Engineers: Cleaning up Mp3's

[UNORTHODOX]

The scenario: I'm doing a whole mixtape (Almost Done) where I'm using Top40 beats to dis people yada yada. I'm currently cant come across a version of one beat that doesnt sound like leftovers. What are some tips to bring life back into the beats?

I'm currently cutting nasty mp3'd frequencies and boosting Fundemental feqs which is better but still, eh. Any ideas?

 

[Shonsteez]

I stay away from recording with mp3's, but an educated guess tells me that youd be safe applying a linear phase-type EQ to clean things up on the track/mp3 and treat it like a regular joint youd be finalizing in the mastering stage....each tracks different too, but what I would do is see if I need to cut anywhere first, maybe sweep the spectrum and see if you spot any problem freq's with a narrow boost, and if you do find some - go ahead and make the appropriate cuts but just try to be gentle since your dealing with a track thats already been mastered, etc. And of course, if theres any areas that might need a slight boost go ahead and bump those up a bit. Like I said tho, just an educated guess.....

 

[UNORTHODOX]

Right, This crap pisses me off, The highs are gone and when you boost'em they sound harsh and kinda bit crushed. Even in the slightest amounts. Non of my usual tricks are cutting it. Theres just so much wrong with MP3s. *Face Palm*

 

[Shonsteez]

I hear ya man! Their def no fun to work with in the literal sense aside from popping them in your ipod so you got something to listen to.

I cant remember where mp3's typically shelve off, (I believe somewhere around 11-12khz)....its just a dead drop, so basically if your trying to boost any hi's in the "air" section your not gonna be doing anything to it cuz nothing exists there anymore. Try placing a spectral analyzer on your mp3 track to see what I mean, you'll automatically see the drastic cut that occurs after you bounce to mp3.

 

[UNORTHODOX]

Yea its a deep slope, I remember a program that sycho acoutically replaces the highs of MP3s any idea?

 

[Shonsteez]

Man I dunno, ive never heard of that. But any sort of artificial sonic information that gets added to the signal like that cant be that pleasant to listen to, or for that matter effective at mending the problem.

Maybe try inserting a harmonic exciter to your chain along with your Linear Phase EQ? If anything, at least you might be able to excite some of the existing higher band frequencies, but I dunno....I have a feeling its a lost cause.

 

[thedreampolice]

Why does it have to be mps's? Cant you get the wave files?

as far as mp3's go you cant add data back that has been lost sorry.

 

[LouBez]

Try ths chain

eq
multiband compressor
exciter

 

[DJ Redrum]

It's always best to try and source the CD/Vinyl Promo/s which the instrumentals was released on - rather than relying with compressed/re-encoded (sometimes multiple times) MP3s - should you want the best possible quality out of this project.

You can usually find the latest CD Promo releases on: www.musicstack.com / www.gemm.com / www.ebay.com

 

[dacalion]

mp3's are what they are pretty much...the best reasonable thing that Ive seen for cleaning them up is a Waves Bundle. If you have or can get your hands on the Diamond or Mercury Bundle, you'll have some of the best tools on the market, imo. If you're shooting for sound quality, stay away from mp3's.

 

[UNORTHODOX]

@Dream Mp3's is all I can get my hands on.

@Lou Its not really helping too much, I'm just destined to believing MP3's suck. lol

@DJredrum NICE gonna definately check those sites out!!

@Dac you're talking about the restoration suite right?

 

[UNORTHODOX]

You can usually find the latest CD Promo releases on: www.musicstack.com / www.gemm.com / www.ebay.com

Dope resource but I'm not paying for something that's only gonna be on a mixtape.