Showing Visitor Messages 1 to 9 of 9
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November 22nd, 2015 2:21 PMT The ManagerI'm afraid I don't. The only only thread I know of is the "are you a musician" thread but that threads not very active at all so you most likely wouldn't get a lot of views. A couple years back this forum had a music club that was very active but it died for some reason. there were like 100 members involved with it. I know how to run clubs and all that but I really don't have the time or otherwise I'd create a new music club. I mean, I might make a music club with co-owners to keep it updated just so people can post their music.
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November 22nd, 2015 2:53 AMEternalSushiAlrighty!
Huh, well good luck with that! Say, would you know any threads here or areas where we post our music work? Can't seem to find one. -
November 21st, 2015 6:35 AMT The ManagerJust expect a lot of frustration, mixing vocals can be extremely difficult but remember this, YOU CAN'T POLISH A TURD (always get good recordings and USE A POP FILTER), and LESS IS MORE. If you EQ and compress the main tracks properly you wont need to add a bunch of plugin FX and VST's to get a good sound. I use a maximum of 6 depending on what I want. That includes saturation/exciter, EQ, compressor, de-esser (for sibilants), and other FX like filter, LFO, distortion, etc.
I'm all self taught but I'd really like to enroll in an Art Institute here in Chicago or go to a Columbia College. -
November 21st, 2015 6:26 AMEternalSushiDamn, I'll definitely keep that in mind when I eventually try for vocal tracks. I can sing, so I can always find decent recording equipment and just play around with these in the future. Are these self-taught? Do you take classes?
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November 21st, 2015 6:19 AMT The ManagerMixing vocals can be approached in many different ways. It really comes down to what you're looking for, or what the artist is looking for as in sound. But typically the lead vocal would be centered. Now, for something like a hook/chorus, or for more powerful sounds most artists prefer (even myself) to stack their vocals which then you'd still keep the lead vocal centered but you'd pan the other 2, 4, 6 (however many you need to get the sound you're looking for) and pan them all differently. Let's say you triple stacked a vocal... You'd center the main, hard pan (around 70-90%) left the first stack and hard pan the third the same except to the right. If you added 2 more stacks you'd want to pan each L-R around 50-60%. Each would also need to be EQ'd and compressed differently as well to differentiate them from eachother and you'd use the fader and drop or add dB's to make it blend together, but stacking easily causes clipping so you'd most likely be reducing the dB's of the stacks. Another good technique for differentiating the stacks is to pitch shift them but very lightly, like 6 cents to the left and -6 to the right. For vocals you really need to know a lot about FX chaining, aux buses, inserts, etc.
Now for reverb. Reverb is done through a aux bus and not an insert. If you're not familiar with aux buses, an aux bus is where you send tracks and the aux would be the receive meaning when you solo an aux bus any tracks sent to that bus would be played as well. But basically you'd add an ambience vst to the bus insert and mess around with the decay, spacing, delay, EQ filtering, etc until you get the ambience sound you're looking for. You'd then apply a multi band EQ and filter out what you feel doesn't belong, then you'd either apply compression to it til it grabs the reverb or you can apply a multi band compressor and not worry about doing the multi band EQ and compression separately. Multi compressor is more intricate tho since you'd have to make the attack, release, ratio, threshold, knee, etc different for the low, mid, and highs. Then you'd use the fader to blend it in with the rest of the music, this is why you need it sent through a bus rather than an insert.
sorry it's really long but it's really hard to explain without going into detail. That's just the tip of the iceberg too. I didn't even get into automating, de-essing, and FX chaining. -
November 21st, 2015 5:47 AMEternalSushiHow do you mix vocals, actually? That's something I'd need to learn in the future. Do you center them in the middle? Stereo separate? What about reverb?
I use Maximus for compression and whatnot. Still learning, honestly, as it's probably one of the harder things in terms of making music. Creating melodies and structures and loops is one thing but it takes a long time to learn how to EQ things well (which I'm currently okay with, finally) and master them too. -
November 21st, 2015 5:42 AMT The ManagerProbably. I predict him coming to one of us for questions haha. Which I don't mind.
I really wanna get a decent keyboard and kick pad since it would make my life a whole lot easier, especially if I were doing loops and live recordings. But yeah I mix and master vocals and instruments. They're completely different and need to be approached differently whilst mixing. Different on EQ and compression for sure.
That's not too long but I'm sure you've picked up quite a few skills and techniques in 2 years. Hell, it took me 2 years to get a firm grasp on compression and parallel compression and another year in learning automation (there's so much stuff to do!) haha.
I'll check some material out when I get the time. If you want you can peep my Soundcloud (no I didn't make the beats). https://soundcloud.com/twordsmith -
November 21st, 2015 5:29 AMEternalSushi...Ah, if he's really keen on getting this done, he'll google it like I did. In that case he wouldn't get Soundfont either haha.
I don't have a good midi controller, so I don't use the one I have (it's honestly more for fun and less for efficiency - those that you plug in your iPhone and play on your garageband). You're definitely more all-rounded than I am then as I do everything without good live recordings.
I've been making music for like, what, two years now? Here's my channel if you're interested. -
November 21st, 2015 5:06 AMT The ManagerI'm almost 100% certain you're going to have him lost at "midi" lol.
But I as well use FL Studio for my production, which I've recently gotten into making instrumentals not too long ago, I'm still learning FL Studio haha, got the mixing part down, it's more so adjusting to the workflow. I don't have any midi controllers yet but I'm looking to getting a nice keyboard and kick pad. I also use Studio One for recording I'm as well a rapper (I do it all) and that's where I mix and master my music. How long you been composing music?

