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bLiNd

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Posts posted by bLiNd

    Official Mastering and Production thread

    in Music Composition & Production

    Posted

    Well compy Im not going to argue with your "expertise" but in the world of club music, louder is better. My white skies club mix is a perfect master for a huge PA. Any mastered wave (properly mastered) wont clip visually or audibly, but any kind of after compression for videos or mp3s or whatever, can cause audible clipping as well. It depends on what your mastering for. If you are mastering for vinyl that will be played on a PA then you can hit the -.1db mark. Creamwares optimaster plugin doesn even have the option of an overhead of -.2db unless you do it manually with a fader. And im sure the German engineers at creamware know a thing or two about their own mastering plugin. Not one plugin ive heard in a software environment comes close to the transparency of the optimaster....

    Official Mastering and Production thread

    in Music Composition & Production

    Posted

    This is an insanely long post, but I wanted to help you guys as much as possible.

    Ok, first things first

    Ask yourself "How serious am I about making a professional sounding track?"

    Because there are a few essentials to help you get the result you are looking for. I would have to say one of the most important things you can do is get yourself some GOOD monitors (speakers) to mix with. Anything flat will give u a natural sound, but these kind of things can be VERY expensive. Thats why I highly recommend KRK rockit powered series http://www.krksys.com

    I have the bottom of the barrel (rp-5s) but they do the job, and do it damn well. You can hear EVERYTHING (the slightest bit of clipping is very noticable) but more importantly, they sound VERY natural and are super accurate. White Skies Club Mix was the first track I mixed down and mastered on them. Some AKG k271 headphones would actually work too for mixing down, but mixing in headphones can get you fatigued real quick.

    Some important tips

    Number 1

    TAKE YOUR TIME!!

    Work on the track like 2 hours a day for 2 weeks and I gaurantee it will turn out much better than if worked on only a couple times. When you come back to your song with a fresh mind and a fresh set of ears, your judgement is much better. Take breaks during the day so you have a chance to rest your mind and ears and come back to it later. The more patient you are the better.

    Number 2

    DONT FIX IT IF IT AINT BROKEN!

    Eqing and Compression can make or break a song. To tell you the truth i rarely use either. People seem to think every track will need some sort of processing, but it all depends on the source sound and how you want it to fit in the mix. Compression confuses a lot of people so I will make it simple; consider it an automatic fader (like on a mixer) It will just balance the dynamics of a track. One huge example of necessary compression is vocals. Because singing is probably the most dynamic of them all, it will balance the soft parts and the loud parts if done properly, that way it can cut through/sit in the mix. The only time i use compression is on drums (almost all the time), bass, and vocals. In trance, the bassdrum and the bass are VERY important to getting a full dance sound. Its probably the most imporant part of a trance track because it makes people move (you will know what I mean if you have heard trance on a huge 100,000 watt PA) You got to be really careful with those elements because without them there is no drive to a track. Seperating the drum channels i find is much easier (bd on one track, clap on one, hihats on one, cymbals on one, percussion on one) Now these are just tips for trance but some of the same ideas apply to many other aggressive genres.

    Eqing is usually used to enhance highs and lows in most of my mixdowns but you must be very careful about this as well. I usually compress my bass with some sort of eq boosting in an area above the frequencies of the bass drum (usually 100-200hz) and cut below that so that the bass drum sits will in the mix. There is also a nice technique you can use to avoid this called side chaining (also just used for effect) Most of the time cutting the unwanted frequencies is much wiser than boosting (usually surgical eqing to fix a sound, is more cutting than boosting) My synthlines usually stay untouched and ill end up using bright reverb (a hipass filter on the reverb can cut out the muddiness and lows of the reverb to give a shimmer decay) on the track instead of making it bright with eq, that way it keeps its body but still has some kind of shimmer to it. Eqing on trance usually isnt as necessary as eqing a rock song, so just use your ears and remember to come back to your track with fresh ears to make a good judgement. It only gets hard at about 20+ tracks of simultaneous audio.

    Sidechaining is basically something triggering a compressor to "duck" the sound that its sidechained to. Like if you have ever heard on the radio a background song going and as soon as the dj talks the track gets really low in volume. Its because the sidechained input of the djs mic is ducking the input on the compressor. You can sidechain with the new compressor in Reason 3, and doing it in Cubase SX is very tricky but worth it in the end (only a couple vsts that can do this, like Voxengo Crunchessor). The useful thing about sidechaining with trance is the bassdrum can duck the bass, that way they dont clash in frequency. Plus it gives the bass a pumpy sound which just sounds plain cool. There are tutorials on this alone that you can probably find easily.

    This brings me to my next point about being serious with your mixdowns. Be prepared to invest

    Number 3

    YOU NEED SOME DECENT TOOLS TO GET A "PRO SOUND"

    I use 4 dsp pci cards for all my effects processing. A dsp card is basically a dedicated board of digital sound processors that will run proprietery plugins off of the card. Consider it the geforce/radeon of audio. The best part about it is NO CPU HIT!!

    My main audio card is a creamware luna 2 (now called scope home) http://www.creamware.com but what is unique about this card besides the fact that it has its own operating system is that it has dsp chips built on to run effects. And the quality of these algorithms is incredible. The reverb it comes with "masterverb" has been an essential tool for the past 2 years. But more important is the Vinco compressor which i use on my bass drums to get them to SLAM (easy to do with any vintage type of compressor/limiter - just limit at 0db and bump up that input knob and attack knob till you get the punch you like) I also use something called the PSY Q which is an aural exciter. Usually these tools are hardware only, but in this case they are hybrid (dsp plugins) There is only one native plugin similar that I am aware of by BBE called Sonic Maximizer but i dont recommend it. PSY Q basically uses phase cancelation to enhance the "pleasing" frequencies of a sound. I only use it on the bass because the highs can sound really messy if not used carefully. But its perfect for airing up a pad or adding boom to a bass. There is also another plugin I have called character on the tc electronics powercore that gives you the same effect

    I have the creamware luna, the uad-1 studio pack, the powercore element with the access virus synth plugin and the powercore mkii. So basically I can run all of my hardware quality compressors/limiters/eqs/delays/phaser/chorus/mastering and with the powercore, 2 synths (tc01 and virus) with NO CPU HIT. This is the beauty of these cards, is getting hardware results in a software environment without taxing your machine.

    http://www.uaudio.com/products/software/UAD-1/index.html

    http://www.cwaudio.de/page.php?seite=vinco〈=en&submenu=home

    http://www.cwaudio.de/page.php?seite=psyq〈=en&submenu=home

    http://www.tcelectronic.com/Default.asp?Id=1236

    http://www.tcelectronic.com/PowerCoreElement

    http://www.tcelectronic.com/Virus

    Now dont get me wrong, there are PLENTY of native vst alternatives out there. Here are some good ones that I recommend

    Arts Acoustic Reverb (best sounding native reverb ive ever heard, with minimal cpu hit)

    http://www.kvraudio.com/get/1725.html

    Kjaerhus Golden Series (Great sounding compressors and eqs, very good for native)

    http://www.kjaerhusaudio.com/gold-series.php

    Ohm Force plugins (awesome delays, phasers, distortion/compression)

    http://www.ohmforce.com/ViewCategory.do?category=Effects

    Sonic Flavors R66 Reverb (this reverb is an excellent compliment to the arts acoustic)

    http://www.kvraudio.com/get/1715.html

    Anything by audio damage

    http://www.audiodamage.com/

    Elemental audio plugins

    http://www.elementalaudio.com/

    These are probably one of the best solutions for native mastering besides t-racks and ozone 3.

    The URS EQ plugins are the best of any native (some even better than the dsp eqs) but are ULTRA EXPENSIVE

    http://www.ursplugins.com/

    Waves plugins are decent too but I never find use of them, although I highly recommend these tutorials because the concepts can be applied to any production

    http://www.sound.org/titles1.html

    (this is mixing and mastering with waves, Ive read the book and gone through the tutorials and its done a world of different for me and my productions)

    http://www.sound.org/titles2.html

    (this is the trance experience tutorial for expert advice on sound design with synths, mixing, mastering, writing and arranging etc for trance!! i havnt read it personally but from what i hear it is a great resource for people trying to up their dance production)

    Number 4

    MIXING IT

    Now mixdown is the most important part to your pro sound, mastering is only the icing on the cake. Without the foundation of your track (mixing) the cake will fall apart when you put the icing on(mastering) hah

    Basically there are a few rules to follow. Different sounds require different kinds of reverbs. Drum sounds (even trance drums) benefit greatly from "plate" type reverbs of rooms and chambers. Experiment with puting a room reverb on the clap or hihats and cymbals. NEVER put reverb on the bass drum of a dance track, it will just muddy and mess everything (unless its a gate reverb to get an offbeat reverb effect). Sometimes its wiser to use delays instead of reverbs. Some artists like M.I.K.E. (push) NEVER use reverb, hes always using delays instead. There are some great free delays out there too that i use religously

    http://www.interruptor.ch/

    Using echomania can even replace reverb (since its 4 simultaneous tape delays). Using hall reverbs carefully placed on pads and leads in trance will definately open up the track alot, but go easy on the reverb, get the bouncy rhythm delay effect from the delays and then open up the tail of the synth with a hall reverb. I like to use phasers on pads and leads sometimes but usually keeping them mellow. Chorus, is the same way (I use the Uad-1 Choruses which are remakes of the Roland CE-1 and Roland Dimension-D. They are ULTRA lush and thick sounding, very vintage)

    Those are basics of fattening a track up. The actualy mixding on the board goes like this for me.

    I put the master channel to 0db and bring all faders down. I then turn up my speakers to a reasonable loud volume and start bringing tracks up starting with the bassdrum, then bass, then other drum channels. Then i bring in the accompanying parts like the leads and pads (usually at the main part of the song on loop is where i start mixing) I find what works best is to close your eyes and trust your ears more than the VU meters. You will know when to stop with the faders and for some reason I never go past 0 db on the master track using this technique. It just takes experimentation and patience, but you will eventually get a nice sound. remember, TAKE BREAKS! Even come back the next day if you are getting stuck.

    Number 5

    MASTERING IS YOUR FRIEND!

    Ok mastering can be very tricky and is usually the most difficult part of finishing a track. Basically you have to find a system that works for you. Its really simple actually, surgical eq first, then compression and limitng after is the norm for dance. I used to use t-racks which is great, but using presets isnt always best, you must really know how to you use a compressor and limiter to get the cleanest loudest punch of a track. There are some excellent tools available today for mastering like,

    Har-Bal equalization system http://www.har-bal.com/

    This program will analyze your track and show a spectral diagram of your song. The rule is basically you want as few extreme hills or valleys as possible. With version 2.0 it uses a function called Intuit-Q which will basically try to fix your track eqing without changing the character of your sounds. This is an excellent pre eqing program which i HIGHLY RECOMMEND buying.

    Then I use a mastering eq called firium (from elemental audio)

    http://www.elementalaudio.com/products/firium/

    This plugin will let you analyze a track and match the spectral diagram to your own track. It still takes some tweaking when done but usually this can really help you out A LOT so you dont have to guess with your eqing. So this plugin basically does the final eqing of my track (its a great eq on its own, the matching is just a cool feature) and there are lots of plugins that do this same job but i find this to be the best one.

    Then I use a stereo expander at about 20% to enhance the stereo width of the track.

    Now the most important part...MAKING IT LOUD!

    http://www.creamware.com/page.php?seite=optimaster〈=en&submenu=home

    its only available to creamware users, and its called the optimaster. Now the excellent part of these tool is it is ULTRA transparent (meaning no artifacts of compression and limiting, its very very clean) But the unique part about this is its Wizard fuction. You basically goto the loudest part of your track (usually the climax) and loop it, then press "START" on the wizard and it will anayze the track and bring it to maximum loudness and punch ON ITS OWN. Loudness PERFECT everytime, no matter what the genre. Amazing... as far as I know there arent any native plugins that can do this and even if they could the sound might not be as good. but the waves ultra l3 maximizer is a decent native alternative (besides t-racks).

    Now like I said, you have to find a system that works for you. This is what I came up with after 4 years of experience in mastering. Hans Zimmer is a very proud creamware user and he calls this arsenal of tools his "secret weapon" And i couldnt agree more, its really amazing. But beware, creamware cards take a lot of effort to get running stable, and its a very complex system to work with, so I dont recommend jumping on unless you REALLY want that vinco, psy q, and optimaster. They are pretty expensive plugins as well.

    For someone just starting out that wants some good plugins, you will have to spend about 1000 bux but i recommend a Uad-1 card (with the fairchild compressor, the precision limiter and eq) and you can do some awesome mastering with those. Getting a good sound takes time and money (sadly) Ive spent a good 9 Gs on plugins and hardware, but the results are truly great.

    Now like I said, these tools only make it easier for me to get the sound I want, but with time and patiences you can get get a similar result with native vsts and even free vsts. I plan on making more tutorials and info when my website launches, hope this helps you out!!

    OCR01441 - Final Fantasy X "White Skies (Club Mix)"

    in ReMix Reviews & Comments

    Posted

    As a ReMix, I find it a little too independet and not close enough to the original song.

    As a song itself, it is great. I'd love to hear it on my home stereo, with the subwoofer booming, but the headphones and the notebook will have to do for now.

    My first version of the song, "White Skies", was on project majestic mix and can be found here

    http://www.thebrailroom.com/Shh

    And it is closer to the original, but production isnt as tops as this one :)

    OCR01441 - Final Fantasy X "White Skies (Club Mix)"

    in ReMix Reviews & Comments

    Posted

    Good stuff, except for the horrendously, ludicrously, absurdly, horrifically, ridiculously, gimme-a-break-are-you-kidding-me intro which is the most unoriginal trance rehash crap which generally speaks for 99% of the genre and made me want to GOL (gag out loud). But with this remix, blind definately stands out in my mind. Seems like he's surpassed Oakenfold, although to most people thats not saying much ;P

    Hence "Club Mix" aka for the djs to mix into a set. its necessary. Check out my snowbound remix from earthbound for a nice intro to a dance song. You have to understand the genre...

    Next time I submit to OC it will be "OC Edit", like a radio edit, and vgmix will have the full on mix. It fits the guidelines better i guess.

    OCR01009 - Donkey Kong Country "Industrial Fear"

    in ReMix Reviews & Comments

    Posted

    It's a loud mp3 compared to most. The title is the same as in game :( but I liked the original as one of DKC's better tunes. I like the percussion instrumentation; it's very Donkey Kong. The beat seems a bit too looped, though. I would have added some fills. The melody sounds a LOT like the original, not too much was changed there. I like how you did the section at 2:00 though the background sustained countermelody could come out a little more, as it's getting covered with the drums. I really liked the panning at 2:45. The originally composed section at 3:30 fits well, but is a little too mechanical and looped, even for a "factory" tune. You could have really done more with the climaxes at 4:10 4:30 and 4:40, like a pianoforte then a crescendo and a crash cymbal. The ending is kinda sudden and caught me by surprise.

    It's a decent mix.

    This version on OC was an early version. goto vgmix.com for the final version. I original did this in 2003 so its dated, but its kinda late to change anything according to your tastes ;)

    OCRA-0002 - Donkey Kong Country: Kong in Concert

    in Album Reviews & Comments

    Posted

    As i knew of his presence on the NI forums, i emailed him as well

    Hi Jordan

    Thank you for your kind comments.

    (I do frequent the NI forums. I've go most of their plugs. I also like

    Propellor heads stuff too.)

    As regards your tracks, I enjoyed listening to them all.

    It's nice to hear them from a different angle.

    The SNES chip held 64k in memory which contaned all the samples for the

    soundtrack and sfx. Also midi wasn't an option in thoses days either. The

    tunes were written in HEX code. A note had one number for pitch and one for

    it's length and there were 8 mono channels max. Whilst I enjoyed the

    challenge, it's also nice to hear versions witout the original constraints.

    I composed Aquatic Ambience and Fear Factory. I arranged and programmed

    Funky's Flights, which Robin Beanland composed.

    I certainly appreciate your work, time and energy involved. Thank you.

    Wishing you success with your own compositions,

    Dave Wise.

    For the record I should point out that the views expressed in this email

    are my own and don't necessarily represnt those of the company I work for.

    Because sadly, you never know whose reading.....

    OCR01137 - Extreme-G "G-Storm"

    in ReMix Reviews & Comments

    Posted

    Awesome! Your quite welcome. If you dig it, then look out this summer for the project majestic mix trance album, there is an extended version of this track on there...MUCH better. And yes, there has been an extreme-g soundtrack from acclaim and probe. It has 2 discs, one official ost, and one with remixes. You can probably find it if you search around on vgmcentral.no-ip.com on dc++. Thanks for the commments! :)

    OCR01137 - Extreme-G "G-Storm"

    in ReMix Reviews & Comments

    Posted

    Great remix, by far. Takes me back to my first days as a gamer. My first system was a N64 (go ahead and laugh :roll: ) back in '97. My first games were Extreme-G and Diddy Kong Racing...well, guess which one got played the most...yup good ol' XG. :wink:

    Anywho, enough with the nostalgia... :lol: this mix is very well done, it's faithful to the original, but isn't afraid to deviate from it. I've listened to this thing for an hour straight, and I'm still not tired of it.

    I'd say this one's inspired me to remix some of the other tracks from this game. Wish me luck!

    Rock on bro! :)

    OCR01149 - Mega Man X "Dreams Come True"

    in ReMix Reviews & Comments

    Posted

    we are all good at what we keep practicing right? duh! Star has got his singing down to a science, and it never fails to impress me, and always fais to bore me. This is absolute perfection, and dj P seems to agree. Star you are just plain PIMP

    And prots guitar thing is pimp too, hes got that down to a science...protricity's signature sound, which i love. Great job on this one

    OCR01137 - Extreme-G "G-Storm"

    in ReMix Reviews & Comments

    Posted

    The way i see it is, there is no other way to remix this track. I spent countless hours redoing parts and working on the mixdown. The arrangement is typical yes, but i was focused on the energy of the original and upping it for an in your face dance track. This isn't made for the casual listener, but i do those mixes as well. I wanted a hard trance track on the album and the album version is MUCH better. Its longer (an extended release) the intro is more developed. the mixdown is more pleasing to the ear and what not. One of the main reasons i submitted this track to OC was because i released a little demo probably last summer, and got some good feedback on it and i thought itd be cool to have a completed version for those that liked it. I guess this just doesnt go for some people, but its alright. I make this music because its a release from every day things, and if it sounds good then i show it to others. if they like it then great! if not then maybe it isnt your genre. i dunno. anyway thanks for the good and the bad. ill take it in to account for my next release.

    bLiNd

    PS - Mr geoff, the album is very high quality, ive spent a good year just doing 5 tracks. If this sounds like cheese then i challenge you to make a non cheesy trance song.

    OCR01130 - Final Fantasy VI "Squaresoft Variation"

    in ReMix Reviews & Comments

    Posted

    OH MY GOD is right. Jeremy soule is one of my favorites mainly because of secret of evermore. I have a serious soft spot for that soundtrack, and for him to submit to OC is just amazing!!!!! This remix is absolutely superb (you dont even have to listen to it to know that ;) Jeremy has got the hookup studio with the most realistic orchestrations you will ever hear. And he is pure classical genius. so you dont need me to tell you that, this is just pure awesome. BTW i am remixing his greek temple theme from secret of evermore for project majestic mix. ANd if ur reading jeremy, i want it to be a tribute to you, hopefully you will hear it when im done.

    bLiNd

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