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Some Room For Improvement: Becoming An Expert Sound Pro

No music would be complete in the absence of its accompaniers, namely bass, drum, tempo and others. A proper mix of all these could give a soothing output to the listener. But, if you are still unable to produce a mix that could be up to the mark, it is better to have a look at this post. It is a fact that if you don’t diversify yourself, you could soon find your sun setting. Regardless of the experience you have in this business, the below mentioned tips would guide you towards becoming a sound pro:

•    Play at a little lower level: No other sound equipment is as good in the recording studio as your ears. It is better to check the volume at lower levels by inserting the ear plugs. Long run in the recording industry means better hearing for decades.
•    Consistency would pay you the result: A Craftsman delivers his craft after working over it with dedication. His good result or quality delivered can’t be a matter of accident. His hard work is involved at every aspect, i.e. systematizing the signal flow, setting up the control room, choosing the right track, receiving the sounds and even in the act of pressing the record button. He would be responsible for all the aforementioned sessions to make it run smoothly.

The quality of a sound is in the hands of a recording engineer. The final goal should be to be in a recording studio in Massachusetts and all over the world in such a way that every individual uses your vibe, expertise, hearing skill and your impressive collections.  

•    Have a good set up: The key to understanding the nature of sound is to know how sound travels in your room and how it reaches your microphone. The knowledge regarding flutter echo, reflections and other acoustical problems are required for a great musical experience. A comfortable and creative environment would give you great productivity and great audio.
•    Know about microphones: The strength and weaknesses differ with respect to the type of microphone you choose; hence if you are skilled in selecting the right microphone for the job, it would be invaluable as an engineer.
•    Editing: Generally editing is overlooked because it’s tedious and boring, as the whole task requires listening, cutting out irrelevant noises and realistic fades. An abrupt start and end would clearly show the signs of an amateur engineer.
•    Mixing a long way: Levels, panning, EQ, compression and depths would sum up your 80% of the mixes. Neither jump EQ nor compression before you set up the levels because pushing things up and down would surely delay and reverb each instrument in two dimensional spectrum. You would be overwhelmed if you take one at a time.
•    Get mastered: If you are creating a record for professional mastering, it is better to mix it properly for a mastering engineer. Don’t be an amateur, and consider each and every aspect before preparing a mix.
•    Present it well: It is an art and no engineer could master it by just putting up the microphone and a little bit mix. Presentation is a part of package; hence work on every pro and con so that your clients and co workers remember you for long as a good engineer.

Finally the ultimate goal is to be a pro sound engineer because when you would be in the studio with multiple hits, it would breed up your success a long way.

Author Bio:
Nathen Allis, director of a music studio and an engineer in recording studio in Massachusetts is keen to share his thoughts and tips to amateurs and professionals for a better music.

Some Room For Improvement To Become An Expert Sound Pro

How to learn to mix well in the shortest time possible

It often takes a student around 3-5 years to get together the basics of creating a competent music mix. Professional mix engineers tend to have 10 years of experience and the very best and most in demand mix engineers are often in their mid forties by the time they are turning away bookings. The fact is it takes a long time to learn how to mix audio properly.

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Your First Song: From Idea to Production

It’s always exciting to hit upon a song idea which can be the next big sensation. But translating that idea into a song or an album can be a daunting task, especially if music production is new for you. In this article we will demystify the process of creating songs from scratch.

A song starts with either a catchy melody or a set of powerful lyrics. Then music is added to the song, the song is given a structure and then it is recorded and goes for final post production. Let us look at each of these processes in detail.

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How EDM Is Changing Mixing And Mastering

EDM creators are finding less of an need for a separate mixing and mastering engineer, and much of that comes from the old school industry failing to embrace change.

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Mastering Engineers-Do I really need one?

What is mastering? and how can a mastering engineer help my track/Album? Some insiders tips and information

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The basics of side chain compression

This is a post by mastering engineer Barry Gardner who operates SAS Mastering
http://www.masteringmastering.co.uk/onlinemasteringservices.html

What is side chain processing?

Side chain compression is often seen as a complicated production technique but assuming you understand the basics of compression there should not be any troubles understanding how it works. Most audio compressors work by controlling the input signal using the same signals dynamics, so for example when there is a loud section in a vocal recording the peak in the vocal gets reduced in volume. This has the effect of evening out the level of the singing. It is a very common and useful technique for many types of instrument and most modern music mixes will have a reasonable amount of compression occurring.

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How to produce a louder mix

We know the ‘loudness wars’ is a constantly hot topic in music production circles and one common belief is that a loud master is produced in the mastering stage. Certainly mastering can increase the perceived volume of a mix down. However there is often a limitation to how loud a mix can get before it starts to produce undesirable side effects such as distortion, loss of detail, loss of dynamics etc. I am occasionally asked how you can produce loud mixes and I would in the very first instance suggest mixing to sound good and not just loud. People should also consider the genre they are working in, the needs for a drum and bass/dubstep track are very different for a folk or ambient piece so be sensitive to the musical genre within which you are working. Also consider that software like iTune Soundcheck is also making “loudness” somewhat less relevant as it tries to even out perceived volumes of tracks in the playback domain.

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Starting to mix music tracks

Starting to mix music is exciting and I wanted to produce a short document that gives some good starting advice. Of course it will be impossible to teach someone how to mix perfectly in such a short time but this guide will point you in the right direction towards important concepts to understand.

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Mixing On Headphones

Headphones are of course an essential part of any studio and tracking would be near impossible without them on most occasions, but what about for mixing?

There are a few consideration to bear in mind when considering going about mixing your next masterpiece on a pair of cans, firstly, the accuracy of balanced frequency representation is a must here.

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Using a reference track during mixing

If you are a musician who is also doing your own mixing and recording you are likely to need as much help as possible achieving a good mix down. One way of understanding how your mixing is holding up against professionally engineered records is to listen against a reference which you admire the sound of within the genre of music you work with. There are a few pointers which can make this much more successful.

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Record Production is Like Baking a Cake: The Hierarchy of Reaching Full Potential [GRAPHIC]

So what does baking a cake have to do with record production? It’s a helpful analogy that will help you plan how much time, effort, and expenses to devote to the different aspects of record production. Before proceeding to the next step, always be completely happy with the current phase. Continuing the process after the fact will limit your full potential as many issues cannot be corrected at a later stage.

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Mixing on headphones

For many musicians, producers and engineers mixing at home can bring up some limitations for music making. It may not always be possible to utilize loudspeakers for one reason or another. A common reason would be working in a flat or other domestic situation where disturbing ones neighbours is a distinct possibility. This text is about mixing on headphones. Mixing on headphones is from the outset a compromise situation although these days many people will in fact be listening to music with a pair of ear buds so it is certainly an important aspect of audio reproduction to be aware of.  

For people who have to start mixing on headphones the first thing to be aware of is hearing damage. Make sure you do not listen for too long periods of time at loud volumes. The ear quickly adapts to loud listening volumes and it should be avoided at all costs it is especially important when mixing on headphones. It can be easy to not realize how loud you are listening and I suggest that you listen no louder that you need to in order to hear the balance requirements in your music. Closed back headphones can assist in attenuating some of the external sounds if need be so you can listen less loudly, though they do tend to be less comfortable over longer periods of time. When it comes to headphones you should be expecting to pay between £50.00 and £100.00 for a good quality set. If you peruse the quality manufacturers sites you will come up with a few options. Personally I like open back headphones for mixing in a quiet environment because there is some airflow to the ears and they tend to be more comfortable for longer.  

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Mix reference

I often suggest using a good sounding mix reference track to compare your own mix tone to. This is often in response to receiving a mix which has far too much or too little low frequency content for mastering. In these instances it is best to address the core problems in the mix down by using a mix reference.

I would use a track which relates to the genre of the mix your are working with. Select a track based on tone, clarity, space and definition, not it’s perceived level. This will help when getting the right tonal balance for the track, i.e. balance of lows, mid range and highs. I suggest bringing a track into your mix session with it’s own separate stereo track. Ensure the file is a high quality .wav file or .aiff file. Choose a track that you feel has a great mix which works on a lot of different playback systems. It helps if you like the track but don’t just choose a track where you love the song itself, try and discern what qualities give the track a good mix down.  

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