Whats the hype with the 8 out option

I have the option but to tell the truth it is really not that much of a big deal because the whole idea of being able to use the option is so that you can mix the different sounds as you choose which you can clearly do in the mix menu of the mpc2000xl. So mixing it is not really an issue as long as u have mixed it properly using say studio monitors then it is okay. What really makes a track sound good is the mastering of it. The worse mix would probably still sound good as long as it was mastered good. Your song will still sound bad if you mix it good but dont master it. that my friend is the key to a good sounding track.

Can I ask what it is you'l do if you feel the EQ on the snare is a bit to dull or bright? or even EQ on the fly full stop

The worse mix would probably still sound good as long as it was mastered good. Your song will still sound bad if you mix it good but dont master it. that my friend is the key to a good sounding track.

I'd have to disagree with you on that one. While there are tons of things you can do to fix a track at the mastering stage, fixing the mix isn't one of em'.

The big deal about the 8 outs board is the ability to record 8 tracks at once or send idividual outs to signal processors. If you don't multi-track then the 8 outs wouldn't be of much use to you but for tracking your beats the 8 outs really comes in handy, they are by no means neccessary but very useful.

I was just exaggerating what I am say ing is that the key to the song is a good mix. No matter how good u mix the song if it is not master it will sound like crap everyelse but where it was made

mastering is not mixing, you can mix on the mpc but not master on it.

why wouldnt you want as many tracks as possible when you go to master? if i was mastering someone elses sh!t, i would rather they have both a stereo version and the individual tracks. wouldnt you?

Not really > Stereo will do!!!

If you got the tracks split down then ur mixing.

mixing is more about volume and pan- you can get some good mixes from within the mpc but they will ultimatly sound better if you use the 8 outs and dedicated mixer channels- so much more scope...

greg

the mixdown is what happens before everything is turned into one stereo sum.

after that, the ratios of the sounds to each other are FIXED. that means, if you have the aforementioned dull snare in your mixdown, you wont be able to repair it later, make it more loud/silent, or put fx on it.

The mastering reworks the Stereo Sum into something, that can be released on a commercial CD. Sub Bass rumbling is removed, some high frequency gloss added, some compression for getting a more hot signal, low bass frequencies are changed to Mono for vinyl cuts etc...

but if the mixdown is c_rap, the mastering will not be able to save much. believe me, i have been through that hell more than once..

me three needle- i have one tune mastered and it was a bit of a repair job too...i wanted to get another done but the mix was too bad to be salvaged...

greg

I need to get more knowledgable in this area...do you/did you go to audio school needle?

BRAVO wrote:Not really > Stereo will do!!!

If you got the tracks split down then ur mixing.

yeah, it'll do. but you cant tell me wouldnt want both? thanks to computers, the line between mixing and mastering is not as well defined as it once was...

well, on second thought, no. you can define it by saying that mastering is what happens to a stereo track right before release and mixing is what happens in the studio. so on a professional level the two are quite distinct. on a home studio level, however, they begin to blur as many cats are mastering thier own sh!t...

sometimes the problem is with the individual sounds and is these can be compressed and equed alone then the final stereo image (and your job mastering) is much clearer.

but, bravo, if you like to work a certain way, thats cool... im not one to judge. i would always hire someone else to master my tracks (someone with a much better set up than i have).

needle broke it down well, you master something once the mix is completed..but once youve mixed your whole beat down, tell me if im wrong; you then send it to your recorder and master it as one track right? the mastering process had me confused for a minute...

The mastering process is done after final mix down. The final mix should have everything you want done to the track in it already, fx, levels, mutes,etc. This is bounced to a stereo track, the stereo track is then sent off for mastering where they run the track through tens of thousands of dollars worth of gear, the real benefit of having someone else master your work is a fresh set of experienced, objective ears.

For us home studio owners however the process is just a little different. While I do sometimes mix and master in the same PT session most times I do the mastering as a seperate project. There are tons of mastering plug ins out there that simplify the process to some degree such as T-Racks and Ozone which provide presets that can help someone with little or no experience make a track shine. I'm partial to Waves plug ins myself, the L2 or LMB are always my last step in the mastering stage.

Since we're on the subject of mixing and mastering I figured I'd throw this little bit of knowledge out there.

When mixing down a track make sure to leave yourself some room to work wiht during mastering. When I first started mixing my own tracks I always mixed so that the master fader was as close to peaking as possible but I found that when trying to master the track my mix left little room to work with. For example if you want to add a little more crack to the mids or maybe add to the low end(of course you should always try subjective processing before boosting but sometimes a boost is neccessary) you'll find the track clipping cuz there is no room to work with. Pro mastering houses really appreciate a good mix with some room for them to put their stamp on the track.

speek wrote:I need to get more knowledgable in this area...do you/did you go to audio school needle?

nop, but ten years in the music biz, and i had to catch up a lot of things. Some of the first Vinyl i released was sounding so bad compared to other records, so i had to learn a lot to compete...have been to some mastering studios in the last years.

One more note from me:

Its okay, if you master your demo a little bit, to sound more fat, to make a bigger impression etc

But always keep the unmastered version also.

When your stuff gets released, your record label will have your beats mastered by a professional, who really knows what he is doing.

Keep in mind those dudes have Monitor systems that may be more worth than your whole studio setup, standing in accustically perfect rooms, and they are highly specialized in their field of expertise.

And i second what CooCoo was writing, its good to keep a little bit headroom for the mastering engineers to work with. If they have room to play with, they can really max out your beats.


peace out,
Needle