DDRKirby(ISQ) Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 I originally posted these up a whiiile ago, but figured you guys might appreciate them here as well. I'm a posted mixer now (woo!) so I feel like I have at least -some- credibility ;P In most of these I aim to take a real example from one of my songs and reconstruct it to show you how it was made. Full youtube playlist: Tutorial 1: Chip Drums - (This one's a little more lengthy. Also has a small bit of clipping on the voice track, so try to avoid listening on headphones if you can) Tutorial 2: Drum Layering - Tutorial 3: 3xOsc Fat Mode, Phase Randomness Tutorial 4: Mixing (1) Tutorial 5: Mixing (2) Disclaimer: I'm not an expert on advanced mixing, drum processing, etc. My production style is super-duper simple. But again, I'm a posted remixer, so I've gotta be doing -something- right. Less is more. Let me know if there are any requests for anything else along these lines, especially if you can point out a particular example from my music that you want to know how it was produced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modus Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Thanks, I'm all over these. Filling out your soundscape is something I'm curious about if you can get around to it. You have a lot going on in your music but all the elements stay separated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDRKirby(ISQ) Posted February 15, 2013 Author Share Posted February 15, 2013 Sure, I can do something on that. Do you have a specific song segment that you feel has a lot going on but still sounds clean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modus Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 2:19 from Welcome to my Kastle, as well as the beginning to that section. You've got that lead layered 3-fold and it sounds like butter. Really any tips for that "commercial aesthetic" is what I'm going for. It's not just how you separate the elements but how they work as an ensemble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDRKirby(ISQ) Posted February 15, 2013 Author Share Posted February 15, 2013 Haha, I don't know if I have the "commercial aesthetic". That section of Welcome to My Kastle was actually really tricky to mix right, I think the sounds there are verging on being too crowded, but I managed to work it out in the end. I'll make a video in the next few days about it, and maybe show another song, like my touhou OC remix, explaining how the soundscape all fits together, and how i achieve "fullness" while avoiding muddiness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Protip: HD! 'nuff said. ;D And lol, I love Breakbeat Paradise too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDRKirby(ISQ) Posted February 15, 2013 Author Share Posted February 15, 2013 My CPU isn't powerful enough to capture at full res while also running FL studio and not getting any underruns ^^; My desktop is a great machine, but it is 6 years old and I'm using onboard audio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Haha, that's fine. I'm on a 6-year old computer too. xD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aephus Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 Hmm. Interesting. I've never used slicex. I've always sequenced my drums. I might try this out more often. o.0 I definitely learned a couple new things from you. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDRKirby(ISQ) Posted February 19, 2013 Author Share Posted February 19, 2013 @Modus: sorry for the delay, only time when I could have recorded this weekend was when the people I'm living with were asleep. ^^; Been thinking about how I want to explain my approach, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Hm, looks like you can probably accomplish something close to what you did with Fat Mode by just detuning the oscillators. Way less polyphony too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDRKirby(ISQ) Posted February 20, 2013 Author Share Posted February 20, 2013 Hm, looks like you can probably accomplish something close to what you did with Fat Mode by just detuning the oscillators. Way less polyphony too! Yeah, but then you've only got 3 detuned waves, not a gajillion ;P That's the whole point! There are certainly other tricks you can do, though. You can use chorusing, mda detune, or even a Flanger with low depth and high rate. Or you can use an actual synth with "unison" mode. But 3xOsc is lovely too ^.^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDRKirby(ISQ) Posted February 20, 2013 Author Share Posted February 20, 2013 Updated with two new videos on mixing! Part 3 to come...it might be a little rambly as I will probably try to explain more of an abstract reasoning behind what makes a song "full". Again, YMMV. My mixing style is sort of specific to my type of music. If you're protodome or halc, you don't use -nearly- as much delay and reverb as me, and your entire sound is different, so these tips wouldn't apply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Yeah, but then you've only got 3 detuned waves, not a gajillion ;P That's the whole point!There are certainly other tricks you can do, though. You can use chorusing, mda detune, or even a Flanger with low depth and high rate. Or you can use an actual synth with "unison" mode. But 3xOsc is lovely too ^.^ Yeah, I managed to make a rather rich pad with detuning, envelope edits, flanger, chorus, and EQ. ;D I usually just layer arounds using the layering tool, and EQ that. If I have to make them fit with each other, I just edit their internal EQ. :3 Hm, maybe note cards will help you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modus Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Yay, I learned things. I'll tell you the huge things I took away from your mixing tips: - controlled delay, cutting off the tail, something I actually was doing but not in the context of uncrowding elements - your arranging does most of the talking, which was an underlying question for me. I wasn't sure if the "drive" was coming from clever EQ or something else. Now I know. - I always had this all-or-nothing thing about EQ. I'd either roll it off all the way or barely cut it but I can see how going halfway helps, because some instruments lose their feel if you cut too much - droning elements like pads are best kept subtle which uh.. I use a lot of drones in my stuff so that's a nice tip - it's always more simple than I expect! Thanks for doing these. Most artists go on about their VSTs in tuts but never talk about achieving a style, the big picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDRKirby(ISQ) Posted February 20, 2013 Author Share Posted February 20, 2013 - your arranging does most of the talking, which was an underlying question for me. I wasn't sure if the "drive" was coming from clever EQ or something else. Now I know. EQ is more of a tool to help you slot in the instruments to where you want them to be. If in the arrangement phase you're thinking to put two instruments in the same "slot", then of course they're going to clash, there's no way around that. Sure, you can artificially separate them out using the EQ, but that really should have been in the initial "plan". - I always had this all-or-nothing thing about EQ. I'd either roll it off all the way or barely cut it but I can see how going halfway helps, because some instruments lose their feel if you cut too much Even if you roll it off all the way (I do this fairly often), still pay attention to where you set the cutoff point. Fruity's EQ2 gives you a graphical display of how much energy there is at the various frequencies, so you should know what exactly you're cutting off when you do so. - droning elements like pads are best kept subtle which uh.. I use a lot of drones in my stuff so that's a nice tip Yep. But again, this is something that should be in your mental "plan". If your plan is to make those droning pads the "focus" of the mix, then they don't need to be subtle. But if your plan is to sit them in the background, then use the tools you have to do so! - it's always more simple than I expect! I think that's just my personal style as well ;P Part of it is a byproduct of how I evolved as a mixer via OHC, I don't have time to spend on doing a lot of mixing work and tweaks, so everything is super-simple and formulaic. For better or for worse...;P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modus Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Right.. well, I understand everything is on a situation by situation basis. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDRKirby(ISQ) Posted February 20, 2013 Author Share Posted February 20, 2013 Glad it helped! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liquid wind Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Great tutorials, especially liked the 3xosc vid. I use it sometimes for simple chiptuneish stuff but I haven't really played with the fat mode/stereo phase in a long time, I will fix that starting tomorrow night Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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