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What is it? & how can I achieve it?

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These are just the obvious 2.. I can;t figure it out beside the piano and strings.. Is it the composition?

there is definitely a lot of outboard gear that powers a song like this (good dynamic range with very high perceived loudness) but really it's production knowledge that makes tunes like this what they are. these are not noob bedroom producer tracks, each element is recorded and mixed in a professional treated environment, by professionals who have been doing this for years upon years.

Very saturated / gritty sounds.

I would experiment with bit-crushing, distortion, overdrive, filtering etc. Try them in small amounts, in series, in parallel etc.

That will give you that gritty-ness. The rest of it is just good mixing

These don't sound that amazing to be honest.
Mixing, mastering?

yeah neither of those mixes totally blow me away TBH, but #2 has some nice stuff going on.

"expensive" sounding mixes in a nutshell?

--a dynamic, performed "mix." Mix is a verb.

--great performances from the musicians or vocalist (if there is a vocalist)

--proper amount of dynamic control-- ie, you never hear the vocal compression working on "blurred lines" or "get lucky," but it's there, and lets you really increase the emotional content of the material

--across the spectrum, a good balance of energy in the frequencies. Obviously this changes per song/genre, but in genenral enough 40-80hz to feel full, not too much 100, 250, 500, enough presence at 1k, not too much harshness at 2-4k, enough air at 12-16k

--not swathed in cheap effects (obvious reverbs, corny delays, etc). There are plenty of tunes with glaringly obvious delay sounds, which are part of the tune-- great. they don't sound like a preset on freeware. work to make it the RIGHT effect for the part/song/project/etc.

none of this is really technique-based-- all about listening and making the right decisions. And, ideally, gutsy decisions that let parts come alive. Distortion, saturation, phase alignment-- and knowing which piece of gear or plugin is going to give you the RIGHT tone for the song-- all play a part.

Dave Pensado's recent interview with Tony Maserati goes really deep into this stuff. Listen and learn.

The first video has something really obvious going on with the vocals and maybe the bass as well, compression probably.

Sharmaji wrote: Dave Pensado's recent interview with Tony Maserati goes really deep into this stuff. Listen and learn.

Watched this the other day, those guys are just amazing.

I was surprised by a few things he said too...

^ no joke. Maserati and his crew have mixed a few projects i've been involved in; you send them what you think is a banging rough mix, better than other mixes out there, pat yourself on the back, and...

your shit comes back with this layer of magic on it. Really really incredible.

Sharmaji wrote:^ no joke. Maserati and his crew have mixed a few projects i've been involved in; you send them what you think is a banging rough mix, better than other mixes out there, pat yourself on the back, and...

your shit comes back with this layer of magic on it. Really really incredible.

Yeah I can believe that tbh.

Like I don't really like Blurred Lines, but that track is so punchy yet so smooth, and some of the things he talked about in Pensado's interview I never picked up till I relistened to it.

mthrfnk wrote:

Sharmaji wrote:^ no joke. Maserati and his crew have mixed a few projects i've been involved in; you send them what you think is a banging rough mix, better than other mixes out there, pat yourself on the back, and...

your shit comes back with this layer of magic on it. Really really incredible.

Yeah I can believe that tbh.

Like I don't really like Blurred Lines, but that track is so punchy yet so smooth, and some of the things he talked about in Pensado's interview I never picked up till I relistened to it.

Link?

Watching these vids makes me seem shit lol, like I can understand a lot of what they are on about, but with what I do I don't really do any of this high end engineering shit lol

Ew Protools but seriously super informative.

Sharmaji wrote:^ no joke. Maserati and his crew have mixed a few projects i've been involved in; you send them what you think is a banging rough mix, better than other mixes out there, pat yourself on the back, and...

your shit comes back with this layer of magic on it. Really really incredible.

great interview mate! showed me so much! sounds like genuine cat too..

one more for those who still don't know what I mean

mthrfnk wrote:

Thanks for that, man. I'mma watch it.

And to OP, it's because they either use live recordings, or really good samples, and then good mixing, then mastering.

Engineering experience and the best equipment money can are the requirements. You can normally see (hear?) through "tricks" in direct comparison with actual expensive productions.

Familiarization with high quality sound from .wav file sources is an absolute must in the world of mp3/AAC and Youtube. Even though the best sound can sometimes shine through this muddy file set, listening to a minimum of 16bit PCM will provide great insight to the difference between the best and "also ran".

SafeandSound Mastering
http://www.masteringmastering.co.uk/ana ... ering.html

Watch all the pensado vids, they're literally producer GOLD!

It is also a trap.

If you're already 98% there, take this step.

Otherwise, work on the other 60% you're likely lacking. You will see better roi.