Mixing and Mastering Advice

[subvertbeats]

Whats good people?

Myself and my partner have been mixing and mastering tracks across many different genres for close to 15 years.

You can check out the mastering site at http://mastering.subvertbeats.com
The mixing site is just being redesigned, but will be live at http://mixing.subvertbeats.com

In terms of hip hop some of the latest work we've done is for Babygrande, including albums for Jean Grae, and GZA.

Anyway, wanted to drop by and start a discussion on advice covering all aspects of mixing, mastering, and preparing your mixes for mastering.

If anyone has any questions on any aspect of these processes, then I'd be happy to try and help out.
I'm sure theres lots of other people on the forums with gems of knowledge to drop too.
And, even though Im very confident in what we do and take immense pride in our work, Ive always been open to hearing the way other engineers approach problems and will continue to be that way; I dont think you ever really stop learning in this game.

Peace,

Ben Subvert

http://mastering.subvertbeats.com
http://www.peparecords.com

 

[Relic]

Excellent! Glad to have you! Welcome to Ill!

 

[Formant024]

am i correct in sayin that most of the mastering is done through the uad's? when looking at your gearlist ?

 

[subvertbeats]

@ Relic - thanks for the welcome!

am i correct in sayin that most of the mastering is done through the uad's? when looking at your gearlist ?

Hi Formant,

We use the UAD's mainly as utility plugs when mixing. List needs updating though, since 2 of the UAD-1s have been replaced by a Quad UAD-2

However, when doing both mixing and mastering, the chain is predominantly analog.

Here is the latest bit of goodness added to the studio:

http://www.gyraf.dk/g14/index.html

Absolutely incredible unit....

For anyone else interested, heres the complete (slightly out of date) gear list:

http://mastering.subvertbeats.com/index.php/equipment.html

Whatever is used though, nothing is a substitute for a good set of ears

 

[Formant024]

^^^ yeah its the pultec first modded by manley, i thought gyraf was diy stuff but havent checked on them for a while. I know bob katz is using uad for mastering these days so that was my reason for asking but also because i didnt really recognize any obvious mastering outboard which could've been due to the uad.

Hey i see you guys are in Reading, but no ADR gear ? And what tracks did you master for Jean Grae (awesome client and im a big fan).

 

[subvertbeats]

Hello mate....We have a pretty close relationship with SSL and UA; helps in lots of ways

The 747 and P38 get a fair bit of use, but the SSLs also have their uses from time to time, as do the 1176s (although less so due to their fast attack); as Im sure you know one piece of gear can be perfect for one application and totally inappropriate for another.

The Jean Grae work was the instrumentals for Evil Jeanius: http://www.urb.com/reviews/cd/feature.php?ReviewId=848

BTW, checked your myspace page - really enjoyed the beats, would love to hear some more, and better quality versions

 

[Cell 2Dee]

Any day one basics for a complete beginner on mixing like myself?

 

[subvertbeats]

Any day one basics for a complete beginner on mixing like myself?

Ez bro, well, its a big big subject area, and like I said in my first post, after 15 years I still feel like Im learning new things.

That being said, let me try and give you 3 pieces of advice, because its really easy to get lost in a sea of information when starting out

1) Understand the key principles of processors. Learn what compression is, and how it works. Learn what EQ is and how it works. Learn what reverb is and hows it works. Learn what delay is and how it works. Without this understanding, you're pissing in the wind trying to use these types of processors

2) Keep it simple. Generally, less is more. When you're starting out its all too easy to download and install a gazillion plugins and overuse them. Unless you really know how to use them, they're not going to do your music any favours. Many of them probably aren't great sounding anyway - they'll do things to your sound that you may not notice until you have a bit more experience under your belt. So err on the side of caution, and keep it simple. Find one good compressor, one good EQ and so on, and just use those, until you really know them inside out, and understand how the different parameters you can control affect the sound. Then you'll have a reference point for comparison.

3) Given the above, recognize that there are very very few hard and fast rules in tracking, mixing and mastering. Every track is different and requires a unique approach. Dont be afraid to experiment. In order to find out what works, you'll likely find lots of things that dont work along the way. And what doesn't work for one track may be perfect for another.

Finally, persevere. Experience really does count. The more you do this, the better you get.

Feel free to follow up with any specific questions you may have

 

[subvertbeats]

One more thing.

I strongly believe that anyone without ears full of wax can learn how to mix well.
It just comes more easily to some than others.
But just because everyone can learn how to mix well, it doesnt mean they should mix their own tracks.
What I mean by this is that if learning how to mix well comes at the expense of other parts of your game then think about what you're doing.

I work with lots of producers with various levels of mixing skill, and some of them can create beautiful mixes on their own, but dont because they feel their strength is in creative writing, beatmaking and so on.
I think a certain level of knowlege about mixing is valuable for everyone who is writing music, in any genre, for many reasons, but if for example your forte is in writing beats, consider teaming up with a local engineer who can bring your ideas to reality more quickly and allow you to focus on writing.
There are countless teams like this throughout the history of hip hop who have found incredible success working in this way.

 

[Cell 2Dee]

Great advice. I primarily use Reason 4, and since you can't use VST's/plugins with it, am I gonna be wasting my time using the M-Class plugins built in to Reason? Or should I mess with Ableton for mixing?

 

[subvertbeats]

Great advice. I primarily use Reason 4, and since you can't use VST's/plugins with it, am I gonna be wasting my time using the M-Class plugins built in to Reason? Or should I mess with Ableton for mixing?

Reason is actually a great environment to start learning in.
It emulates analog racks of gear so straight away thing look and feel like a studio, and much of the complexity that you probably shouldnt concern yourself with at first is tucked away.

The plugins in Reason 4 sound waaaaay better than in previous versions, but as per my previous posts, dont try and play around with too much at once; keep it simple and gradually build your knowledge and technique.

One thing you'll find when starting to write beats and/or mix is that its a journey, along which you will actually discover a lot more about your musical tastes - what you personally like and dont like in tracks. Things that you may have never realized as just a consumer of music.

The other thing you might notice, which still pisses me off to this day is that you might find it hard to go anwhere (clubs etc) and listen to music without picking out little details, whether it be about arrangement, frequency content etc.
Its really hard to just listen and enjoy music without thinking about it in this way!
Most of my engineer and producer friends are the same...

Note: Personally Im not the biggest fan of the Reason sound (compare the sound of The Prodigy's Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned album to their earlier works), but thats a taste thing. You'll be able to go a long way with Reason

 

[Cell 2Dee]

Reason is actually a great environment to start learning in.
It emulates analog racks of gear so straight away thing look and feel like a studio, and much of the complexity that you probably shouldnt concern yourself with at first is tucked away.

The plugins in Reason 4 sound waaaaay better than in previous versions, but as per my previous posts, dont try and play around with too much at once; keep it simple and gradually build your knowledge and technique.

One thing you'll find when starting to write beats and/or mix is that its a journey, along which you will actually discover a lot more about your musical tastes - what you personally like and dont like in tracks. Things that you may have never realized as just a consumer of music.

The other thing you might notice, which still pisses me off to this day is that you might find it hard to go anwhere (clubs etc) and listen to music without picking out little details, whether it be about arrangement, frequency content etc.
Its really hard to just listen and enjoy music without thinking about it in this way!
Most of my engineer and producer friends are the same...

Note: Personally Im not the biggest fan of the Reason sound (compare the sound of The Prodigy's Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned album to their earlier works), but thats a taste thing. You'll be able to go a long way with Reason

Ok cool, I'll read up a few tutorials etc. when the time comes then. Thanks again for the advice.

 

[StressWon]

great advice and welcome to the Ill subvertbeats! look forward to pickin up some mxing pointers.

 

[subvertbeats]

Ok cool, I'll read up a few tutorials etc. when the time comes then. Thanks again for the advice.

No worries mate

Working as a producer or engineer can be an extremely rewarding thing, but equally there are times when you wish you were doing something different.
Just try and remember the reasons you got into it in the first place. If you're not having fun, take a break, and try again when you feel more energized.

Theres little point doing it if you're not enjoying it.

Good luck with it all....

 

[subvertbeats]

great advice and welcome to the Ill subvertbeats! look forward to pickin up some mxing pointers.

Cheers Stress, glad to be here

 

[Kontents]

Welcome to Illmuzik!

 

[Cell 2Dee]

No worries mate

Working as a producer or engineer can be an extremely rewarding thing, but equally there are times when you wish you were doing something different.
Just try and remember the reasons you got into it in the first place. If you're not having fun, take a break, and try again when you feel more energized.

Theres little point doing it if you're not enjoying it.

Good luck with it all....

Thanks man. Stay active around here, a lot of newbies like me would appreciate all the help they can get with every aspect.

 

[subvertbeats]

Thanks man. Stay active around here, a lot of newbies like me would appreciate all the help they can get with every aspect.

Yeh I'll be trying to. You all seem like a friendly bunch; appreciate the welcome...
Things are very busy at the mo work wise, but I'll do my best to keep on top of getting back to questions.

 

[Hypnotist]

subvertbeats,

Welcome to the channel, although I, myself, may need another welcome. The top of my screen says, "You last visited: 12-08-2007 at 08:52 PM".

But the welcome is sincere, as there is a very strong comaraderie among us engineers. I feel your pain about going to clubs and bars, and how a nasty 4k can just make your Long Island taste bitter. But you bring up some great points, which I have always maintained in conversations with everyone I know. I'll throw in some reinforcements for you:

1. TRUST YOUR EARS. Thinking you can't mix well will result in just that. I've been in quite a few situations where a very very experienced engineer will be pushing the wrong fader, thinking he's actually boosting it. And his ears trick him; he actually hears it louder. All I'm saying is: even with the best engineers, the mind comes into play. So think, therefore you hear.

2. Do as much as you can WITHOUT plug-ins, and even WITHOUT outboard gear. Especially at first. You then begin to APPRECIATE each piece of gear, function, or plug-in for its use. When I was 13, I recorded a beat onto a tape, then put that into another tape deck, and recorded a verse on copy two. My tape hiss sounded like the pacific ocean. With that said, I bought a sampler, and appreciated not having to perform each beat live on tape. I bought a 4-track and appreciated that I could manage everything separately. I was lucky to be able to start from the beginning. Nowadays, there are people alive who don't even know what a tape deck is.

3. Experiment!!!! The reason why I replied to this is because subvert brought up this essential need. Acoustics is merely a science; it's just the foundation to follow, the environment in which we spit that hot shit. It's the hot shit that drives it though. We are capturers of energy. We harness this energy and do cool stuff with it. So do some cool stuff. And reread rule #1. I used to hook up a crossover to a car battery, and run the 1/8" jack out of my little casio keyboard through it. Vibraphone was more like vibrahouse. I've done some other crazy stuff in the studio, but those were the days...

3. A/B/C that shit. Listen to your mixes in the car, on your ipod speakers, in the shower--shit, blast it across the street and listen to its reflections. Get other people involved. Ask people questions. Use this forum and post your stuff. Get feedback. But not at 4k. Pick people's brains. Get some ass. And then listen to it again.

Then print it, play it, sell that shit. haha

 

[subvertbeats]

Thanks Hypnotist

All excellent points.
The first one made me chuckle.

Ive had clients in the studio who had a good vision, but not necessarily the best pair of ears, and theyve been sat behind me saying, you know what, I think you need to brighten that snare....can you add some at around 2.5k?....so i've grabbed an EQ pot on an empty channel, tweaked it some, nodded my head, and said yeh I think you're right....the client stood behind immediately proclaims 'thats it, much better, I thought thats what it needed'



Ive only done this a few times, and only when Im absolutely confident that the client is talking out of their arse....on every occasion theyve left more than happy with the mix

And to reinforce the first part of Hypno's 4th point about A/B'ing.....make a CD of 20 second clips of your fave mixed tracks, and listen to them back to back. Having this relative perspective, not only will you realize that some are mixed nowhere near as well as you thought, but it will help you learn how mixes should sound in your room, and give you a reference point for your own mixes..

B

subvertbeats,

Welcome to the channel, although I, myself, may need another welcome. The top of my screen says, "You last visited: 12-08-2007 at 08:52 PM".

But the welcome is sincere, as there is a very strong comaraderie among us engineers. I feel your pain about going to clubs and bars, and how a nasty 4k can just make your Long Island taste bitter. But you bring up some great points, which I have always maintained in conversations with everyone I know. I'll throw in some reinforcements for you:

1. TRUST YOUR EARS. Thinking you can't mix well will result in just that. I've been in quite a few situations where a very very experienced engineer will be pushing the wrong fader, thinking he's actually boosting it. And his ears trick him; he actually hears it louder. All I'm saying is: even with the best engineers, the mind comes into play. So think, therefore you hear.

2. Do as much as you can WITHOUT plug-ins, and even WITHOUT outboard gear. Especially at first. You then begin to APPRECIATE each piece of gear, function, or plug-in for its use. When I was 13, I recorded a beat onto a tape, then put that into another tape deck, and recorded a verse on copy two. My tape hiss sounded like the pacific ocean. With that said, I bought a sampler, and appreciated not having to perform each beat live on tape. I bought a 4-track and appreciated that I could manage everything separately. I was lucky to be able to start from the beginning. Nowadays, there are people alive who don't even know what a tape deck is.

3. Experiment!!!! The reason why I replied to this is because subvert brought up this essential need. Acoustics is merely a science; it's just the foundation to follow, the environment in which we spit that hot shit. It's the hot shit that drives it though. We are capturers of energy. We harness this energy and do cool stuff with it. So do some cool stuff. And reread rule #1. I used to hook up a crossover to a car battery, and run the 1/8" jack out of my little casio keyboard through it. Vibraphone was more like vibrahouse. I've done some other crazy stuff in the studio, but those were the days...

3. A/B/C that shit. Listen to your mixes in the car, on your ipod speakers, in the shower--shit, blast it across the street and listen to its reflections. Get other people involved. Ask people questions. Use this forum and post your stuff. Get feedback. But not at 4k. Pick people's brains. Get some ass. And then listen to it again.

Then print it, play it, sell that shit. haha