Compression

[sYgMa]

Now that's ill... It's actually the 1st time I think I fully understand compression... wow!

And I've been reading a whole bunch of stuff on compression too...

5th, Hypno... thanx a million!!!!!!!

 

[5th Sequence]

what we hear for bro, it's all gravy train.

Ha,

Peace

 

[sYgMa]

That thread is so thorough it could be a sticky....

to continue on compression, is there a Compression program (VST) where you can see the before and after effect of the compression and that gives out a good quality sound... and the dynamic range as well...

And if it just happens to be free, well you know. I wouldnt care if I have to pay if it's a REAL nice one... (but cheaper is better...lol)

 

[Relic]

not an ad

I will keep harping this if you are serious about your eq and getting a mastered type sound you guys should check out har-bal.com
har-bal stands for harmonic balancing and this software can do it.
I say go there and check it out I copped it and it has gotten engineers higher on the food chain than me turning they're heads.
Someone should start a thread on it once enough have formed an opinion.
I literally allows you to set the overall eq of your song to that of 50 cent or Dre or whoever.
Check it out!!!
Relic

 

[Hypnotist]

I'm curious to see how well har-bal works, and what its drawbacks are. Most studios with SSLs have spectrum analyzers that you can use while mixing, and everything is EQed accordingly. But after the fact, I'm curious to what it does to your mix when you've already mixed down, and you're now adding frequencies that aren't present, and reducing frequencies that are already there to "balance" it out more. Visually, it "sounds" good. But what if your mix was tight in the first place, and you trusted your ears for 15 hours of work, and then you end up "balancing" it all out later?

It's not like I don't think it will work. But I'm just curious. Like, how good are the algorithms and when it processes your track, can it really do it with precision? How natural will it sound?

I guess this thread should be re-labeled "mastering".

 

[sYgMa]

I guess this thread should be re-labeled "mastering".

True that...

Ok then, what about that EQing thing guys... (and I see Wings didnt add anything there... where you at bro?)

ok... question again...

This is supposed to be a poorly EQed track:
http://www.har-bal.com/images/badtrack.jpg
and this a well-EQed track...:
http://www.har-bal.com/images/goodtrack.JPG
(got that from that Har-Bar site...)

Thing is... In both I see peaks and all, so is there such a hug difference in there... cuz I dont see that much...

Normally, what I do is I EQ my beats so they sound nice in my Headphones, in my sound system (I got no monitors) and my earplugs... but that doesn't mean it will sound nice in my cuz's car sound system... so....In othe terms, what should we be looking at so our track can be played in all (or many) sound systems.

 

[5th Sequence]

sounds like your making due with what you have. Pro Quality monitors and a treated room are what would be best (But who seriously has the money for that?). You could get some cheaper monitors, they would be better than nothing. Monitors are suppose to have a very flat signal response (meaning they don't add any color, bass or treble) to your song. It plays it as is. Hi-fi equipment usually enhances the sound by adding bass or treble or mids or whatever. It's suppose to make it sound better so if your making a mix on one of these systems it may sound good on there with all the enhancemed sound but when you hear it on a lil FM radio or in a car it could be completely different. EQ only does so much also. I don't think EQing is the primary cause of this either, it's a mix of EQ and compression.

I used to make beats using my computer monitors and I thought everything was all good. After I got my monitors and played my old stuff through it, it was a world of difference. Possibly the worst mixes i'd ever heard lol. The reason was because my monitors added a lot of bass in certain frequencies so I would think it's bumpin. Then when played through something else it sounds horribly horribly muddy and completely unclear with random frequencies that seemed to jump out of nowhere. Monitors have helped a lot (but I still have cheap monitors and need to get better ones).

A side note to the EQing graphs... There may have been peaks but you don't want to EQ with your eyes either. You may not be able to see the difference but if you were listening to it i'm sure there would be some noticeable contrast.

 

[Hypnotist]

Normally, what I do is I EQ my beats so they sound nice in my Headphones, in my sound system (I got no monitors) and my earplugs... but that doesn't mean it will sound nice in my cuz's car sound system... so....In othe terms, what should we be looking at so our track can be played in all (or many) sound systems.

If you don't end up with good monitors, then do what I did when I had some shitty joints... Mix it, then listen to it EVERYWHERE and then take notes on what's too bumpy, too low, too thin, and just not there. I used to valet park cars when I was goin 2 school in Boston and I'd test it out on EVERY single car, even if the speakers farted.

Some REAL basic tips:

1) Add a pleasing-sounding frequency to the kick drum above, say 300 kHz, so that in small speakers, you can still hear that "pop".

2) If you're in a small, really live room (a lotta wall with a lotta high-gloss paint, for instance) then you should mix it BRIGHTER than usual, even if it sounds terribly trebbly. <-- don't know if that's a word, but it should be.

3) Get a graphic equalizer that you can tweak before sound gets to your monitors. Find out what your monitors are lacking and what frequencies are too prominent. You can either get a really expensive frequency analyzer microphone and literally SEE what's missing from the whole room. Or, just take notes in other places with better systems. Now tweak the equalizer until a room sounds good. It's better to do this with one of your favorite CDs, as you know it like your own ear, and can usually tell off the rip where it's lacking.

4) If there's not enough bass in your room, and your room is too small, and you've tried everything, buy a subwoofer speaker and place it in the corner of the room. Bass frequencies are accentuated +3dB per wall, so two walls in a corner, do the math. Plus a little more for the floor too, if it wasn't on the floor to begin with.

OR...

5) Only listen to the mix yourself, and don't let anyone else in the world hear it, and if it sounds good to you, then what else matters, right? Well, there's always your mom, who will always say it sounds like shit to her, but don't let that git chu down nun, ya'erd?

 

[5th Sequence]

lmao.. yeah anytime my mom used to listen to my stuff shed comment on the hissing/crackling in the samples I use. She's always like "are you SURE thats suppose to be there?" I just sigh and tell her not to worry about anything...

 

[sYgMa]

3) Get a graphic equalizer that you can tweak before sound gets to your monitors. Find out what your monitors are lacking and what frequencies are too prominent. You can either get a really expensive frequency analyzer microphone and literally SEE what's missing from the whole room. Or, just take notes in other places with better systems. Now tweak the equalizer until a room sounds good. It's better to do this with one of your favorite CDs, as you know it like your own ear, and can usually tell off the rip where it's lacking.

I'm only software... and I use FL Studio.... does that mean that you're saying I should put a Parametric EQ in the Master channel and tweak it... or should I tweak the sound from a hardware graphic EQ...

 

[Hypnotist]

I mean that you should put a parametric EQ before your monitors. NOT on your master channel. It's not to MIX it with the EQ on it, it's so that your monitors are closer to a flat response in your room, and when you do mix, it sounds closer to normal compared to other systems. You would have to buy an actual graphic EQ hardware unit to do this, and leave it at that setting so that all your mixes are closer to flat.

Get me?

 

[sYgMa]

oh ok... I get you... that way, I would emulate flat monitors...