Low cut.
To increase headroom in your dubstep tracks, and get rid of ineffective and unwanted subsonic frequencies, apply a low cut around 20-30hz, if you don't have monitors that go that low then maybe leave it - you would not want to remove something you cant hear properly as you might take away something that you might want to have in.
Subtle shelfs.
Try to apply a gentle shelf EQ to get the smoothest boosts, another way is to use a wide parametric EQ. This will provide the most musical and dubstep like EQ boosts.
Killer dubstep tip: Multi band compression.
Aside from EQ you may want to experiment with multi-band compression for changing the timbre of you mix. For example you could compress the low end more to bring up its relative presence in the mix. This can have a cleaner result and means you could use less process, further enhancing your final output.
Boost it wide, cut it slim.
Generally speaking a smooth wide boost, coupled with surgical narrow cuts on problem frequencies will give the best overall result.
Go easy.
If you find your self adding more than around 5DB of EQ you will probably be better off to go back to the original dubstep mix and find the problem there. As a rule you should not need to be adding more than 4/5DB for your first 50 attempts. Only when you have a lot of experience should you consider using such a drastic measure.
Treble.
One common misconception is that the high end of a track is all above 12khz, however its actually much lower at around 2khz. One good power tip when learning about frequency ranges is to run a commercial finished dubstep track through a high pass filter, turn up your speakers and slowly move the fader down, letting through more low frequencies. This will show you were you start to hear the punch, knock, bass etc and build a easy picture in your head of what applies to what dubstep frequency range.
Careful with using multi band compression.
Although multi band compression can have a amazing and dramatic effect on a poorly balanced dubstep mix, it can also wreak havoc with a good dubstep mix. If you feel your final mix is well balanced then a single band mastering compressor is likely to have a better result.
Check out this dubstep site for tips and tricks. They also have a dubstep forum
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Simmon_Power
Showing posts with label logic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label logic. Show all posts
Monday, 7 December 2009
Sunday, 6 December 2009
How to mix dubstep. Part 2 of 5
Never go past 0 DB.
Carefully monitor every process to ensure the levels never creeps past 0DB, this tends to happen more when using heavy limiting in dubstep, but can also happen with aggressive EQ.
A/B Properly.
An easy mistake to make is to make poor judgments by A/B testing to quickly. For example, when applying compression the better setting might not sound so good initially because its not as loud. However once normalized its would be the superior setting. Also A/B test by quickly switching between two or three of your favorite dubstep tracks to see how those producers do things.
Get your dubstep studio as quiet as possible.
Although good dubstep monitoring equipment is essential, it can be wasted money if your room is not set up properly. Some quick and easy tips are to get silent fans in your computer, and invest in some acoustic tiles to dampen pre-delay and early reflections. Essentially your room will be acting like a reverb plug-in unless you add some kind of sound dampening. This can result in over, or under use of EQ.
Test, Test, Test against other dubstep tracks.
A good idea is to listen to your efforts on as many systems and spaces as possible and pay close attention to the results. Over time this will teach you how your mix translates over multiple systems, although to perfect can take more than a lifetime. This is why a mastering engineer is worth his weight in gold. Or printer ink (as thats more expensive than gold!).
Learn the frequencies.
This might sound obvious, but building a mental picture of the dubstep frequency range in your head will pay dividends in all areas of dubstep production. In my view it maybe the most important thing in getting you mix and mastering efforts right. Try and attach words to each area, like warmth (220-320), muddiness (340), knock (600-1k), clarity (4k-7.5k) etc.
Cut it out.
When mixing / mastering dubstep (forget sonic sculpting) its nearly always better to make a frequency cut, rather than a boost. This is because the human brain will deem a sound more natural sounding by using a cut because that is what happens in the real world, sounds are absorbed by different materials (like wood, and concrete) resulting in certain frequencies being removed. Therefore when boosting EQ the brain will not be as used to it as a frequency cut. A good trick if you do want to boost a frequency is to cut all the other frequencies apart from the one you want to boost and then turn the whole volume up. As a rule a 1DB boost is equivalent to a 3DB cut.
Carefully monitor every process to ensure the levels never creeps past 0DB, this tends to happen more when using heavy limiting in dubstep, but can also happen with aggressive EQ.
A/B Properly.
An easy mistake to make is to make poor judgments by A/B testing to quickly. For example, when applying compression the better setting might not sound so good initially because its not as loud. However once normalized its would be the superior setting. Also A/B test by quickly switching between two or three of your favorite dubstep tracks to see how those producers do things.
Get your dubstep studio as quiet as possible.
Although good dubstep monitoring equipment is essential, it can be wasted money if your room is not set up properly. Some quick and easy tips are to get silent fans in your computer, and invest in some acoustic tiles to dampen pre-delay and early reflections. Essentially your room will be acting like a reverb plug-in unless you add some kind of sound dampening. This can result in over, or under use of EQ.
Test, Test, Test against other dubstep tracks.
A good idea is to listen to your efforts on as many systems and spaces as possible and pay close attention to the results. Over time this will teach you how your mix translates over multiple systems, although to perfect can take more than a lifetime. This is why a mastering engineer is worth his weight in gold. Or printer ink (as thats more expensive than gold!).
Learn the frequencies.
This might sound obvious, but building a mental picture of the dubstep frequency range in your head will pay dividends in all areas of dubstep production. In my view it maybe the most important thing in getting you mix and mastering efforts right. Try and attach words to each area, like warmth (220-320), muddiness (340), knock (600-1k), clarity (4k-7.5k) etc.
Cut it out.
When mixing / mastering dubstep (forget sonic sculpting) its nearly always better to make a frequency cut, rather than a boost. This is because the human brain will deem a sound more natural sounding by using a cut because that is what happens in the real world, sounds are absorbed by different materials (like wood, and concrete) resulting in certain frequencies being removed. Therefore when boosting EQ the brain will not be as used to it as a frequency cut. A good trick if you do want to boost a frequency is to cut all the other frequencies apart from the one you want to boost and then turn the whole volume up. As a rule a 1DB boost is equivalent to a 3DB cut.
Saturday, 5 December 2009
How to mix dubstep. Part 1 of 5
1. Intro
Here I will show you how to mix a dubstep track in 12 easy steps.Obviously mixing is subjective, but following this guide will keep you your track on the right track. The thing about using samples and synth's is that no matter how well prepared the sound is, even if you sample it from a commercial dubstep record, as soon as you add it in with a new mix it will lose most of its good features. This is because fat sounds, in fat tracks sound that way they do due to the relationship they have with each other, and they way they were processed (compressed etc) with each other - Not necessarily because they are individually amazing sounds. This is why learning how to mix dubstep correctly will make the difference between getting to the top, and staying at home in your bedroom. The best tip I can give is, listen, then listen some more. The devil is in the detail.
Learning these tips should take around 5-10 mix downs to grasp the basics, I can usually mix down a track to release quality in 3 hours after doing about 100 mix downs. These tips are very effective.
2. Dubstep Frequency Range
These frequency ranges should help you add or subtract the correct EQ, beware, adding a certain element to all sounds will give poor results eg, bite. You can use the frequency map included to great effect.
Dubstep Sub bass: 20hz - 100hz. Prominent frequency 30hz.
Top bass: 44khz - 20khz - Prominent frequency 220hz
808 Kick Drum: 20 Hz - 4khz - Prominent frequency 60hz.
909 Kick Drum: 40hz - 7.5khz - Prominent frequency 110hz
D&B Kick Drum: 120hz - 7.5khz - Prominent frequency 150hz
Crash: 500hz - 20khz Prominent Frequency 2khz
Congas: 120hz - 7.5khz - Prominent frequency 500hz
Claps: 2khz - 16khz - Prominent frequency 6khz
Pads: 110hz - 20khz - Prominent frequency 800hz
Rising FX: 20hz - 20khz - Prominent frequency 1.7khz
Stabs: 500hz - 10khz - Prominent Frequency 3.5khz
You can use the above to give each part to your dubstep mix its own space. This enables the listener to hear each sound clearly with out it sounding muddled. Use careful EQ to create a space for each part, you can either do this by cutting the frequencies of other instruments around the sound you are trying to give space to (the most effective way) or boosting the frequencies of the part in question. Using frequency cuts is best because the human brain will deem a sound more natural sounding by using a cut. This is because of what happens in the real world, sounds are absorbed by different materials (like wood, and concrete) resulting in certain frequencies being removed. Therefore when boosting EQ the brain will not be used to it as it, were as a cut will sound perfectly expectable. A good trick if you don't want to boost a frequency, is to cut all the other frequencies apart from the one you want to boost and then turn the whole volume up. As a rule a 1DB boost is equivalent to a 3DB cut.
Here are the frequency ranges and there associated attributes, boosting / cutting EQ to a part in these frequencies will enhance or diminish the attribute:
Weight: - 20hz - 150hz
Warmth: 220hz - 380hz
Muddiness: 250hz - 400hz
Knock / Punch: 600hz - 1khz
Definition / Bite: 1khz - 2khz
Clarity: 4khz - 7.5khz
Air and Sparkle: 7.5khz - 20khz
If the above is not familiar with you take a few days to learn this by putting it in to practice. Get a dubstep mix you have done, but are not happy with and try and get every thing separated so each part can be heared clearly.
Power Tip: Don't go mad with EQ, use volume first, then if you have to use a EQ, cut of around 2/6db, if finally you need to boost never go over 6db of boost until you have done at least 100 mix downs and are very confident with EQ.
The main reason people go wrong is they see EQ as a 'sonic sculpting' tool. Which it can be, but in small amounts. Try and avoid this to start with. If you ever get a chance to see a professional engineers desk after a mix down, you will see there are lots of subtle cuts, and a few well placed boosts. Not drastic, huge boosts everywhere, like most people do when they start out, including me and probably everyone, ever! Always remember that if you cut one end of the frequency spectrum comparatively you are boosting the other end.
Power Tip: As a rule use gentle wide boosts to bring subtle attention to a part, and narrow surgical cuts to remove problem frequencies.
Here I will show you how to mix a dubstep track in 12 easy steps.Obviously mixing is subjective, but following this guide will keep you your track on the right track. The thing about using samples and synth's is that no matter how well prepared the sound is, even if you sample it from a commercial dubstep record, as soon as you add it in with a new mix it will lose most of its good features. This is because fat sounds, in fat tracks sound that way they do due to the relationship they have with each other, and they way they were processed (compressed etc) with each other - Not necessarily because they are individually amazing sounds. This is why learning how to mix dubstep correctly will make the difference between getting to the top, and staying at home in your bedroom. The best tip I can give is, listen, then listen some more. The devil is in the detail.
Learning these tips should take around 5-10 mix downs to grasp the basics, I can usually mix down a track to release quality in 3 hours after doing about 100 mix downs. These tips are very effective.
2. Dubstep Frequency Range
These frequency ranges should help you add or subtract the correct EQ, beware, adding a certain element to all sounds will give poor results eg, bite. You can use the frequency map included to great effect.
Dubstep Sub bass: 20hz - 100hz. Prominent frequency 30hz.
Top bass: 44khz - 20khz - Prominent frequency 220hz
808 Kick Drum: 20 Hz - 4khz - Prominent frequency 60hz.
909 Kick Drum: 40hz - 7.5khz - Prominent frequency 110hz
D&B Kick Drum: 120hz - 7.5khz - Prominent frequency 150hz
Crash: 500hz - 20khz Prominent Frequency 2khz
Congas: 120hz - 7.5khz - Prominent frequency 500hz
Claps: 2khz - 16khz - Prominent frequency 6khz
Pads: 110hz - 20khz - Prominent frequency 800hz
Rising FX: 20hz - 20khz - Prominent frequency 1.7khz
Stabs: 500hz - 10khz - Prominent Frequency 3.5khz
You can use the above to give each part to your dubstep mix its own space. This enables the listener to hear each sound clearly with out it sounding muddled. Use careful EQ to create a space for each part, you can either do this by cutting the frequencies of other instruments around the sound you are trying to give space to (the most effective way) or boosting the frequencies of the part in question. Using frequency cuts is best because the human brain will deem a sound more natural sounding by using a cut. This is because of what happens in the real world, sounds are absorbed by different materials (like wood, and concrete) resulting in certain frequencies being removed. Therefore when boosting EQ the brain will not be used to it as it, were as a cut will sound perfectly expectable. A good trick if you don't want to boost a frequency, is to cut all the other frequencies apart from the one you want to boost and then turn the whole volume up. As a rule a 1DB boost is equivalent to a 3DB cut.
Here are the frequency ranges and there associated attributes, boosting / cutting EQ to a part in these frequencies will enhance or diminish the attribute:
Weight: - 20hz - 150hz
Warmth: 220hz - 380hz
Muddiness: 250hz - 400hz
Knock / Punch: 600hz - 1khz
Definition / Bite: 1khz - 2khz
Clarity: 4khz - 7.5khz
Air and Sparkle: 7.5khz - 20khz
If the above is not familiar with you take a few days to learn this by putting it in to practice. Get a dubstep mix you have done, but are not happy with and try and get every thing separated so each part can be heared clearly.
Power Tip: Don't go mad with EQ, use volume first, then if you have to use a EQ, cut of around 2/6db, if finally you need to boost never go over 6db of boost until you have done at least 100 mix downs and are very confident with EQ.
The main reason people go wrong is they see EQ as a 'sonic sculpting' tool. Which it can be, but in small amounts. Try and avoid this to start with. If you ever get a chance to see a professional engineers desk after a mix down, you will see there are lots of subtle cuts, and a few well placed boosts. Not drastic, huge boosts everywhere, like most people do when they start out, including me and probably everyone, ever! Always remember that if you cut one end of the frequency spectrum comparatively you are boosting the other end.
Power Tip: As a rule use gentle wide boosts to bring subtle attention to a part, and narrow surgical cuts to remove problem frequencies.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
