What is the most useful information you've ever been given?

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Re: What is the most useful information you've ever been giv

Postby Mr. Bigglesworth » 04 May 2013 20:38

You only need at most 3 plugins to make a bad snare sound good.
And compression usually isn't one of them.
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Re: What is the most useful information you've ever been giv

Postby ChocolateChicken » 04 May 2013 20:42

"Effects processing can help, but the most important thing is what sounds you choose in the first place."
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Re: What is the most useful information you've ever been giv

Postby Mr. Bigglesworth » 04 May 2013 21:19

Don't fuss over how much you don't have.
Get good with what you DO have first.

(I'm turning this into my advice dump AND NO ONE CAN STOP ME!)
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Re: What is the most useful information you've ever been giv

Postby Navron » 04 May 2013 22:34

Work on making your synth patches sound flawless.

What do people do when recording live audio, and the sound isn't what they want? They record another take.

Too many times I'd half-ass a synth patch, and try to correct/make it sound the way I want it while mixing.

Don't waste your time doing this. If your synth needs work, keep working it. It's better to have a few expertly crafted sounds than too many "meh" sounds. The latter is a bitch to mix too.
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Re: What is the most useful information you've ever been giv

Postby Mr. Bigglesworth » 04 May 2013 23:41

Don't start out with dubstep.
It's a cool genre and all, but you're better off learning how music works with other genres first.
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Re: What is the most useful information you've ever been giv

Postby Lying Pink » 05 May 2013 08:11

You always, always, always still have a lot to learn.
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Re: What is the most useful information you've ever been giv

Postby Callenby » 05 May 2013 18:26

I don't know about most useful "ever", but...

Don't be afraid to show your conviction about the choices you've made, and if you don't have any conviction then perhaps you should rethink those choices.
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Re: What is the most useful information you've ever been giv

Postby Conduit » 05 May 2013 22:22

Everyone hates their own music for a period. Just work through it and eventually you'll be happy with what you've accomplished.
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Re: What is the most useful information you've ever been giv

Postby [voodoopony] » 07 May 2013 16:26

Keep a clean space. If your workspace is dirty it will reflect on your work.
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Re: What is the most useful information you've ever been giv

Postby ph00tbag » 07 May 2013 19:43

Nine Volt wrote:Musical advice - you can't polish a turd, but in the same vein an uncut diamond is still rough. Meaning, a good mix probably won't save a bad song, but a perfect song will be ruined by a shitty mix. Basically, learn to mix.

I dunno, I always took "you can't polish a turd" (seriously one of the most ubiquitous aphorisms in music) to mean that if the mixing is shit, you can't make it better with any kind of mastering. The end meaning is still the same, though. Learn to mix properly.
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Re: What is the most useful information you've ever been giv

Postby cplbradley » 07 May 2013 21:41

"compress it 6 times kunt"
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Re: What is the most useful information you've ever been giv

Postby JayB » 08 May 2013 02:44

Ten years ago a wise man told me: Trance synths are made of stacked detuned saw oscillators. This knowledge should change my life forever.
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Re: What is the most useful information you've ever been giv

Postby Aurum Noble » 28 May 2013 09:15

Old synthesizers are always the best.
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Re: What is the most useful information you've ever been giv

Postby ClaviSound » 10 Jun 2013 21:53

This was intended to apply to vocal music, but can carry over to music in general.

"Don't look at today's producers, the popular acts, the ones with a lot of buzz and controversy, and say 'I want to be better than that.' Look back in time, to the masters, the ageless ones, the ones who have built a legacy. Those are the ones you should strive to match and surpass."

Classical training, research, knowing your history, building a foundation. Going from the ground up creates a more solid structure than putting together the entire thing through bits and pieces, and it improves the music you make all the more.
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Re: What is the most useful information you've ever been giv

Postby Warbalist » 11 Jun 2013 02:37

A lot has been said. Here are a few more.

Mix at a very low volume the majority of the time.

Never give up. Never surrender.

By Grabthar's hammer, Galaxy Quest was a great movie.

But seriously, you only have two ears. Don't destroy them. You WANT to hear stuff well the rest of your life.

If you use a lot of compression in faux mastering, you will make your snare sad and your beat wussy.
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Re: What is the most useful information you've ever been giv

Postby vladnuke » 11 Jun 2013 08:26

[voodoopony] wrote:Keep a clean space. If your workspace is dirty it will reflect on your work.


This explains a lot actually.

Anyway, Kamina has many great quotes in Gurren Laggan. Here's two;

Listen Simon... Don't forget. Believe in yourself. Not in the you who believes in me. Not the me who believes in you. Believe in the you who believes in yourself.


And

Don't be held back by someone else's bullshit in fake memories.The one path you chose for yourself, is the truth of your universe.
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Re: What is the most useful information you've ever been giv

Postby Conchetupony » 11 Jun 2013 11:00

Never EQ while you're not listening to the results.

Dynamic range matters.

Never solo a track - see what it sounds like in the mix.
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Re: What is the most useful information you've ever been giv

Postby Rider » 11 Jun 2013 16:37

If you want to make great music, you've got to make good music first
If you want to make good music, you've got to make OK music first
If you want to make OK music, you've got to make bad music first
And if you want to make bad music, you've got to make terrible music first
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Re: What is the most useful information you've ever been giv

Postby TranquilHooves » 11 Jun 2013 18:23

Mr. Bigglesworth wrote:You only need at most 3 plugins to make a bad snare sound good.
And compression usually isn't one of them.

yeah, but sometimes finding a better sample instead of trying to process the crap out of something to make it sound good works wonders.
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Re: What is the most useful information you've ever been giv

Postby G4 Machine » 12 Jun 2013 19:18

Do everything from scratch, with every tune. -Current Value

And always remember to switch it to wombo.
Last edited by G4 Machine on 13 Jun 2013 07:43, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What is the most useful information you've ever been giv

Postby G4 Machine » 13 Jun 2013 07:16

Why not? You will learn much by creating the sounds yourself. Everybody is different in how they work though, I find I get most of my inspiration for songs from sound design alone.
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Re: What is the most useful information you've ever been giv

Postby Mr. Bigglesworth » 13 Jun 2013 07:33

yeah I'd have to agree with Eery.

Sometimes you can get more done with loops and stuff.
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