Mix levels in MPC or DAW?

Discuss the various methods you use in music production, from compressor settings to equipment type.
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By MarkWolbirgh Wed Feb 15, 2006 7:49 am
8bitsofdeath wrote: the best mix engineer probably doesn't make the best beats...and the best beat maker probably doesn't mix the best mixes..


BOOLSHIET! :evil:

have u ever heard of someone named "Andre Young"? :roll:

By aliengroover Wed Feb 15, 2006 3:06 pm
MarkWolbirgh wrote:
8bitsofdeath wrote: the best mix engineer probably doesn't make the best beats...and the best beat maker probably doesn't mix the best mixes..


BOOLSHIET! :evil:

have u ever heard of someone named "Andre Young"? :roll:


Uh...not entirely true. While Dre's a good enough engineer, he often mixes with another engineer to solidify his vision. Just because it says "mixed by" doesn't mean that person has to turn the knobs. It's been that way for decades now. On some projects you'll actually see another credit that reads: mix engineer. That guy is basically like a knowledgeable set of hands and does what the producer or mixer asks them to do.
Peace

By RonDu Wed Feb 15, 2006 3:07 pm
MarkWolbirgh wrote:
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.....

:shock:
which track is this


Touch the Sky

By Jenre Wed Feb 15, 2006 5:26 pm
Don't worry too much about getting a really hot signal. Too many people are recording too loud and limiting their headroom. As long as your signal is peaking between -15 and -10db you'll be fine.
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By Mr modnaR Wed Feb 15, 2006 6:08 pm
Jenre wrote:Don't worry too much about getting a really hot signal. Too many people are recording too loud and limiting their headroom. As long as your signal is peaking between -15 and -10db you'll be fine.


this is wrong as far as i can see. firstly, you should record as hot as possible (ie with no clipping) to minimise the signal to noise ratio.

secondly you have all the head room you want in the DAW, most use 32bit floating point algorithms internally, some use 64bit iirc.

please correct me if i'm wrong though, i'd be glad to know the truth. (no pillage, that's not your cue)

By sleepersriddle Wed Feb 15, 2006 6:54 pm
Yeah i don't see how 'headroom' would be useful for tracking in to a daw.

If you want more headroom just pull down the volume of everything as the first step of mixing in the daw. The signals will still be cleaner than if you tracked in quieter.

Anybody else agree/disagree?

By 8bitsofdeath Thu Feb 16, 2006 2:36 am
we're talkin average producers who post in this forum br0f, not legends ;D 20+ years ago when he first started making beats, 'home studios' were not a reality. he's been at it almost as long as i've been alive. big difference between him and your average guy with a spare room "studio" in their house. i'm not saying its impossible or its something you shouldn't work towards doing.. but if you spend all your time focusing on the engineering aspect you can't possibly be spending all your time focusing on beat making and vice versa. just some advice..

MarkWolbirgh wrote:
8bitsofdeath wrote: the best mix engineer probably doesn't make the best beats...and the best beat maker probably doesn't mix the best mixes..


BOOLSHIET! :evil:

have u ever heard of someone named "Andre Young"? :roll:

By sleepersriddle Thu Feb 16, 2006 4:12 am
aliengroover wrote:http://akwww.digidesign.com/support/docs/WhitePaper_48BitMixer.pdf

Enjoy!
Peace


At a glance id say this supports the 'track in as hot as possible' theory.

Cause it looks like protools has _tons_ of headroom, as well as some special algorithms to ensure that pulling down the faders in the DAW does not lose resolution as much as you'd expect.

...somehow I have a feeling Ableton Live is not doing as well as this.. but hey its fun to use :).

By fader-pro Thu Feb 16, 2006 1:29 pm
8bitsofdeath wrote:we're talkin average producers who post in this forum br0f, not legends ;D 20+ years ago when he first started making beats, 'home studios' were not a reality. he's been at it almost as long as i've been alive. big difference between him and your average guy with a spare room "studio" in their house. i'm not saying its impossible or its something you shouldn't work towards doing.. but if you spend all your time focusing on the engineering aspect you can't possibly be spending all your time focusing on beat making and vice versa. just some advice..

MarkWolbirgh wrote:
8bitsofdeath wrote: the best mix engineer probably doesn't make the best beats...and the best beat maker probably doesn't mix the best mixes..


BOOLSHIET! :evil:

While I'm by no means a "legend", I've been producing since 82 and using MPC's since 86 (Yes, I know the first one came out in 87 - I was lucky enough to be involved with a Beta unit) MPC's have been a part of my creative process since then. It was not until a few years later that I graduated to "engineer" but I guess the point is that the MPC has been a standard piece of gear in some studios for over 20 years. It's not unreasonale to assume that an engineer can be a competant MPC programmer as well...Over the years I have been involved with music mixed in the MPC as well as tunes tracked out to DAW (and tape). The reality is that both can be done and done well - often by the same person. In the mid 90's, I began mastering as well and while there is a learning curve involved, none of these tasks are rocket science. There are many jobs that require more tecnical knowledge - the key to what we do relys less on process that simply using your ear. Experience listening is hugely important, probably more that experience doing. Once you can "hear" what you want to do, you'll be able to figure out one of the many ways to do it, if you have enough time to experiment. There is no one right way any more than there is a correct way to make love. Concentrate more on the creative and what your ears tell you than the tecnical. That being said, optimising signals, proper use of FX and dynamics equiptment, knowledge of EQ use and clean signal paths do make a difference, but you will pick these things up as you try to make good mixes. I also like to get another engineer involved, if I have had control of a tune from creation to mastering just to catch things I may have missed.....

have u ever heard of someone named "Andre Young"? :roll:
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By Mr modnaR Thu Feb 16, 2006 1:56 pm
sleepersriddle wrote:
aliengroover wrote:http://akwww.digidesign.com/support/docs/WhitePaper_48BitMixer.pdf

Enjoy!
Peace


At a glance id say this supports the 'track in as hot as possible' theory.

Cause it looks like protools has _tons_ of headroom, as well as some special algorithms to ensure that pulling down the faders in the DAW does not lose resolution as much as you'd expect.

...somehow I have a feeling Ableton Live is not doing as well as this.. but hey its fun to use :).


although you may get some degradation in the sound file if you pull down the fader in some cheaper DAWs, it's always better to have the option. put it this way: if you tracked in quietly, then you wanted to raise the level in the daw, you won't have any resolution at the lower end (i'm not talking frequencies here, by the way) to use. it's always better as far as i can see to track in as hot as possible, then you have the files stored at maximum resolution which you can always come back to.

also if you pull down the faders you're not using the lower bits anyway, so, why worry about them?
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