MistaMayne
10-30-2008, 10:08 AM
How To Make Shit Sound Good:
I'm going to list techinical parts, but read these 2. steps first.
1. Don't fucking suck. If the only people, whether offline or online, to tell you you're a good rapper are your friends, then quit and find a new hobby. Seriously, I know it's uber popular to be a rapper. She's a rapper. He's a rapper. Your uncle is a rapper. Your uncles room mate's dog is a rapper. Some should rap. Some flat-out shouldn't. If they were your real friends they'd say "Hey man. I know you have passion for this, but uh...you kinda' suck." So you should probably find new friends too.
2. Know your lyrics. Practice the shit. Listeners will know when you're forcing stuff. If it doesn't flow, re-write it. If there's too many syllables in one line, take a few out. Change "gun shots" to "shots."
Technical Shit:
3. First off. Take all the tracks in the song and play them individually. Adjust the gain of each track so it reaches just below the red-line. Why do this instead of a limiter? Well, this'll keep the dynamics.
4. After you've adjusted the volumes properly, go into the track and take out any background noise or breaths. No one wants to hear you gasping for air and shit.
5. Time to mix shit. The order should be:
Chrous Effects--Dynamics--Dynamic Effects--Delays--Reverb--EQ
Follow this order:
1. Compression:
Open your Compressor. Select all your verse tracks and add the following.
On the ratio set the value to anywhere from 3:1 to 5:1
On the attack set the value anywhere from 5ms-50ms.
On the release set the value anywhere from 100ms-350-ms
On the threshhold set the value at least -7.
This should make your words nice and crisp. But we're not done.
Select all those same tracks again and open your compressor again.
Now apply the following:
ratio: 8:1-10:1
attack: 3-5ms
release: 500-1000ms
threshold: -10 to -20
Now your shit is nice and compressed.
2. Delays:
Don't be a homo with this. Ok? Keep it dry and use sparringly. A moderate decay is a good idea. You don't want to sound like you're rapping in a cave.
Select your shit and open Delay.
Mix should be 100 Dry and like 8 Wet. Yes. Only 8 Wet. Left and Right Mix keep the same, and I'd say around 2.5. Play with it. But don't be a homo.
3. Reverbs:
Don't drench the shit. Be moderate.
100 Dry. Maybe 13 Wet. 100/13 with a 1ms delay and a short decay.
4. EQ:
This is going to be adjusted accordingly to your voice. Remember, you're looking to CUT, not to BOOST. Cutting will make the words stand out.
Conclusion:
In the end, the above settings should make your voice sound good and intergrated in the mix instead of laying on top of the beat. True, alot of people have different ways of mixing. This guide is just a cookie-cutter way on how to make shit sound decent. Fuck with the settings until you find what you're looking for.
I'm going to list techinical parts, but read these 2. steps first.
1. Don't fucking suck. If the only people, whether offline or online, to tell you you're a good rapper are your friends, then quit and find a new hobby. Seriously, I know it's uber popular to be a rapper. She's a rapper. He's a rapper. Your uncle is a rapper. Your uncles room mate's dog is a rapper. Some should rap. Some flat-out shouldn't. If they were your real friends they'd say "Hey man. I know you have passion for this, but uh...you kinda' suck." So you should probably find new friends too.
2. Know your lyrics. Practice the shit. Listeners will know when you're forcing stuff. If it doesn't flow, re-write it. If there's too many syllables in one line, take a few out. Change "gun shots" to "shots."
Technical Shit:
3. First off. Take all the tracks in the song and play them individually. Adjust the gain of each track so it reaches just below the red-line. Why do this instead of a limiter? Well, this'll keep the dynamics.
4. After you've adjusted the volumes properly, go into the track and take out any background noise or breaths. No one wants to hear you gasping for air and shit.
5. Time to mix shit. The order should be:
Chrous Effects--Dynamics--Dynamic Effects--Delays--Reverb--EQ
Follow this order:
1. Compression:
Open your Compressor. Select all your verse tracks and add the following.
On the ratio set the value to anywhere from 3:1 to 5:1
On the attack set the value anywhere from 5ms-50ms.
On the release set the value anywhere from 100ms-350-ms
On the threshhold set the value at least -7.
This should make your words nice and crisp. But we're not done.
Select all those same tracks again and open your compressor again.
Now apply the following:
ratio: 8:1-10:1
attack: 3-5ms
release: 500-1000ms
threshold: -10 to -20
Now your shit is nice and compressed.
2. Delays:
Don't be a homo with this. Ok? Keep it dry and use sparringly. A moderate decay is a good idea. You don't want to sound like you're rapping in a cave.
Select your shit and open Delay.
Mix should be 100 Dry and like 8 Wet. Yes. Only 8 Wet. Left and Right Mix keep the same, and I'd say around 2.5. Play with it. But don't be a homo.
3. Reverbs:
Don't drench the shit. Be moderate.
100 Dry. Maybe 13 Wet. 100/13 with a 1ms delay and a short decay.
4. EQ:
This is going to be adjusted accordingly to your voice. Remember, you're looking to CUT, not to BOOST. Cutting will make the words stand out.
Conclusion:
In the end, the above settings should make your voice sound good and intergrated in the mix instead of laying on top of the beat. True, alot of people have different ways of mixing. This guide is just a cookie-cutter way on how to make shit sound decent. Fuck with the settings until you find what you're looking for.