to lay down some lead samples creatively and effectively using a good method which utilizes efficient workflow practices? Put it in the "Lead" category.

It should also include everything else and what this entails should be pretty self explanatory to anyone with the knowledge needed to add to this.

Nice little bump reply too :)
Please start contributing people, if you make a thread about a technique or something, add it in here!

Re: Steps To Making A Complete & Full Track

Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 2:33 pm
by Sharmaji
having a written song before you build a mix is always a good starting point ;)

Re: Steps To Making A Complete & Full Track

Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 2:51 pm
by lowpass
Sharmaji wrote:having a written song before you build a mix is always a good starting point ;)
And being able to get the majority of it down before you lose that 'spaark' is always a tough cookie. :lol:

Nice idea this thread btw :4:

Re: Steps To Making A Complete & Full Track

Posted: Wed May 22, 2013 12:43 pm
by RAN
One year later and does a new batch of members want to contribute to this ? ;)

Re: Steps To Making A Complete & Full Track

Posted: Wed May 22, 2013 2:00 pm
by AwakenTheProphets
RAN wrote:One year later and does a new batch of members want to contribute to this ? ;)
I hope someone goes ahead and adds more, would be quite an interesting thread to follow :)
#Bump.

Re: Steps To Making A Complete & Full Track

Posted: Wed May 22, 2013 3:48 pm
by __________
1. Do some drums
2. Do some bass
3. Do some melody
4. Add some more drums
5. Add some variation
6. Strip it all back to the essentials (crucial step)
7. Export