Become a Competent Music Producer in 365 Days

Cover
Half Title
Endorsements
Title
Copyright
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgements
1 Balancing a mix
	Day 1 – Welcome
	Day 2 – Balancing a mix
	Day 3 – Why is balancing a mix so overlooked?
	Day 4 – SPL vs. perceived loudness
	Day 5 – 24-bit
	Day 6 – Reference tracks
	Day 7 – What is gain staging?
	Day 8 – Normalising region gain
	Day 9 – Pre-fader metering
	Day 10 – Phase cancellation
	Day 11 – Bottom-up mixing
	Day 12 – Top-down mixing
	Day 13 – The clockface technique
	Day 14 – Mono compatibility
	Day 15 – The VU meter trick
	Day 16 – Balancing vocals
	Day 17 – The mixing hierarchy
	Day 18 – A singular focal point
	Day 19 – The rule of four
	Day 20 – The pink noise technique
	Day 21 – Loudest fi rst
	Day 22 – Set a timer
	Day 23 – Leave your busses
	Day 24 – Watch your meters
	Day 25 – Split them up
	Day 26 – FFT metering
	Day 27 – Metering checklist
	Day 28 – Unit summary
	Checklist
	Further reading
2 Panning a mix
	Day 1 – Panning a mix
	Day 2 – Know your pan pots
	Day 3 – From whose perspective are you mixing?
	Day 4 – Kick and snare
	Day 5 – Overheads and rooms
	Day 6 – Hi-hats
	Day 7 – Toms
	Day 8 – Bass
	Day 9 – Guitars
	Day 10 – Synths and keys
	Day 11 – Horns, wind, and strings
	Day 12 – Vocals
	Day 13 – The LCR technique
	Day 14 – Low-frequency panning
	Day 15 – Double-tracked guitars
	Day 16 – Complementary panning
	Day 17 – Snare on- or off-centre?
	Day 18 – Narrow verses, wide choruses
	Day 19 – Automating movement
	Day 20 – Checking mono compatibility
	Day 21 – Consider the club
	Day 22 – Crosstalk
	Day 23 – Don’t overload one side
	Day 24 – Recreating a vintage vibe
	Day 25 – Less is more
	Day 26 – Orchestral panning 1
	Day 27 – Orchestral panning 2
	Day 28 – Unit summary
	Checklist
	Further reading
3 EQ
	Day 1 – Applying EQ
	Day 2 – Fundamentals and overtones
	Day 3 – Defining frequency bands
	Day 4 – Different types of equalisers
	Day 5 – Anatomy of an EQ 1
	Day 6 – Anatomy of an EQ 2
	Day 7 – Subtractive/corrective EQ
	Day 8 – Additive/creative EQ
	Day 9 – EQ can’t fix a poor recording
	Day 10 – Have intent
	Day 11 – Learn the frequency spectrum
	Day 12 – Use an EQ chart
	Day 13 – The big four: Remove the gross stuff
	Day 14 – The big four: Enhance the good stuff
	Day 15 – The big four: Make things sound different
	Day 16 – The big four: Create space
	Day 17 – Don’t be fooled by volume
	Day 18 – Small for natural, large for unnatural
	Day 19 – Prioritise cuts
	Day 20 – Don’t EQ in solo
	Day 21 – Small changes add up
	Day 22 – Subtle with stock, bold with analogue
	Day 23 – Don’t obsess over plugin order
	Day 24 – Remove the mud
	Day 25 – EQ in mono
	Day 26 – Dynamic EQ
	Day 27 – How do you pick your EQ?
	Day 28 – Unit summary
	Checklist
	Further reading
4 Compression
	Day 1 – What is compression?
	Day 2 – Compressor anatomy: Ratio
	Day 3 – Compressor anatomy: Threshold
	Day 4 – Compressor anatomy: Attack and release
	Day 5 – Compressor anatomy: Knee and make-up gain
	Day 6 – The four analogue architectures: VCA
	Day 7 – The four analogue architectures: Optical
	Day 8 – The four analogue architectures: FET
	Day 9 – The four analogue architectures: Variable Mu
	Day 10 – Use one compressor to learn
	Day 11 – What comes first: Compression or EQ?
	Day 12 – Don’t compress just because you can
	Day 13 – Parallel compression is the best of both
	Day 14 – Matching input and output levels accurately
	Day 15 – Avoid presets and solo
	Day 16 – Stacking compressors
	Day 17 – Compressing low end
	Day 18 – The extreme-threshold technique
	Day 19 – Don’t kill the transients
	Day 20 – A little here, a little there
	Day 21 – The right compressor for the job
	Day 22 – Don’t be fooled by volume
	Day 23 – Complementing compression with transient enhancement
	Day 24 – Sidechain compression
	Day 25 – Sidechain EQ
	Day 26 – Colouring your sound
	Day 27 – Multiband compression
	Day 28 – Unit summary
	Checklist
	Further reading
5 Reverb
	Day 1 – What is reverb?
	Day 2 – Why do you need reverb?
	Day 3 – What does reverb do?
	Day 4 – Different types of reverb: Hall
	Day 5 – Different types of reverb: Chamber
	Day 6 – Different types of reverb: Room
	Day 7 – Different types of reverb: Plate
	Day 8 – Different types of reverb: Spring
	Day 9 – Different types of reverb: Convolution
	Day 10 – Different types of reverb: Gated
	Day 11 – Different types of reverb: Honourable mentions
	Day 12 – Reverb parameters: Type, size, decay, and mix
	Day 13 – Reverb parameters: Pre-delay, early refl ections, and diffusion
	Day 14 – Eight steps to perfect reverb: Aux send or insert slot?
	Day 15 – Eight steps to perfect reverb: Selecting reverb type
	Day 16 – Eight steps to perfect reverb: Set your size
	Day 17 – Eight steps to perfect reverb: Set your decay
	Day 18 – Eight steps to perfect reverb: Set your pre-delay
	Day 19 – Eight steps to perfect reverb: Set your early reflections
	Day 20 – Eight steps to perfect reverb: Set your diffusion level
	Day 21 – Eight steps to perfect reverb: Adjust the dry/wet/send amount
	Day 22 – Top tips: Less is more
	Day 23 – Top tips: Mono, stereo, or panned?
	Day 24 – Top tips: Pre- or post-fader?
	Day 25 – Top tips: Treat reverb like an instrument
	Day 26 – Top tips: How many reverbs should you use?
	Day 27 – The formula
	Day 28 – Unit summary
	Checklist
	Further reading
6 Delay and modulation effects
	Day 1 – What is delay in music-production?
	Day 2 – Delay times
	Day 3 – Primary delay types: Tape
	Day 4 – Primary delay types: Analogue
	Day 5 – Primary delay types: Digital
	Day 6 – Delay subtypes: Slapback echo
	Day 7 – Delay subtypes: Doubling echo
	Day 8 – Delay subtypes: Looping
	Day 9 – Delay subtypes: Multitap
	Day 10 – Delay subtypes: Ping-pong
	Day 11 – Delay subtypes: Dub
	Day 12 – A reminder about phase
	Day 13 – Modulated delay: Chorus
	Day 14 – Modulated delay: Flanger
	Day 15 – Modulated delay: Phaser
	Day 16 – Top tips: Have an intention
	Day 17 – Top tips: Be selective
	Day 18 – Top tips: Work out your timing
	Day 19 – Top tips: Leakage
	Day 20 – Top tips: Processing delays
	Day 21 – Top tips: Automation
	Day 22 – Top tips: Create manual delays
	Day 23 – Top tips: Flamming delays
	Day 24 – Top tips: Panning delays
	Day 25 – Top tips: Tempo-syncing
	Day 26 – Top tips: Making sounds bigger/wider
	Day 27 – Top tips: Enhance important things
	Day 28 – Unit summary
	Checklist
7 Automation
	Day 1 – What is automation?
	Day 2 – Automation modes
	Day 3 – Automation types: Fades and curves
	Day 4 – Automation types: Binary, step, and spike
	Day 5 – Have intent!
	Day 6 – Bouncing automation
	Day 7 – Three stages: Problem-solve
	Day 8 – Three stages: Flow
	Day 9 – Three stages: Create
	Day 10 – When should you automate?
	Day 11 – Use No. 1: Levels
	Day 12 – Use No. 2: Stereo width
	Day 13 – Use No. 3: More automation, less compression
	Day 14 – Use No. 4: Fix plosives and sibilance
	Day 15 – Use No. 5: Increase plugin control
	Day 16 – Use No. 6: Aux sends
	Day 17 – Animate your transitions
	Day 18 – Automate synth parameter changes
	Day 19 – Emphasise drum fills
	Day 20 – Tidy up
	Day 21 – Accentuate vocals
	Day 22 – Automate panning for sound design
	Day 23 – Automate EQ
	Day 24 – Make e-drums sound more natural
	Day 25 – Tempo-synced automation effects
	Day 26 – Automate your master buss
	Day 27 – Automate your tempo
	Day 28 – Unit summary
	Checklist
8 Vocals
	Day 1 – Vocals 101
	Day 2 – Create space pockets
	Day 3 – Open-back vs closed-back
	Day 4 – Use a pop shield
	Day 5 – Consider mike emulation
	Day 6 – DSP-powered monitor effects
	Day 7 – The proximity effect
	Day 8 – Get your levels right
	Day 9 – Get your mix right
	Day 10 – Record everything!
	Day 11 – Harmonies and layers
	Day 12 – Gate post-recording
	Day 13 – Loop and comp
	Day 14 – Tuning and other modulation effects
	Day 15 – Subtractive EQ
	Day 16 – Consider the genre
	Day 17 – Tone-shaping EQ
	Day 18 – Compression
	Day 19 – More compression
	Day 20 – . . . and even more compression!
	Day 21 – De-ess with care
	Day 22 – Saturation and distortion
	Day 23 – Don’t overdo reverb and delay
	Day 24 – Pan backing vocals
	Day 25 – Converting to MIDI
	Day 26 – Vocal automation
	Day 27 – Frequency allocation
	Day 28 – Unit summary
	Checklist
	Further reading
9 Synthesis
	Day 1 – Synthesis terrified me
	Day 2 – What is a synthesiser?
	Day 3 – Oscillators
	Day 4 – Waveshapes
	Day 5 – Combining oscillators
	Day 6 – Tuning, unison, and voices
	Day 7 – Filters
	Day 8 – Amplifiers and envelopes
	Day 9 – Modulation
	Day 10 – LFOs
	Day 11 – Other possible features
	Day 12 – What makes a synth unique?
	Day 13 – 1/10: Subtractive synthesis
	Day 14 – 2/10: FM synthesis
	Day 15 – 3/10: Sample-based synthesis
	Day 16 – 4/10: Wavetable synthesis
	Day 17 – 5/10: Vector synthesis
	Day 18 – 6/10: Additive synthesis
	Day 19 – 7/10: Spectral synthesis
	Day 20 – 8/10: Physical modelling
	Day 21 – 9/10: Granular synthesis
	Day 22 – 10/10: West Coast synthesis
	Day 23 – The main synth sounds
	Day 24 – 20 top tips: 1–5
	Day 25 – 20 top tips: 6–10
	Day 26 – 20 top tips: 11–15
	Day 27 – 20 top tips: 16–20
	Day 28 – Unit summary
	Further reading
10 Mastering
	Day 1 – The dark art
	Day 2 – Mixing vs mastering
	Day 3 – A brief history
	Day 4 – Preparing to master
	Day 5 – Mix levels and compression
	Day 6 – Loudness, the war, and penalties
	Day 7 – The most important piece of gear is . . .
	Day 8 – Don’t master your own tracks
	Day 9 – Digital vs analogue
	Day 10 – Optimising, not fixing
	Day 11 – Good mastering preparation
	Day 12 – The four stages of mastering: EQ
	Day 13 – The four stages of mastering: Compression
	Day 14 – The four stages of mastering: Limiting
	Day 15 – The four stages of mastering: Metering
	Day 16 – Using appropriate reference tracks
	Day 17 – Trimming the start and end
	Day 18 – Bouncing/rendering/exporting
	Day 19 – Metadata
	Day 20 – Beyond the essentials: Saturation
	Day 21 – Beyond the essentials: Stereo enhancement
	Day 22 – Beyond the essentials: Parallel processing
	Day 23 – Beyond the essentials: Serial limiting
	Day 24 – Adding reverb
	Day 25 – Avoid ear fatigue
	Day 26 – Stem mastering
	Day 27 – Considering the medium and technical limitations
	Day 28 – Unit summary
	Further reading
Index