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! I sometimes I get asked this question in many forms and they always make me laugh. The other day I was talking to someone and they were dissing a studio because they used Cubase instead of Protools. I told that person that it really doesn't matter what software you use, it is the person behind the software that is going to make the difference. Personally, I use Digital Performer eventhough I have Protools and Logic as well, DP just works better for me. The sound quality is the same with most high end software.
So to that end, I would say that you don't HAVE to use Protools to make a great song. Use Protools if you like it but don't make a choice based upon reasoning that says you HAVE to use it. Do not go by the follow the bandwagon method because "everyone is using it" because in actually they are not. More and more people are using Logic and Digital Performer instead. Just something to think about! I am just sitting here thinking and I felt inspired to blog. Is it me or does sound quality really matter anymore? The reason that I ask is because, a lot of artists now days record their own music and even attempt to mix & master it by using presets or random settings. Sometimes it results in a radio hit but it sounds like trash sonically compared to the clean, hot and banging tracks of the 90's and early 2000's before the digital revolution. Now I don't want to sound like the guy who is holding on to the past because I am not, I embrace the now as well as the future. But, somewhere between the now and the past, quality seems to have been replaced by the radio hit and/ or the Viral hit or Tictok and it has given a lot of artists the belief that this often equates to quality. Well it doesn't.... That is why you have artists that are one hit wonders more than ever. This goes doubly for Christian rappers because you represent God and you are mandated to put out your best but often the music is distorted, thin and just plain bad. Don't use free 99 as an excuse (because you do everything yourself), you can have the best song in the world and with a bad mix & master, you deprive the song of it's potential.
Quality makes you stand out from the crowd and gives you a better chance of sustaining a career for years not just months. Look at Jay-Z, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, Jeezy, T.I., Bun-B and Christian rappers like Lecrae, Da Truth and the like. They produce quality from the lyrics, to the beat, to the recording, down to the mixing and mastering. Let's get back to quality this year and put out good music that will stand the test of time. That is where you will reach your audience and realize your goals! Today I just felt like giving you a word of encouragement. No matter what you are facing be it having a successful career in music, relationship issues, money issues, family issues, whatever it is, pray and trust God. He will always come through for you as long as you trust and believe as well as get in line with his word. Just my word of encouragement for someone, now let's get back to making great music!
You may ask why do I need to get my song mastered? That's a good question besides the technical reasons outlined on the mastering page, you need mastering to give your song that polished radio ready sound. That sound does not come from just mixing alone, it is an extra additive that occurs in the mastering stage. Ever wondered why you sometimes hear one song on the radio and then another song comes on right after it that is clearer, louder and has more presence than the song before it? Well, that is what mastering will do? It will make your song stand out from the bad sounding songs and blend in with the good sounding songs.
Keep checking back, as I will be periodically adding more mixing and mastering tips! Until then,.... Keep Bangin'. |
AuthorI am a total music fan and enjoy working in the studio. To know me is to know music. Archives
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