dnbbeats.com

Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio

I love drum and bass production. I love music production period and I love all the books that go along with making beats. Mixing Secrets (MS) is a new favourite of mine and I only had to read the first 4 chapters and I was hooked. Well written and clearly laid out MS reached out to me and opened my eyes (or should I say ears) to some facts about mixing for the small studio. (which most of us have!)

Written by Mike Senior who is part of the SOS Magazine team and has bucket loads of experience when it comes to mixing and audio production. This book is a testament of his knowledge and passion for teaching and educating people in all things audio.

Grab Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio HERE

Unfortunately this book doesn’t come with a DVD or CD like Mixing Audio Concepts by Roey Izhaki. However, its not a deal breaker as at the end of every chapter there is a link to a page online that contains all the relevant audio and tools.

NICE!

What you get

342 page book published by Focal Press

20 chapters of solid information grouped into 4 parts.

Part 1 – Hearing and Listening

Part 2 – Mix Preparation

Part 3 – Balance

Part 4 – Sweeting To Taste

MS was written to be read from front to back sequentially. Its a real easy read and only took me a few hours to read it after the chaps at DHL delivered it to my door. I’ve since gone back in on the book re-reading certain chapters and this method works as well.

What you learn

MS isn’t really aimed for Newbies so if you don’t know what a DAW or a VST is, I would recommend you first get Mixing Audio. However, on saying that Part 1 – Hearing and Listening is absolutely mandatory reading for all levels of music production. I wish i had bought this book before buying my new nearfields… ouch!

Other topics MS covers are:

1. Compression

2. EQ

3. Side Chain

4. Mixing with Reverb

5. Mixing with Delays

6. Stereo Enhancements

7. Buss Compression

8. Automation

The chapters on  Buss Compression and Stereo Enhancements are awesome and full of great tips and insights. The chapters on Mixing with Reverb and Delays can really help give your tracks that professional edge and help gel your track together.

Why i love the book

Besides the killer information this book holds and its clear layout and design is the way this book is written. Easy to understand language with a touch of good old fashion English humour thrown in for good measure.  Like I stated before though Part 1 is absolutely awesome and I learnt so much from those 4 chapters and I personally think you should definitely purchase the book on them alone!

There is also a “Cut to the chase” section at the end of every chapter which is like a nice little round up and then right at the end of the chapter you get an “assignment” or to do list. Which is a great little addition to the book because sometimes after reading all that good stuff you need to do list.

The end of book comes with an A-Z list of top engineers and albums they have worked on. This is awesome because you can pick up some albums and start listening to some tracks and build your on “AB Reference Library”.

Who is going to benefit from the book

This book is for producers who want to take their productions up a notch or three. although none of the concepts here ground breaking or new the book delivers the right information to you in a clear manner easy for you to digest and put in your own practice.

Where can you get it

I got mine from Amazon and paid for the express delivery. Ordered on Monday night and arrived on Friday morning. WIN!

Do yourself a favour and pick up this book and learn. Your productions and skill levels as a producer will go up a notch or two.

Click here to grab Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio

Fracture Cosmic Drum and Bass Review

Fracture and Neptune has been supplying us with great music for a decade now so its with great joy that we finally get to lay our ears on some sonic goodness courtesy of Loopmasters.
Cosmic Drum and Bass is fantastic sample cd and drum and bass producers shouldn’t have a hard time finding some quality sounds to add to their library to use in their own productions.

Grab Your Free Samples HERE

Lets get stuck in and see whats in there

Bass Loops
Layered Bass10 kits from 170 bpm to 174 in various keys from c-Ggreat collection of samples. you get 3/4 samples. Top, Sub and Mixed. This way you chop and change them up as you wish.
The sounds them selves sound warm, dirty have plenty of motion in them. My fav of the bunch has to the tearing Fm- Scotchbonnet!

The tops do have FX on them but don’t let that stop you from going crazy with more effects.If you’re into Neuro or artists like Ulterior Motive, Alix Perez or Octane and DLR then this pack is perfect for you.
Another good thing about having them seperated is you can then go in on them and reverse engineer them and see how they were put together which is awesome.

Single Layer Bass12 samples of single layer bass from 170-172bpm. Keys from C-Am. Dj Fracture has taken the time I must say to accurate go through all the samples and give us the BPM and the key signature.
The samples here continue with the same quality. You get a nice collection of moving distorted dirty loops that are warm and have plenty of bite and interest. You won’t have a hard time finding something substantial to get vibing off.

Drum Loops
20 drum loops with several variations of a couple of loops with tails/FX. You get the full mix of the drum loops and all the seperate elements as well.
You get a nice mix of drum loops here as well. Steppy minimal dnb vibes is the order of the day but a few nice rollers in there to keep the kids happy.
Once again the breaks are warm and have plenty of character to them with interesting sounds thrown into the mix like sweep effects and perc. All the elements have a decent amount of eq applied and thankfully haven’t been overcompressed or limited.

Full Loops
12 full construction kits for you to do as you please. You get drums, Bass, synths, Perc etc, oh and a full mix file as well so you can preview the kit.
The kits are quality plus. I have personally made a couple of tracks with the construction kits to test them out and they impressed the pants off me for the time I put into them. I have NO DOUBT that if you spend a few hours picking a choosing a few quality from this pack you would be well on your way to making a great dnb tune. (I have started to make some practice tunes using construction kits but more about this at another time.)
Some of these construction kits with a bit of work could have been released the quality is that good. So I must hand it to DJ Fracture for coming up and delivering the goods!
Lexicon and Cookies is definitely the stand out construction kits. QUALITY.

Music Loops
The music loops folder consists of 4 folders. Guitars, Pads, Rhodes and Synths. Each folder has about 12 samples inside.
The samples are interesting music loops ranging from FX sounding loops, weird/dark chord progressions or Arps and Atmospheres.
They sound great. Have loads of character and are very usuable.

Bass Sounds
20 Bass sounds that you can bung into the sampler and go crazy with. Most have a bit of motion to them and are well EQ’d and overdriven just perfectly.
You get the standard Hoover,808, Wobble bass and more so finding something that works shouldn’t be a problem.

Drum Hits
Bass Drums
20 kicks from boomy to clicky. Analog to synthetic. There is a few gems in there that i’ve added to my owen personal collection.
Hi Hats
A great collection of 20 single hit hats. Some real sounding hats to more synthetic hats.
Snares
21 really nice sounding snares. You get a nice mix of punchy snares to the more toppy minimal snares that people are using today. Some of the snares do have a bit of reverb but nothing too crazy.

FX and Atmospheres and Synth and Pad Sounds
I love FX and Atmos samples because they can really set or give your track a vibe and the collection of samples here do just that. If you’re after a darker vibe or a making a moodier number then there is some gems to get you going here.
The 40 samples here might not be to everyone’s taste but you should be able to find a good sample or five.

Final Thoughts
The Dj Fracture Sample pack is quality all the way and gets my thumbs up! The ONLY dissapointing thing to me was if you were expecting more drum funk break samples you would be very dissapointed. On saying that though you could indeed make them yourself with the quality of breaks you get so its a small gripe.All the other samples are Fracture through and through and thats a testimony to Fracture and his music.

Click Here For More Info and Free Samples

I don’t know whats going on over at Loopmasters but the quality of sample packs just continues to amaze me! Total Science blew my mind and the BHK packs always deliver but this pack from DJ Fracture is a real jem.
I have personally learned a lot from this pack by reverse engineering some stuff and taking apart the construction kits so have NO PROBLEMS recommending this to anybody serious about making drum and bass.

Howdy, just a quick post to let you know that I’m still banging on the beats as hard as ever! I’ve been on holidays for the last month in my original homeland of Vietnam so I’ve not had much time for production. However, now that I’m home its 100% full speed ahead.

The time away was truly awesome and time away from the STUDIO  was actually helpful!

I’ve made a few changes in the way I work in the studio. They aren’t massive changes but I believe they are ESSENTIAL  for finishing tunes:

1. Have a good Idea of what TYPE of tune I’m trying to make. Then I pick a reference tune I want to AB with.

2. With an Atmos sound rolling I go about trying to make the break as good as possible. Always ABing with the Reference tune.

- I’ve found that If I have to go back in on a drum break its soul destroying and normally changes the tune in a bad way!

3. Finding a good starting sample is the next crucial step. Chord Progression, Bass Loops, Horn Stab or whatever. Something musical is a good place to start. Anything really will do but we warned that what you do pick can/may influence what you end up writing.

4. Bass is the next step and then arranging.

Yes, the list above is rough guide to how I’m working and yes I will get into more detail in a later post.

Good luck producing and remember to stay focused on the beats!

Dauntless

So, after the great success of Total Science Drum and Bass Vol.5 and BHK Rough Connections Vol.4 Loopmasters aren’t taking a backward step. Oh no good peoples of the free Earth NOT on your LIFE!

Enter ASC into the sample CD arena with:

ASC Experimental Drum & Bass

Click Here To Download Free ASC samples NOW

Now, I you probably know me as a bit of a tear out tech producer but the minimal experimental sound is really growing on me. Producers like Jubei, Skeptical and Ulterior Motive are just unbelievable right now so I was definitely keen to check out this sample pack from a veteran now of the Drum & Bass scene and see if I could fit a few new sounds into some new beats on working on.

So, lets just stuck in…

Sampler patches

Nothing unusual here. You get your Kontakt, EXS24 and NNXT and SFZ files.

Bass Hits

You get a nice little collection of 20 Bass Hits. The best bit about the samples are there pretty varied but they all have just the right amount of bottom end. Some are heavy whilst some have a bit more reverb and sound a little more techier. What A.S.C was aiming for here was quality NOT quantity. My favorites would have to be the Donk sound of 16, the heavyweight 3,10 and the tech sound of 9.

Drum Hits

Kick Drums

40 Kick Drums a couple of them I really like. Mainly mostly very Deep Subby kicks but so saying that there is quite a lot of variation. If few dud kicks in there as well which is a shame.

Snare Drums

Okay so the same number of snares as kicks which is 40. Once again variety is the name of the game here but I managed to find 7 or 8 really good snares to use. I don’t know what reverb he used on them but its sounds awesome. Just the right amount used as well which is nice. Also the fill up the stereo field really well so they sound big! Some of the snares probably ain’t going to like but the pack is experimental after all!

Perc Hits

30 perc sounds on the experimental side. Nothing too crazy though. Fizz, pop bang kind of thing. Incidental noises but sounds that can definitely add something to your tune. Especially if you’re into the minimal steppers that are going around right now like Jubei, Skeptical, Ulterior Motive and Alix Perez. Actually I have a light stepper that would benefit from a few of these Perc Hits!

FX

Just a small collection of 10 samples here. Nothing much to report. Fizzy lazer types of sounds. Moving on…

Noise Layers

Awesome folder of 16 noise samples. First person I know to really give you a collection like this! (That I can think of anyway)
These little guys can add that bit of dirt and ambience to your tunes if used correctly. (Just put them low in the mix) Anyways, big up the A.S.C for adding these little beauties!

Atmospheres

A.S.C is well known for his moody atmos/ambient DnB so I was really keen to hear this folder of samples and he didn’t let me down. All 20 samples are moody and would work in movies let alone tunes! Expertly crafted with the right amount of reverb and fx. The samples are constantly moving so you never get bored with the sounds which is an indication of the skill involved in creating these sounds.

Bass Loops

Mixture of good Bass loops and to me NOT so good Bass loops. Processing wise the loops are heavy and could definitely kick start off your creative process. Just don’t count on all of them to do so.

Drum Loops

Great collection of mostly experimental flavored Drum n Bass breaks. You get the odd really nice break here and there which is nice. The experimental breaks are indeed experimental but NOT over the top and if you’re into minimal DnB you’re going to be in heaven! I myself have handpicked quite a few breaks that I think would be an excellent start to a few steppy tunes! Hybris here I come!

Music Loops

40 really good music loops. Quality through and through here. Just like the atmospheres the samples here just spell out quality damn it! Plenty of variety so what ever mood your in you should find something suitable to kick start your session. The sounds are made up of layers and layers of samples and the right modulation and fx. Brilliant.

In Conclusion

I would have say the ASC Experimental Sample Pack is a real winner. Sure it could have been a bit more “experimental” but then where do you draw the line? There has to be plenty of usable sounds in a sample pack and this one has plenty and that’s good enough for me. The samples are really well produced (the music loops are amazing) and their is plenty of them so you really do get your money’s worth.

If you love ASC or just want to get some chilled/ambient/experimental sounds into your productions then buy this little beauty straight away!

Click Here To Download Free ASC samples NOW

At last…

Well, i finally took the plunge the other day and booked in a real mastering studio for 2 days of drum and bass production madness!
I was really keen to see how my tunes were going to sound in a proper super acoustically treated room.

There was plenty of reasons for me wanting to be in a real studio but the main reasons for me was the lack of distractions I would have and the room itself. Sometimes its really hard to get tunes finished at home for whatever reason. Whether its work, or the mobile phone rings or friends pop over or whatever. All these distractions just pushes the finishing off of the tune that much further away. So after negoiating some the time off with my lovely wife I made preparations for an exciting 2 days.

Two Heads Are Better Than One!

I’ve been working a lot with my homeboy FUJ and to be honest he has been a great inspiration for me in the studio. I’ve written before about the benefits of working with somebody else in the studio and I’m still a great believer in the practice. Apparently you have some blind spot in your brain so if you have somebody there in the lab with you they can pick up on your mistakes its called ____
and is a really fascinating subject so check it out later.

Anyways…

Fuj promptly arrived in the morning to help load the van with all the equipment and away we went….So I thought.

Had I Upset The DnB Production Gods?

On the way to the studio on one of the busiest streets in Sydney I promptly broke down. No lights worked on the van, no hazards NO NOTHING! I had a whole street of cars, trucks, vans and buses behind me so I jumped out in my flip flops and starting pushing the van down the street to the nearest side street. Luckily it wasn’t too far and Fuj was just up the road so after a quick call he came round to help me out.

Ripped my brand new pair of shorts as well!

Totally Wrecked Brand New Pair of Shorts

We tried jump starting the Van but to no available. So I send Fuj to buy me a new battery for the van as we thought this was the main problem. After a few minutes Fuj arrived with the new battery and in no time we were at the studio and having some fun!

I can hear clearly now…

After we set all the gear it was time to get GRIMEY!

I brought my Event Opals in the studio and they kicked major ass (the cheap Tannoy Reveal sounded great as well). They sounded as good as the day that I bought them in the show room. I will be the first to tell you that my unit/flat is absolutely terrible sounding but you probably know that from a couple of previous posts. However, being in a proper studio made me realize just how bad my room really is and to be honest I was NOT going to fix it using the Behringer Ultracurve or IK Multimedia’s A.R.C software (although ARC is pretty damn good!).

Reaktor Studios

The real benefit of working in a treated room is the confidence it gives you when you need to perform any task EQ, Compress, Stereo spread etc. Now when your boosting or cutting say a kick drum you know that your making the right decision for the sample/track/. I have a standing wave of 50hz in the room so anything in the Key of G just BOOMS like crazy! Very annoying YES! Could I live with it? Hmmm…

First Thing is First

For the first few hours of studio time I just listened to music. My own stuff. Noisia’s stuff. My own stuff. Had a cry. Then back to Noisia, Phace, Misanthrop, Fresh etc. It’s important to do this to get your ears to the new surroundings. Every hour or so I would take a break and walk outside to reset my ears. I was loving the studio big time and I hadn’t even started to do work yet!

Reaktor Studios - Heaven for a Bedroom Producer

Getting Started

Because my room/unit is so bright I was amazed at how dull sounding all my drum hits/breaks were in the studio. So I quickly set about fixing that problem by doing a quick clean out of the crap samples from my personal library. Man… there was quite a few bad apples in there and its a boring part of drum and bass production but it has to be done. The same process went down for the kicks and hats etc.

I then went on a marathon 12 hour studio session just working on beats and bass and everything in between. As it was my first proper studio session I just went through some of my older tracks to see if anything good was lurking in the project folders. I was happily surprised to find quite a few bits that i really liked and I marked them down to work on later.

I was really shocked by my experience in the studio. Sure my knowledge and skills have improved over the last 6 years or more but I was literally blown away by how cool the whole experience was.

What Next Then?

Well, if you’re producing at home, in the garage, in the bedroom. Take some time out to acoustically treat your room as best you can. Your beats may not be as bad as you think they are but the room is making them sound terrible. Now, I’m sure Noisia and Phace sounds brilliant in your lab but this brings me to the next part…

A/B your shizzle!

I’ve also spoke at lengths about A/Bing your stuff with quality tracks. Now, I’m going to say it to you again. DO IT! You have to do it. There is no other way of knowing whether or not your stuff is making the grade. I’ll admit I haven’t been doing it as much as I should but all that changed BIG TIME. I’ll write another post on the best practices of AB testing your stuff but for now just grab some of your favorite tunes and play them next to yours. Easy as.

Headphone <3

My whole trip to the studio was not all bad. The good news was that stuff that I had made on my Sennheiser HD650s sounded great! Sure I had to tweak a few things here and there but all in all I was extremely happy with the results I obtained from using them. As a by product at home I only use the HD650′s now. I’m planning on getting some crap PC speakers as this seems to be a very popular choice for big named producers. PC speakers are tiny and they don’t throw sound all over the room so they would be perfect for my setup at home.

Studio’s offer a great way to work undisturbed from the world. A really good studio will give you the clarity and confidence to make important changes to your tune thus helping you create better tunes and mixdowns. AB a crap load and if you have a very difficult room to work in like myself work mainly on a good set of headphones and every now and again using some cheap PC speakers.

Right now me and Fuj are finishing off some tunes so that we can polish them off in the studio together in a big session. I really can’t wait to show you guys whats been going on. Till then I hope your beats are smashing up the dance.

Speak soon.

Dauntless