i got this piece by focusrite, and it's for compressing / expanding / and mastering. i need help. i dont know what levels or frequencies i need to be at. basically i'm recording my songs on a tascam 8 track machine. it will be either a straight up beat, or a song w/ vocals. then i'm going to run the outputs from my 8 track thru this focusrite piece. I need technical help in order to get a nice sounding mix / master sound quality. this is the first time i've had one of these. i tried to do like 3 songs using this, but the mixes all sound very fucked up because i have no idea what level i need to have each of these knobs set at.



The first section is for the Stereo Spectral Compressor. This section has the following knobs:

- threshold (range goes from -20 to +15)
- LF trim (-10 to +10)
- HF trim (-10 to +10)
- Ratio (1.3 to 5)
- a Slow attack button (can press it in or keep it out)
- Release (-2 to 1.6 or PDF or PDS)
- Make up Gain (0 to +15)


The next section is the Stereo Equaliser.

- There is the LF area and there are 2 knobs for it. The top knob says "Frequency" and the range goes : 40 , 70, 120, or TILT. Then underneath that there is the knob for LF, and the range goes from (-10 to +10).

- There is the MF area and there are 2 knobs for it. The top knob says "Frequency" and the range goes : 100, 120, 140, 190, 250, 300, 340, 400, 590, 850, 1K0. Then underneath that there is the knob for MF, and the range goes from (-10 to +10).

- There is the HF area and there are 2 knobs for it. The top knob says "Frequency" and the range goes from: TILT, 10k, 14k, 20k. Then underneath that there is the knob for HF, and the range goes from (-10 to +10).


The next section is SPATIAL ENHANCER. I think i know what this is and how to work it.



any solid help on these frequencies and levels will be very appreciated. i'm trying to make my shit sound a little better.

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If you think this is the magic box that's going to make your shit tight, you're wrong. Which isn't to say you couldn't get good results out of it, even just fucking around not knowing what you're doing, but unless you're willing to take the time to stop being an artist and learn the ins and outs of engineering you're wasting technology right there.

Based on your description it sounds like the Mix Master which is a low end mastering unit. Low end for mastering is still high end on the mixing side (talking price), but they are used for different things. You've got a multiband compressor which can be used to compress the low mid and high frequencies at the levels that you set them, threshold and ratios are the same as standard compression. Main difference is choosing the frequency for when it responds.

Eq section is standard issue. Spatial enhancer spreads the stereo field.

All of these things are pretty delicate though, and not intended for production mixing. You gotta get your ear up to do so effectively.

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Big PEMFin H & z's
"I ain't no entertainer, and ain't trying to be one. I am 1 thing, a musician." © Miles

"When the music stops he falls back in the abyss."

i make the beats and write the rhymes. my mixes could use a little improvement, but my shit is usually decent enough most of the time. i was just looking to step my game up a notch and fatten up the end product on my next project. i just don't know about thresholds, or compression ratio's , or frequencies..

so if you have any knowledge , tips, or advice for me, i'm ready to soak up some game.

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you aren't in the frame of mind to make it useful. If you were you would have searched for the manual before buying it. Pretty sure you can find it online. To have bought a box like this without understanding what it does.... but I digress.

I'd actually advise using in the box compression and eq as a good introduction. But if you don't know what threshold and ratio settings are and are expecting someone to post up magic settings that will make the thing work right, you simply aren't in the frame of mind to make it useful. take the time to learn about compression and equalization. What are the techniques used etc. The basic concepts. Practice in the box. Then translate those actions to the hardware.

Also you keep talking about your mixes needing something... it's not a hardware box thrown on at the end of the mix, it's understanding the principles of mixing and applying those to the individual elements of the mix first, then using this or other gear to bring all of those elements together. You've got a long way to go, but you've got to decide that it's worth the time you could be using making more new shit.


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Big PEMFin H & z's
"I ain't no entertainer, and ain't trying to be one. I am 1 thing, a musician." © Miles

"When the music stops he falls back in the abyss."

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http://www.ebay.com/itm/Focusrite-Mixmaster-Platinum-mix-master-compressor-eq-effects-mastering-pre-amp-/271292461631?pt=US_Signal_Processors_Rack_Effects&hash=item3f2a4a723f

You could use the profit to get some tools you could really use.

When that box was dropped it was meant to be this swiss army knife type of unit because it has all of these functions, but it's not *excellent* at any of them. In the time sense there are stock plugins out there that sound better.

That's just talking about the sound of the unit itself. Before you get into that though start with some of the basics in the box as it's a lot more forgiving than jumping into hardware.

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Big PEMFin H & z's
"I ain't no entertainer, and ain't trying to be one. I am 1 thing, a musician." © Miles

"When the music stops he falls back in the abyss."

wouldn't pointing judono in the direction of online resources to train the ear or posts on online forums be more productive than 'sonning' him?

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http://www.twitter.com/chriscjamison/

People who don't take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year. People who do take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year.

Peter Drucker

that was advice to someone who's music i've listened to, and have spent enough time with on these boards i don't feel the need to not be candid.

2) i don't have links to that type of thing because that's not how i learned to use the equipment, and further i don't think you can learn hardware equipment from youtube videos.

3) the advice was pretty clearly directed toward how he could achieve the results he was looking for. specifically understanding the functionality of signal processors by starting in the box where it's easier to experiment (not to mention there are tons of videos breaking shit down) rather than working with a piece of hardware which was never standard equipment in any production studio and has a very specific purpose which without the background is only going to be more trouble than help.

4) i also answered from a place very in tune with his actual music as one of the people here that regularly listens to and often enjoys it. so the advice that i give was all about how to make his music better, but also knowing a bit about who he is I know enough to advise that he may not want to go down deep in the engineering side of things and may be better suited to continue making music than trying to make that box work right for him.

5) so just to be clear the critical points here are he asked for specific settings for a hardware box he just bought. he didn't have any background on the box. i told him that the box was too much for him at this stage, and he'd be better suited going in the box to learn the basics of compression and equalization, and gave him further insight that what would really help with his mixes is applying that knowledge to the individual elements in the mix rather than a stereo box after the mix.

All of that and I get criticized for not posting in the spirit of the lesson and trying to son someone. Sheeesh if that's sonning then what the fuck is this?


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Big PEMFin H & z's
"I ain't no entertainer, and ain't trying to be one. I am 1 thing, a musician." © Miles

"When the music stops he falls back in the abyss."

was in good spirit.

I misread your subject of your first post to judono and blew the tone of the message.

You offered reasonable and considered advice based on your own experience of using the equipment referred to in the original post.

I read your post under the impression that you were rebuking judono because he hadn't done his due diligence on the box and and for wanting help from The Lesson with figuring out his purchase rather than doing research on his own.

I respect your perspective and outlook on music and felt that pushing judono away when he had a legitimate request was out of line with your spirit of wanting music to hold on to some of the values that made for great art - in this case, the value being 'community'.

Again, I apologize for accusing you of expressing a sentiment which you didn't.

__________________________________________

http://www.twitter.com/chriscjamison/

People who don't take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year. People who do take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year.

Peter Drucker

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Big PEMFin H & z's
"I ain't no entertainer, and ain't trying to be one. I am 1 thing, a musician." © Miles

"When the music stops he falls back in the abyss."

it won't matter
9o% of a good mix is volume, panning and EQ
if that's not right then getting a piece of equipment like this will only make things worse-you'll have a bad mix that sounds bad AND loud at the same time
also there's a big difference in a good mix and a good master, you may want to devote time to each while not being in artist mode doing it

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CHOP-THESE-BITCHES!!!!
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Garhart Ivanhoe Poppwell
Un-OK'd moderator for The Lesson and Make The Music (yes, I do's work up in here, and in your asscrease if you run foul of this

So you are mixing on just the 8 track?

How are you mixing the beat down?

The vocals?

The way you are using the focusrite is the way most would use it on a mastering chain.. so if the mix doesn't sit right before you turn it on it wont sound any better through the focus rite..


EDIT:

know what each does.... compression is going to smooth out the dynamics in a signal.. it's going to "glue" it together. That can easily become squashing the shit out of song though.

Example.. if the bass is too loud its going to flatten that and try to bring up the other frequencies which will make for a nice shitty sausage sound..

The EQ is placed after the compressor cuz if done correctly you will still want to boost a little bit (probably upper range 2k-10k) to brighten the sound a bit

Spatial stuff just plays with the width of the signal.. more of a "stereo" sound

Double 0
DJ/Producer/Artist
Producer in Kidz In The Hall
-------------------------------------------
twitter: @godouble0
IG: @godouble0
www.thinklikearapper.com

http://tascam.com/product/dp-02/

i use that to record beats , vocals . sometimes i record on a tascam 4track tape machine, but mostly on the digital 8 track..

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So digital 8..

But what are your beats coming out of? obviously you are probably mixing them before they go in the 8 track since you need tracks for vocals...

However it is.. just make sure that from jump.. you are getting a good mix.

Double 0
DJ/Producer/Artist
Producer in Kidz In The Hall
-------------------------------------------
twitter: @godouble0
IG: @godouble0
www.thinklikearapper.com

i'm rocking a roland sp555 sampler. i have a couple microkeyboards. a lot of times i record my shit live in real time one track at a time on the 8track, drums included.
---sometimes i build a little more of the beat on the sampler, and then record it into the 8track and then add some more intstrumentation on top of it live in real time.

but really, the 8 tracks is the hub. i'm using at all times , for songs with vocals included.

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>The EQ is placed after the compressor cuz if done correctly
>you will still want to boost a little bit (probably upper
>range 2k-10k) to brighten the sound a bit

It's just too generalized and misleading.

EQ doesn't have to be placed after the compressor at all. In fact without a limiter coming after, if this is a mastering process, you don't want the EQ after because you'll risk peaking. And the notion of doing compression correctly is completely bogus, especially this idea of fixing the done right compression with EQ's. Wait what, how are we fixing what was done right?

There isn't a right and a wrong, universally it's all about the application.

And the only reason I'm making this point is because the thing that your reply completely missed is the fact that this is multi-band compression which completely takes it out of the realm of what you're done correctly means. You don't use a multiband comp like a normal comp. And if you're using a multiband comp with equalization as well in the chain you really better know what the fuck you're doing.

There aren't any youtube links that are going to deal with how to use the specific box he bought is going to work for him, and with out the knowledge about how that works, it's just not going to get there, which is why I told him from jump to sell it and go study that shit in the box.

BTW Double_O I'm not coming at you, I know you were replying from an honest place trying to help a lessonhead out, and I think the links you provided will probably be the best help for where judono is at. Just the second time this week, my posting in earnest is being thrown for a loop by a third party and its pretty fucking annoying.


█▆▇▅▇█▇▆▄▁▃
Big PEMFin H & z's
"I ain't no entertainer, and ain't trying to be one. I am 1 thing, a musician." © Miles

"When the music stops he falls back in the abyss."

Yea all that shit is to taste...

You can EQ.. Compress.. Then EQ again... Then Limit

Or like Yoad in the video.. 2 compressors... EQ.. multiband limiting then limting again..

These are all reaaally small incremental changes.

Having a general introductory processing chain isn't bad though..

Double 0
DJ/Producer/Artist
Producer in Kidz In The Hall
-------------------------------------------
twitter: @godouble0
IG: @godouble0
www.thinklikearapper.com

Also just look on youtube...

Yoad Nevo has some cool tutorials on waves vst plug ins. He gives you a general idea of what each thing does so you should be able to apply it to the focusrite..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V9d6zQzcrg

Double 0
DJ/Producer/Artist
Producer in Kidz In The Hall
-------------------------------------------
twitter: @godouble0
IG: @godouble0
www.thinklikearapper.com

preciate it man

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Im just going to use what ive been rocking with

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