Music Mastering Challenges - Getting the Right Mix

In our mastering studios, we hear a lot of music and a lot of new music tracks coming our way. Quite a few music artists and producers understand precisely how to prepare their mix for mastering, but on the flip side, a lot of the files we have seen coming in aren't bounced down correctly for the mastering process. The key difficulties we see can be 1) the mixdown had been exported at too high a level, and there's no headroom to work with, and the sound clips; 2) the track's producer used a mastering plug-in on the export, and the song has already been mastered, after a fashion; and/or 3) the vocals are distorted or are not sounding good.

Whenever a file gets mixed and exported with levels peaking, the result is that there isn't any difference in regards to the louder portions and the areas that are designed to be softer. The reason is that in modern digital music production, there is a limit to how loud a track can be, we call this the zero attenuation point which roughly corresponds to the 'red line' max level on the output slider. When the song is mixed the right way, the output mix won't ever go beyond or perhaps even near the zero att. point. But what we often see is the whole output file in contact with and in fact attempting to seek above the zero line. In such a case, all of the softer sections of the audio will be pushed practically as loud as the zero level, and all the louder areas might have crossed the zero level, except that they are "clipped" by the fact that the sound can not be higher than the zero level. As a result all the louder highs are cut off and "clipped" by the zero point while the softer parts are forced almost directly to the zero point. The result is a marked absence of dynamic variance between what are supposed to be louder and softer peaks and valleys throughout the music, that should have shown more dynamic difference but were thwarted a result of the clipping process. And in most situations, the actual clipping translates to distortions and aliasing which were not existing in the track when initially produced.

In the same way, in the event a producer or self-produced musician utilizes a mastering plug-in on the whole entire track, this actually also eradicates any form of distinction between the higher peaks and the softer valleys of the sound track file. Whilst usually this kind of plug-in isn't going to allow the sound to clip beyond the zero level, nevertheless it compresses the track into a dynamic range that takes away this so-called headroom from the track, as well as almost always makes it difficult for all of us as mastering technicians to accomplish anything productive with the dynamic range that remains. For that reason, in the event you will be going to have your song professionally mastered, it is vital that you don't use a mastering plug-in if you are outputting your mix. The plug-in itself might be nice and sound great and provide some sort of mastering, but the simple truth is a mastering expert can achieve a great deal more with your mix as compared to a mastering plug-in. And so, you should make a choice: mastering plug-in, or mastering engineer? not both.

Yet another more common obstacle we observe with song files coming at the facility might be a track with badly recorded or distorted voice tracks over an instrumental track. Truth be told, quite a few self-produced producers have got the same obstacle. The best way to remedy this is, before anything else, purchase a decent mike. There are numerous kinds of microphones you can order online that a person can easily buy for under 2 hundred dollars -- generally imported emulations of high-end mics, that function effectively and sound great. Do yourself a favor and buy one of these mics. Next, you need to test out the microphone input levels until eventually you've identified that "sweet spot" wherein you get a strong signal arriving with absolutely no distortion. Once you've located this place using a fairly good microphone, that's the tougher half of the struggle. And the second 50 percent will be supplying a strong performance, which is up to the performer.

In conclusion, the very best practices to adhere to to prep your mixdown for professional cd mastering tend to be: 1) ensure that your mixdown will not be maxing out at the zero point or clipping; 2) eliminate any kind of mastering plug-ins you might have on your output mix; and 3) be sure you work with a good quality microphone and be sure the input amounts are set appropriately for fresh rendition of your vocals.

What Makes a Hip Hop Beat Dope?

What is it that makes a hip hop beat dope? Some say it's the tightness of the bass drum. Others say it's in the dry rat-a-tat of the snare drum. Yet others look to the artistic sonic panorama created by layering of synthesizer parts.

Hip hop beats, rap beats and dirty south beats all have one thing in common: that driving rhythm that just can't help but make you move. The important thing about hip hop and rap beats is that they be designed such that the rap artist has a space right in the middle of the mix to showcase their hip hop and rap talents. In other words, the music needs to be designed with a rap artist's role in mind, without too many wild-sounding instruments to distract from the rapper's central theme.

And overall, the rhythm has to be slammin'. Not necessarily fast, some of the best hip hop beats are slow and majestic. But the kick absolutely has to be heavily present, driving the rhythm relentlessly so the rapper can feel the balance of the beat and he doesn't have to worry about coming back on the one or whatever, the beat is just THERE. THAT is a dope hip hop beat.

Another important part of a dope hip hop beat is the breakdown. There has to be at least one, if not two or three times in the song where the beat breaks down and a lot of the instruments drop out, just to let the rapper do his or her thing in a wide musical panorama. At this point in the song, often even the kick and snare will drop out, allowing a lush string part to dominate while the hip hop artist can get very poetic in this space. Then when the kick, snare and hat come in again, it really kicks the listener in the butt. It's a matter of contrast between different sections with the same beat but different rhythmic textures.

So one has to say that there is a wide variety of taste in hip hop beats, but overall they have a few things in common that make a dope hip hop beat: a driving rhythm that moves the music, a tight mix that allows the rap artist the freedom to express him or herself without competing with other instruments, and one or more breakdowns to provide contrast within the song. Follow these guidlines, and you can't help but kick out some dope beats.

Here's place I've found you can get some really dope hip hop beats -- it's http://www.beatsfordays.com. They just keep kickin out some awesome hip hop beats, rap beats, and also pop and RnB beats as well. Check them out.

Here is also another article about dope hip hop beats.