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Posted by OTtrancer on Jan-16-2007 20:52:

DJ Set editing

When you guys record a promo set, do you usually leave it raw/unedited, or do you do anything to it before calling it finished?


Posted by skip on Jan-16-2007 20:54:

i just amplify mine and take the silence out of the beginning and the end. i think everything else is dirty.


Posted by DJ Z on Jan-16-2007 21:43:

i never edit mine...if i'm not happy with it, i mix & record the set all over again ...just think of it as practice


Posted by Yohan on Jan-16-2007 22:20:

quote:
Originally posted by DJ Z
i never edit mine...if i'm not happy with it, i mix & record the set all over again ...just think of it as practice

+1


Posted by Omega_Blue on Jan-16-2007 22:43:

volumes if they clip. sometimes transitions are louder than the separate tracks, so i'll lower the sound on those too. obviously the silence in the beginning and end. but i won't copy/paste transitions. gotta do it right.


Posted by Michael May on Jan-16-2007 22:50:

I purchased Cubase so I could clean up my mixes (and I bought it because I want to start producing soon) a little and make them sound crisp and clean. Also, someone on the boards told me before that he runs his mixes thru a program called T-Racks. I don't know much about that program, but I think I am going to be checking into it soon. Cubase is going to take some time to get used to.


Posted by Tony Morello on Jan-16-2007 23:13:

i master my mixes, i've even edited a bad transition

editing in the music world is like airbrushing in the modeling world

pretty much any "mix" that is released commercially has been done in pro-tools

they'll use the tracklist and probably the same cue points but it will be mixed using a computer

i also sell my cds, this is me putting my best foot forward, a record of what i've done

because not only am i putting this out as a dj, but as a professional producer as well


Posted by DJ Z on Jan-17-2007 00:13:

quote:
Originally posted by Tony Morello
i master my mixes, i've even edited a bad transition

editing in the music world is like airbrushing in the modeling world

pretty much any "mix" that is released commercially has been done in pro-tools

they'll use the tracklist and probably the same cue points but it will be mixed using a computer

i also sell my cds, this is me putting my best foot forward, a record of what i've done

because not only am i putting this out as a dj, but as a professional producer as well


i totally see your point of view Tony....and agree - i appreciate the flawless, professionally produced mixes.

only thing i'd like to say is that i like the feeling of being able to hand out a demo/promo mix that came straight off my decks, real-time...i like knowing that people are listening to my skill on the decks - it's what they are going to get when i play live...and i am not handing them something that's so perfect i can't live up to.

make any sense?


Posted by <tuss> on Jan-17-2007 00:17:

^ i think what he meant was that by him selling his cd's he would not want to sell anything less than perfect, (not saying your mixes are'nt perfect either) but if it's just a demo your giving to someone you already know, i would'nt worry about the finishing touches, but if it's an 'album' or 'mix cd' for commercial use, then fuck ya master it and finish it to the best of your abilities.


Posted by idoru on Jan-17-2007 00:22:

My recording process:

1.) Open Audacity
2.) Press record
3.) Spin
4.) Press stop
5.) Export to .wav
6.) Convert to .mp3
7.) Upload


Posted by alefort on Jan-17-2007 01:15:

quote:
Originally posted by idoru
My recording process:

1.) Open Audacity
2.) Press record
3.) Spin
4.) Press stop
5.) Export to .wav
6.) Convert to .mp3
7.) Upload


You do realize you can export straight to mp3 from Audacity...right?


Posted by Tony Morello on Jan-17-2007 01:23:

quite often though i don't usually have to do much more than eq and normalize

i'm not passing off anything i can't do live

if the need arises i don't think twice about doing it, especially if it's the last mix of a bumpin cd


Posted by djdk on Jan-17-2007 01:24:

I usually normalise then run the recording through the waves L2 loudness maximizer withouth putting too much compression on things (ie find the loudest stretch, not a peak, of the mix and set the threshold so the compressors just kicking in). This means I can record at a much lower volume and have no worries about clipping.

As for editing mixes, I remember a discussion about this on another forum a while back. My opinion of it is that its perfectly acceptable to do it. People say, "oh but its a demo, showing your skills, you wouldnt be able to edit the mix in a club, so why do it on a demo" but Ive never got this argument.

If you fuck up in a club, be it beatmatching error, missing a cuepoint whatever, so what, shit happens, you build a bridge and get over it. If its not a major fuckup most people wont notice, and if they do, you hold up your hands say sorry and get on with things. The moments passed and people will forget.

On a demo however people will be able to go back and listen again and again. So, if I fuckup Ill make sure I go back and redo that mix to make sure its perfect. I dont personally see the point in redoing a whole mix just cos I accendently screwed up the last mix, like I said, shit does happen. What you have to be wary of is that the more times you do a mix, youre going to get progressively more bored with what youre doing, which means youre more likely to fuck it up plus that boredom will probably come across in your mixing, it will sound a bit flat and lacking the flair and energy the first recording had.

Just my 2p on the whole subject anyway


Posted by Tony Morello on Jan-17-2007 01:27:

quote:
Originally posted by djdk
I usually normalise then run the recording through the waves L2 loudness maximizer withouth putting too much compression on things (ie find the loudest stretch, not a peak, of the mix and set the threshold so the compressors just kicking in). This means I can record at a much lower volume and have no worries about clipping.

As for editing mixes, I remember a discussion about this on another forum a while back. My opinion of it is that its perfectly acceptable to do it. People say, "oh but its a demo, showing your skills, you wouldnt be able to edit the mix in a club, so why do it on a demo" but Ive never got this argument.

If you fuck up in a club, be it beatmatching error, missing a cuepoint whatever, so what, shit happens, you build a bridge and get over it. If its not a major fuckup most people wont notice, and if they do, you hold up your hands say sorry and get on with things. The moments passed and people will forget.

On a demo however people will be able to go back and listen again and again. So, if I fuckup Ill make sure I go back and redo that mix to make sure its perfect. I dont personally see the point in redoing a whole mix just cos I accendently screwed up the last mix, like I said, shit does happen. What you have to be wary of is that the more times you do a mix, youre going to get progressively more bored with what youre doing, which means youre more likely to fuck it up plus that boredom will probably come across in your mixing, it will sound a bit flat and lacking the flair and energy the first recording had.

Just my 2p on the whole subject anyway


well put


Posted by Allayla on Jan-17-2007 01:51:

Are you saying that if you fuck up just once on a recorded demo you can somehow go back and redo that one mix? not much of a demonstration in my opinion.


Posted by djdk on Jan-17-2007 02:04:

Thats exactly what Im saying, if I screw up a mix while Im recording Ill put the needle back on the record im mixing out of and do it again and edit the wav in post processing.

I really dont see a problem with this because I know i can mix for hours on end without really fucking up. I dont see the editing as enhancing my abilities in anyway shape or form.

TBF tho, Ive only done it a few times and at least one of those has been because FS went spacko and I missed a cue point. If you have to do it more than about twice per set perhaps you should be thinking about practicing more.


Posted by idoru on Jan-17-2007 02:30:

quote:
Originally posted by alefort
You do realize you can export straight to mp3 from Audacity...right?


Heh, yes, I do. I just prefer to have a .wav for my cd-burning purposes. I like being able to hand out a high-quality CD to promoters. In addition, my copy of Audacity likes to be a little **** and not work properly with LAME.

Edit: What the fuck, you can't say c.u.n.t.?


Posted by AnomalyConcept on Jan-17-2007 04:34:

I just remove silence before and after, and maybe trim a bit off the end with a fade out (less than 0.5 seconds), kind of like how Ableton fades the beginning of tracks so it's not instantaneously loud. Urm, yeah.

On mixes intended for CDs for friends, I'll edit the final version and redo transitions if things aren't matched properly, missed cue, EQ completely terrible, etc. Generally, though, mixes recorded while just messing around or practicing just have silence removed and the fadeout, possibly normalized if necessary (trying to get better with this).

Of course, Ableton's drawing envelopes and render to disk is kind of like Pro Tools, but I'm still trying to figure out how to set things up so I can mix realtime, eg. using Ableton as decks (CDJs at home =(.


Posted by OTtrancer on Jan-17-2007 14:22:

quote:
Originally posted by djdk
I usually normalise then run the recording through the waves L2 loudness maximizer withouth putting too much compression on things (ie find the loudest stretch, not a peak, of the mix and set the threshold so the compressors just kicking in). This means I can record at a much lower volume and have no worries about clipping.

As for editing mixes, I remember a discussion about this on another forum a while back. My opinion of it is that its perfectly acceptable to do it. People say, "oh but its a demo, showing your skills, you wouldnt be able to edit the mix in a club, so why do it on a demo" but Ive never got this argument.

If you fuck up in a club, be it beatmatching error, missing a cuepoint whatever, so what, shit happens, you build a bridge and get over it. If its not a major fuckup most people wont notice, and if they do, you hold up your hands say sorry and get on with things. The moments passed and people will forget.

On a demo however people will be able to go back and listen again and again. So, if I fuckup Ill make sure I go back and redo that mix to make sure its perfect. I dont personally see the point in redoing a whole mix just cos I accendently screwed up the last mix, like I said, shit does happen. What you have to be wary of is that the more times you do a mix, youre going to get progressively more bored with what youre doing, which means youre more likely to fuck it up plus that boredom will probably come across in your mixing, it will sound a bit flat and lacking the flair and energy the first recording had.

Just my 2p on the whole subject anyway


I'm glad I asked on this topic...see I completely agree with you here...I konw I can mix the set, and I love the tracklisting I chose, however, if I redo the set for a second time just cause of a stupid fuck up at the the second last track, I'm not going to be as into it once restarting from scratch again.

So my question now is....since I haven't got into producing too much is it out of the question to ask what I could use (software) to edit a mix, fix a transition? I currently record using Total recorder in .mp3 format using a LAME encoder. This software doesn't allow you to pause recording and rewind, or start recording somewhere in the file.

Thanks again to all of you for your input!!


Posted by djdk on Jan-17-2007 15:20:

I use Sony Sound Forge to record and edit stuff. Im sure there are free alternatives though (I wouldnt like to recommend one as I havent used any)

The best way to fix fucked mixes is to put the needle back on the record you mixed out of (probably to the breakdown or something) but keep the recording going, dont stop it. Once you've finished your mix, save the wav (in case you bollocks things up ) and then edit the file so that the "first take" and "second take" line up seemlessly


Posted by skip on Jan-17-2007 15:26:

quote:
Originally posted by djdk
I use Sony Sound Forge to record and edit stuff. Im sure there are free alternatives though (I wouldnt like to recommend one as I havent used any)

The best way to fix fucked mixes is to put the needle back on the record you mixed out of (probably to the breakdown or something) but keep the recording going, dont stop it. Once you've finished your mix, save the wav (in case you bollocks things up ) and then edit the file so that the "first take" and "second take" line up seemlessly



audacity is a great free alternative. i can definitely recommend it, it works really well.


Posted by Ryan0751 on Jan-17-2007 15:30:

I usually just record live, amplify a bit, trim silence, save and upload.

I think if you need to heavily edit a set (that you are giving to friends, etc.), then just Ableton the whole thing. This is how commercially produced mixsets are done. It will certainly give the listener at least the idea of what kind of music you play.

However... If you can't mix properly, and get booked based on some perfect mix you post-edited heavily, then you could be in for a very painful lesson, and will only hurt yourself in the end. If you get up in the booth and start trainwrecking, you'll only hurt your reputation.

I edited a recent set I did, only because while the last tune was playing (I was done mixing, cleaning up), I turned off the channel fader while I was resetting the other mixer controls to 0. I just looked at the mixer and said "Why the F did I just do that?". So I Abletoned the last track back in after the mix point. The rest of the mix was basically perfect.

Oh well =


Posted by OTtrancer on Jan-17-2007 15:58:

quote:
Originally posted by skip
audacity is a great free alternative. i can definitely recommend it, it works really well.


This is a good alternative for editing if I want to redo a transition? I guess I'm SOL until I re record the set then right, in which case I will rewind and drop the needle again, and then cut out the part that I don't want? Sounds good!


Posted by skip on Jan-17-2007 18:24:

quote:
Originally posted by OTtrancer
This is a good alternative for editing if I want to redo a transition? I guess I'm SOL until I re record the set then right, in which case I will rewind and drop the needle again, and then cut out the part that I don't want? Sounds good!



well i've never done that with it, but it could be done quite easily. i've re-edited some tunes with it. it's just a basic waveform editor/recorder. nothing fancy, but little editing like that can be done with it in no time and it's really quite simple too. when i wanted to edit my tunes with it i just went and edited them even though i hadn't done it before, that's how easy it was.


Posted by AnomalyConcept on Jan-17-2007 20:15:

Oh yeah. I've done re-edits because the tracks I wanted didn't really fit on CDs... cut maybe 2 min out of one track before.



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