Tracking out/Mixing out of the box Discussion

Hey guys. I don't post a lot here but i lurk like every day.

Anyway, here's whats up.
I've been making a lot of beats but most of them are just staying in the mpc(1000) because when i'm done i just dont want to track it out and mix it. I'm on a high from making the beat and then im like oh ****, now i gotta do all this technical shit.

So today i decided to take a different approach. I made this beat. It had samples, drums, and synth sounds. So instead of tracking each part out (about 7 or 8 tracks) I just mixed it out of the box; i think that's what it's called.

I have my mpc, and synth hooked up to this mixer so first i got good levels and everything in the mpc, then balanced the synth noises, then i adjusted the overall levels of the stuff in the mpc and the synths in a mixer. Then I ran the whole mix through a preamp and into pro tools. So instead of doing track by track then mixing, i mixed it then just recorded as one track. I did add some slight EQ and a limiter in pro tools; simple things.

I did the initial out of the box mix on 3 pairs of headphones and then once the one track was armed in pro tools i listened to my out of box mix on my monitors for a double-check on the sound.

I guess where I'm going with this is that I'm totally cool with the sound that i got from just mixing it out of the computer; and also it was a lot less stressful and more fun. It felt great adjusting levels and shit on knobs instead of on the computer. I feel like i have a pretty good ear sonically and i'm cool with this one track tracking method.

And yes if i ever got a beat placement or something on some big label or whatever i have the skills to track beats out properly, but for now i think i'm gonna do it like this.

Here's the track:


EDIT: I also tried starting out the beat with the best sounds that i could.
Good sound in, good sound out. That kind of deal.

I do majority of my mixing "in the box" because of the "fun" aspect of it, clicking mouses drains me honestly

yea it drains me too

Lampdog wrote:"amazing" is amazing. Very chill, I like the synth patches, not too wild and not too easy/lazy pads.

oh sh!t thanks LAMP

i think it's a great approach...like you said simple, no bullshit, and a subtle important thing, no ability to keep going back and screwing with it forever.

props to you for thinking 'out the box' and doing it your way.


let me offer some opinions now:
i wouldn't think you needed that last preamp - however - if you like how it sounds, keep doing it.

one way to have it both ways would be to record the individual instruments onto their own tracks in your daw, then route those outputs back to the mixer for a master 2-track stereo mix. you'd then have the tracks separate if you wanted, but youd also have the ability to do it live to two track.
an ideal situation for me is all my tracks running into the mixer, each track sent to it's own track in the daw but not monitored, and then the mixer stereo bus also going to a stereo track in daw. so when im done, i have all my individual tracks + a finished mix.
again that is ideal, i reconfigure shit so much most times i just plug in to the mixer and hit record on the 2-track tape.

lol yea i wasnt sure about the preamp but i wanted to see what happened

but yea some words of wisdom and solid advice tape, thanks

Here are some thoughts that I have whenever I read that cats prefer to 2 track beats vs multi tracking. It's purely opinion so take it for what its worth.

Mixing outside of the box is great. The only real problem I have with it is when an artist brings me a 2 track to record over and expects a great mix. A lot of times when mixing a beat, we (meaning beat makers) tend to choose which sample or instrument is going to be the focus of the track. Then an mc leases the beat and wants to spit over it because it really is a dope beat.

A couple of problems arise at this point. One is that the instrument/sample that is the focus for the beat maker needs to be pushed back in the mix to make room for the vocals. Another is that the beat maker has no idea what frequency range the mc's vox is going to fall into, so if the vocals and the main instrument, or drums, or in my case bass line clash, the track will sound bad.

I only bring this up because I am recording and mixing an album where about half of the tracks were leased from cats online, and the other have multi tracks. I now have to eq the voice to the track more than the track to the voice, which is my usual technique being that the box is the main focus.

On a side note, if you can 2 track with an artist there, I feel that it's equal to multi tracking, only in real time. You have the ability to mix all of your elements at the same time, giving you a solid mix.

My suggestion is that when mixing beats on the way in, if you plan on giving them to artists, turn that main focused instrument/sample down and maybe even pan it left or right. This leaves space for a vocal to lay on top of it easier. It's not ideal, but it would be much better for the overall sound of the track.

Still, I feel multi tracking is better for the purpose of recording vocals, but if the track is to be listened to as an instrumental, then what you are doing is perfectly fine.

After all that, that is a dope beat Tony. Keep banging.

czy

cozy wrote:Here are some thoughts that I have whenever I read that cats prefer to 2 track beats vs multi tracking. It's purely opinion so take it for what its worth.

Mixing outside of the box is great. The only real problem I have with it is when an artist brings me a 2 track to record over and expects a great mix. A lot of times when mixing a beat, we (meaning beat makers) tend to choose which sample or instrument is going to be the focus of the track. Then an mc leases the beat and wants to spit over it because it really is a dope beat.

A couple of problems arise at this point. One is that the instrument/sample that is the focus for the beat maker needs to be pushed back in the mix to make room for the vocals. Another is that the beat maker has no idea what frequency range the mc's vox is going to fall into, so if the vocals and the main instrument, or drums, or in my case bass line clash, the track will sound bad.

I only bring this up because I am recording and mixing an album where about half of the tracks were leased from cats online, and the other have multi tracks. I now have to eq the voice to the track more than the track to the voice, which is my usual technique being that the box is the main focus.

On a side note, if you can 2 track with an artist there, I feel that it's equal to multi tracking, only in real time. You have the ability to mix all of your elements at the same time, giving you a solid mix.

My suggestion is that when mixing beats on the way in, if you plan on giving them to artists, turn that main focused instrument/sample down and maybe even pan it left or right. This leaves space for a vocal to lay on top of it easier. It's not ideal, but it would be much better for the overall sound of the track.

Still, I feel multi tracking is better for the purpose of recording vocals, but if the track is to be listened to as an instrumental, then what you are doing is perfectly fine.

After all that, that is a dope beat Tony. Keep banging.

czy

no yea i agree with that
when i sell a beat exclusive i always supply the track outs
also when i'm working with a rapper i always track it out individually
but for my own stuff where it's just instrumental and i'm not putting it out on some album then i'll mix it out the box

i never thought about the mc's frequency range in relation to the instruments and the sample level if there is one, good call on that for sure. #learning

EDIT: lowering the sample level reminded me of this nujabes track i heard a while ago where this is implemented
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6q3U6C6HBB4
he lowers the volume of the sample in the verse as well as adding a LPF
i think that's a nice technique, especially in this track because the rappers voice seems to be in a similar frequency range to the sax sample
It's like the sample is always there in the verse, then it comes back in full force at the hook...sweet

verse 1: low volume sample & LPF
verse 2: low volume sample & LPF
verse 3: sample full level again but chopped into pieces/messed with as to not completely interfere with the vocal and still provide enough space so when it comes in completely at the last hook it's refreshing

theme and variations
tension and release

dope
okay i'm done

You got it homes. I'll give you one more. Hi hats are extremely irritating when they are not mixed right on a 2 track.. One track on that project I mentioned gets on my muthafuggin nerves. The beat is dope, but the hi hat is so loud, and so robotic that it completely distracts the listener from the vox.

On that particular track, the hi hat is the focus instead of the vox. If I mix the vocals to the hi hat then the vocals and the hi hat would be to loud in comparison to the rest of the track.

Snares are a common culprit as well.

word good call

ArKyve-31 wrote:I do majority of my mixing "in the box" because of the "fun" aspect of it, clicking mouses drains me honestly

A Control Surfaces helps with that big time. Gives you the hands on approach of a traditional mixing desk. A lot of people say they're quicker with a keyboard and mouse, but me with a control surface i'm extra quick. When tracking beats i get it done in a few mins. I barely touch the keyboard and mouse.
Also when tracking vocals the artist is almost always a step behind me cause i move extra quick with it.