Left alone, it has a pretty bodiless sound since this microphone only captures the string noise.I mostly used this in my strings section to get my strings to sound as real as possible. You might get that extra brightness you need. A few inches here and there might make it sparkle a bit more.
But at the end of the day, no amount of “producing” can compete with a song that was put together really effectively in the first place.Don’t despair, because the best way to learn this is by example. To make it, start with a piece of bone a little more than 1/16 wide by about 3/16 This is one of the hardest things to learn, because it can involve music theory as well as the technical aspects of music production. Producing Original Beats Arrangement is the most importantWhen compensation is needed for all the strings, I prefer to make a shelf-nut, by adding a continuous strip (shelf) to the original nut, rather than adding an individual strip per string. First, for people who are producing original beats, here are some tips to make them sound full.
The different instruments are used very effectively and sparingly. (On that note, I consider will.i.am to be a very underrated producer in general.) This song could hardly be more minimal. One of my favorites from this standpoint is “Boom Boom Pow” by Black-Eyed Peas. In the chorus the hi-hat comes in and another synth.”For a fun challenge, listen to some very minimally-produced pop songs and see how they use arrangement in interesting ways. You could even take notes, for example “In the verse there is a kick, snare, bass, and a synth.
Layer samplesThis is one of the most classic tricks for beat-makers and producers. The songs I listed above all have simple yet powerful arrangements. Other examples of minimally-produced, yet effective, songs are “Royals” by Lorde, “Shake it Off” and “Blank Space” by Taylor Swift, and “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke.One valuable lesson you may take here is that “less is more.” One of my favorite ways to say this is “simplify to amplify.” Sometimes, adding more and more layers to a song can end up diminishing the power of the song, making it confusing instead of powerful.
Even drums have a “pitch” and they can definitely clash if they are not “in tune” with one another. Play with the volume and pitch of the different samples as you layer them- if you are not careful you may create something ugly. You are probably hearing a half-dozen sounds layered together. The basic idea is this: when you hear a snare sound in a professionally-produced song, you are probably not hearing a single snare sound from a sample pack.
If you play a saw through a spectrum analyzer, you will see that it fills the frequency spectrum more than almost any other kind of instrument. A saw (a basic type of synth) is notable because its sound is extremely thick. No amount of technical explanation can take the place of those two! Add Synths to Exciting PartsThis is a great trick that is often used and seldom noticed. As with most aspects of being a good producer, the most valuable learning tools will be trial-and-error, and comparing your music to reference tracks. I recommend having a few sample packs to play around with.
(If you could only hear the fundamentals of each instrument, they would all sound nearly the same.) A sine wave is just the fundamental frequency, and for what it’s worth, flutes and whistling are two acoustic “instruments” that have very pure tones- that is, very little in the way of overtones. Every instrument has its own unique set of overtones, which is the reason different instruments have different timbres. (A great example is A=440 Hz, a very common reference point.) But that’s not all that happens- the instrument also creates a series of “overtones,” which are higher frequencies layered onto the fundamental. Use EQ to Bring Out OvertonesWhen you play a note on an instrument, what is really happening? The instrument creates a frequency that corresponds with that note- that’s called the fundamental frequency. You could also add a rhythmic part that follows the drum pattern, instead of playing sustained chords. If you lower the volume until they are barely audible, they will do a great job of “filling up” the frequency spectrum of your song, and making it sound saturated.
The fundamental has effectively disappeared.Boosting around 7k can give kicks a wonderful presence, this is a classic place to boost. So when you hear a song played back on a small device, any kick or bass you can hear is actually the overtones. But listeners often play music on phones, earbuds, and computers these days- and as you know, small speakers don’t have great bass response. Often when people mix low-frequency instruments like these, they are rightly concerned with the fundamental frequencies- that’s where all the power is. This can be very effective on bass and kick.
Bass frequencies create the feeling, the power, the movement in the music. Balance Bass FrequenciesThis is one of the most important technical aspects of mixing music. Remember to do it while other instruments are playing back, so you can hear how it makes the instrument fit in your mix.
Bass frequencies require the most power, and therefore they can disproportionately eat the headroom if not handled properly.Basically, you need to make sure the different tracks in the bass frequencies (40-200 Hz) have their own space. There are limits before your music becomes distorted or starts clipping. Mixes cannot be made louder infinitely. The two issues they can create, are to eat up your headroom, and to create muddy, unclear-feeling mixes.Headroom refers to the space you have to make your mix louder. As powerful as they are, they can be destructive if not handled correctly.
This is a powerful tool, and taming bass frequencies is one of its most important uses. Use side-chain compression instead. But you can try both in each mix, and just choose whatever feels best.Another option is to not use EQ at all for bass frequencies. I typically give the kick the lowest frequencies, and the bass the higher frequencies in this range. Cut the 40-100 range in one track, and cut the 100-200 range in the other track. It’s important to use EQ to give each its own space.
But usually a more subtle effect is better. If you use the effect too strongly, your mix will feel like it is “pumping.” This is occasionally done intentionally, often in EDM. Make sure to play with your threshold and release times to create the right feeling.
Remember, “simplify to amplify.”When producing music electronically, I generally recommend having reverb or delay on one or two tracks playing at a time, max. Yet reverb is very easy to overdo, which will quickly make your mix sound “soupy” or “muddy.” Thick, and hard to hear detail. Adding some reverb makes a mix sound much fuller than a totally dry mix. There are a few general guidelines that I can provide, though. The use of reverb and delay in a mix is highly dependent on the arrangement.
There’s no substitute for experience. I often send my reverb out parallel to the track, and high-pass the reverb track.Other than these general tips though, other aspects of reverb and delay- when to use it, what decay time to use, how wet or dry to make it- vary song to song. Reverb and delay should pretty much never be used on kick or bass, and your reverb should be high-passed, as reverb frequencies below 500 Hz or so tend to make a mix muddy.
By learning these charts, you can start to translate feelings into frequencies and vice-versa.So, listen to your mix, and listen to a reference. You have all your frequencies in place, and you want to ensure they are all being used properly.Try google-searching “EQ Cheat Sheet” and you will find a few graphs that relate the different ranges of the frequency spectrum with different feelings, such as “boomy” “boxy” “presence” and “air.” This was a huge benefit for me personally, and really helped me keep my technical knowledge in touch with the actual experience of music. But when you have your arrangement set, you have layered your samples, you have added synths and delay and reverb at appropriate times- EQ is one of your most effective tools left. Use EQ to Mix EffectivelyI covered bits and pieces of EQ use in other tips. Try bouncing out a few different reverb alternatives of your mix and play them on your car- I often find that that system reveals when I am using too much.
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