As any Nerd Alert follower knows, we sing the praise of well thought out subtractive EQ. However, I remember a time not all that long ago that the concept  completely overwhelmed me. I think a lot of the problem was not fully understanding the idea of masking and such.

Yesterday, while killing time, I was perusing youtube videos. I came across this tutorial for Fab Filter’s Pro-Q EQ. Hands down it is one of the best and most straight forward EQ tutorials I have ever checked out. If I had seen this a few years ago things would have been way easier.

Now of course you don’t have to use the Pro-Q EQ – these principles will apply to any EQ – however I do hear good things about the Pro-Q.

I love Joris Voorn’s productions. The mixes are cleaner than your sister before prom night, his arrangements tease the crowd, and they hit on the dancefloor in the most tasteful of ways. That is why I was stoked to stumble on this video of him going over his track “Sweep The Floor” with Future Music. He goes into great detail on a track by track basis on how he wrote the track.

Producer nerds, do yourselves a favor and watch and learn. Also be sure you check the other parts in his series.

When I posted a link to the last Nerd Alert on the Erol Alkan forum, the thread got a surprise contributor from Mike Mind of the infamous Turbo label. He chimed in with a very helpful and well thought out response and I think it really closes up this chapter of Nerd Alert.

On an additional side note, Mike recently did a stellar remix for Nacho Lovers new single “Deeper” – which is available now on Fools Gold and highly recommended. Buy it on Beatport.

Read Mike Mind’s 8 demo tips after the jump.

Mike Mind wrote:

As someone that does this for Turbo, here are my tips:

1. bcc / cc? don’t do it. If you want a label to listen to your demo, make it look like you’re sending it to them individually. If I don’t see my / our address in the to: field, but the artist’s own email address, i know they just sent this out to a massive list.

2. keep your biographical info to a minimum. you don’t have to include your resumé, or a list of semi-famous djs that support the unreleased demo. if we like what we hear, we’ll do our research.

3. tell us where your from. oddly enough, it peaks curiosity. we get a lot of demos that start with ‘greetings from italy!’ usually these end up being pretty good, and even if the rest of the email seems dodgy, i still end up clicking on the link. that said, if you try to trick us by faking that you’re from italy, we’ll find out!

4. NEVER say ‘i think this would be perfect for your label’. rarely do demos that start with that message end up being perfect or fit with what we do. let the label decide whether it’s perfect or not. worst case scenario, we remember you as the person that has no idea what they’re talking about.

5. following up on a demo submission: if you send a demo email, some of the time people will listen and not respond because they’re not interested, or don’t want to say something embarrassing about your work. if you follow up, the best way to do it, is “hi ____, a few weeks ago, i sent you a link to some of my tunes. here’s the link again in case you didn’t get a chance to listen to it. thanks!” Constant pestering will only make a label not want to work with you, but a polite follow up email is fine.

6. don’t be discouraged if a label passes on your tracks. if the a&r people think you have potential, but the tracks you sent aren’t good enough, they’ll remember and open your future emails.

7. don’t send everything you’ve ever made. pick your best 2 or 3 tracks and keep it to that. if the label wants to hear more, they’ll ask. often, if we’re on the fence about an artist, it’s a mediocre extra tracks included in the submission that ends up being the dealbreaker. if you only have one oustanding track, just send that. you don’t need to pad the submission.

8. lastly, almost as important as the music is being polite, humble, and otherwise coming across as someone that seems like they’d be great to work with. when a label invests in an artist, they’re investing in a potential long term relationship. start off on the right foot.

Normally NERD ALERT touches on production techniques and tips – but I think this week we will post up something a bit different.This week we’d like to share some tips on approaching labels with your material. Of course, Solid Bump being a 100% DIY label – we probably are easier to get your material to than a huge dance label like Ministry of Sound. As the label has gotten more popular in the last year, the amount of demos we get sent are growing substantially. As this happens, I notice some things that make us more enthusiastic to listen to a new artist’s material… as well as some things that make us put it on the back burner.

By no means is this a comprehensive list of stuff to do to get signed – but I do think paying attention to these ideas will give you a better chance at “getting your foot in the door” with any label.

A personalized email: Something I have been seeing are demos submitted in bulk batches to labels, blogs, etc. While this may be okay in theory – at least do some research into the labels you are sending to and make sure your material MAKES SENSE to them. Although we are “known” for disco house stuff – we accept a lot of stuff, from jackin’ house, acid, electro funk, etc. All these styles kind of make sense together – however – a Dubstep track prolly is not right for our label.

PRO TIP: Never ever show your CC list in the email. Always be sure you put the recipients names as BCC. No one wants their business addresses waved around openly.

Have a nice one page PDF press kit: I like to know a little bit about the artist. Do they have other releases? Do they DJ a lot? Where are they from? Did they used to have other projects? What’s your story?

Something I can stream: At a certain point, getting Rapidshare/ Mediafire/ etc. links becomes too time consuming to navigate.  Additionally, I am perpetually battling local hard drive space on my laptop – thus if I have had a reckless week – I may be low on space until the next clean up. Thus I probably will not download a file – but I would stream it. Never ever attach MP3′s to an email. Sites like Soundcloud are very helpful, or even better, invest in a domain name and hosting. Then you can just host it yourself and even password protect it.

Another great idea that also protects your material from potential theft is to do a short mix of 4 to 6 song clips as a single streaming file. Then I get the full overview of your sound in one simple click.

—————————————————————————————

Will doing the above get you signed? Well, there is a lot more to it than just the above noted points. I personally think your likelihood of success can be addressed by these two modern day philosophers…

“Luck is when preparation meets opportunity”- Seneca , Roman dramatist, philosopher, & politician (5 BC – 65 AD)

“It ain’t what you know, it’s who you know bro” – Willie D, The Geto Boys (1966 – Present)

After a bit of a hiatus, Nerd Alert is back! It’s our ever so popular  series of production tips specially formulated to be a basic  introduction to concepts related to production.

Often you hear about colorization of sound – sometimes this desirable while other times – not so much. In the world of analog gear (EQ, compressor, mixing board, etc) would introduce a certain level of harmonic distortion into the signal. Part of what made classic  gear like Neve and SSL so desirable was the manner it colored the sound.

Now what is harmonic distortion? That is something I am far underqualified to speak in-depth about. The most simplistic explanation is that it creates subtle harmonics in the signal and enhances the tone. It basically creates the “warm” sound people say is missing from digital production. This is not massive distortion like you expect from a Justice bassline – but something far more subtle. In fact, you may not even (overtly) hear it at all.

I particularly find it very becoming on hi hats and other top end percussion. It gives the signal an enhanced presence without resorting to over the top EQ boost that can introduce unpleasant resonance. Of course, the process can be used on all the sounds. A traditional analog console would effect every channel, with additional colorization coming from whatever external hardware was routed into the individual signal paths – so this is also something to consider.

So as a bedroom producer with no outboard gear, how can you “warm up” your track? There are many plug-ins that emulate pre-amps and tape saturation. Some of the more affordable and good quality that I have found are the 112db Pre-amp and PSP’s Mix-Saturator, although there are loads more. Of course, true gear snobs will attest there is no emulations for the real thing and they are probably right – but we work with what we can afford, right?

Again, this is about the most simplistic introduction to the concept ever. Do some research and do some experiments of your own. I am sure with a little trial and error you will find some digital means to “warm” up your sterile digital sounds.

Hey geeks, it’s been a minute since our last nerd out. The blog has been so saturated with goodies from Pleasure & Pressure Vol.2 that there just wasn’t the space. But… here we go again – our series of quick and basic looks into elements of production nerdery. As always, these columns are just a fast intro to concepts. If something catches your interest, do some research and you will find much more in-depth articles.

2 Buss Compression – The Glue
Previous Nerd Alerts have looked at compression basics, parallel compression, and how compression and limiting can ruin your tracks. Now let’s look at a somewhat advanced use of a stereo buss compressor.

The overview idea is that you want to tie all the individual elements of your track together to make them sound less like 15 channels of individual noises and more like a solid complete track. Basically you want a common unifying sound – in other words – you want to glue your track together. Some elements that can help unify the sound are using your send and returns to utilize common effects across multiple channels – like reverb. But when all the composition is complete and you are starting to refine your mix – this is the next level.

1) Set up a buss and insert a high quality stereo compressor. We use Cytomic’s “Glue” compressor. It’s a great plug in at a great price point that many feel is just as good (if not better) than costly UAD or Waves plug ins.

2) Route every channel and/or buss to this new buss. Chances are that whatever the default preset is on your compressor will completely throw off your mixdown. It is probably compressing it way too much or not at all. Eventually you can develop your own preset that is a good starting point for you.

3) Adjust the compressor. I almost always go with a light ratio of 2:1 – just a little something to provide that glue. Attack and release time are very program dependent so it fits in the song’s groove. I usually start with a slow attack time (30 ms) and set the release to auto. Adjust these after you get the next step done.

4) Adjust the threshold to where you are getting just barely any gain reduction – maybe 2db. Sometimes for a more pumping sound, you can adjust up to 6db. Be careful to not over do it – this is where you can really mess up your track! Remember to match your make up gain to your gain reduction – otherwise you might just be hearing the output get louder and trick yourself into thinking it sounds better.

**IMPORTANT NOTE: Do not mistake this for final mastering. You should not be pumping the master up to 0db! As you may have learned in previous Nerd Alerts, you should be giving your mastering engineer around -6db of headroom to do his thang! If you use 2 buss compression correctly – it shouldn’t be making it “louder” necessarily – just giving the sounds more presence and “gluing” them together.

As to when to do this… everyone has a different opinion. Some people start off really early in the composition phase, others wait until finalizing the mix. Really it is up to you – just be sure you understand what you are doing – and always be aware of what this compressor is doing. There is also a debate if you should deliver files to your mastering engineer with any 2 buss compression. I think this is something that you should discuss with them. Often we will deliver versions with compression and another without – thus letting him use his best judgment.

Later geeks.

So after taking last week off from NERD ALERTING to rant on how amazing the label is shaping up for the coming year (Pleasure & Pressure Vol.2 drops March 16th), I realized we have explored Parallel compression but maybe we have not covered the basics of what Compression does? Contrary to popular belief, compression does not just make things louder. In fact it can destroy your dynamic range and make your track a mess of bloated noise. So really the question is, do you know what your parameters on your compressor are even doing? A compressor is basically a automated volume control. When you think it got louder – it is usually just that the peaks of your sound wave have been tamed back.   Here is the most basic overview of the parameters that all compressors have. It gets super nerdy after the jump.

Threshold: This is what volume the input needs to be to trigger the compression. If the threshold is set to -10 db, then anything above this point will be turned down according to the Ratio you have set…

Ratio: The ratio is how much the compressor will turn down the incoming signal. Let’s say your ratio is set to 4:1. If your incoming signal passes the threshold by 4 db, then that 4 db of signal will be reduced 1 db. If the same ratio was set and the incoming signal was 8 db above threshold, your total reduction would be 2 db. You can gauge what your compressor is doing by watching the gain reduction meter. If you are getting 2 db of gain reduction, you can turn up your Make Up Gain by 2 db. This is what makes your signal louder.

Attack: This is how quickly your compressor reacts to the incoming signal. The lower the number, the faster your compressor will kick in. If you set it higher, say 100 milliseconds, your compressor will react slower. This means it will wait 100 milliseconds before it registers the threshold and  reacts to the ratio setting. This is how you preserve transients in drums. The loudest part of a kick drum is almost always the initial hit – or the head. The slower the attack allows more signal to pass through the compressor before it is triggered.

Release: This is how long the signal can pass through the compressor before it disengages. The faster the release, the sooner the compressor quits reacting. This is crucial on making the compressor “fit the groove”. It is also the means to make a signal “pump” which may or may not be what you want.

For a interesting analogy on compression – watch the below video. Get on it geeks!

*NOTE: The wet/dry knob is how you can easily obtain parallel compression as noted in a previous NERD ALERT.

**DOUBLE NOTE : The above compressor is a very good and affordable stereo buss compressor made by Cytomic, which is a replica of the far more expensive G Buss SSL compressor in Waves. More about buss compression soon, but for now remember – good value.

***TRIPLE NOTE : Pimp C drove a Kompressor not Compressor

“Money on the dresser, drive a Kompressor
Top notch hoes get the most, not the lesser”

PIMP C

***QUADRUPLE NOTE:  NERD ALERT’s to be the fast overview to geek ideas with music production. If the ideas we convey strike your fancy, there are millions of more nerdier nerds who can tell you more. Look ‘em up.

There is nothing I like more than a good nerd tutorial, especially one that comes with a free preset. Ableton has made leaps and bounds in the area of managing beat slices. Especially regarding the ability to make your own customizable presets. I stumbled onto this tutorial a couple months ago, then forgot to install the preset. Yesterday, Mad Decent’s in house engineer, DJA tweeted this video, which reminded me to install it. As DJA states, with this preset “you get the style of a MPC set to ‘mono’ but without hours of carefully dialing in the ADSR in live”.

Ski was the man behind many of the best tracks from Jay-Z’s debut album as well as Camp Lo’s “Luchini”. Dude knows something about chopping beats. Watch the video, then head over here to grab the preset.

Last Nerd Alert we talked about mixdown leveling. I quickly introduced the idea that to help clear space in your low end, to allow the bass and kick to hit harder, you should consider using an EQ to roll off all your non-bass/kick channels below 200hz. The idea is that all frequencies require their own space in the mix. If you have multiple noises competing for the same space, that space will become congested, and all the sounds will mask each other making the mix sound muddy or flat.

To resolve muddy mixes, the first step is to be mindful of your arrangements. When writing your tracks, don’t allow too many elements to compete for a single space. A visual spectrum analyzer will help you learn where your noises live. Eventually your ears will get more attuned to knowing what is going on and you will begin compositions with these concerns in mind.

What is the most basic fix? Intelligent EQing. Even noises that seem to have no low end, such as a hi hat or percussion element (say 200k and below) may have low end resonance, especially synthetic sounds. Thus I recommend doing high pass filtering to all your noises that are not part of your kick/ bass combo. On that same note, if a vocal and synthesizer are both competing for the 5k space and making that area sound muddy, you probably need to do an EQ cut at 5k on the synth channel.Your vocal will suddenly sound much more clear.

This is called Subtractive EQ, and it relates to the last Nerd Alert about mixdown leveling. Your first instinct when something is not standing out in the mix, is to boost the EQ on it. Eventually you will end up with a bloated muddy mix. Instead, think about what might be covering up the noise you want to shine and then do some subtractive EQ. There are times where you may need a small boost, say on the hi hats to bring out a bit of shimmer on the real high end. But generally, if you think you need to boost, there is probably something in your mix that needs to be cut.

And remember folks, Nerd Alerts are just a brief, bite size introductions to ideas. There is a plethora of much more in depth articles written by far more professional nerds out there. Hunt them down. Geek on.

Okay, I am sure no one out there has a mixer like the one posted above – instead you are mixing in a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). If you do have something like this SSL Console and you need to read this edition of the Nerd Alert then you don’t deserve it. Anyhow, when you are just starting out doing mixdowns, your natural instinct when you want to make something louder is to simply turn it up. While that makes logical sense before you know it your audio spectrum is bloated.

Instead,  the idea is to get your overall master to read around –6db. This may seem too quiet but the idea is to give your mastering engineer lots of headroom to do his thing. If you are rendering out the final mix to a 24 bit file you will keep all the detail. If you need it louder to hear, turn up your audio interfaces master. Here is a good way to start the process. After you get used to the concept you can start just practicing this as you build tunes.

1. Drop all faders to down.
2. Turn your kick &  bass up to where they add up to about –10 on the master. Get these two elements playing nice together with EQ, sidechaining, etc.
3. Decide on what the next focal point of the mix is. Most likely a sample or synth line. Get it balanced with the kick/bass.
4. Continue this process through every channel until everything is playing.
5. Remember to watch your master as you progress – the goal is to keep the master at –6db!

Now let’s say your bass is too quiet now. Instead of turning up the bass channel and starting a chain of events that ends up making your mix bloated, try turning down everything else down a bit (you should be able to select multiple channels at once).
This idea is also relevant to EQ (subtractive EQ) but this is something we will cover in the next Nerd Alert. For now I’ll just say that to clear up room for your bass/ kick, it is a good idea to high pass everything below 200K. Of course, as with anything in production, there is always more than one way to skin a cat. But this technique has been working good for us…