Skol303

[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1417466954' post='2620712']Brilliant advice, I'll give it a go if I ever get round to starting a new track. One question... what is said stereo widening device? [/quote] I use something called an [url="https://www.propellerheads.se/products/reason/effects/mclass/"]MClass Stereo Imager[/url], which is one of the plug-ins that comes bundled with Reason. But I'm sure there must be equivalent VSTs available. [quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1417468787' post='2620744'] A Stereo widening device is a waste of money and a gimmick. You can do it yourself. Just move your monitor speakers an extra foot apart, job done. [/quote] I like it.

[quote name='the boy' timestamp='1417419771' post='2620044']Congrats to skol. Great compo.[/quote] [quote name='lurksalot' timestamp='1417423078' post='2620070'] Well done , Skol , great composition , well produced. Well done to all the other entrants also , a brilliant body of work . [/quote] Thanks guys! And ditto... really good entries last month

[color=#800000][b]Right, no dilly-dallying... it's December [i](already!)[/i] and here's the final challenge of 2014.[/b][/color] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/250527-december-composition-challenge-get-recording/"][b][size=5]Go, go, GO!!![/size][/b][/url] And thanks everyone for a crackingly good November

[b][color=#800000][size=5]December’s Composition Challenge is now underway.[/size][/color][/b] [size=5]It’s the final shindig of the year, folks! Here’s the image for your inspiration…[/size] [size=5]And here are the rules 'n' stuff…[/size] [size=4]By entering the competition you agree to the [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?app=forums&module=extras&section=boardrules"]Basschat Terms & Conditions[/url] and [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/3178-forum-guidelines/"]Forum Guidelines[/url], which are designed to help ensure the forum remains free of offensive and/or illegal behaviour and material. In a nutshell:[/size] [size=4][b]1) Please avoid any content that other forum users may find offensive.[/b] If your track contains explicit lyrics, for example, then please warn other forum users so they can choose for themselves whether to listen to it.[/size] [size=4][b]2) Please make sure you have permission to use any 3rd party sounds included in your track[/b] (ie. sounds that you have not recorded yourself, such as samples of other people's music). The owners of Basschat accept no responsibility for infringements of copyright or other forms of legal ownership, which are solely the responsibility of competition entrants. If we spot any breaches of copyright then your track will be removed from the competition.[/size] [size=4]For reference: here's a great source of copyright-free material, all available under Creative Commons license: http://www.freesound.org/[/size] [size=4][b]3) Entries should be no more than five minutes long and written/produced during the month of the competition[/b], taking inspiration from the photo provided. No cheating![/size] [size=4]If you have any questions about the competition rules, just ask.[/size] [color=#800000][b][size=5]The deadline for entries is midnight on Tuesday 23rd December*[/size][/b][/color] [size=4]What are you waiting for? Go, go, go![/size] [b][size=5]*[/size][/b][i][size=4]a day earlier than usual as I’m going to be merrymaking on Christmas Eve… [/size][/i]

Aye, can't fault Scott and what he does. Great lessons and comes across as a thoroughly nice chap. Well he's a Northerner, so what do you expect!?

Just made my choice for this month Brilliant work all round. I know I say that every time, but it's unfailingly true. I've left various comments on SoundCloud of the "wow, this is great!!!" variety. My vote went to Zenitram, with Dad and Leonard being very close runners-up. I think the latter two (and others) actually captured the photo more accurately, but I thought Z's track was a thing of beauty of just my cup of tea, which swung it in the end. One more to go for this year, once the fat lady has finished singing on November... Cheers all

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1417115578' post='2617263']Good stuff all round folks, some good tracks. Skol got my vote this month...Close though.[/quote] [quote name='PlungerModerno' timestamp='1417266371' post='2618695']Congrats in advance Skol, you've really earned a proper pat on the back for that one.[/quote] [quote name='alibabu' timestamp='1417340481' post='2619199'] I also voted for Skol this time, ace production quality as always, and the music fits with at least the [b]title[/b] of the picture:-)[/quote] Thanks chaps! Very kind indeed [quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1417354312' post='2619423']Didn't get anywhere near this this month, guys. Sorry. Just really busy at the moment.[/quote] No worries Rob. You have plenty of these under you belt already; no need to apologise!

[quote name='DogHammer' timestamp='1417081773' post='2616827'] Didnt manage to get everything sorted to get an entry in this month. I did manage to make my first track at home last night though. So hopefully get something together for December [/quote] Good on ya! That's how it starts...

I get what you're saying chaps But again... mastering should be about gently 'shaping' the track as a whole (IMO). If you need to make more significant changes, these should be made 'in the mix' - ie. changes to the relevant individual tracks - rather than applied globally to all tracks. For instance - I commonly EQ anywhere from 2 to 10db when shaping individual instruments! Although I rarely boost by more than 6db... but that's another topic. However... you can take all that with a pinch of salt. Because generally speaking if it sounds right, it IS right Personally, I know that an individual track (ie. an instrument/stem) is sitting nicely in the mix when a small adjustment of +\- 0.5 or 1db makes it just slightly too loud or too quiet. I do make changes of less than 0.5db but these are admittedly difficult to hear in most cases and I tend to make such minor changes more with the overall mix in mind - eg. when I know that two instruments are going to be occupying the same frequency; they already sound ok; but I want to help make sure that one of them cuts through just above or below the other... so I might tweak the level or an EQ cut/boost by 0.5db or less, for 'peace of mind'. Bear in mind that part of my technique is born out of mixing on headphones and 'second guessing' how the finished track will translate on to other systems. So don't take any of this as the Gospel truth

[quote name='phil.c60' timestamp='1417014606' post='2616115'] No, you can't polish a turd...[/quote] Sorry to be pedantic, but it turns out that you can in fact polish a turd: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiJ9fy1qSFI That is all. As you were

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1417014034' post='2616101'] I wouldn't take the risk and just bake it until I got home. [/quote] And there's me thinking that particular expression was exclusive to us up North. I learn something new every day

I don't own Miroslav - the DAW I use (Reason) has an orchestra sound bank that's good enough for my purposes. But what I've [i]heard[/i] of the Miroslav library sounds great and very good value for money. If you have money to burn then have a look at the Spitfire Audio libraries: http://www.spitfireaudio.com They're expensive, but the demos I've heard sound stunning.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1416825309' post='2613843'] I've just had a quick blast with Ozone 5.02, using a preset (Rock, Vintage...), just as a 'quick'n'dirty' experiment. Good gracious..! The result, although perfectly listenable ... was turned into an absolutely 'flat-line' dynamic..! [/quote] That'll most likely be the maximiser (loudness limiter) squishing the living daylights out of your track! It's sadly unavoidable if you want to compete in the 'loudness war' - ie. produce tracks to what are considered modern loudness levels, which most pre-set settings will be designed to do. Load up 99% of commercial music into an audio editor, look at the shape of the profile and it'll most likely have all the subtle dynamics of a sausage. That's not to say that these squished tracks can't have dynamics - some maximisers are much better than others are cranking up the loudness without wrecking the differences between loud and soft sections - but it does take some tweaking of the settings to get it right for each track in turn. All of this is making me think we probably need a section on 'Mastering' in the Beginners Guide thread I'll set to drafting something next chance I get. In the meantime, here's how I usually approach it - bearing in mind I'm certainly [u]not[/u] a mastering engineer (which is a discipline in itself). So, this is how I begin mastering just about every track I work on...[list] [*]Firstly - and most importantly - I get the track sounding as good as I can in the mix before I even think about applying any FX on the master bus. I can't emphasise enough how important that is. Every book and tutorial I've read on mastering reiterates this golden rule - get it right in the mix first; don't try to fix a poor mix by mastering it. The old polishing a turd phrase is very true in this context. [*]I use a high pass filter to cut out everything below around 30Hz (these sub-bass frequencies have lots of energy that can eat into the 'headroom' of your mix, so I cut away the very low ones that are barely audible to all but the best ears on the best monitoring systems.... which mine aren't!). [*]I add a shallow scoop somewhere around 200-400Hz (e.g. -1 or 2db with a Q setting of 1). I find this helps to remove some of the 'muddiness' from the low end (I also apply similar scoops to all of the individual tracks, where appropriate). [*]I cut out a notch at around 4.5kHz (high Q setting of around 20, something like -6 to 8db). Why? Because 4.5kHz is the frequency that our ears find most tiring. [*]I also cut out another notch (or apply a gentle 'roll off shelf' EQ) somewhere around 3kHz, depending on the track. I find that 3kHz can be a real 'bottleneck' for frequencies that can make a track sound harsh or brittle. Again, I apply this rule across each track of the mix before EQing the master bus. [*]I boost by anywhere from +1 to 2 db around 100Hz (to add low end thump and warmth). [*]I boost by around +2db at 12kHz (helps to brighten up the mix and add some 'air' to the high end). [*]I sometimes add a gentle scope around 1kHz (especially on dance tracks, where this frequency is less vital than say, a guitar track). [*]After all that EQing... I then use a stereo widening device to convert everything below 100-200Hz to mono and then widen everything above this frequency (helps to give the mix some 'size'). [*]Then I add a very slight reverb (2-4% wet), which I find helps everything fit together into the same 'space'. [*]I use a dedicated master bus compressor to help glue everything together. The one I use is bundled with Reason and mimics the compressor on an SSL mixing console - but any master bus compressor will do. I set the attack to around 10ms, set the release to 'auto', set the gain reduction to -2db and then adjust the threshold until the needle on the dial is just peaking at either -4db (for dance/heavy/loud music) or -1 to 2db (for more quiet//subtle music). Ideally, I try to set it so that the needle on the dial is moving in time to the beat of the music (hep to make the track 'pump'). I then use a maximiser (the Ozone product) and loudness meter to raise the perceived level to whatever is considered the commercial 'norm' for the genre I'm working with (by referencing my mix against a commercial equivalent). [*]...and that's another important thing to mention: referencing your mixes against commercial tracks of a similar style! Very important. [/list] Phew... that sounds like a lot of work but it's actually a very quick process. In fact, I probably spend about 20 minutes 'mastering' a track, but can spend many hours mixing it beforehand. So yeah. Mixing is where the graft needs to be done! Hope that gives a few pointers to begin with.

[font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#282828"]Macassar! Looks absolutely stunning.[/color][/font] [font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#282828"]The [/color][/font][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Ziricote has a hint of 'coffee table' about it [i](I'm probably committing heresy by saying that).[/i][/font][/color]

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1416905711' post='2614791'] [b]Skol303 : [/b]Wow a bit of rapping... that's cool and as always this is a well produced tune. The intro and the slap bass reminds me of a short film I once saw where in the begining a guy with a mustache came to mend a ladies boiler... don't remember what happened next...There is obviously a huge amount of effort goes into your tunes for this competition each month. Sounds like the bass playing is coming on well too[/quote] Thanks for taking the time to listen Rob! And bonus brownie points for the mini reviews - hugely appreciated Yes, I've been trying to improve my playing recently - thanks for noticing mate! The slap part is on account of me currently working through Tony Oppennheim's 'Slap It!'... lots of groovy, 70s, pornstar riffs in that book

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1416905654' post='2614790'] An authentic '80s drum fill, a 'cocotte' guitar, a warm brass riff or so and we're off. A pulsing mean bass heavily insists that we're unmistakenly on a dance floor.... I'm not sure that we're totally in phase with the photo, but we're quite definitely in the realms of D - I - S - C - O - O - O - O ...[/quote] I love these reviews and as usual, you're very kind mate! You've also nailed the gist of it nicely. Cheers [quote name='Geek99' timestamp='1416912963' post='2614877'] I liked it, well done Mr Skol - the P bass, was it ? [/quote] I did start recording this with the P-bass for 'authenticity'... but I found that I wanted some low notes, so I ended up using my Warwick 5-string - which I EQ'd to make it sound a bit like a Precision

[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1416843631' post='2614166'] Yes, as odd as it might seem, I really did come up with that based on the photo... a very introspective, romantic, unlucky-in-love spy might have playing in her head. [/quote] [font=Helvetica][size=3] [size=4]Nice one. I like your train of thought on this [/size][/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=3] [size=4]Good track too! Just my cup of char.[/size][/size][/font]

[color=#800000][size=5][b]Voting ends [u]TONIGHT[/u] in the Composition Challenge![/b][/size][/color] A fresh batch of new music, all written around the theme of this ‘ere photograph: [size=5][url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/250039-november-composition-challenge-voting/"][b]CLICK HERE… go on, you know you want to[/b][/url][/size] Warm the cockles of a fellow Basschatter and… on second thoughts, err… leave our cockles well alone, but please do show your support by listening and voting. Cheers

[color=#800000][b][size=5]The voting thread is up![/size][/b][/color] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/250039-november-composition-challenge-voting/"][b][size=5]GO LISTEN[/size][/b][/url] Well done everyone

[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1416779475' post='2613578'] [url="https://soundcloud.com/gingerosity/espiatriste"]https://soundcloud.c...ity/espiatriste[/url] [/quote] I like it! [i]“Sad Spy”[/i]…? Can I just quickly check that this is something you’ve composed for the Challenge, or a track you’re putting out there for general listening pleasure? I’m going to enter it for you anyway But let me know if it’s not intended for the Challenge itself.

[size=5][color=#800000][b]Voting has now started on November’s Composition Challenge!
[/b][/color][/size] [size=5]Here's the inspiration for this month's music, chosen by our previous winner [b]Leonard Smalls[/b]:[/size] [size=5]And here are the compositions. Please listen to each track and pick your favourite:
[/size] [b][size=4]Dad3353 [/size][/b][url="http://soundcloud.com/dad3353/the-good-old-days"]The Good Old Days[/url] [b]Lord Sausage[/b] [url="http://soundcloud.com/dreaded-ted/a-little-bit-of-disco"]A Little Bit of Disco[/url] [b]Leonard Smalls[/b] [url="http://soundcloud.com/dredd-and-the-badass-weed/dance-until-you-drop"]Dance Until You Drop[/url] [b]Plunger Moderno[/b] [url="http://soundcloud.com/plungermoderno/let-it-rip-v3-take-two"]Let It Rip[/url] [b]lurksalot[/b] [url="http://soundcloud.com/lurksalot/dance-hall-shoop-1"]Dance Hall Shoop[/url] [b]Skol303[/b] [url="http://soundcloud.com/skollob/saturday-night-diva"]Saturday Night Diva[/url] [b]Zenitram[/b] [url="http://soundcloud.com/gingerosity/espiatriste
"]Espiatriste[/url] [color=#800000][b][size=5]Voting ends at midnight on Sunday 30th November. [/size][/b][/color]

[size=4][font=Helvetica]Cheers Sean, this is the first I've heard of Landr. Look good and what a great business idea! [i](damn, wish I’d thought of this…).[/i][/font] [font=Helvetica]I haven’t tried it yet, but I’ve just listened to lurks and Dad’s entries for the Composition Challenge (good work guys ) and if those are anything to judge by then it seems like a very handy quick fix for mastering. Hard to tell exactly what it’s doing - as I haven’t heard the original tracks - but I’m guessing it’s probably a mix of multi-band compression, stereo widening, loudness limiting (maximising) and high/low pass filtering. Both lurks and Dad’s tracks have plenty of ‘air’ in the high end, so it’s probably boosting up there too.[/font] [font=Helvetica]It’ll never be a substitute for learning the ropes yourself - or better still, the ears of a proper mastering engineer, of course. But it’s free (for MP3s / WAVs cost on subscription) and the results sound very good. What’s not to like?? [/font][/size]

Done! I started out with a sort of 'ragtime remix' for this month, but it sounded frankly dreadful. Imagine a modern, dance version of 'The Entertainer'. Yes, quite So I abandoned it in favour of something D.I.S.C.O. (admittedly influenced by the Studio 54 reference). I'm not hugely familiar with disco, despite my love of dance music, so I had a lot of fun listening to numerous old classics - and some new material (e.g. Daft Punk) - to get myself in the zone. I then ripped off the elements that I liked best and ended up with this: [url="http://soundcloud.com/skollob/saturday-night-diva"]http://soundcloud.co...rday-night-diva[/url] Managed to rope Mrs Skol & Junior (3 years old) in for some backing vocals too. That'll learn 'em to wander into the spare room when I have the mic out The bass is my Warwick fiver, DI'd straight into Reason with minimal faffing around - just some compression and basic EQ'ing. Sounds alright! Comments very welcome, as always. [color=#800000][size=5][b]Don't forget: the deadline for entries is today at midnight.[/b][/size][/color] Well, actually you have [i]all[/i] night if you wish as I won't be posting up the voting thread until the morning...