As part of my ongoing effort to merge the FAQ and Tutorials and provide a much-needed update (I swear, I'm not slacking!), I've decided that it would be good to have a "reference" thread for this topic. And since it is a subjective topic, it would be great if members here would contribute.

Background:
You know and I know that there is no single right answer to this question. There is no preset, no equation, no formula, no "awesome button" for music production. The objective here is not to try to identify such a thing.

Instead, the purpose is to try to provide a resource for producers of all levels who feel like they've hit a plateau, or just want to try new things. The message is not "doing this will make your track sound amazing." The message is, "if you are stuck, if you feel like you're not improving, here are some things you could try or read about."

I know that we've had similar threads in the past, with less-than-stellar results. That is why I want to take a slightly different tack here. So the question is...

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What is the most important skill, concept, technique, trick, or general piece of advice that you have learned as a music producer?
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To keep this from turning into nonsense, I am proposing the following:

Ground Rules:

• One answer per post.
  Keep it short and sweet. Don't post a complete brain-dump. It's easy to just fire off a list of bullet points, but that quickly becomes noise when 10 people are doing it at once. Obviously you can make several posts, but pretend you're sharing a pizza, don't wolf down seconds and thirds while a dozen people are still waiting for their first.
  
  
• Explain your answer.
  Why is this aspect important to you? If you can't provide this information then you might as well be telling us to wax our sound cards or degauss our monitors. A short paragraph or two is perfect.
  
  
• Don't post rebuttals.
  No matter how stupid an answer may sound to you - don't argue in here. I can remove the posts that are blatantly ridiculous, troll-bait or simply off-topic. Start a new topic if you can't stay quiet about something, otherwise, make your stand by posting a better answer of your own.

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Last edited by DigiNut on Jan-06-2010 at 00:21

Patience

Make sure each sound has it's own space. The frequency spectrum is limited, you can only pack so much sound into it. When two sounds fundamentally occupy the same space, they compete with each other and this is a likely cause of muddyness or lack of clarity in a track. To make things easy, here is an example, typical division of the frequency spectrum:

30Hz - 50Hz - Sub Bass
50Hz - 100Hz - Kick
100Hz - 200Hz - Bass
200Hz - 500Hz - Hi Bass or Low Octave Synth pattern.
500Hz - 2000Hz - Lo-Mid Octave Synth 1
2000Hz - 4000Hz - Mid Octave Synth 2
4000Hz - 8000Hz - High Octave Synth 3
8000Hz - 12000Hz - Low Hats, Percussion or Very Hi Octave Synth.
12000Hz - 16000Hz - HiHats & Other Cymbals

This is a very generic example, but you get the idea. Basically each part has its own space in the frequency spectrum. There will always be some overlap between the sounds in these ranges, but with practice, you will learn how to separate each sound into its own space.

Keep in mind that the above example is an extremely generic example only! Every track is going to be different and there may be differences in how the space is divided up.

Design your own synth patches for your instruments, don't use presets. You don't have to do full "commercial" banks like I do, but it's worth the time and effort to learn your instrument(s). You'll gain a better understanding of each one's strengths and weaknesses and use them accordingly to better your music.

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Youtube || Soundcloud || Synth Patch Banks

Its all about hearing, identifying what sounds wrong or what is missing and why, then knowing what to add or do to fix it.

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http://soundcloud.com/subtara

Use the tools you are comfortable with!

You are not guaranteed to get the sounds of your favorite tracks, if you are using the software or hardware that was used to produce that track. For example, I'm using ProTools, something I have not found to be common among bedroom producers and professional producers alike, but I get the best work flow out of it...That does not mean you will get the same work flow!

A good tip for mixing that I was taught, is to 0 all the faders, then bring in all the tracks one by one, starting with the lower elements and ending on the track or tracks that you want to 'sit' on top of the mix, and be prevalent. With recorded tracks you probably need only do this once, but personally I re-do it constantly as I build a track, because the levels are altered with the addition of new elements or effects.

By the way great thread.

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BE CONFIDENT IN YOURSELF AND YOUR MUSIC

My biggest piece of advice to people is to be able to listen to a track that you're writing and say "Man, this song is fucking awesome!". There's no reason why that you need write songs to someone else's liking. Of course, constructive criticism should always be welcomed and considered, but there's absolutely no reason why you should change something that works for you just because I don't like what you did. Who cares what I like or don't like? Your song is about YOU! Be proud of your work. What's the point in making music you don't like?

i know it was already posted on here, and heaps of other places, but jaytech's track chart is really cool, and can help with the final stages of a mix, or to find that something missing...


http://bit.ly/F6GUA

click to d/l

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-Everything I Say is a Lie-

General Rule of Thumb: Run a high pass(low cut) filter on every track except the kick and the bass.

Other sounds with low and low-mid frequencies can add up and affect the clarity of the kick and the bass. Samples that were ripped from other tracks can have low frequencies that you may not hear, but can still muddy other sounds.

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quote:

Originally posted by dj_alfi change your avatar for fucks sake.

quote:

Originally posted by Eric J Make sure each sound has it's own space. The frequency spectrum is limited, you can only pack so much sound into it. When two sounds fundamentally occupy the same space, they compete with each other and this is a likely cause of muddyness or lack of clarity in a track. To make things easy, here is an example, typical division of the frequency spectrum: 30Hz - 50Hz - Sub Bass 50Hz - 100Hz - Kick 100Hz - 200Hz - Bass 200Hz - 500Hz - Hi Bass or Low Octave Synth pattern. 500Hz - 2000Hz - Lo-Mid Octave Synth 1 2000Hz - 4000Hz - Mid Octave Synth 2 4000Hz - 8000Hz - High Octave Synth 3 8000Hz - 12000Hz - Low Hats, Percussion or Very Hi Octave Synth. 12000Hz - 16000Hz - HiHats & Other Cymbals This is a very generic example, but you get the idea. Basically each part has its own space in the frequency spectrum. There will always be some overlap between the sounds in these ranges, but with practice, you will learn how to separate each sound into its own space. Keep in mind that the above example is an extremely generic example only! Every track is going to be different and there may be differences in how the space is divided up.

is this to do with equing? and ive never seen those numbers in my life besides on compressors.

@ Lovehate: This is about EQ-ing. Compression hardly has anything to do with frequencies.

In response to Eric J's post (even though it's an approximation not a list of fixed values) I'd like to add:

Don't rely on fixed values/numbers for any type of plugin of effect. No song is equal thus every song could benefit from having different settings applied

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quote:

If less is more think about how much more more would be. -Frasier

Check out music production videos from some respected producers. It contains tons of valuable information, simple production tricks, which could easily take your productions to a new level with minimal effort.

Here's a couple

Martin Buttrich:
[[ LINK REMOVED ]]


Booka Shade:
[[ LINK REMOVED ]]


In the studio with...D'Ramirez:

Part 1 - Setting up and choosing sounds:
[[ LINK REMOVED ]]


Part 2 - Adding Extra Drums:
[[ LINK REMOVED ]]


Part 3 - The Arrangement:
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Future Music Interview Sandy Rivera:
[[ LINK REMOVED ]]


Future Music Interview The Remote (Asad Rizvi)
[[ LINK REMOVED ]]


Computer Music Interview with Chris Lake:
[[ LINK REMOVED ]]

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Storyteller Website | Storyteller @ Facebook | Storyteller @ Beatport | Storyteller @ Soundcloud | Stephen J. Kroos - Europa (Storyteller Remix)
Anthony Mea - Get It On (Storyteller Remix)

quote:

If less is more think about how much more more would be. -Frasier

Last edited by Storyteller on Jan-04-2010 at 08:54