The most important skill in being an engineer, music producer, or musician is learning to listen to what you hear.After watching this sit down with some of you favorite albums. Listen one more time.
No matter what kind of beats your making your going to need some hard hitting in your face drum sounds. There are a lot of ways to beef up your drum sounds especially when your in a million dollar studio paying some engineer a hundred dollars an hour to mix your track. Until that day you’ll need to come up with some cheaper and more creative solutions to your problem.
Building your own custom drum kits.
Every producer has their own signature drum sound. This signature sound comes from many hours of sound searching and programming. Building your own library of sounds, and samples, drum sounds or otherwise is essential. You can get your sounds from any place, records, CDs, sample libraries or even record your own with microphones and real drums. Keep in mind that the source of your drum sounds will color their sound. When you sample a drum sound from a CD it will sound crisp and pretty clean. Drum samples from records will usually sound about the same as the record looks. If the record looks all scratched up and grungy, you can be sure that’s how any thing you pull of the record will sound.
Depending on the format of your sampler system you may want to sample your sounds directly into your sampler or record them into a computer to edit first. Both the Korg Triton and Akai MPC 2000 can read pc .wav files. Editing and tweaking your drum sounds on a seventeen inch monitor is much easier then on a small two color LED screen. If you record your samples into the computer you can also take advantage of the endless amounts of fx processing, eq and compression. I strongly suggest that you try Cool Edit by Syntrillium systems. (Now called Adobe Audiotion)
After you have equalized some bass into your kick drums , over compressed you snare drums and ran your hi hats through a high pass filter plugin in the computer. Map your kit out. Mapping out your samples allows you to play them or use then in a song as you would any other instrument. Mapping out samples on a Akai MPC or another drum machine based sampler is slightly different then mapping samples on a keyboard. The manual for your sampler is the best play to look about more information on this. In many samplers you can also tweak your sounds a great deal in this stage. The Akai MPC series samplers allow you to place high and low pass filters on each individual sample. The most important thing however is to program your kits in a similar way. By doing this it will be easier to try out different sounds with your sequence later. This will also allow you to work a lot faster. Its easier to find your sounds if you always put them in the same place. ( Note : This works with car keys and wallets also )
Whether your using an AKAI MPC series drum machine and sampler, an old EMU sampler, or the latest greatest sampling workstation build a massive library of your own sounds for it. Floppy disks are cheap and drum sounds do not take up that much space at all.
In the meantime you can buy Step Ya Game Up Vol. 1 which has 500 drum sounds cut, cleaned and ready to go. Each Cd-rom contains all 500 indusrty ready drum samples in Apple Loops (Aiff), Battery, EXS, Soundfont and Wav format. The EXS, Battery and Soundversion are already ampped out and ready to make hitz. This CD is also much cheaper then most of the other CD-Roms and Kits availble on the net.
Mixing is always one of the biggest problems for new engineers, home recordists and protools newbies. Unfortunately eveybody thinks there is some big dark secret to mixing. Any engineer will tell you their are tricks and techniques, but no secrets. The best way to improve your mix is to improve your recordings. That sounds almost to easy, but it is true. When you first start to record vocals or an instrument with a mic dont just press record. Listen to the signal coming in. Look at the way the microphone is placed. Try changing the distance between the pop filter and the microphone or the pattern of the microphone. Use your ears!
Once you begin to record the worst thing you could do is “Set It and forget it” Things are always changing when your record. Some times a vocalist will get tired and the levels will drop. Other times a vocalist might get louder and louder with each take as they get more comfortable. You have to be mindful of all these things and more to get good quality recordings. Other things that can also cause problems are Jewelry and chains. That G-Unit spinner is gonna cause havoc on on your vocal tracks. There is no need to be iced out in the booth! Make sure hats,arms, hand, legs or anyting else dont hit the microphone or stand while recording.
There is a saying in the studio that goes ” Crap in , Crap out” Well guess what? If it sounds good recording it, it will sound twice as good when you go to mix. Hope this helps. Feel free to hit me up with any questions.
Tip #1 – Put your contact information on everything.
This may sound simple but it is one of the biggest mistakes people make when they send me demos. Use a clear font like Arial or NY Time Roman at decent size.
If you are sending a CD make sure the CD is clearly labeled with your name, phone number, email address and website if you have one.
This same information should appear on your business card if you have one as well.
Make sure if your sending a picture you include your information on that as well. Most professional head shots can have your name and contact info at the bottom of the photo. If you cant afford big time photography at least right your contact info on the back of the picture with a sharpie marker or something.
If your using a folder or some other type of portfolio make sure the information is on the outside of the folder as well.
Important Indusrty Tip. Include your government name on your info especially if your under 18 or still living with some one else. There is nothing funnier then returning a phone call to some one name “Blaze” Or “Murderer”. This is a true story. Ring, Ring . Your mom picks up the phone. “Hello is Murder there” – “Who” There aint no murder here what r you talking about. Is this some kind of sick joke” Then a younger brother in the background yells “that’s Frankie mom hes a rapper.”
Tip #2 – A Good CD Cover.
Unless your Demo is professionally duplicated stay away from a crazy looking CD cover unless you feel itwill really make you stand out from the crowd. Bad CD art work screams “I’m new at this throw my demo in the trash” If your not an art genius or cant get good artwork for your CD then just leave it off. A Clear Jewel case with a nice crisp white label and black text looks pretty professional. Bad covers are a big turn off.
Tip #3 – You got 15 seconds, maybe a minute.
The 15 sec rule is a must. One of the most common mistakes new rappers and singers make is not getting to the point. Most people in the music industry have very short attention spans when it comes to listening to demos. If 30 seconds of the beat have passed by and you have said is “What Whuh, Yeah Uh Uh, Yeah we going to do this.” Its going in the trash. By 15 seconds I should know your stage name and being hearing some lyrics. Do your shout outs at the end of the track. Get to the point. I wouldn’t wait to long to get a hook in there either.
Tip #4 – Good sound quality.
We have reached a point that recording quality is no longer expensive. Studio time can be found dirt cheap in many places. Equipment has also become affordable enough to put your own small studio together on a very limited budget. That said most people demos still sound like crap. Distortion, Static, Noise, cant hear the vocals. The list goes on and on and on. There are 2 ways to solve thisGet some one that knows what there doing or have some one teach you how to do it. If you are going to a studio ask to hear something they have recorded. If it doesn’t sound good or clear then find some one else. When recording yourself I would recommend having some one that is more experienced do the mixing. I would even recommend talking to whom ever your going to have mix your project or tracks before you start recording . Doing this will make life easier for both of you and you’ll end up with a better sounding product.
Most people always ask why is sound quality important? Why cant they just heart my talent? Well part of the answer to that is very often the recording is so bad it is impossible to make out the lyrics, let alone want to listen to. Its also important because your demo is competing with many others that actually do have good sound quality.
Tip #5 – Get help.
If you are putting your demo together and have questions it is better to seek help and do things in a more professional manner then do everything your self and sacrifice quality. Use the people that you have around you for help. Friends can be good at offering you suggestions and its always good to have another view of things. Incorporating your family and friends into your project will also show them you are serous about what your doing and gain there support. Now im not saying you should get your mom to do your graphic design or something but to put out a professional looking and sounding product you will need help and support.
Mastering will help but if the mix of the track sounds like crap it will sound like mastered crap. The overall professional sound will come from having a good mix.
A/B ing or comparing two sources is the best way to improve your mixes. Listening to tracks that sound good to you is a very good way to help you get your sound together.
What I suggest is taking 3 or 4 songs or that sound banging everywhere you play them and learning the sound of them inside and out, listening to ever detail. Panning , Levels, Delays, Reverb and other things. It’s also good to do this because eventually you’ll be working in all kinds of rooms with different speaker systems. Having a recording or album that you know the sounds of will help you learn each room you work in. For example Your favorite track might sound great in your car or an ideal mixing environment but might sound funny at your girls house cause she has got one speaker in the corner with a chair in in front of it. At this point you would know well its not the mix that sound bad its the room or the speakers. The same things would go for one of your mixes. If your in a studio working on your mix and it sounds like shit and then you compare your favorite track in the same environment. If it sounds good… your mix sucks… if it sounds bad it could be the room making everything sound like crap.
Also listen to other kinds of music then just hip hop when your trying to find good quality mixes…
Here are some of the CDS i listen to that have insane mixes… Grab one of these tracks and dont listen to the music. listen to the mix…
Biggie’s Life After Death
Eminems’s The Eminem Show
Maddona’s Ray A Light
( I have listened to this more than a hundered times and everytime i hear something new in it… The mixes on that album are insane)
Staind’s Break The Cycle or anything mixed by Engineer Andy Wallace Mariah Carey/ Boys To Men – One Sweet Day – a crazy mix with tons and tons of vocals.
There tons of albums with good mixes but those are some of the ones I use and i know in and out.
Bottom line is you need to give your ears a benchmark to what good sounds like. This way if it doesn’t sound like that at least you’ll know to keep on trying.
Mixing to say the least takes along time to learn how to do. Just keep at it.
How do I connect my turntable to my computer to record sounds and samples.
This is what you need:
Turntable
DJ Mixer
Computer/ Soundcard an Recording program.
All the wires to make it happen.
If your Turntable isn’t set up already it should be plugged into the Phono Input of your DJ Mixer. Make sure you connect the ground wire from the turntable to the DJ Mixer also. This will help prevent buzz and hum.
Once you have the Turntable hooked up to the DJ mixer connect the Rec. Outs LR from the DJ Mixer to the inputs of your soundcard. The type of wires your need to do this will vary depending on your setup. When you connect the out put of your Dj mixer to your soundcard you should make sure your using the Line input of your soundcard and not the Mic Input. Depending on your soundcard there may be a switch to choose which input level you are using.
The next part really depends on what program you use to record. Good programs to use for this kind of recording are Protools, Cool Edit. Adobe Audition, Peak ect. Which ever one you choose jsut be sure not to let record the material too hot. You dont want it to distort.
Once you get your sequencer going and got some sounds together its beat making time. How you do this will depend on what your using of courses when it comes to recording and programming this is a good method to follow.
1. Program some drums or get a sample drum loop going.
2 . Get a main melody or hook idea. This could be a melody you program or play if you have a keyboard. It could also be another sample or combination of samples.
3. Keep building your ideas making sure to put each idea on a separate track so you can sort trough them and mix them later.
4. Once your happy with your beat make a simple arrangement of it by muting or turning of certain parts off at certain parts of the beat to create things like breaks, intro and more.
5. Use your sequencers mixer functions to get an overall balanced sound of all the instruments in the entire track.
6 . Sell your beat to Jay-Z and become famous!
How long should my beat be?
Your main loop of your beat should be as long as you like. Many producers use loops that are 2,4, and 8 bars long and just repeat the loop muting certain parts to keep the track interesting. You can also add things to your main beat during different parts of your song to follow along the rapper or singers lyrics and flow. One thing you should keep in mind though is that hooks to most songs are 4 or 8 bars and most verses are 8, 16, 24 bars. Usually the more pop oriented a song the shorter the verses are. Example a Britney Spears or R. Kelly verse might be 8 bars and Jada Kiss or Mobb Deep verse might be 24. You are the one making the beat though so you can do what ever you want.
Using a keyboard or other midi controller with your sequencer.
At some point you’ll realize that programming beats with a mouse on your computer is not fun at all. This is when your equipment set up starts to grow. By adding a MIDI keyboard to your computer you can trigger the sounds in your computers sampler playback instrument or internal sound modules.
To do this you will need a few things:
MIDI Keybaord or controller.
MIDI Interface
The necessary wires to connect everything.
You can purchase a MIDI Interface and Midi Keyboard or controller separately or you can buy a device that has both combined. Some really good MIDI contoller keyboards to start out with are made by a company called:
Many of their MIDI controller keyboard feature USB ready MIDI interfaces and are easy to install and setup. They also sell models that have USB sound cards built in aswell. As with any thing else you have to see what wht works best with the equipment you are using. AKAI MPC users do not need a MIDI interface, a MIDI keyboard can connect directly to the MPC.
The Redbull and Vodka song featuring Seldom Seen was produced, recorded and mixed by GNX Music. This quick video was shot with 1 inexpensive minDV camera and edited using Apple’s Final Cut Express editing program. The video was shot at the Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale, NY. Other artists performing that night were Renee Stakey, and Akon artist Colby O’Donis. A video of Renee Stakey, also a GNX Music client will be up soon aswell.
