So, are you ready for part 2? The first part was really well received and to be honest I was blown away by the interest in the Q&A session. So, thanks for popping in to have a read and if you haven’t had the chance to check out the LP Cocoon by Chook then click the Album cover on the right there and have a listen. Its 100% quality all the way!

Also, if you have questions to ask or want to make some comments don’t be shy. I would love to hear what you think.

So, on with the show then…

11. Your favorite key to write in?

it’s all about E inn’it

12. Do you use any hardware?

The Virus Ti is the only Hardware i can say I use a lot. It’s got a very powerful sound and the possibilites are just endless with it.

13. What do you put on your master buss? Why?
1. Gain, which I trim down about 5 db so that my master is not clipping even with no limiter on it.
2. A Cambridge EQ, with a Hi pass set at 25-30hz to get rid of unwanted rumble A 2 db increase with a high Q at around 60hz, that pushes the bass and the kick a bit
3. Sometimes I use the SSL bus compressor on the master but not always.
4. Always the Sonnox limiter with the input set between 3 and 6 dnb and the enhance on +-40%
I always have a limiter on the master throughout the whole production process. I find that if you only add it at the end your mix might be pumping or distorting.

14. Do you master your own tunes?

Don’t master the tunes myself. I’ll leave that to a professional.

15. Do you like to colab or write by yourself?

I haven’t released many collabs but I like both. Sometimes I wish I had a permanent collaborater to speed things up a bit.

16. Your music education?

I went to SAE in London in 2002. Fuck that’s ages ago.

17. What other types of music do you make?

I’m also working on some Techno and Tech house projects. I’m hoping to have a few decent tunes ready by the end of the year. I guess The Cocoon Lp reflects the stuff I like quite well.
I’ve also written soundtracks for short films, which was fun. I might be working on a new film soon actually.

Where do you call home right now?

I live in Luxembourg in a village not far from Luxembourg city. For those who don’t know Luxembourg is a country and it’s capital city is called Luxembourg as well. It’s right in between Belgium, France and Germany.

That wraps up the Q&A with the mighty Chook but I think you’ll agree that he really knows his stuff. The insight into what he puts on his master buss was worth the price of admission alone! Stay tuned as I’ll have another Q&A with another Drum & Bass Superstar soon!

See you on the dance floor.

Dauntless

P.S. I’m serious, check out the album Cocoon right now and give it a listen. See ya.

I’ve had Mixing Audio Concepts and Practices by Roey Izhaki for quite a while now. (truth is I wish I had it way earlier!). There ain’t that many books on production so I when one pops up you gotta give it a look, right?

For many drum n bass producers the mixdown IS the hardest part of making a tune. The constant battling of sounds in the mix or getting the tune loud for the club is enough to drive you MAD!

So lets not dilly dally, lets have a peek under its covers shall we?

==>>Grab Mixing Audio Concepts & Practices Here<<==

First off, Mixing Audio was  conceived to provide a complete research on mixing from  basic to advance techniques. This I found to be certainly true, as its written in very easy to understand English and is jammed with pictures and diagrams galore to help you understand whats going on.

The Book Contains:

- 584 pages.
- The book covers most of the major DAW’s from Cubase, Logic, Motu, Protools.
- 35 chapters covering ALL techniques and concepts to do with music production.
- Easy to understand English.
- Is used by the London SAE.

As I mentioned earlier the books is full of  Illustrations and audio samples.
Nearly 300 pictures and more than 2000 audio samples that come on the DVD to be infact!

Lastly Mixing Audio comes with 4 complete sample mixes which come with:
- notes on each audio track and what was done and why.

- A wide selection of genres to learn different techniques from  for e.g. pop to drum n bass.

- Before and after processing clips of all the 4 tunes for studying.

- Separate audio tracks from the tunes.

- For the most part, the text in the book includes the actual setting of processors and effects.

- Samples are CD-quality WAV

So If you’ve ever struggled with balancing levels or just don’t get how compression or reverb work or don’t quite understand the layout of a mixer then  I have no problem in endorsing Mixing Audio: Concepts, Practices and Tools. Its well written and it pretty much covers everything you wanted to know about mixing audio/music production.

==>>Grab Mixing Audio Concepts & Practices Here<<==

See you on the dancefloor

Dauntless