MPC5000 reviews, bug reports and fellow user support on the most recent standalone, hardware MPC from Akai
By oneday2one Mon Jan 04, 2010 9:08 pm
what really gets me is what it seems you have that it seems i lack.

its the sound of the 'mix' itself.

how do you mix your stuff, if you don't mind me asking. protools or something?

just interested.

the mix seems really clean and well balanced to me, ... even if i use speakers that don't really have bass, it still comes across as really well balanced.

so any tips on how or what you use to mix would be greatly appreciated.

the beat itself is clean too though ;)
By BxJaze Mon Jan 04, 2010 11:04 pm
Actually I didn't really do any mixing at all, i was only testing the routing to make sure all the signals came through the mpc and the interface. I did some minor volume adjustments and spent about 30 seconds on EQing certain things just for the hell of it...if i really sat down and took time to mix it like i would a serious song then it would actually sound a lot better.


I think the problem most cats face with mixing though is that they tend to OVERdo the mix. They turn knobs and faders all over the place when in reality when you're doing a basic (not final) mix you're doing just that...basic. Listen to the tracks over and over and just point out little areas that you don't think sound how you want it to sound, and attack each issue one at a time. You definitely will need an idea in your head about how you want it to sound in the end, and just continuously compare THAT sound to what's coming out of your monitors. after you've gone through enough songs you'll have your own little flow.


Im not a professional so I'm only saying what i do when it comes to creating basic tracks for CDs to play in the car or for artists/engineers to hear. Creating a final mix is a bit more complex in practice, but still just as simple in theory.


hope that helped
By Fess Wed Jan 06, 2010 1:32 am
oneday2one wrote:what really gets me is what it seems you have that it seems i lack.

its the sound of the 'mix' itself.

how do you mix your stuff, if you don't mind me asking. protools or something?

just interested.

the mix seems really clean and well balanced to me, ... even if i use speakers that don't really have bass, it still comes across as really well balanced.

so any tips on how or what you use to mix would be greatly appreciated.

the beat itself is clean too though ;)



Hey man, if you're sampling from wax you don't really have to do much audio processing at all except maybe time stretching and some pitch shifting. The record is already mixed so any sample you grab and chop up-as long as the mixing levels are the same-you should have a balanced mix. Once you get a dry mix that sounds nice-then start experimenting with eq and compression. If you get to a point where it all sounds good but one piece of music just seems like it's overpowering or too loud, try compressing the musical melodies as a separate group and then do the same for your drums. Hell, try compressing the whole mix with a good software compressor like Waves Renaissance compressor. Compression is the key to getting a tight mix with hip hop. You'll hear some people say not to use too much compression but it's bullshit. Vocals and beats are compressed to hell and back to make them stand out and sit in the mix better. For hip hop and pop music, it's essential. You gotta experiment and don't be scared to get your ears a little dirty. Oh, if you don't have a DAW, get one.