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How to understand that your production is ready for a label?
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| Microlab |
| I seem to be doing ok when mixinf at a final stage but to be honest i cannot still understand that my mix is ready and done at least professionally. Sometimes my mix seems ok and frequencies are all balanced but a few minutes after i seem like to have found any artifacts or doubts like "is my bassline not loud" or "is the lead too loud". What should i do? |
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| EddieZilker |
| Take a break from the track for at least a day and listen to tracks by artists who are your influences. Also listening to other people's work (outside of your favorite artists) will provide you with a good perspective on your own work. |
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| 19503 |
| when its the best track in the whole world. |
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| Matt Bukovski |
OK, I take a one day break, but always I feel that something is to improve. How to stop this never ending tweaking?
How do you guys know, that your track is done? When you don't have mastering done, you can't compare your track with other professional ones :( |
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| Fatboy |
| quote: | Originally posted by Matt Bukovski
OK, I take a one day break, but always I feel that something is to improve. How to stop this never ending tweaking?
How do you guys know, that your track is done? When you don't have mastering done, you can't compare your track with other professional ones :( |
The thing is though that it shouldn't sound that much different from a mastered track. If you match the volume of your mix and several mastered, good sounding tracks and the difference is night and day the problem is going to be in the mix somewhere. There is definitely something to be said for using reference material whilst mixing even if the reference stuff has been mastered IMO.
Also, it can be worth putting a limiter on your master bus from time to time just to see what happens when you push it. Depending on your monitoring you might be surprised by certain frequencies eating up your headroom. Be careful though, if you forget to turn it off and keep mixing it might all end in tears once you realise. |
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| cArAcH0 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Matt Bukovski
When you don't have mastering done, you can't compare your track with other professional ones :( |
I dont think so. Mastering makes not that much difference.
| quote: | Originally posted by Matt Bukovski
How to stop this never ending tweaking?
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On that issue, remember that only "real artists ship" (http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.p...rtists_Ship.txt)
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Originally posted on http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.p...rtists_Ship.txt
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"You guys have been working on this stuff for months now, another couple weeks isn't going to make that much of a difference. You may as well get it over with. Just make it as good as you can. You better get back to work!"
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| Subtle |
| Give it a week or two, or even a couple of months. |
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| Kismet7 |
I have yet* to shop a mix that was "ready". I expect a good label to have some vision, and leave them with a comment that the mixes would be improved for final mixes.
Which I cant say is the best way to go about things though, as your likely competing with producers who have tightly mixed and mastered tracks. So its really up to the vision of the label to see the potential of the music itself, and a final mix when it comes the music I shop. By the time final release comes around, countless weeks and hours are spent in trying to improve the mixes. With the smallest changes in parameters taken into account. |
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| kitphillips |
If you're a DJ, then put it in a set and see if it fits. If not, back to the mix.
Thats how I do stuff, its a pretty good test IMO. |
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| music2dance2 |
Some ok advise here. I cant give to much advice in a professional capacity as I have yet to reach that point but here is what I would do.
Check your mix against music you aspire to make. It doesnt have to be exact as those mixes are mastered etc, but make sure the mix is a best you can and close to reference material. Then get someone to dj out with it or do it yourself.
Also use the promotion forum on here. People will soon rave or not about the track, and give honest advice if you ask on what you want, which is the quality of the mix, and if it is ready for a label as many members here have label release's and experience. Also post on other forums to get a broader response.
Get the track on sound cloud and get comments on there. Soon enough your mixes wuill improve to a point where you will start to know if they are good enough. My guess is if you cant tell if the track is ready or not then its probably not. Oh and as others have said, have a rest, for a few days then listen back to it. |
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| David Mac |
Hi there,
All the above advice seems really good. However, i feel that the predicament that your in would require professional help of some sort as that is the level you are tryiing to reach. Sounds like you've hit that glass ceiling that we all eventually come to a one point during our music production career.
Personally i would seek some form of training. This way you wont have to keep paying someone to mix or master your tracks everytime or keep posting new threads when your unsure.
I've been getting really good reviews about www.pointblankonline.net. Their online courses are ment to be of a excellent standard due to the tutors all being industry professionals having tracked realsed by Defected and Cr2 records amongst others.
I'm sure there are other options available that you might want to look into but i just feel that the best way is learning yourself from a professional.
Think about it! |
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| Nick Cenik |
| quote: | Originally posted by EddieZilker
Take a break from the track for [a few] day[s] and listen to tracks by artists who are your influences. Also listening to other people's work (outside of your favorite artists) will provide you with a good perspective on your own work. |
+1.
I jumped the gun a few times when I first started producing and had tunes released that shouldn't have been signed. Henceforth I'm releasing only the best of the best that I can produce ;)
Learning one-on-one with talented local producers (if possible) can be a big help as well. |
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