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NEOGAF's Official Music Production Thread: calling all producers

F

FantasticMrFoxdie

Mumber
Anyone familiar with or use Normalizing techniques/plugins/programs?

I used to use BIAS' Peak Pro when I first started producing stuff, but the program has since been discontinued. One thing I loved about it and mainly used was its Normalization (I think it was RMS Normalization). I felt it gave my tracks a mastered 'feel' to it. I didn't realize until recently that this sort of process I got used to (Just RMS Normalizing my tracks) forced me to be a much better at mixing my stuff. It falls in line to a lot of stuff i've read and what people have said here about well mixed tracks not essentially need much in mastering. I've been butchering a lot of my tracks lately trying to master it on my own, so i'm gonna try to see how my old process works.

Also, I know the topic of the Loudness War was brought up earlier and I decided to read up on it and its such a fascinating topic. I've always known how prominent it was, especially in radio, but never thought about it from a Production perspective.

EDIT: Ahh reading up on normalizing and it was RMS Normalization.
 
P

Professor Chaos

Member
FantasticMrFoxdie said:
Anyone familiar with or use Normalizing techniques/plugins/programs?

I used to use BIAS' Peak Pro when I first started producing stuff, but the program has since been discontinued. One thing I loved about it and mainly used was its Normalization (I think it was RMS Normalization). I felt it gave my tracks a mastered 'feel' to it. I didn't realize until recently that this sort of process I got used to (Just RMS Normalizing my tracks) forced me to be a much better at mixing my stuff. It falls in line to a lot of stuff i've read and what people have said here about well mixed tracks not essentially need much in mastering. I've been butchering a lot of my tracks lately trying to master it on my own, so i'm gonna try to see how my old process works.

Also, I know the topic of the Loudness War was brought up earlier and I decided to read up on it and its such a fascinating topic. I've always known how prominent it was, especially in radio, but never thought about it from a Production perspective.

EDIT: Ahh reading up on normalizing and it was RMS Normalization.
Click to expand...

You don't need any special tools to normalize audio, most DAWs/audio editors will have this function.

Just found this old thread on Gearslutz. Conflicting viewpoints as usual, but I've never really heard of normalizing being common in the mixing or mastering stage. Why are you nomalizing in the first place, just for volume?
 
F

FantasticMrFoxdie

Mumber
Professor Chaos said:
You don't need any special tools to normalize audio, most DAWs/audio editors will have this function.

Just found this old thread on Gearslutz. Conflicting viewpoints as usual, but I've never really heard of normalizing being common in the mixing or mastering stage. Why are you nomalizing in the first place, just for volume?
Click to expand...

I know that most DAWs and the one I use (Logic) have the option to Normalize on bounce, which i've tried numerous times but it doesn't seem to do anything at all besides raise the volume. The RMS normalization I used in Peak Pro seemed to do something different than raise the volume. To my understanding in addition to raising the volume, it seemed like it auto-balanced the peaks to their highest without it clipping. In fair warning, I think it does have a slight destructive sound to the quality, but in my case it was a hell of a lot better than me butchering the quality by mastering it on my own.

TBH I barely know what im talking about on the subject of normalization, so all of what I said can just be a placebo effect on me, but I assume that every normalization tool differs in any DAW since they could be different algorythms or something lol. Im curious on what others here think considering how divisive this subject can be?

EDIT: Thanks for that link btw. Pretty helpful. Kinda makes sense about digital vs analog theory about 'noise'
 
M

metalmania4evr

Member
Ok so I have a question, can anyone recommend any good tape saturation plug-ins? I like to write metal as my side hobby when producing and unfortunately while being on a project studio budget, I can't really afford analog gear. Waves has their J37 Tape Saturation plugin on sale for $130, normally $250, but describes its ability to reproduce tape sound from the 60's and 70's. Reproducing warmth from those specific eras is not my goal, but I would like to get some good analog warmth overall and step away from digital sound. Can anyone recommend me any good plugins for this as I cannot afford the real thing? Thanks.
 
J

J10

Banned
FantasticMrFoxdie said:
Anyone familiar with or use Normalizing techniques/plugins/programs?
Click to expand...

I can't find a use for normalizers. Bad ones add ugly unwanted distortion and I get better results with compressors and limiters anyway.

metalmania4evr said:
Ok so I have a question, can anyone recommend any good tape saturation plug-ins?
Click to expand...

I like PSP MixSaturator. I use Izotope Alloy on everything too, but that does a lot more than saturation.
 
P

Professor Chaos

Member
metalmania4evr said:
Ok so I have a question, can anyone recommend any good tape saturation plug-ins? I like to write metal as my side hobby when producing and unfortunately while being on a project studio budget, I can't really afford analog gear. Waves has their J37 Tape Saturation plugin on sale for $130, normally $250, but describes its ability to reproduce tape sound from the 60's and 70's. Reproducing warmth from those specific eras is not my goal, but I would like to get some good analog warmth overall and step away from digital sound. Can anyone recommend me any good plugins for this as I cannot afford the real thing? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Specifically for tape saturation, have a look at:

U-he Satin is reportedly very good, although I don't have it myself.

TB Reel Bus. TB Plugins are very high quality in general and is a fraction of the cost of Satin/Slate/Waves plugins.

My favourite plugin for saturation is khlanghelm's SDRR. This is a steal for the amount of ground it covers. It has four differnt types of saturation, tube, digi, fuzz and desk. I use this all the time and can't recommend it highly enough, and it's only 22 euros.
 
V

Vincent Alexander

Member
I'm feeling really intimidated and lost where to start here. I'm practically starting from scratch learning how to do anything/everything production-wise. I've recorded some guitar tracks, but that is it. Anyone have any suggestions where I should begin? I'm willing to dedicate, but I need a roadmap. I'm currently using Cubase, but am contemplating Reaper.

Also, is it possible for us to get the OP updated? It's pretty out-of-date at this point.
 
S

soundahfekz

Member
Vincent Alexander said:
Good song. I like the video too---not sure why I laughed when the singer threw open the garage door at about 1:15.


Good stuff. If I'm being honest, between 4 second mark and 17 second mark (ish), I didn't care much for the dub element, except for the quick "riff" that comes at the end of each phrase. Sorry---not sure how to describe the sounds and such. Either way, very awesome. I'm also listening to some of your other tracks on Sound Cloud. Haven't listened to many yet, but I love Levels Snipp. And that intro to Nyc to Tokyo Snipp.


When you guys/gals are making music---do you start with the beat or drums, or generally start with a melody? Whether it's in your head, or actually recording. I have 0 skills programming drums/making a beat, and it is going to be my first goal in all of this.
Click to expand...


Preciate the input! I don't really do dub, but it was fun to give it a bit of a shot. I generally start with the melody, but it all depends on how things are flowing that day. Drums are relatively easy to create.


I just finished a remix to Pharrell's "Marilyn Monroe" track off his new GIRL album. I didn;t have an acapella so I had to tweak the existing song to fit into my production. Had a lot of fun with this one!


 
P

Professor Chaos

Member
Vincent Alexander said:
I'm feeling really intimidated and lost where to start here. I'm practically starting from scratch learning how to do anything/everything production-wise. I've recorded some guitar tracks, but that is it. Anyone have any suggestions where I should begin? I'm willing to dedicate, but I need a roadmap. I'm currently using Cubase, but am contemplating Reaper.

Also, is it possible for us to get the OP updated? It's pretty out-of-date at this point.
Click to expand...

Don't worry man, we've all been there. If you need a roadmap you need to first identify your goals, then you can identify the skills and areas of knowledge you should dedicate your time to. For example, if you're mostly interested in recording bands/acoustic instruments you would concentrate on learning recording techniques/mic placements etc etc.

I would encourage you to read the manual of whatever DAW you decide to settle on. This might seem boring, but it will save you time in the long run. Nothing kills creativity like when you have to stop what you're doing and look up how to do x or y in your DAW. And the same goes for any tool/plugin you use or purchase. Learn that synth/compressor/whatever it is inside out before purchasing another one. When I first started out I did not do this and ended up with tons of plugins I mostly didn't know how to use correctly.
 
L

lil smoke

Banned
Professor Chaos said:
Specifically for tape saturation, have a look at:

U-he Satin is reportedly very good, although I don't have it myself.

TB Reel Bus. TB Plugins are very high quality in general and is a fraction of the cost of Satin/Slate/Waves plugins.

My favourite plugin for saturation is khlanghelm's SDRR. This is a steal for the amount of ground it covers. It has four differnt types of saturation, tube, digi, fuzz and desk. I use this all the time and can't recommend it highly enough, and it's only 22 euros.
Click to expand...

^This man knows his plug-ins.

Waves Kramer is pretty good too, it has a circuitry sound to it.

Also Studio Devil VTP is a good tube emulation.

Klanghelm's stuff is very very good, as is stuff from Sonimus (Satson).

Nothing special but I should pimp my SC more being that I get 5 plays per year https://soundcloud.com/lil-smoke
 
S

Sadsic

Member
neos said:
Awesome work. May i ask you what did you aplly to the vocals in terms of effects?
Click to expand...

its like 8 layers thick of harmonics, with a few different kinds of delays on a few of the tracks, plus a submix for the whole thing with heavy compression and relayed through stereo
 
F

FloatingDivider

Member
Played Bioshock infinite a while ago, enjoyed it as much as you can enjoy a really pretty linear shooter, but the best thing about that game was this chick at the end of the game singing a dimension warped bluesy version of CCR's fortunate son. I stole her acapella like some expert level bootleg master and reharmonized it to sound like a cruising down the highway to vent summer jam. Or that's what I tried to do I think I'm not sure what I was trying to do. Anyway here's a link: https://soundcloud.com/yesplznothx/fortunate-one

Sorry if the mix/master sucks because I'm still clueless on mixing and mastering - my waveforms on soundcloud never look sexy enough for some reason.
 
F

Foshy

Member
FloatingDivider said:
Played Bioshock infinite a while ago, enjoyed it as much as you can enjoy a really pretty linear shooter, but the best thing about that game was this chick at the end of the game singing a dimension warped bluesy version of CCR's fortunate son. I stole her acapella like some expert level bootleg master and reharmonized it to sound like a cruising down the highway to vent summer jam. Or that's what I tried to do I think I'm not sure what I was trying to do. Anyway here's a link: https://soundcloud.com/yesplznothx/fortunate-one

Sorry if the mix/master sucks because I'm still clueless on mixing and mastering - my waveforms on soundcloud never look sexy enough for some reason.
Click to expand...
Love it. Seriously, great job!
 
U

User 73706

Banned
X

Xrenity

Member
Nobody in this anymore?

Anyway, wanted to say I got a book on Ableton Live, and it's a great help really. I just get stuck using what I know otherwise.
 
O

Outdoor Miner

Member
hoverX said:
What's everyone's thoughts on Maschine?
Click to expand...

I just got mine yesterday (version MKII) but haven't had a chance to dive in. All I can say is that the hardware, screen, and pads are all high quality. Definitely feels like a premium product. I'm impressed at the amount of content that ships with it (and the friggin' hour it took me to install it all).

Only regret I have was not taking the crossgrade offer w/ Komplete 9 that was being offered last week.
 
H

hoverX

Member
Outdoor Miner said:
I just got mine yesterday (version MKII) but haven't had a chance to dive in. All I can say is that the hardware, screen, and pads are all high quality. Definitely feels like a premium product. I'm impressed at the amount of content that ships with it (and the friggin' hour it took me to install it all).

Only regret I have was not taking the crossgrade offer w/ Komplete 9 that was being offered last week.
Click to expand...

Just bought a Maschine Studio. Love it so far. Find it really easy to use so far but I'm a total noob.

What is the crossgrade offer? From what I can see I can get Komplete 9 for $100 less than regular people. Komplete 9 Ulitimate is $250 less
 
O

Outdoor Miner

Member
hoverX said:
Just bought a Maschine Studio. Love it so far. Find it really easy to use so far but I'm a total noob.

What is the crossgrade offer? From what I can see I can get Komplete 9 for $100 less than regular people. Komplete 9 Ulitimate is $250 less
Click to expand...

It was Maschine w/ Komplete 9 for $799. From Sweetwater at least.
 
F

Fusebox

Banned
Outdoor Miner said:
It was Maschine w/ Komplete 9 for $799. From Sweetwater at least.
Click to expand...

Crossgrading from what?

Anyway I sold my mk1 controller but I kept the 2.0 software. I might jump back in at a later date but the whole daw within a daw thing wasn't working for my workflow, and because I make fairly predictable house and trance I don't use drum pads to tap in live beats, I draw most of my percussion in.
 
D

Drakken

Member
Some of my music is now on Spotify! First time putting my music anywhere other than Soundcloud/Youtube/Bandcamp, so I'm kind of excited. For now, it's just a collection of mostly-piano songs I've written over the years. Not a proper "album" per se. Will probably put up some more stuff later this week.

Piano Works: http://open.spotify.com/album/1cIertyfzvFEdjx0j41RTL

For anyone who's curious, I did this through Distrokid. Only $20/yr to get your music on iTunes/Amazon/Spotify/etc, and they take ZERO cut of whatever income you make. You can upload as much music as you want as many times as you want. They're a relatively new service, but they're backed by the founders of CD Baby and Tunecore.

Here's a great comparison of all the different distribution services out there. Should prove helpful to anyone who's thinking about taking that next step with their music.
 
X

Xrenity

Member
Drakken said:
Some of my music is now on Spotify! First time putting my music anywhere other than Soundcloud/Youtube/Bandcamp, so I'm kind of excited. For now, it's just a collection of mostly-piano songs I've written over the years. Will probably put up some more stuff later this week.

Piano Works: http://open.spotify.com/album/1cIertyfzvFEdjx0j41RTL

For anyone who's curious, I did this through Distrokid. Only $20/yr to get your music on iTunes/Amazon/Spotify/etc. You can upload as much music as you want as many times as you want. They're a relatively new service, but they're backed by the founders of CD Baby and Tunecore.

Here's a great comparison of all the different distribution services out there. Should prove helpful to anyone who's thinking about taking that next step with their music.
Click to expand...
Wow, thanks for the Distrokid tip! Just signed up for it.

Also, your music sounds great. DId you record that with a mic hanging into your piano or is it all software?
 
D

Drakken

Member
Xrenity said:
Also, your music sounds great. DId you record that with a mic hanging into your piano or is it all software?
Click to expand...

Thanks! I tend to be critical of how my piano stuff translates to different speakers, so I'm glad to hear that.

I used various virtual pianos - mostly the Mini Grand from Pro Tools, an Alien Piano patch from Dimension Pro, and the Felt Piano from Spitfire Labs.
 
F

Fusebox

Banned
Drakken said:
Some of my music is now on Spotify! First time putting my music anywhere other than Soundcloud/Youtube/Bandcamp, so I'm kind of excited. For now, it's just a collection of mostly-piano songs I've written over the years. Not a proper "album" per se. Will probably put up some more stuff later this week.

Piano Works: http://open.spotify.com/album/1cIertyfzvFEdjx0j41RTL

For anyone who's curious, I did this through Distrokid. Only $20/yr to get your music on iTunes/Amazon/Spotify/etc, and they take ZERO cut of whatever income you make. You can upload as much music as you want as many times as you want. They're a relatively new service, but they're backed by the founders of CD Baby and Tunecore.

Here's a great comparison of all the different distribution services out there. Should prove helpful to anyone who's thinking about taking that next step with their music.
Click to expand...

I put an album on Spotify/itunes/Amazon once for a laugh using Routenote and it didn't cost anything. Not sure how it compares to the paid ones.

http://www.routenote.com
 
T

tanuki

Member
Thanks for distrokid hookup, it makes a mockery out of how much Tunecore (who I was using previously) charges for digital distribution. I've now uploading my entire back catalogue on Spotify etc.
 
S

soundahfekz

Member
Vally said:
I've been making music with Reason for about 2 years, here's my soundcloud if anyone is interested

https://soundcloud.com/risis-1

Mostly electronic stuff and some shitty rap. The last track I made is probably one of the few ones that sounds half decent, if anyone wants to give it a listen I'd really appreciate it.
Click to expand...

I'll check it out when I get home!

In the meantime guys, check out my Lorde "team" remix:

https://soundcloud.com/soundahfekz/lorde-team-prod-by-soundahfekz
 
N

neos

Member
Vally said:
I've been making music with Reason for about 2 years, here's my soundcloud if anyone is interested

https://soundcloud.com/risis-1

Mostly electronic stuff and some shitty rap. The last track I made is probably one of the few ones that sounds half decent, if anyone wants to give it a listen I'd really appreciate it.
Click to expand...

Ah, a fellow Reason user!

Listened to let's get in on, it was fun. I'd love that dreamy gated pad to be a bit more warm\less harsh though
 
V

Vally

Member
soundahfekz said:
I'll check it out when I get home!

In the meantime guys, check out my Lorde "team" remix:

https://soundcloud.com/soundahfekz/lorde-team-prod-by-soundahfekz
Click to expand...

Nice track! I don't like the original song much, but your remix is pretty good

neos said:
Ah, a fellow Reason user!

Listened to let's get in on, it was fun. I'd love that dreamy gated pad to be a bit more warm\less harsh though
Click to expand...

Glad to see another Reason user on here :D I also tried FL Studio, but I found the interface too confusing and didn't know how to use it, so I stuck to Reason.

Thanks for the input on the track! I think you're right and it might sound a bit too harsh, so I'll try adjusting the filters and/or making the attack time a little bit longer to see if it sounds better.
 
T

terrene

Banned
Damn, this thread was started in 2010 - oldest active thread??

Anyway, here's something I've been working on for those who like The Rawk Style of Music, like me. I play all the instruments (drums, guitar, bass, omnichord, keyboards). No vocals yet. Rough mix - obnoxious drum fixes need to be done (luckily very easy to do when your drums are MIDI) but here ya go.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5csH_vDH34LS0tjR3FxNnJ0ZUk/edit?usp=sharing

Recorded with Cubase. Drums are V-Drums (Roland TD-30KV). Here's the home studio:

1272679_10151624026776087_1945047741_o.jpg


Bonus track: This one is completely done barring vocals but isn't quite as impressive, production wise, not being quite as layered. Again, me on all the instruments.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5csH_vDH34LX096Qnc5Q2JUSUU/edit?usp=sharing
 
S

soundahfekz

Member
Vally said:
I've been making music with Reason for about 2 years, here's my soundcloud if anyone is interested

https://soundcloud.com/risis-1

Mostly electronic stuff and some shitty rap. The last track I made is probably one of the few ones that sounds half decent, if anyone wants to give it a listen I'd really appreciate it.
Click to expand...

I like the vibe on this man, if I had one thing I felt would enhance it I would say to add some light to medium sidechaining and get a pulsating feeling w/ the bass/lead.
 
V

Vally

Member
soundahfekz said:
I like the vibe on this man, if I had one thing I felt would enhance it I would say to add some light to medium sidechaining and get a pulsating feeling w/ the bass/lead.
Click to expand...

Glad you like it man, and thanks for the feedback. I tend to have trouble with sidechaining, because either I overdo it and the sound is way too compressed, or I try to tone it down but I lose that pulsating feel and it ends up sounding a bit flat. I guess it all comes down to finding the sweet spot.
 
F

FantasticMrFoxdie

Mumber
soundahfekz said:
Preciate the input! I don't really do dub, but it was fun to give it a bit of a shot. I generally start with the melody, but it all depends on how things are flowing that day. Drums are relatively easy to create.
I just finished a remix to Pharrell's "Marilyn Monroe" track off his new GIRL album. I didn;t have an acapella so I had to tweak the existing song to fit into my production. Had a lot of fun with this one!

Click to expand...

Great remix. Im actually diggin it more than the original.

terrene said:
Damn, this thread was started in 2010 - oldest active thread??

Anyway, here's something I've been working on for those who like The Rawk Style of Music, like me. I play all the instruments (drums, guitar, bass, omnichord, keyboards). No vocals yet. Rough mix - obnoxious drum fixes need to be done (luckily very easy to do when your drums are MIDI) but here ya go.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5csH_vDH34LS0tjR3FxNnJ0ZUk/edit?usp=sharing

Recorded with Cubase. Drums are V-Drums (Roland TD-30KV). Here's the home studio:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/t31.0-8/1272679_10151624026776087_1945047741_o.jpg[/IMG

Bonus track: This one is completely done barring vocals but isn't quite as impressive, production wise, not being quite as layered. Again, me on all the instruments.
[url]https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5csH_vDH34LX096Qnc5Q2JUSUU/edit?usp=sharing[/url][/QUOTE]

Awesome setup and good tracks. Im impressed by your multi-instrumenting especially the drumming.

[quote="Noisepurge, post: 107768618"]all home producers definitely need to see [B]Wrong Cops[/B] by Quentin Dupieux(mr.oizo) :D such a hilarious take on awful cops talking about and making electronic music.

[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0b5y4lGunk[/url][/QUOTE]

lol crazy trailer I need to check that out. Thats like an all-star cast
Click to expand...
 
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