Mix levels in MPC or DAW?

u can use a control surface for the faders..then you can save settings, automation, etc

as opposed to having to document board settings which can take a long time

jaem wrote:u can use a control surface for the faders..then you can save settings, automation, etc

as opposed to having to document board settings which can take a long time

Absolutely. I come from the "olden" days, too, so actual faders and knobs are what I'm used to. So though I love the automation and recall, I avoided getting a DAW setup until control surfaces were affordable. Now, I won't work without my MCU. It's just as important to me as the software is.

BTW, Presonus has introduced the Faderport, a single fader unit, that may work out well for those short on space but would love to use a fader for vocal rides and such.
Peace

I don't know y'all. I think I read a post that said it was near impossible to mix down a beat in the MPC. I beg to differ to the fullest of differ-ity (made up word). I do ALL of my mixing down in the MPC. I don't see why anyone can't. If you know what you're doing or the sound you're looking for it can be done. Unless you're trying to add more than 2 different EQ's or use more than 4 different effects it all can be done with the EB-16 in MY opinion. I track out all my beats with the main outs (with effects if applicable) to the VS 1680 with an inserted Mastering Patch. It sounds good going in and the 1680 brightens it up just a little bit more. And this is the 2 track I'm referring to. Even Kanye took a MPC mixed down two track beat from Just Blaze straight from his 4000 It can be done people...

Mis Dos Centavos.....

I never said it couldn't be done. My point is there are a ton of people who don't know what they're doing and screw up the sounds, send them off to somebody else to mix, and then complain that it sucks. If you're going to take responsibility for how it sounds, and not hide behind the veil of "that's how I want it to sound", then fine. A good master starts with a good mix that starts with a good recording and source sounds. Not only that, but again, when it comes time to do a proper mix that involves various other elements, your arms are tied. Also, people complain about the mixes on Kanye's album, but THAT's because he came to the table with those sounds.

Like I said, I agree to disagree with the notion that it's better to mix inside the MPC. For beat CDs, mixtapes and such, yes. Full productions or album releases? IMHO, no.
Peace

aliengroover wrote:Like I said, I agree to disagree with the notion that it's better to mix inside the MPC. For beat CDs, mixtapes and such, yes. Full productions or album releases? IMHO, no.
Peace

that is highly debatable......
and depends on what if any outboard or plug ins are being used....
but to track out and deal with $hitty A/D just bcuz is BS
cases can be made for either method

Well, yeah, if you're dealing with crappy gear, then, of course. But all things being equal, and having good convertors and such? There's more than one way to skin a cat, so if you can do it and know what you're doing, knock yourself out. Y'all act like I'm saying "can't" and "impossible" with this. I'm not. This all started 'cause Cyrus said he couldn't tell if his beats "banged" unless he mixed it. I just said how do you figure you need to mix it to know? I don't need to. It's either working or going to work or it's not. That was my point.
Peace

you need to mix things at least roughly in order to tell if the track is working, i agree.

hip hop is all about the groove, levels and dynamics are part of the heart and sould of the track. They can and should be part of the 'feedback loop' of composing and tweaking your sounds.

maybe when u say mix you mean the type of fine-tuning/final mixing that a mixing engineer might do, but i think that a coarser-grained thing can also be called mixing.

aliengroover wrote:Well, yeah, if you're dealing with crappy gear, then, of course. But all things being equal, and having good convertors and such? There's more than one way to skin a cat, so if you can do it and know what you're doing, knock yourself out. Y'all act like I'm saying "can't" and "impossible" with this. I'm not. This all started 'cause Cyrus said he couldn't tell if his beats "banged" unless he mixed it. I just said how do you figure you need to mix it to know? I don't need to. It's either working or going to work or it's not. That was my point.
Peace

no, that was not my point.

my stuff sounds SO much better when mixed outside the mpc. largely because the mpc is not the only instrument playing samples. reason also contributes, as well as stuff from serato.

not to mention the mpc doesn't support direct x plugins...

cyrus wrote:

engineer wrote:Mixing inside the MPC is difficult if not downright impossible. If you want to do a real mix, then track it into your DAW no questions asked.

I disagree. Granted, its not the same as mixing with a daw or mixer, but it is definately a neccesary thing to do during the creative processes. If you are not mixing while you are building the track, how the **** are you gonna figure out if if you should use a particular sound, or get a groove right, etc. You gotta do it to alteast get a general idea and so you dont hurt your ears with hihats or snares.

Plus its better to get things bangin right out the box. I do a general mix in the mpc, even after im done doing the arrangement, When i track it out, i get the signal as hot as possible.

AND

Im not waiting until im done with the beat to make my **** bang! Otherwise your nuts. Maybe our definitions of mixing are differant? but for me its not a onestep process.

Your words, not mine. It's all good, though. Again, I agree to disagree. That's your stance. I never said it was wrong or stupid. I'm with Ant, though. When I had no choice I always mixed inside the gear, MPC included. But whenever I would go to studios, and since I started tracking at home, I've personally gotten better results printing to tape/disk. YMMV. As I say about everything: do what works for you. No biggie.
Peace

reread the post. no where does it say "i cant tell if my beats bang unless i mix it"

Peace

i think when you're in the mpc you're worrying more about composition than sound...you can make your beats "Bang" easily enough later on down the line. often i don't layer my drums til halfway down the composition.

i've only just now learned how to compress drums decently, and more importantly how to limit my song (final mastering, thanks cooocooo) and it's made a big ol difference.

peace
nym

you can be either really good at makin beats or really good at mixin tracks... my advice is spend more time making beats and less time engineering, and when you have a track thats a hit, take it to a studio and have it mastered by a professional. until then, just make sure your freqs aren't clashing and your sounds arent weak. the DIY approach is nice and its great to have your own home studio but your shit wont sound like 'the pros' until its mastered by 'the pros'. the best mix engineer probably doesn't make the best beats...and the best beat maker probably doesn't mix the best mixes..

RonDu wrote:And this is the 2 track I'm referring to. Even Kanye took a MPC mixed down two track beat from Just Blaze straight from his 4000 It can be done people...

Mis Dos Centavos.....

which track is this