Ask me anything!
Added 2024-07-01 11:29:28 +0000 UTCPhew, just kicked off a 2-week vacation (time off of my main grind, i.e., mixing and mastering music).
I thought, maybe a "ask me anything" type of thing could work: you could send some questions (add them to this post) and I'd do a public video (or two if there's lots of Qs) where I'd reply to some of them (might be more convenient than typing real long).
Ask me anything relating to music, audio engineering, plugins, music production, audio/freelancer biz etc.
Let's do this!
Comments
I’ll get back to this!
Janne Hatula
2024-08-09 18:08:38 +0000 UTCDo you have any tips for monitoring when producing, mixing or mastering? In particular, how loud or quiet do you monitor? My experience: I know my monitoring quite well and always listen at the same level and adapt it to whether I'm listening with or without a limiter/mastering tool. References are adapted to each other. I don't actually think that I listen too loudly, but I still find that a mix that I found really balanced has less presence and definition when I listen to it in the evening on my laptop in a player at a lower volume compared to other productions.
Marie Wilhelmine Anders
2024-08-09 17:42:50 +0000 UTCHappy to hear that. I’ve been doing audio engineering as my living for 10 years. Just hit a career milestone: Mixed/mastered a song for a multi-platinum-selling Grammy-nominated artist (major record label).
Janne Hatula
2024-08-01 13:00:29 +0000 UTCI did see that you were recommend about a month ago on FB when I was looking for a track to be mixed and mastered :)
Mark Merola
2024-07-31 17:16:24 +0000 UTCBut if you are happy with the sound of your mix, mostly, then just give it some two-stage limiting to give it some level. Compare to other masters, tweak a bit, and boom, that might be it!
Janne Hatula
2024-07-28 17:32:14 +0000 UTCIf you’re on a higher producer tier, I’ll master one for ya! I mean I try and help producers find their ideal sound…been doing that for ten years for producers now.
Janne Hatula
2024-07-28 17:19:48 +0000 UTCFanu, thanks for the reply! I've tried quite a few now ha ha - maybe i'm just too fussy? Yes i've asked for it less loud, I'm not a loudness freak, I just want my music to sound the same as when i'm making it, but always find that the it has tonal differences when mastered, im even thinking now why master them? On the reference front I don't really know what or who my tunes sound like so find it hard to compare it, by giving someone a reference :)
Mark Merola
2024-07-28 16:28:09 +0000 UTCPS: When working with engineers, it’s good to send some reference material to demonstrate the desired loudness (and other things). You can of course ask the engineer to make it less loud. I take pride in doing my best to serve the client’s vision, not mine :)
Janne Hatula
2024-07-28 14:48:11 +0000 UTCYou just need the right/better engineer. I do that for my living, and happy to give it a go if needed. I work from very dynamic to very loud stuff. Sometimes I make videos (for a fee) of the approved mixes/masters so you’ll learn to treat them on your own eventually.
Janne Hatula
2024-07-28 14:46:19 +0000 UTCHas anyone here tried self mixing & mastering their own tunes? Sadly every time I get one of my tracks mastered, I prefer the original copy that I sent off to get mastered. Seems like the master engineers tries to get it so loud that the tunes lose any dynamics.
Mark Merola
2024-07-28 12:42:58 +0000 UTCI watched it, some helpful pointers in here so thanks. It seems you cant escape social media these days. And then of course, if you decide to engage with it, you need to find time to make 'content' to post! Ah man, I wish it wasnt the case because personally I dont think its a good thing or a healthy thing, and I've never felt entirely comfortable with it, but like you say if you're doing it for the love then all the other stuff is secondary. Just gotta be real about choosing to play along or not, and thats cool :-)
Kostas
2024-07-08 20:20:50 +0000 UTCThank you for replying! Your coverage helped demystify the area for me, as I think I've been overthinking it as usual. My additional takeaway from your response is that even if a bassline sounds "boring" on its own, it can be fixed by adding variations and 'frills' such as automated saturation/distortion tied into the established rhythm and groove I already polished. Thanks again!!
Seb
2024-07-08 07:19:14 +0000 UTCThank you very much, now I have an idea how to approach this types of chops
Nichel Cruz
2024-07-07 16:24:00 +0000 UTCThanks very much Dr Fanu. You are up there with the most generous and professional mix / master engineers. Can't wait to get some projects treated by you one day. Mark ❤️
Mark Contrite
2024-07-07 15:32:33 +0000 UTCI usually chop on the transient, BUT if there's a little "lead-in", I'll leave that in and then nudge the hit to play a little before the grid – as opposed to leaving that in for the previous drumsound. This might make for a good Q for the next video!
Janne Hatula
2024-07-07 15:26:39 +0000 UTCAddressed this on the video today so go check that out!
Janne Hatula
2024-07-07 15:25:22 +0000 UTCYeah, bass is often what makes things distort first, so gotta be able to tame that!
Janne Hatula
2024-07-07 15:25:09 +0000 UTCDid try and address this in the video I posted today :P
Janne Hatula
2024-07-07 14:07:57 +0000 UTCI addressed this in the video I posted today so check it out! :P
Janne Hatula
2024-07-07 14:07:48 +0000 UTCDid try and address this in the video I posted today :P
Janne Hatula
2024-07-07 14:07:23 +0000 UTCStudying the waveform I believe it could be the hat that sound in conjunction with the kick sounds a little earlier, so I suppose leaving that hit a little loose, would not be that bad, right?
Nichel Cruz
2024-07-07 11:46:08 +0000 UTCSorry for too many question but I have the last one as I’m practicing right now. I’m trying to chop the Stark reality- All you need to make music break. Some of the hits has a little tail before the transient and it always confuse me how to approach this because if I put start point on the tail the hit sound a little off and if I put it on the transient sounds more tight but you can hear a click in the slice before. How do you approach this type of chops? I have seen this in a lot of breaks
Nichel Cruz
2024-07-07 11:32:36 +0000 UTCAh yeah I keep those as one sample; would get way too complex cut all those! But I chop all 16th not stuff but prob not 32nd.
Janne Hatula
2024-07-07 11:06:25 +0000 UTCThere are usually some king of 32th note or 16th triplets.
Nichel Cruz
2024-07-07 10:55:59 +0000 UTCOne more question, a how you chop the classic ghost snare rolls that funk drummers play between the hats? I find those quite difficult to chop in useful way
Nichel Cruz
2024-07-07 10:55:20 +0000 UTCThanks a lot Fanu!
Nichel Cruz
2024-07-07 10:53:33 +0000 UTCPART 1 IS UP: https://www.patreon.com/posts/107669775
Janne Hatula
2024-07-07 10:32:38 +0000 UTCYes, since the year 2000, it's been the same: chop every single little hit and program the rhythm myself.
Janne Hatula
2024-07-07 10:28:49 +0000 UTCYeah thats the sampler ive worked a lot with
Janne Hatula
2024-07-07 10:25:46 +0000 UTCI cut every single little drumhit that the drummer has played! There are videos on my Patreon that demonstrate this. I do the same thing with software or hardware. People in the 90s prob didnt chop that meticulously.
Janne Hatula
2024-07-07 10:25:34 +0000 UTCif you still use the same chopping technique as you did in the breaks of the months videos?
Nichel Cruz
2024-07-07 10:24:57 +0000 UTCIt would be awesome if you can do a video about it because I have an Atari 1040ste with an Akai S3000XL and I would love to know your inside about it.
Nichel Cruz
2024-07-07 10:14:07 +0000 UTCHi Fanu, I have a question regardless chopping breaks on the computer and put it in a hardware sampler. Do you chopped on 16th chops (every drum hits) or do you use the technique to chopped from 1st kick and the snare? I wonder how it was done back in the 90s.
Nichel Cruz
2024-07-07 10:12:38 +0000 UTCWhat is your typical starting point with a song? Chopping a break, bass sound, synth patch, sample, etc.?
RainCitySounds
2024-07-05 00:20:57 +0000 UTCAmazing thanks - Yea I've been going through all the bass ones in your collection, there's some great stuff in there. Your 'most common mix issues' is also a great insight which goes over a lot of issues other people avoid talking about because their hard to master! I have the same problem with mastering but am always reluctant to limit the bass too much as its often just a sub/sine wave so in my head it just turns it more to a square wave. It's easily to distort the bass there but I will try more subtly now. cheers
George CS
2024-07-03 12:08:01 +0000 UTCDid you see all the bass videos + info I posted in June? Those should help you get it right. I rarely compress or limit, at least not heavily, but I may limit the bass (track, not master) 1-3 dB sometimes; nothing audible, but it may help get me master limiting a bit cleaner. A few times that’s been literally what’s solved my master limiter distortion issue when nothing else has helped. Sometimes I may use Ozone Dynamics to pinch the sub a hair if I do stereo mastering and it feels too loud.
Janne Hatula
2024-07-03 11:57:03 +0000 UTCI'd love to know a bit more about mixing bass & sub bass. I think a lot of us understand about adding harmonics to sub bass, adding punch with a pitch envelopes etc. But what about compression, EQ & limiting on bass?
George CS
2024-07-03 10:49:43 +0000 UTCYeah see if one channel is better than the other; IIRC there is some difference there. IIRC the LP version is different too. Def all sampleworthy!
Janne Hatula
2024-07-02 16:22:52 +0000 UTCThank you for sharing those! I think I should have sought the version without the reverb. The version I have, stamped with ZTS-144398-2A, is identical to the 'unknown' version you have. I'm wondering if the version I have sample is still sample-worthy, even though my intuition tells me, 'No get the mono break stupid!' So, in order to use the 7" version I have, I would have to run it through some sorta de-reverb plugin unfortunately... Here is Amen ZTS-144398-2A: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/bnos5dnrwyxwvp6n9a9hm/Amen-ZTS-144398-2A.wav?rlkey=xwuys3ehlvkbi6q0cyn7b70lm&st=jz2km5bh&dl=0
Ted Hernandez
2024-07-02 16:13:51 +0000 UTCYeah there are differences! im pretty sure this is from my 7": https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/fq9gche8jnp557wedlvmc/amen-7.wav?rlkey=u8uw0ma03a7tekjtnnlq2uolg&st=vl1e7wof&dl=0 another 7" rip, forgot from whom: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/br5b5w0rjml4oovt84a4m/Amen-from-the-45.wav?rlkey=66pne6yh2z49gntt10rcw69dc&st=mt4n66sv&dl=0 There’s prob some differences between those two, too.
Janne Hatula
2024-07-02 13:41:20 +0000 UTCHey Fanu, I bought an original 7" 45 of Winston's Color Him Father/Amen Brother off Discogs recently. Are there specific pressings that are more ideal for sampling because the version I bought is drenched in reverb. I did learn that there are versions of this pressing that are mono, made for radio, etc...
Ted Hernandez
2024-07-02 13:29:18 +0000 UTCWhat other jungle producers who really hit it off in the 90s would you like to collaborate with if the opportunity ever came up? ...even if theyve moved on from the scene (if they came back for just one more (....please come back Photek!!) (feel free to keep my questions anonymous if you like...im asking so many))
Shane Newville
2024-07-02 06:49:28 +0000 UTCoh shoot what a typo. "Meticulous"...not "malicious"
Shane Newville
2024-07-02 06:42:39 +0000 UTCmore question: When and how did you become so meticulous with drum breaks? I think a lot of people do not put in the time to cut up individual sounds to that level (i personally found it encouraging to learn you did it this way and think it absolutely pays off)
Shane Newville
2024-07-02 05:00:45 +0000 UTCsecondly, was there a some gear you really wanted but couldnt get ahold of?
Shane Newville
2024-07-02 04:45:00 +0000 UTCDo you remember what it was like when you got your first sampler or significant piece of studio gear? what was it, how excited were you and how did it change or solidify the course of your music production journey?
Shane Newville
2024-07-02 04:43:30 +0000 UTCAs a coffee fan (I see your studio wall decor), what is your alltime favorite coffee brand? Or top 3 if you have more than 1? This is an important part of music production afterall.
Shane Newville
2024-07-02 00:44:07 +0000 UTCThis is a good question. Not an easy one to tackle, but I'll try and do my two cents. Thanks!
Janne Hatula
2024-07-01 17:29:06 +0000 UTCHey Fanu, happy holidays! I have a question for you- try to imagine you were an unknown DnB producer. You have no industry contacts, no networks, no following. So totally starting from scratch. Ground zero! How would you, in this modern era, approach trying to make an entry into the scene (or any scene) and release some music?
Kostas
2024-07-01 17:24:32 +0000 UTCYeah this is a good one. I often end up EQing some classic hihats especially. Adding to list, thanks!
Janne Hatula
2024-07-01 14:38:45 +0000 UTCDo you have any tips on getting good house hi hats. How do you eq them. Or generally process. For instance. Every time I try to cut some harshness or whatever. It seems to make the hat harsher or more phasy. Do you need a certain type of eq. Thanks Fanucci 😎 ( nice cat pick ) 😀
Mark Contrite
2024-07-01 14:06:12 +0000 UTCDo you have any tips on how to come up with or improve a boring bassline? Sometimes I tend to polish a beat to the point where I struggle fitting a bassline to match it .. big thanks and enjoy your vacation!!
Seb
2024-07-01 13:38:08 +0000 UTC
