After a bit of a break, I'm back with my latest blog!
For many, finding ways to arouse the 5 senses influence much of our leisure decisions. Finding ways to invigorate feeling through sensory indulgence, form the basic platform for the notion of pleasure in most humans.
Within music, we tend to link audio with vision, maybe originally from the association of seeing a band or orchestra perform in all their glory and also enjoying listening to their musical talents at the same time.
In current years, the music video generation has helped to continue the visual association with audio. However, I do feel that this focus transferred into the world of audio engineering, has actually become rather detrimental to the way that we work - especially over the last decade as we work more in the advancing digital domain.
There are many sessions I have both witnessed and participated in where we are all guilty of obsessively watching (staring at!) the cursor glide across the screen of the Pro Tools or Logic Arrange page whilst listening back to a mix. Somehow feeling that the colourful bars and pretty patterns of blocks from different instruments, takes and edits, are essential viewing to fully hear what is happening - like “how will I know when the second chorus starts or the string section comes in, unless I’m staring at my beautiful Apple cinema screen representation?”
I personally feel that the focus on the screen whilst mixing really takes away from the way that you listen to the mix, in several different ways. Firstly, when looking at the screen (especially in recent years where there is so much crammed onto the arrange page), there is too much distraction for the eye, to many other thought processes away from audio for the brain to do. Also, like when reading a book, the brain actually scans ahead of what you are looking at, so subconsciously you have already read / looked ahead of where you are focusing. This means that your brain is already preparing for the blocks of instruments its seen are coming in within the next 4 bars - so will you really notice if the second verse starts at the right level and balance, if you are already pre-empting and expecting the rather ‘triumphant sounding’ brass section that your added yesterday? Possibly not.
The focus on the screen can also force us to become far too precise, I remember smiling to myself watching an engineer turning a channel fader up by 0.5dB. I do not feel you are going to audibly notice that. If you were using a real console I doubt you would really turn something up by 0.5dB, if you were just listening to it rather than watching it.
Another big problem of sitting and staring at the arrange page whilst listening to a mix is the position of the computer screen within your set up. Is your screen located in a place where you can see it clearly whilst staying in the “sweet spot”? Are you in the ideal listening position when at your screen? Or are you, like in many set ups I see, located quite severely off centre and quite possibly at risk of encountering some phasing issues or sitting in a bass peak or trough? Listening to your mix in different parts of your room (or even outside the room) can be useful for detecting problem frequencies, but doing any major percentage of your listening off-axis cannot be helpful at all, and will make well balanced mixes a lot harder to achieve.
I want to start a mono sensory revolution – lets get back to focusing just on the sound and boycott the screens as much as possible when mixing. Just focus on the music and listen!
So I urge any guilty readers to come to your audio senses and try listening and mixing without staring at that beautiful arrange page with your carefully constructed edits, to come back into the sweet spot and mix in an easier positioned environment and not to let the ever so precise visual data to override what your ears are actually hearing. Helping us all to get one step closer to that better balanced audio world.
Friday 11 December 2009
Thursday 13 August 2009
EQUALLY OPPOSITE
The entire environment we reside within is full of equals and opposites and parallels.
That statement can be taken in the most basic forms of light and dark, day and night, or hot and cold; or it could indeed be used to describe eastern and western culture, or the different variants of species that habitat our planet.
The fact remains that these aspects are not only part of everyday life, but also one of the reasons the planet can flourish, adapt and evolve.
It makes sense then that we endeavour to continue these patterns into our work.
The music industry is continually changing and evolving, usually playing catch up with modern society and cultural trends most of the time.
Although some aspects and requirements are a constant, it is important to evaluate the current state of play, the fluctuations, and be realistic. We should take advantage of the facilities we do have access to now, and be creative.
So what have the parallels of life got to do with making a record? I will explain.
Often modern budgets are being cut to a fraction of what they once were or even cancelled all together, relying on personal funding or development of an artist through their producer or management rather than from a record label.
Labels are understandably cautious about investing in new artists for fear of not making any return.
Artists are expected to have already created an underground following, have an image, a sponsor… and a guaranteed song placement and synch rights would go down nicely too.
The problem with taking an artist from their underground circuit and trying to turn them mainstream; or taking a new artist and trying to throw them straight into the commercial playground, is the aspect of retaining a 'cool' factor to them.
Doing this over a 10-15 track album is costly and timely, and a big commitment from a label, even if these days the Major labels at least more act as just a distributor / plugger.
I think we should look to go back to doing more EP style releases, 'projects' that contain around 5 or 6 songs.
This way the artist, management, producer and label, can focus n just generating the best songs for this mini project, rather than stuffing it with filler songs. It also helps focus the project towards a particular market. If the project doesn’t work, it also means there has been less money spent on making it.
Something that is also interesting to consider is that with this way of working, you also have the option to release
alternative projects, or remix projects alongside the main release, perhaps targeted more for the clubs or the underground circuit, or maybe just a live or acoustic project.
Not only does this expand your audience and exposure possibilities, it also means more revenue. Two different projects means a wider spread of radio play and club play and also if someone is a fan of one project, there is a good chance they will purchase the other too.
Remix and underground releases can also help with achieving this “got to be cool” requirement, adding credibility to an artist, by having this equal and opposite force present alongside the more mainstream focused project.
It is also good as a producer to split your work into at least 2 parts, under different aliases, one for your own independent projects and compositions and one for more commercial releases and remixes. Allowing you to take advantage of different types of work available whilst maintaining your name and credibility for your other projects. It is the same principle.
Taking the concept of equal and opposite throughout your work ethic can produce very creative work that helps you stand out.
Combining opposite music genres always works well, imagine rock and classical, drum and bass and opera, reggae and country and western… although it may sound unusual at first, you can quickly realise that there are endless possibilities to create something new and appealing.
Different textures and instruments compliment each other, like the different herbs and spices you can use in cooking, the flavours of the sounds come together sounding quite delicious.
Also in the structure of the song having for instance very hard sounding drums with a soft and chilled keys part over the top, or maybe a gentle and enchanting drone of an Indian Tambura, can be very complimentary and intriguing.
The principal can also be used in presentation of your music. If you are an electronic producer, try forming an acoustic live version of a track and video it, presenting it back to people on an electronic format.
So, focus your ideas, encapsulate your being and sound into an area, then diversify with an equal and opposite approach to your work and create a parallel project or piece of work and get in synch with the modern and diverse world in which we live.
That statement can be taken in the most basic forms of light and dark, day and night, or hot and cold; or it could indeed be used to describe eastern and western culture, or the different variants of species that habitat our planet.
The fact remains that these aspects are not only part of everyday life, but also one of the reasons the planet can flourish, adapt and evolve.
It makes sense then that we endeavour to continue these patterns into our work.
The music industry is continually changing and evolving, usually playing catch up with modern society and cultural trends most of the time.
Although some aspects and requirements are a constant, it is important to evaluate the current state of play, the fluctuations, and be realistic. We should take advantage of the facilities we do have access to now, and be creative.
So what have the parallels of life got to do with making a record? I will explain.
Often modern budgets are being cut to a fraction of what they once were or even cancelled all together, relying on personal funding or development of an artist through their producer or management rather than from a record label.
Labels are understandably cautious about investing in new artists for fear of not making any return.
Artists are expected to have already created an underground following, have an image, a sponsor… and a guaranteed song placement and synch rights would go down nicely too.
The problem with taking an artist from their underground circuit and trying to turn them mainstream; or taking a new artist and trying to throw them straight into the commercial playground, is the aspect of retaining a 'cool' factor to them.
Doing this over a 10-15 track album is costly and timely, and a big commitment from a label, even if these days the Major labels at least more act as just a distributor / plugger.
I think we should look to go back to doing more EP style releases, 'projects' that contain around 5 or 6 songs.
This way the artist, management, producer and label, can focus n just generating the best songs for this mini project, rather than stuffing it with filler songs. It also helps focus the project towards a particular market. If the project doesn’t work, it also means there has been less money spent on making it.
Something that is also interesting to consider is that with this way of working, you also have the option to release
alternative projects, or remix projects alongside the main release, perhaps targeted more for the clubs or the underground circuit, or maybe just a live or acoustic project.
Not only does this expand your audience and exposure possibilities, it also means more revenue. Two different projects means a wider spread of radio play and club play and also if someone is a fan of one project, there is a good chance they will purchase the other too.
Remix and underground releases can also help with achieving this “got to be cool” requirement, adding credibility to an artist, by having this equal and opposite force present alongside the more mainstream focused project.
It is also good as a producer to split your work into at least 2 parts, under different aliases, one for your own independent projects and compositions and one for more commercial releases and remixes. Allowing you to take advantage of different types of work available whilst maintaining your name and credibility for your other projects. It is the same principle.
Taking the concept of equal and opposite throughout your work ethic can produce very creative work that helps you stand out.
Combining opposite music genres always works well, imagine rock and classical, drum and bass and opera, reggae and country and western… although it may sound unusual at first, you can quickly realise that there are endless possibilities to create something new and appealing.
Different textures and instruments compliment each other, like the different herbs and spices you can use in cooking, the flavours of the sounds come together sounding quite delicious.
Also in the structure of the song having for instance very hard sounding drums with a soft and chilled keys part over the top, or maybe a gentle and enchanting drone of an Indian Tambura, can be very complimentary and intriguing.
The principal can also be used in presentation of your music. If you are an electronic producer, try forming an acoustic live version of a track and video it, presenting it back to people on an electronic format.
So, focus your ideas, encapsulate your being and sound into an area, then diversify with an equal and opposite approach to your work and create a parallel project or piece of work and get in synch with the modern and diverse world in which we live.
Friday 8 May 2009
IN BALANCE?
This month it’s all about balance. Not just ones own equilibrioception that may suffer somewhat come closing time of your favourite haunt on a Saturday night, but of our general perception of placement, proportions and ability to coexist within an allocated space.
“Balance” may be an unmentionable and offensive word to the Chancellor of the Exchequer right now, as he frantically tries to make Britain’s income and expenditure books balance; but for us studio geeks, it really can and should be a much simpler process.
So where do we start in endeavouring to create a good balance in our mix? Well firstly, lets actually consider what a good balance is. As mentioned in one of my previous months articles, a good balanced mix should be like ‘Amnesty International’ for audio; a mix where each individual part has its own space to coexist with its neighbours, adopting a fair share of the frequency spectrum and given the right to be heard fairly and accurately.
So before we go off to paint up some protest banners to campaign for a better balanced audio world, lets discuss the first stumbling block of our auditory ideal – gain staging.
Getting the levels right during the recording process seems to be a bone of contempt for many. Poor management of input signals and recording levels can lead to an array of difficulties when trying to balance a mix, so here are a few points to consider. To start with, in the recording stage, make sure you use the appropriate microphone for your sound source. Condenser and ribbon mics are very sensitive to high-pressure levels, so not ideal choices for percussive sounds like a kick drum or high level sources such as the front of a guitar cab.
The sensitivity of some condenser / preamp combinations also means they are not always the best choice for some vocalists. If you are finding that your vocals are clipping or distorting you may try just turning the input gain down. However, if this just gives you a quieter source and a lot of background noise, try either applying a high pass filter on the preamp (to cut out some of the room noise and rumble), or use a dynamic mic which can be more capable of handling the dynamic changes of the vocalist and is also more directional - so should pick up more of the direct signal rather than unwanted noise.
The key is, never to overload your inputs on your DAW and make sure you always leave yourself with plenty of headroom. Your recording levels should not be at 0dB as some commonly presume, try maybe -6dB as a rough guide or even less.
If every source you have is already at a max it is much harder to balance these parts together without clipping the master track. You are also leaving no room for subtle fader movements to have an audible effect. During mix down, having as much headroom as possible on individual sources is great for when you start creating stem mixes or summing down your track.
On analogue equipment it is true that you can push the piece hard without causing huge problems. However in digital equipment, the signal should never clip as this produces a nasty sounding square wave cut off to your audio and once it has been distorted there is no way to undo it, so keep those levels controlled.
Another problem area for achieving balance tends to be EQ. If you find that your mixes are well balanced in level but appear a bit “foggy” or “muddy” it is more than likely due to a fight breaking out between two or more instruments all trying to be in the same frequency range. A method known as ‘spectral mixing’ that I refer to in previous articles is particularly useful here. This process involves cutting a space for each individual track using EQ, focusing just on the key frequencies of the instrument that you want to be heard and cutting unnecessary bass content, high frequency content, and problem mid range frequencies out.
EQ alone cannot always help with balancing your bass sounds though, sometimes some spectral mixing between the bass drum and bass guitar is all that’s needed, but this is not always the solution. Many seem to struggle to avoid mixing seriously bass heavy or seriously bass light. This is usually due to the mix environment causing you to end up sitting in a peak or trough part of the waveform and therefore not hearing an accurate representation when mixing. To check this, try listening to the material in other playback systems, like your hifi, car stereo or at a friend’s studio facility if possible. It will then be easier to identify any problems that exist within your mixing space.
It may be however, that the frequency content of your bass is too low and too narrow and is causing it to lack energy or excitement in the mix. Try adding some fundamental frequencies above, either by dialling back in some of the higher frequencies you rolled off, or by putting the bass through an exciter, or maybe by adding a mirror bassline in the next octave up slightly lower in the mix, or just by transposing the whole line into a different, more legible key. Always be wary of adding too much sub bass content. Most home and project studio systems monitoring facilities don’t extend to sub frequencies, so you may get a nasty surprise when played in a club or a kitted-out car system.
If you can get your bass and your drums “gelling” together piecing everything else on top becomes much easier, treat the beat and bass like the foundations of your audio building and if they are not correct anything on top of that will never be balanced.
Lastly another way to help create a good balanced mix is to start the habit of stem mixing. This is basically creating sub groups like many live engineers do, but it has several benefits for the studio engineer too.
Once you have a nice mix of your drums, it is much easier to control their overall level within one group fader than individual ones, same goes for any other instrument group. It also makes it easer if you are planning to sum your mix externally with analogue outboard or a console. Not only does it bring the channel count and required interface spec down, it again makes it less work to balance between the instrument groups and you can keep a closer eye on the changes you are making.
So pay attention to your gain staging, EQ spread, and find easier ways to balance the levels, like stem mixing, and you will soon find yourself feeling a lot more balanced and possibly “in tune” with your audio. Besides, let us not forget that balance is actually one of the most natural phenomenon’s of existence…
“Balance” may be an unmentionable and offensive word to the Chancellor of the Exchequer right now, as he frantically tries to make Britain’s income and expenditure books balance; but for us studio geeks, it really can and should be a much simpler process.
So where do we start in endeavouring to create a good balance in our mix? Well firstly, lets actually consider what a good balance is. As mentioned in one of my previous months articles, a good balanced mix should be like ‘Amnesty International’ for audio; a mix where each individual part has its own space to coexist with its neighbours, adopting a fair share of the frequency spectrum and given the right to be heard fairly and accurately.
So before we go off to paint up some protest banners to campaign for a better balanced audio world, lets discuss the first stumbling block of our auditory ideal – gain staging.
Getting the levels right during the recording process seems to be a bone of contempt for many. Poor management of input signals and recording levels can lead to an array of difficulties when trying to balance a mix, so here are a few points to consider. To start with, in the recording stage, make sure you use the appropriate microphone for your sound source. Condenser and ribbon mics are very sensitive to high-pressure levels, so not ideal choices for percussive sounds like a kick drum or high level sources such as the front of a guitar cab.
The sensitivity of some condenser / preamp combinations also means they are not always the best choice for some vocalists. If you are finding that your vocals are clipping or distorting you may try just turning the input gain down. However, if this just gives you a quieter source and a lot of background noise, try either applying a high pass filter on the preamp (to cut out some of the room noise and rumble), or use a dynamic mic which can be more capable of handling the dynamic changes of the vocalist and is also more directional - so should pick up more of the direct signal rather than unwanted noise.
The key is, never to overload your inputs on your DAW and make sure you always leave yourself with plenty of headroom. Your recording levels should not be at 0dB as some commonly presume, try maybe -6dB as a rough guide or even less.
If every source you have is already at a max it is much harder to balance these parts together without clipping the master track. You are also leaving no room for subtle fader movements to have an audible effect. During mix down, having as much headroom as possible on individual sources is great for when you start creating stem mixes or summing down your track.
On analogue equipment it is true that you can push the piece hard without causing huge problems. However in digital equipment, the signal should never clip as this produces a nasty sounding square wave cut off to your audio and once it has been distorted there is no way to undo it, so keep those levels controlled.
Another problem area for achieving balance tends to be EQ. If you find that your mixes are well balanced in level but appear a bit “foggy” or “muddy” it is more than likely due to a fight breaking out between two or more instruments all trying to be in the same frequency range. A method known as ‘spectral mixing’ that I refer to in previous articles is particularly useful here. This process involves cutting a space for each individual track using EQ, focusing just on the key frequencies of the instrument that you want to be heard and cutting unnecessary bass content, high frequency content, and problem mid range frequencies out.
EQ alone cannot always help with balancing your bass sounds though, sometimes some spectral mixing between the bass drum and bass guitar is all that’s needed, but this is not always the solution. Many seem to struggle to avoid mixing seriously bass heavy or seriously bass light. This is usually due to the mix environment causing you to end up sitting in a peak or trough part of the waveform and therefore not hearing an accurate representation when mixing. To check this, try listening to the material in other playback systems, like your hifi, car stereo or at a friend’s studio facility if possible. It will then be easier to identify any problems that exist within your mixing space.
It may be however, that the frequency content of your bass is too low and too narrow and is causing it to lack energy or excitement in the mix. Try adding some fundamental frequencies above, either by dialling back in some of the higher frequencies you rolled off, or by putting the bass through an exciter, or maybe by adding a mirror bassline in the next octave up slightly lower in the mix, or just by transposing the whole line into a different, more legible key. Always be wary of adding too much sub bass content. Most home and project studio systems monitoring facilities don’t extend to sub frequencies, so you may get a nasty surprise when played in a club or a kitted-out car system.
If you can get your bass and your drums “gelling” together piecing everything else on top becomes much easier, treat the beat and bass like the foundations of your audio building and if they are not correct anything on top of that will never be balanced.
Lastly another way to help create a good balanced mix is to start the habit of stem mixing. This is basically creating sub groups like many live engineers do, but it has several benefits for the studio engineer too.
Once you have a nice mix of your drums, it is much easier to control their overall level within one group fader than individual ones, same goes for any other instrument group. It also makes it easer if you are planning to sum your mix externally with analogue outboard or a console. Not only does it bring the channel count and required interface spec down, it again makes it less work to balance between the instrument groups and you can keep a closer eye on the changes you are making.
So pay attention to your gain staging, EQ spread, and find easier ways to balance the levels, like stem mixing, and you will soon find yourself feeling a lot more balanced and possibly “in tune” with your audio. Besides, let us not forget that balance is actually one of the most natural phenomenon’s of existence…
Wednesday 1 April 2009
AUDIO IDENTITY
There are over 6 billion people that populate this planet, each having their own individual genetic make up. The sheer diversity enriches our cultures, traditions and inspiration and makes up this eccentric patchwork of identity that we possess as human beings. Although we indulge in our self-proclaimed title of being top of the food chain and the most powerful and intelligent mammal that inhabits our Earth, it is amazing how sheep-like many among us seem to be. Herded together following each other aimlessly through fields of fashions, fads and ideals.
If you want to be able to stand out from this flock and be heard by many (not just “herd” by Bo Peep), embracing your individuality is essential.
The same can be said with your approach to your music production and mixing.
If everybody had the same gear, the same software, using the same sounds, with the same rules, would that really be good for the music? I think not. Forming your own identity and sound by combining your choice of equipment and forming your own sound bank is how you really can express yourself creatively as an individual.
When choosing equipment, you should consider many factors. It is always hard to base purchase decisions on adverts or reviews but this is a good way of finding out information and narrowing your choices. It is also strange to base your decisions on listening to someone’s opinion that seems to spend more time on Internet forums then in their idyllic (?) studio.
Base your choices on what you are drawn too, what you understand and what inspires you. Audio shouldn’t be about snobbery either; there are great products and tools out there that do not break the bank. So do not disregard products thinking that low price equals poor quality, as this is not always the case.
Research is important. Many make poor decisions on equipment, as they don’t fully understand the process the equipment does or what they are trying to achieve, never be scared to ask, but if you have a question about a product, contact the manufacturer. They designed and built the product and probably have the gear set up within their building, if anyone should be able to give you an accurate response to your query, I feel it is more likely to be them.
For me, I always like to consider the end format, where will this music end up and how would I like it to sound? The other day I visited a studio that makes Drum and Bass and Electronic music, they had a PC set up and for monitoring had some cheap PC speakers and then general small club PA Speakers. The explanation for this was that they didn’t see the point in having “3 grand” studio monitors, as the music either ends up on a website, listened to on an ipod / computer speakers, or played out in a club. If they got it sounding balanced on the PC speakers and it transfers well in the bass frequencies to the PA set up, that’s all they needed. The sound they had was indeed very good and you would never know much was mixed on £40 computer speakers.
Having your own arrangement of gear not only should inspire you but should also help you to create your own sound. Try linking different pieces together, get out those patch cables and take advantage of inserts, sidechains and programmable effects. It is surprising how quickly you can discover new ways of working, new sounds and some cool effects.
Do not be scared to experiment in how you connect or use your gear, so long as you understand and respect the different levels of some inputs and outputs and that tweeters can be delicate things… what’s the worst that could happen?
Also try using products for different purposes than they are created for… how about feeding your guitar amp or pod with some piano or percussion? Maybe use a vocoder on strings? You can quickly get some interesting sounds that you can use in conjunction with the original audio, instead of the original audio, or just as an effect. Rules are there to be broken and forcing yourself to go against the grain can form some fantastic creations.
It is easy to get caught up in the equipment rat race, and also hard to keep up with what’s new or available, so of course we sometimes need to see what others are doing and choosing. Apply logic to your opinions though and research the technology and functions the gear offers. If I make denim jeans, it doesn’t matter what logo I put on the back pocket, they are still denim jeans. If I want a tube microphone, ribbon tweeter monitors or a discrete class A preamp, all products in those categories will use the same technology, but some will be mass manufactured, some made by hand, some will have a better frequency response and some will just rely on their “back pocket logo” to pull on the heart strings of consumerism.
Choose the products that are right for you and offer you the tools that you need to be creative so to put your individual stamp on the music you make. Technology is advancing daily and more and more options are available to the consumer, but remember, it is all there to get the job done better, or quicker or make what you do easier.
So break away from the herd and approach your work as a one in six billion individual, rather than just another lamb to the slaughter.
If you want to be able to stand out from this flock and be heard by many (not just “herd” by Bo Peep), embracing your individuality is essential.
The same can be said with your approach to your music production and mixing.
If everybody had the same gear, the same software, using the same sounds, with the same rules, would that really be good for the music? I think not. Forming your own identity and sound by combining your choice of equipment and forming your own sound bank is how you really can express yourself creatively as an individual.
When choosing equipment, you should consider many factors. It is always hard to base purchase decisions on adverts or reviews but this is a good way of finding out information and narrowing your choices. It is also strange to base your decisions on listening to someone’s opinion that seems to spend more time on Internet forums then in their idyllic (?) studio.
Base your choices on what you are drawn too, what you understand and what inspires you. Audio shouldn’t be about snobbery either; there are great products and tools out there that do not break the bank. So do not disregard products thinking that low price equals poor quality, as this is not always the case.
Research is important. Many make poor decisions on equipment, as they don’t fully understand the process the equipment does or what they are trying to achieve, never be scared to ask, but if you have a question about a product, contact the manufacturer. They designed and built the product and probably have the gear set up within their building, if anyone should be able to give you an accurate response to your query, I feel it is more likely to be them.
For me, I always like to consider the end format, where will this music end up and how would I like it to sound? The other day I visited a studio that makes Drum and Bass and Electronic music, they had a PC set up and for monitoring had some cheap PC speakers and then general small club PA Speakers. The explanation for this was that they didn’t see the point in having “3 grand” studio monitors, as the music either ends up on a website, listened to on an ipod / computer speakers, or played out in a club. If they got it sounding balanced on the PC speakers and it transfers well in the bass frequencies to the PA set up, that’s all they needed. The sound they had was indeed very good and you would never know much was mixed on £40 computer speakers.
Having your own arrangement of gear not only should inspire you but should also help you to create your own sound. Try linking different pieces together, get out those patch cables and take advantage of inserts, sidechains and programmable effects. It is surprising how quickly you can discover new ways of working, new sounds and some cool effects.
Do not be scared to experiment in how you connect or use your gear, so long as you understand and respect the different levels of some inputs and outputs and that tweeters can be delicate things… what’s the worst that could happen?
Also try using products for different purposes than they are created for… how about feeding your guitar amp or pod with some piano or percussion? Maybe use a vocoder on strings? You can quickly get some interesting sounds that you can use in conjunction with the original audio, instead of the original audio, or just as an effect. Rules are there to be broken and forcing yourself to go against the grain can form some fantastic creations.
It is easy to get caught up in the equipment rat race, and also hard to keep up with what’s new or available, so of course we sometimes need to see what others are doing and choosing. Apply logic to your opinions though and research the technology and functions the gear offers. If I make denim jeans, it doesn’t matter what logo I put on the back pocket, they are still denim jeans. If I want a tube microphone, ribbon tweeter monitors or a discrete class A preamp, all products in those categories will use the same technology, but some will be mass manufactured, some made by hand, some will have a better frequency response and some will just rely on their “back pocket logo” to pull on the heart strings of consumerism.
Choose the products that are right for you and offer you the tools that you need to be creative so to put your individual stamp on the music you make. Technology is advancing daily and more and more options are available to the consumer, but remember, it is all there to get the job done better, or quicker or make what you do easier.
So break away from the herd and approach your work as a one in six billion individual, rather than just another lamb to the slaughter.
Sunday 1 March 2009
TIMELESS MUSIC
Time. A measurement of existence, a constant tied to an event of past, present and future or a common consciousness in which we participate? Without going to into one of those 4am conversations on the theories and ideals of philosophy, science and religion, I still would like to touch on the importance of the way we view time and its significance upon our approach to our activities.
In this current social and economic climate, I am constantly hearing that “times are changing”, well this is obvious is it not? Regardless off the constant fluctuation of exchange rates and the weak pound, the growing unemployment statistics and the divide in social standing between the rich and the not very rich, time is always changing. Fashions and fads come, go and are reinvented. Life starts, life ends and life is created. So how do some of our peers manage to create works that escape the constraints of time and a changing, evolving world?
“A timeless classic”, a common phrase for such works, and one we would be honoured to have associated with anything we create within our lifetimes I’m sure. What is it that allows certain songs, mixes, productions and scores to be remembered and praised long after their creation though? There is not a simple rule or formula to this; there are however some good points for consideration when starting work on your album project or production. So this month is a bit of theory for us to endeavour to put into practise.
A universally appealing track is one that people from different places, races, cultures and ages can relate to in some way. For them to be able to, the track needs to have strength to it and a power to be emotive.
I think as a producer of a project it is essential to recognise early on what the strength of the project is and make this the key feature of the sound and shape of the album. For example, if the singer writes fantastic lyrics, keep the music simple to focus the listeners ear on the words, go for a nice warm sound on the vocals, maybe using a ribbon mic and tube preamp combination. Add compression to bring the vocal upfront and closer to the listener, but keep a soft knee and try not to make it pump by keeping the release a little slower.
In my opinion, a mistake that is often made in recent times is to over-perfect a vocal line. Whilst some singers can only claim to be so with the help of Melodyne, others that are not so musically challenged should be left to sing songs more freely. In classical recordings, the aim is to capture the performance in the most natural way. When you are listening back to the recording and shut your eyes it should be like you are there, experiencing the drama, excitement, or beauty first hand. I think this should be the same with a good vocalist. The voice after all is another instrument and I think sometimes we are all guilty of not treating it as such sometimes. The emotion of a vocal is really heard when a singer is left to freely express themselves, even if they are straining a little on a high note or singing some notes softer, the little imperfections make it sound real. Of course you can give your singer guidance, but when working with a talented vocalist there is nothing more beautiful than listening to them sing from their heart the way that they feel to express it.
To capture this, try taking a different approach to the recording. Instead of having them standing up with a pop shield and condenser mic, headphones on, lights blaring and shouting instructions down the talk back to them, try creating a more ambient feel. In your live room or recording space, light some scented candles, put some cushions out, turn the lights down and try setting up some room mics instead of just a close mic. Play around with positioning as it will vary dependent on the size and shape of the room. I quite like using a coincident pair towards the corner of the room, facing inwards, with cardiod pick up patterns, and not too close to the wall. Then, if the room allows I also like to use a tube condenser mic on omni pick up placed higher up above the performer, a few feet away and facing downwards slightly angled towards them. Do not be afraid to experiment with different microphones and their placement.
Another important element when doing a project is simplicity. Have a theme for the album that is used by the band / act / producer for inspiration and guidance, sometimes the simplest ideas can create a masterpiece. I also think it’s important to decide whether you are creating songs, or pieces of art. I say this, as a “song” should have a simplistic structure, repetition, and a familiarity to it. These aspects help a song to be “catchy” and memorable. On the other hand, a track that is a piece of “art” should be a statement, a mood, an object, a situation – whatever it is, it should embody that expression fully and be an emotive journey for the listener. To give an example, a timeless and fantastic album of “songs” was Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller Album’; a timeless and great album of “art” was Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’.
Whatever you are trying to achieve with your project allow yourself to be creative and experimental, make music that means something to you and enjoy doing it! Don’t be afraid to try out new ideas, even if they don’t work, at least it is a lesson learnt.
There is no key to making great music, but so long as you are making something that you are proud of and that you enjoyed creating, you have already created something timeless in your eyes, regardless of how others view it.
Remember that with each 60 seconds you gain in life is also a minute lost. When you create an album for people to listen to, aim to make their seconds gained a joyful experience and their minutes lost only to fond memories.
Thursday 1 January 2009
BIG AND FAT
Well the festivities are over and we are thrown into another new year of big hopes and aspirations. Although the energy levels, bank balances and Alka Selza tablets feel particularly scarce at the moment, your torso certainly doesn’t against your waistband…
If you feel that it is your mixes and not your waistline that need a little fattening up, then this month it’s all about being big and fat in the mix.
Firstly I think its important to identify what accounts for something sounding ‘big’ or ‘fat’ and then also which instruments are key to achieving a ‘fat’ and ‘weighty’ impression.
When listening to a sound or a complete song, it will only sound ‘fat’ if there is a good representation across the frequency spectrum within the overall sound.
A lack of low frequency content and low mids will have the greatest negative effect, as this will make the song sound thin. Try adding in extra sounds, or give an EQ boost in these areas. For instance, on a vocal line, remember that the note A by middle C on a piano is 440Hz in the frequency spectrum, this means there are bound to be a number of fundamental frequencies around 400 – 500Hz usually varying depending on whether it’s a male or female vocalist, so try giving these a gentle boost. You should then look to boost the surrounding harmonics of this fundamental frequency. For instance, if you make a boost to the vocal line at 400Hz, try a small boost at 200Hz and 800Hz as starting points.
Some of the key frequencies across the spectrum of the mix, where there should be content are 150Hz, 400hz, 800hz, 1kHz, 2kHz, 4kHz, 7kHz, and 10kHz.
As you notice from the frequencies listed, a lack of high mid and high content can also prevent you from achieving a ‘fat’ sounding mix. This is because aurally, the song will sound smaller and less wide without that high-end sparkle.
Reverb trails and percussion are a nice way of achieving a good sounding sparkly top end that will add space and dimension to your mix.
So once you are aware of which frequencies are important to you, now you need to think about which instruments define your big, weighty sound you are trying to achieve.
Your rhythm contained within your drum track is the backbone of your song, this determines a lot of the feel of the track and its tempo and pattern is usually the key in defining genre of the piece. Within this drum track, making your kick and snare stand out is essential for achieving a ‘fat’ sounding track.
A mistake a lot of people make with kick drums to make them more prominent, is to just turn them up and up until it is actually distorting. Volume is not the answer; neither is limiting the kick to 0dB.
The best way to make a kick sound fatter is to actually layer the sound. If you are recording live drums you can do this by using at least 2 mics on the kick. Try something up close to the skin inside the drum to get the slap or crack of each hit, and then have another placed further back towards the opening of the drum to get the ‘boom’ sound. You will find that using this combination firstly helps you achieve a bigger, weightier sound, but secondly, it also means you have much more control over the sound of the kick by balancing up the ‘slap / crack’ sound with the ‘boom / oomph’ sound.
If you program your drums using either a pattern editor or samples or playing it in as a finger drummer, you can actually use completely different kicks at the same time to layer up your kick sound. When doing this however please be cautious not to choose additional kicks with a long delay on fast tempo music as this could blur the rhythm and make your mix sound muddy.
When you are recording a snare drum live, try using one mic facing down at the top of the snare and then a second mic facing upright towards the bottom of the snare. This will help you capture the ‘crack’ and the ‘crunch’ of the snare hits. Do not forget that due to the polarity of the two mics, you should always reverse the phase of the second microphone when recording. This can usually be done from your console channel or preamp unit. Again if you are programming your drums yourself, you can start layering the snare sound either with other snare hits or maybe a rimshot to really give it a sharp edge and a nice crisp finish.
The other important element is your bassline. A mistake that often occurs is that people go for a very low sub bass as their main bassline. This means that on some playback systems it cannot be heard properly and causes the mix too actually sound thinner on these playback systems. To compensate people end up turning the bass up, which actually causes it to overload on larger playback systems and sound unbalanced. Although sub is important, you should also have some bassline content around 200Hz, so that the melody can clearly be heard and sits on top of your kick drum nicely (kick will probably be around 80-120 Hz). Having space for your kick is essential and the bassline should sit just above it and just underneath it, do not try and turn your kick into your sub content.
If the bassline is a key element of the song then the bigger the frequency content the better, you should even try mirroring the bassline an octave up, but slightly lower in the mix to give it more depth and melody.
Once you have your bottom end nicely fattened, repeat the concept of layering sounds throughout the piece. Pack up vocals with harmonies and backing vocals, Fatten up guitar lines by adding the same hook but with a bit of distortion and add to string parts by adding pad sounds and individual string parts to make it all appear to sound bigger.
Once you have finished, use some multiband compression or mix bus compression to glue everything together into a nice solid finish and try adding a smile curve EQ boost – a gentle lift in the lows, a cut in the mids and a lift in the highs. This technique is commonly used on HiFi stereos to produce a more sonically exciting finish to a piece of music.
Combining these techniques means your mix will soon be saturated with ‘fat’. Enjoy.
If you feel that it is your mixes and not your waistline that need a little fattening up, then this month it’s all about being big and fat in the mix.
Firstly I think its important to identify what accounts for something sounding ‘big’ or ‘fat’ and then also which instruments are key to achieving a ‘fat’ and ‘weighty’ impression.
When listening to a sound or a complete song, it will only sound ‘fat’ if there is a good representation across the frequency spectrum within the overall sound.
A lack of low frequency content and low mids will have the greatest negative effect, as this will make the song sound thin. Try adding in extra sounds, or give an EQ boost in these areas. For instance, on a vocal line, remember that the note A by middle C on a piano is 440Hz in the frequency spectrum, this means there are bound to be a number of fundamental frequencies around 400 – 500Hz usually varying depending on whether it’s a male or female vocalist, so try giving these a gentle boost. You should then look to boost the surrounding harmonics of this fundamental frequency. For instance, if you make a boost to the vocal line at 400Hz, try a small boost at 200Hz and 800Hz as starting points.
Some of the key frequencies across the spectrum of the mix, where there should be content are 150Hz, 400hz, 800hz, 1kHz, 2kHz, 4kHz, 7kHz, and 10kHz.
As you notice from the frequencies listed, a lack of high mid and high content can also prevent you from achieving a ‘fat’ sounding mix. This is because aurally, the song will sound smaller and less wide without that high-end sparkle.
Reverb trails and percussion are a nice way of achieving a good sounding sparkly top end that will add space and dimension to your mix.
So once you are aware of which frequencies are important to you, now you need to think about which instruments define your big, weighty sound you are trying to achieve.
Your rhythm contained within your drum track is the backbone of your song, this determines a lot of the feel of the track and its tempo and pattern is usually the key in defining genre of the piece. Within this drum track, making your kick and snare stand out is essential for achieving a ‘fat’ sounding track.
A mistake a lot of people make with kick drums to make them more prominent, is to just turn them up and up until it is actually distorting. Volume is not the answer; neither is limiting the kick to 0dB.
The best way to make a kick sound fatter is to actually layer the sound. If you are recording live drums you can do this by using at least 2 mics on the kick. Try something up close to the skin inside the drum to get the slap or crack of each hit, and then have another placed further back towards the opening of the drum to get the ‘boom’ sound. You will find that using this combination firstly helps you achieve a bigger, weightier sound, but secondly, it also means you have much more control over the sound of the kick by balancing up the ‘slap / crack’ sound with the ‘boom / oomph’ sound.
If you program your drums using either a pattern editor or samples or playing it in as a finger drummer, you can actually use completely different kicks at the same time to layer up your kick sound. When doing this however please be cautious not to choose additional kicks with a long delay on fast tempo music as this could blur the rhythm and make your mix sound muddy.
When you are recording a snare drum live, try using one mic facing down at the top of the snare and then a second mic facing upright towards the bottom of the snare. This will help you capture the ‘crack’ and the ‘crunch’ of the snare hits. Do not forget that due to the polarity of the two mics, you should always reverse the phase of the second microphone when recording. This can usually be done from your console channel or preamp unit. Again if you are programming your drums yourself, you can start layering the snare sound either with other snare hits or maybe a rimshot to really give it a sharp edge and a nice crisp finish.
The other important element is your bassline. A mistake that often occurs is that people go for a very low sub bass as their main bassline. This means that on some playback systems it cannot be heard properly and causes the mix too actually sound thinner on these playback systems. To compensate people end up turning the bass up, which actually causes it to overload on larger playback systems and sound unbalanced. Although sub is important, you should also have some bassline content around 200Hz, so that the melody can clearly be heard and sits on top of your kick drum nicely (kick will probably be around 80-120 Hz). Having space for your kick is essential and the bassline should sit just above it and just underneath it, do not try and turn your kick into your sub content.
If the bassline is a key element of the song then the bigger the frequency content the better, you should even try mirroring the bassline an octave up, but slightly lower in the mix to give it more depth and melody.
Once you have your bottom end nicely fattened, repeat the concept of layering sounds throughout the piece. Pack up vocals with harmonies and backing vocals, Fatten up guitar lines by adding the same hook but with a bit of distortion and add to string parts by adding pad sounds and individual string parts to make it all appear to sound bigger.
Once you have finished, use some multiband compression or mix bus compression to glue everything together into a nice solid finish and try adding a smile curve EQ boost – a gentle lift in the lows, a cut in the mids and a lift in the highs. This technique is commonly used on HiFi stereos to produce a more sonically exciting finish to a piece of music.
Combining these techniques means your mix will soon be saturated with ‘fat’. Enjoy.
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