I have created a little tutorial video where I show you how a song is built from a different kind of elements. It’s not a full song, just a piece of music (and very repetitive one), but I hope it’ll give you an basic idea on what kind of elements forms a music and how they can be put together like building blocks. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave a reply. Here’s the video:

Guest post by audio engineer Todd Watson

PART I: THEORY

When learning the basics of recording, the subject of compression often seems daunting. When to use it? How much is too much? Too little? What ratios and attack times are best? Why compress at all? Or maybe none of the above, you may have a life. In the following article, I’ll try to shed some light on the issue without becoming overly technical, and then focus on real-world examples of how to enhance your sources with the right compression.

First, some history: Compression was developed by radio broadcast engineers in the 1920’s to automatically detect and lower peaks in the program material to “level” or “compress” the transmitted AM signal, preventing distortion. This is why many early (and current) compressors have level somewhere in their name, and those ugly, ugly industrial paint jobs. Soon after, duplication engineers began using them to do the same thing when cutting master discs for wax, then vinyl disc duplication. If a recording was too loud, had too much bass content or the transient peaks were too sharp, the cutting lathe would literally jump out of the groove, ruining the lacquer master and interrupting drinking. Adding hardware compression and equalizers before “cutting” the record made the process much easier and had the added bonus of making recordings more consistent at lower volumes on a wider range of speakers.

Today, mastering is more common than ever, with nearly every recording currently released eq’ed and compressed or “leveled” in some way. Soon, compression moved to individual instruments, especially when close instrument and vocal mic placement became the norm in the 60’s and 70’s. New instruments with a wide dynamic range like electric guitar/bass and the modern drum set would now typically be compressed, and a more consistent volume for each note could be put to tape, making mixing easier while doing drugs.

On vocals, singers with softer voices could be compressed to help every syllable cut through a full mix, signaling the end of big voiced singers until Meatloaf. He actually sang directly to tape. No mic, nothing. Then Bono Highlander-ed him. There can be only one… Different types of hardware compressors were developed, each with its own character, each loved and hated like Pee Wee Herman. Software compressors have evolved frightening quickly to faithfully model classic analog units, sometimes combining the best elements of several designs or doing tricks impossible with hardware.

But I know what you want to know, how do it work?

PART 2: CONTROLS

Most compressors, either hardware or software, have a range of controls that look like Stephen Hawking’s ipod, but in practice, are really simple. Starting with what they do in the signal chain, here they are:

1. Threshold is the point at which the compressor starts to “hear” the input signal and process it. Think of this as your “zero” point. Use the attenuation/reduction meter to help set the compression level. If you see large amounts of compression on your input signal (more than 5db), raise the threshold. If you see little or no compression, lower it until you’re compressing 0-3db on average. This is a subtle tracking setting, mixes may require more, but don’t they always?

2. Ratio is the amount that the signal is reduced (or compressed) based on the strength of the incoming signal. 2:1 compression will compress -2db for each 2db above your threshold point and output only +1 db. 5:1 will compress -5db and output +1db and so on. The first number is the db you want reduced, the second is the 1db of output after compression.
Anything over 8db is generally considered limiting, a process which sets the absolute level of a signal through fast, steep, devil-may-care compression and absolutely precise output control.

3. The Attack and Release knobs determine how quickly the compressor starts and stops affecting the input signal. Auto, Fast and Slow are all curves determining how quickly the compressor reacts to the source. Auto averages transient information it detects from the incoming signal and sets the compressor attack and release “Auto”matically. It is a GOOD THING. “Pumping” and “Breathing” occur when Attack and Release don’t match the transient speed of the input source or when you visit the wrong rest stop.

4. Knee or Soft Knee is a term for a softer sloping compression curve, (like the bend in your knee) that is smoother on attack and release than the more sliding-board curve of the standard settings. It may work with or independently of the main Attack, Release or Auto controls. Hell if I know, it’s your compressor! Read the manual! God!

5. Level, Gain, Make-Up Gain or Output is essentially a volume control which lets you manually set the final output of the compressor, adding or subtracting volume to the processed sound. Use this to set the level to your recorder or mixer fader. Leave 3-5db of headroom for later processing or fader rides during mixing.

There are many types of hardware and software compressors and they all have different strengths and weaknesses, like a ticklish weightlifter:

• Tube compressors give a warmer, smoother compression but at the expense of high-end crispness at extreme compression.
• Opto, Optical or Vactrol compressors have many of the same tonal qualities as tube compressors, but are more transparent and forgiving at high compression rates.
• Solid-State compressors are very transparent and color the signal least at low-medium reduction settings, but at extreme compression settings, the signal becomes highly colored in an unnatural way. Usually, NOT a GOOD THING.

However, unnatural sounds can be of use in some situations. Like many elements in the recording process, distinctive, individual tones can come anywhere in the signal chain. It’s all about using your wits, your ears and finding what’s appropriate to the track to use compression musically. I’ll talk and talk about how in the next segment.

PART 3: PRACTICE

Here’s some general compression tips, and then some more advanced voodoo. Most apply to both hardware and software models. Watch your ears as you experiment, compressors can turn out volumes that will rid a house of varmints for a fortnight.

Lightly compress when tracking vocals and widely dynamic sources. I know that many digital purists claim that at 24bit depth there’s now no need to worry about noise floor or bit-rate, just record lower, compress later. I recommend doing both. The sound of a lightly compressed vocal will immediately give a more produced, polished sound in the artist’s headphones as they track. And as you probably know, a confident, wow-I-sound better-that-I-thought artist is halfway there to a great performance. It also helps a tracks consistency when you mix. No more that 2-3db at a 4:1 ratio though, unless you want to color the track, and that’s HARD to get out. It’s way easier to add more compression later, when you can experiment to your hearts content with more effect-type settings without being stuck with them. Or just record one with light compression and one without to another track. With nearly unlimited DAW real estate these days, why not?

Use different compressors for what they’re best at. A guitar that has a very bright top/thin low end is a bad match for a solid-state tone. Likewise a heavy, deep bass doesn’t benefit much from the softening and warmth of a tube type. Take each sound as it comes, and see what it might benefit from. Same thing applies to vocals. Does the singer get brighter or darker as they go for it, is their tone more edgy and thin, (tube) or round and darker (solid-state)? Again, during tracking, you don’t want to go too far with changing voice timbre through compression, but in mixdown, the sky is the limit. (pun SO intended)

Two units are better than one. If you need 6db of leveling, use a few db of your most transparent compression on really dynamic sources like vocals, bass and acoustic instruments. Then use other, different flavored compressors for a few more db when mixing to get the best of both worlds, rather than a lot of one. Try making copies of the track and using different compressors with different qualities, subbing out one for another or blending them when appropriate for the song.

Do NOT compress your mix before professional mastering. Many mastering engineers, (myself included) have been receiving tracks that are limited or compressed to -.03 or OVER full-code digital signal, leaving no room for eq, multi-band processing or even a decent chance to let the track BREATHE. I know it’s sweet to throw that limiter across the master fader bus, dig in 5 or 6db and hear the magic happen. And that’s cool for making copies for your car or to groove to. But PLEASE take that stuff off before you run out your final, highest-resolution-possible master. Leave -6db for the mastering engineer to do his/her thing and you’ll get results that will make you cry with joy.

Sometimes, move the damn fader, Jim. If you find that you just don’t like any of the post-tracking compression you put on, just manually ride the fader. It’s much more transparent and leaves more of your mic/preamp tone intact, but does require having enough fader gain to work with and Spock-like patience. Make sure to also leave some headroom in your instrumental mix at the master fader for the 2-3db that vocals add. It’s totally old-school retro, man!

Ignore number four! (Sort of). I’ve sat at the elbow of well-known mixers and seen the whole mix go thru a compressor, even with NO compression happening. An $11,000 compressor, but still a compressor to get their “sound”. At a seminar with two multi-platinum producers, one swore by compressors at the master, the other swore at it. Jimmy Douglass: “I just don’t like the sound.” Brendan O’Brien :“It sounds like a RECORD!” and no, he wouldn’t say which one! If you prefer the sound of a classic limiter at the master fader when you print your final mix for mastering, lower the main master fader until you get a peak of -6db. DON’T do it at the output of the compressor or plug-in. Some of these software simulations even mimic output gain structure, so it may change your carefully crafted tone.

Compress before equalizing! By compressing before the equalizer, the eq is applied in a more consistent way across the track. If you’re trying to get more “air” into a vocal or instrument, putting the eq first will result in the air being rolled off or otherwise changed as compression kicks in. Eq after and the air stays constant across the top end. This is also true for background vocals. Send them all into an Aux Bus or sub-group, compress it first, then add eq and effects. “It sounds like a record!” Piano, horns and acoustic guitar also need compression first, to keep the eq sparkle as they get louder.

Equalize before compressing! If you’ve got tracks or mixes that sound good when things are at mid-volume and energy, but the sound gets edgy as the track gets more aggressive, use compression color to smooth it out. Got a singer whose top end is just a little harsh? Let tube or optical leveling take some top end off and add warm harmonics. As some instruments get brighter into their top range, the roundness of a tube compressor helps tuck them in, while keeping them up in the mix. Full mixes can also benefit from this combo, the compression adding a tape-like tone to thin lower mids in a way eq doesn’t. Solid-state’s tonal edginess as it gets hit harder is great for singers or sources that lose high end as they gain volume.

Sub-mix, compress and eq things to gel them together. Set up a Stereo Aux Input and send the drums to it. Or just the kick and bass guitar. Or two guitars. Or reverb. Or background vocals. Then compress and eq the living hell out of it! Then blend them back into your original tracks. I’ve seen hip-hop producers who had the same kick drum in five different DAW eq/compressor channels to make it sing in all registers. This also works great on lead vocals, adding air and bringing out every breath and luscious detail. Use a high-pass filter set around 1k after the compressor to keep things from getting too muddy. Just DON’T use it on everything!

These are just some basic ideas, and hopefully a jumping off point for your own signal chains and concepts. As you can see, there are no hard and fast rules, so don’t let compression intimidate you. It’s a powerful tool in getting a consistent, polished sound. To quote the rapper Cannibus: “I’m never under pressure, cuz I keep the pressure under me…” Feel free to leave a comment here with questions and opinions and I’ll answer them as soon as I can. Good mixing!

Todd Watson is a producer/audio engineer with twenty five years experience in nearly every aspect of audio production, including studio and location recording, mixing and mastering, as well as post-
production scoring, sound-design and audio sweeting for tv and film. His work includes artists ranging from Greg Allman to The Game, and corporate clients as diverse as The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra,
Cartoon Network and Yamaha. He is currently based in Atlanta, GA. Check out some of his tracking, mixing and mastering projects and scoring and sound design work

Guys from AMSoulrecords.com have created a very helpful video about how to use equalization effectively. Learning to EQ properly is one of the most essential parts of mixing so mastering it well will definetely make your songs sound good in terms of production quality. Check out this video tutorial, you’ll learn alot!

Also, they’ve created a detailed EQ tutorial on .doc format. Download it here.

All credits goes to AMSoulrecords.com. They have other cool tutorials as well so check out their website.

F.I.X. EQ Tutorial from AMSoul on Vimeo.

For most of the artists and producers, ultimate goal is to make their music famous. To be able to achieve that, the music needs to reach people all over the world. Now that’s not an easy task to acquire, but thanks to internet it IS very possible. But on the downside, internet has also massively increased the music piracy via illegal music downloads which has almost brought the music industry to it’s knees. Despite the popularity of iTunes and other legal music downloading services alike, masses of people do download their music from P2P file sharing sites.

So, with that being said, why not try to leverage the power of P2P networks to your advantage and promote your music using these file sharing networks? In other words, upload a short preview of your track to a torrent site or other file sharing site. Of course, before doing that, you must make sure you hold all the rights to your track and are allowed to upload it. Also, you must prepare your song first.

• Attach a .txt file in addition to your song itself where you tell people to visit your website for more info about you or your music and pack it with winrar. Or add your website or myspace URL to your song MP3 file info.
• Next, make it as a torrent file (instructions here) and upload to one of the most popular torrent trackers around.

I know some artists do this already and due to it they’re getting more listeners for their music and it has also increased visitor amounts to their website.

Of course, this may be a totally dumb idea and I’m definetely NOT encouraging anyone to hang around on those torrent sites or doing anything illegal. I’m just seeing the P2P networks as a possible channel to promote music for free.

-Guest Post by Björgvin Benediktsson from Audio Issues.

Let’s face it. Sometimes your synthesizers just don’t cut it. Sampled guitars don’t work and vocal loops can sound stale. You can build interesting beats filled with otherworldly textures and complicated synths patches but if it lacks a human feel then maybe it won’t work so well for human ears.

Your target market are humans right?

When your new electronic song starts to sound just like the one before it, maybe it’s time to record a few instruments to spice things up.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m a huge fan of electronic music and all the interesting soundscapes the genre uses. My respect for people who can create complicated electronic beats and dense colorful synth sounds is immense. But I’m a recording engineer type of guy so here are a few tips you can use when you want to record a few real instruments to complement your electronica.

Microphones

You can record most things with a decent large diaphragm condenser. Condensers are preferable to dynamic microphones, since dynamics have a narrower frequency range and a dirtier sound. Recording vocals over your trance track is easy if you have a nice full range condenser that captures the full tonal range of your singer, with every nuance of the performance coming through. Microphones get cheaper every day and there are many budget options out there for less than $100. Check out a few of my recommendations for condenser microphones here.

Acoustics

Most bedrooms aren’t designed for music recording. The sounds you get out your microphone in the middle of a untreated bedroom can sound ringy, roomy and boxy. And that’s not something you want on the back of your single.

“An incredibly ringy production! The boxiest vocal in modern music!”

Not the ideal result you were looking for from that microphone you just bought. Before you run back to the store and buy some more equipment that you will be convinced that you need, see if you can’t get a better sound out of your room with a little treatment.

High pitched ringing can be dealt with by using blankets to absorb high frequencies. Hanging blankets around your microphone can get you a better sound instantly, without you needing to buy expensive room treatment products. The thicker the better.

Dealing with lower frequencies and bass can be more problematic as you sometimes need to either buy thick bass traps to absorb the low end of your room or you can create them yourself, which is much more work than just hanging up blankets and duvets. Check out the home recording studio page at Audio Issues for more information on acoustic treatment.

Recording

If you have done all you can to treat your room and are satisfied with the sound of it, the next step is to find a good spot to record in. A good trick for recording with only one microphone is to evaluate the width of the instrument you are trying to record and then place the microphone at the same distance. That way, you should capture the full tonal range and sonic information of the instrument. If you have a large room try placing yourself somewhere in the middle and hang duvets and blankets around the instrument and microphone. Do a before and after recording to hear the difference. You don’t want to completely kill the reflections when you are recording acoustic instruments so it’s important to find a spot in the room that your instrument sounds good in.

You can create a dead vocal recording space easily. Closing yourself off in a very absorptive closet can deaden a vocal immensely, enabling you to get a completely dead but very processable sound that you can mix with whatever reverb and effects processors you want. I always go for a dead vocal that will give me more options in the mix down phase. Using some blankets and duvets I created a nice vocal recording booth in my old apartment.

Conclusion

Adding a few acoustic touches to your electronic mixes can give new life and edge to your productions. If you had any doubts as to how you would start adding recorded sounds from your bedroom into your music, then I hope some of the tips above shone some light on how easy and approachable bedroom recording is.

The Imageline has it’s official Youtube channel. They have put up some really useful FL Studio video tutorials on various subjects. Here’s couple of them:

I highly recommend you to check out their Youtube channel!

I recently stumbled on this article of Ian Shepherd covering the subject “What Is Mastering?”. It explains pretty well the mastering process in a nutshell. Many people think it is just running your song through a limiter/maximizer plugin to make it sound as loud as possible. But I urge you the check out the article to get a better picture of the mastering process. Read the article here.

Lot of artists and producers (including me) use sample cd’s to spice up their musical productions. So what are sample cd’s?


Sample cd’s are collection of audio samples (or sample libraries) which you can use in your songs. They come mostly in wav or aiff file format or as in audio cd. Usually, sample cd consists of ready made 4, 8, 16 or 32 bar loops (drumloops, bassloops, synthloops etc.) which you can use in your song. For example, drumloops are great for fastly creating the rhythmic part for your song. There are also various kind of effects, vocal samples, synth samples and single drum hits like basskicks, snares, claps, hihats, etc. which you can use to build your own “loops” or musical ideas.


Sample cd’s are usually genre specific meaning the samples they contain are specially made for a certain type of music like hiphop, rap, reggae, drum&bass, house, trance, ambient, film music and so on though you can use the samples however you like and whichever genre you wan’t. Your imagination is the only limitation here.


Few years ago, sample cd’s were mostly available only as physical cd’s, but these days (thanks to high speed internet connections) most of the sample vendors offers also a downloadable version in addition to the actual cd.


Price range of these samplepacks are anywhere from few bucks to thousands of dollars and most of the sample cd’s (if not all) are royalty free which means you can freely use the samples in your own commercial or non-commercial production without paying any additional fee’s besides the license you’ve bought.


I myself find these sample libraries come in very handy in my own music production. Sometimes I’m out of ideas for cool drum comps or I need some sort of specific effect and I start to crawl my sample collection and find something that suits perfectly for my needs or get my musical ideas going again.


Although the sample cd samples are cool and you can create almost a whole song using just loops, you shouldn’t build your music based completely on sample cd’s or at least you should tweak them to something original. I mean isn’t that’s what music is all about: creating something musical from our own original ideas. Use the sample cd’s with good taste and how to put this.. sparingly. If I find some sample that I’m going to use in my song I usually edit it like chop and rearrange or put it through various effects just to make it a something fresh. I see the samples from sample libraries like a building blocks to achieve my goal which is introducing my own musical ideas in a form of a song. Also, if you use a sample cd in your song, giving a credit to the manufacturer is appreciated.


All in all, sample cd’s are good aid for musicians which can – if used properly – ease up (and speed up) your music production greatly.


Finally, here’s a list and links to some popular and well known sample cd’s and manufacturers. There are a LOT more, but in my opinion these are one of the best:

• Big Fish Audio – Big Fish Audio is one of the biggest sample cd producers and they have a huge selection of sample libraries covering almost any genre there is and quality is top notch! I have couple of Big Fish Audio products in everyday use.




• Zero-G – Zero-G has also wide range of sample collections on various genres. I have several of their products as awel and quality is awesome.




• Vengeance Sounds – Vengeance Sounds products are MUST for every dance music producer. I think their samples are almost a standard in dance music production. Highly recommended.




• Mutekki-Media – Another manufacturer with professional quality audio sample libraries. Especially for all kinds of dance music.




• Best Service – Best Service has put out some of the most usable sample libraries there is.




• PeaceLoveProductions – I have several PLP’s sample libraries and I’ve used their samples in almost every song I have produced.




• Ueberschall.com – Legendary sample manufacturer.

Here’s a links to online stores where you can buy sample libraries:

• Producerloops.com – Huge selection from almost every sample manufacturer there is! I use them regularly to buy my sample libraries. After you have maid the payment, you isntantly get a link where you can download the product you’ve bought.




• Soundstosample.com – Also a very nice collection of sample libraries.




• Soundsondemand.com – Good collection of audio libraries as well. Been using them also.