Offering some professional audio engineering advice. I don't want to reveal who I've worked with or listen to mixes. Feel free to ask anything if you want any protips
>>65870306
any tips for a mastering beginner?
>>65870306
My friend is trying to get into the industry as a producer. Do you have any advice for him?
>>65870306
can you tell us what kind of programs you work with?
Pro Tools?
Fruity Loops?
Reason?
And how long did you take to start working as a licensed engineer?
>>65870306
What are some essential plugin effects for vocals, guitars, etc; what are some essentail eq and compression setting for snare and kick. Thank you.
How much nudging is too much?
Like, I will nudge every instrument, midi or audio, until every track is playing right on top of the beat. Would that be ill advised?
>>65870653
Why not just record everything to click?
>>65870693
this
>>65870693
It's already recorded to a click. I'm talking nudging by literal microseconds until the instrument is playing EXACTLY on the beat. When it wasn't there in the first place.
Is this a shitty technique I'm asking.
>>65870970
>nudging by literal microseconds until the instrument is playing EXACTLY on the beat
JUST PLAY IT TIL U NAIL IT
>>65870306
How do I achieve clarity in my mixes?
>>65870970
>I'm talking nudging by literal microseconds until the instrument is playing EXACTLY on the beat
Why would you even need to ask this?
Of course you want your instruments in time and on beat.
However, you can make it go off beat for a bridge or something like that.
Every free distortion vst I've tried sounds like shit, so I decided to learn how to mic an amp properly. Any tips for micing amps and mixing the result? All I have is a behringer b2, should I invest in a different type of microphone?
>>65871125
>you can make it go off beat for a bridge or something like that
k
>>65870395
REFERENCE other mixes more than anything else. Adjust masters to match the frequencies of Drake, Rage Against the Machine, etc.
>>65870424
1st step is to move somewhere with an industry that he wants to work in. Second is to get hella good at producing lol. Those are the 2 keys to really breaking into it as a producer
>>65870451
Pro Tools and Logic primarily, but I'm also comfortable in Ableton, Reason and FL Studio.
It took me about 5 years from start to now, and I got really lucky and was in the right place at the right time a lot.
>>65870536
EQ and Compression settings are ALWAYS source dependent. You might want to start with the best sounding preset you can find and adjust it from there. Different Attack and releases on compressors aren't wrong, they just create different feeling sounds and rhythmic action.
Vocals: Saturation/distortion of some type. A good delay or reverb
Guitars: A good sounding guitar from the source is key. From there you can use amp sims or saturation plugins, and Delays are usually more friendly than reverbs.
>>65871429
what are some general guidelines for buying or building a powerful PC that is geared toward music production?
>>65870653
Enough nudging until it sounds good. It's totally dependent on the style. Metal is really important to be on top of the beat, rock and hip hop aren't necessarily. Things that are off beat can groove in cool ways. I tend to only do just enough nudging, my buddy likes to quantize everything to the most he fucking can. I feel like overly quantized music loses lots of feeling
>>65871035
Mix a TON. Proper balance of levels and panning is the biggest step, so make sure you nail that. Then check your mix in mono, and stay in mono for a long time. I find EQing in mono is 1000x easier than EQing in stereo. Use EQ to get less important shit out of the way of important shit like vocals and snare drums. If needed, use compression and distortion to make shit sound cooler and add excitement. TAKE IT EASY ON REVERB (try panning it mono, or hard to one side only, especially if it's a dense mix.) Your mix should be sounding pretty clean by then. Then it's time to automate.
>>65871138
I would use an SM57, they're the standard of all standards for a reason.Point the microphone where the cone and dust cap meet. Angle it either straight on or at a slight angle for different flavors. If you can track with 2 inputs at once, use your behringer as a room mic about 10-15 feet away. They should glue together like buttah
>>65870306
Is it possibly to make a song sound catchy, really catchy, with speakers, without speakers, on subwoofer, car sound system, i mean multiple type ambients without a need to make two version of it, a "radio" version and an album version?
I mean like left and right out with reverb etc, its totally different with speakers and without. so whats the best to sell more? make it to big speakers like these from the cars?
>>65871856
i mean with and without *headphones
>>65871540
Buy something nice from Apple. If you have to go the windows/linux route, I know that processor speed and lots of RAM are a must. I don't have a decent answer for you though, so check Gearslutz under the Music Computers forum.
>>65871856
The end goal is to always make a song that sounds good on every type speaker/headphones. Music shouldn't be made specifically to sound good on an iPhone or whatever. The best way to sell more is to make an undeniably great track, and then LICENSE THE SHIT OUT OF IT.
>>65870306
What is the best drum library for 'organic', non compressed sounds? Think post-rock drums..
Also, I know headphones and speakers are better but, best IEM under 500 for mixing and producing?
Or any good budget studio monitors to recommend?
whats your opinion on outboard gear vs plugins?
Is there really a difference between Avid Protools HD software and hardware and say focusrite firewire and thunderbolt interfaces and standard versions of Protools?
>>65872213
I'm not sure where I got them, but I have a ton of drum samples from Akai that are great. There's a ton of different recordings of the same instrument so you can make some really organic sounding stuff with it. I don't know the sample pack, but I'd search through Akai.
>>65872244
I think outboard gear sounds better than plugins. I also find that I get more musical and better sounding results when I get to use a lot of high quality outboard gear. I do mix almost entirely in the box though.
>>65872286
Yes, a big difference. Mostly because focusrite interfaces sound different than Avid interfaces. You would be able to hear a difference in mixes recorded and printed through each interface. It doesn't matter though, people manage to make great stuff through Scarlettes and shit stuff through HD 192's every day
>>65872518
Akai makes drum machines right? I'm looking for actual, acoustic drums.
>>65872648
They are WAV acoustic sample
>>65872518
>people manage to make great stuff through Scarlettes and shit stuff through HD 192's every day
I dont know anyone that records to 192khz. It seems you're more likely to crash the computer then finish the song. Is 44, 48, or 88 sample rate and really great external preamps, compressors/plugins of "equal", and mics enough to make pro sounding finished tracks and albums. Computer hardware/software, interfaces included.
>>65872741
It's definitely enough. You'll need a good sounding room for acoustic music, a
I was referring to the Avid 192 interface. They're sort of the standard interface you find in studios, and you can track at all the normal sample rates. I usually record at 48kHz.
>>65870306
I've heard mixed things about applying compression before EQ and vice versa in the mixing process. What do you recommend?
>>65870306
>Deesser after compressor
>Deesser and not RDeesser
>Multiband compressor but no EQ
Literally why
>>65873417
Compressing before EQing usually ends up with smoother results. I do that first most of the time
>>65873460
>RVox compressor brings out sibilance
>Deesser is better IMO
>There's some EQ before that buss
What's the difference between mastering and EQing
>>65874393
Mastering is final compression and adjusting "size" of track. EQ is used more to cut bad sounding frequencies. Like cut 2k on vocals will get rid of some of the hiss out of vocals.
awesome thread OP. I need help with achieving this kind of sound, especially the percussive elements that keep popping everywhere on this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwUj-d3NyGY
his sounds are so clean and there's so much 'space'. Like everything has a distinct place and nothing is touching anything. any technique to achieve this kind of clarity? What is he doing here? Starting with very high quality recorded samples? Is there an effect chain or production technique that can give similar result? If there's any free reverbs you can recommend(for PC) that would be very helpful. Free because I spent all my money on monitors last week and I am too broke. Thank you so much OP, sorry if I am asking too much.
