Beat This! Competition - April 3-4, 2024

[2GooD Productions]

Agreed, bunch of fuckin good music producing cunts in there.

Love the difference in styles too.

You and me are going to get along just fine

 

[Iron Keys]

A couple of you dickheads made that really hard to vote. Nice beats

Agreed, bunch of fuckin good music producing cunts in there.

Love the difference in styles too.

this is the kind of energy we want round here!!!

 

[VVS]

I know it's hard enough to compose a beat but being able to mix properly should be a bare mininum. It's really not that difficult guys. Plenty of material on the web to learn the basics free of charge. And if you want lessons I will happily lend my expertise (for a small fee).

 

[2GooD Productions]

I know it's hard enough to compose a beat but being able to mix properly should be a bare mininum. It's really not that difficult guys. Plenty of material on the web to learn the basics free of charge. And if you want lessons I will happily lend my expertise (for a small fee).

Mixing can be easy to somebody has taken the time to train their ears to even recognise something is wrong, then there are the monitors people use, that give a false interpretation of what goes into them, then there is mixing in an untreated room, where you end up mixing to the rooms unique acoustics which probably wont translate well in other rooms or mediums. Just like music theory, mixing can be complex or you can try to keep things simple, its up to you how much work you want to put into it and how complicated you want it to be. It took me a long time to comprehend compression, Im sure Im not alone.

 

[2GooD Productions]

this is the kind of energy we want round here!!!

I second this motion.

 

[Iron Keys]

I know it's hard enough to compose a beat but being able to mix properly should be a bare mininum.

Two separate roles and skillsets. You could get by as a beatmaker completely without being good at mixing... that's what mix engineers are for.

(Yes there is benefit to having skill at mixing, but the points still stand).

It's really not that difficult guys. Plenty of material on the web to learn the basics free of charge.

Lots of nonsense, lots of bullshit, lots of stuff that will have you thinking and approaching mixing wrong despite the advice/techniques being accurate. It can definitely set you off down a wrong path for a long while.

But yes it can be learned, but it definitely in most cases won't be easy.

 

[2GooD Productions]

Two separate roles and skillsets. You could get by as a beatmaker completely without being good at mixing... that's what mix engineers are for.

(Yes there is benefit to having skill at mixing, but the points still stand).



Lots of nonsense, lots of bullshit, lots of stuff that will have you thinking and approaching mixing wrong despite the advice/techniques being accurate. It can definitely set you off down a wrong path for a long while.

But yes it can be learned, but it definitely in most cases won't be easy.

Yeah, forgot about the swathes of bad advice out there too

 

[Fade]

Yeah, forgot about the swathes of bad advice out there too

I know what you mean, bro.

 

[VVS]

Mixing can be easy to somebody has taken the time to train their ears to even recognise something is wrong, then there are the monitors people use, that give a false interpretation of what goes into them, then there is mixing in an untreated room, where you end up mixing to the rooms unique acoustics which probably wont translate well in other rooms or mediums. Just like music theory, mixing can be complex or you can try to keep things simple, its up to you how much work you want to put into it and how complicated you want it to be. It took me a long time to comprehend compression, Im sure Im not alone.

There is a difference between mixing and mastering. At the mastering stage, you need a treated room and a solid pair of monitors to help translate the audio accurately. At the mixing stage, a decent enough bedroom setup should get you by. I agree with you on training your ears to know what needs to be "fixed" in the first place but it's not rocket science. You also don't need to spend a crazy amount of money on a decent pair of monitors that get the job done well enough to send to a mastering engineer. Music theory on the other hand is a different beast that can't be learned in a couple of months (chords, scales, progressions, etc). What was so challenging about understanding how compression works?

 

[Iron Keys]

At the mastering stage, you need a treated room and a solid pair of monitors to help translate the audio accurately. At the mixing stage, a decent enough bedroom setup should get you by.

Whilst you might not need the $20,000 mastering monitors you still need a decent room and monitors to get accurate mixes.

What was so challenging about understanding how compression works?

Lot of misworded and inaccurate and misleading info, also some aspects can be counter intuitive. Hearing it. Using it accurately and appropriately.

 

[2GooD Productions]

There is a difference between mixing and mastering. At the mastering stage, you need a treated room and a solid pair of monitors to help translate the audio accurately. At the mixing stage, a decent enough bedroom setup should get you by. I agree with you on training your ears to know what needs to be "fixed" in the first place but it's not rocket science. You also don't need to spend a crazy amount of money on a decent pair of monitors that get the job done well enough to send to a mastering engineer. Music theory on the other hand is a different beast that can't be learned in a couple of months (chords, scales, progressions, etc). What was so challenging about understanding how compression works?

On compression...Attack, Release, Ratio's, what compression was actually doing and when it should be used.
The mixing stage is far far more important than the mastering stage and a treated environment with good monitors with a flat frequency response to guide your mixing choices is essential for consistent results and an environment that tells you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear.

But like @Iron Keys said, mix engineering is its own profession and art, separate from music composition theory, with a few crossovers but not really that many. You can go your whole life and not waste time to learn mixing when you could be knocking out beats, then paying a professional to do it for you.
Personally, Ive always been a broke ass, so I learned it so I wouldn't have to pay somebody else to do it, but Im certainly no expert and when the time comes and Im making some decent money from my catalogue, then I will invest in professionals for the best results.

I wanted to make music, I learned it, I wanted to build a website, I learned it, I wanted to mix, I learned it. I dont have an environment to master, but Id like to add that to my skillset at some point, when I have the equipment and space to do it. Im a fairly intelligent guy, or so my peers tell me, Im capable of learning these things, not everybody is. Its about knowing yourself and your own strengths and weakness and either working on those weaknesses, or paying somebody that already has.

 

[Dusty B]

New DJ/Producer DJSIRCHUCK about to drop some hotness! Glad to be on board. Let the games begin.

the el gato with el machine gun

Whilst you might not need the $20,000 mastering monitors you still need a decent room and monitors to get accurate mixes.



Lot of misworded and inaccurate and misleading info, also some aspects can be counter intuitive. Hearing it. Using it accurately and appropriately.

All of this is why I just use my Sennheiser 400s and then do some listening tests. My 'studio' is my home office which is also a sun room and mostly windows so I'm never getting perfect mixes. But hopefully good enough and then if someone wants to release, we send it to a professional engineer.

 

[iDeaLoGiK]

I mean as important as these internet points are (which is extremely), I also don't see a point to this whole conversation. Don't like the beat because the mix isn't great? Don't vote for it. Simple.

 

[2GooD Productions]

I mean as important as these internet points are (which is extremely), I also don't see a point to this whole conversation. Don't like the beat because the mix isn't great? Don't vote for it. Simple.

I agree, I can look past a mix completely if a beat is just dope and gets me in the feels. I can usually, although there are often exceptions, spot a hot beat within the first few seconds, they just have an energy from the start.

 

[Earsblower]

I mean as important as these internet points are (which is extremely), I also don't see a point to this whole conversation. Don't like the beat because the mix isn't great? Don't vote for it. Simple.

And also, people need to "learn" this shit by themselves a bit too. I think it's part of the learning curve. To be 100% honest, I haven't put much attention yet on mixing/mastering cause I am still learning a lot on the beat itself and theory behind it. So let me do my own discovery myself for fuck sakes...

Also @Fade :

 

[djsirchuck]

the el gato with el machine gun


All of this is why I just use my Sennheiser 400s and then do some listening tests. My 'studio' is my home office which is also a sun room and mostly windows so I'm never getting perfect mixes. But hopefully good enough and then if someone wants to release, we send it to a professional engineer.

 

[VVS]

On compression...Attack, Release, Ratio's, what compression was actually doing and when it should be used.
The mixing stage is far far more important than the mastering stage and a treated environment with good monitors with a flat frequency response to guide your mixing choices is essential for consistent results and an environment that tells you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear.

But like @Iron Keys said, mix engineering is its own profession and art, separate from music composition theory, with a few crossovers but not really that many. You can go your whole life and not waste time to learn mixing when you could be knocking out beats, then paying a professional to do it for you.
Personally, Ive always been a broke ass, so I learned it so I wouldn't have to pay somebody else to do it, but Im certainly no expert and when the time comes and Im making some decent money from my catalogue, then I will invest in professionals for the best results.

I wanted to make music, I learned it, I wanted to build a website, I learned it, I wanted to mix, I learned it. I dont have an environment to master, but Id like to add that to my skillset at some point, when I have the equipment and space to do it. Im a fairly intelligent guy, or so my peers tell me, Im capable of learning these things, not everybody is. Its about knowing yourself and your own strengths and weakness and either working on those weaknesses, or paying somebody that already has.

That's a valid point but one that applies to any plugin you use. There's never going to be a one shoe size fits all case. Every beat is going to have different dynamics depending on the genre, samples and synths used. The fun part for me is mixing, not so much composing. Having a dope beat only to be overshadowed by a shitty mix is not productive to me personally. If I'm going to produce I want to learn and try to master every step from composing, mixing to mastering. I don't have a dedicated studio at home but the goal is to have one within a few years. To everyone else...relax....nobody said you HAD to learn anything. If you're not getting votes because your mix sounds like shit you know why. And if your mix sounds like shit, would you rather someone point it out so you can improve or just let you be? If I ever battle again, if something is off in my mix point it out and tell me how you think it can be improved.

 

[2GooD Productions]

That's a valid point but one that applies to any plugin you use. There's never going to be a one shoe size fits all case. Every beat is going to have different dynamics depending on the genre, samples and synths used. The fun part for me is mixing, not so much composing. Having a dope beat only to be overshadowed by a shitty mix is not productive to me personally. If I'm going to produce I want to learn and try to master every step from composing, mixing to mastering. I don't have a dedicated studio at home but the goal is to have one within a few years. To everyone else...relax....nobody said you HAD to learn anything. If you're not getting votes because your mix sounds like shit you know why. And if your mix sounds like shit, would you rather someone point it out so you can improve or just let you be?

Making your beats stand out with a decent mix where one of the voting criteria specifically says the mix is a factor then the mix can be the decider between winning a battle or losing, so of course being able to mix in that context does help, when competing. Also, I agree on the fun in mixing part, I too find mixing very fun, in its complexity. Creative mixing is a big part of my beats. Got to remember though, we arent all ready to get into the mixing side of things to muddy up and confuse concepts that you might already be finding a handful to get to grips with, then adding to the mix something like hearing compression when you are barely able to hear pitch correctly is counter productive IMO. Don't try to run before you can walk, there is a time to get your head around mixing, especially use of EQ's, and reverb and delay, before progressing into more complicated ideas like transient control, crest factors and saturation which can quickly ruin something that was perfectly fine before ruining it using a tool you dont quite understand and cant even hear what its doing.

 

[Fade]

RESULTS!

See what went down: https://www.illmuzik.com/beat-battles/archives/cat/bthis/battle/343/

Props to all those that entered and to those that took the time to vote.

 

[VVS]

Making your beats stand out with a decent mix where one of the voting criteria specifically says the mix is a factor then the mix can be the decider between winning a battle or losing, so of course being able to mix in that context does help, when competing. Also, I agree on the fun in mixing part, I too find mixing very fun, in its complexity. Creative mixing is a big part of my beats. Got to remember though, we arent all ready to get into the mixing side of things to muddy up and confuse concepts that you might already be finding a handful to get to grips with, then adding to the mix something like hearing compression when you are barely able to hear pitch correctly is counter productive IMO. Don't try to run before you can walk, there is a time to get your head around mixing, especially use of EQ's, and reverb and delay, before progressing into more complicated ideas like transient control, crest factors and saturation which can quickly ruin something that was perfectly fine before ruining it using a tool you dont quite understand and cant even hear what its doing.