Boom Bap i need some overall advice

T

TaylorV

New member
so i've been at it making beats for about a year now. For me finding the sample is the best part. then trying to make heads bob with a drum beat is second best. I enjoy the process is what I'm saying I guess. anyways. I make the beat I think they sound good but when it comes to mixing and mastering I'm a complete noob. if anyone here could give me some advice, constructive criticism or links to articles related to the topic I would greatly appreciate it. I have watched tons and tons of youtube videos and read articles but nothing has mad it click for me yet. Thanks future producers.




also if the link isn't working let me know ill find another way to post it.

hostage party by Killa T. | Free Listening on SoundCloud
 
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Best advice I can give is do not learn to mix and/or master if you do not enjoy it hence why I reiterate to people on here to leave it to those who do. I personally don't want to learn how to do so as I don't believe in wearing many hats.
 
isn't the goal to be self-sufficient? I enjoy trying to make my beats sound better but I hate spending a few hours trying to mix and then the end result being worse than when I started. I know I should have monitors too but I mix through headphones because my monitors are cheap and sound bad compared to my headphones.
 
Yeah, mixing and mastering might not be essential skills b/c you can shop them out, but if you're making boom-bap you have to be able to nail the drum sounds... that type of hip-hop is make or break when it comes to the drums. Mixing skills will help you get the kick, snare, and hats you need to give it that groove and punch.

It may not be 100% necessary but realize that the line between sound design and mixing is pretty blurry.
 
Sound design being the ability to make two kick drums sound good together and mixing being the ability to those two kicks sound good with a snare, hats, etc.?

I just wanna be able to make my drums and all the sounds used in my beats sound like they are part of one mix. If that makes sense?
 
I wouldn't really define it quite that rigidly. What I would say is that compressing and eqing drums is both sound design and mixing. Figuring out how much you want to bus compress the drums will affect the groove but it will also affect the dynamics (mixing) of each hit in the overall mix. Deciding if you want to have a subtle reverb tail on your hats that ducks down (side-chain compression) when the kick and snare hits is both sound design and mixing. Hopefully these examples clarify what I'm trying to say.

A lot of hip-hop producers get really wary with mixing engineers they haven't worked with before because they put so much time into the sound design of their drums they don't want some dude who used to mixing rock n' roll to screw it up.
 
Makes sense thanks for the input I need to learn more about side chaining. I'm just now learning how to use compression. I still don't understand the different types of compression. Just to give you an idea of where I stand.
 
just to caveat on what @thefunkjunkie is saying..the main reason why I decided to put in the work to learn the engineering side of music is because I can't even tell you how much cheese I've blown on paying mix/master engineers to square away my material that ultimately I've been unsatisfied with. And that's a big issue with the internet industry. I'm sure things would be different if you could sit one on one with your engineer and discuss in real time. But that is not the case for a large portion of individuals over the internet. Sometimes the only way you are going to achieve what you want is if you take matters into your own hands.
 
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Are you learning how to engineer your music by yourself or school? If so what sources are you using to learn? I've watched a ton of videos and read forums like this. I know it doesn't happen over night.
 
Yea, I eventually enrolled into a well known music production program but I'll be the first one to tell you that so far after a year and a half I haven't learned anything that isn't available on youtube or other sources. The most I've taken away from so far is music theory. And I would even argue that music theory can be a big distraction. As far as mixing, the only thing that is going to improve your overall ability is time. But nothing will really matter unless you understand what your doing and why. Not just adding reverb or delay just because that's what people do. The main thing is knowing why certain things are done. And you can learn from many of the best in the business online. Waves has a lot of tutorials and also SlateDigital has some very informative information for cheap prices. There are also many everyday people willing to share their knowledge with you for a small fee which is understandable because it took them years to acquire, But it beats the overpriced expenses of some these institutions where the only real gain is through networking and socializing with people in various fields.
 
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You couldn't have hit it any better. some times I feel like I add compression or like you said reverb just because a lot of people say 99.9% of tracks have them. I'm trying to understand the plugins as tools and their functions. Just like music theory you learn the functions of specific chords or scales and then apply them in your own way.
 
your mix doesnt sound too bad id maybe bring down the high end a tad and expand the mid range and maybe low end freq. but tbh I started off the same I enjoyed the prcoess and didnt know much about mixing and mastering. wasnt until I stepped into the social media game and I heard beats by other producers and was like DAMN i've got to figure out how to get that industry sound.

So refrencing has really helped me. I wouldnt call myself a pro by any means but maybe 5 years ago I just started soaking up all mixing and mastering knowlegde I could. Asked friends what their methods were, watched every tutorial I could find. Sometimes DAW specific tutrorials can really help show you how to do it in the software youre familiar with. Over time I've gotten better but youl never have it 100% theres always more to learn more to expand on and music is always evolving so thats the fun in it to me.

so while I agree if it isnt for you then it isnt for you but most of us learn how to do it not because it isnt for us but by necessity. I didnt have the funds to send tracks out for mixing. I'm a firm believer in doing as much as you can. learning as many skills. I take pride in being a one stop shop for all my drops. Mixing/Mastering , graphic design, etc. And until REAL money from this music hustle comes in I support learning to do as much as you can on your own until you get consistent checks. And thats coming from a guy with a full time job as a studio sound engineer lol

anyways here my new joint for feedback when you get a chance
 
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