In the beginning of the DAW (digital audio workstation) revolution Pro-tools was considered the gold standard in studio recording (and still is) by both small and big studios alike. Most people just went with it because of it's popularity but the truth is, there are options and there have always been options.

There are many great sounding DAW's that are equal if not better than Pro-tools. There is Logic, Digital Performer (DP), Cubase, Nuendo and others which do the same thing as Protools for a lot less. My Personal preference is DP, it's ease of use, great sound quality, unlimited tracks (as much as your computer can handle) and access to lots and lots of Audio Unit plugins make it a no brainer because you get so much for a lot less money.

So when building your studio, don't just go with Pro-tools because "everybody uses it" or because someone said that your favorite record was recorded on it, think about your options and go with works for YOU best.  I learned years ago when I first started producing music that the equipment you use is only as good as its operator. Many people swore by the MPC and still do but I know quite a few wanna be producers who bought one and their beats were still wack.  I, by the way, used an Ensoniq EPS 16+ for all of my hits in the 90's and early 2000's. I just wanted to be different and stand out. If you are ever to become a successful producer or engineer, follow your heart and dare to be different.  Innovators lead the pack and do not follow!

Until next month,
Keep Bangin the hits
Crazy C!

Last month we talked about the 2track instrumental and the mixing of that instrumental. Now we will talk about proper mix levels for the best possible master. I know that most everybody nowadays wants their song to be loud and proud! I feel that but, there is a proper way to achieve that as well as a wrong way to achieve that. Let me explain.

Do not normalize or place a limiter on your mixes in an attempt to make your song loud before mastering. This severely derails the mastering engineer's ability to give you a quality sound. You should leave your mixes in their raw form, ideally -1db to -2db below zero; this gives the mastering engineer "room" to increase the overall volume before distortion is introduced to the signal.

The goal here is to have the loudest possible volume without distortion. If you hear distortion, you have gone to far. In my personal opinion I believe quality should win out over top volume any-day. A lot of today's songs are loud but they lack the clarity, quality and warmth of the recordings of yesterday.  Take Ice Cube's "amerikkka's most wanted" CD or Blackstreet's self titled debut CD, both of these Cd's may not have been very loud, compared to today's standards but they sounded great! I would gladly turn up the volume myself on the CD player any day to get a better sounding product! But that is just me. Lol

There is a trend going on in this age of the DAW that is very misleading to many. It is the 2track instrumental mix that many producers are sending artists instead of the full tracked files of the beat. Now before you producers go off into a hissy, here me out. I am a producer so I understand that you want your beat to sound a certain way, i have no problem with that. The issue is this, when the artist sends the song off to get mixed, you handy cap the mixer. In other words, you take half of the control of the mix away from the professional.

When a song is mixed, the best and most quality way, is to have all tracks separate including the individual instruments used to produce the beat. Having this option, gives the mixer control over the entire mix instead of having to work around issues that may be apparent in the 2track instrumental mix. Just because you can produce a hot beat, doesn't mean that you can correctly mix it. A lot of 2track instrumentals i get are distorted, muddy and down right bad; and there is nothing I can do to fix it, so I have to camouflage it the best i can so that whole of the song sounds good but not great! There is a difference.

The correct way to keep your sound intact while giving the mixer the individual files separate and tracked out, is for you to be in the session when the mixing is going on. If you can't physically be there because you may be in another city, you can always send a reference file for the mixer to follow as well as communicate via phone, text or email. There are many ways to make sure your beat sounds the way you want it, while giving the mixer all of the tools he or she needs to give you a quality mix on the entire song.

Keep in mind, most anyone nowadays can record but not everyone can mix! Mastering is a whole separate issue that we will tackle next month!

Til then, Keep the music Bangin'!

Well as we go further into the digital age, the loudness wars continue to increase. It's all about who has the loudest music on the planet and the little nuances that once defined music are long gone. Oh how I wished they would come back. One of the best mixed and mastered CD's of all time was Ice Cube's Amerikkka's Most Wanted. The CD sounded great, clean high's and banging lows. It wasn't the loudest CD, but it was the cleanest and best sounding i had ever heard. The next best CD was Dr. Dre's Chronic, it too had the right balance between loudness and clarity.

Today's, artists want it loud. They don't care about clarity. What ever happened to just turning up your own volume on your CD player, radio, stereo, computer or whatever you choose to listen to your music on? These days we are lazy, we want it loud and we want it now!

I think we should not sacrifice clarity for volume. I am all for a loud master but once you start to hit the ceiling and the dynamics are lost, the music sounds stale, fatigued and bound. It also introduces distortion a lot of times. We have to get back to clarity if music is to ever sound clear again. We must have balance.

Now the customer is always right, If you want it loud, I can do that and I will give you what you want. But, for my own songs I am going back to the old school and keep it clean and mean; loudness has to take a back seat and I will reach for the knob and turn it up on the radio!