Okay, I know you guys got tired of the reading, so I am converting to audio and screen imaging. This is easier on you guys and on myself as well. I will update the prior posts as well, cause I know its hard to follow just the words I type, hearing and seeing it is better. Now I had some issues with this one, but hey its my first video/audio post. The next I assure you will be much better. So for now enjoy the end of our Beat Making Process....
Be sure to check out my beats at:
G-Rage Productions Inc. $20 leases on ALL BEATS!!!
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Monday, April 29, 2013
The Beat Making Process pt. 2 (Making the Beat)
Okay so now we are through the boring aspects of setting up everything within our DAW. Now we can actually get to some beat making...
YAY!!! SO WHERE DO WE START, WHERE DO WE START....
Okay I know you anxious, so lets get our hands dirty. Okay so a lot of people start beats different ways. Now I will say this...There is no "CORRECT WAY", to actually start. Bummer right, but you have to know the truth....
Now what I will iterate on, is my process' and some ways you can begin.
Lets start off with something simple, how about a Lex Luger type track? Yea, those are hot right now and even more so, they are quite simple to put together.
Okay get ready go....
Wait....
You don't know where to begin, or what instruments? Okay I can help you. Certain things come with experience, the more beats you make, the more you will learn which instruments automatically go together. Now I'm not saying that if you add instrument x to automatically every time add instrument y and z. Eventually all your beats would sound exactly the same. So its fine to use instruments over and over, but every now and then, don't be afraid to change it up if you notice you are doing the same ol' stuff over and over.
Now the first thing I want you to do is go listen to a Lex Luger beat...Lets look at "Hard In The Paint"...
What instruments could you pick out? I heard, several horns, rim shots, several strings, orchestra hits, rise effects, 808, hi hats, kicks, tubular bells, snares, and claps....My interpretation and yours may be different. But look at what we have done here, we have determined several things.
1. What instruments are used in a Lex Luger Dirty South beat.
2. What the melody patterns are doing.
3. What the drum style is.
So now we have an idea of how to get it started. First I want you to start playing around with some of these sounds. Now if you are more attuned to get your drums first and build around it then by all means do so, if not lets try things my way. I first like to get a melody going, in these Lex Luger beats, they are simple 5 note progressions that only change after two measures or so. So lets start off with a simple melody, feel free to use mine here...
Okay so the first thing you can see is it is only a 5 note progression, and the chords are c, d, d#, g#, g. Then after 4 measures it changes to f, g, g#, c#, c. So its not that hard. Now I will say this, when you begin playing the melody, tap it out on your foot as you play. DO THIS BEFORE YOU PUT THIS MELODY DOWN!!! Now BEFORE DOING ANYTHING, we have to set our tempo. Which is the speed in which the song will go. That rhythm you were tapping on your foot...That's the tempo lets get it into our sequencer here...
Notice the tempo area, right click it and then select tap... Now you can tap with your mouse or any key on the keyboard, the tempo of the song. When done simply click accept. Now we are set, for this track our tempo is going to be at 77.00 bpm.
Also be sure to set your metronome on here....
It is the light that is just below the keyboard light.
I am using these soundfonts for this melody:
They are a part of the Lex Luger soundfonts collection:
BollandBrassSection
BrAsS
ZSF_Brass_Ensemble SE
After I do the melody above in one of the instruments I simply copy and paste it to the others...
Wait...I'm lost how do I put the melody in there? Okay if you don't have a piano and want to do it the Luger way...Simply drag and drop the sound you want to put into the track on the pattern section of FL Studio. Now right click on the sound and click piano roll. Then its just clicking in the notes at the correct points and getting it in order.
Now that we have the brass laid down, lets get the next portion. The strings!
I did the same exact pattern, no different, only I used the Marcato Strings from the Drumma Boy Kit. Now we have a good foundation going.
Now lets get into some drums, this is what makes a hip-hop beat. If your drums suck, the track will suck. You want it to kick and kick hard, you want the snare to hit and hit hard. Although there are several ways of this. I will show you both, one in this part and the other in part 3 of The Beat Making Process.
Lets get the kicks laid out first...
Notice I didn't just add a single kick, I have layered with two different kicks. This is a beginners method of making a kick stand out. Nothing wrong with it, even some more professional producers do it. Although, in the professionals defense, stacking is more useful as in getting a different sound, more than it is to getting a kick to stand out.
Now how do you determine your kicks? Simply bang it out as your melody plays out. You'll feel it, maybe even different than I did here.
As far as picking the kicks to use, find one that has a high end, that way it can stand out better. One that sounds more like cardboard than a kick I should say, the other should be your bottom end, but not too much. Remember not to clutter a certain frequency. If you can't avoid it, no worries we are going to mix it down eventually anyways.
Okay so now we get to the snares and claps. First I will show you the run on my snare. Now know that picking this snare, it must be a tight, high-end snare. Think marching band style snare...
Notice how I kept a general pattern, but changed it up. This is essential. Also know that you should change up your drum patterns even after you have finished them. Then when putting them in order for the beat to be a finished product. You can put drum pattern 1, the 2, then 3, then 4, etc. This allows the beat not to be so repetitive and it catches the listeners by surprise. This is key in hip-hop/rap, because the beat determines 99 percent on whether or not the listener will like it or not.
Okay now here is a view with the two claps I have added....
Okay now these are simple, its every other click of the metronome. After all that is sort of the snares purpose, but here the claps are taking its place.
Now for the 808s, we are so nearly finished!!!...
Okay now, with the 808s, just find a simple low bass 808 that you can use, any will suffice. You can play with it in the piano roll and make it follow the beat more. However, for this tutorial I will show a simpler version, as the same Lex used in hard in the paint.
Now on to the high hats...
Now it is harder than it look really, but I wanted to do something a bit more complex than Lex did. This seems to fit better.
Now the last piece of the drums, the rim licks he has cluttering his tracks....
Now if you notice I also changed the snares here in addition to adding two rims...Here is where my ear came in use in my creative process...I simply exchanged my current snare for my rims, and made my name follow my claps. It fits much better. You can make simply alterations whenever you feel it to need it. I just right clicked my snare and then selected edit and cut, then right clicked my rims, edit, paste...Simple as that.
Okay now we have the drums, lets move along to another instrument. The Orchestra hits...
Another simple pattern, merely following as a reference. It is always good to have a rhythm support in your beats. The orchestra hits are doing just that in this beat. It is supporting the melodies, by keeping tempo with the root note of the melodies...Keen huh.
Now for the last instrument, no dirty south beat...NONE, can be official without the tubular bells!!!....
Simple as well, just put one at the beginning on each chord transition. The bells remain in the background the fill up and add ambiance. As well as give that official sound we know and love DJ Khalid anyone, anyone?
Okay so now we are on the last portion, I'm sure you are amazed at how easy this really is, now we just get together our last portion, which is our rise effect for this we must first change our pattern...
Notice just to the right of tempo, it says PAT with a 1 above it. Left click and hold the 1 and push your mouse upward to change to pattern 2. Notice now you have a bunch of blanks in your sequencer.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO........
Relax, your beat isn't gone, simply do the reverse to get back to pattern 1. As the rise effect is in ever loop of Lex's beats, we must put it to the side to use sparingly.
So now your pattern 2 should look like this...
Wow how simple now we have a beat, this has been a long post but well worth it. Now one last thing before we leave lets put it in our playlist. First thing we need to switch from pattern to song mode.
Notice to the left of the play button we get PAT and under it song. Simply click song. Now we must bring up our playlist view...
Located in the top right hand corner it is the first button on the left you see here. Simply start changing the patterns and clicking them in place now and you should get something like this...
Okay now its just a matter of placing and cutting instruments in and out...You have pretty much created your first beat here guys. Good job, now that wasn't that hard was it.
Now this one was a long blog, but we still have to start mixing and that is going to be the longer, and funner part. So guys look out for The Beat Making Process pt. 3
Guys I would love to hear your version of this and feel free to email it to me here
Also remember I give you guys this information for free, so please comment, subscribe, and share. Also visit my page and check out some of my own beats.
G-Rage Productions Inc. Beats for Lease only $20.00
YAY!!! SO WHERE DO WE START, WHERE DO WE START....
Okay I know you anxious, so lets get our hands dirty. Okay so a lot of people start beats different ways. Now I will say this...There is no "CORRECT WAY", to actually start. Bummer right, but you have to know the truth....
Now what I will iterate on, is my process' and some ways you can begin.
Lets start off with something simple, how about a Lex Luger type track? Yea, those are hot right now and even more so, they are quite simple to put together.
Okay get ready go....
Wait....
You don't know where to begin, or what instruments? Okay I can help you. Certain things come with experience, the more beats you make, the more you will learn which instruments automatically go together. Now I'm not saying that if you add instrument x to automatically every time add instrument y and z. Eventually all your beats would sound exactly the same. So its fine to use instruments over and over, but every now and then, don't be afraid to change it up if you notice you are doing the same ol' stuff over and over.
Now the first thing I want you to do is go listen to a Lex Luger beat...Lets look at "Hard In The Paint"...
What instruments could you pick out? I heard, several horns, rim shots, several strings, orchestra hits, rise effects, 808, hi hats, kicks, tubular bells, snares, and claps....My interpretation and yours may be different. But look at what we have done here, we have determined several things.
1. What instruments are used in a Lex Luger Dirty South beat.
2. What the melody patterns are doing.
3. What the drum style is.
So now we have an idea of how to get it started. First I want you to start playing around with some of these sounds. Now if you are more attuned to get your drums first and build around it then by all means do so, if not lets try things my way. I first like to get a melody going, in these Lex Luger beats, they are simple 5 note progressions that only change after two measures or so. So lets start off with a simple melody, feel free to use mine here...
Okay so the first thing you can see is it is only a 5 note progression, and the chords are c, d, d#, g#, g. Then after 4 measures it changes to f, g, g#, c#, c. So its not that hard. Now I will say this, when you begin playing the melody, tap it out on your foot as you play. DO THIS BEFORE YOU PUT THIS MELODY DOWN!!! Now BEFORE DOING ANYTHING, we have to set our tempo. Which is the speed in which the song will go. That rhythm you were tapping on your foot...That's the tempo lets get it into our sequencer here...
Notice the tempo area, right click it and then select tap... Now you can tap with your mouse or any key on the keyboard, the tempo of the song. When done simply click accept. Now we are set, for this track our tempo is going to be at 77.00 bpm.
Also be sure to set your metronome on here....
It is the light that is just below the keyboard light.
I am using these soundfonts for this melody:
They are a part of the Lex Luger soundfonts collection:
BollandBrassSection
BrAsS
ZSF_Brass_Ensemble SE
After I do the melody above in one of the instruments I simply copy and paste it to the others...
Wait...I'm lost how do I put the melody in there? Okay if you don't have a piano and want to do it the Luger way...Simply drag and drop the sound you want to put into the track on the pattern section of FL Studio. Now right click on the sound and click piano roll. Then its just clicking in the notes at the correct points and getting it in order.
Now that we have the brass laid down, lets get the next portion. The strings!
I did the same exact pattern, no different, only I used the Marcato Strings from the Drumma Boy Kit. Now we have a good foundation going.
Now lets get into some drums, this is what makes a hip-hop beat. If your drums suck, the track will suck. You want it to kick and kick hard, you want the snare to hit and hit hard. Although there are several ways of this. I will show you both, one in this part and the other in part 3 of The Beat Making Process.
Lets get the kicks laid out first...
Notice I didn't just add a single kick, I have layered with two different kicks. This is a beginners method of making a kick stand out. Nothing wrong with it, even some more professional producers do it. Although, in the professionals defense, stacking is more useful as in getting a different sound, more than it is to getting a kick to stand out.
Now how do you determine your kicks? Simply bang it out as your melody plays out. You'll feel it, maybe even different than I did here.
As far as picking the kicks to use, find one that has a high end, that way it can stand out better. One that sounds more like cardboard than a kick I should say, the other should be your bottom end, but not too much. Remember not to clutter a certain frequency. If you can't avoid it, no worries we are going to mix it down eventually anyways.
Okay so now we get to the snares and claps. First I will show you the run on my snare. Now know that picking this snare, it must be a tight, high-end snare. Think marching band style snare...
Notice how I kept a general pattern, but changed it up. This is essential. Also know that you should change up your drum patterns even after you have finished them. Then when putting them in order for the beat to be a finished product. You can put drum pattern 1, the 2, then 3, then 4, etc. This allows the beat not to be so repetitive and it catches the listeners by surprise. This is key in hip-hop/rap, because the beat determines 99 percent on whether or not the listener will like it or not.
Okay now here is a view with the two claps I have added....
Okay now these are simple, its every other click of the metronome. After all that is sort of the snares purpose, but here the claps are taking its place.
Now for the 808s, we are so nearly finished!!!...
Okay now, with the 808s, just find a simple low bass 808 that you can use, any will suffice. You can play with it in the piano roll and make it follow the beat more. However, for this tutorial I will show a simpler version, as the same Lex used in hard in the paint.
Now on to the high hats...
Now it is harder than it look really, but I wanted to do something a bit more complex than Lex did. This seems to fit better.
Now the last piece of the drums, the rim licks he has cluttering his tracks....
Now if you notice I also changed the snares here in addition to adding two rims...Here is where my ear came in use in my creative process...I simply exchanged my current snare for my rims, and made my name follow my claps. It fits much better. You can make simply alterations whenever you feel it to need it. I just right clicked my snare and then selected edit and cut, then right clicked my rims, edit, paste...Simple as that.
Okay now we have the drums, lets move along to another instrument. The Orchestra hits...
Another simple pattern, merely following as a reference. It is always good to have a rhythm support in your beats. The orchestra hits are doing just that in this beat. It is supporting the melodies, by keeping tempo with the root note of the melodies...Keen huh.
Now for the last instrument, no dirty south beat...NONE, can be official without the tubular bells!!!....
Simple as well, just put one at the beginning on each chord transition. The bells remain in the background the fill up and add ambiance. As well as give that official sound we know and love DJ Khalid anyone, anyone?
Okay so now we are on the last portion, I'm sure you are amazed at how easy this really is, now we just get together our last portion, which is our rise effect for this we must first change our pattern...
Notice just to the right of tempo, it says PAT with a 1 above it. Left click and hold the 1 and push your mouse upward to change to pattern 2. Notice now you have a bunch of blanks in your sequencer.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO........
Relax, your beat isn't gone, simply do the reverse to get back to pattern 1. As the rise effect is in ever loop of Lex's beats, we must put it to the side to use sparingly.
So now your pattern 2 should look like this...
Wow how simple now we have a beat, this has been a long post but well worth it. Now one last thing before we leave lets put it in our playlist. First thing we need to switch from pattern to song mode.
Notice to the left of the play button we get PAT and under it song. Simply click song. Now we must bring up our playlist view...
Located in the top right hand corner it is the first button on the left you see here. Simply start changing the patterns and clicking them in place now and you should get something like this...
Okay now its just a matter of placing and cutting instruments in and out...You have pretty much created your first beat here guys. Good job, now that wasn't that hard was it.
Now this one was a long blog, but we still have to start mixing and that is going to be the longer, and funner part. So guys look out for The Beat Making Process pt. 3
Guys I would love to hear your version of this and feel free to email it to me here
Also remember I give you guys this information for free, so please comment, subscribe, and share. Also visit my page and check out some of my own beats.
G-Rage Productions Inc. Beats for Lease only $20.00
The Beat Making Process pt. 1 (Getting Setup)
Okay, after much deliberation, you have decided to start making beats. For me it was simply the fact that I hated stealing beats, and didn't know anyone around my area that made them. So I knew I was musical, had played in several bands, been in several bars playing. I began crafting myself to be a producer, and I haven't regretted it not once.
The benefits of making your own beats, are limitless. Not only do you get the chance to make the EXACT beat you are looking for. But You also feel more proud of the song as it gets finished. This is completely you, your baby from head to toe.
So most of us are lost on where to start. Do I hop on the drums? Get on the melody? Rhythm? Where? Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down, don't put your horse too far ahead of your carriage there. Lets first check our equipment and go at it one step at a time here.
Okay so lets assume, for reference sake, you've never made a beat in your life....Fair enough. Instead of saying that you need millions of dollars of equipment like most tutorials will have you believe. I am going to say you only need a few things, all which you can probably get for free...The first thing you are going to need is a sequencer type software to make your beats in. Now if you are planning to do every instrument with real instruments, (real mic'd drums, real guitar, real bass...). You are going to only need a form of recording software, and a ton of money for instruments...So lets keep it cheap to start.
So the sequencer type software. There are several you can choose from, now these aren't free, although I'm sure there is always a torrent for either of these. You pretty much have your choice of the type of software you wish to use. The popular and norm amongst producers today are:
FL Studio, (Which I love and use, easy to follow and learn, and has a ton of sequence type benefits).
Reason, (Which is a bit more advanced, if you are used to using analog plug in type things. This is great software. Some of the best plug ins in my opinion are found in reason, which I have used a time or two).
Others are Logic, Pro Tools, and who could forget the old Akai MPCs....
Now for sake of reason, my tutorial will cover FL Studio for now, I will branch off and show you guys Reason. But for now lets stick with this interface....
Now notice this interface. Quite complex to the inexperienced, but this is where we will learn. Okay so first lets get started on getting what we need to make our beats.
Beats are formed from samples. Samples are recordings of anything from a crash, to a kick, to vocals..Pretty much anything can be a sample of a sound. Another type of sound is called a soundfont. These are used in FL Studio as sort of multi-sound samples So in further explanation, there are samples for each note you will play. Now the internet is littered with these. Search google for free drum kits or soundfonts and see how many you come back with. You need these samples and soundfonts to create beats so start stacking up.
You can save them in your FL Studio, also called a DAW, like so....
First open windows explorer...
Then open your C: disk, or which ever volume holds your program files...
Now open your program files containing FL Studio..For me its Program Files (x86), if you have a 32-bit operating system, it will just be Program Files....
Now open the Image-Line folder....
Now open the FL Studio folder, for me I have the 10th edition, So it is FL Studio 10...
Now open the Data folder and save it in the Projects folder. I have created a folder called production sounds where all my sounds are stored....
Now a lot of you producers are flipping out on me right now and I can hear you man, I hear you. You are saying, this is stupid why would you save all your valuable sounds on the computer and not on an external hard drive. Well I agree and disagree with you.
It is good to have an external hard drive and keep a back up there of all your sounds in case anything happens to your computer. I highly recommend this practice for just owning a computer actually. However, this is merely showing you where to keep your files for use.
Now once we have our files here, you can pull them up in FL Studio like so...
This is located, in the projects tab in the browser of FL Studio, and then simply open the production sounds, or whatever you name the folder that contains your beats. Then you get this view of all your awesome samples that you need for FL Studio.
Now that we are through we this, we can finally get to something that actually has to do with beats....
Okay we have our software, we have our samples and soundfonts. Quick note: If you'd like you can also purchase vsts. A VST is Virtual Studio Technology, which simply put, is software that is composed of different sounds.
Now lets get started in making a beat. What do we start with first? Melody, Rhythm, Bass, Drums? None of these. First we need to get it in our head of what kind of beat we wish to make. Are we going for a club track? Dirty South? Pop? It doesn't matter which one you choose, and it can always change directions later. Its always good to get an idea.
Now that we have decided what we are going to make lets play around. If you have a midi keyboard you can synch it to your FL Studio as so...
The benefits of making your own beats, are limitless. Not only do you get the chance to make the EXACT beat you are looking for. But You also feel more proud of the song as it gets finished. This is completely you, your baby from head to toe.
So most of us are lost on where to start. Do I hop on the drums? Get on the melody? Rhythm? Where? Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down, don't put your horse too far ahead of your carriage there. Lets first check our equipment and go at it one step at a time here.
Okay so lets assume, for reference sake, you've never made a beat in your life....Fair enough. Instead of saying that you need millions of dollars of equipment like most tutorials will have you believe. I am going to say you only need a few things, all which you can probably get for free...The first thing you are going to need is a sequencer type software to make your beats in. Now if you are planning to do every instrument with real instruments, (real mic'd drums, real guitar, real bass...). You are going to only need a form of recording software, and a ton of money for instruments...So lets keep it cheap to start.
So the sequencer type software. There are several you can choose from, now these aren't free, although I'm sure there is always a torrent for either of these. You pretty much have your choice of the type of software you wish to use. The popular and norm amongst producers today are:
FL Studio, (Which I love and use, easy to follow and learn, and has a ton of sequence type benefits).
Reason, (Which is a bit more advanced, if you are used to using analog plug in type things. This is great software. Some of the best plug ins in my opinion are found in reason, which I have used a time or two).
Others are Logic, Pro Tools, and who could forget the old Akai MPCs....
Now for sake of reason, my tutorial will cover FL Studio for now, I will branch off and show you guys Reason. But for now lets stick with this interface....
Now notice this interface. Quite complex to the inexperienced, but this is where we will learn. Okay so first lets get started on getting what we need to make our beats.
Beats are formed from samples. Samples are recordings of anything from a crash, to a kick, to vocals..Pretty much anything can be a sample of a sound. Another type of sound is called a soundfont. These are used in FL Studio as sort of multi-sound samples So in further explanation, there are samples for each note you will play. Now the internet is littered with these. Search google for free drum kits or soundfonts and see how many you come back with. You need these samples and soundfonts to create beats so start stacking up.
You can save them in your FL Studio, also called a DAW, like so....
First open windows explorer...
Then open your C: disk, or which ever volume holds your program files...
Now open your program files containing FL Studio..For me its Program Files (x86), if you have a 32-bit operating system, it will just be Program Files....
Now open the Image-Line folder....
Now open the FL Studio folder, for me I have the 10th edition, So it is FL Studio 10...
Now open the Data folder and save it in the Projects folder. I have created a folder called production sounds where all my sounds are stored....
Now a lot of you producers are flipping out on me right now and I can hear you man, I hear you. You are saying, this is stupid why would you save all your valuable sounds on the computer and not on an external hard drive. Well I agree and disagree with you.
It is good to have an external hard drive and keep a back up there of all your sounds in case anything happens to your computer. I highly recommend this practice for just owning a computer actually. However, this is merely showing you where to keep your files for use.
Now once we have our files here, you can pull them up in FL Studio like so...
This is located, in the projects tab in the browser of FL Studio, and then simply open the production sounds, or whatever you name the folder that contains your beats. Then you get this view of all your awesome samples that you need for FL Studio.
Now that we are through we this, we can finally get to something that actually has to do with beats....
Okay we have our software, we have our samples and soundfonts. Quick note: If you'd like you can also purchase vsts. A VST is Virtual Studio Technology, which simply put, is software that is composed of different sounds.
Now lets get started in making a beat. What do we start with first? Melody, Rhythm, Bass, Drums? None of these. First we need to get it in our head of what kind of beat we wish to make. Are we going for a club track? Dirty South? Pop? It doesn't matter which one you choose, and it can always change directions later. Its always good to get an idea.
Now that we have decided what we are going to make lets play around. If you have a midi keyboard you can synch it to your FL Studio as so...
Simply click options in the upper left hand corner of FL Studio, then go to midi settings. You can shortcut it all by pressing F10.
Now we are faced with this...
The keyboard you have hooked up by midi or USB will be shown in the input window. If not, hit rescan MIDI devices at the bottom and it should show up. Then simply click the enable light, which is right below the input box. You are now set up to use your keyboard.
If you don't have a MIDI/USB keyboard yet, don't fret. You can still make beats, Lex Luger used no stinking keyboard and look what he did!
To set FL Studio up for use with your computer keyboard, in the center you will see the above interface, simply click the light next to the keyboard. (Which is the only one illuminated here).
Now you are set to go, you can actually pull up any VST or soundfont and use your computer keyboard to play it. Try it....Nice right?
Okay feel free to play around a bit, this is unfortunately, the end of part 1 of our Beat Making Process. But hey, we at least have everything setup. From our program, to our instruments. The only thing left to do now, is to make a hit!
Remember guys, I share this information with you for free. Please subscribe, comment, and share.I love to get feedback on how I can better the blog for you guys.
Also, please check out my beats, this is some examples of some of the techniques and some of the stuff we will cover here eventually.
Also, feel free to drop me an email, and I will get back to you asap.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Reverbs
Okay now for some of the less thought about effects...
REVERB, REVERB, REVERB...REVERB.......REVERB........REVERB............REVERB........
.........................REVERB....................................REVERB.....................................RE........
Yea I think you get the point. So what is reverb? Reverb is simply sound is produced after the sound has been made....So most of us that have just began into recording, use presets...Don't feel embarrassed, some advanced users still do it. Yea didn't mean to call you guys out, but there is a theory and technique that must be used for reverb.
Now again we are using...You guessed it...FL Studio....
And I don't like to use my reverbs on my main channels, or in other words I don't use my reverbs directly on my audio files. I allow my audio to go to my master track as a clean audio, then I also map my audio to a send channel. What is a send channel? basically for me anyway, it is channels that I use which I route back to other channels. So in other words, if I set a certain reverb, instead of abusing my CPU in my computer and putting a reverb on each channel. I use only one reverb and route it to many channels..MUWHAHAHA...Sorry evil genius coming out there a bit, he's back in his cage now...
Now I will give you a close up shot of the mixer so you can see my send channels which I have aptly named Long, and Short....
Now for the reverbs themselves and how to determine which reverb to use. First we will start with the easy aspect of it. Pull up any reverb you wish, for this one...I'll use the simply version of Fruity Reverb....
We have put this in the send channel I have named "Long", because we are wanting a longer reverb here, lets go through the presets. YES I did say presets, The key is to use a preset, but adjust it so it fits our current song. So okay I found a setting I liked, Venue...Okay now lets turn the dry setting to 0% as it is shown above. I do this because as I said I want to route the audio channel as a clean straight to the master and another to my send channel as such...
Notice here how insert 1 has the the knobs near the bottom. Both in the master and turned up as well in the Long channel, but not in the short or other insert channels. Aha, shew that was difficult to explain. But this shows that I am routing the sounds in that insert/channel straight to the master, but the same audio is being sent to the "Long" channel which will be nothing but reverb. Which gives us a clean audio, without giving us just a reverbed mess.
Now back to the reverb itself. After we have determined the correct reverb we are going to be using, we have to adjust it to fit our song. Look first at the BPM/Temp of the audio....
REVERB, REVERB, REVERB...REVERB.......REVERB........REVERB............REVERB........
.........................REVERB....................................REVERB.....................................RE........
Yea I think you get the point. So what is reverb? Reverb is simply sound is produced after the sound has been made....So most of us that have just began into recording, use presets...Don't feel embarrassed, some advanced users still do it. Yea didn't mean to call you guys out, but there is a theory and technique that must be used for reverb.
Now again we are using...You guessed it...FL Studio....
And I don't like to use my reverbs on my main channels, or in other words I don't use my reverbs directly on my audio files. I allow my audio to go to my master track as a clean audio, then I also map my audio to a send channel. What is a send channel? basically for me anyway, it is channels that I use which I route back to other channels. So in other words, if I set a certain reverb, instead of abusing my CPU in my computer and putting a reverb on each channel. I use only one reverb and route it to many channels..MUWHAHAHA...Sorry evil genius coming out there a bit, he's back in his cage now...
Now I will give you a close up shot of the mixer so you can see my send channels which I have aptly named Long, and Short....
Now for the reverbs themselves and how to determine which reverb to use. First we will start with the easy aspect of it. Pull up any reverb you wish, for this one...I'll use the simply version of Fruity Reverb....
We have put this in the send channel I have named "Long", because we are wanting a longer reverb here, lets go through the presets. YES I did say presets, The key is to use a preset, but adjust it so it fits our current song. So okay I found a setting I liked, Venue...Okay now lets turn the dry setting to 0% as it is shown above. I do this because as I said I want to route the audio channel as a clean straight to the master and another to my send channel as such...
Notice here how insert 1 has the the knobs near the bottom. Both in the master and turned up as well in the Long channel, but not in the short or other insert channels. Aha, shew that was difficult to explain. But this shows that I am routing the sounds in that insert/channel straight to the master, but the same audio is being sent to the "Long" channel which will be nothing but reverb. Which gives us a clean audio, without giving us just a reverbed mess.
Now back to the reverb itself. After we have determined the correct reverb we are going to be using, we have to adjust it to fit our song. Look first at the BPM/Temp of the audio....
As you can see, we are using a tempo of 120.00. So here is a simple bit of math, get your calculators. Okay there is 60 second in a minute, correct. Okay well there is also 1,000ms in a second right? Times those numbers...You get a whopping 60,000 right! Well this is our base number, so remember it, write it down, get a tattoo of it so you don't forget it...Well I wouldn't be that dramatic about it, but it is important to remember.
Okay so we have 60,000. So now we look at our tempo, which is 120 bpm(Beats Per Minute). So we are going to divide 60,000 by the 120 . 60,000/120 and you get....500.
So we have discovered a 1/4th note which is 500ms...
Divide it by 2...250ms which is a 1/8th note
Divide that by 2...125 which is a 1/16th note
Divide again by 2....62.5 which is 1/32nd note
again by 2...31.25 which is a 1/64th note...
Okay I think that may be enough. Now we know by these numbers where we need to set our predelay settings! A lot of work but well worth the effort I assure you. Now the simple part simply go through your predealy setting adjusting to the numbers that you have gotten by your handy-dandy calculator. Now you can judge which one fits your liking and taste.
This just basically gives you a better fit for your reverbs. It is a lot of work I'll admit, but it helps to give your reverbs a bit more realism than the average preset will. Now the other setting on the reverb, which will vary from reverb to reverb, which is why I'm really not going to cover it much. Will help narrow down the reverb. But do know through the send channel, that you can adjust, (via the handy dandy turn knob in FL Studio), how much of the effect you are going to apply to the audio. Even through the effects chain alone in the send channel, you can determine how much the audio will effect the channel as a whole.
The room size, will effect how echoy the effect is, so to speak and high and low cut knobs/settings, change where your reverb will effect your audio. If you are getting too much high end shine off the reverb, dial down the frequency until its gone. Decay will also be more of an amplitude as far as the reverb goes. If you crank that baby up, the amount of reverb/resonance you will get will be overwhelming. Other wise, leave well enough alone.
Again thanks for taking the time and I hope you guys learned something amazing. Be sure to subscribe and tell me what you thought and what you wanna know about. Also Share my page guys on facebook.
Remember I am spreading my knowledge for free guys, so please take the time to listen to a few of my beats and if you can spread the word about them as well.
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Effects Chain
Now this is something I see abused by beginners constantly. First off lets determine what an effect chain is. An effect chain is a series of tools producers/engineers use to alter a sound. Today we again are going to be using FL Studio...
And the effects slot for FL Studio is seen in the mixer view....
Located in the right hand side....
Now I have seen beginners pile on effect after effect to try to get a sound they are looking for. From Chorus, phasers, reverbs, delays, etc. In the instance of effects, keep this in mind, K.I.S.S. For those who aren't familiar with this theory, Keep It Simple Stupid.
The reason I started the blog with the compressor and the Equalizer, is because these are going to be the only real tools you are going to predominantly use. Now don't get me wrong and I know of few of you experienced producers/engineers are yelling at me right now. "What if I wanted to get this sound, or that sound?" Well you are right, if you are planning on getting a peculiar sound, then by all means, phase and chorus and filter the hell out of it. You'll get that sound no doubt, but for us that are looking for a good clean sound. Focus on the KISS principal.
First off let your audio decide your effects, is the audio's db levels jumping around erratically from loud to soft? Well we know by now that we should use a compressor, lets get one up there....
Here you can see we have pulled up the Fruity Compressor to adjust the audio, now notice just to the right of the compressor. You see the green light? This allows us to cut the compressor on and off. Be sure regardless of the effect you are going to add, to turn it on and off after getting it where you like it. To check to see if the effect is doing the audio better or worse.
Now that we have the audio at a consistent level, we need to make it set in with the rest of the sounds and take away the troubling frequencies. So what do we use? You guessed it, the EQ....
Here you can see we have added the Fruity Parametric EQ 2. Which we will then tend to the sound of the audio more. Now once again, be sure to turn the effect on and off to determine whether or not the effect is bettering or worsening the audio as a whole.
Now notice beside the green light we have the knob. This is the amount of the effect that is going to be applied to the audio file. As you can adjust it to be complete as it is shown here on both effects or turn it to the left, as to where it is lessened of an effect.
Simple right? This is pretty much all you need to put on any instrument/vocal to clean it up and make it set in with every other instrument. Just follow the steps for eq's and Compressors that I gave in the last two blogs, and you'll be fine. If you are using a different DAW other than FL Studio, where the effects have to be applied such as Audacity, or others. Be sure to follow the same guidelines for each audio you add.
Again guys thanks for reading and I hope you learned something. Be sure to subscribe and leave a comment for me on how I can better We Are Beat Makerz. Share me on facebook guys, and tell a friend or two.
Be sure to check out my new beats page and enjoy jammin to some of my hit makerz.
G-Rage Productions Inc. Beat leases only $20
Next Post...Reverbs!!!!
And the effects slot for FL Studio is seen in the mixer view....
Located in the right hand side....
Now I have seen beginners pile on effect after effect to try to get a sound they are looking for. From Chorus, phasers, reverbs, delays, etc. In the instance of effects, keep this in mind, K.I.S.S. For those who aren't familiar with this theory, Keep It Simple Stupid.
The reason I started the blog with the compressor and the Equalizer, is because these are going to be the only real tools you are going to predominantly use. Now don't get me wrong and I know of few of you experienced producers/engineers are yelling at me right now. "What if I wanted to get this sound, or that sound?" Well you are right, if you are planning on getting a peculiar sound, then by all means, phase and chorus and filter the hell out of it. You'll get that sound no doubt, but for us that are looking for a good clean sound. Focus on the KISS principal.
First off let your audio decide your effects, is the audio's db levels jumping around erratically from loud to soft? Well we know by now that we should use a compressor, lets get one up there....
Here you can see we have pulled up the Fruity Compressor to adjust the audio, now notice just to the right of the compressor. You see the green light? This allows us to cut the compressor on and off. Be sure regardless of the effect you are going to add, to turn it on and off after getting it where you like it. To check to see if the effect is doing the audio better or worse.
Now that we have the audio at a consistent level, we need to make it set in with the rest of the sounds and take away the troubling frequencies. So what do we use? You guessed it, the EQ....
Here you can see we have added the Fruity Parametric EQ 2. Which we will then tend to the sound of the audio more. Now once again, be sure to turn the effect on and off to determine whether or not the effect is bettering or worsening the audio as a whole.
Now notice beside the green light we have the knob. This is the amount of the effect that is going to be applied to the audio file. As you can adjust it to be complete as it is shown here on both effects or turn it to the left, as to where it is lessened of an effect.
Simple right? This is pretty much all you need to put on any instrument/vocal to clean it up and make it set in with every other instrument. Just follow the steps for eq's and Compressors that I gave in the last two blogs, and you'll be fine. If you are using a different DAW other than FL Studio, where the effects have to be applied such as Audacity, or others. Be sure to follow the same guidelines for each audio you add.
Again guys thanks for reading and I hope you learned something. Be sure to subscribe and leave a comment for me on how I can better We Are Beat Makerz. Share me on facebook guys, and tell a friend or two.
Be sure to check out my new beats page and enjoy jammin to some of my hit makerz.
G-Rage Productions Inc. Beat leases only $20
Next Post...Reverbs!!!!
Equalizers
Okay, so now that we all have a firm grasp on compressors. Lets tackle the compressors faithful companion...The equalizer. Again we are using FL Studio...
And we will be using Waves Q8 Paragraphic EQ...
Now we will also be using Waves PAZ Frequency...
Now there's a lot of tools here but all will help us to determine a proper eq'ing of our audios. Now lets look into what we should be doing with the eq.
The purpose of the equalizer is simple. To make an audio sound better. As in vocals it can improve an audio and help it set int he mix. With instruments, it can find proper placement for the instrument, as they all sound have certain frequencies which they fill up within the eq's spectrum.
Messing around with it we can hear that if we pull up any frequency that it changes the loudness/sound of the audio. Hence we all know that Eq's do this. However, which is better? Cut or add? There are many that will tell you to ONLY use the reduction method. I've tried this and found it to be a bastardization of what is music engineering. Listen, you step into any professional studio, and you will seem them boost away like crazy. There is a reason. They are working with clean audio files, and have had amazing artists doing the recording. The best theory then?...Whatever fits the moment.
Lets start with some basic principals of audio to give you guys that need concrete info. Okay we know good and well that there is certain frequencies that are attuned to certain instruments/sounds.
Vocals:
Highs: usually 7000hz and above
Presence: Usually around 1000-2000hz
Body: 100-350hz
Good 808's
Usually around 64-120hz
Now there are several different sounds that acquire several frequencies, but don't let these numbers take you as a requirement. You have to learn to make them fit according to the audio you are using, as each is different and these are not concrete settings, just guidelines. Your best friend in setting an eq is going to be your ears. No one else is going to be able to tell YOU where the exact number is.
Lets focus on any sound that you are going to use, I'm going to use a vocal. First lets pull up our PAZ Frequency or whatever software you can find to monitor your frequencies being played. Notice where your levels are and also notice the sound you are hearing.....
First off we can tell that just below the 250hz mark is where out lowest peak is. Remember this is a Vocal Track. You may see a slight increase just below 125hz and below, but know these are not vocal sounds. So the first the we can do is know that on the low end to use a high-pass filter. Which will cut all audio below a certain point, in this instance it will be just below 250hz....
So here we can see the high-pass filter being used at the 200hz frequency. This should also be done with instruments, listen and use your frequency analyzer to determine where the low peak is and where you need to make the cut. To much clutter in a low region where there is no real sound, will cause devastating effects on your tracks. In the instance of vocals, I have found that several artists have hit the microphone and this have caused spikes in this area that were not even vocals at all...Silly artists.
Now lets use our ears a bit instead of eyes. Listen to the track and you will probably hear it isn't what you are looking for, perhaps it is too boxy or has a nasality about it. Lets find those annoying sounds and get them out of there.
Lets first make a bell curve and adjust the Q setting to sweep our audio and find that annoying sound....
Here you can see the 2 point in the eq is set on a bell curve, looking like a hump in the type setting, and the gain is adjusted to its maximum setting and the Q is set to a slightly increased level. We are going to try to pinpoint the sound now. Simply take the frequency setting and begin moving it down and up the EQ spectrum and listen until you hear a sound that is so loud/bad, it hurts your ears...
Now once you find this sound begin dialing it down until you hear that the vocal begins to sound a less annoying, as it were. A tip of advice, don't adjust the cut so much that it is bottomed out...This will cause the audio to become unrealistic and will cause other issues. For this Vocal Track, I found my trouble frequency to be around the 847hz level, so I made my cut as such...
Now notice my cut is only of about -5.4. Not a dramatic cut at all, but it was enough. Remember that cutting has more of an effect on the ear than boosting. So now lets listen again, are there anymore troubling frequencies? If so follow the same steps again. Don't get cut crazy though, you will find that you will cut out too much or eventually cut a good frequencies from the file. Now with this particular Vocal, I wanted it to stand out a bit more in my mix. I knew that a reference for presence is in the 1000-2000hz range. So lets give a little boost there...
Now once again not a dramatic boost either. Another bell curve at the 2000hz range exactly, and only of about 2.5 on the gain level. Now my Vocal is starting to sound better...Lets listen again...My vocal now doesn't seem to be as crisp as I would like..Lets boost the high-end a bit...
Now this is known as a shelf, which means it lifts all frequencies above a certain point and keeps them at the same boost level. Now I have boosted at 7000 and only of about 3.0 in gain. Which was enough to supply my Vocal Track with the crispness that it needed.
Now you could compare the Vocal with the music and see if it stands out too much or if its just right. Now if it is overbearing and doesn't mix well begin cutting the low end a bit at the 200-847hz level, as this is from our high-pass filter to our bell curve cut at 847hz. Make sure you use another bell curve in the cut, although this time, make sure the Q is wider to adjust the body of the vocal better...
Now these settings can be applied to any sound. I used a vocal because they are easier. Now for any other instrument. Listen to it, where are the lows? Determine using your analyzer and eq where the high-pass filter should go. Use your ears and sweep the eq to take away annoying frequencies, and use your ears and sweep the eq at a lower gain to determine where your should boost to make the sound stand out.
Now that I have finished these two predominant tools of the engineer and producer. The next post will be over effects chains and how to use them. Not a long one at all but worth the read I assure you.
Guys once again I enjoy posting these, I hope you guys are learning from them, if you are confused or have questions/comments on how I can improve the blog, please leave you comment.
As always be sure to share us on facebook, subscribe to the right here, and comment and view my page and check out my beats. I have put a lot of work into them.
G-Rage Productions Inc. All beats $20 lease!!!
You can always email me here if you have any questions
We Are Beat Makerz
And we will be using Waves Q8 Paragraphic EQ...
Now we will also be using Waves PAZ Frequency...
Now there's a lot of tools here but all will help us to determine a proper eq'ing of our audios. Now lets look into what we should be doing with the eq.
The purpose of the equalizer is simple. To make an audio sound better. As in vocals it can improve an audio and help it set int he mix. With instruments, it can find proper placement for the instrument, as they all sound have certain frequencies which they fill up within the eq's spectrum.
Messing around with it we can hear that if we pull up any frequency that it changes the loudness/sound of the audio. Hence we all know that Eq's do this. However, which is better? Cut or add? There are many that will tell you to ONLY use the reduction method. I've tried this and found it to be a bastardization of what is music engineering. Listen, you step into any professional studio, and you will seem them boost away like crazy. There is a reason. They are working with clean audio files, and have had amazing artists doing the recording. The best theory then?...Whatever fits the moment.
Lets start with some basic principals of audio to give you guys that need concrete info. Okay we know good and well that there is certain frequencies that are attuned to certain instruments/sounds.
Vocals:
Highs: usually 7000hz and above
Presence: Usually around 1000-2000hz
Body: 100-350hz
Good 808's
Usually around 64-120hz
Now there are several different sounds that acquire several frequencies, but don't let these numbers take you as a requirement. You have to learn to make them fit according to the audio you are using, as each is different and these are not concrete settings, just guidelines. Your best friend in setting an eq is going to be your ears. No one else is going to be able to tell YOU where the exact number is.
Lets focus on any sound that you are going to use, I'm going to use a vocal. First lets pull up our PAZ Frequency or whatever software you can find to monitor your frequencies being played. Notice where your levels are and also notice the sound you are hearing.....
First off we can tell that just below the 250hz mark is where out lowest peak is. Remember this is a Vocal Track. You may see a slight increase just below 125hz and below, but know these are not vocal sounds. So the first the we can do is know that on the low end to use a high-pass filter. Which will cut all audio below a certain point, in this instance it will be just below 250hz....
So here we can see the high-pass filter being used at the 200hz frequency. This should also be done with instruments, listen and use your frequency analyzer to determine where the low peak is and where you need to make the cut. To much clutter in a low region where there is no real sound, will cause devastating effects on your tracks. In the instance of vocals, I have found that several artists have hit the microphone and this have caused spikes in this area that were not even vocals at all...Silly artists.
Now lets use our ears a bit instead of eyes. Listen to the track and you will probably hear it isn't what you are looking for, perhaps it is too boxy or has a nasality about it. Lets find those annoying sounds and get them out of there.
Lets first make a bell curve and adjust the Q setting to sweep our audio and find that annoying sound....
Here you can see the 2 point in the eq is set on a bell curve, looking like a hump in the type setting, and the gain is adjusted to its maximum setting and the Q is set to a slightly increased level. We are going to try to pinpoint the sound now. Simply take the frequency setting and begin moving it down and up the EQ spectrum and listen until you hear a sound that is so loud/bad, it hurts your ears...
Now once you find this sound begin dialing it down until you hear that the vocal begins to sound a less annoying, as it were. A tip of advice, don't adjust the cut so much that it is bottomed out...This will cause the audio to become unrealistic and will cause other issues. For this Vocal Track, I found my trouble frequency to be around the 847hz level, so I made my cut as such...
Now notice my cut is only of about -5.4. Not a dramatic cut at all, but it was enough. Remember that cutting has more of an effect on the ear than boosting. So now lets listen again, are there anymore troubling frequencies? If so follow the same steps again. Don't get cut crazy though, you will find that you will cut out too much or eventually cut a good frequencies from the file. Now with this particular Vocal, I wanted it to stand out a bit more in my mix. I knew that a reference for presence is in the 1000-2000hz range. So lets give a little boost there...
Now once again not a dramatic boost either. Another bell curve at the 2000hz range exactly, and only of about 2.5 on the gain level. Now my Vocal is starting to sound better...Lets listen again...My vocal now doesn't seem to be as crisp as I would like..Lets boost the high-end a bit...
Now this is known as a shelf, which means it lifts all frequencies above a certain point and keeps them at the same boost level. Now I have boosted at 7000 and only of about 3.0 in gain. Which was enough to supply my Vocal Track with the crispness that it needed.
Now you could compare the Vocal with the music and see if it stands out too much or if its just right. Now if it is overbearing and doesn't mix well begin cutting the low end a bit at the 200-847hz level, as this is from our high-pass filter to our bell curve cut at 847hz. Make sure you use another bell curve in the cut, although this time, make sure the Q is wider to adjust the body of the vocal better...
Now these settings can be applied to any sound. I used a vocal because they are easier. Now for any other instrument. Listen to it, where are the lows? Determine using your analyzer and eq where the high-pass filter should go. Use your ears and sweep the eq to take away annoying frequencies, and use your ears and sweep the eq at a lower gain to determine where your should boost to make the sound stand out.
Now that I have finished these two predominant tools of the engineer and producer. The next post will be over effects chains and how to use them. Not a long one at all but worth the read I assure you.
Guys once again I enjoy posting these, I hope you guys are learning from them, if you are confused or have questions/comments on how I can improve the blog, please leave you comment.
As always be sure to share us on facebook, subscribe to the right here, and comment and view my page and check out my beats. I have put a lot of work into them.
G-Rage Productions Inc. All beats $20 lease!!!
You can always email me here if you have any questions
We Are Beat Makerz
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