It has been a while since I had a song mastered. I've either been happy with the results of my master channel signal chain or I've sent off remixes where the mastering was going to be taken care of.
I'm not a fan of unattended mastering. It makes me uneasy that someone may impart heavy processing on something I've worked hard at. Many hours of work can easily be destroyed by a half hour mastering job performed by someone who doesn't share (or know, or care about) my vision. I like to take full responsibility for my sound - after all, it's my name attached to the product. If the song is clipping and distorted because the mastering engineer got a little eager with a limiter, it reflects poorly on me, not them.
Anyway, here are a few things to be considered when we get our songs mastered:
1) Attended session or not?
In these days of cheap internet mastering this is becoming more difficult. I much prefer to sit in the room when my song is being mastered, to talk to the engineer about the result I'm looking for. I take in a reference CD with several great sounding songs, in the ballpark of what I'm aiming for. The mastering engineers who have worked on my songs have all been happy to do attended sessions. I can understand that some may not be so keen - I'm not sure how I'd feel if I had someone looking over my shoulder while I was putting together a mix. It would depend on the person and the types of contributions they make during the process.
If attending the session isn't a practical option, provide as much detail as possible about the result you're looking for. Some engineers will ask for reference songs. Hopefully you'll have some ready to send. I assume most people compare their songs to others in the same style. It'd be very difficult to to gauge the mix otherwise.
2) How loud should it be?
If you have a particular position on dynamics, let the engineer know this. Let them know you want it as loud as possible, or that you don't want your song squashed to death. If you've heard other examples of their work in the same style, maybe you can trust that they'll push it hard, but not too hard. In any case, it can't hurt to let them know how hot you want your song to be.
3) Where does the mixing process end and the mastering process begin?
I often put a touch of EQ on the master channel of my song. I'm happy to take off the limiter when I send it off to get mastered somewhere unknown, but I'll often leave my EQ touches on there. They're part of my creative vision and there's no guarantee that the mastering engineer will share that vision. So we need to work out where we draw the line - which decisions are essential parts of the creative process for a given song, which ones we're happy to leave in someone else's hands. Perhaps our song fades out at the end and we're happy to leave the fade to the mastering engineer. It's up to each of us.
4) What bit rate and sample rate should the song be?
Mastering engineers generally are quite upfront about the format they prefer to work in. If not, a good rule of thunb is to use the same sample rate that the final song will be in. It doesn't hurt to double it (so 88.2 kHz for songs going to 44.1 kHz, or 96 kHz for songs going to 48 kHz), but going from everything that I've read, working at higher sample rates makes no audible difference when the song is converted down to the final sample rate. Bit rates are a different matter - here it does make an audible difference when converting down to the final bit rate. I provide 24 bit files when the mastering engineer will end up delivering a 16 bit master. If the final output were 24 bits, I'd send a 32 bit file (though I've never been in this situation).
5) It doesn't sound amazing after mastering. Why not?
The first thing we should consider is: did it sound amazing before mastering? If not, then the solution is to keep practicing our mixing skills until our songs sound the way we want them to before they're sent off to be mastered. In my early days of mixing I expected the mastering process to help make my songs sound better, that somehow I and this professional engineer would be a team in delivering a great sounding song. That isn't the case. Mastering will make our songs sound more correct, will push the gain up cleanly, but it won't fix the fact that we've chosen the wrong kick sample or that we've turned our pad up too loud in the mix.
If the song sounded great before mastering, then discuss the issues with the engineer. The engineers I've worked with were happy to rectify issues. I wouldn't push too hard though - if the second version is still nowhere near optimal, leave some time before going to that engineer again. For me, this gave me enough time to learn that all the issues with the finished song came down to my inferior mixing skills!
I hope this has been helpful for some of you. Bear in mind that not every artist has their songs mastered. Some of them like to be responsible for the process from start to finish. Once again, we all make our own decisions. I can see the benefit in running a song through another set of ears in an optimal listening environment, but I also totally embrace the mindset of complete responsibility!
Keep making great music!
Fabian
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Hearing what a compressor does
Some effects are easier to hear than others. Run a synth lead through a big hall reverb and we'll notice the massive space around it. Grab an EQ and boost 5 kHz and we'll hear the high end definition (or shrillness, depending on the original sound) coming through.
Compression, however, can initially seem like a black box. We know it's supposed to "pump up" our sounds, make them bigger, stronger, louder, better. But how? And what are all those controls and why do some of them do nothing, even though we turn them all the way from one end to the other?
Well, let's start with the basics. A compressor turns the volume down when the incoming signal goes over the threshold we've set. That's all a compressor actually does - it turns the volume down. In practice though, there's a bit more to it - how quickly it turns the volume down, how long it should leave the volume down when the incoming signal drops back below the threshold. How much gain can be added to the overall output signal now that the loudest parts have been turned down.
There is a way to hear what a compressor is doing to the signal, and to set the compressor so it does what we want it to do, in an appealing musical way. This is preferable to choosing minimum attack and release, and maximum ratio, which will make the signal hotter, but may not make our song sound better. It's usually better if the compressor works in the same groove as the music.
First, set the threshold so that the compressor is being triggered with every note/ beat that comes through it. This means we'll be able to clearly hear how the compressor operates on the sound.
Next, set the ratio to maximum. Yes, I just spoke against "maximum-ratio-itis", but here it's just an initial setting, which will allow us to clearly hear the timing of the attack and release parameters.
Next, set the attack and release to minimum. Once again, it's not likely they'll end up there, but these starting positions will allow us to hear clearly what the compressor is doing to our sound.
If the compressor has a "hold" parameter, set it to zero. The makeup gain/ auto makeup isn't important at this point - the final output level can be set when we have the compressor working on the sound the way we want it to.
Okay - the compressor should be heavily compressing the sound as it's playing.
The first parameter we'll adjust is the attack parameter. My main consideration here is whether the sound has an attack transient, and whether I care about the transient. If it's a percussive loop, or a kick drum, I'll almost always slow the attack down so that the attack transient comes through cleanly. If we leave the attack at minimum, the front end of the sound will dull considerably - rather than a sharp, clear front end of the sound which cuts through a mix, we'll be left with something which sounds much more like it's being hit with cardboard. The body of the sound will be fine, but the clear attack transient will disappear. How slow the attack should be is totally dependent on the sound and how we want the attack transient to sound. For myself, with some lead sounds I'm happy to lose the attack entirely. For pads, which often have a very slow attack phase, I'm happy to leave the compressor's attack at minimum.
Now that we have the attack where we want it, our focus can turn to the release parameter. My main consideration here is whether the sound is rhythmic and needs to fit into the groove of the song. Pads aren't rhythmic - the release can be left as fast as possible. Drum loops are very rhythmic, and will very likely work against the song's groove if the release is at minimum. We want the compressor to move up and down in volume in time with the song, rather than in some arbitrary way independent of the song's natural groove. So when setting the release parameter, start bobbing your head in time with the song, or get up and dance, or whatever, and see where the release parameter best enhances the groove. This is important - this is the difference between whether or not people feel like moving their bodies to our song!
Right, so we have the compressor working on the part of the sound we want it to work on, and the level rising back up in time with our song. Now it's time to adjust how much compression we want to apply. The last two controls work in tandem - a very low threshold, where the compressor is working on the full range of the sound, combined with quite a low ratio (say 1.20:1) will give us a large reduction in dynamic range. So will a much higher threshold which only catches the loudest parts of the sound, combined with a much higher ratio (say 8:1). As with so many things, it comes down to personal choice - we're artists, after all! We may want to even out the instrument and make it stronger and steadier in the mix, but to still retain enough dynamic range to allow the instrument to play more quietly (say, during a trance breakdown) for contrast. We may want to slam it hard for a very "in your face" sound. Do we want to compress just the spikes, or the full range of the sound? I'm not going to attempt to answer these questions, since we're all going to answer them differently.
I know some people like to deal in approximate settings, so here are some typical starting settings I use for sounds in trance. Where they end up is totally dependent on the sound and the song:
Kick - I generally don't compress kicks. The samples I use are loud and punchy enough for me. If anything, I use a transient designer to heighten the attack portion of the sound.
Low/ Main Bass - I often use a vintage emulation compressor on my main bass, though my bass is usually very solid in the mix without it. I use this compressor more for the tone than the compression it imparts. More often, I'll run the bass through a sidechain compressor to briefly push it out of the way of the kick. This pushes the bass down quite heavily on each kick, with the bass rushing back up as fast as sounds good, musically.
Mid/High Basses - again, these usually receive a sidechain compression treatment similar to the low/ main bass. When I do compress them with standard compression, I use reasonably fast attack (say 10-20ms), reasonably fast release (20-40ms) and aim for 3-6 dBs of gain reduction. It depends how "weighty" I want the sound to be in relation to the other sounds around it. This is a big change to my early days, when my thoughts were "everything needs to be ultra loud and in your face". Now I understand that the more in-your-face one sound is, the less in-your-face all the other sounds become.
Pads - If the pads feature a fair bit of modulation and drift in and out a bit much for my liking, I'll compress them in a similar way to the synth group (see below) - in short - very low threshold and ratio, minimum attack and release.
Synths - I often compress these twice, firstly on their own, and secondly via a sidechain compressor. The settings I use for the first compressor operating on the synth group are as follows: a very low threshold, so the compressor is always operating on the sound. Then quite a low ratio (say 1.50:1), which over the range of operation still amounts to a decent amount of gain reduction, just spread over a large dynamic range. The attack and release parameters are set to minimum. Since the compressor is operating non-stop, I assume that having these set as fast as possible means the compressor makes adjustments as fast as possible. This treatment brings the entire dynamic range of the synths together smoothly, without any non-linear points where the compression is coming in and out.
Drums - I generally don't compress Hi Hats and Claps/Snares.
Percussive Loops - As for other elements, these are sometimes compressed using a sidechain compressor, using a release setting which makes the loop groove nicely around the kick drum.
Sound Effects - I generally don't compress these. If I do, it's generally via a sidechain compressor to add the pumping effect to up- and down-lifter effects.
Overall mix - As for the pads/ synth group, a very low threshold and extremely low ratio - lower than for individual groups - usually only 1.10:1, so hardly noticeable. However, it does mean I don't need to work the master limiter quite as hard.
So that's my approach to compression in a nutshell. I hope you've found it useful!
Fabian
Compression, however, can initially seem like a black box. We know it's supposed to "pump up" our sounds, make them bigger, stronger, louder, better. But how? And what are all those controls and why do some of them do nothing, even though we turn them all the way from one end to the other?
Well, let's start with the basics. A compressor turns the volume down when the incoming signal goes over the threshold we've set. That's all a compressor actually does - it turns the volume down. In practice though, there's a bit more to it - how quickly it turns the volume down, how long it should leave the volume down when the incoming signal drops back below the threshold. How much gain can be added to the overall output signal now that the loudest parts have been turned down.
There is a way to hear what a compressor is doing to the signal, and to set the compressor so it does what we want it to do, in an appealing musical way. This is preferable to choosing minimum attack and release, and maximum ratio, which will make the signal hotter, but may not make our song sound better. It's usually better if the compressor works in the same groove as the music.
First, set the threshold so that the compressor is being triggered with every note/ beat that comes through it. This means we'll be able to clearly hear how the compressor operates on the sound.
Next, set the ratio to maximum. Yes, I just spoke against "maximum-ratio-itis", but here it's just an initial setting, which will allow us to clearly hear the timing of the attack and release parameters.
Next, set the attack and release to minimum. Once again, it's not likely they'll end up there, but these starting positions will allow us to hear clearly what the compressor is doing to our sound.
If the compressor has a "hold" parameter, set it to zero. The makeup gain/ auto makeup isn't important at this point - the final output level can be set when we have the compressor working on the sound the way we want it to.
Okay - the compressor should be heavily compressing the sound as it's playing.
The first parameter we'll adjust is the attack parameter. My main consideration here is whether the sound has an attack transient, and whether I care about the transient. If it's a percussive loop, or a kick drum, I'll almost always slow the attack down so that the attack transient comes through cleanly. If we leave the attack at minimum, the front end of the sound will dull considerably - rather than a sharp, clear front end of the sound which cuts through a mix, we'll be left with something which sounds much more like it's being hit with cardboard. The body of the sound will be fine, but the clear attack transient will disappear. How slow the attack should be is totally dependent on the sound and how we want the attack transient to sound. For myself, with some lead sounds I'm happy to lose the attack entirely. For pads, which often have a very slow attack phase, I'm happy to leave the compressor's attack at minimum.
Now that we have the attack where we want it, our focus can turn to the release parameter. My main consideration here is whether the sound is rhythmic and needs to fit into the groove of the song. Pads aren't rhythmic - the release can be left as fast as possible. Drum loops are very rhythmic, and will very likely work against the song's groove if the release is at minimum. We want the compressor to move up and down in volume in time with the song, rather than in some arbitrary way independent of the song's natural groove. So when setting the release parameter, start bobbing your head in time with the song, or get up and dance, or whatever, and see where the release parameter best enhances the groove. This is important - this is the difference between whether or not people feel like moving their bodies to our song!
Right, so we have the compressor working on the part of the sound we want it to work on, and the level rising back up in time with our song. Now it's time to adjust how much compression we want to apply. The last two controls work in tandem - a very low threshold, where the compressor is working on the full range of the sound, combined with quite a low ratio (say 1.20:1) will give us a large reduction in dynamic range. So will a much higher threshold which only catches the loudest parts of the sound, combined with a much higher ratio (say 8:1). As with so many things, it comes down to personal choice - we're artists, after all! We may want to even out the instrument and make it stronger and steadier in the mix, but to still retain enough dynamic range to allow the instrument to play more quietly (say, during a trance breakdown) for contrast. We may want to slam it hard for a very "in your face" sound. Do we want to compress just the spikes, or the full range of the sound? I'm not going to attempt to answer these questions, since we're all going to answer them differently.
I know some people like to deal in approximate settings, so here are some typical starting settings I use for sounds in trance. Where they end up is totally dependent on the sound and the song:
Kick - I generally don't compress kicks. The samples I use are loud and punchy enough for me. If anything, I use a transient designer to heighten the attack portion of the sound.
Low/ Main Bass - I often use a vintage emulation compressor on my main bass, though my bass is usually very solid in the mix without it. I use this compressor more for the tone than the compression it imparts. More often, I'll run the bass through a sidechain compressor to briefly push it out of the way of the kick. This pushes the bass down quite heavily on each kick, with the bass rushing back up as fast as sounds good, musically.
Mid/High Basses - again, these usually receive a sidechain compression treatment similar to the low/ main bass. When I do compress them with standard compression, I use reasonably fast attack (say 10-20ms), reasonably fast release (20-40ms) and aim for 3-6 dBs of gain reduction. It depends how "weighty" I want the sound to be in relation to the other sounds around it. This is a big change to my early days, when my thoughts were "everything needs to be ultra loud and in your face". Now I understand that the more in-your-face one sound is, the less in-your-face all the other sounds become.
Pads - If the pads feature a fair bit of modulation and drift in and out a bit much for my liking, I'll compress them in a similar way to the synth group (see below) - in short - very low threshold and ratio, minimum attack and release.
Synths - I often compress these twice, firstly on their own, and secondly via a sidechain compressor. The settings I use for the first compressor operating on the synth group are as follows: a very low threshold, so the compressor is always operating on the sound. Then quite a low ratio (say 1.50:1), which over the range of operation still amounts to a decent amount of gain reduction, just spread over a large dynamic range. The attack and release parameters are set to minimum. Since the compressor is operating non-stop, I assume that having these set as fast as possible means the compressor makes adjustments as fast as possible. This treatment brings the entire dynamic range of the synths together smoothly, without any non-linear points where the compression is coming in and out.
Drums - I generally don't compress Hi Hats and Claps/Snares.
Percussive Loops - As for other elements, these are sometimes compressed using a sidechain compressor, using a release setting which makes the loop groove nicely around the kick drum.
Sound Effects - I generally don't compress these. If I do, it's generally via a sidechain compressor to add the pumping effect to up- and down-lifter effects.
Overall mix - As for the pads/ synth group, a very low threshold and extremely low ratio - lower than for individual groups - usually only 1.10:1, so hardly noticeable. However, it does mean I don't need to work the master limiter quite as hard.
So that's my approach to compression in a nutshell. I hope you've found it useful!
Fabian
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Sound Selection in Trance
After composition, the choice of sounds that go into a song is the next most important factor in achieving an excellent end result. A good set of sounds playing a good composition should sound very listenable, before any additional processing (e.g EQ, delay, reverb or mastering) is applied. These processes can enhance the sound, but they won't fix poor composition or sound choices.
When I started mixing/producing, I focused on the "showpiece" sounds and took other sounds - such as the kick and drum sounds - more lightly. My attitude was "it's a kick - it sounds big and full. Easy, done". Then I wondered why my "showpiece" sounds didn't sound so good. In truth, every sound in a song affects how other sounds are perceived by the listener.
Today I'll outline the thoughts that go through my head as I choose each sound that goes into one of my songs. There are many different approaches to the art of music production – your method may vary!
I often start with the lead sound. I already have a melody ready from a composition session, so now I look for a sound, or combination of sounds, which sound great with that melody. Sometimes I have a sound in mind, and go straight to it, but usually this involves flipping through presets. I choose a synth I think will sound great for the melody, and see if any sound jumps out at me.
From there I tweak the sound – I make adjustments to the amplitude envelope settings, or the filter. I often turn off the reverb or delay if the patch has these. I generally prefer to add these during the mixdown, where I have much more control over them.
Once I have my main sound, I usually layer it with a complementary sound. If my main lead sound is quite centered and defined, I often combine it with a lush, wide sound.
Whenever I add sounds which have significant stereo processing applied, I check their mono compatibility straight away. There's no point in waiting until the song is almost finished to discover that the lead will disappear in some listening situations. I have a plugin on the master channel I can turn on to hear the song quietly in mono. If there are stereo issues, I either look to adjust the stereo treatment (if the sound is otherwise fantastic) or I choose a different sound. Adjusting the stereo treatment usually involves adjusting the timing of the stereo effect by a few milliseconds, whether it's a delay, chorus or any other stereo effect.
MY MAIN THOUGHTS IN CHOOSING A LEAD: "strong enough to play by itself", "expressive", "distinctive" and "just as clear in mono".
Once the lead is in place, I add the next most important element to the overall mix. This is usually the kick, but could also be the main bass sound. For this example I'll go with the kick.
I generally have a sense of the type of kick that will fit with the lead, but am still open to serendipity - I have the lead looping while I browse through a library of kick samples. I don't listen to the kick in isolation (or any of the subsequent sounds) - sounds only have meaning within the context of the mix. I note down all the samples which sound decent in relation to the lead, to narrow the selection to a small number – maybe five to ten.
When I started making trance, I was more inclined to go with the "coolest, most hard-hitting" kick sample, without regard for whether it was appropriate for the lead and the overall song. Now, this can work for producers who have a very defined sound – in this case, the kick (and maybe the bass) would already be in place when selecting lead sounds, so it'd be fine - leads would be chosen which fit with the kick and bass.
Nowadays my main thoughts are "what does the kick do to the lead"? A kick can make a lead feel closed in, or open it up, make it seem bright or dull.
From this narrowed-down selection it's usually a fairly quick process to narrow it down to one. I find it helpful to turn on my “quiet-mono” plugin at times during this process too - If things sound good under these conditions, they'll generally sound good under most conditions. I do the "quiet-mono" thing for subsequent elements as well.
MY MAIN THOUGHTS IN CHOOSING A KICK: "fits with/ enhances the lead", "oomph", "enough definition to cut through the mix" and "tight".
Once the kick is in place, I turn my attention to the main bass pattern and sound. In general terms, if the melody is busy, I make the bass pattern simple. Vice versa, a simple, sparse melody will usually go well with a busier, more driving bassline. The sound of the bass needs to fit with both the kick and the lead. In broad terms, I like to match the presence/hardness of the kick - a smooth, bassy kick will usually go well with a similar bass.
The relationship between the kick and bass is crucial to establishing a solid foundation for the mix. I like both elements to carry considerable weight – I want to feel the impact of both hitting me in the chest, rather than a clicky kick and subby bass. In terms of stereo placement, I usually have both the kick and main bass in the center - either as mono channels, or as stereo channels with the vast majority of the content up the middle. If I do choose a wider main bass I'll use a plugin (OtiumFX BassLane) to keep the low frequencies (below around 200 Hz) in the middle.
MY MAIN THOUGHTS IN CHOOSING A BASS: "fullness", "drive" and "solid".
From here I turn to the Hi Hat and Clap/Snare samples. Once again, these involve browsing through sample libraries while the other sounds are playing. I narrow down the selections, I do the “quiet-mono” thing, I turn off the bass and lead to hear how the samples will sound in the intro and outro. All these factors play a part in the choice of sounds.
I look for sounds which fit into the space well – they have an appropriate stereo placement/spread, they aren't too dry/wet relative to the other sounds (although dry sounds can have reverb/ delays applied to them later on). I listen to the weight of the sounds – they shouldn't be too heavy or thin. I also pay attention to the length of the sounds and how these affect the groove. It's harder to pinpoint what I'm looking for in these sounds – a long gated clap could work well with a given kick and bass, as could a very short snare.
MY MAIN THOUGHTS IN CHOOSING A HI HAT/ CLAP/ SNARE: “original/fresh”, "come through clearly in a full mix" and “good sense of space”.
Sometimes I add percussive elements at this point – I'm happy to create my own from one-shots, or use loops. Both methods are fine by me. To those who are fiercely anti-loop because it's not being original, I say that to create something truly original, first we would need to create the universe. The argument goes all the way down - why is using someone else's one-shot samples okay? If we create all our own one-shots, why is okay to use a drum which someone else has made?
Can we still respect ourselves, can we still sleep at night if we haven't created the universe? I can. It's up to each of us to make that choice.
The percussion is chosen/ created in a similar manner to the Hi Hat and Clap/Snare, though I do also focus on the way the timing of the rhythm interacts with the bass and lead patterns. I look for sounds which fit in around the Kick, Hi Hat and Clap/Snare – anything too similar in timbre to those will obscure the existing sound. I'm not overly concerned with the stereo space of the loop, since I often (though not always) spread the loop out to the sides anyway.
MY MAIN THOUGHTS IN CHOOSING PERCUSSION: "drive", "enhanced space around other drum elements", "not too heavy or piercing".
At this point I add in any additional bass layers, if I feel they would fit well. These sounds need to fit well in the overall context (naturally), but also need to lock in well with the kick and main bass. My main bass will usually be quite centered, while I use the higher bass sounds to fill out the stereo field with lush ear candy.
Again, I choose a synth and run through patches. The “quiet-mono” test tells me if the sound will get lost in a full mix. The pattern(s) played by the higher bass sounds will complement the main bass and lead patterns. When a sound is chosen, I usually apply a highpass filter to remove the portion of the low end which sits in the same region as the kick and main bass – enough to clear out space for these sounds down low, but not enough to make the high bass too thin. I often route the high bass sound to a send channel with a left-right delay, which has delays timed so the notes fall in between the notes of the high bass pattern.
MY MAIN THOUGHTS IN CHOOSING HIGHER BASS LAYERS: "expensive", "full and wide", "movement/modulation", "bass progression clearly audible even at very low volumes".
At this point I mute the lead sound and export the mix of drum and bass elements. I run this through a frequency analysis process which compares it to a library of other drum and bass sections from great sounding trance songs. This allows me to quickly see where the mix is at, relative to the average and the extremes. If I've turned my kick up a bit too high, this quickly points out that 65 Hz is extremely high and that I should turn the kick (or the main bass, or both) down. It lets me know if a Hi Hat sample has a piercing resonant spike at 16 kHz, in which case I first try turning down the Hi Hat, then taming that frequency if that doesn't work.
Right – so now I have a very decent sounding foundation of drums and bass sounds to slot the other sounds on top of. I unmute the lead and listen to it in relation to the newly balanced foundation. Often the low frequencies of the lead muddy up the bass sounds, so I set a highpass filter to an appropriate frequency to rectify this.
The last main element I slot in is the pad, whether it's a single sound or a combination. The pad sits between the basses and the leads. I look for a sound which doesn't have too much going on in frequency ranges which conflict with those sounds. I often spread the pad out wide to the sides of the stereo field to provide a large, lush backdrop to the other sounds. I do the quiet-mono thing here too, though even the most perfect pad won't come through amazingly well under these conditions – nor should it, it would mean the pad is probably turned up way too loud! I also listen to the pad with just the lead sounds playing, to hear how they could interact during the breakdown. As an aside, I rarely add reverb to my pad sounds, whether directly or via a send channel. I used to, but I've found it really cleans things up when I don't do it, and pad sounds are generally lush/ sustained enough that they don't require any additional treatment to lengthen/ fatten them.
MY MAIN THOUGHTS IN CHOOSING A PAD: "deep background", "filling the gaps with lushness", "warmth".
Beyond the main sounds, additional sounds fit in the gaps and are always auditioned quiet-mono, since at this stage many sounds will disappear in the full mix. I always listen to both the way the new sound comes through, and whether it obscures any of the existing sounds. The second part is a little more difficult - once we've heard a sound looping for a while, it's easy to take it for granted. That's why the "next morning quiet listening test" is so important - if anything is too quiet or loud or odd it'll jump out.
So there's my approach. It has changed a lot from when I started, when my thoughts were more like "grab all the coolest sounds and put them together". It will probably (hopefully!) keep changing as I have new mixing experiences.
I hope you've found this useful!
Fabian
When I started mixing/producing, I focused on the "showpiece" sounds and took other sounds - such as the kick and drum sounds - more lightly. My attitude was "it's a kick - it sounds big and full. Easy, done". Then I wondered why my "showpiece" sounds didn't sound so good. In truth, every sound in a song affects how other sounds are perceived by the listener.
Today I'll outline the thoughts that go through my head as I choose each sound that goes into one of my songs. There are many different approaches to the art of music production – your method may vary!
I often start with the lead sound. I already have a melody ready from a composition session, so now I look for a sound, or combination of sounds, which sound great with that melody. Sometimes I have a sound in mind, and go straight to it, but usually this involves flipping through presets. I choose a synth I think will sound great for the melody, and see if any sound jumps out at me.
From there I tweak the sound – I make adjustments to the amplitude envelope settings, or the filter. I often turn off the reverb or delay if the patch has these. I generally prefer to add these during the mixdown, where I have much more control over them.
Once I have my main sound, I usually layer it with a complementary sound. If my main lead sound is quite centered and defined, I often combine it with a lush, wide sound.
Whenever I add sounds which have significant stereo processing applied, I check their mono compatibility straight away. There's no point in waiting until the song is almost finished to discover that the lead will disappear in some listening situations. I have a plugin on the master channel I can turn on to hear the song quietly in mono. If there are stereo issues, I either look to adjust the stereo treatment (if the sound is otherwise fantastic) or I choose a different sound. Adjusting the stereo treatment usually involves adjusting the timing of the stereo effect by a few milliseconds, whether it's a delay, chorus or any other stereo effect.
MY MAIN THOUGHTS IN CHOOSING A LEAD: "strong enough to play by itself", "expressive", "distinctive" and "just as clear in mono".
Once the lead is in place, I add the next most important element to the overall mix. This is usually the kick, but could also be the main bass sound. For this example I'll go with the kick.
I generally have a sense of the type of kick that will fit with the lead, but am still open to serendipity - I have the lead looping while I browse through a library of kick samples. I don't listen to the kick in isolation (or any of the subsequent sounds) - sounds only have meaning within the context of the mix. I note down all the samples which sound decent in relation to the lead, to narrow the selection to a small number – maybe five to ten.
When I started making trance, I was more inclined to go with the "coolest, most hard-hitting" kick sample, without regard for whether it was appropriate for the lead and the overall song. Now, this can work for producers who have a very defined sound – in this case, the kick (and maybe the bass) would already be in place when selecting lead sounds, so it'd be fine - leads would be chosen which fit with the kick and bass.
Nowadays my main thoughts are "what does the kick do to the lead"? A kick can make a lead feel closed in, or open it up, make it seem bright or dull.
From this narrowed-down selection it's usually a fairly quick process to narrow it down to one. I find it helpful to turn on my “quiet-mono” plugin at times during this process too - If things sound good under these conditions, they'll generally sound good under most conditions. I do the "quiet-mono" thing for subsequent elements as well.
MY MAIN THOUGHTS IN CHOOSING A KICK: "fits with/ enhances the lead", "oomph", "enough definition to cut through the mix" and "tight".
Once the kick is in place, I turn my attention to the main bass pattern and sound. In general terms, if the melody is busy, I make the bass pattern simple. Vice versa, a simple, sparse melody will usually go well with a busier, more driving bassline. The sound of the bass needs to fit with both the kick and the lead. In broad terms, I like to match the presence/hardness of the kick - a smooth, bassy kick will usually go well with a similar bass.
The relationship between the kick and bass is crucial to establishing a solid foundation for the mix. I like both elements to carry considerable weight – I want to feel the impact of both hitting me in the chest, rather than a clicky kick and subby bass. In terms of stereo placement, I usually have both the kick and main bass in the center - either as mono channels, or as stereo channels with the vast majority of the content up the middle. If I do choose a wider main bass I'll use a plugin (OtiumFX BassLane) to keep the low frequencies (below around 200 Hz) in the middle.
MY MAIN THOUGHTS IN CHOOSING A BASS: "fullness", "drive" and "solid".
From here I turn to the Hi Hat and Clap/Snare samples. Once again, these involve browsing through sample libraries while the other sounds are playing. I narrow down the selections, I do the “quiet-mono” thing, I turn off the bass and lead to hear how the samples will sound in the intro and outro. All these factors play a part in the choice of sounds.
I look for sounds which fit into the space well – they have an appropriate stereo placement/spread, they aren't too dry/wet relative to the other sounds (although dry sounds can have reverb/ delays applied to them later on). I listen to the weight of the sounds – they shouldn't be too heavy or thin. I also pay attention to the length of the sounds and how these affect the groove. It's harder to pinpoint what I'm looking for in these sounds – a long gated clap could work well with a given kick and bass, as could a very short snare.
MY MAIN THOUGHTS IN CHOOSING A HI HAT/ CLAP/ SNARE: “original/fresh”, "come through clearly in a full mix" and “good sense of space”.
Sometimes I add percussive elements at this point – I'm happy to create my own from one-shots, or use loops. Both methods are fine by me. To those who are fiercely anti-loop because it's not being original, I say that to create something truly original, first we would need to create the universe. The argument goes all the way down - why is using someone else's one-shot samples okay? If we create all our own one-shots, why is okay to use a drum which someone else has made?
Can we still respect ourselves, can we still sleep at night if we haven't created the universe? I can. It's up to each of us to make that choice.
The percussion is chosen/ created in a similar manner to the Hi Hat and Clap/Snare, though I do also focus on the way the timing of the rhythm interacts with the bass and lead patterns. I look for sounds which fit in around the Kick, Hi Hat and Clap/Snare – anything too similar in timbre to those will obscure the existing sound. I'm not overly concerned with the stereo space of the loop, since I often (though not always) spread the loop out to the sides anyway.
MY MAIN THOUGHTS IN CHOOSING PERCUSSION: "drive", "enhanced space around other drum elements", "not too heavy or piercing".
At this point I add in any additional bass layers, if I feel they would fit well. These sounds need to fit well in the overall context (naturally), but also need to lock in well with the kick and main bass. My main bass will usually be quite centered, while I use the higher bass sounds to fill out the stereo field with lush ear candy.
Again, I choose a synth and run through patches. The “quiet-mono” test tells me if the sound will get lost in a full mix. The pattern(s) played by the higher bass sounds will complement the main bass and lead patterns. When a sound is chosen, I usually apply a highpass filter to remove the portion of the low end which sits in the same region as the kick and main bass – enough to clear out space for these sounds down low, but not enough to make the high bass too thin. I often route the high bass sound to a send channel with a left-right delay, which has delays timed so the notes fall in between the notes of the high bass pattern.
MY MAIN THOUGHTS IN CHOOSING HIGHER BASS LAYERS: "expensive", "full and wide", "movement/modulation", "bass progression clearly audible even at very low volumes".
At this point I mute the lead sound and export the mix of drum and bass elements. I run this through a frequency analysis process which compares it to a library of other drum and bass sections from great sounding trance songs. This allows me to quickly see where the mix is at, relative to the average and the extremes. If I've turned my kick up a bit too high, this quickly points out that 65 Hz is extremely high and that I should turn the kick (or the main bass, or both) down. It lets me know if a Hi Hat sample has a piercing resonant spike at 16 kHz, in which case I first try turning down the Hi Hat, then taming that frequency if that doesn't work.
Right – so now I have a very decent sounding foundation of drums and bass sounds to slot the other sounds on top of. I unmute the lead and listen to it in relation to the newly balanced foundation. Often the low frequencies of the lead muddy up the bass sounds, so I set a highpass filter to an appropriate frequency to rectify this.
The last main element I slot in is the pad, whether it's a single sound or a combination. The pad sits between the basses and the leads. I look for a sound which doesn't have too much going on in frequency ranges which conflict with those sounds. I often spread the pad out wide to the sides of the stereo field to provide a large, lush backdrop to the other sounds. I do the quiet-mono thing here too, though even the most perfect pad won't come through amazingly well under these conditions – nor should it, it would mean the pad is probably turned up way too loud! I also listen to the pad with just the lead sounds playing, to hear how they could interact during the breakdown. As an aside, I rarely add reverb to my pad sounds, whether directly or via a send channel. I used to, but I've found it really cleans things up when I don't do it, and pad sounds are generally lush/ sustained enough that they don't require any additional treatment to lengthen/ fatten them.
MY MAIN THOUGHTS IN CHOOSING A PAD: "deep background", "filling the gaps with lushness", "warmth".
Beyond the main sounds, additional sounds fit in the gaps and are always auditioned quiet-mono, since at this stage many sounds will disappear in the full mix. I always listen to both the way the new sound comes through, and whether it obscures any of the existing sounds. The second part is a little more difficult - once we've heard a sound looping for a while, it's easy to take it for granted. That's why the "next morning quiet listening test" is so important - if anything is too quiet or loud or odd it'll jump out.
So there's my approach. It has changed a lot from when I started, when my thoughts were more like "grab all the coolest sounds and put them together". It will probably (hopefully!) keep changing as I have new mixing experiences.
I hope you've found this useful!
Fabian
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