Consistency

[kel]

I've got about 16 tracks (some mpc, some sp) from different stages in my "career" and i want to even them out somehow, doesn't need to be perfect. I can get into the OG sessions for some of them, but others need compression or eq, some are muddy, some bright, different styles etc... just all over the place. my friend is coming to visit and he's gonna rap over all the beats in two days, then we drop it the next day. should i just vinyl sim the hell out of everything or run it through the vcr with levels blasting or something? I just don't want it to be too noticeable when the frequencies and levels change from song to song, but I also don't want to......umm basically i'm too lazy to try and mix it better and some of the songs are really mellow, might not sound too good with explosive compression....


secrets?

[ellaguru]

considering that you don't want to compress to death the whole thing then maybe "panning" could be one secret.
try to locate different sounds in different spaces.

[V-F!]

I would go to vcr first. Rewind then dub back through vinyl sim. Make sure you playback the tape after recording to it though so you are not just processing the direct input which your vcr may be outputting while dubbing. Uh did that make sense? I do the same thing but with cassette.

[cartesia]

If you wanna get everything under control an easy way to reel in the bright songs is use the lofi effect on the whole thing.. It's alot easier to make everything sound a bit darker than make everything brighter

[kel]

good tips! Ella do you mean panning like beatles albums or something? could be cool for some big speakers but it's probably more headphone music.. although elhuana gets away with it somehow
thanks Bridge, i think i'll try the vcr. method. i guess the point is to make the songs sound like they are all coming from the same place/source, kind of like how some people like to leave the crackles in the vinyl sim... i suppose it will dampen the higher frequencies a little bit. @ cartesia i agree with you about the lo-pass idea. i'm alright with compression but not eq.. if i posted the darkest and brightest beats back to back would you be able to give me an idea how to set my filter in between?
edit: actually Ella maybe panning with a little reverb on the other side would sound cool. might make it sound like a live performance or something..

[ellaguru]

good tips! Ella do you mean panning like beatles albums or something? could be cool for some big speakers but it's probably more headphone music...
edit: actually Ella maybe panning with a little reverb on the other side would sound cool. might make it sound like a live performance or something..

yes! i mean the 2 things!
don't forget the space "occupied" by the instruments man...ok, maybe i'm reasoning like an old indie rocker (as i am in reality)...

[cartesia]

Yeah I find it funny how club music producers go on about panning their mixes and such TBH..

nobody is ever standing in the right place to be able to hear the panning in a club (if you're lucky enough to have a stereo PA)..

I guess they just do it to sell tracks for ppl to listen to on their ipod

[a.D.]

I wouldn't be concerned with having a consistent sound throughout, other than just the volumes of all the beats being basically the same- All over the place is a good thing man- makes for a more interesting listen and shows versatillity-plus gives an emcee a lot of different angles. Just my 2 cents.

[Unfolding]

I kinda agree with A.D. on this one. A variety in styles, sound qualities & approaches isn't necessarily a bad thing.

However, 'quality' and 'variety' are subjective. As you're aware of how you made each track you're more aware of the differences between each track. To someone new to your beats, they may not hear the differences so strongly.

It may be worth just giving your instrumentals to a friend (who's not closely related to your music) & get them to comment on what they hear in the track's production values. Then go about cleaning them up from there.

Hope the collab works out too- good luck!

[ellaguru]

Yeah I find it funny how club music producers go on about panning their mixes and such TBH..

nobody is ever standing in the right place to be able to hear the panning in a club (if you're lucky enough to have a stereo PA)..

I guess they just do it to sell tracks for ppl to listen to on their ipod

yes i know what you mean, but at the same time i don't want a "panned to death mix" , i just want to say to "occupe space" with "ingredients" in the final mix and not just "compress" everything...

[kel]

wow. tons of great advice, thanks guys! we've known each other for like 14 years and he's been rapping over my stuff for almost 10 so there will be no surprises the way it turns out. thankfully IIIII is gonna help with the mix, he's got good ears @ a.d. good idea, i'm not gonna sweat the different styles going on.... it will be all over the place but his format is exactly the same for every song so i guess that will serve as the glue....