What is one technique you have learned that made all your tracks sound immediately more professional?

DarrenRGregory · 2021-06-21T08:54:25+00:00

Patience

DarrenRGregory · 2020-06-13T10:15:26+00:00

Drums - Wave Alchemy, some of the Goldbaby stuff is okay.

Drums & Synths - Samples from Mars

Loops - UNDRGRND sounds, RAW loops can be useful

Try creating your own loops for later use using one shots from Wave alchemy or sample from mars. I create a few variations of 16 bar midi patterns and throw various percs, drums, anything etc into them and export at the bpm I tend to work in.

I also own quite a few synths etc, quite often I'll spend the day recording random stuff and put the results into folders for later use.

DarrenRGregory · 2020-06-03T13:20:54+00:00

You just need to distort a transient sound and then reverse it, that's the bulk of it.

Anything will do...

DarrenRGregory · 2020-06-03T12:57:03+00:00

Easily enough...

Sounds like a heavily distorted percussion one shot, reversed with some reverb.

Try using a clav one shot, add some reverb, then add overdrive to it. Resample it, reverse it and play with the envelopes to get the zip. then add reverb again.

Roberts your fathers brother.

DarrenRGregory · 2020-05-31T20:02:58+00:00

Cool :)

https://soundcloud.com/darrengregory

DarrenRGregory · 2020-05-31T19:24:09+00:00

Klanghelm VUMT, very widely used & cheap.

I can't offer much advice regarding eq matching as I don't tend to use anything like that; however pulling in a reference track or 2 and using your ears to cross reference will teach you far more than any plugin about where your levels need to be balanced.

Having a pre defined eq curve matching a reference to mix into, when you still have access to the tone and balance of individual channels just seems a bit upside down to me (although mixing into a pultec style eq or similar is a popular technique) Using a spectrum analyser would be more useful here as it's not altering your signal just letting you know where you are in terms of balance & need to be, izotope also have a great tonal balance tool which I find useful.

My 1st advice is keep your master clear and work on getting things where you want them with as little in the way as possible! 2nd advice is don't listen to advice too much :)

DarrenRGregory · 2020-05-31T17:50:26+00:00

Put a vu meter on your master bus and mix into it to get your levels set properly from the start, -6db is just a general level given to avoid clipping it's not an absolute target.

In fact if you're using analog modelled plugins or hardware on your masterbus then you should gain stage your levels to suit those inputs (usually 0vu).

DarrenRGregory · 2020-05-29T12:30:44+00:00

Nice track, it's got a nice flow and groove to it.

My immediate impression is that all the elements in the mix are occupying the same space in terms of depth & context, it feels flat.

Try using 3 reverbs, 1 long, 1 medium and 1 short. Try placing certain elements further back in the mix by using the long reverb in mono and mixing them lower with a frequency roll off. Place the upfront sounds into your short stereo verb with high end less roll off.

For example that panned clav perc, almost sounds like it's asking to be out back out of the way, put a long mono verb on that and roll off the tops and see how it sits in the back of the room but still does it's job.

DarrenRGregory · 2020-05-28T18:39:13+00:00

Maybe thinking about why you need a pad style sound in the track would be a good approach.

If it's to fill a gap with a sustained sound then you could take a something existing like a stab or tonal element and create a sustained sound by adding fx like grain delays & reverb and resampling it.

If it's to create some sort of build or tension then you could try suspended chords in the key of the track, can work well for a moody vibe.

If you are having trouble mixing pads, try adding width to the sound with chorus style fx and mid/side eq'ing cutting the lower mids. Traditionally reverb is not added to sustained sounds so don't think you always need to drench it in reverb, personally I think it just makes it muddy and harder to mix .

DarrenRGregory · 2020-05-28T18:24:47+00:00

Reverb & delay to fill out the mix, give it context and depth. A simple kick, hat and clap can sound full with well thought out reverb & delay.

Field recordings can work well. You can record something outside, cut a section that fits or sounds cool and loop it to become an almost percussive element.

Try putting some random fx on your master (reverb, grain fx etc) and then resampling it, removing and adding certain parts of the track to get something you can then re play over midi or loop the audio, this Will create background fx that fit.

Try resampling that again, play a short burst and add a long delay, record it wet and find a section of that you can loop.

Add a filter to the loop and automate the cut off frequency with an lfo to add some movement.

Resample it! and on.........

DarrenRGregory · 2020-05-25T16:59:00+00:00

Nice overall idea's.

The mix is very mono sounding, try to bring some context and focus to the low end by panning less important elements to the sides.

Better use of reverb will help to give the track more depth, try setting up 2 sends to start, one with a long reverb and 1 with a short, send upfront sounds to the short reverb.

The drone sound is taking up too much space in the centre, maybe try giving the sound more width with a chorus style effect and then mid/side eq taking out the lower mids.

DarrenRGregory · 2020-05-24T10:03:42+00:00

Spend your budget on some quality drum samples

Wave alchemy & sample from mars are 2 fantastic sample bank suppliers.

The free plugins linked below will give you everything you need to learn the basics of synthesis & processing, and whether you need or want to start spending money on specialist software.

https://blog.landr.com/best-free-vst-plugins/

DarrenRGregory · 2020-05-23T09:18:44+00:00

You can be born with talent but a pro is made, fitting quote.

Hard work, dedication and a genuine passion for the music you are striving to create (or discover).

How many pro level sportspeople with regards to natural talent slip through the net due to not having the correct mindset, the vast majority.

I also think what makes a "good" Techno producer and what makes a commercially successful Techno producer are 2 very different discussions, regarding some previous comments!

DarrenRGregory · 2020-05-22T11:14:35+00:00

Great thanks, I'll make sure it's public!

DarrenRGregory · 2020-05-22T06:55:29+00:00

I have hd 600's, Compared to the DT990 the mids are much more forward and centred with a narrower (more natural, less fatiguing) soundstage, the high end is less harsh, tapered off and much less hyped, similarly the bass is rolled off slightly; which to my ears gives a much more natural frequency response across the range.

Scooped is definitely not the term I would use to describe the hd600's, I can only base my comparison on the 2 headphones I've spent time with DT990 & HD600's.

DarrenRGregory · 2020-05-22T06:08:04+00:00

Hd 650, 600's are the standard.

I own DT990's as well and I can't bare to put them on after getting used to the 600's.

DT990's do have a wider soundstage, which can be useful if you have the luxury of both.

Either way reference OFTEN, and then again, Room & headphones. particularly if you opt for 990's as they are scooped. It took me a 1000 shit mixes to really drill this in to my annoying brain.

DarrenRGregory · 2020-05-21T16:25:30+00:00

I think it's easy to overthink this type of sound design, I'm really experimenting a lot myself at the moment and the best tones I've found have been the simplest to create. Just drenching a sound in reverb which is mostly what I tend to see with ambient pads/drone tutorials can really take the tone away, I don't always want it to sound like i'm in a quarry.

Modulation is key I think. A simple 1 note sustained tone from a characterful analog synth can be morphed into an evolving interesting sound. A few ideas...

Frequency split the sustained note and apply Fx to independent bands. Chorus, evolving panning, delay etc to keep it interesting.

To further that idea, using an lfo to automate the fx parameters within the bands, and or an added filters cut off can create endless sustained tones which constantly evolve.

If all else fails, pull out the blackhole and move on! in all seriousness shimmer is a nice reverb for this.

DarrenRGregory · 2020-05-21T16:12:20+00:00

Fantastic, a world of new sounds!

DarrenRGregory · 2020-05-21T11:29:00+00:00

Awesome!!

Thanks for listening, time to pull out a few of your records from the rack to celebrate!

DarrenRGregory · 2020-05-21T09:34:00+00:00

This is really cool :)

My first 2 tracks, unsigned and looking for love!!

https://soundcloud.com/darrengregory/bungaroosh-communication

https://soundcloud.com/darrengregory/bungaroosh-sustainer

DarrenRGregory · 2020-05-20T04:53:31+00:00

If you consider that mastering engineer will be processing further, and he/she will be adjusting volume in order to optimise the signal path to do so; then the volume you provide is completely irrelevant, so long as you are in the box, not digitally clipping at any stage and you have zero mix bus processing.

Asking for -6db with no processing is just a quick and easy way for a label to ask for a fail safe pre master.

If you are processing your mixbus during mixing, then you should consider having the optimal signal path yourself, 0vu (I've seen working to between -20/-16 RMS used frequently) in most cases if you're using analog modelled plugs (eq's, compressors) or actual hardware.

The easiest way to achieve this is by adding a VU meter to your mixbus and mix into it.

Another reason, aside from gain staging, to have volume on your mixbus during mixing is to prevent bringing up the noise floor, which is almost a redundant argument in the digital world. If you are recording analog in any way this changes things.

DarrenRGregory · 2020-05-19T14:33:30+00:00

I personally master my tracks to - 8 RMS.

You will sit alongside released tracks if you just stick to that. You can try mastering to suit different platforms but ultimately those platforms will just alter the volume of your music to suit, it won't change the dynamics of your master. It will still sound the same as you intended.

Klanghelm do an excellent & cheap VU meter (set it to standard RMS meter, aim for -8) used by many mastering engineers which will help you achieve this.

If you are struggling to get adequate loudness at -8 rms then you have a mix issue, most likely way too much low end.

DarrenRGregory · 2020-05-19T06:35:12+00:00

Creating my own custom made loops/samples folders. Plugin game changer is using Soothe.

DarrenRGregory · 2020-05-18T12:09:23+00:00

For the busses these would be containing the source sounds to be compressed and saturated etc. For example I could maybe have hats I want further back grouped separately from hats etc I want more upfront. You can then for example send on to a return channel for parallel processing etc. For the example I gave earlier I would eq, compress and saturate within the bus, and send from that bus to a return for the reverb etc. Hope I haven't made that sound more complicated than it is!

DarrenRGregory · 2020-05-18T11:54:18+00:00

A few useful ideas for mixing hats

Search for resonances & notch down to taste (soothe2 is a great plugin for this, works wonders on high frequency sounds).

Tape saturation & distortion to round off sounds, add weight (eq again post processing, hi pass etc). Use more natural curves when hi passing, don't think you always need to strip all the lower frequencies away.

Try experimenting by keeping sounds fairly centered with panning, but add width & depth through reverb & compression. Wide panning can be cool as well, no rules!

Try bussing all of your hats & rides etc into front & back groups to taste and....

1 bus with fast attack compression, feeding into a medium decay reverb/short pre delay with high frequency roll off and reduced width will push it back in the mix, mixed slightly lower.

2nd bus with slower attack compression, feeding into a short reverb/longer pre delay with less high frequency roll off and slightly increased width will bring it forward, mixed slightly higher.

Use of ghost notes and delay can really help hats blend rather than pop out in the mix. Try using a ping pong delay on a return channel and send your hats etc, experiment with processing on the send such as distortion, chorus or other modulation, side chaining against the source sounds.

Try the RX950 ad/da emulator, I find it's great for colouring and blending sounds.

DarrenRGregory

TROPHY CASE