Add your tips! Be it beginner, intermediate or pro. Any usefull information that can be shared and added for the SA masses.
PRODUCER TIPS:
- The DAW you use isn’t important, stop asking about and worrying about ‘which is the best DAW to use’. Try them out via demo and see which one feels most comfortable to you, that is how you know which is the best one FOR YOU.
- You don’t need every plug-in available to man, we’ve all done it but as beginners it’s too easy to start getting hold of everything and anything. Firstly you don’t need them all, secondly it only confuses matters, thirdly, it’s better to have a handful of plug-ins that you can use masterfully, than dozens that you can barely use at all.
- If you’re going to buy any hardware, make sure it’s decent speakers, everything else comes secondary, decent speakers is a must. You don’t have to fork out £1000s, a pair around £200-300 is good enough. Your PC speakers are not.
- You’re second vital piece of kit is a midi keyboard, again this doesn’t have to be anything fancy, you can pick up a fairly bog standard 2 octave one for around £50. You can however produce without one, but it does make life much much easier.
- If you have a question, try using the SA search forum, chances are it’s been asked and answered before. Also try the FAQ section (sticky at top of this forum)
- There are no right or wrong way of doing things with music, ask 10 producers for an opinion and you’ll get 10 different answers
- Rest your ears during long production sessions. Ear fatigue is the devil.
- Don’t give up. All the big names were in our boat once too.
- Friends will like whatever you show them and if they don’t they’ll still say that they do. Try and show it to fellow producers/musicians, however do remember that other producers are the most critical, it’s often good to show people who arn’t producers and arn’t your friend. Soundcloud is awesome for this.
- If you’re stuck on a track take a break so you don’t get frustrated and scrap the song, maybe even try making something else and new, then come back to your earlier project, you’ll have loads of new ideas with fresh ears.
- Google is your friend
- Remember the 20 minute rule, if it is not working it that time sack it off take a 10 minute break and and start fromthat point with something different!
- If in doubt chuck it out!
- Finish tracks even if they suck… having 50 unfinished projects is baaad and you need to learn the bit after making a cool loop.
- Turn your screen off when you listen back to your track… your eyes can deceive you.
- Collaborate with someone… a guitarist a singer another DJ/Producer dosnt matter can add another perspective and take you in new directions.
- Learn a musical instrument… its music after all
- Create presets of all the stuff in all your tracks… an original organized library will save you tons of time
- Use Trusted Headphones to check Bass in a Mix rather than trust a badly treated room.
- Use Trusted Headphones & Frequency Analyzer to check sub bass and don’t reply on standard monitoring
- Either be creative or technical, don’t do both in the same day.
- Try to set your self time to learn something different.
- Spend time away from the studio.
- Copy someone Else!!! we learn from copying, we learn to walk, talk, eat, drink and just about everything we do from someone else, conscious of subconscious, why should making music be any different. Just because you copy someone to begin with doesn’t mean you can’t be original down the road.
- It’s easy to fall in the trap of thinking a tune is crap purely because you’ve overplayed it to yourself too much, try to think back at how you felt when you FIRST heard it.
If in doubt, play it to a couple of friends. If you’re really bored of it, come back to it another day with fresh ears.
- Group your drums, add compression to get them gelling. Roll of frequencies, i tend to roll of quite alot of hihats etc… as they dont really have bottom end & can take unrequired space in the mix.
- Make a good template to load , ie midi channels, audio channels, labelled up, so you have a good basic foundation to work with.
- Clean your studio.
- Choose a Key to work in @ the start of your track. The different elements dont have to all be in the same pitch. Try placing Perc / Snares etc… at different notes in the same Key.
- If you are going to EQ, keep it musical. Get a Frequency to Musical Pitch chart. Tape it to your desk & cut where it makes sense.
- Put Voxengo Span Free Spectrum Analyzer Plugin, FFT, Real-Time [VST, AU, AAX] - SPAN - Voxengo on your master. Solo what you wish to inspect. Hover the cursor over peaks & you can see the Musical Pitch of the Frequencies in your sound. Stick it on LO_Freq & Use it on Kicks / Bass / Anything, Everything.
- Finding the true bpm:
1, load up the file,
2, set loop points ( say 1 bar )
3, hit play & continue to adjust the tempo till it fits.
Done.
Note, the downbeat should be the start of left locator …
works for all material acapella , keys, drums anything.
now that you have the true bpm… hit warp ’ )
simple but highly effective.
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34.
[b]The Ten “Newbie” Commandments[/b]
* Thou Shalt “LEARN ABOUT MIDI”
“MIDI” is the language in which just about ALL music production equipment made within the last 20 years speaks! It is IMPERATIVE that you learn as much about MIDI as possible. Learn what it does and how it works. If you DON’T have a good grasp of how MIDI works, I suggest you DON’T BUY A DAMN THING! Purchasing Music production equipment without a basic knowledge of MIDI is like an American being dropped off in Russia and trying to communicate with the locals. You MUST know MIDI because I guarantee you that at some point in your budding production career you WILL have to deal with it. Plain and Simple
* Thou Shalt “READ THY MANUALS”
It NEVER ceases to amaze me, how many people come to forums like these asking for answers to complex questions that are covered DIRECTLY IN THE MANUAL! Why on earth would you totally disregard the knowledge given to you by the ENGINEERS, you know, the people that MADE THE DAMN DEVICE! I know that some manuals can be VERY difficult to read but you are gonna have to just “suck it up” and RE-READ it as many times as it takes for you to UNDERSTAND it. Sure, someone will eventually SPOONFEED you the answer if you ask nicely enough but why take someones word for it when the answer is ALREADY GIVEN TO YOU. Stop being so DAMN LAZY and USE the materials at your disposal
* Thou Shalt “LEARN ABOUT CABLES”
You SHOULD have a basic knowledge of WHICH cables you need to hook up your gear. This is something that can be EASILY researched. ALMOST ALL of the gear you will use will have to be hooked up to something else at some point and knowing what cables you need is an ABSOLUTE MUST. Once again I have to suggest, If you DON’T KNOW about the various different cables used in music production, DON’T BUY A DAMN THING! You might be able to get someone to hook up your studio for you but if you are gonna RELY on that person every time you get a new piece then you might as well leave the music production to them.
* Thou Shalt “RESEARCH THY GEAR BEFORE BUYING”
I have seen too many poor souls fishing around in music gear stores who don’t have a clue as to what they need and why. There are a great many things to be considered before you start to purchase gear. You should put in the hours BEFORE HAND to make sure that the gear you purchase CAN ACTUALLY DO the things you need it to do. You are gonna get taken advantage of if you walk into a store and say. “What do I need to buy so I can make Beats” The internet is available to you so use it. Often times various websites have the Manuals uploaded before the gear even comes out so there is no excuse to end up with a piece of gear that doesn’t meet up to your expectations. In all the years that I have owned gear I have NEVER ran across a piece of gear that could not do what it’s Spec Sheet and owners manual SAID IT COULD DO. It’s up to you. You could do some research now and get the RIGHT piece for the job OR you can go out “Half-Cocked” and end up wasting lots of $$$$ on stuff that didn’t do the job you needed done.
* Thou Shalt “PRACTICE THY CRAFT”
Once you DO decide on a purchase, be committed to it. Don’t be so quick to give up on a piece of gear because it is difficult to learn at first. ALL gear has a learning curve based on its complexity and your personal music production knowledge. The more you use a piece the more its operating system will become familiar to you. Eventually you will be able to operate the gear effortlessly but it takes TIME. If you keep hopping from one piece to another you will never learn anything. Sometimes it will be rough but that’s what the manual is for. You also have places like this to help you out. Just make sure that if you end up parting with a piece of gear that it is because you outgrew that piece or it was not right for you. NOT because you didn’t KNOW how to use it.
* Thou Shalt “RESIST THE URGE TO BUY ON IMPULSE”
One of the biggest pitfalls of new producers is what’s commonly referred to as G.A.S. or “Gear Acquisition Syndrome” There will ALWAYS be new and exciting pieces of gear on the market for you to spend your hard earned $$$$ on. Just remember YOU CANT OWN THEM ALL. You have to stay FOCUSED and remember why you got into music production…TO MAKE MUSIC, not to buy gear. Most young producers have limited budgets for gear so for most this wont be a problem but for those who are fortunate enough to spend whatever they like, remember this. The more stuff you buy the more stuff you have to LEARN. I am sure you may have heard the phrase “Jack of all trades, Master of none” Well the object hear is to MASTER the gear that we have and to make only those purchases that are NECESSARY for the advancement of our craft. Having a room full of gear might LOOK nice but it wont make you a better producer only a POORER one.
* Thou Shalt “BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS" (SALES PEOPLE)
Keep in mind that the ONLY job of sales people is to SELL STUFF. When you go into music stores sales people WILL help you but their primary job is to sell you something. If you go in UNPREPARED and UNINFORMED there is a much greater chance that you will end up with the Most expensive gear that they can convince you to buy. It has been my personal experience that MOST of the sales people I have encountered had an EQUAL or LESSER amount of music production knowledge than I did! I am by no means a scholar, just someone who uses every available avenue to increase my knowledge about things that are important to me. Your BEST defense against these “False Prophets” is to have your homework DONE when you go in the store. Know what you want or at least what TYPE of gear you want. Know WHY you want it. That way you can keep a salesperson focused on getting you the gear that will best help you to achieve your goals, not the gear that will help him/her achieve their goal. (A Large Commission)
* Thou Shalt “CONTINUALLY SEEK KNOWLEDGE”
There are MANY opportunities for us to learn more about music production. As an aspiring “Super Producer” you should seek to learn AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE about music production. The industry is FLOODED with others just like you, who want to make their mark AND make that money. Anything you can do to separate yourself from the “Pack” will be beneficial. Go ahead, Read that article on “Getting better Vocals”, go to the library and check out that book on “Proper Mixing Techniques”. You MUST realize going into this that it is a NEVER ENDNG cycle of learning that you will be involved in. There is SO much knowledge out there and you SHOULD want ALL of it. Read EVERYTHING that may have some knowledge pertaining to your craft. The more you STUDY the better you will be at what you do. It’s like going to school for the REST OF YOUR LIFE…now ask yourself….ARE YOU READY FOR THAT!?!?
* Thou Shalt “PROTECT THY EARS" (HEARING)
I see a lot of people doing STUPID stuff to their ears all the time. Understand this…YOUR EARS ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECE OF EQUIPMENT YOU HAVE! You HAVE TO take care of your hearing in order to do your job well. I know you like to BLAST those headphones when you are working out. Well guess what? You are going to have to give up a lot of the BAD HABITS that you have learned over the years. No more “Rumbling” down the street with that brand new 1000 watt stereo ALL THE WAY UP in you new pimped out ride. No more playing Splinter Cell on X-BOX with the surround sound MAXED OUT. You have to use common sense. I Personally would MUCH RATHER lose my sight than lose my hearing. Without your ears there would be no music business! Let me repeat that….WITHOUT YOUR EARS THERE WOULD BE NO NEED FOR A MUSIC INDUSTRY BECAUSE THERE WOULD BE NO MUSIC……..Only Silence..
* Thou Shalt “REMAIN HUMBLE”
I know a lot of you are wondering…What does being HUMBLE have to do with music production? Well, I’ll tell you. Remaining HUMBLE will enable you to do EVERYTHING ELSE on this list. Humility will keep you GROUNDED so you will always have something to STRIVE for. Once you THINK you know everything you will become complacent. You will lose your DRIVE and slowly start to lose sight of your goals. Remembering that there is always something you can learn from the “Next Man” will keep you HUNGRY in the game and help to fuel your ambitions. We are ALL imperfect creatures and thus there is ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT. Never become so cocky that you are not willing to LISTEN to the Ideas and Advice of other people. Always remember that this journey you are about to embark on is one of COMMITMENT, DETERMINATION and FOCUS. These are the things you will need aid you in you quest for SUCCESS…..
[b]Eq Settings[/b]
General:
20 Hz and below - impossible to detect, remove as it only adds unnecessary energy to the total sound, thereby most probably holding down the overall volume of the track
60 Hz and below - sub bass (feel only)
80(-100) Hz - feel AND hear bass
100-120 Hz - the "club sound system punch" resides here
200 Hz and below - bottom
250 Hz - notch filter here can add thump to a kick drum
150-400 Hz - boxiness
200 Hz-1.5 KHz - punch, fatness, impact
800 Hz-4 KHz - edge, clarity, harshness, defines timbre
4500 Hz - exteremly tiring to the ears, add a slight notch here
5-7 KHz - de-essing is done here
4-9 KHz - brightness, presence, definition, sibilance, high frequency distortion
6-15 KHz - air and presence
9-15 KHz - adding will give sparkle, shimmer, bring out details - cutting will smooth out harshness and darken the mix
Kicks:
60Hz with a Q of 1.4 -- Add fullness to kicks.
5Khz with a Q of 2.8 -- Adds attack to Kicks
bottom (60 - 80 Hz),
slap (4 kHz)
EQ>Cut below 80Hz to remove rumble
Boost between 80 -125 Hz for bass
Boost between 3 - 5kHz to get the slap
PROCESSING> Compression 4:1/6:1 slow attack med release.
Reverb: Tight room reverb (0.1-0.2ms)
General:
Apply a little cut at 300Hz and some boost between 40Hz and 80Hz.
Control The Attack:
Apply boost or cut around 4KHz to 6KHz.
Treat Muddiness:
Apply cut somewhere in the 100Hz to 500Hz range.
kick>> bottom depth at 60 - 80 Hz, slap attack at 2.5Hz
Snares:
200Hz - 250Hz with a Q of 1.4 -- Adds wood to snares
3Khz with a Q of 1.4 -- Adds atack to snare.
7Khz with a Q of 2.8 -- Adds Sharpness to snares and percussion
fatness at 120-240Hz
boing at 400Hz
crispness at 5kHz
snap at 10kHz
fatness (240 Hz), crispness (5 kHz)
EQ> Boost above 2kHz for that crisp edge
Cut at 1kHz to get rid of the sharp peak
Boost at 125Hz for a full snare sound
Cut at 80Hz to remove rumble
PROCESSING> Compression 4:1 slow attack med release.
Reverb: Tight room reverb (0.1-0.2ms)
snare>> fatness at 240HZ, crispness at 5 KHz
Vocals
General:
Roll off below 60Hz using a High Pass Filter. This range is unlikely to contain anything useful, so you may as well reduce the noise the track contributes to the mix.
Treat Harsh Vocals:
To soften vocals apply cut in a narrow bandwidth somewhere in the 2.5KHz to 4KHz range.
Get An Open Sound:
Apply a gentle boost above 6KHz using a shelving filter.
Get Brightness, Not Harshness:
Apply a gentle boost using a wide-band Bandpass Filter above 6KHz. Use the Sweep control to sweep the frequencies to get it right.
Get Smoothness:
Apply some cut in a narrow band in the 1KHz to 2KHz range.
Bring Out The Bass:
Apply some boost in a reasonably narrow band somewhere in the 200Hz to 600Hz range.
Radio Vocal Effect:
Apply some cut at the High Frequencies, lots of boost about 1.5KHz and lots of cut below 700Hz.
Telephone Effect:
Apply lots of compression pre EQ, and a little analogue distortion by turning up the input gain. Apply some cut at the High Frequencies, lots of boost about 1.5KHz and lots of cut below 700Hz.
vocals>> fullness at 120 Hz, boominess at 200 - 240 Hz, presence at 5 kHz, sibilance at 7.5 - 10 kHz
Hats:
10Khz with a Q of 1.0 -- Adds brightness to hats and cymbals
Hi Hat & Cymbals: sizzle (7.5 - 10 kHz), clank (200 Hz)
EQ> Boost above 5kHz for sharp sparkle
Cut at 1kHz to remove jangling
PROCESSING> Compression use high ratio for high energy feel
Reverb: Looser than Bass n Snare allow the hats and especially the Rides to ring a little
Get Definition:
Roll off everything below 600Hz using a High Pass Filter.
Get Sizzle:
Apply boost at 10KHz using a Band Pass Filter. Adjust the bandwidth to get the sound right.
Treat Clangy Hats:
Apply some cut between 1KHz and 4KHz.
hi hats/cymbals>> clank or gong sound at 200 Hz, shimmer at 7.5 kHz - 12 kHz
Guitar:
Treat Unclear Vocals:
Apply some cut to the guitar between 1KHz and 5KHz to bring the vocals to the front of the mix.
General:
Apply a little boost between 100Hz and 250Hz and again between 10KHz and 12KHz.
Acoustic Guitar
Add Sparkle:Try some gentle boost at 10KHz using a Band Pass Filter with a medium bandwidth.
General:
Try applying some mid-range cut to the rhythm section to make vocals and other instruments more clearly heard.
Other:
Voice: presence (5 kHz), sibilance (7.5 - 10 kHz), boominess (200 - 240 kHz), fullness (120 Hz)
Electric Guitar: fullness (240 Hz), bite (2.5 kHz), air / sizzle (8 kHz)
Bass Guitar: bottom (60 - 80 Hz), attack (700 - 1000 Hz), string noise (2.5 kHz)
Toms: attack (5 kHz), fullness (120 - 240 Hz)
Acoustic Guitar: harshness / bite (2 kHz), boominess (120 - 200 Hz), cut (7 - 10 kHz)
Bass - Compressed, EQ'd with a full bottom end and some mids
rack toms>> fullness at 240 Hz, attack at 5 kHz
floor toms>> fullness at 80 - 120 Hz, attack at 5 kHz
horns>> fullness at 120 - 240 Hz, shrill at 5 - 7.5 kHz
strings>> fullness at 240 Hz, scratchiness at 7.5 - 10 kHz
conga/bongo>> resonance at 200 - 240 Hz, slap at 5 kHz
General Frequencies:
EQ Reference: Frequencies
50Hz
Boost: To thicken up bass drums and sub-bass parts.
Cut: Below this frequency on all vocal tracks. This should reduce the effect of any microphone 'pops'.
70-100Hz
Boost: For bass lines and bass drums.
Cut: For vocals.
General: Be wary of boosting the bass of too many tracks. Low frequency sounds are particularly vulnerable to phase cancellation between sounds of similar frequency. This can result in a net 'cut of the bass frequencies.
200-400Hz
Boost: To add warmth to vocals or to thicken a guitar sound.
Cut: To bring more clarity to vocals or to thin cymbals and higher frequency percussion.
Boost or Cut: to control the 'woody' sound of a snare.
400-800Hz
Boost: To add warmth to toms.
Boost or Cut: To control bass clarity, or to thicken or thin guitar sounds.
General: In can be worthwhile applying cut to some of the instruments in the mix to bring more clarity to the bass within the overall mix.
800Hz-1KHz
Boost: To thicken vocal tracks. At 1 KHz apply boost to add a knock to a bass drum.
1-3KHz
Boost: To make a piano more aggressive. Applying boost between 1KHz and 5KHz will also make guitars and basslines more cutting.
Cut: Apply cut between 2 KHz and 3KHz to smooth a harsh sounding vocal part.
General: This frequency range is often used to make instruments stand out in a mix.
3-6KHz
Boost: For a more 'plucked' sounding bass part. Apply boost at around 6KHz to add some definition to vocal parts and distorted guitars.
Cut: Apply cut at about 3KHz to remove the hard edge of piercing vocals. Apply cut between 5KHZ and 6KHz to dull down some parts in a mix.
6-10KHz
Boost: To sweeten vocals. The higher the frequency you boost the more 'airy/breathy' the result will be. Also boost to add definition to the sound of acoustic guitars or to add edge to synth sounds or strings or to enhance the sound of a variety of percussion sounds. For example boost this range to:
Bring out cymbals.
Add ring to a snare.
Add edge to a bass drum.
10-16KHz
Boost: To make vocals more 'airy' or for crisp cymbals and percussion. Also boost this frequency to add sparkle to pads, but only if the frequency is present in the original sound, otherwise you will just be adding hiss to the recording.
