if you DJ, mix your track with some professional ones in a set, you will better see what you should see in yours that are not equal to the other ones. You'll hear some pros say this, and i really agree. You will also find this relates in what really good producers tell you off the bat thats wrong with your track. just my two cents.

Some good replies in here, which I'm happy to see. I also see that some people did NOT read the rules! Now normally I'm not inclined to mod threads, but as the point of this one was to make it into a hybrid tutorial/FAQ topic, I will be cleaning up a lot of the idle chatter in here. Just giving fair warning.

Now for one of my own:


"Mastering" does not mean "Awesomizing"

Like so many other budding producers, I once used to rely on this excuse for mediocre (or just plain awful) mixing quality. It's a terrible obsession that afflicts many producers in the "intermediate" stage and your progress will just grind to a halt unless and until you cast off those shackles of ignorance.

Mastering can improve a track, but in subtle ways. If a track is dull or muddy or discordant, forget it. In most cases, your track shouldn't need to be mastered at all to be listenable - you should only start worrying about that if it's getting pressed to CD or vinyl or maybe (I repeat, maybe) if you want to use it as a demo and whore the track everywhere you go.

If you're unhappy with a track, and find yourself saying or thinking the phrase, "it's basically done, it just needs to be mastered", or investing a lot of time/money into mastering tools only to find that you can't seem to achieve the right balance - stop. Put it away. Go back to your mix. If it doesn't sound crystal clear to you then it is way too early to even be thinking about mastering.

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For one, it seems to me that a professional track has all of its instruments EQed properly. This means not only that unwanted frequencies have been removed (e.g. cutting the low-end on nearly any sound that is not the bass, kick, or sub-bass) but that 'troubling' frequencies have been cut (e.g. mid and/or high-pitched 'whirring'/'humming' sounds) and other frequencies have been boosted slightly (e.g. bringing out the 'airy-ness' of vocals). It has taken me a couple of years to train my ears to recognize which frequencies need to be removed from my sounds; and now that I seem to have acquired such a skill I can immediately recognize when something sounds 'off'.

Edit: as for why I mention the above, in addition to the fact that proper EQing is necessary to make instruments sound 'good', EQing is crucial also because it helps one attain proper volume levels.

Well thanks Nick, I don't want to make it seem like we're just running through parameters but I DO want to genuinely talk about volume alone and its importance.

LOWER THE GOSHDARN MUSIC!!!

This is my tip of the day. If you ever feel a "need" to raise the volume of your track hi, your track most likely does not sound great. A good track sounds good at ANY volume almost, except fairly low. (and extremely high) But FOCUS on lowering your sounds as low as you can possibly bear. Torture yourself with temptation to raise the sound but do NOT succumb to it.

Then this is what you do, change the sound in w/e manner possible so THAT individual sound has PRESENCE at a low volume. In a well produced track, each sound is chosen and manipulated in great desire for this quality. Some sounds really just are THERE, either more due to the mere nature of the sample/patch, or more by the effort of your tweaking abilities. What ever the case, practice mixing at the lowest volume you can bear, then overcome this limitation NOT by raising the volume, but building a track based on *present* sounds.

Then watch how "phat, thick, or deep" your music gets.

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Sequencers: FL Studio 9XXL & Reason 3.
Main Synth Bass GTs - Pro-53, V-Station, Sytrus, Subtractor, Trilian, Blue, Sylenth & Z3ta.
Main Synth Lead/Pad GTs - Z3ta, Sytrus, Sylenth, Vangard, Albino & Nexus.
Main FXs GTs - Waves Plugins, Soundtoys, Volcano, FL Native FX.
Hardware - Truths, Echo Audiofire, Virus Snow, & Novation Xio Midi-Synth.

woops, double post.

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Sequencers: FL Studio 9XXL & Reason 3.
Main Synth Bass GTs - Pro-53, V-Station, Sytrus, Subtractor, Trilian, Blue, Sylenth & Z3ta.
Main Synth Lead/Pad GTs - Z3ta, Sytrus, Sylenth, Vangard, Albino & Nexus.
Main FXs GTs - Waves Plugins, Soundtoys, Volcano, FL Native FX.
Hardware - Truths, Echo Audiofire, Virus Snow, & Novation Xio Midi-Synth.

Something else that I always do in my music that I learned from, I believe a "Master Class" with Darren Tate. Basically, music that people like doesn't surprise us when we listen. That is, always warn the listener that you're about to do something. Put in a fill before a lead comes in, cut the kick a couple beats before everything else when cutting out the percussion, etc.

Again, be sure to "warn" the listener that you're going to change something.

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1) Use your ears (there are no rules to making music)

2) Learn to use EQ (only to avoid clashing of sounds and to leave headroom)

3) Simplify your setup (don't be a gear-whore)

4) Get off the computer every now and then and see the world and experience different things (helps with inspiration)

5) Have fun making music (if it seems like 'work', then you need to re-evaluate what you're doing)

These are just a few things. I'm sure others can contribute to the list.

Well, I like this thread a lot, becuase it has professionalism on the topic itself.

From my experience as a producer:

Skills: Developes over time, the more you produce the more samples you'll have to play around with.

I consider skills in two ways. First, how well one uses the sound effects during a production. Second, how well one mixes with other productions.

Concept: A track built on any creative concept is an artform. If you listen to the track, and seperate all the instruments, and listen carefully how the track sounds as a band. You will understand the music and the message, as a Disk Jockey.

Technique: To make a production sound good is to make the recording as vibrant as possible. Never hesitate to playback and rerecord. To the ear, any new introduction of sound is melancholy. Spend time with a production, if you don't like it or doesn't sound yourself, move on to new production. Rework on the tracks later.

Trick: At somepoint of production, you'll realize that theres's barely any tricks to producing electronic music, it's just really simple, fun and anyone can do it. On second thought, you can do a lot with wave formats. I mean indepth analysis of sound, and configuration of key parts of your records before pressing them.

Tip: Explore and experiment with other Genres of Music.

I read it on a news paper, and it's true that when you start making you own music, you won't listen to others peoples music.

There are right off the pen, if I can think of more tips. Shall post later.

P.S. Avoid vocal trance of word play, and stop music and airwave pollution, even if it's original or pirated. Save your ears.

Hope it helps.

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quote:

Jacket Slip Society

Last edited by Decoder on Jan-13-2010 at 08:55

Do not amass lots of gear until you master what you have. Nothing's worse than having tons of gear and not knowing it inside and out. Some of the best results have been achieved by using system limitations. Think back to the days of classics - limited samplers, limited software (if any), limited polyphony, unlimited creativity.

Also, it becomes rather overwhelming managing all this gear - you spend time troubleshooting, wiring, re-wiring, moving, etc instead of focusing on music. I found myself strangely liberated with bare minimums - e.g. laptop, 1 synth, and maybe drum machine, leaving other 15+ synths in the basement. It has been strangely rewarding and liberating.

Lastly - you are your own harshest critic. Let others appreciate your "fruits" - you'd be surprised how many people may positively react to what you may consider rubbish.

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Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate

My tip would be master thy canoe. If you know your gear better than anyone else, ou can be King of the studio.

Having said that I am 'sure' I need some amazing sound goodizer such as powercore, but I half suspect I could get as much clarity and punch just using my DAW?

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use aesthetics as building blocks, yet fully use your senses instead of stereotypes.

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commercial and underground electronic music (house/techno/trance/other) will surpass today's hip hop/pop/rock/country in worldwide interest...if it has'nt already.

quote:

Originally posted by SGL (there are no rules to making music)

Actually, there are rules for making music. Whether or not you follow them is up to you but there are rules.

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