simple studio tricks!

All right-- what are some of your super simple hacks and tricks for getting the most out of music production and listening? Obviously, there are like an infinite number of tips, but if anyone has cool SIMPLE hacks- post~!

But basically, I started this thread to post this, which I discovered in like 1923:

You can immediately increase the output quality of general level cans (possibly earbuds as well?) by maxing the volume of your computer, and lowering the volume of your output app (iTunes, soundcloud, Logic, whatever). This especially helps with bass and clarity of midtones and reverb, as well as a bit of highs-- well, general freq separation and tightness. I believe this has to do with impedance and freq response. Obviously this shit doesn't help with a bomb ass digital headphone amp or an audio interface that doesn't use computer output. But if you have over the ear headphones and are just using line-out on your computer, this helps. Makes my cheap-o headphones sound almost respectable. (for reference: previous Sennheiser HD590 user)

This is more of a listening hack, but it does apply to production. The more accurate freq perception can allow for better mixing. Even with mixing at super low levels (another easy trick)- with shitty Campbell's Soup cans- it's better to max computer volume and suuuper lower DAW volume, then have low computer volume.

The only downside to this trick is that if all of a sudden an alarm app, website ad with audio, or your rocking ICQ message notification comes on, you might have a heart attack or become deaf. "Yo dawg, I heard Jerome got deaf last week from a internet ad, yo. The last thing he heard was: 'Congratulations! You've wo-'"

hm dunno...

let's say your OS & soundcard DAC run on 16bit integer samples natively, for the sake of argument.

if your DAW is low volume, you'll lose some bits there, and if your OS mixer is low volume, you'll lose the bits there.

doesn't make any difference imo. or maybe I misunderstand..

where it does make a difference of course is when you connect from computer to some amp, you'll want to set the most optimal output level from the computer obviously.

Try it, yo.

ensure everything is switched on

Resample

Yah, in the most real sense, good mixing requires good monitors, treated room, and ears of gold. My trick is more for shit soundcards, shit headphones, golden ears.

Resampling for purposes of viewing waveforms is a pretty good idea. Never thought of doing that. Thanks! But what are the other benefits of this besides saving processing power?

If you're not opposed to alcohol, have a drink when producing, but be sober when mixing.

  On 4/29/2015 at 2:43 PM, paranerd said:

If you're not opposed to alcohol, have a drink when producing, but be sober when mixing.

lol true, alcohol acts like some kind of LPF + nasty compressor or something

Having a couple of bottles of something lets you relax and lets you endure wonky ideas when sober you would dismiss and start over. Wonky ideas can be hideous the next morning or they can progress into realms you didn't think you were capable of push you further as a writer.

I imagine this could be said for drugs too but I have not done anything like that for donkeys years.

  On 4/29/2015 at 10:32 AM, peace 7 said:

Yah, in the most real sense, good mixing requires good monitors, treated room, and ears of gold. My trick is more for shit soundcards, shit headphones, golden ears.

 

Resampling for purposes of viewing waveforms is a pretty good idea. Never thought of doing that. Thanks! But what are the other benefits of this besides saving processing power?

It's great to resample a few synth notes then run them back through the sampler. Also, working with audio is a lot more permanent than midi so it's a way to put your mind off the sound without endlessly tweaking it (of course you still have room to change the sound and chop it up.) Also bouncing a timed sample into live gear and record it back into the computer can give it a bit of grit that's harder to achieve in the computer

This thread made me realize that working on music is a drug, in and of itself. And music is drugs, so...

Drugs on drugs = drugs

sheep on drugs

https://youtu.be/J6iqqiKfGpM

  On 5/1/2015 at 12:28 AM, skibby said:

https://youtu.be/J6iqqiKfGpM

Put a glowing green backing in your studio and wear a beret diagonally- GOT IT.

Edit: The vid made me realize that we need to bring into the 2015 to 2025 era, promo videos that have a shitload of fast zoom in and outs with tracers and rotating diagonal shots and horrible rapping. This, is the phuture.

One thing I learned is that clipping is not a bad thing. Once you've limited your master and everything and it is properly mixed and compressed, it is super nice to add an EQ after all these limiters and just bump low and high frequency a tiny little bit on parts of the song that should be bangish

This thread made me realize how little I actually understand about music production.

  On 5/2/2015 at 12:48 PM, peace 7 said:

Put a glowing green backing in your studio and wear a beret diagonally- GOT IT.

you're not doing this already? lol n00b.

  On 5/1/2015 at 12:28 AM, skibby said:

https://youtu.be/J6iqqiKfGpM

I love how basic this demo is, like, all i know about it is that it has a filter on it

  On 4/29/2015 at 3:41 PM, Antape said:

 

  On 4/29/2015 at 2:43 PM, paranerd said:

If you're not opposed to alcohol, have a drink when producing, but be sober when mixing.

 

lol true, alcohol acts like some kind of LPF + nasty compressor or something

 

mixing on LSD is also not recommended.

All right, I guess if what-not-to-dos are also tips: Don't mix on modafinil! Despite its awesomeness that lets you work on music for days on end, it fucks with your hearing, making everything sound midtone. Also, it makes it so playing music super loud sounds medium. Not good for mixing, not good for ear health. Really unfortunate. Still awesome for staying up working on general production parts, though. If anyone wants hookups, lemme know. Not sayin' Iiii got hookups, just sayin'..... Lemme know. For whatever reason.

  On 5/2/2015 at 4:26 PM, Dpek said:

One thing I learned is that clipping is not a bad thing. Once you've limited your master and everything and it is properly mixed and compressed, it is super nice to add an EQ after all these limiters and just bump low and high frequency a tiny little bit on parts of the song that should be bangish

Man that's everywhere in your stuff! I like doing that sometimes too. It's important to remember you can turn whatever crazy effect you're getting down....then resample! I don't do it enough. I'm too dependent on midi honestly, the "terminality" of the actual audio sample makes me use it less often. It's a subconscious thing.

Okay I'll give one. In this track, at the very beginning and throughout. It's that delay trick

https://soundcloud.com/evoava/ocarina-of-funk

Those delays are actually me using a buffer trick. I added two different delays in two different frequency ranges (at about the middle and another at the high) at about 3:00 of a beat, with different settings. You can do 2 or even 4, 3:00 usually sounds good. There are probably many different ways you can do this. It's important to not get so much of the lower frequency info since that doesn't sound as good. Make a sequence of the midi you're wanting to delay. Preferably HIGH quality preferably acoustic bits. In your sequencer,

1. lay out your track of midi

2.make sure things are paused

3. Make sure what you're wanting to delay is the only track playing.

4. press play, record.

5. Now go crazy with your mouse in the sequencer. Things will delay themselves, and depending on what kind of sample you chose to delay, you'll get different results.

What sounds like a shaker in the track above are actually the transients of a music box I recorded. Since I was moving my mouse fast enough, it only recorded the transients, and not very much of the tone, which made it sound like a shaker.

Okay. I hope that's written well enough to understand.

Another one in another post for simplicitys sake x( this time more general.

So much of getting better at audio production is a change in thought patterns when you're working on something. Here's one: when you want to get to the bottom of a sound, think about what is literally happening, and what you're literally hearing, and what possible layers may lie in it, etc. Not how you recreate it, but how you can come up with something close, even if it's in reality totally different to how they did it.

I just keep that in mind when I hear a unique sound, I can usually 95% of the time suss out how to recreate it. Though I really do suck at reece basses. Good thing I'm not interested in them :)

  On 5/4/2015 at 4:40 AM, Brisbot said:

 

  On 5/2/2015 at 4:26 PM, Dpek said:

One thing I learned is that clipping is not a bad thing. Once you've limited your master and everything and it is properly mixed and compressed, it is super nice to add an EQ after all these limiters and just bump low and high frequency a tiny little bit on parts of the song that should be bangish

Man that's everywhere in your stuff! I like doing that sometimes too. It's important to remember you can turn whatever crazy effect you're getting down.

 

Okay I'll give one. In this track, at the very beginning and throughout. It's that delay trick

 

https://soundcloud.com/evoava/ocarina-of-funk

 

 

Super nice track, also delay can be very rhythmic, even though there wasn't a conventional beat, it still felt like there was a driving beat

Right, the delay was at a steady rate around 3:00 ( I have no clue how to say it in conventional musical terms) then my musical intuition placed the samples. I have many more samples where those came from.

Question:

So is is essential to peak 0db? Even if it's ambientish or quiteish stuff?